Rental Scam Victims

Hello! My wife and I were looking for an affordable place in Harrisburg PA to live. We are young (she is 24, I am 22) and not overly familiar with the renting process. We saw a house listed on Facebook marketplace for $950 a month and messaged the seller. They emailed us with a heartfelt story about how they moved to DC to take care of their son, who had cancer. They sent us a lease and we signed it, then they demanded payment up front. We were a little surprised but complied: a $500 down payment, a $216 escort fee, and a one time $300 HOA fee. Then they asked for the rent for May in April (we planned to move in May). We didn't trust it at first, but after discussion with an "HOA" representative over the phone, we felt better and paid the $950. Then we tried to go see the house. Three separate times we tried to see it, and although they said they'd come with the key to the house, they never showed. That's when I found the actual listing on Zillow ($1,650). To top it off, the two numbers we texted had a California and an Illinois area code.

My name is Ben Graham and my wife's name is Lewam. We just got married in December and are struggling financially. We need help. Since I work as a subcontractor, I still owe almost $3000 in taxes to the government, aside from rent and utilities. All we ask for is help to make up for the $1,966 that we lost. Your donation would mean the world to us