Fraud in the Parking Lot: Watch Out for the Con Artists

Two cases of fraud recently took place in the parking lot of North Bethesda's Montrose Crossing Shopping Center, according to a statement from the county police department.

Shortly after 6 p.m. on July 26 in the parking lot of the Giant grocery store at 12051 Rockville Pike, two suspects convinced a 68-year-old woman to withdraw $1,700 from her bank account. The suspects said that they could invest the money and make her $400,000, according to police.

She withdrew the money from the Bank of America at 12099 Rockville Pike, gave it to the suspects and never saw them again, police reported.

Police described the first suspect as a 6-foot-tall black man, 30 to 35 years old, wearing a white button-down shirt and brown pants. Police said the second suspect was a black woman of short stature wearing capri-style pants.

The other case of recent fraud at the Montrose Crossing Shopping Center took place on Aug. 6. In the parking lot of the same Bank of America, two male suspects approached a 77-year-old man, showed him what appeared to be a large amount of cash, stated that they did not trust banks, and convinced the man to withdraw $10,000 from a SunTrust bank in Bethesda, according to the police statement.

After the victim withdrew the money, the suspects convinced him to give them the money, saying that they were going to go get food. They never returned, police reported.

Police described one of the suspects in this incident as a 5-foot, 9-inch-tall black man, 40 to 45 years old, with a Jamaican accent and wearing a brown jacket and hat. Police described the second suspect as a black man about 6 feet tall with short hair and wearing a white shirt.

Police say that suspects who engage in these fraud schemes—often referred to as confidence games or confidence schemes—are smart, persuasive and aggressive.

"These suspects hope to confuse and overwhelm victims and convince victims that there is a sense of urgency to make quick decisions," the police statement reported.

In one of these cases, the victim said the suspects were intimidating, and the victim felt threatened by the suspects, police reported.

If you believe that you may have been a victim or that you have information regarding these suspects, please call the Montgomery County Police Department's Financial Crimes Section at 240-773-6330. To remain anonymous, call Crime Solvers of Montgomery County, toll-free, at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477) or leave a Crime Solvers tip online. 

Crime Solvers will pay a cash reward of up to $10,000 for information provided to them that leads to an arrest or indictment for this crime.