Temple city woman sentenced in travel, lottery scams
POMONA -- A judge sentenced a Temple City woman to 24 years in state prison Wednesday for stealing from primarily elderly victims through travel and lottery scams, authorities said.
Pomona Superior Court Judge Tia Fisher handed down the sentence to Delia Socorro Tellez, 53, after she was convicted of 24 felony counts, Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Shiara Dávila-Morales said in a written statement.
Sixteen victims lost as much as thousands of dollars each in the scams, Dávila-Morales added, which took place between November 2005 and December 2008.
Officials charged Tellez in March with four counts of grand theft, eight counts of residential burglary and 12 counts of theft from an elder, officials said.
In her lottery scam, Tellez and an unknown accomplice would convince victims she'd won the lottery but could not collect the prize because she was an undocumented immigrant, according to the DA's office. After receiving cash and jewelry as "collateral" from the unwitting victims, Tellez left them empty-handed.
In the travel scam, Dávila-Morales, Tellez held meetings at Catholic churches throughout Los Angeles County to sell trips to Jerusalem and other destinations. The victims received nothing after most paid Tellez more than $3,000.
Pomona Superior Court Judge Tia Fisher handed down the sentence to Delia Socorro Tellez, 53, after she was convicted of 24 felony counts, Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Shiara Dávila-Morales said in a written statement.
Sixteen victims lost as much as thousands of dollars each in the scams, Dávila-Morales added, which took place between November 2005 and December 2008.
Officials charged Tellez in March with four counts of grand theft, eight counts of residential burglary and 12 counts of theft from an elder, officials said.
In her lottery scam, Tellez and an unknown accomplice would convince victims she'd won the lottery but could not collect the prize because she was an undocumented immigrant, according to the DA's office. After receiving cash and jewelry as "collateral" from the unwitting victims, Tellez left them empty-handed.
In the travel scam, Dávila-Morales, Tellez held meetings at Catholic churches throughout Los Angeles County to sell trips to Jerusalem and other destinations. The victims received nothing after most paid Tellez more than $3,000.
2 Comments
Leave a comment
CONTRIBUTORS
|
| Frank Girardot, Metro Editor for the San Gabriel Valley Newspapers, brings you behind the yellow tape with takes on true crime, cold cases and more. This is also your forum to discuss crime, its impact on your neighborhood and how we cover it. Have any questions or tips? You can leave a comment here or e-mail Frank. |
|
|
Brian Day is the crime reporter for the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper group. E-mail Brian. |
Great Update on lottery and travel scam
Please keep this good work up.
Infact these types of scammers are very
smart in their crime tactics to win the faith
of victims by fraud means. Such a Dual Scam artist
must only be convicted.
thanks
If you are willing to buy a car, you would have to get the business loans. Furthermore, my mother commonly takes a short term loan, which supposes to be really useful.