I Need Help After Being Robbed

Hello friends,

This is an extremely vulnerable post. In so many words, I was held hostage and robbed.

Two weeks ago, I was called by a man telling me he was a Sergeant Michael Buren Watkins, a police officer/investigator with the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office, following up on why I had failed to appear for a federal court hearing. He spoke to me about a subpoena I had signed saying I would appear in court. Failure to respond to a subpoena you signed is punishable as contempt by either the court or agency issuing the subpoena. Punishments/legal consequences vary, including fines, potential jail time, or even an arrest warrant depending on the jurisdiction and severity of the situation.

When I announced I had signed no such subpoena, Michael said I then needed to come down to the office to confirm the fact I had not signed this document. Simple enough. He had a local phone number, information about myself and my kid, our dates of birth, house addresses, the nature of the “case.” I had shown the call to my friend who confirmed I should take this seriously.

Step by step, this man took me through an arguably stunning weave of manipulation, slowly unveiling the plan of action I needed to take to confirm I had not signed this document. He had access to the activity of my phone, for every time I tried to research/confirm his story or write down a note, he would creepily announce what I was doing and to stop, because I was in "contempt". He had dispatch noises in the background.

Every time my consciousness woke up and declare BS, he had another tactic to keep me on the phone, gently raising the stakes by reminding me of all the legal consequences I was possibly facing. It’s when he mentioned he “didn’t want to see me lose my son” if I did not comply with his instructions, that my instincts to protect Rio and our family completely tyrannized my common sense.

I was eventually robbed of $4,200.00. A robbery invisible to everyone on the outside, while on the inside, I was being completely torn apart.

While the language around this type of crime uses the word scammed, it feels more accurate to share it literally felt like my phone had become a gun, and I was being held hostage for three hours while this man robbed me; expertly moving from friendly helper to annoyed hostile cop, to violent aggressor directly threatening my kid if I did not follow through.

It was a horrific, horrific experience. To have your brain and body hijacked, to be psychologically manipulated, as your consciousness tries to fight the disbelief of the reality unfolding. To have a stranger, who was supposedly professionally helping you, begin to scream names your way, belittle your confusion and fear, all the while telling you you’ll never see your kid again. That the cops are coming.

I’m left feeling wrecked, feeling violated, sick, scared, grossed out, sad. Fcked up. Ashamed.

I’m putting up a GoFundMe because the money he took was the little I had left in savings as I am currently putting myself through college to further my career as a Labor & Delivery nurse. I would appreciate any dollars you could send my way as I recover financially, emotionally, and psychologically from this ordeal. I’m also accepting Venmo, if you would rather go through that venue: @thelanguageofbirth

I’m working with various institutions, including the real police and my bank. But as these things go, it’s likely I’m not going to get money back I willingly took out. It’s just money anyways I kept telling myself as I wired him the cash, sobbing, knowing it was a scam. At least I can go home tonight knowing my kid is safe with me, and this asshole will finally leave me alone. The risk of knowing he was out there somewhere and pissed off, knowing as much as he did, was greater than loosing 4k.

Giving hugs to all those who are good and kind.

Giving hugs (and a slap across the face) to all those vampiric men so horribly devoid of their hearts to hurt others in this way to survive.

Giving voice to all those who have experienced this type of crime themselves, and have felt too shamed to speak out.

Stay alert out there my loves