Fillmore Police said a 55-year-old Hispanic woman from Castaic was approached on the 400 block of Central Avenue in Fillmore on October 17 by a Hispanic man. A Hispanic woman walked up and joined the two, pretending not to know the man.
The male suspect convinced the victim he had a lottery ticket worth hundreds of thousands of dollars but needed help cashing it because of his undocumented immigration status. With the female suspect's encouragement, the victim was talked into giving the man money as a good faith payment toward trusting her with the lottery ticket.
The two suspects drove the victim to a bank, where she withdrew $2,500 and gave it to the man. The suspects then drove the victim to a residence and tricked her into getting out of the car to meet with residents of the home, police said. The woman went to the door and the suspects drove away with the victim's money.
The lottery ticket was determined to be counterfeit.
Police said elderly Spanish speakers are usually the targets in this lottery ticket scam. Victims are often approached in shopping center parking lots.
