It’s always a privilege to be able to publish someone else’s experience of Romance Fraud on my website. Today, Mike has been brave in sharing his experience of a financial romance scam. Sharing these stories is incredibly important to potentially allow another targets or victims to recognise what they or someone they know are going through too.
I retired and moved to Jacksonville, FL during the summer of 2016. I didn’t know anyone so I joined a dating site. I was arrogant, naive, gullible, and ignorant of online dating scams.
I joined Arrangement Finders in hope of meeting a beautiful younger woman who wanted an older man. Scrolling through the posts, I came upon an extremely beautiful woman with a rather conservative photo. Her post read that she lived in Starke, FL not far from Jax. Her name was “Luisa Rosario” and had moved to Semmes, AL to live with her “sister”, “Joyce Patterson”.
We struck up an online relationship and she gave me her email address, RosarioLuisa955@gmail.com. She said she wanted to come to Jax to meet me, but needed my help and asked for money. Stupidly, I started sending her $50 here and there. She insisted on Gift Cards as she could not cash a check, etc. We texted everyday and she kept saying she was through with young men and wanted me because I was mature, kind and decent.
Next, she “moved” to Buffalo, NY with her “uncle”, ‘Omar Velez” and asked me to wire him money via Western Union. Again, foolishly, I did. He got her a cell phone with a number from St. John’s, Newfoundland in Canada. She offered some vague explanations about saving money.
I once talked with some man claiming to be Omar who lied that he was happy for Luisa and me. I fell deeper into this scam. We even started proclaiming “love” for one another and made plans to live together in Florida.
“Luisa” moved in with her girlfriend, “Becca”, sent me a phoney address in Buffalo and showed a phoney New York State driver’s license. “Becca” and I spoke a few times and “Luisa” sent me many “her” photos of a drop dead gorgeous Mexican woman, face shots, sexy poses and even nudes. When I asked why one so stunningly beautiful would want to be with a retired, average guy like me; she lied about my being her soul mate, etc.
For three years she ran this scam, conning me with lies and deception. I sent her money along the way and we texted or emailed every day. Supposedly, she was so broke, she couldn’t afford to get to work, had little or no food and tried guilting me into sending more money saying I was cruel to “let her suffer so.”
I even bought a plane ticket to fly to Buffalo on 6/1/20018 to move into “our apt.” that she had secured with my deposit and rent. But at the last second, she texted me that “her sister Joyce” was dying in Las Vegas. Then fake “Luisa” later lied that she had been scammed by the landlord and lost the apt. and all my cash. Another lie.
Eventually, I Reverse Image searched a lovely face shot she had just sent, and was revealed it was Olga Loera, a former Mexican Playmate of The Year and an incredibly beautiful glamour model and celebrity in Los Angeles. Olga and I have texted and she is a real, decent, gorgeous model and mother of two,
Luisa Rosario, who doesn’t exist, used Olga’s photos for three years to lie, steal and Catfish me. I have confronted whomever is behind the long con, and they admitted it. You can see “Luisa Rosario” on a fake Facebook page, but it is actually a pic of the lovely Olga on a TV Show from seven years ago.
I have learned so much in the past two weeks, so be careful folks!
Sincerely, M.