Con artists approach Hispanics and ask them to help collect on winning lottery tickets.
By TAMARA LUSH
Published July 26, 2003
[Times photo: Stefanie Boyar]
Bernardino Calderon, 75, his wife Esther, 73, center, and Josefina Perez , 59, were all victims of a lottery scam in May.
TAMPA - Bernardino Calderon fled Cuba in 1959, worked for decades as a longshoreman in New York and came to Tampa to quietly retire.
But earlier this year, the 75-year-old Calderon was swindled out of $8,000.
Calderon is one of many victims of a lottery scam that is sweeping through the area's Hispanic community. Three cases have been reported to the Tampa Police Department in as many months, and detectives think the same criminals are conning people out of tens of thousands of dollars nationwide.
"They're preying on people all over the country," said Tampa police Detective Bill Todd. "We happen to be one of their frequent stops."
Tampa police officials publicized three recent lottery scam cases Friday, hoping to flush out the suspects as Floridians focus on tonight's $75-million Lotto drawing. It is the 10th highest jackpot in Florida Lotto history, and ticket sales are expected to hit 29,000 per minute today.
It is unclear whether the con artists target more people when a lottery jackpot is high. Two of the Tampa victims were swindled in May, when Lotto jackpots never topped $20-million. A third was victimized last week. Law enforcement officials fear others may become victims in the coming week from counterfeit tickets, after the numbers have been chosen for the big jackpot.
Police say there have been 20 cases of lottery scams in Tampa since 2000. Hundreds of other cases have been reported in Miami, Palm Beach and Orlando - wherever there is a large Hispanic population. Locally, police say such scams also have happened in Pinellas County.
There have been no arrests.
"Once the crime occurs, they get out of Dodge real fast," said Tampa Detective Max Parker Jr.
The scam involves layers upon layers of lies, and the details are often confusing.
Essentially, it works like this: A person, usually a woman, approaches the victim in a store parking lot. The woman tells the victim that she has a winning lottery ticket but can't cash it because she is an illegal immigrant. The woman asks the victim to cash the ticket for her, but also asks for "good faith money" beforehand. The criminal tells the victim that once the ticket is cashed, he or she will get their "good faith money" back - and a cut of the Lotto winnings.
Of course, there is no winning ticket.
The con artist usually is helped by someone who pretends to be a stranger who promises to help. The lottery tickets are usually of the scratch-off variety, and they are likely counterfeit.
Usually the criminals pretend to call lottery officials in front of the victim to verify the ticket, police said. Sometimes the victims are inspired to help the criminals because they are under the impression that they are immigrants; some have even invited the criminals to their homes for dinner.
"These people are very good actors," Todd said.
Some victims are motivated to help because there is a prospect of free cash.
It is unclear exactly how many victims there have been statewide. Many of the victims are elderly and may not have reported the incidents to police because they are embarrassed or ashamed, officials said.
Josefina Perez, 59, said she was approached by a woman at the Save-A-Lot grocery store in Tampa. Perez said the woman told her a detailed story about needing a lawyer and later told her that she had a winning ticket. The woman said she was from Costa Rica.
A man pretending to be a stranger also offered to help.
The woman and the "passerby" got into Perez's car to obtain money from her, she said. She feared for her life, so she gave them $25,000, she said.
Perez, who is originally from the Dominican Republic, said she was going to put a down payment on a house for her daughter with that money.
She said that at first she didn't hesitate to help a stranger with a favor because that's how she grew up.
"In our (Caribbean) countries, we were accustomed to doing favors for people on the street," Perez said, adding that she is frightened by people since the May incident. "Don't do any favors to any person on the street. When people approach you, get away.
"Now I don't believe in anybody."
- Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report. Tamara Lush can be reached at 813-226-3373 or at lush@sptimes.com
