Chelsea told me she would be leaving for Ghana to work with UNICEF for two months. She
was working on project to get donations for a sick orphan at OSU in Accra who needed a costly operation and to talk about Ebola. I checked with both agencies and both said there was no Chelsea Boamah listed. So, far, no money was requested, so I was confident I could just say no, so I continued with this cloak and dagger much like an investigative reporter. Checking was easy, just use email. Soon, Chelsea sent photos of her in Ghana (actually, Ann Angel). She said that the government had provided her with a free studio apartment, but had to pay for utilities,food, and Internet. Internet was paid weekly. By now, we had been texting a lot for two weeks daily. She would send more intoxicating Ann Angel photos (these were natural looking, selfies, office video) and respectable (not x-rated at all). I continued to feel confident I could refuse any request for money. The first of several, emergency situations arrived. Her credit card and access to her bank account was blocked due to a security risk. She had no more cash. She needed money. She could not get an advance from UNICEF and she was alone there. I first said, no. Not my problem. She said the Internet bill was due and she needed food. She pleaded with me, played upon my emotions for her, used the guilt card. Like a warrior, I resisted. Eventually, I did wire her a small amount in USD. I had violated the first rule: Never send money to another you have not met in person!
This took us into the money phase. This began in the third week of
meeting online. There was not many conversations that did not end with a
hint or request for money. Something was always needed or wrong. She
told me that she wanted to get a Gold Agent license there to be able to
buy, sell and export gold. She wanted me to buy a gold detector to find
it. Alarms went off loudly now. This was not going to happen involving
over thousands of dollars. I found out that in Ghana only Ghanians can
get a license. I argued why a gold detector was a stupid idea. I really
frustrated her with logical arguments she could not challenge. She would
call me, have me talk to a "government official" trying to convince me
to send over $2000. Eventually, she gave up. She wanted to start her
business exporting gold to my address and when she returned, we would
sell it abroad. We're talking about gold bars! One bar is valued at
$32K. She wanted me to open an equity line of credit at my bank to
deposit funds into when gold was sold. Of course, I did not buy this at
all. I smelled scam and danger, but I wanted to see how far this "play"
would go on.
When Chelsea and her assistant (was this Stuart Leibowitz?) realized
none of this was going to happen with me, and I demanded to see ID used
to receive wired money, she stated there had been a large fire that
killed several and took all her belongings. The receipt she did send to
get wired money did not show a Chelsea Ford signature, not even
remotely. I confronted her about this, and she just claimed it was hers.
She knew she was caught in a lie and proven for it. Her Ghana health
card from NHIS was fake, again, using a photo of Ann Angel. She said she
had gone to renew her passport. The US embassy there said she did not
tell the truth, yet, she showed me her new passport. This time, the
photo used was not Nikki Sims, as in the first one, but Ann Angel!
Totally different people. The embassy confirmed it was fake.
By the fourth week, she was frustrated with me. She thought I may be
playing her, which I was, just out of curiosity. She got angry and at
times, sounded like a guy talking, when I refused to send money. She
would call me names. All the affectionate words were gone. Money
requests were direct or pleas using the guilt card. She threatened to
cutoff communications. She wanted me to send $500 so she could rent a
four bedroom house there. The house was being sold for $320,000 and she
claimed the agent said she could have the house for $400 per year as a
rental. I showed her the house on the website and told her it makes no
sense. She had no answer but to want that house. She would always try to
soften me up when money was requested with another nice photo of Ann
Angel.
Once I found out that the photos she had sent were of Ann Angel's
catalog, I confronted her her. That is when she said she used Ann Angel
as an alias, LOL. This scammer was a pro. Had a reasonable reason for
any money request. Probably was from Ghana. Maybe she was a he all
along, too many mirrors to know. Her backstory was thorough. Believable
for the most part. She lived in Ocala, FL., for awhile with her last
boyfriend for awhile until something happened with him. That something
might be a real estate wire fraud bust in 2006 where he was arrested and
owed Chelsea several years of stolen money. She had nothing but bad
feelings for her last boyfriend (after her fiancé had died of cancer).
Once it ended, I was out a few hundred, I had learned a lot. I think
Chelsea mixed truth with fiction at times, the problem was, sifting all
this out was just impossible. She might be real but looks far different
than her portrayal, or, not exist at all. Hope you learn from my
experience. If you suspect fraud, save the image of the person and use
either Tin Eye or images.google.com. If the photo has been used before, you will know who and the address.
