'Flim Flam' Scam Costs Woman Thousands

SANDY SPRINGS, GA -- A Sandy Springs woman was targeted in a scam designed to defraud residents out of their hard-earned money.

An officer with Sandy Springs police was dispatched to Highland Springs Apartments on Thursday, July 21 and met with a woman who recounted the incident, referred to by police as a "flim flam" scam.

The woman said she was at a MARTA bus stop near 5701 Roswell Road when she was approached by a woman referred to as "Adriana," according to an Sandy Springs police incident report.

Adriana told the victim that another woman had a $600 winning lottery ticket, but "could not cash it due to (her) not being a legal immigrant."

Adriana told the woman that they called the lottery commissioner, who told her that they needed a witness so she could cash the lottery ticket for the second suspect.

The victim agreed, and Adriana made a call to the alleged lottery commissioner. According to the report, the victim was told to bring $10,000 to the lottery commissioner's office.

"It was stated that the money would be in good faith so that suspect 2 would know that they were honest of suspect 2 getting the money from the winning lottery ticket," the report notes.

The victim got into the car with both women and proceeded to go to the Mosaic Apartments. The woman referred to as Adriana, who was driving, parked the car in front of a building, went inside and returned to the vehicle with a "wad of cash and jewelry."

According to the report, Adriana told the victim she could use the jewelry along with the cash, which would equal $10,000.

The victim told police they all went to Wells Fargo at 6300 Roswell Road and she withdrew $2,500. When she went back to her vehicle, the pair asked the victim if she could withdraw any more funds. The woman complied and withdrew an additional $300.

The trio made the trip to the front of Highland Spring Apartments where the victim gave Adriana an envelop containing the $2,800. At that point, the victim said she was once again asked if she had any additional cash, so the woman went inside her apartment and got another $800 to give to Adriana.

The two suspects asked the victim if she had her identification on hand. When she went back inside the apartment to retrieve her ID, the two suspects were gone.

The victim described the car as a green sedan in which the passenger side door's handle did not work, as Adriana had to unlock the door from the inside of the vehicle. Along with the cash, the woman said the pair also made off with her cell phone, which was in the car at the time of the getaway.

Adriana is described as a white female between 30 and 35 years old. She is described as having a medium build, brown eyes and was "talkative," the report said. The second suspect is a lighter-skinned black woman appearing to be between 55 and 60 years old.

Anyone with information about the incident and the suspects is asked to call Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477. You can also text your tips to CRIMES (274637).

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