Sunday, November 29, 2009

Lotto hoaxer's jail ticket

By ALEX GINSBERG, NY Post

A Queens crook who sold strangers fake "winning" lottery tickets will spend 3½ to 7 years in prison after pleading guilty to grand larceny, prosecutors said yesterday.

Alvin Summers, 37, was accused of ripping off nearly 20 people in five counties out of up to $15,000.

He'd approach strangers with a spiel: He couldn't cash in the winning tickets because he had to be on a flight later that day, it would interfere with his welfare benefits, or some other excuse.

So instead, he'd offer the stranger the ticket, in exchange for about half the prize value.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

i guess the U.F.T. and D.O.E. (dumbing down the society) is true .

Taxpayer said...

The other hoax, this one by the judge issuing the sentence and the DA who let it pass, is the claim that the swindler will spend at least 3½ to 7 years in prison for anything.

He will be free to return to swindling in less than 6 months.

Today in NYC, even a homicide will not get the killer 3½ to 7 years in prison.

So much for truth in sentencing or truth in reporting.

Anonymous said...

Bring back the hangman's noose. A quick hanging can save a lot of time and money.

Anonymous said...

This is a variation of an old swindle known as the hankerchief
drop or the gypsy pocketbook drop. Something of value is found, in the past a valuable coin still in a cellophane envelope with the price on it.

The stranger offers it to you at a cheap price because he does not have time to find the owner. You, of course, will find the owner and collect a reward or keep the valuable prize itself.

This is at least a century old. Here is a link to an article that describes some newer cons:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2270669/protect_yourself_from_con_artists_and.html?cat=3

Pay especial attention to the sources on the last page.

Anonymous said...

man, this trick is so old school.. I was still a kid in Hong Kong 10 years old when I heard this swindle on the news in Hong Kong. I guess people either have bad memories, or never learned from the past since everyone has hope fear and greed.. Thus the stock market repeats itself sometimes..depending on how great or small the hope fear and greed of people plays out in any given period.

Anonymous said...

his 5 victims should be jailed along with him because they are too stupid to enjoy their freedom and are as much a danger to society as the swindler is.

Olivia said...

What a ridiculous hoax! Just goes to show what people will do for money. This is why you should just do all lottery playing online. Keep it secure and individual

Anonymous said...

Caution!!! I discovered that "Olivia" is a shill for an international gambling website which comes up when you click on the name!!!

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