BAKERSFIELD-- -- It started with one suspect and a fake lottery ticket and ended with a Bakersfield woman being scammed out of $15,000.

Police detectives said the suspect approached the victim at the FoodMax on Union Avenue in Bakersfield on June 24.

The con man said he had a winning lottery ticket, but was unable to redeem it because he was in the U.S. illegally.

A second suspect joined the scam convincing the woman that the first person is telling the truth.

Authorities said the men told the victim she could keep the ticket if she gave them $15,000 in good faith.

The suspects even contacted what the woman thought was a lottery office to verify the ticket.

"She talks to someone, probably the third or even fourth suspect who convinces her the ticket is real," said Detective Mary DeGeare with the Bakersfield Police Department.

The suspects finally tell the woman they need notarized papers to document the transaction, but when walking toward an Office Max on Ming Avenue, the men grab the money and run.

The victim said she was saving the money to buy her husband a new work truck.

If you have any information, you're urged to contact the BPD at 327-7111.