Kissimmee Police Department: Kissimmee Police Warn of Lottery Scam
Kissimmee Police Warn of Lottery Scam
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.
“Thanks to quick thinking from Mr. Turrul-Arroyo, the suspects were not able to obtain any more money from the victim. Mr. Turrul-Arroyo acted responsibly and called the police when he learned of the suspicious activity,” said Chief Iwanski, “Thankfully the victim was not injured during this incident. We need to ensure all of our residents are aware of scams like this one and remind them to report suspicious activity to law enforcement.”
Anyone with information about these suspects or the crime is asked to contact the Kissimmee Police Department’s Property Crimes Unit at 407-846-3333 or by email at seeitsayit@kissimmee.org or CRIMELINE at 1-800-423-TIPS (8477).
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.
“Thanks to quick thinking from Mr. Turrul-Arroyo, the suspects were not able to obtain any more money from the victim. Mr. Turrul-Arroyo acted responsibly and called the police when he learned of the suspicious activity,” said Chief Iwanski, “Thankfully the victim was not injured during this incident. We need to ensure all of our residents are aware of scams like this one and remind them to report suspicious activity to law enforcement.”
Anyone with information about these suspects or the crime is asked to contact the Kissimmee Police Department’s Property Crimes Unit at 407-846-3333 or by email at seeitsayit@kissimmee.org or CRIMELINE at 1-800-423-TIPS (8477).