Sacramento Woman Scammed Out Of Thousands But Suspects Caught

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Police say they kidnapped a senior and conned her out of thousands of dollars. But the suspects didn't get away with it.

Investigators say 45-year-old Margaret Souza and 50-year-old Bonnie Weber are scam artists from the Los Angeles area with a propensity for violence.

Last Friday they were at a Costco in south Sacramento allegedly looking for an unsuspecting victim when they apparently noticed a 70-year-old woman loading groceries into her car.

Investigators tell CBS13 that both suspects approached the victim with a bag of money saying they needed to get the cash to its rightful owner and that's when the alleged scam began.

Detectives say Souza and Weber then convinced the victim they could all split the cash if no one claimed it after 90 days, but only if the 70-year-old used her own savings to secure all the money at a bank.

The woman got in the car with the suspects and they went to her bank and withdraw $4,000.

"Along the way she thought better of it and thought she might be the victim of a scam or wrongdoing," Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputy Jason Ramos said.

She demanded her money back and said she wanted out of the car, and a struggle ensues.

"They begin to assault her," Ramos said.

She was punched continuously as she tried to escape the car, but they pulled her back in. A Good Samaritan saw the struggle, called 911 and followed the car, which started running red lights.

But the man never gave up as he continued following the suspect vehicle.

The victim was dumped near the corner of 43rd Avenue and 24th Street.

Within minutes, Souza and Weber were arrested.

The women conned the victim with a variation of the "pigeon drop" scam, which often targets elderly women.

"Nothing new really," one neighbor of the victim said. "It happens all the time."

CBS13 spoke with the daughter of the victim, who said her mother was too shaken to talk on camera about it.

Deputies were able to recover all the woman's money and other belongings taken during the incident.