The case that unfolded in Howell led investigators to the victim in Idaho
HOWELL -- An alert Howell Township police officer helped uncover an international lottery scam that bilked an elderly Idaho woman out of $50,000 to help fund an online gambling website, authorities said Tuesday.
In outlining the scam, police warned the public to be suspicious of calls, emails or any types of communication in which strangers ask for money or payments as in this case, where the victim didn't even know she was being robbed.
The scam started to unfold nearly a year ago when on May 18 Patrolman David Levine stopped a car on Route 9 near Estelle Lane because the vehicle had tinted front windows, which are illegal in New Jersey,, said Howell Detective Sgt. Christian Antunez.
Questioning the driver, Levine found him to be deceptive with his responses and he appeared to be under the influence of drugs, Antunez said. The driver also provided Levine with improper credentials for the car, he said.
Because of the suspicion of drugs, Levine called for help from K9 Officer Nicholas Bondarew and his partner Jago. The dog gave indications of the presence of drugs in the car, Antunez said. In a search of the vehicle, the officers found $2,071 in cash and a handwritten $1,000 MoneyGram from Costa Rica made payable to the driver of the car, Antunez said.
N.J. Lottery issues warning about scams promising prize money
Initially, the driver gave conflicting stories about the money order but eventually told the officers they were "winnings' from an online gambling website, he said.
Police seized the cash and the MoneyGram for the investigation, Antunez said.
The investigation by Levine and Howell Detective Anthony Romano revealed that the MoneyGram was one of a batch of 10 totaling $9,800 issued at a Walmart store in Hayden, Idaho, Antunez said.
In video surveillance footage from the store, police eventually learn that a 71-year-old woman, later identified to be the victim of the scam, bought the money orders. From store footage showing the woman's car, investigators with the help of FBI Special Agent Edward Jacobson in Coeur D'Alene Idaho were able to locate her, Antunez said.
The woman told Jacobson that she was called by a man who identified himself as Special Agent Frank Anderson of the Department of Homeland Security and told her that she won a drawing in England, Antunez said. To claim her prize, the caller told the woman, she had to pre-pay the taxes on her winnings before receiving it, he said.
The woman complied by buying about $50,000 in MoneyGrams over time and sent them where she was directed, sometimes to Costa Rica, Antunez said. Authorities later learned the money, stolen from unsuspecting victims, was used to pay winners of an online gambling website, he said.
Police will return the $3,071 found in the car to the woman, who wasn't aware she was being scammed until she was contacted by investigators, Antunez said.
The driver, who was not identified, was not charged because he was not implicated in a crime, he said.
No one connected to the scam has been arrested so far, Antunez said.
MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.