‘Curse’ of the scam
Superstitious vics taken bigtime
Cops are looking for five women who have swindled hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and jewelry from females in Asian enclaves across the city by claiming to be able to remove evil curses that had been placed on the victims’ families, police said Tuesday.
In each of the f ive incidents, three of the f ive women approached the gullible victims, told them their families had been cursed and instructed them to bring all their jewelry and money in a bag to them.
The fraudsters said they would perform “a blessing ritual to reverse the curse” and then give back the money and valuables, police said.
But when the bags were returned, the victims discovered that their cash and jewelry had been replaced by bottles of water, cops said.
The first — and costliest — incident occurred on April 18 on Grand Street in lower Manhattan, when crooks scammed a 55-year-old woman out of $280,000 in cash and jewelry, police said.
On April 27, the suspects targeted a 61-year-old woman on Bay 22nd Street near Benson Avenue in Bath Beach, Brooklyn, stealing $130,000 from her, investigators said.
They continued their crime spree on May 10, when they made off with $20,000 from a 53-year-old woman at Bowne Street and Franklin Avenue in Flushing, Queens, according to police.
On June 4, they targeted a 69year-old woman at Delancey and Essex streets on the Lower East Side, making off with jewelry valued at $10,000, as well as $10,000 in cash.
And on June 22, they made off with jewelry valued at $3,000 and $19,000 in cash from a 54year-old woman at 48th Street and 10th Avenue in Borough Park, Brooklyn.
Police say all of the suspects are Asian.