The relationship started on an online dating site. Katsumi Iwasaki was enthralled by a person who claimed to be a US soldier stationed in Damascus, Syria. They quickly fell to emailing “sweet things,” Iwasaki said.
The 81-year-old San Francisco man had been living alone after his partner of 22 years died of lung cancer, and the budding relationship “made me feel like I had a bright future.” After a few months of corresponding in late 2016, the person, who said his name was “James Lopez,” mentioned the gold — $1 million worth. Lopez needed money to ship a cache from Syria to San Francisco for safekeeping, he said.
“I was lonely and looking for a friend, and whatever James said I think I trusted,” said Iwasaki, who began wiring increasingly large chunks of his retirement savings to Lopez, though the pair had never met. The person claiming to be Lopez promised he would split the gold when he visited San Francisco, said Iwasaki, but neither the gold nor Lopez materialized.
