In May 2023, Jackie Crenshaw of East Haven, Connecticut, was nearing her 59th birthday and thinking about retirement when she met a man on a dating site who told her he was a widower, she said in an interview with Business Insider . He was a scammer, and a crypto romance scam cost her about $900,000. Now she works with AARP to warn others about the red flags she missed.
Following Brandon’s instructions, she converted the check to crypto and added hundreds of thousands of dollars from her retirement funds and other investments. She also took out a home equity loan on her condo. Brandon did not attend the party, and a week later Jackie blocked his number.
Jackie received a $100,000 check signed by a woman in Florida who Brandon claimed owed him money for contracting work. Jackie filed a report about a possible scam in 2023, but she says officers almost laughed it off. Brandon also encouraged her to throw a yacht party for her 60th birthday and sent her $36,000 for deposits. Her local police department contacted her in June 2024, about a year after her first report, after an anonymous tip that she was being scammed.
Brandon then said he was sending some of his own money to invest. Jackie told a friend, who had encouraged her to join the dating site. The friend was suspicious and told her to go to the police. The woman’s bank told her the check was valid, so she deposited it.
Brandon introduced Jackie to a supposed broker, who helped her set up a crypto wallet. Every time they planned to meet, something at work came up, like an accident involving an employee. Eventually, they talked about investing for their future. Jackie now knows it was all fake. She did it anyway, saying she did not want the scammers to win twice. Now working with AARP to warn others, she tells people to watch for red flags such as sharing personal details on a dating platform, a match who refuses to meet in person, or anyone who pressures you to move your money.
She Googled crypto but still moved $40,000 out of her 401(k). Her statements reflected rising numbers, and Brandon sent pictures of his own account, which he said contained $2 million to $3 million.
Brandon said he worked in different places, like New York, Virginia, and California. She says she fell victim to a scam known as pig butchering, in which thieves build up trust before stealing money. Jackie says it was difficult to tell her story as a victim.
