Thousand Oaks Man Victim of Double Scam

A 76-year-old Thousand Oaks man, who thought he was helping a woman donate to charity, was the victim of a double bunco scam, police said.

An Asian woman approached the man early this month on the 800 block of Thousand Oaks Boulevard, authorities said. She explained that she had inherited $150,000 and wanted to donate $80,000 of it to a church.

The man drove her to a church off Janss Road, where an Asian man met them, police said. It was decided that she would split the donation money between the two men.

But both men would first have to show their bank accounts to prove to her that they would not keep the money for themselves.

The three first went to the Asian man’s bank on Moorpark Road, where he showed his good-faith money. The woman then gave him $40,000. Next, they drove to the victim’s bank. The man withdrew money and brought it outside to show the woman. She combined that cash and the $40,000 in a container and gave it back to the man.

But when he went inside, he discovered that there were only blank papers. By the time he got outside, both the woman and man were gone.

Although he knew he had been victimized, the man did not contact police.

Two days later, the man was approached by two black men, whose name police did not release, at his Newbury Park business.

They told the man that they were state agents who were working a counterfeit case. They explained that they had arrested an Asian couple at Los Angeles International Airport, who had accused the Thousand Oaks man of giving them the fake money.

If he cooperated, the victim was told, there would be a $15,000 reward. The Conejo Valley man took the pair to his bank and withdrew money from his safety-deposit box to prove it was real. Upon returning to the business, the alleged agents grabbed the envelope full of cash and drove off in a gray Cadillac.

The dual bunco scam is the first of its kind in Thousand Oaks, police said. Ventura County sheriff’s investigators are urging residents to be cautious when approached by anyone offering to share a large sum of money. If anyone has information on this crime, they are asked to call 494-TALK. Callers may remain anonymous.