Add this to the woes that the economic downturn has brought to working-class Latino communities in Los Angeles: Lottery fraud by con artists who continue to find vulnerable prey among the elderly.
It's a crime that has continued to grow as the recession has taken hold — and one elderly woman is telling her sad story as a warning to others.
There's not much else that 74-year-old Maria Julia Umania can do after losing $3,000 worth of gold jewelry and money from her bank account to a man and woman who said they would help her get some cash for her struggling children.
The con artists struck nearly nine months ago, but Umania recently recalled the experience as though it happened yesterday.
"I was walking to my son's apartment, because we had some things to do together," she said. "But since I was an hour early, I got off the bus at Vermont and Wilshire to walk, and when I was close to Normandie Avenue, a very pale lady came up to me. She seemed sick. She told me she was going to an immigration attorney's office, but she was lost. She asked if I could help her."
Umania said that she detected a Colombian accent in the speech of the woman, who showed her a roll of bills totaling approximately $300, explaining that the money was intended to pay her lawyer, whose office was on Western Avenue.
"At that moment, a man in a suit walked up and was watching us," Umania recounted. "The lady talked to him and told him the same thing. Just like I had, he advised her to put the money away or someone might rob her, but she claimed that she was feeling ill and she was scared."
Umania said that the man — who also had a Columbian accent, and claimed to be a doctor — asked her to help the woman.
Then came the trap, as the woman told Umania that she had a winning Lotto ticket but couldn't redeem it because she didn't have legal residency papers. The woman said that she needed Umania and the man to help her to redeem the ticket. She offered Umania $10,000 for her help.
Umania said that the lady even complained that her boss knew of the winning ticket and wanted to take it away from her so she could keep an $18 million prize. She said the standoff with her boss made her afraid to go back to work. Then the suggested that all three go over to his van, which was parked nearby, in order to call the state Lottery offices to see how they could help her.
"Once we were all seated in his vehicle," Umania said, "the man dialed a telephone number on his cell phone and put on the loudspeaker so we could all listen, and the young lady on the other end confirmed that that the lady definitely had a winning number and that it had yet to be redeemed."
Umania said that the man then asked the young lady on the phone to explain what would be needed to redeem the prize. The young lady on the phone said that there had to be two witnesses and a deposit of $14,000 in order to claim the lottery prize, she recalled.
"Then the man put me on the line, and somehow I ended up saying I was a legal resident and that I could lend a bit of money," Umania said.
The man said that he would put in the rest to complete the $14,000, Umania said, but then asked her if she had any gold jewelry that she could contribute. He assured her that she would get her money and jewelry back, plus $10,000 for her service.
"So that was how they took me in the van close to a bank that's on Wilshire near Western Avenue," Umania. "Once I took my money out of by account, they took me to the apartment to pick up my gold items.
The lady who claimed to have the winning Lottery ticket kept promising the $10,000 payment, according to Umania.
"Then in my mind, half dazed, I was figuring out how I was going to divide that money in order to be able to help all my children," Umania said. "Although, for a moment there I did think that $18 million was a lot for a Lotto prize, which made me suspect a little, but I still hadn't reacted."
Meanwhile, the two con artists had put Umania's cash in a box that they had in the van, along with the contribution from the "doctor."
The con artists stayed in the van outside Umania's apartment while she went inside to get her gold jewelry.
"I came to my apartment and got my jewelry, my necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and gold rings," she said. "When I returned, the van was no longer there, and when I saw that they were coming back, I asked them why they had left. The man said that they were in a red zone and could not park there. I still didn't suspect anything, and when I showed him my things, the man suddenly said that we needed a receipt or some voucher for the value of the jewelry, and that I should go get it."
Umania said she still hadn't put together the warning signs, but as she went back to her apartment to get receipts, she suddenly she had a strong premonition and went to see if they were still waiting on the street.
There was no trace of them or the vehicle.
"That was when I said: 'Oh, God, dear Lord, I've been ripped off, that's all,'" Umania said. "I didn't badmouth them, nor did I wish them harm, nothing of the kind. I only felt defrauded. They cheated me. They took my money."
Umania acknowledged that she had heard of the Lottery fraud cases, but also said that she never imagined that it could happen to her. She added that she just gives thanks to God that the two con artists did not do her any physical harm.
Umania went to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Hollywood Area station with a relative to report the crime. Officers told her that they would let her know if and when they catch the swindlers.
"That's why I want to tell people not to be trusting — to be aware — because this has happened to a lot of people, because this kind of fraud happens to the elderly because they believe them," Umania said. "I'm a very sensible person, but I thought I was going to do the lady a big favor and at the same time I was going to help my children. Everything seemed so natural because in this country there are many individuals who can't do a lot of things because they don't have their papers. But I'm confident that justice will be done and they'll end up in jail."
Miriam Reyes is a writer for Impulso.
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