A fraudster brought home the bacon after a massive pig butchering scam.
asserted
fraudster → bring → scam
Lori Flowers, 58, was the latest victim in a massive, $600,000 scam after thinking she was helping out a friend.
asserted
she → think → friend
The pig-butchering scam — an investment scheme where victims get “fattened” with false attention before getting exploited financially — happened after Flowers thought she was bailing out a close friend.
asserted
she → fatten → friend
A man from Brussels got her to lend him $400,000 by wiping out her 401(k) — but ended up having Flowers fork over $600,000 altogether.
But losing the chunk of change wasn’t the only bill she got stuck with.
asserted
she → get → change
Just as Flowers was moving on from the 2022 swindle that left her desperate, a massive tax bill came.
asserted
bill → move → her
USA Today reported that Flowers owed $225,000 in taxes and penalties on money she had withdrawn from her retirement account.
asserted
she → report → account
Despite the cash going to the con artist, the IRS still treated it as income — which meant she was on the hook.
asserted
she → go → hook
Flowers had no choice but to declare bankruptcy.
asserted
Flowers → have → bankruptcy
“This is my credit,” Flowers said.
asserted
Flowers → say → ?
It all started back in 2017 when a provision was made to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — a sweeping federal tax law that switched how individuals and businesses are taxed.
asserted
individuals → start → Act
A rule was modified that no longer protected victims of theft.
asserted
that → modify → theft
Recently, Congress took action to ensure legal protections for scam victims after a bill — the Tax Relief for Fraud Victims Act — won
asserted
bill → take → Victims
If passed, the legislation would lift the burden of paying taxes on stolen funds.
asserted
legislation → pass → funds
It is currently awaiting action in the Senate.
asserted
It → await → Senate
The pig-butchering scam took the 58-year-old by complete surprise after Flowers became lured by someone on LinkedIn.
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Flowers → butcher → LinkedIn
The man contacted her and claimed to be from Brussels and was moving to her region of North Carolina.
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man → contact → Carolina
The two went back and forth on the professional website until switching over to email.
asserted
two → go → email
Within a month, they were speaking by phone where Flowers said his accent sounded vaguely Belgian.
asserted
accent → speak → phone
“I thought we were really getting to know each other,” Flowers said.
asserted
Flowers → think → other
“What I think I know now is, he was using AI.”
asserted
he → think → AI
Four months into the friendship — where nothing was asked of her — the Brussels man said he had won a large business contract in the US.
asserted
he → ask → US
Flowers looked it up, and everything seemed to be legitimate — until it wasn’t.
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it → look → it
The scammer told Flowers investors were dropping out and that he needed to raise capital or would lose it all.
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he → tell → it
After some back and forth, she decided to empty her retirement account, and wired $400,000 from her bank.
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she → decide → bank
The manager tried helping and asked Flowers if she knew this person.
asserted
she → try → person
“I was offended by the question,” Flowers said.
asserted
Flowers → offend → question
“Of course, I know this person.”
asserted
I → know → person
A month later, the Brussels fraudster told Flowers he needed $200,000 more, so she took out two personal loans to cover the rest.
asserted
she → tell → rest
Shortly after, Flowers realized she had been scammed but still owed $4,000 first payments on those loans.
asserted
she → realize → loans
She eventually was forced to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy where her new payments — $5,690 — covered mostly the tax debt.
asserted
payments → force → debt
If the Tax Relief for Fraud Victims Act gets passed, Flowers could be off the hook.
uncertain
Flowers → pass → hook
However, she would never recover the $600,000 she gave up to the scammer.
asserted
she → recover → scammer
The Aporia
