2 men sought in elaborate elderly scams

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Police in Jacksonville are trying to identify two men they said scammed an elderly man out of $10,000 in an elaborate ploy last month.

Police were called to the Wells Fargo bank in the 5600 block of Beach Boulevard on June 24. They said an alert employee told them one of her regular customers, an 83-year-old man, withdrew $10,000 from his account and got into a car with two men.

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IMAGES: Surveillance photos of elderly scammers

The employee pleaded with the elderly man to not make the withdrawal, but he insisted he was going to double his money, police said. The employee said she saw the other two men get into a red Dodge Charger.

Twenty minutes later, police received a call from the elderly man saying he had just been scammed by two men driving a red Dodge Charger.

The victim told police he was approached by the two men in the parking lot at the Sam's Club on Beach Boulevard. The men told him an elaborate story about being foreigners from another country and wanting to give thousands of dollars away to the homeless so they could inherit millions when they return to their country.

The victim said the men showed him a bag full of money and told him there was $80,000 in the bag. He said they asked him if he would drive them to a church so they could give the church $1,000.

The victim agreed and unbeknownn to him was being followed by a second, heavier set man in a red Dodge Charger. The victim said the man who was riding with him told him he would give him the $80,000 to keep but had to prove he wouldn't spend it.

The elderly victim said that's when he drove to his bank and removed the $10,000 to show the man he had enough of his own money and that he wouldn't spend it. The victim said he then walked back to his car and the men gave him the $80,000 in a bag and he left with his original $10,000 for a total of $90,000.

He drove back to his house and told his wife. He then walked outside to his car to take another look at all the money when he saw one of the men walking down the street toward his house, police said.

The man told him that he left his keys in the bag and asked if he could get them from the vehicle. The man went into the vehicle and took all of the money, police said.

Police released photos of the scammers as they went inside a local convenience store. Investigators said they're actively working another case involving an elderly woman with the same situation.

Anyone who has any information in regards to the identity of the men in the photos is asked to call the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office at 904-630-0500 or Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS.