‘Too good to be true’: 4 arrested after Maryland woman scammed out of nearly $40,000

The four people arrested are from Alabama and Tennessee, and police say they were able to use a so-called ‘pigeon drop’ scam to steal the cash. They were arrested approaching a new victim, police said

Maryland authorities have arrested three people from Alabama and one from Tennessee after they say the group conned an older woman out of tens of thousands of dollars.

Police in Prince George’s County, which is in metro Washington, D.C., arrested the four suspects “moments after” they were approached “their next potential victim” in a shopping center parking lot on Oct. 24, the department said Wednesday in a Facebook post.

Police became aware of the group on Oct. 22 after a woman called 911 and reported being scammed, police said.

Here’s what you need to know, including how the scam works.

What is a ‘pigeon drop’ scam?

Police say the group used a “pigeon drop” scam, which involves suspects “convincing a victim to give them a large amount of cash as collateral with the hope of sharing a sum of money.”

In this case, two of the suspects encountered the woman outside a business on Oct. 21 in the District Heights, Maryland area, police said. They told the woman they found a bag full of money and asked if it belonged to her, police said.

The suspects then convinced the woman to donate the money to charity instead of turning it into the police, according to the Facebook post. They persuaded the woman to withdraw money from her bank account to exchange those bills with the found cash so no one could trace the donation, police said.

Over two days, the woman withdrew nearly $40,000 from her account, which the suspects stole, police said. Upon realizing that she was being scammed, the woman called the police on Oct. 22.

Police describe the woman as “elderly” but did not share her age.

Four in custody after alleged ‘pigeon drop’

Prince George’s County Police have arrested: 77-year-old James Davis, 64-year-old Connie Williams, 59-year-old Mary Daniel and 36-year-old Kenneth Gooden. Davis, Williams and Daniel are from Birmingham, Alabama, while Daniel is from Antioch, Tennessee.

They remained in custody Wednesday but it’s unclear if they’ve been given a bond. USA TODAY could not immediately identify whether they had obtained an attorney.

The department said there could be other victims in the case and urged anyone who thinks they’ve been scammed to call authorities.

“The (department) reminds residents to never give money or financial information to anyone who you just met in person, online or on the phone,” the agency said. “If something seems to be good to be true, it usually is.”