2 charged in fake raffle for military families

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-raffle26.html

Two suburban residents posed as military reservists to sell phony raffle tickets for a nonexistent charity that they told donors supported military families facing financial problems, DuPage County authorities said Thursday.

Donald McCarver and his fiancee, Anne Pellegrini, allegedly sold $5 raffle tickets in at least four DuPage County stores in the last two weeks as part of a scam tied to the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, officials said.

Pellegrini, a former Navy Reservist, donned a Navy dress uniform at least once while selling the bogus tickets in a Glen Ellyn grocery store, according to investigators.

McCarver and Pellegrini, both 41-year-old Villa Park residents, have been charged with felony theft by deception.