Hello everyone,

Our names are Sean May and Astrid Angell. We got married on October 26, 2018. The immediate bond we struck centered around the passion and drive we both share in pursuit of what we love. We recognized a spark in each other that could propel us into a future built by the dreams we'd always chased. That future has become reality. In one week, we will be packing up our little family (plus pug, Cherub) and heading to Los Angeles. Sean will begin graduate school at Art Center while Astrid aims to grow her fledgling small business into something that allows her to never work for anyone but herself ever again.

Little did we know there was a nightmare lurking around the corner.

Yesterday, at the 11th hour of our life in Portland, we realized we had become victims of fraud.

The house we had signed a lease for fell apart when the landlord asked that we pay a first months rent so he could mail us the house keys. With some hesitancy, we wired the money. This new dream of living in a beautiful house in Los Angeles had overtaken us. And, like all victims of these kinds of crimes, hindsight is 20/20. A week passed after the wire transfer and, still, no keys. Phone call after phone call to the number which we had both used to communicate with this man multiple times. Nothing. This crime committed against us has shaken us to our core. Still, we won't beat ourselves up because, to do so, would imply that we were wrong to have faith in people. No doubt, to be taken advantage of as we have is incredibly painful, but the lesson to be learned is not to suspect that everyone intends to do us harm but to take every measure to protect ourselves from those who may.

We're creating this GoFundMe to aid our transition to Los Angeles, which we still fully intend to make next week. Yet, we have been robbed of over $5,000. Money we had saved over the last year in preparation for this move has vanished with nothing to show for it and no real recourse to take. We are truly down to our last cent and any help we could receive in light of the crime committed against us would be appreciated beyond belief.

Best,

Astrid, Sean and Cherub