72-year-old woman targeted in $20,000 lottery scam; 3 arrested

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, Calif. - Three people were arrested in Fullerton in connection with a lottery scam involving an elderly woman in Montclair, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

Officials said the trio convinced the woman they needed her help to claim a lottery jackpot, which led her to withdraw $20,000 that she gave to the suspects.

What we know:

On Feb. 20, the victim was approached by two women while shopping. Officials said the two women convinced her to help them collect a supposed lottery jackpot. 

The elderly woman drove the suspects to her bank, where she withdrew $18,000 and later provided an additional $2,000 from her home in Fontana, authorities said. 

The suspects left her with a package they claimed contained her share of the winnings, which turned out to be filled with cut-up newspapers.

An investigation led to the identification of a suspect vehicle, which was pulled over during a traffic stop on Feb. 25. Three suspects inside were taken into custody after detectives recovered a large amount of evidence linking them to the alleged crime.

Officials said the suspects targeted the woman because of her age.

They were identified as Rosalba Bernal-Sanchez, Jairo Naranjo-Lopez, and Kevin Prieto-Bernal - all citizens of Colombia.

Officials said Prieto-Bernal also had a felony warrant for burglary in Illinois and is on felony probation for burglary in Minnesota.

Bernal-Sanchez was positively identified by the victim as one of the two female suspects. The other woman has not yet been identified. 

What we don't know:

A description of the second woman wanted in connection with the lottery scam was not released. 

It's unclear what charges the suspects are facing.

What's next:

The investigation is ongoing, with detectives working to identify the second female suspect. 

They believe there may be additional victims and have released photos of the suspects and their vehicle.

What you can do:

Anyone with information on this case, or anyone who may have been victimized by these suspects, is urged to contact the Fontana Sheriff's Station at 909-356-6710.  Callers wishing to remain anonymous should contact We-Tip at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463) or go wetip.com.