Oxnard : 2 Men Arrested in Confidence Game

Two men allegedly swindling an Oxnard woman with a well-known type of confidence game were arrested when two bank employees caught on, law enforcement authorities said Friday.

Gilbert Lopez Cardona, 30, of Los Angeles and Juan Carlos Valdez, 30, a transient, were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of grand theft and burglary, Oxnard Detective Winston McCown said. One might be charged with burglary for entering a building--a bank--intending to steal the woman’s money, the detective said.

“It’s very unusual to catch these guys, because most of the people don’t realize they’ve been had until after the crooks have come and gone,” McCown said.

He said the alleged victim, Elena Sanchez, 54, was approached in downtown Oxnard by Cardona, who claimed that he was an illegal alien who needed a lawyer to help him cash a winning lottery ticket.

They were joined by Valdez, who assured Cardona that he and the victim could help cash the ticket using their identification, McCown said. Claiming that he trusted no one, Cardona requested that the two put up money as proof that they would not abscond with his ticket, the detective said.

Valdez showed the two an envelope containing what appeared to be a large amount of money. It actually held about 200 $1 bills with a $100 bill on each end of the stack, McCown said.

To get money of her own, Sanchez took Valdez to the 1st Nationwide Bank at 1055 S. Oxnard Blvd., McCown said. Bank employees became suspicious and called the police when she asked to withdraw $6,000. Authorities arrested Valdez inside the bank and arrested Cardona in the 500 block of A Street.

Investigators said Cardona had two matched bags commonly used for the next step in so-called pigeon-drop scams, replacing the victim’s money with one containing blank paper.