Aurora police seek suspect in lottery scam

Aurora police need help in identifying a man caught on a bank surveillance video who is accused of scamming a senior citizen out of $8,000.

The suspect is one of two men involved in a Sept. 25 lottery con that began in the parking lot of a grocery store in the 1400 block of East New York Street, police said Friday.

The pair approached a 73-year-old Aurora man and said they had a winning lottery ticket worth $300,000, but needed $28,000 up-front to pay for taxes, authorities say.

They promised the victim half the winnings if he gave them the "tax money," police said.

The victim drove the pair to a downtown Aurora bank and withdrew $8,000, with one of the men accompanying him.

He returned to his car with the cash, police said. Then one of the suspects said they still didn't have enough to pay the taxes, and the victim offered to withdraw more, police said.

The victim went back into the bank by himself. When he returned to his car, the two men had taken the cash and left, police said.

Both suspects are described as about 5 feet, 8 inches tall and about 150 pounds, police said. The man captured on camera has a mustache; the other has no facial hair.

Anyone who knows the man in the picture or who may have any information is asked to call police at (630) 801-6655.

Crime Stoppers at (630) 892-1000 is offering a cash reward of up to $1,000 for information that leads to the arrest of either subject. Callers can be anonymous.