Since I started this blog I have referred to my father as the victim of a Jamaican lottery scam. While correct, this description is inadequate because my dad is in fact the primary victim of a crime with many casualties. Consider the other parties adversely affected by the scam:
- My late mother. As with most marriages of their generation, there was no "his" and "her" money. It was all theirs and thus my dad's losses were my mom's as well. And I am sad to report that while she was in the early stages of the dementia that eventually took her life, my father - in a desperate act antithetical to his character - took advantage of her impairment and talked her into withdrawing cash from a joint bank account after he had been denied access, thoroughly convinced that all would be forgiven when he received his big prize.
- My siblings. Because they also oppose the scam, like me they are now regarded as adversaries by my father.
- Me. While I do not think of myself as a victim, like my siblings I will never have the same relationship with my dad that I did before. And though I don't see my father as a burden, I have been saddled with the administrative burden associated with being his conservator.
- Potential beneficiaries. I cringe whenever I calculate the opportunity cost of my parents' losses. For instance, the funds could have put two grandchildren through college or helped other family members in times of need. Or been used to improve their aging home. Or donated to organizations dear to them. Instead, my dad's benevolence (intent to share his winnings, which he often mentioned) was exploited by a ring of conniving Caribbean scumbags.
- Friends. The circle of financial losers extends beyond our family. My father borrowed money from several acquaintances and collectively owes them thousands of dollars that will never be paid back.
- Creditors. Because most of my parents' liquid assets were lost in the scam, my dad is cash-poor and subsequently unable to pay off his credit cards, let alone make the minimum monthly installments. All have now been sent out for collection and some lenders have written off his outstanding balance as a bad debt.
- Other senior citizens. As I noted earlier, my father has served as a money mule for the crooks, receiving payments from other victims and wiring the proceeds overseas. And on one occasion, as another "favor" to his island masters he willingly participated in a scheme to con a retiree in Texas.
So as you see, this post is not an exercise in semantics. It is unassailable proof that when it comes to Jamaican lottery scams, the victim is not the only victim.
