Police are attempting to identify two suspects who have scammed multiple elderly Spanish-speaking victims in Algonquin and other suburbs out of at least $60,000.
The Algonquin Police Department said in a statement that an elderly victim was approached by a man and a woman on August 2 while shopping in a local grocery store.
The male and female conversed with the victim in Spanish and advised the victim that they were from Nicaragua.
The male and female claimed that they had won the lottery but needed a citizen to claim the prize for them, Algonquin police said.
During the conversation, the male and female called an unknown third party, who claimed to work for the lottery and verified the story to the victim.
The male and female then convinced the victim to drive them to her bank in Algonquin.
The victim withdrew $20,000, which was the price to split the winning lottery ticket.
An investigation revealed that the male and female previously approached numerous other elderly persons, all of whom were Spanish speaking, police said.
The male and female were described as being very insistent. They engaged the victim in conversation for over 15 minutes before persuading her to assist them.
The offenders from the incident are believed to have been involved in several similar scams in the northwestern and western suburbs.
They are believed to have fraudulently obtained over $60,000 from elderly victims.
Anyone with information relating to the Algonquin incident is asked to contact Detective Kory Koehler at (847) 658-4531.
Those who have been a victim of a similar crime or see the pictured offenders should contact their local police.