Woman robbed of $10,000 in lottery scam, Miami-Dade police say

Thieves choke victim, snatch her purse

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A 58-year-old woman was robbed of $10,000 in Miami-Dade County during a lottery scam, authorities said Friday.

The incident was reported about 1 p.m. Oct. 26 in the area of 20821 S. Dixie Highway.

Police said the victim was walking through a parking lot when she was approached by two people.

One of the thieves told the woman that he had a winning lottery ticket, but he was not a legal resident and could not redeem the ticket, police said.

Authorities said he called a third person on the phone who was posing as a Florida Lottery employee to verify the winning numbers.

The man told the woman that he needed $40,000 as collateral while the victim cashed the lottery ticket, so the woman got into the man's car and went to her home and bank to collect $10,000.

Police said the man told the woman that they would cash the lottery ticket in Homestead, but one of the thieves began to choke her inside the car in the area of Southwest 220th Street and 124th Avenue.

Police said the second thief grabbed the woman's purse and they threw her out of the car.

The woman suffered minor injuries in the attack.

Anyone with information about the robbers' identities is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.


About the Author:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.