AN ELDERLY woman was scammed out of 25K in a “pigeon drop scam” where someone pretended to have found a purse with almost $100K inside of it.
The victim, 71, was approached by Tiffany Butler, 39, who said she had found the purse in the parking lot of a grocery store, H-E-B, in Friendswood, Texas, about 24 miles from Houston, around 1pm on April 25, per police.
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John Ford, 70, of Jackson, Mississippi is the other confirmed suspect who stopped the 71-year-old woman first for a quick conversation before Butler arrived.
A pigeon drop scam is a trick that persuades a person into giving up a sum of money in the belief that they are securing the rights to a larger sum of money.
The victim said the purse contained $97K in cash and a $75K bond, ABC affiliate KTRK in Houston reported.
Butler asked the victim what she should do with it and the victim said she should turn it in.
But Butler convinced the victim to come to a nearby AT&T store where she allegedly worked to tell her manager about what had occurred.
There they discussed what they should do with the bag full of money which led to them speaking about the “finders keepers law.”
Butler convinced the victim they could split the findings if she took out $25K from her bank and brought it back to the store.
The victim brought the cash to the store and gave it to Butler but she never returned.
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The 72-year-old woman had just been robbed and left in confusion.
Butler and Ford have both been charged with felony theft from the elderly.
Targeting elderly people is a separate offense in these situations considering they are more vulnerable.
There are were warrants out for their arrest as of Thursday.
https://www.the-sun.com/news/8219261/pigeon-drop-scam-elderly-woman-robbed-thousands/