An 83-year-old Goodyear man thought he had finally found love again. Instead, his family says, he was taken for more than $200,000 in an elaborate online romance scam that emptied his bank accounts and pushed his credit to the brink.
Relatives say the con played out over months, with constant online conversation, carefully staged documents and sham business deals that convinced him to send large cashier’s checks and other payments until there was almost nothing left.
The victim’s stepson, Patrick McCormack, told family investigators the scheme started nearly a year ago with a Facebook message from a woman calling herself “Erika Welson,” who claimed to be in her 20s. Family members say the scammers sent what looked like a North Carolina ID and a foreign passport, then roped the man into fake gold purchases. He ultimately sent cashier’s checks that included $8,000, $7,000 and nearly $44,000, as reported by 12News. “They played on the emotions of an elderly man that is lonely,” McCormack said.
How the con worked
Scammers in these cases often mix a whirlwind romance with supposedly urgent investments or emergencies, slowly building trust before turning up the pressure for cash. Law enforcement sometimes calls this hybrid of romance and investment fraud “pig butchering,” because criminals keep grooming the victim until they think there is nothing left to squeeze.
In Arizona, reported romance-scam losses totaled nearly $47 million in 2022–23, according to reporting that cites FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center data. Fraudsters routinely push conversations off dating or social platforms, suggest opening or using shell companies or shipping fronts and send couriers to pick up cash or gold, tactics that make the fraud tough to spot and even tougher to unwind. Cronkite News outlines many of these common methods, while federal agents repeatedly warn that if someone you have never met in person starts asking for money, you should assume it is a scam until proven otherwise.
Police response and related arrests
The family says they have urged the Goodyear Police Department to open a formal investigation into the case. According to 12News, the department declined to provide details about the family’s report.
At roughly the same time, local detectives arrested a suspect accused of scamming another Valley resident out of about $1.5–$1.6 million in a separate gold-related scheme, a reminder that this is not a one-off con in the West Valley. That arrest was detailed by ABC15, and family members of the Goodyear victim say they hope more publicity will shake loose witnesses or tips that could help police connect the dots.
Protecting seniors
Federal and state authorities are almost begging people to slow down when someone they met online starts asking for cash or insists on moving the conversation to another app. The FBI urges anyone who suspects fraud to report it to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3 and to contact local law enforcement as quickly as possible, rather than waiting to “see how it plays out.”
In Arizona, state resources and consumer groups offer hotlines and guidance tailored to older adults. The Arizona Attorney General’s Office has issued consumer advisories on romance scams and runs a senior-help line for family members and caregivers who are worried about suspicious calls, texts or online messages. The Attorney General's Office outlines practical steps such as looking up phone numbers through official company websites, checking bank and credit-card statements often and looping in a trusted relative or friend before sending money or sharing financial details.
The family says the financial damage in this case has been devastating, with checking and savings accounts emptied, credit cards maxed out and additional loans taken against the home. They want neighbors to understand just how convincing these scams can be, even to smart, otherwise cautious people.
Relatives have urged anyone with information about this specific scheme to contact Goodyear police or their local law enforcement agency. For anyone worried that they or an older loved one may be in the crosshairs, they recommend saving emails, checks, receipts and screenshots and reporting everything to local police and to IC3 before any more money goes out the door.
