<< Previous   of   Next >> For the Enterprise  (click to enlarge) Police seek the public's help to identify these two suspects, videotaped in the parking lot of the Lynnwood Costco July 2. They're suspected of scamming a Mukilteo woman of $60,000.

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CONTACT THE ENTERPRISE Jocelyn Robinson, Copy editor jrobinson@heraldnet.com

Woman, 63, parts with $60,000 in Lynnwood scam

By Oscar Halpert
Enterprise staff

LYNNWOOD
A 63-year-old Mukilteo woman who thought she was helping a woman in need is instead the victim of a scam.

Police seek the public’s help in identifying a vehicle and the two suspects involved in the fraud, which began July 2 at the Lynnwood Costco, 19105 Highway 99.

The victim told police she was approached by a black woman speaking with an accent in the store’s parking lot. The suspect claimed she was from a wealthy African family and needed to give money away to charity before leaving on her flight home that evening, said police spokeswoman Shannon Sessions. The suspect told the victim she came to America because her uncle had died and left her money.

“The suspect said she was looking for two honest people to give money to who would in turn make sure the money went to a charity,” Sessions said. She told the victim she’d be returning to Africa that evening because her family was being held hostage and would be killed if she didn’t return.

The suspect then showed the victim a large roll of cash with $100 bills on the outside plus paperwork supporting her story. She placed a telephone call to an associate, who played the role of her lawyer and told them to drive together to a nearby McDonald’s to find a “second honest person,” Sessions said.

Once at the McDonald’s they met with a second suspect, an Hispanic man who went by the name of “Frank.”

The woman suspect told the victim she needed to know she and Frank were honest people and not poor because poor people would keep the money for themselves. “Frank” then left and returned with a bag of jewelry and cash.
The woman suspect told the victim she could trust “Frank” and handed him $90,000. She then talked the victim into withdrawing cash from her bank to “prove she was reliable as well,” Sessions said. The victim withdrew $60,000 and handed it to both suspects, who then asked her to drive away to prove she was trustworthy.

She drove a short distance away, then returned to discover the suspects had left with her cash.

The woman suspect is described as black, about 5-feet, 1-inches to 5-feet, 3-inches tall, in her 30s or 40s, wearing a wig, a pink blouse and black pants.

“Frank” is described as a Hispanic man, about 5-feet, 8-inches tall, about 35 to 45 years old and about 225 pounds. He wore a multi-colored shirt and a flat hat with a snap button in front.

Security cameras also captured the suspects and their vehicle, described as a black-over-tan-colored, late-model Ford Expedition.

Anyone with information about the case should contact Lynnwood Police Det. Scott Dilworth at 425-670-5619.