Colorado man warns of romance scams after losing $1.4 million

A Colorado man is warning others after falling victim to an elaborate romance scam that cost him more than a million dollars in savings.

"From the time we were introduced, it was probably within a week that I transferred the first of four transactions," the man, whom we agreed not to identify, said.

Those four transactions cost him nearly everything.

"$1.4 million," he said.

He was navigating a difficult period in his marriage when he met a woman online. She claimed to be going through something similar.

"She sent pictures, live videos of herself, her place where she was living. We chatted live," he recalled.

What started as small talk turned into something deeper. She told him she owned part of a business with her aunt, a winery, real estate, and, "Oh, by the way, I'm in crypto."

The woman, whom he knew as Erin, sent charts, graphs, and figures. He admitted to knowing very little about digital currency and was convinced.

"We bought Bitcoin with it, and I still, to this day, don't know the ins and outs. It was making daily money for me," he said.

But when he tried to cash out, he couldn't. Instead, he received an email saying it would cost him another $400,000 to access his own funds.

"I actually called my sister to try and get it from her, and she was the one who set me straight. She said, 'You need to contact the authorities.'"

He first reached out to local law enforcement, who referred the case to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Special Agent Zeb Smeester, with CBI's Economic Crimes Unit, is now investigating the case.

"We're seeing a huge increase in scams, especially in the crypto world," he said.

Smeester says this is one of the largest losses he's seen. And while they were able to track the money online, they haven't been able to tie it to a specific person.

"In this case, it ended up in some cold storage wallets," he explained. "It's like a safe at home that you put money in, it's registered on the internet. We don't know who owns that safe; there's no identifiers, it's just a safe. We can see how much is in there, but we have no way to get to it," he said.

Smeester says there are several red flags to watch for, including someone asking for money, refusing to meet in person, or insisting on keeping the relationship a secret.

"She groomed him over time to feel comfortable with the investment," Smeester said.

For the victim, the emotional toll "Anger and shame, a lot of shame," may outweigh the financial, he said. "Hopefully, someone learns from this. I hope it never happens to anyone else."

If you or someone you know may be a victim of a romance or crypto scam, contact your local police department and file a report with the FBI at www.ic3.gov.