13 January 2024 , 11:22
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A pensioner, who had hoped to find love after her husband died, was scammed out of her life savings by a con artist who mirrored the notorious 'Tinder Swindler'.
Lois “Moe” Lenart Malcolm, now 70, fell for a romance scam and was defrauded out of $406,610 (£318,800), money she had spent her life saving. Despite still reeling from the fraud, she has pledged to speak out to stop other people getting caught up in the same way. She said: "I am not a victim any longer."
The widow, from New Jersey, unexpectedly lost her husband in 2021, as the pandemic was sweeping across the US. They had been together 14 years and after losing her daughter Cori in 2012 when she was just 32, Moe felt she had no one left.
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Moe and late daughter Cori, who passed unexpectedly a few years before Phil (Moe Lenart-Malcolm)She told the Mirror: "I was alone still navigating my grief. My world came to a standstill, my life had nowhere to go. I was lost, cried, alone, scared and so many more emotions that now I realise were a part of my grieving."
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It was in this vulnerable state the scammer struck. Hoping to meet someone, she created a profile on a dating site dedicated to older people looking for love. She set up the profile on October 30 2021 and just a day later she got a match.
Moe recalled the hope she felt and said: "Yippie I had a chance to have a new friend, companion and possible romance. I never met him, his name was Joel Christopher Jr., and he was a widower. We were great together and hit it off from the very first phone call. Thus starts my journey into the abyss."
The man Moe thought she was falling for - Joel'Joel' said he was involved in the diamond industry and frequently had to travel abroad for business. He only ever messaged her via email or on Telegram. Despite hoping to meet in person, he kept putting it off, saying his travels were preventing it. Despite this Moe fell for him.
She said: "We were making plans for our future together. We would buy a home in Miami, Florida and travel the world together. He sent me a teddy bear (which I named Joel Jr.), a beautiful watch and flowers to my home. I was happy again and saw a wonderful loving future with a man that I could love, Joel Christopher Jr., and he called me, Moe Christopher and ended every conversation with mwah mwah mwah, 'I love you more - simply because.'"
Moe and Phil at Cori's wedding. (Moe Lenart-Malcolm)Joel sent her pictures claiming to be of him but it was later found out they were pictures of an unsuspecting person believed to be living in Argentina. But just as Moe saw a future with 'Joel' he started asking her for money and the reasons became more and more elaborate.
Moe recalled: "He started asking me to wire him funds, because he was away on business overseas and having his debit card “locked” for failure to inform his bank in advance of travelling abroad. He claims he has been falsely arrested, was detained and in need of funds for bail and attorney’s fees. He was being held captive in a war zone, requiring funds to payoff various persons to secure his escape to the United States via smuggling."
Photo of Moe and Phil enjoying their golden years together. (Moe Lenart-Malcolm)Fearing for the safety of the man she was falling for, she sent the money. She explained: "I wanted to help him, he was the man I had fallen in love with so I sent Joel a series of wire transfers and money orders to the persons and entities as direct by Joel and/or his associates in late 2021 and 2022."
She emptied her accounts and then the contact stopped. Moe said: "But once I had no more money to send he disappeared, no more Telegram phone calls, no more loving emails nothing, I was alone. I was afraid that I had not done enough to save his life."
Moe was devastated and could barely admit to herself what had happened. Eventually, she broke down to her friend Amy and told her everything. Moe said: "I am embarrassed, ashamed and feel guilty that I allowed this to transpire. I had no one to tell, I was alone. I carried the shame and secrecy of this until I told Amy."
Moe and Phil in happier timesMoe now barely has enough money to cover her bills. She has to eat the bare minimum and can't even afford her prescriptions. Having been left struggling to pay her way, she wanted to speak out in the hope of stopping anyone else falling for a similar scam. Explaining how it happened, she said: "I still could not see what was happening right in front of me. Or I did see it plain as day and chose not to look directly at it.
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"Time after time I fell for the lies, and deceit never wanting to remember what had already occurred to me with Joel. I was so broken that he came back to beat me down again" Moe's friend Amy set up a GoFundMe to help Moe as she struggles following the scam.
The notorious 'Tinder Swindler' Shimon Hayut (simon_leviev_official/Instagram)According to the FBI: "The criminals who carry out romance scams are experts at what they do and will seem genuine, caring, and believable. Con artists are present on most dating and social media sites."
The info page adds: "Scam artists often say they are in the building and construction industry and are engaged in projects outside the U.S. That makes it easier to avoid meeting in person—and more plausible when they ask for money for a medical emergency or unexpected legal fee."