The suspects are seen luring a woman into a van and she later hands over thousands of dollars. It's believed those suspects are the same ones who targeted a victim in the Bronx.
She and her family spoke with us exclusively. The woman victimized in the Bronx came forward after we aired another surveillance video of this scam a couple of weeks ago.
NYPD detectives now think several different teams are operating throughout the city and New Jersey with the same MO.
The victims are mounting up as cops desperately try to catch these crooks.
"I'm afraid because they are going to do the same thing to other people," this home health aide named Mirella says.
She is afraid to show her face because the couple seen in the newly released surveillance video targeting a woman in Brooklyn preyed on Mirella in the Bronx months ago.
Just as they did with Mirella, the woman and bald-headed man ask for help cashing a lottery ticket and then lure their victim into a van.
"He told her he was illegal," said the victim's daughter, Liz.
("And what was going to happen?", we asked.)
"That he couldn't cash his check. None of it makes sense. None of it makes sense in hindsight to me, or I don't think it would have even made sense then to me. But my mom thought that she was helping him out and suddenly she felt stuck," she said.
They drove Mirella to her home in a van way out in Suffolk County, Long Island and waited inside while she collected money and jewelry.
("In all, how much money did she take from the house?," we asked.) "She brought with her from the house $9,500 and $20,000 of jewelry."
("It was all in her purse.") "She put it in her purse," said Liz.
("Did she think the money was a loan?") "She thought it was a loan. She thought she was going to get back her money."
"The perpetrator is asking for collateral, like $5,000 in return for $25,000 grand. It's a return on their investment," said NYPD Detective Paul Brogan.
Cops are looking into more than 16 cases like Mirella's, and have surveillance video of a different couple preying on a target in Manhattan.
"You may get a set of 5 to 6 crews that work," said Brogan. ("Related?") "Not related, but they're working the same scam. It's almost like drug dealers."
The scammers manage to get the victims out of the vehicle with an excuse, taking the valuables, and taking off. Mirella, who was dropped off on a street in the Bronx, didn't realize she'd been robbed until she looked in her purse.
"And she looked and there was nothing in there and that's when she screamed bloody murder. She was just like, it was a howl of pain and I knew that she was in pain because she worked so hard for that money. I knew she was in pain because that money was going towards my sister's nursing school tuition," Liz said.
They saw surveillance video we aired a few weeks ago of the same scam in Manhattan, just different players, and called us as well as the NYPD's crimestoppers unit.
("When you saw that video that we aired, what went through your mind?")
"We were frightened. That they're still there. That's they're still doing this to others. And we hoped, my mom prays a lot that these people are caught."
The scammers are believed to have struck in four of the five boroughs, as well as New Jersey and Connecticut.
One of the male suspects often carries a bible. The con artists are often driving vans or SUV's. They usually target older, Spanish-speaking women.
If you have any information about the suspects in the surveillance videos linked to these lottery scams, call NYPD Crimestoppers: 1-800-577-8477.
Web extra: More exclusive surveillance video of the suspects, and an extended interview with Detective Paul Brogan detailing the scheme: