Help recover family’s life savings lost to scam!

$100,000 Stolen from us by Scammers

Beware of Sophisticated Impersonation Scams: Our Cautionary Tale

Like many, we never thought we'd fall victim to a sophisticated scam. Yet here we are, sharing our story to prevent others from experiencing the same.

My husband,Greg, follows a popular financial and real estate expert, known as the Real Estate Ninja (also Economic Ninja), on YouTube. He left a comment on one of the videos asking about real estate and got a reply that said “Text me at (phone number).” It looked like the YouTuber's handle in the reply. They began a conversation over the course of several days through texts and voice texts.

"Ninja" advised us to put our money into an interest-bearing investment account instead of keeping it in our no-interest checking account while we looked for a home to purchase. He emailed us documents about the investment company; its certifications and IRS tax certificate, and gave us the website so we could be informed on the company and both short and long-term investment programs they offered. We simply wanted to be in a better financial position to buy a decent house with a little bit of acreage.

However, we were soon to find out the person we had been communicating with was not the real YouTuber—it was an imposter. The scammer used deep-fake technology to imitate the Real Estate Ninja's voice. He had a working knowledge of the Ninja’s presentations, personal life, and mannerisms.

Believing it was the real Economic/Real Estate Ninja, we transferred the money we made from the sale of our home—$100,000—to an account at Chase Bank, only to later discover we were victims of fraud when we tried to withdraw our money.

We filed an IC3 Report with the FBI and the Federal Trade Commission, and a report with our local police. We learned that what happened to us is part of what's called "pig- butchering scams," and is a multi-billion dollar industry operated by crime syndicates based in central Asia. Because the money they steal from people is quickly sent overseas, law enforcement is unable to help victims recover their money.

This event was a devastating blow to our lives, our finances, and to our future. Raising 13 children between us, we’ve never been wealthy or financially secure. The sale of our beloved- home in the country was our one big chance at having enough money to buy a home with a smaller mortgage payment, and spend our golden years in without living hand-to-mouth.

We are senior citizens, and at this point we don't have a lifetime left to work enough to replace what was lost. Greg has been unable to work since having complications from Covid pneumonia on top of existing health conditions in 2021.

We're sharing our story not just to raise funds, but to educate and protect others so they don't become victims of sophisticated scams. Please help us spread the word. Your support through sharing our story is a step towards combatting the deceitful practices used by these criminal organizations.

We want to thank our family friend, Shadi, for setting up this GoFundMe account for us. The donations will help us to get back into a home of our own and ensure we can live out our remaining years with the peace and independence we cherish.

Thank you for your prayers, kindness, and generosity. Words cannot adequately express how much that means to us!

Tracy & Greg

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In a heartfelt 15-minute video by the Economic Ninja, the depth of deceit in the scam that took our money is revealed. We so appreciate him bringing this to the public's attention! The video can be viewed here:

The Economic Ninja’s Video