Full Notification

Chula Vista Police Department would like to let the public know of an existing scam which appears to be reoccurring in the city of Chula Vista. The details of this scam are as follows.

The targeted victim is usually an older Hispanic female. The female suspect in this scam approaches the victim and asks if they know where there is an immigration office or church that helps with immigration issues. This starts a conversation between the female suspect and the victim. At some point during the conversation, the suspect reveals to the victim the reason why they’re looking for an immigration office is because they’ve won the lottery and they realize that they cannot claim the winnings to the lottery because they are undocumented.

During the conversation between the female suspect and the victim, a male approaches and asks if he can help. The male suspect and female suspect attempt to depict they do not know each other. The male suspect then offers to drive the female suspect and female victim to an office which handles immigration issues.

At this point they’re usually in a vehicle and the male suspect makes a phone call in an attempt to confirm the lottery ticket is valid, but this is also a scam. The third suspect on the other line of the phone then states in order for the female suspect to claim the lottery winnings, which is usually in the 10’s of millions of dollars, they need to have two witnesses and $50,000 to claim the winnings.

The female suspect and male suspect then convince the victim to come up with as much money or valuable jewelry as possible to assist with the $50,000 requirement. In exchange they will give them part of the winnings. Once the female suspect and male suspect have a certain amount of money, as much as the victim can give them, they then take the victim to a random location. They ask the victim to get out of the vehicle and make contact with another party at some random home. When the victim walks away toward the house, the suspects drive off. Only then does the victim realize what has happened. The loss is usually thousands of dollars and possibly other valuables like jewelry.

The female suspect in this case is described as a Hispanic female, 60-70 years old, 5’4”, 200 lbs. with long straight, gray hair.

The male suspect is described as a Hispanic male adult, 35-45 years old, clean shaven with a thin build.

In one case the suspect vehicle was described as a gray minivan, unknown additional details.

It is also our understanding that many people who fall victim to this crime and are embarrassed or afraid to report it to the police. We’re asking the public's help, if they are the victim of this kind of scam, to please contact the Chula Vista Police Department at (619) 691-5151 and have an officer take a report.

The Chula Vista Police Department wants to let the public know that this is a scam. Any time someone tells says you won the Lottery but need to pay fees or taxes first it is a scam.

This particular scam has occurred numerous times over the years. There have been three reported cases since February of 2015 in Chula Vista.

If anyone has any information regarding the suspects in this case, please feel free to call the Chula Vista Police Department Property Crimes Division at (619) 691-5129.