California man scammed Lincolnshire resident, police say

Lincolnshire police have tracked down a California man who is accused of duping a 77-year-old Lincolnshire resident into sending him nearly $25,000, authorities announced Monday.

The Lincolnshire man’s daughter contacted police after realizing her father had been tricked into first wiring money and later mailing checks to a man running what police described as a lottery scam.

Lincolnshire detectives along with the San Diego County sheriff’s office traced wire transfers bank records to a 62-year-old suburban San Diego man, said Lincolnshire Detective Jonh-Erik Anderson.

Larry W. Austin of Spring Valley, Calif., was arrested at his home on Jan. 31 and has been charged with theft by deception, wire fraud and computer fraud, police said.

“Unfortunately I don’t know if it has to do with the downturn of the economy or what,” Anderson said, explaining that the number of similar scams has been on the rise in recent months. “It was all done over the Internet. I think the bad guys are figuring out how to get ahold of people.”

Lincolnshire detectives alongside San Diego County sheriff’s deputies searched Austin’s home and found evidence that may link him to additional victims scattered throughout the country, Anderson said.

“He got an unsolicited e-mail, checked it out and then by doing so, got specific instructions on what to do,” Anderson said. “It is essentially a lottery scam — You have won a certain amount of money. Now you need to send us a fee.”

Police departments across the suburbs have been warning their residents in recent months of a rise in similar scams.

One con artist posing as “officer Joe Miller” from the “Canadian police” tried to persuade a St. Charles woman to provide $2,450 to bail out her grandson on a marijuana possession charge in early December.

A chance run-in with a police officer shortly after wiring the money allowed her to cancel the transaction, but an Arlington Heights woman was not so lucky when she fell for a scam requesting money for four laptop computers in late November.

“The bottom line is (the victims) are just embarrassed,” Anderson said. “They are worried if they tell their children what happened that thing will be taken away from them.”

Lincolnshire police have been giving talks in the community to educate older residents about these scams and how they work, Anderson said. Presentations have been made at the Sedgebrook Retirement Community and the chamber of commerce, he said.

Austin has waived extradition and is being held in San Diego in lieu of $125,000 bail.

Lake County sheriff’s deputies will pick him up on Feb. 28 so that he can be tried in Lake County at a later date.