News
Kissimmee, Fla. (November
5, 2009)
– Kissimmee detectives are warning residents of a
lottery scam that has been occurring in the City.
On November 4, 2009,
officers responded to the Banco Popular located at 1410 West Vine Street
in reference to a fraud. Upon arrival, officers met with the bank
manager, Hiram Turrul-Arroyo who advised he had an elderly male customer
who was withdrawing $500 from his account and believed he was a victim
of fraud. Mr. Turrul-Arroyo translated the incident for the
victim.
When Turrul-Arroyo inquired
about the pending transaction, the 76-year-old man told the bank manager
that he was approached by two Hispanic men while shopping at Publix.
The men told him they had a winning lottery ticket but could not cash it
because they were in the country illegally. The suspects told the
elderly victim that if he assisted them with attorney’s fees they would
split the lottery money with him.
The victim went with the
suspects back to his residence where the victim retrieved $1,000 from
inside. The suspects then drove the victim to Banco Popular where
he was to withdraw $500 more. The victim stated he did not know
either of the suspects but felt comfortable with them because one of
them was an older male.
The suspects fled the scene
with $1,000 from the victim’s home but did not get any money from the
bank. Officers viewed the video from Publix but did not see the
suspects approach the victim. The suspects were described as two
Hispanic males. The older one was 5’3” to 5’6”, 130 to 160 pounds
with salt and pepper hair. The other suspect was approximately 23-30
years old, 5’4” to 5’8”, 140 to 170 pounds with a medium build.