Scammers Target Elderly Spanish-Speaking Residents: Algonquin Police

ALGONQUIN, IL — Police in Algonquin are asking for the public's help as they look to track down a man and woman accused of swindling elderly Spanish-speaking residents out of thousands of dollars.

Authorities say an elderly person was approached by the man and woman while shopping at a local grocery store on Aug. 2. The man and woman told the local resident they were from Nicaragua and claimed they'd won the lottery.

They said they needed a U.S. citizen to claim the lottery prize for them. During the conversation, the duo called a person who claimed to work for the lottery and who verified their story.

"The male and female then convinced the victim to drive them to her bank in Algonquin and had her withdraw $20,000, which was the price to split the wining lottery ticket," according to a news release from the Algonquin Police Department.

The man and woman approached several other Spanish-speaking elderly residents before targeting the person who ended up withdrawing the $20,000 in cash for them, authorities said.

"The male and female are described as being very insistent, with engaging the victim in
conversation for over fifteen minutes before persuading her to assist them," according to the news release.

Police say the duo is believed to have been involved in several similar scans in the west and northwest suburbs, scamming elderly victims out of more than $60,000.

Anyone with information regarding the recent incident that happened in Algonquin is asked to call Algonquin Police Department detective Kory Koehler at 847-658-4531. Also, anyone who recognizes the offenders, who are pictured above, or has been a victim of a similar crime should call police, authorities said.