WAVE 3 TV Louisville, KY | Lottery Scam Hits Louisville

Lottery Scam Hits Louisville

By Eric Flack

(LOUISVILLE, April 27th, 2004, 10 a.m.) -- A nationwide lottery scam has now hit Louisville. Banking officials say federal authorities are doing little to stop it. As WAVE 3 Investigator Eric Flack reports, it's an old ruse with a new twist.

Officials at the Better Business Bureau in Louisville says they have seen lottery scams before, but never one as convincing as the latest scam to hit town. Victims think they've hit it big when they're sent a check that's not worth the paper it's printed on.

Bonnie Burdette wanted to believe. "When you have four kids, you're struggling paycheck to paycheck."

She thought those struggles were over recently when she received a letter telling her she had won $405,000 in the Australian lottery. "You're sitting there making plans: I can pay off my truck, I can get a new truck, I can pay off my house, get out of debt."

A check for $4,500 was enclosed with the notification letter. "When I called them, they said the $4,500 was to pay for the taxes and insurance on the winning money."

Bonnie said she was told to deposit the check and wire the money back to the people who sent the letter. So, Bonnie checked with the credit union and found out the money was in the account listed on the check, but the check had been forged.

Charles Mattingly with the local Better Business Bureau says the people who sent the check used real account numbers but fake names. "This check is going to bounce back out of your checking account a few days after you deposit it, and if you have wired the money in the meantime, you are going to be out the money."

We spoke by phone with Jon Walter with the HomeStreet Bank in Seattle -- a bank listed on one of the checks that surfaced in Louisville. He told us the bank was getting a lot of bogus checks from potential victims across the country. "Oh yes, we're getting a lot of them."

One bank official told us the FDIC knows about the scam, but so far law enforcement hasn't been willing to step in because it's not considered a priority.

Thankfully, Burdette never sent any money. Her dream of $400,000 is now gone, but she still has hope. "If this wasn't it, that's fine, something else will come along."

The Better Business Bureau has heard from two people who were sent lottery scam letters and checks in the last week. They are positive there are more out there.

So far, no one is Louisville has reported losing money.

Online Reporter: Eric Flack

Online Producer: Michael Dever