Jon- a 72 yo victim of elderly sweepstakes scam

UPDATE: 11/3/23

Jon was able to secure a great job that put his maintenance skills to good use and has been there for over a month now! He continues to have roommates and this is working well for him, too. Although he lost a great deal of his savings, his current day-to-day situation has stabilized. Thank you to all of those who donated money, offered advice, offered food, etc! Our local network and our extended network is truly amazing!

Sept 2023:

Hi! My name is Adrienne. My husband, Carlos, and I have created this GoFundMe for our neighbor, Jon Weaver. It is with great disappointment in a small portion of humanity that we write this. As a society, we all know who our most vulnerable members are. It comes as no surprise when people TRY to take advantage of them, but it is heartbreaking when it actually happens. This is our attempt to help.

Our neighbor, Jon, is 72 years old. He was recently a victim of a sweepstakes scam where he was swindled out of almost ALL of his life’s savings. Here is his story…

I was out in the yard talking to Jon recently and he told me that he was having a hard time - he did not have enough money to make his mortgage payment or his propane payment. He feared that he had made a very bad mistake. I asked what happened. He said that he had received a phone call and was told that he’d won a sweepstakes that included a car and a great sum of money, to be received by him in monthly draws. He stated that he thought he had done his due diligence to make sure it was legit and he felt that it was. As it turns out, “they” had him purchase cashier’s checks from his bank to “cover the taxes” and mail the checks to them. They requested this multiple times with different explanations, but the bottom line was that the payment was always for the taxes.

He was, at that moment, coming to the realization that he had been too trusting and completely vulnerable. My heart sank. This man has been through so much recently - he lost a finger on one hand after an infection from a cut 2 years ago, his wife passed away just over a year ago from brain cancer, he just had emergency stomach surgery 3 months ago and during that surgery, the doctors found a mass and took a biopsy. It came back as a Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST) - a type of cancer. Currently, it is being treated with medication.

I reviewed Jon’s bank statements myself - between March and August 2023, he had been convinced to send these scammers a total of $59,900.00. It would be easy to ask him how in the world he could have handed over almost $60,000. I see it differently, though. I don’t blame him for making a mistake or believing that something really amazing was about to happen in his life. Goodness knows he needed something good. People with bad motives target those who are in their most vulnerable states and losing a spouse, living alone, emergency surgery and a cancer diagnosis of his own was a lot to handle in just over one year.

At this time, Sept of 2023, I am working with Jon to organize his finances, cut any unnecessary spending and change his banking info. He has accepted two temporary roommates to help with monthly costs and is going on job interviews, although he is finding it difficult to get a job - he thinks it is due to his age. He has also discussed his situation with the local police, but they have advised that recovery in these situations is unlikely. He has also consulted a realtor - in the event that he must sell his home before being unable to afford it and lose it.

For this GoFundMe, we’d love to ask for all that he lost. However, we are asking for help raising $30,000 on Jon’s behalf. This will be enough to stabilize his monthly finances, ensuring that he does not lose his home, and allow him time to find sustainable employment. A portion will be put into a new savings account for emergencies, medical needs, etc. We are hoping that, through social media and the power of networking, we can bring some much-needed “good” back into Jon’s life and show him that love and community still exist. The money received on his behalf will be responsibly overseen and handled by me - Adrienne. Thank you in advance for any contribution of any amount and, if you cannot contribute, perhaps you could share Jon’s story with others who might feel compelled to help him. Again, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for reading his story.