He introduced himself to me as an art dealer and a stocks and commodities trader for a select group of wealthy clients. He claimed he had recently moved back to the United States after an eight-year stint in Hong Kong and I was immediately captivated by him. He was charming, witty, intelligent and it seemed like he could confidently talk about almost any subject.
Eric went to great lengths to convincingly play his role as a successful entrepreneur. I would join him there for a relaxed Sunday by the pool or a gourmet dinner after which we would often go up to his room, open a fine bottle of red and dance until our feet were sore. We had so much fun together, but we also frequently had what I believed to be deep and honest conversations about social, political and religious issues.
I felt I had finally found someone worth spending my time with. One day, upon allegedly returning from a trip abroad, Eric invited me to a house where he was staying. It was an elegant Spanish-style home that boasted a putting green by a beautiful pool in the backyard. He opened a chilled bottle of Veuve Cliquot and we settled in for the evening together. I know it sounds too good to be true, but Eric was such a talented actor that I honestly never believed anything was amiss.
When I got there, he was standing in the driveway, proudly admiring a brand new white convertible Ferrari. After we had been dating for about eight months, he asked me to sell some gold coins for him and offered me a 20 percent commission for my trouble. He explained that his time was too valuable to spend running errands like this one and he knew I could use the extra income. So I did. Then, four months later, when the U.
He claimed the markets were going to collapse and that people would be unable to withdraw their money, much like what had happened in Greece a few years prior, and gold would be a much wiser investment. In exchange, he gave me 27 gold coins. Per his instructions, I stored them in a safe deposit box. Eleven months later, after handing over what was left of my IRA for Eric to manage on E-Trade, I became concerned because the funds in my account were quickly dwindling.
