Crime & Safety
Pair Sought in Lottery Scam Involving the Elderly; Deputies Report 5 Cases Since October
One incident took place in Brandon where the thieves a approched a 62-year-old man outside the Denny's restaurant on Brandon Boulevard and claimed they needed help to claim lottery winnings.
A lottery scam involving the elderly in Brandon and Tampa has the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office on the lookout for a pair of con artists wanted on suspicion in five cases ranging from October through April.
Detectives are asking for the public's assistance in identifying a female member suspect, seen in a surveillance photo from the latest incident, April 11, at the CVS store on West Hillsborough Avenue.
The Brandon incident reportedly took place Dec. 8 at Denny’s in Brandon, at 1301 West Brandon Blvd., when the victim, a 62-year-old man, was approached outside the eatery.
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Wanted on suspicion on fraud and grand theft charges are two suspects described as follows:
- Suspect One — Female, 5-foot-3, 140 pounds, between the ages 22 and 29. Medium build, brown eyes and brown hair, worn in a ponytail. She was wearing a brown baseball cap, tan button-up shirt, black dress pants, black and white tennis shoes. She was also carrying a medium-size black purse. She told one of the victims she was from Costa Rica.
- Suspect Two —Male, 5-foot-5 to 6 feet, 180 pounds, between the ages 50 and 60. Medium build, gray hair, brown eyes. He was wearing a beige dress shirt, beige tie, casual brown pants, black belt, black dress shoes and a gold necklace and bracelet. The suspect had a full brown beard and was described as having hairy arms.
The modus operandi is the same in each incident, according to the sheriff’s report:
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- The suspects approach the victim at a business and convince the victim that they need to borrow money because they have won some money in the lottery, but that the lottery requires them to have some money on hand before collecting.
- After the victim hands over the money — ranging anywhere from $1,200 to $9,000 — the suspects then drive the victim to another store or business, where they ask the victim to go inside the business on their behalf. Once the victim goes inside the business, the suspects flee.
The incidents started last year and have occurred throughout the county. The report notes the incidents as follows:
- Oct. 29, 11:40 a.m., Bank of America, 902 Pebble Beach Blvd. The victim, a 65-year-old male. Suspect’s vehicle, late model, light-blue van.
- Dec. 8, 10:30 a.m., Denny’s, 1301 Brandon Blvd. The victim, a 62-year-old male. Suspect’s vehicle, white, 2000, 4-door Nissan Armada.
- Feb. 18, 10:10 a.m., Bank of America, 8320 Hanley Road. The victim, an 87-year-old male. Suspect’s vehicle: large white van.
- Feb. 8, 1 p.m., Wachovia Bank, 8008 North Pebble Beach Blvd. The victim, an 81-year-old female. Suspect’s vehicle: older box style SUV, 4-door, silver or dirty white.
- April 11, 11 a.m., CVS, 7351 West Hillsborough Ave. The victim, a 76-year-old female. Suspect’s vehicle: silver Toyota Rav4, newer model.
Anyone with any information reference the suspects is asked to call the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office at 247-8200 or anyone with any information regarding the identity and whereabouts of these suspects and who wants to be eligible for a cash reward is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS (8477), report anonymously online at www.crimestopperstb.com or text "CSTB plus your tip" to C-R-I-M-E-S (274637).
