Actor Imposter Scams Clearance Applicant Out of Thousands

I recently ran across an interesting and unusual Defense Office of Hearing and Appeals case in which the clearance applicant began communicating via social media with a person who she thought was an actor from a show she likes. The applicant started sending him gifts and money worth thousands of dollars, and even gave him her social security number so that he could open up credit card accounts in her name. To top it all off, he eventually asked her for start-up funds to open a clothing store. She got a home equity loan for $37,000 and wired it to him to an overseas bank.

The applicant started to become suspicious when he refused to send a selfie or want to meet in person, although she continued to send him money. She eventually hired a lawyer to help her resolve the $100,000 in delinquent debt he left her with. Her poor judgment resulted from having just been divorced from a ten-year marriage, being new to social media messaging, and being duped by a very good conman. The judge in this case noted there were numerous indicators she should have paid attention to before blindly giving this imposter the financial reins of her life. She demonstrated a severe lack of
judgment and insight, and continues to view herself as the victim. Although it has been four years since this happened, she is still buried in debt and might have to file for bankruptcy just to be able to pay her bills. This resulted in the denial of clearance eligibility. You can read the entire summary here.