[00:00:02] He would say, “You don’t understand, you don’t understand.
I’m in so much trouble, you don’t know what I’ve done.”
The fear was so tremendous.
[00:00:17] Bob: Welcome back to The Perfect Scam.
I’m your host, Bob Sullivan.
But about four years ago, Matt was diagnosed with glioblastoma and given perhaps 8 months to live.
Justin and Jan searched the world for new treatments, and Matt has so far beaten the odds.
Desperate, he goes looking online for anything that might ease the pain.
They were all intertwined in some capacity.
Instead, Matt believes he’s buying himself out of trouble.
[00:02:59] Bob: Justin reads message after message, and it’s one nasty threat after another.
Desperate, Matt has sold his investments and made the payments using cryptocurrency.
The name on the badge doesn’t match the name on the text.
It’s a stolen photo of a cop.
There are hours and hours of texts and transactions to sort through.
Send the money, can you send the money?
I mean it’s, it’s nauseating.
It made me feel sick.
[00:05:26] Bob: Mom tries to reassure Matt he’s not really in trouble.
No one is coming to the door to arrest him.
But Matt can’t be convinced.
And I said, “You’re not in any trouble,” you know.
“They can’t get past your mother.”
[00:05:48] Bob: It does no good.
She can’t calm his fears.
And I think the paranoia became much more severe recently with the new drugs.
They all cause extreme fatigue, confusion, depression, and some of them cause hallucinations.
I’m in so much trouble, you don’t know what I’ve done."
The fear was so tremendous.
[00:07:30] Bob: It all happened so fast.
Mom had no idea any of it was happening.
[00:07:35] Jan West: I was unaware of the text messages.
I was unaware of his communication.
Like I said, Matthew is very bright.
He spends hours on podcasts every day.
I had no idea that he was communicating on the, on the dark side.
Matthew was manag–, until recently, Matthew was managing his life reasonably well.
He’s been extremely, very highly functional until October maybe, when he was diagnosed with progression.
[00:08:21] Justin West: I ended up taking his phone.
So where did that end up, and do you know if anyone else is investigating in any way?
[00:10:36] Bob: So Justin does that, but he doesn’t get very far.
They said this is an online thing, this is an FBI issue.
And I said, “Well, do you think they’re connected?”
So I, I thought that was kind of interesting.
And that there’s nothing for us to, to do.
[00:11:54] Bob: So, Justin takes it upon himself to run down the cryptocurrency transactions.
I have not been contacted by them.
So, I don’t see that it has a whole potential to um, to solve.
[00:13:05] Justin West: No, it’s not.
I mean very few people have a traditional radio.
[00:13:58] Bob: No time would be the answer that I would give you.
Um, so that’s why I’m so glad you’re telling me this story.
And there is some good news lately.
[00:14:41] Justin West: Matthew’s cancer is, it’s, it’s stable.
In this story, that’s hard.
I’m sure you’re free to see why.
[00:15:11] Jan West: In terms of giving advice, my, I’m a nurse.
I think he would have taken great offense to that.
Um, it would made, it would have made him more paranoid.
[00:15:40] Bob: Justin has a lot to say about how challenging the situation is.
The tough part is we, we just, we never got to that.
And I’m completely in agreement with you.
I think you did the right thing.
You, you have to be 100% positive with people in this situation, and that’s that.
[00:17:24] Bob: Matthew’s mom is still reeling from the entire episode.
[00:17:28] Jan West: I never wish this journey on anybody.
Anyway, thank you.
I hope I helped somebody.
[00:17:33] Bob: Sharing your story always helps somebody, Jan. [00:17:43] Justin West: Well, I appreciate you responding.
So we turned to attorney Elizabeth Gray.
She’s part of something called the Special Needs Alliance.
[00:18:36] Elizabeth Gray: I’m an Elder Law Attorney.
I’ve been practicing since 1996.
[00:20:28] Elizabeth Gray: That’s correct.
[00:21:07] Elizabeth Gray: It is.
[00:21:16] Bob: Brain injured people are a clear target of internet criminals, she warns.
[00:21:36] Elizabeth Gray: It is.
[00:22:00] Bob: The lengths criminals go to when they find a victim can be truly shocking.
Who would have thought some–, anybody would do something like that?
I feel like that’s a term that a lot of folks probably don’t know.
[00:23:17] Bob: So that does two things.
[00:23:25] Elizabeth Gray: That’s correct.
[00:23:33] Elizabeth Gray: Absolutely, absolutely.
[00:23:36] Bob: So how do you find a professional to help, I asked Elizabeth.
[00:23:40] Elizabeth Gray: It’s talking to people, other parents.
If you know of a lawyer, they could give you a referral to an Elder Law attorney.
That works for the whole country?
[00:24:12] Elizabeth Gray: Yep.
Call the AARP Fraud Watch online grid Helpline at 877-908-3360.
Their trained fraud specialists can provide you with free support and guidance on what to do next.
Be sure to find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
For AARP’s The Perfect Scam, I’m Bob Sullivan.
Even worse, Matthew is convinced the police are coming to arrest him at any moment.
