Bloomingdale woman latest victim of big-ticket lotto scam

In retrospect, Mercedes Paytuvi feels like "an idiot" because she tried to help some strangers who ended up stealing $30,000 from her.

Sometimes, though, the devil is in the details. After two men concocted an elaborate scheme about needing help cashing a $140,000 winning lottery ticket, the 68-year-old Bloomingdale woman became the latest victim of a scam that police say has duped thousands in recent years.

Paytuvi said she was approached about 10 a.m. last Thursday, while shopping at a home improvement store in Glendale Heights, by a man who said he needed help finding an attorney.

Unfamiliar with where the man wanted to go, she summoned the help of another nearby customer. He knew the location, but didn't have a car at the store. Paytuvi offered to drive her car.

While Paytuvi took them to the legal office, the first man pulled an Oct. 12 Illinois Lottery ticket from his sock.

"He said this was a big winner, and he was hoping to get help from the attorney to collect his winnings," she said. "He said he was here illegally and needed help."

"I know I'm an idiot because that's what everyone has told me now," Paytuvi said. "I'm Cuban, and these men said they were Mexican and Puerto Rican, so I thought we had a bond. I thought I was helping this man be able to help his family."

While Paytuvi continued to drive, one man said he was calling the lottery hotline, and put the call on speakerphone.

Someone on the other end of the line identified himself as a lottery official and recited several numbers on the ticket, apparently to confirm his legitimacy.

Paytuvi and the second suspect were each promised $7,000 from the first man's winnings. But to claim it, they would each have to bring $30,000 and several forms of identification to a bogus address near Mannheim Road and Grand Avenue.

Before heading to the bank, the three went to Paytuvi's Bloomingdale home so she could feed her elderly mother.

"I brought these men into my house.," she said. "They were very polite to my mother."

The trio then went to a bank in Bloomingdale so the second suspect could get what he claimed was $30,000 cash. Then they went to Paytuvi's bank in Roselle.

"I should have known something was terribly wrong when the tellers warned me not to take that much cash," she recalled.

With the stranger's "cash" in the glove box and her money stashed between the driver and passenger seats, they headed to the imaginary office, but not before a second stop at home to check on Paytuvi's mother.

When they went back to Paytuvi's home, the men refused to go inside and insisted she take all $60,000 to prove she could trust them.

"I got upstairs and looked at the money because I was suspicious, and all my concerns came true," she said. "I don't know when they switched my money. But all I had was a bunch of stacks of newspaper print bundled to look like cash."

When she returned to her car, both men had fled.

"I was scammed because I trusted these people," she said. "I don't know what I was thinking. I should have called police. I should have called my daughter."

Bloomingdale Deputy Police Chief Frank Giammarese agrees and said he wishes Paytuvi had sought help as soon as she was approached.

"I want to catch these guys real bad," he said. "This is incredibly disturbing to me on both a personal and professional level because no one wants to see good people get scammed."

Police, he said, are investigating Paytuvi's case and comparing it to other lottery fraud cases being investigated in Downers Grove, Algonquin, Lombard, Northlake and Elgin.

"Thousands of people fall for these lottery scams across the country, and it's a huge problem right now," Giammarese said. "But as you can see, there's a bunch in the area as well."

In every case he mentioned the suspects are described as Hispanic and needing help cashing the ticket because of immigration issues. Police say their victims are often elderly and also Hispanic because the suspects count on them being compassionate.

"As a police officer, I can understand her desire to help this man," Giammarese said. "But as a department, we strongly discourage anyone from continuing this sort of dialogue once they are approached.

"Putting strangers in your car is another issue," he said. "The sooner you call 911 and get help, the sooner we can catch these guys."

Tips to avoid being a scam victim

• "Good faith" money or banking information is never required by the Illinois Lottery to claim a prize.

•Undocumented immigrants are permitted to claim their own Illinois Lottery prizes.

•The Illinois Lottery only requires credit card numbers when you call them to purchase or renew a Lotto or Little Lotto subscription.

• Never give money or valuables to a stranger to redeem a lottery prize.

• Never reveal your credit card and bank account numbers to anyone unless you are certain the contact is legitimate, from a reputable company with whom you have a long-term relationship.

Sources: Bloomingdale Police Department, Illinois Lottery