Dallas Police Detectives are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the suspect(s) involved in multiple related fraud scams against the elderly. The scam begins by the male suspect, using a blocked phone number, calling a senior citizen and identifying himself as a police officer investigating bank fraud. The suspect convinces the senior citizen to withdraw a large sum of cash so it can be inspected for counterfeit bills. In most cases, the suspect then arranges to meet the senior citizen at a public business and takes the cash for “inspection”. In one offense, the suspect went to the senior citizen’s home. The victims in these offenses have lost thousands of dollars.
In one such incident, a surveillance video (linked below) was obtained showing a suspect with a victim inside the Inwood Tavern in Dallas, TX, on April 10, 2012. The 81 year old female victim gave the suspect a large sum of cash which the suspect took and never returned. The suspect in the video is a dark-skinned male, approximately 40 years old. He is described as being 6ft and 200 pounds. The sequence of events on the video is as follows:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D33naW8TtwY
- 02:20:36pm – Victim arrives with walker and sits at the end of the bar
- 02:22:36pm – Suspect arrives and gets a drink at the middle of the bar
- 02:23:25pm – Suspect sits at end of bar with victim and drinks.
When the victim goes out front, she meets the same suspect from inside the bar and gives him the cash.
The reported offenses have occurred between October 7, 2011 and August 15, 2012. The related report numbers are 269463-Y, 325016-Y, 25794-Z, 43643-Z, 86283-Z, 119634-Z, 132491-Z, 200578-Z, 200592-Z, 198278-Z, and 202817-Z.
If you, or someone you know may have been a victim of this scam, please call the Dallas Police Department. It is important to note, many victims are embarrassed and may not readily admit to being victimized. If a person is missing a large sum of money that cannot be explained, he or she may have been a victim of this or another scam.
Anyone with information about the suspect(s) or this offense is asked to contact Detective Dana or Detective Casey of the Dallas Police Department’s Swindle Squad, at 214-671-3511 or 214-671-3513. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can do so by calling Crime Stoppers at (214) 373-8477, or using the Department’s iWatch smartphone application. Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $5000 for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the suspect(s) in this scam.
There will be sound provided at 2:30pm in the Media Relations office. Also, there is a recording between the suspect and one of the victims that was left on her answering machine that will be distributed with the surveillance video.
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