78-Year-Old Granny Charged in Alleged $1 Million Lottery Scheme

BROOKSVILLE, Fla. (CBS/AP) Seventy-eight-year-old Doris Siegel allegedly conned friends, neighbors and a church pastor out of more than $1 million .

Brooksville police say the elderly central Florida woman approached several victims claiming to have won the lottery in Holland, asking her victims to put up their own money in return for a piece of the winnings, according to the St. Petersburg Times.

She also allegedly claimed to have started a Guatemalan mission that does not exist.

Police believe Siegel was the victim of a Nigerian or foreign lottery scam in 2004, based on correspondence she had received, and that she used that information to deceive others.

Police say Siegel was caught lying to victims on surveillance tape, according to the St. Petersburg Times.

Brooksville is 95 miles east of Orlando.

The paper reports that Siegel remains at the Hernando County Jail on $50,000 bail.