A Quartz Hill woman is being sentenced to more than five years behind bars for her involvement in a “pigeon drop” scheme to dupe senior citizens out of thousands of dollars by claiming they had found large sums of cash.
Margaret Mary Souza, 50, had pleaded no contest last month to two counts of grand theft from an elder and one count each of attempted grand theft and attempted theft from an elder, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Co-defendant Teneca Wilson, 32, was convicted last month of one count each of grand theft from an elder, attempted grand theft and attempted theft from an elder. She was sentenced last month to six years and six months in state prison.
Souza managed to steal $7,000 from a 73-year-old woman in January 2012, and both defendants stole $10,000 from an 89-year-old woman in December 2014, according to the District Attorney’s Office Tuesday.
The two attempted to con an 84-year-old woman in January 2015, but a bank teller thought something was amiss and contacted authorities, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The ruse — called a “pigeon drop” scam — involves asking victims to withdraw good faith money to prove their commitment to sharing money the two claimed to have found.
–City News Service