In late 2022, a scammer approached my father and took his kindness for granted. This scammer (named "Alice Li") said they were based in Hong Kong and had approached my father over the internet a few years prior, hoping to earn his trust. The scammer had told my father that they had a business proposal regarding vineyard development in the U.S. and that they needed $50k USD to finalize the closing and development costs. They also said that $50k would help them cover moving costs so that they could relocate to the States, emphasizing that it had always been their dream to move to America. Topping off the package, they also offered him a share in the business where they insisted he would get double the return on his money back.

The pandemic had taken a huge toll on my father's finances, and the cost of living in New York had skyrocketed right after the pandemic, pivoting my father to end up accepting the scammer's business proposal. He had cashed out his retirement funds to fund the scammer's dreams, hoping that he could one day escape from the financial hardship as well.

Unfortunately, I had only known about this once the $50,000 had already been transferred over and after the scammer had cut off all communication lines with my father. All messages and accounts had been deleted, and there were no longer any traces of this criminal. This person has run off with my father's entire life savings, leaving my father to fend for himself, living paycheck to paycheck and even drowning in debt due to emergency medical bills.

My father has raised me as a single parent, often working multiple jobs at once and taking on extremely long shifts. Growing up, he had always been someone I admired, and so it breaks my heart to see him in this situation. My father has never been the type of person to ask for help, even in situations where help is needed. However, with the rate of inflation and rent in NYC this past year, I had finally managed to convince him to open up a GoFundMe page on his behalf.

Every donation, big or small, would help change my father's life for the better. We appreciate every single contribution and we'll make sure to sync on every large financial decision from here on forth. We also understand that $50k is a huge loss and that it may take some time to save up that amount again, but every dollar helps go a long way.

Thank you again so much for your time and contribution! If you're unable to contribute at this time, sharing the link to this GoFundMe would help tremendously as well!

My father doesn't wish to share his contact information as he values his privacy. However, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out. This is a really sensitive time for my father so if you're a close family or friend to my dad, and have any questions, please reach out to me instead!

(Photo is of my father and I in 2001)