Alleged Lottery Ticket Con Artists Charged
By Anthonia Akitunde in News on Nov 7, 2009 11:00PM
Mug shots of the accused from the CPD, via the Trib
Four people have been charged in a lottery ticket scam that swindled five victims out of $110,000 and targeted two others for $50,000, Chicago Breaking News reports.
John Garcia, 30; William Velasquez-Ortiz, 43; Janet Cruz, 39; and Carmen Perez-Santiago, 62 worked as a team across the city, typically targeting older Hispanics on the street or in front of stores, according to the report. The con artists would tell a victim they had a lottery ticket "worth more than $1 million they couldn't cash because they were undocumented immigrants."
Victims were told that if they gave them a large amount of money or jewelery as a "good faith deposit," they could cash the ticket and split the winnings, the report said. When the victims handed over their cash or valuable jewelry, the offenders would leave the area.
Police say the team was arrested on Tuesday and Wednesday. Court information was not available, according to the report.