Lori Flowers thought she was helping a close friend, but she lost $600,000 to an online scam and was left with a $225,000 tax bill linked to retirement withdrawals.
Flowers, 58, fell victim to a pig-butchering scam after a man contacted her on LinkedIn, claiming to be from Brussels. Over months, he gained her trust and persuaded her to invest in a fake US business. The money was gone, and the tax bill followed when her retirement withdrawal was taxed as income.