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Rowlett police warn citizens of money scam
By Kenny Green, kgreen@starlocalnews.com
The Rowlett Police Department is trying to locate a suspect in a felony theft.
On Friday, Aug. 10, an unidentified female approached an elderly female at the Goodwill Store located at 451 W. I-30 in Garland.
The suspect told the elderly female that she found a bank envelope with a large amount of cash in it. The suspect told the victim that she had a friend at a Wal-Mart close by that would assist her in making a decision on what to do with it. At this point the elderly female drove the suspect to the Wal-Mart store.
"She basically told her that she found a bunch of money and it might be stolen so she doesn't want the serial numbers to match up," Helms said.
The suspect then told the elderly female that she would split the money with her, if she gave her some money without matching serial numbers. The suspect then persuaded the elderly female to give her $9,000.00 of her own money which was withdrawn from her bank in Rowlett.
"She initially told her that her share would be $35,000 then it became $40,000. So the amount changed," Helms said. "The tellers at the bank thought the withdrawal was suspicious but the suspect coached the victim into telling them the withdrawal was for personal use. They told her she could have part of the money and would have to come back for the rest."
After withdrawing the cash the victim drove the suspect to the Wal-Mart in Rowlett where the suspect got out of the car to go into the bank and collect the cash. The suspect never returned once she entered the Wal-Mart.
"The victim waited for about 20 minutes and she never came back. When she got of the car that is the last the victim saw of her," Helms said.
The Rowlett Police Department is attempting to identify the young female through surveillance photos. The victim stated that the suspect was approximately 25-35 years old, dark hair, 5'7" tall, pale skin and large frame. The suspect is the white female on the left side of the photo in the black hair and blouse.
"This is fairly common but we haven't seen a lot of it in Rowlett," Helms said. "They target an area where they can find a weak victim. A lot of times they target the elderly because they are more trusting and willing to help people. In this case it was pretty enticing to think you could get a large sum of money by mixing in your own."
Anyone with information on the identity of the suspect is asked to call detective Guy Helms at the Rowlett Police Department at 972-412-6274.
"If it sounds too good to be true it's probably a scam," Helms said.
If the suspect is caught she is expected to be charged with theft by deception and since the victim was elderly it will be upgraded to a third degree felony.
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