Police: Men Con Woman Out of $24K in Maryland Scam

Two men approached a woman outside a grocery store in Maryland, told her an elaborate story and conned her out of more than $24,000, police say.

Detectives in Charles County, Maryland are searching for two men who scammed a woman out of $16,000 in cash, plus convinced her to buy three Apple laptops worth a total of $8,400, the sheriff's office said in a statement issued Thursday.

One of the men told the woman, who police did not name, that he would give her a portion of $80,000 he had won. He told her he had wrapped the cash in a handkerchief.

But "she opened the handkerchief and found shredded paper," police said.

Police described the suspects as a black man in his 60s with a gray beard. He was wearing a blue hat at the time of the crime. The second man is black and in his 30s, police said. He has black hair, a trimmed beard and glasses. Both men were wearing suits

The scam is a long-running scheme known as a "pigeon drop," police said. The scammers get cash from a person or "pigeon" for a promised share in a larger sum of money, which is nonexistent.

The complicated scam began when a man approached the woman as she left a grocery store in Clinton, Maryland. He claimed he won $80,000 from a civil lawsuit and needed help distributing the money to a church or two friends. Otherwise, he said he would have to burn it. 

Posing as a stranger, the second man joined the conversation. The first man, who had an accent, said he could not bank in his home country and asked the woman and second man to show him it's done. In exchange, he said he would give them portions of the cash.

The second man withdrew money and gave it to the first man, who put it in a handkerchief along with what appeared to be some of his own money.

The three people "prayed over the money."

Then, the woman withdrew $7,000 at one bank and $9,000 at a second bank. They added that cash to the handkerchief and prayed over it a second time, police said.

As they headed to a bank to deposit the money, the first man said his nieces needed laptops. The woman then bought three $2,800 Apple laptops in Waldorf.

Finally, the men and woman drove to a bank to move the cash from the handkerchief to the woman's bank account.

The woman got out of the car. As soon as her back was turned, the men fled.

Then, she opened the handkerchief and found only shredded paper inside.

Police warn that if a stranger approaches and says they want to share money with you, "it's definitely a con."

Anyone with information on the suspects is asked to call 866-411-TIPS. A reward of as much as $1,000 is offered.