In what appears to be a well-coordinated variation of a notorious lottery scam, four people were involved in the con that cost an 80-year-old woman $18,000 worth of her jewelry, according to Davie police.
Investigators Tuesday released surveillance images of two of the people involved and their vehicle in the hopes of generating leads in the case.
It was just before 1 p.m. on Feb. 21 when the four people parked a late-model, white Mitsubishi Outlander Sport in the Publix parking lot at 8842 W. State Road 84 and waited for the woman to walk toward her vehicle — parked in a space reserved for handicapped drivers.
A woman wearing a visor and carrying a purse across her left shoulder got out of the SUV and began talking with the woman heading for her car, police said. The woman claimed she had “won a lottery and was looking for a lawyer.”
At nearly the same time, a man with short-cropped hair, sunglasses over his head and wearing a Bluetooth-type device in his ear joined the conversation and corroborated his accomplice’s lottery story.
“The suspects told the victim that if she helped them, they would give her $10,000 of the lotto winnings,” police said.
The two other people involved in the scam were monitoring what was happening and eventually followed as the man and the woman left the shopping center with the victim after she agreed to help them.
Once at her home, according to police, “they stole over $18,000 worth of jewelry.”
Investigators ask anyone who can identify the people involved or have any information about this crime to call the Davie Police Department at 954-693-8200.
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