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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, October 27, 2005

Trio of swindlers bilk woman out of $9,000

Advertiser Staff

Police are looking for two men and a woman who swindled a woman out of almost $9,000 by promising to fix her car. One of the men stole her ATM card and made four withdrawals, police said.

On Sept. 4, the 78-year-old woman was stopped by a man and a woman while she was driving in the parking lot of the Times Super Market on South King Street.

The man introduced himself as Joseph Rivera, and told her that her car was wobbling and that she couldn't drive it. The woman pulled over and let "Rivera" take a look, police said. He told her he could make some adjustments for $400. The woman agreed and let Rivera drive her car with the woman to the Kapahulu branch of Bank of Hawaii.

Rivera was caught on video with the woman as she withdrew money, police said.

Two days later, Rivera appeared at the woman's house and asked for money to finish the repairs. The woman agreed and wrote a check for $8,500 made out to Tom Lewis. Video showed a second man cashing the check at the Wai'alae branch of Bank of Hawaii, police said.

The woman later learned her ATM card was missing and called the bank. Surveillance videos show the man who called himself Rivera making four withdrawals from the Kailua branch of Bank of Hawaii.

Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300, or *CRIME on your cellular phone. Free cellular calls are provided by Cingular, Nextel Hawaii, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless Hawaii.