Police Seek 2 Men in $6,000 Diamond Con

Ventura police are searching for two men who conned a woman into withdrawing $6,000 from her bank in exchange for half interest in a bag of diamonds.

The woman, 56, was approached about 2:20 p.m. Monday as she stood near the corner of Main and Palm streets in downtown Ventura, said Police Sgt. Sean Conroy.

One of the men, who spoke to the woman in Spanish, said his son had just been hit by a car and needed money for treatment, Conroy said.

She agreed to give him cash in exchange for a bag of “diamonds” that he said fell from the car as it fled the scene. The suspect gave her a bag of what she told police appeared to be diamonds.

A second man approached and told the woman she could double her money if she gave him the diamonds to sell to a jeweler.

She withdrew the money from a nearby bank and gave it to the first man, who then left, Conroy said. She then gave the bag to the second man, who also left. Neither man returned.