Virtual Romeo Doesn’t Have a Heart of Gold, Part 2
The Perfect Scam
AARP
4.5 • 980 Ratings
🗓️ 15 October 2021
⏱️ 36 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
When Isabella realizes the man she loved is a fraud, she turns her heartbreak into a determination for justice. Working with local law enforcement and the FBI, Isabella uncovers information linking her case to a large organized crime syndicate. Her tenacity pays off when Robert Asante and accomplices are arrested and charged with stealing millions of dollars. Isabella now has the strength to share what she’s learned and helps other victims of romance scams
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This week on the perfect scam. |
| 0:03.0 | My bank said to me, we're going to cancel your account because we believe you're involved with fraud. |
| 0:09.0 | Hmm. |
| 0:10.0 | And I went, what? |
| 0:12.0 | And I, I just freaked out. I'm on a mission. I am going to find these people. They're going to go to jail. |
| 0:20.0 | I often tell people there's not enough FBI agents or you know police agencies in the world to investigate all these kinds of transnational fraud crimes that are going on. |
| 0:30.0 | Go with your gut because your gut tells you this isn't right and I didn't listen to my |
| 0:39.2 | gut. |
| 0:41.2 | Welcome back to the perfect scam. I'm your host Bob Sullivan. Last week you heard |
| 0:47.6 | the story of Isabella who lives near the beach in Delaware. If you haven't |
| 0:52.0 | listened to that episode yet you should go back and do that now. |
| 0:55.6 | But to catch you up, Isabella had just retired there when her husband George died suddenly, |
| 1:02.1 | and she faced a dramatically different |
| 1:04.3 | Beachtown retirement life. Five years pass and Isabella at the urging of |
| 1:09.4 | friends decide to try to find companionship online. |
| 1:13.5 | She quickly meets Michael, who turns her life upside down. |
| 1:18.0 | Michael says he's a retired colonel about to move to Delaware near his childhood home, but he's been ordered |
| 1:24.3 | on an important mission to Afghanistan first. |
| 1:28.1 | Isabella hopes to meet him in person soon, but there is one complication after another, a lost camera shipping projects, travel snafoos, and Isabella starts sending him money. A lot of money. |
| 1:41.0 | During their 18-month romance, about $500,000. |
| 1:45.0 | She's deep in debt and has cashed out retirement accounts and now she can't even pay her bills. |
| 1:52.0 | We pick up the story when Michael finally offers to transfer some money into |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in -1264 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from AARP, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of AARP and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.