Alleged scammer charged with theft

Published 10:34 pm Friday, March 5, 2010

LYNNWOOD — Prosecutors on Friday accused a Seattle woman of scamming another woman out of $60,000 under the ruse of trying to donate money to a charity.

Investigators believe the Snohomish County woman is just one of several people targeted by Carolyn Bilal, 60. Bilal is believed to be behind similar predatory scams in other Washington cities and California, prosecutors wrote in court documents.

Bilal was charged Friday with first-degree theft. She also is facing a theft charge in King County stemming from a similar scam in Renton late last year.

The incident in Lynnwood happened in 2008. A woman told investigators that she was approached by stranger at a store on Highway 99. The suspect said she was returning home to Africa soon but before she left she wanted to donate money to charities. She said she was looking for two honest people who would donate her money.

The suspect convinced the woman to drive her to a fast-food restaurant. She flashed what appeared to be a large money roll. When they arrived at the restaurant, the suspect pointed to a man talking on a cell phone and walking across the parking lot. She told the woman the man looked like an honest person. She waved the man over to the car and he got inside.

The woman told investigators that the suspect wove a story about needing to return to Africa and being fearful that her family had been kidnapped. She offered to give the man and woman $90,000 each to donate to a charity.

She said she first had to prove they were honest and not poor. The suspect said she didn’t want to give her money to poor people because they would keep the cash for themselves.

The man left the car, walked behind some garbage bins and returned with a bag. He showed the women that there was jewelry in the bag and also said there was $80,000 inside.

When it was the woman’s turn to prove she wasn’t poor, she drove to her bank and withdrew $60,000. The suspect said she needed to be able to trust the woman. The suspect asked the woman to leave her money with her and the man and drive out of the parking lot and return.

The woman drove off and when she returned a short time later the suspect and man were gone. So was her money.

She called 911.

A witness reported seeing a woman and man drive off in a newer sport utility vehicle.

Lynnwood detectives began to investigate and were led to Bilal, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Lisa Paul wrote. They learned she had been arrested in December for similar events in King County. In that incident, Bilal is accused of convincing a woman to withdraw $50,000. That woman refused to part with her money or let the suspect out of her vehicle. The suspect was able to jump out of the car but was arrested a short time later.

Police in King County recovered a letter stating that Bilal had inherited $9.2 million from an uncle in Africa. They also found a roll of one dollar bills covered with a $100 bill.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.