'Pigeon' in Confidence Scheme Loses $14,000

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WEST BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI - An elderly woman was bilked out of $14,000 in a “pigeon drop” confidence scam, West Bloomfield Township police said.

If you haven’t heard of it, here’s how the scam works:

The “pigeon,” or victim, is persuaded to give up money to secure rights to a larger sum or more valuable object, but the scammers walk off with the money and the victim is left with nothing. Sometimes, two people work the con as a team, claiming they’ve found money, according to crimes-of-persuasion.com.

That’s what happened to the 80-year-old West Bloomfield woman about 12:15 p.m. on Dec. 3, according to a report in The Oakland Press.

She had just placed groceries in her car and was preparing to leave the Kroger parking lot at Lone Pine and Orchard Lake when she was approached by a woman claimed she was trying to find the owner of a large amount of money she had found. The victim said she hadn’t and the woman walked away.

The victim was then approached by another woman who displayed a bag that supposedly contained about $100,000 and asked if she had lost it. She said no, and the second woman asked her to remain in the parking lot while she looked for the owner.

Later, the second woman returned and said her boss, who she claimed was a corporate attorney for a nearby CVS pharmacy, said the money was from illegal gambling and they could “scan it into the system and split it,” West Bloomfield police Det. Steve Tratechaud told the newspaper.

She second woman reportedly said that she would keep $40,000 since she had found it, would give the victim and the first woman $25,000 each, then pay taxes on the windfall with the remaining $10,000.

The first woman who claimed to have been looking for the owner of the money appeared and, as instructed, gave her partner $15,000 to “scan so everything is legal and legitimate,” Tratechaud said.

The second woman left, supposedly to have the money scanned, and the first woman remained in the victim’s car. The second woman reappeared, returned the $15,000 to her partner and then handed her what appeared to be a larger stack of money that was her share of the find.

The first woman left the car.

The second woman for $15,000 so it could be scanned. She agreed, drove to her bank and withdrew $14,000 and handed it to the second woman, who left and never returned.

One of the suspects is white, white, about 5 feet, 6 inches tall, weighing 200 pounds and wearing glasses. The second woman is black. No further description is available.

Tratechaud said the crime should serve as a reminder to be suspicious of “anything that sounds too good to be true.”

Anyone with information about the women is asked to call police at (248) 975-8920.