Authorities warned community members and asked for their assistance in finding the whereabouts of a couple who scammed an elderly woman in Covina out of $6,000 by selling her fake jewelry.
According to Police, the suspects are a man who called himself "Ricardo" and a woman who said her name was "Lupe García." They lured their victim with a well-organized scam.
On August 21, the female suspect approached the victim in Covina and showed her several clear stones that she claimed were diamonds.
After a period of discussion between the two women, "Ricardo" appeared with a device he claimed could prove if the diamonds were real.
The device emitted a tone every time he would pass it over the stones, so he claimed that they were probably real. He also offered to take the stones to a nearby Rite Aid, where his friend worked as a jeweler and could further confirm that the diamonds were real.
Minutes after going into the store, the male suspect came out saying that the stones were in fact diamonds and that he was interested in purchasing them, producing what the victim thought was a large wad of cash.
The victim then decided to buy the stones and paid $6,000 in cash. The diamonds turned out to be fake.
The female suspect gave her name as "Lupe García," and was described as Hispanic, spoke mostly in Spanish, and approximately 60 years old, 5 feet tall and weighing 150 pounds, light-skinned and with brown eyes.
"Ricardo", whose picture is included in this article, was described as Hispanic, between 35 and 40 years old, approximately 5 feet 4 inches, and close to 200 pounds, heavyset, brown hair and brown eyes.
Covina Police are asking that anyone with information on the suspects call Detective James Rochford at (626) 384-5618.
As a reminder to the public, the Covina Police Department recommends avoiding any monetary transactions with strangers, as these types of scams continue to be ever present.