{"id":1459,"date":"2026-06-17T20:33:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T20:33:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanhomejournals.com\/?p=1459"},"modified":"2026-06-17T20:33:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T20:33:58","slug":"i-was-preparing-for-retirement-then-i-lost-900000-in-a-romance-scam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanhomejournals.com\/?p=1459","title":{"rendered":"I was preparing for retirement \u2014 then I lost $900,000 in a romance scam"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

This story is based on an interview with Jackie Crenshaw, 61, of East Haven, Connecticut, the senior manager of breast imaging at a cancer hospital. It has been edited for length and clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n

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As I approached my 59th birthday in the summer of 2023, I thought about retiring. I had healthy investments and a robust 401(k) after working a six-figure-salary job for many years and saving about 15% of my income.<\/p>\n

The prospect of change made me think about having someone to hang out with \u2014 a companion to share my later life.<\/p>\n

A friend helped me set up a profile on BLK, a dating site geared toward African Americans. One man, a contractor called Brad Miller, caught my eye. He had blue eyes and was very light-skinned, but said he was of African descent.<\/p>\n

We talked on the platform for two to three weeks, during which he said that he was a 49-year-old widower with two young sons. Soon, we moved to phone calls and texts. He asked for my address so he could send me flowers for my birthday in late July.<\/p>\n

He knew I worked long hours and would ask me if I was tired or hungry. He began sending me food deliveries like chicken and salads via DoorDash or Uber Eats, which made me think he was thoughtful and kind.<\/p>\n

We started praying together, which, in hindsight, was a good way to get into my emotions. Before long, I’d fallen for him. He talked about me becoming step-mom to his boys and buying a beautiful house in Connecticut together.<\/p>\n

Something would always come up when we made plans to meet<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Brad said he was based all over the place, first in New York, then in Virginia, and California, depending on where his job took him. Whenever we made plans to meet up, something would come up at work, like an employee accident.<\/p>\n

It was disappointing, but he’d try to make it up to me by sending trinkets, including gold and silver necklaces, and a pillow with our names on it.<\/p>\n

Eventually, we started talking about money and investing for our future. He introduced me to his broker, Maximilian, online, who showed me how to set up a cryptocurrency wallet, an online account use to manage that form of virtual currency.<\/p>\n

I did some research about crypto on Google, and still decided to transfer $40K from my 401(k). I got caught up in the excitement as the numbers on the statements appeared to increase.<\/p>\n

Maximilian sent me screenshots via text, and Brad texted me pictures of his account, too. It appeared he had between $2 million and $3 million in his own wallet, and said, “I want you to catch up with me.”<\/p>\n

It looked convincing then, but, of course, I now know everything was fake. I was the victim of a massive, widespread scam known as “pig butchering,” whereby the cyberthieves “fatten” you up by building trust over time before “slaughtering” you by stealing your money.<\/p>\n

Brad continued talking about saving for the future, and told me he was sending me some of his own money to invest. I received a $100,000 check, signed by a woman who lived in Florida. Brad said she owed him for contracting work. I Googled her name and saw she was connected to a construction firm.<\/p>\n

The police got an anonymous call saying I was being scammed<\/h2>\n

Something made me tell my girlfriend, who encouraged me to join the dating site. She was suspicious and told me to go to the police. I filed a report about a potential scam, but they almost laughed it off. “If it goes through, maybe I’ll see you driving around town in a fancy car,” one of the officers said.<\/p>\n

I called the woman’s bank, and they said the check was real. I deposited it three weeks later, and everything seemed fine. I followed instructions from Brad and Maximilian and converted it into cryptocurrency, along with hundreds of thousands of dollars I’d taken from my retirement funds and other investments.<\/p>\n

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On their suggestion, I also took out a home equity loan on my condo so I had more money to invest in crypto.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Brad encouraged me to throw a fancy party on a yacht for my 60th birthday. He sent me $36K for deposits, which I sent to the vendors via cashier’s check.<\/p>\n

We planned to go to Santorini, Greece, after the party, and I sent Brad a copy of my passport so he could book the vacation.<\/p>\n

Then, in June 2024, I received a call from my local police department. They said they’d gotten an anonymous call from someone who felt sorry for me because they thought I was being scammed. To this day, I don’t know who it was.<\/p>\n

I contacted the state police<\/h2>\n

I sat in shock.<\/p>\n

The police asked me to catalog the several different crypto wallets I had accumulated by that point because Brad said it would maximize my portfolio. They gave me the website for the federal government division that handles online fraud. I didn’t hear back.<\/p>\n

Still, I was actively speaking to Brad, who kept saying, “Oh no, let me check with my broker.” He assured me that everything was fine, and I wanted to believe him. It was extremely confusing, and I went ahead with the yacht party.<\/p>\n

Brad was supposed to come, but he said at the last minute that his boss hadn’t allowed him the time off. It was the final straw and reinforced my concerns that I was being scammed \u2014 a devastating feeling. I wound up blocking his number a week after the party.<\/p>\n

Then I contacted the state police with a suitcase full of information. The Department of Social Services visited my house to check on my mental state. The criminal case is ongoing.<\/p>\n

One state trooper has shown a special interest in my case. He followed the money and traced the ewallets to Singapore and Nigeria.<\/p>\n

The whole experience led to my current campaign as a “fraud fighter” for AARP \u2014 raising awareness about cybercriminals and connecting with legal people like the Connecticut Attorney General.<\/p>\n

I lost about $900,000 from my savings<\/h2>\n

The effects of the scam have been devastating. I lost around $900,000 and am liable for income tax on a portion of the amount I withdrew. My home is in jeopardy, and now, I have no idea when I will be able to retire.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, I still have my good job as a manager, but everything that comes in goes right back out. I’m in an ongoing battle with the bank because I feel they didn’t conduct a forensic investigation into an illegal process known as “check kiting,” a form of bank fraud that involves using checks to create the illusion that money is available when it isn’t. It wasn’t done by me, yet the bank is charging me interest. I’ve sought mediation.<\/p>\n

I truly felt like Brad cared about me. It’s been hard to put my face forward as a victim. Still, if I hadn’t, I would feel like the romance scammers have won twice over.<\/p>\n

It feels good to alert people to the red flags that I missed. They include disclosing personal information on a dating platform and refusing to meet in person. Also, be suspicious of anyone who wants you to move your money.<\/p>\n

The thieves stole the life I worked so hard for. It was evil, and I don’t want anyone else to find themselves in my situation.<\/p>\n

Read more This \u2018anti-bot\u2019 startup wants to pay you to interact with brands. Read the pitch deck it used to raise $18.5 million.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jackie Crenshaw says a scammer posing as a widowed contractor stole much of the retirement savings she spent decades building.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1458,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personal-finance"],"yoast_head":"\nI was preparing for retirement \u2014 then I lost $900,000 in a romance scam - American home journals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanhomejournals.com\/?p=1459\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"I was preparing for retirement \u2014 then I lost $900,000 in a romance scam - 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