An 80-year-old Silverton woman says an online romance that started on Facebook emptied her savings and nearly cost her life. Jean Schoney says the relationship, which began with friendly messages, slowly turned into a string of urgent pleas for cash until she had sent more than $80,000 and felt completely overwhelmed. She is now speaking out to neighbors around Greater Cincinnati to warn that loneliness can quietly open the door to fraud.
Schoney’s story was first detailed on Local 12. The station reported that she wired money to a man she met online until the total loss topped $80,000. As reported by Local 12, Schoney said, “I was ready to kill myself because of him,” and she now hopes that the specifics of what happened to her will make others think twice before trusting anyone they only know from a screen with their money.
How the scam typically works
Federal prosecutors say romance scammers tend to move slowly at first, building trust over weeks or months while using stolen or AI-generated photos to pose as someone they are not. Once the emotional hook is in, they invent emergencies, business troubles, or travel problems that require fast cash. Victims are often pushed to send money through wire transfers, gift cards, or cryptocurrency so the funds are hard to trace or claw back.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio warns people to hit pause before sending any money and to verify who they are really talking to. The office lays out common tactics and a detailed checklist of red flags in guidance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio.
The scale of the problem
Romance fraud is not a one-off horror story. The FBI says its Internet Crime Complaint Center received 17,910 romance-related complaints in 2024, with reported losses of about $672 million nationwide. Agents note that many victims feel embarrassed and never report what happened, which means the true losses are likely higher.
The FBI urges anyone who suspects a romance scam to file a complaint with its IC3 portal so investigators can coordinate with banks and local police when possible. Those national trends help explain why victims in the Cincinnati area keep surfacing with losses both big and small and why officials are turning up the volume on public warnings.
Where to get help
If you think you or someone you care about is being targeted, authorities recommend cutting off contact immediately, saving texts, emails, social media messages, and bank or wire records, and then reporting the case to the FBI’s IC3 portal or your local police department.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office also directs older victims and their families to the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1‑833‑372‑8311. The Ohio Attorney General’s Office offers additional consumer guidance and reporting tools at OhioProtects.org or by phone at 800‑282‑0515. For federal reporting, visit IC3 and keep copies of any financial transfers or conversations tied to the suspected scam.
Local context
In the Cincinnati market, local outlets have repeatedly highlighted similar stories, from smaller wire transfers out of Walnut Hills to long-running schemes that cost seniors tens of thousands of dollars. Those reports, along with Schoney’s account, show the same script playing out again and again. Scammers nudge conversations off public platforms, encourage secrecy, slowly isolate victims, and then ask for money in ways that banks and family members often catch only after serious damage is done.
For additional local examples and consumer tips, see coverage from WCPO’s consumer unit at WCPO.
Schoney says she chose to relive her own ordeal publicly because, as she told Local 12, “I was ready to kill myself because of him,” and she wants others to understand that the emotional fallout can be just as devastating as the financial loss. Her message is blunt: be skeptical of sudden online romance, run reverse-image searches on profile photos, and talk to family or law enforcement before sending a dime. If you think you have been targeted, she urges, file a report so you are not facing the aftermath alone.
