Indy woman says man on Facebook scammed her out of $225,000
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A woman from Indianapolis said she was scammed out of nearly a quarter-million dollars, and she believes she was targeted because she is a widow.
Joleen Rokusek and her husband were married for 39 years, until he lost a four-year battle with cancer in 2015.
She said she felt alone, not talking to friends or family for months, until a man who went by the name of Charles Malloy friended her on Facebook.
They talked online and by phone, but Rokusek never saw his face.
“He always called me his queen, and that’s what I felt like,” Rokusek said.
After a few weeks, he said he loved her. And she says she grew to love him.
He asked for various sums of money from 2016 into 2017, claiming he was living overseas and his accounts were frozen because of tax issues.
She even paid for a plane ticket so he could visit her in Indianapolis: “I searched every face that came up that ramp. I waited about 30 minutes after and again he didn’t show.”
As a result, she lost all of her husband’s 401K and his life insurance payout — nearly $225,000.
She says she’s selling things from her house just to pay the bills. She does have a GoFundMe page set up here.
Watch the story to learn what happened to her and her message to all of you.
