Lawrence resident scammed out of $1,000

Police Department looks for pair of flimflam artists.

By: Lea Kahn
   A Princeton Avenue resident thought he was going to receive a portion of a $4,800 inheritance, but instead found himself down $1,000 thanks to a pair of flimflam artists, police said.
   A man approached the 75-year-old victim as he was getting into his car outside his home at 3:30 p.m. Dec. 29 and asked the victim if he knew the location of the African Hotel, police said. The victim said he did not know where it was located.
   At about the same time, a second man walked past the victim’s house and overheard the conversation. The second man, who turned out to be an accomplice, said he knew where the hotel was located, police said.
   The first man told the victim that he would pay him well if he would drive him to the hotel because his brother had recently died and left him $4,800, police said.
   He said he would split his inheritance with the accomplice and the victim if the two would show a "sign of trust" by going to the bank and withdrawing money, police said.
   The accomplice went to a bank in Ewing and withdrew money, police said. The victim went to his bank and withdrew $1,000. The first man put the money given to him by the accomplice and the victim in a bag.
   The first man said he was hungry, and asked the victim to drive to the Trenton Farmers’ Market on Spruce Street. The first man and the accomplice told the victim to guard the money in the bag in the car while they went inside for lunch.
   When the two men did not come back, the victim checked the bag and discovered it was empty. He went inside the Farmers’ Market to look for the two men, but they were gone.
   The first man was described as a black man in his 50s, wearing a black coat and brown hat, police said. The accomplice was described as a black man in his 20s or 30s, wearing a light-colored jacket, police said.