A romantic scammer believed to be Nigerian was able to convince a California widow out of $425,000 — at one point, even convincing her to sell her Riverside home below market price. Bonnie Doose, 76, says the experience was similar to being “brainwashed.”
Doose became a widow in 2023 when her husband died by suicide after a long battle with a terminal illness. From then on, she described her life as lonely. She has no children, and her closest relative is a stepniece who lives in San Bernardino County, so she went online and shared that she was looking for companionship. “I just put it out there,” she said. “I’m honest.”
