Roosevelt woman, 76, target of lottery scammers after stranger helps her with groceries

Nassau police are searching for two people who scammed a 76-year-old Roosevelt woman out of $2,000 on Tuesday after one of them helped carry her groceries to her home and fabricated a lottery ticket scheme.

Around 3 p.m., the woman was walking on Nassau Road near the intersection of Debevoise Avenue where she was approached by an unknown man offering to help carry her groceries. The woman agreed to the assistance and, when they arrived at her home, the man said he had a winning lottery ticket but was unable to claim his winnings, police said.

The woman offered to cash the ticket for the scammer, who said he needed something as collateral. She gave him various jewelry items but was told that wasn't enough. The scammer told the victim she needed to withdraw $2,000 cash from the bank, police said.

A short time later, a woman driving a white four-door sedan arrived at her home and took both the woman and the man to the Bethpage Federal Credit Union branch on Nassau Road, where she made the withdrawal.

When the woman finally arrived back home, she realized she was scammed and contacted police.

The first suspect is described as a male about 40 years old, 5-foot-9 with a medium build wearing a blue shirt, a black baseball hat and glasses. A description of the female suspect is unknown at this time.

Nassau police urged the community to be on alert and to remind vulnerable family members, friends and neighbors about potential scams or frauds.

Detectives request anyone with information regarding the above incident to contact Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS or call 911.

Check back for updates on this developing story.