07-02-2009, 07:00 AM
Lake Forest police have no new leads in the search for a male and female who scammed an 85-year-old former Lake Forester out of $8,000 June 25 in downtown Lake Forest.
The incident began approximately 1:30 p.m. as the victim loaded his groceries into his car in the Jewel Food Store parking lot in Waukegan at Grand and Green Bay Road.
A male approached the victim and asked him if he could help him locate an African-American church in the area. He said he inherited $150,000 from the estate of his uncle, who he said was killed in 9/11 World Trade Center attacks, and he wanted to donate money in a church, Lake Forest Police Sgt. Brian Verbeke said.
The victim, who police will not identify for his own safety, said he did not, but offered to drive the man to the Waukegan Post Office to look up some churches.
The man got into the victim's car and they drove to the post office. When they arrived, the male approached a female who was getting out of her car at the post office and told her the same story. He asked the woman if he could deposit $50,000 in her bank account that he would donate later to a church.
All three got into the victim's car and he drove them to a bank in the area. The man asked the woman to prove she had money in her account. The female went into the bank and said she withdrew $12,000 in cash to which the male added his $50,000. The female went back into the bank to "deposit" the total money, Verbeke said.
The victim mentioned that he was originally from Lake Forest and knew of a Baptist Church on Oakwood. The male and female thought that would be a good place to store the money for safekeeping, so they asked the victim to drive them there.
"As they were talking, the victim told them he had a bank account at The Northern Trust in Lake Forest and they could deposit the money there for safekeeping,'" Verbeke said.
The male then asked the elderly man if he could do the same thing that the woman had done at her bank. The victim agreed.
The woman and victim went into the bank in downtown Lake Forest and withdrew $8,000 from the elderly man's account. They left the bank and the victim handed the $8,000 to the male, who put the money in an orange-colored bandana that he said contained $50,000. The male gave the victim the bandana and thanked him. They said they would contact him at a later time to let him know what to do with the money, Verbeke said.
The victim took the bandana into his car and drove away, parked his car and opened the bandana only to find shredded newspaper and no money.
He called police at 2:35 p.m. to report the incident.
Police pulled the bank video which pictures the woman, Verbeke said.
"We sent out flyers and alerts with photos from the bank (surveillance video), but we haven't gotten any response from other departments," Lake Forest Deputy Chief David Field said Tuesday.
The police also used the video to determine where the woman may have left fingerprints in the bank.
"We lifted some fingerprints from the bank which may be hers," he said. "We also lifted fingerprints from the victim's car."
Field encourages anyone who has information on the incident to contact the Lake Forest Police Department at 847-234-2601.
The incident began approximately 1:30 p.m. as the victim loaded his groceries into his car in the Jewel Food Store parking lot in Waukegan at Grand and Green Bay Road.
A male approached the victim and asked him if he could help him locate an African-American church in the area. He said he inherited $150,000 from the estate of his uncle, who he said was killed in 9/11 World Trade Center attacks, and he wanted to donate money in a church, Lake Forest Police Sgt. Brian Verbeke said.
The victim, who police will not identify for his own safety, said he did not, but offered to drive the man to the Waukegan Post Office to look up some churches.
The man got into the victim's car and they drove to the post office. When they arrived, the male approached a female who was getting out of her car at the post office and told her the same story. He asked the woman if he could deposit $50,000 in her bank account that he would donate later to a church.
All three got into the victim's car and he drove them to a bank in the area. The man asked the woman to prove she had money in her account. The female went into the bank and said she withdrew $12,000 in cash to which the male added his $50,000. The female went back into the bank to "deposit" the total money, Verbeke said.
The victim mentioned that he was originally from Lake Forest and knew of a Baptist Church on Oakwood. The male and female thought that would be a good place to store the money for safekeeping, so they asked the victim to drive them there.
"As they were talking, the victim told them he had a bank account at The Northern Trust in Lake Forest and they could deposit the money there for safekeeping,'" Verbeke said.
The male then asked the elderly man if he could do the same thing that the woman had done at her bank. The victim agreed.
The woman and victim went into the bank in downtown Lake Forest and withdrew $8,000 from the elderly man's account. They left the bank and the victim handed the $8,000 to the male, who put the money in an orange-colored bandana that he said contained $50,000. The male gave the victim the bandana and thanked him. They said they would contact him at a later time to let him know what to do with the money, Verbeke said.
The victim took the bandana into his car and drove away, parked his car and opened the bandana only to find shredded newspaper and no money.
He called police at 2:35 p.m. to report the incident.
Police pulled the bank video which pictures the woman, Verbeke said.
"We sent out flyers and alerts with photos from the bank (surveillance video), but we haven't gotten any response from other departments," Lake Forest Deputy Chief David Field said Tuesday.
The police also used the video to determine where the woman may have left fingerprints in the bank.
"We lifted some fingerprints from the bank which may be hers," he said. "We also lifted fingerprints from the victim's car."
Field encourages anyone who has information on the incident to contact the Lake Forest Police Department at 847-234-2601.