3 Arrested in Alleged Lottery Ticket Scam

LANCASTER —  Any other day, Washington Mutual bank manager Cheryl Chavez and teller Maria Morris could have been accused of bad customer service. The duo used every trick to delay a hefty withdrawal by an elderly customer.

But their stalling helped sheriff’s deputies arrest three people Tuesday who allegedly were trying to con customer Gilbert Polaco, 75, out of the $25,000 he withdrew. And in the process, the women may have alerted authorities to a larger statewide crime ring, Deputy Robert Rush said.

Justino Muchado, 54, of Palmdale, Pricilla Baldarama, 25, of Azusa and Romulo Urbina, 72, whose hometown was unknown, were arrested on suspicion of attempted grand theft. Each was jailed on $1-million bail.

Since the arrests, the Sheriff’s Department has been flooded with calls from individuals who believe that they have been victims of the trio, Rush said.

Morris said she became suspicious when Polaco came in to withdraw the $25,000 and mentioned that he was buying a winning lottery ticket. She alerted Chavez, who called the Sheriff’s Department, while Morris stalled by paying Polaco in $20 bills.

When deputies caught up with Polaco as he drove away and convinced him that he was being scammed, he agreed to lead them to the trio.

Polaco told the deputies that he was approached by Muchado, who said he had a lottery ticket worth $136,000 but was unable to collect because he was in the country illegally.

Baldarama, posing as a passer-by, backed up Muchado’s story and telephoned Urbina, who pretended to be a lottery official, Polaco said. Urbina announced that the ticket was a winner and the men convinced Polaco to pay the $25,000, Polaco said.