“In March 2024, I met a 6’5 Puerto Rican man on the dating app, Bumble. Being a 6’ lady, I couldn’t believe how lucky I got. We hit it off immediately, had fun, sarcastic banter, and immediately spent all our time together. He said he wasn’t from the area, so I planned lots of fun Chicago-based dates. That was the start of the lies.
His car broke down and he started to become depressed. At the same time, my car was actually breaking down. He said he would find me a new car and would also give me a large down payment on my car if I got him a car loan. He was living 45 minutes from me and said he needed the car to be able to come visit me in the city. Things felt off but he kept reminding me that I told him I would help him. Additionally, he was living in an extended stay hotel and shared that he couldn’t get an apartment leased due to a white-collar felony from years prior. He asked if I would sign an apartment lease for him. I immediately said no but he kept pushing, love bombing, and guilting me. He kept saying his depression was getting worse and he felt like he didn’t want to live. The guilt was so overwhelming, and it became hard to decipher what was real.
I signed a lease for him and then he started gaslighting me. He told me I was crazy and then blocked me on all social media. I started searching for more information about his prior felony online. What I found out was terrifying. Since 2012, he had scammed 9 of his ex-girlfriends. They all have my exact same story of getting him an apartment and a car and then he would ghost them. Then I found out there was a group of 31 people who sued him for a Ponzi scheme. The SEC arrested him in 2019 and gave him a slap on the wrist. I contacted these victims to get more information. Thankfully, we were able to get the SEC to reopen the case in 2026 but all he got was more probation.
This situation nearly broke me and destroyed my trust in humanity. I am still recovering but work every day to heal. I am a victim but refuse to let this define me!”