What I wanna do today
to help you is,
I go into everything open minded.
But I wanna ask you to do the same thing
and let's follow the facts.
Fair enough?
Sure.
And to follow the facts we have to be
completely transparent about everything
because I've spent a lot of time digging into this
and I just wanna share the facts
and let you make up your own mind.
I can't decide for you.
How long was it after you started communicating
with this individual that you sent even a penny,
a dime, a dollar?
How long was it from the minute you started talking
til you sent the first money?
Probably within two months.
And how much did you send to start with?
What was the first transfer?
I really don't remember,
it's probably $20,000, something like that.
Yeah, and that's a lot of money to you, right?
Absolutely.
Because you're retired, and so you're not
going to replace that money.
Correct.
Certainly not easily or quickly,
so that's a lot of money.
You've worked long and hard to save that money.
Yes.
So within a couple of months,
you sent $20,000 to someone you had never met,
seen in person, seen on FaceTime or even talked to
on the phone?
Right.
When you hear it said that way that seems kind of funny
doesn't it?
Absolutely, yeah.
I made a timeline and you first started talking
to her when?
April, March or April of last year.
And we diguised some of these 'cause we don't
wanna give away any information,
but you've never actually sent any money directly to her?
That is correct.
It's always been through a third party organization.
Reckon why that is?
I said how do you get money over to you
and she said this is the best way to do it
and so that's, I followed her instructions.
Did that seem odd?
Yeah, but I don't understand money transfers
or how to get money to different countries.
But if I was gonna send you $20,000
and it was a personal favor I mean I'd feel more comfortable
if I sent it to you so I knew that it got
into your hands, right?
Yeah.
So why a third party involved?
She just explained that's the way it was easiest
for her to get the money transferred.
I don't know if she didn't have a bank account there
or what the problem was.
Right, so on August 24th, you sent $20,000
to this account, which how do you pronounce this?
Do you know?
I don't know.
But it's just some name on, it's not her?
No it isn't.
Okay, and then a week later you sent another $4,000
to a different titled account.
And what was the $20,000 for?
It was to meet some German government regulation.
I think, I'm not sure.
It's been a while.
Yeah.
It was something government required?
Most all of these with the exception of one union
requirement, they were all government, German government.
All right so that's $24,000 in the month of August
and then at the beginning, then nothing in September
but then October 3rd to another styled account,
Island so and so, and American such and such.
You now sent $50,000.