'I have to move to a trailer': Mogadore man recounts phone scam that drained life savings

By the time Mogadore resident Larry Ford put a stop to the scam that had ensnared him and drained his life’s savings, it was too late.

His IRA was gone, along with his bank accounts and an annuity. The mutual funds he’d accumulated after a lifetime of work were depleted.

Still worse, a line of credit he’d established for the men who called him every day about his sweepstakes winnings was drained — and he now owes tens of thousands of dollars. Every month, he pays $411 just to cover the interest.

Betty Lin-Fisher:Widower's car insurance increases after wife's death, practice is unfair

On Sept. 9, he sat outside his home of 36 years as his beagle, Oscar, kept close by. His house had been sold to cover some of the debt he owes, and he would have to leave it — the home where he’d planned to live out his remaining years — this week.

“I’ve lost my home because of this deal,” he said. “Now I have to move to a trailer.”

You're a winner

Ford’s horror story began in January 2020, when he received a fateful call. A representative from an organization the man called National Awards and Promotions contacted him with unbelievable news.

“I had won a prize,” Ford said.

Ford believed him, initiating a financial tsunami that would wipe out all his possessions. To this day, he doesn’t understand why he didn’t realize sooner that he was being scammed, why he didn’t listen to the friends who told him he was being taken.

“Every morning in that chair, I used to sit there and wait for that call,” he said. “… Now I sit there and think, ‘Why did you sit there and believe these people?’ ”

It’s not like Ford was a dupe, ripe for a scammer to pluck. He had run a business, East End Concrete, for nearly four decades, had been half-owner in a bar, and had saved money for his retirement. Nobody in the long years he had worked and conducted business had scammed or tried to scam him, he said.

But here he was, counting the days until he had to move to a trailer in Atwater, gazing out over the view that had become a part of him for the better part of four decades.

“When I grew up… nobody lied like that,” he said. “These guys made me hate liars.”

Constant pressure

Christine Kellamis, director of operations at the BBB of Akron, said the type of scam that ensnared Ford is all too common.

“BBB historically has (seen) all sorts of sweepstakes scams,” Kellamis said in a phone interview Tuesday. “People over the age of 55 were the primary target.”

Betty Lin-Fisher: Sick of robocalls? Nomorobo is a possible option

The national Better Business Bureau, in an August 2020 report, found that of the 4,417 sweepstakes and lottery scams reported to the organization in a two-year period, more than half the victims were 65 or older. Collectively, they lost $2.52 million of the $3.1 million in losses reported to BBB’s Scam Tracker after a June 2018 study detailed the practice.

“We constantly get folks asking us, ‘Should I respond?’ ” she said. “Surprisingly, to many of the consumers, that allure of big money is (too) enticing.”

It was in Ford’s case.

Ford named three primary callers who contacted him regularly, swearing that a big payout was coming his way — but he had to pay a fee for this, a fee for that, to make it happen. At first, the jackpot was $900,975, growing to $1.4 million with interest.

Lies were piled on top of lies, Ford said. Any skepticism on his part was met with promises that the calls were on the up-and-up.

“I would be put in prison if I lied to you about anything,” Ford said one of the men told him. “But all he did was lie.”

They needed $5,000 to represent him to claim the prize, then $3,500 to keep it going, they told him.

“It went on and on,” Ford said. “There were (always) more things they were wanting money for.”

In his desire to claim his winnings, Ford said, he ignored the advice of friends and associates.

“I was told I was going to get everything I gave to them back,” he said. “Everybody kind of told me, ‘What the hell are you doing?’ ”

Then, one of the men called with remarkable news.

“We won this lawsuit and it’s $550 million,” Ford was told. He was one of three plaintiffs who would split the funds. He was going to be a multi-millionaire, they told him.

This time, the catch was $165,000 for insurance.

“They already had taken all my money,” he said. “At that point, I knew something was wrong.”

His son was livid when Ford told him what had happened. As the dust settled, Ford spoke with a law enforcement agency about the scam, preparing to sell his home. Representatives were aware of some of the names and details Ford provided.

A little help

Cody Rankin, a Green real estate agent who handled the sale of Ford’s home, said he was shaken by the Mogadore man’s story.

Ford contacted Rankin in July, saying he needed to sell his home because he was taken by a scam.

As Rankin worked with him, Ford’s story unveiled, detail after detail, lie after lie. It moved Rankin to set up a GoFundMe page with the goal of saving Ford’s Mogadore home. The page can be reached at https://bit.ly/3S1c965.

“There was about $4,000 (raised) the first day — the first 48 hours,” Rankin said on Sept. 9.

After the rapid start, however, donations slowed and Ford was ultimately unable to keep his home. The moving sale generated some funds, but it also gave Rankin a chance to get to learn more about his client.

“I got the opportunity to get to know him, learn about his life, and hear about his love for his home. Larry is truly a great man, and I’ve changed my goal from selling his home, to helping him keep it,” Rankin wrote in his GoFundMe post.

Ford said he’s appreciative of Rankin’s efforts, but it can’t change the past.

When the ink dries and the funds come in from the sale of his house, Ford said he’s going “straight to the bank.”

He intends to pay off the debt he’s accumulated so he can live off the Social Security check he receives monthly, which is less than $1,000, he said.

“(I) never thought I would have to be on food stamps,” he said.

Jamming the scamming

Kellamis said Ford isn’t the only person whose life savings have been drained by sweepstakes scammers. An 83-year-old woman lost $295,000, and at least three other individuals were scammed for more than $100,000. And that’s just what’s been reported to the BBB.

Kellamis said a prize winner should never have to pay out money to collect sweepstakes or lottery winnings.

“The thing is, we want to get them before they take action,” she said. “If somebody is asking you for money, it’s a huge red flag. Ninety-nine percent of the time, that’s a scam. They are crooks.”

Kellamis said people who fear they’re being scammed can call the BBB of Akron at (330) 253-4590 or go to the organization’s web page for help.

She suggests filing a police report, and talking with law enforcement agencies.

“The FTC, if they are seeing (phone numbers) are being used, they can go after folks,” she said. “IC3.gov: they are the internet crime complaint center. (They) can also call the Ohio Attorney General.”

Further tips are available at https://bit.ly/3eHg61r.

For his part, Ford said he would have realized sooner he was being scammed if he’d researched the company calling him.

“It might have been a little different for me if I had a computer in my home,” he said.

The first Google entry for National Awards and Promotions is a link to Scampulse, a site that compiles complaints against disreputable organizations and people.

Moving on

Even after he had been drained of all his money, Ford said the scamming continued. Two months after the last contact with his three callers, he received a fake credit card in the mail.

“[They) sent me a VISA,” he said. “All I had to do was pay $3,500 to use it.”

He said he thinks he can make ends meet for himself and Oscar, but has lost his financial security and worries about losing his food stamps.

“About how much lower do you have to get after working all your life?” he said.

He recounts a list of improvements he made to his Mogadore home, and talks about his personal life, still blaming himself for falling into the trap that took all he had.

“It took me my whole life to make that money,” he said. “And they took it in eight months.”

Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or email him at aashworth@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Mogadore man recounts phone scam that drained life savings