Conman

Financial Abuse is Real

Featured1 Comment


I was speaking to a friend of mine, who also dated a man who took advantage of her financially. She bought a house and hired him as a contractor to work on the home. She paid him $$ to do this work. He also lived with her, in the home, rent free. When they broke up, she gave him time to move out of the house. He declined to move out. He hired a lawyer and sued her for 1/2 of the house that SHE BOUGHT with her money. So he was NOT on on the title/deed or mortgage, had not contributed a dime to the home, was NOT paying rent, WAS receiving compensation for his work. How did it work out? She ended up having to pay him off – she paid $60k to get him to slither out of her life. Imagine that – a guy wants to use the court system to get what he think he is rightfully owed, when he put NOTHING into the asset. I feel for my friend.

After this conversation, and in preparation for my civil suit, I put together a financial impact statement to better understand the financial impact of dating Trash for 16 months. The amount? $127,311.93. Everything here has a receipt to back it up. This ONLY includes money associated with his deceit beginning June 2023.


Let’s go through each category shall we?

Business Interference

I have lost income directly due to Trash’s actions. This includes:

  • 10.14.22 – I had to cancel a short term booking at the AZ Chandler house because I was in the middle of the eviction process resulting in a loss of $ 1,430.62.
  • Trash called/emailed AirBnB in late July 2023 (almost a year post breakup) and reported my Mexico B509 Condo as fraudulent / duplicate. AirBnB cancelled all the reservations. There were two at the time:
    • 7.29.23 – 2 night reservation, resulting in a loss of $ 579.69.
    • 8.18.23 – 8 night reservation, resulting in a loss of $ 1,460.64.

His actions have consequences – it’s called Tortious Interference. AirBnb has admitted that he did this. We will be amending the Civil Suit to include damages for his interference.

Repairs

Repairs include anything and everything that I had to REPAIR after he broke into my AZ Chandler House and MX Condo. What did he damage/steal:

  • damaged the Jandy pool filtering system,
  • he stole the WIFI enabled landscape timer, which had to be replaced and installed
  • The door between the garage and laundry room that had to be replaced, installed, etc
  • The $$ for the locksmiths to change the locks 2x!
  • The replacement and installation of outdoor lighting and cameras he stole
  • He stole two industrial / commercial grade hoses
  • The replacement of Ring doorbells and keyless entry door locks

Fraud

NOTE, I was reimbursed by the credit card company, but the total loss for just fraudulent credit card charges is $6,941.56 ($5,883.94 + $1057.62). I filed 2 police reports with Chandler police, one for each card.

Business Credit Card (4757) – $5,883.94. This is the total amount he charged on my card without authorization between June 29th – August 25 2022. He was using my business credit card to entertain other women, including Lola and Nurse N’Poop, purchasing stuff on Amazon, purchasing gas for his truck, taking people out… He had the audacity to purchase new AC units for the Mexico house, on my credit card on August 15th 2022. So starts dating Nurse N’Poop in June 2022 and has the balls to charge $2,069.00 worth of assets on my business card for his house!

This is not just me calling it fraud. I filed a fraud claim with Bank of America – they agreed with me and credited my account.

Personal Credit Card (7767) – $1,057.62 . When I cut him off from the business card, he began using ANOTHER card, 7767, to charge things. So in the first few weeks of September 2022, he racked up $1057.62 in fraudulent charges. I did not know he still had the card, he was supposed to cut it up/not use it. He didn’t use it for many months – only AFTER he was cut off from the business card did he start using the personal credit card. Meaning he did it with purpose, he knew what he was doing. Details of this are in a previous post – Credit Card Fraud — Part 1 . Bank of America agreed this was fraud and credited my account for all the charges.

Theft

$32,601.67. This is what I can account for – meaning I have the receipts of the original purchase or cash withdrawl/transfer. Yes, I poured through credit card statements and purchase websites (Amazon, Overstock, etc). It include 3 primary areas:

  • $22,591.59 – Replacement of all items he stole from both the AZ Chandler home and the MX B509 Condo.
  • $6,010.08 – My money that he stole from the safe in the MX house. It was reimbursement of the charges Trash put on my credit card. He purchased a bunch of TV’s and alcholol for bars in MX on my card – he said he forgot his card in MX and asked if he could use my card. I said yes. Once he installed them and was paid, he gave me the money, which I put in the safe. I checked that the money was there before we left town on June 20th 2022. The money was in the safe. I had contemplated taking it with me, but chose not too, as it’s expensive to withdraw USD from an ATM in Mexico. When I went to get my things from the MX house in September 2022, he had taken all the money. We are the only two that knew the code to the safe – so it was definitely him who stole it.
  • $4000 – Money I gave to him to give the the MX RV Painter that he spent elsewhere. When I returned to MX in September 2022 to get my things, the RV guy was livid that he hadn’t been paid and threatened to sell the RV if he was not paid. I had to scramble around for 2 days to get enough cash to pay the painter so he didn’t sell the RV. Luckily I was able to VENMO money to friends that were headed to MX and get the money to the painter before he sold the RV.

Deception

$35,469.87 – yes, this is a doozy. This is split into the following categories:

CategoryAmountNotes
Car Rental$1,127.37When Trash left Kanab for MX, I had to rent a car to get around and get to SLC.
Move$7,482.08This is the cost of the move from SLC to Arizona and the cost to move furniture from my rentals to Arizona to replace items Trash had stolen from the AZ Chandler house.
Audi Repairs / Enhancements$1,211.49I thought the Audi was mine, so I paid for new tires and added a hitch to the vehicle so I could tow my trailer from SLC to MX. I clearly would NOT have done this if I thought that a) the car was not mine, or b) that he was with someone else.
Lost Income$14,230.00I had to take a month of unpaid leave to deal with his violence and shenanigans post-breakup.
MX Kitchen Remodel*

$11,418.93This is the money I either paid to Trash directly to pay the contractor OR money I paid, on my credit card for supplies.

I want to point out that the MX Kitchen remodel, we agreed to each pay 50%. He told me that the total was going to be $16,000. After we broke up, the contractor told me the total cost of the MX Kitchen remodel was $8,000. You got that right – he lied to me about the total cost of the remodel so that I would pay it all.

Also note, that we were NOT supposed to start the remodel until I returned, but he insisted we start it before I left. I was not comfortable with this, but I didn’t stick to my guns on it. So he had already been communicating and hanging out with the new GF when we went to the hardware store and purchased $2,595.52 worth of supplies (6/14/22 and 6/20/22).

The kitchen remodel story should be a post all on its own, it is so deceptive and egregious.

Legal Misc

This includes the following:

  • $14,985.50 – Eviction Judgement and the Order of Protection Legal fees reimbursement.
  • $40,000.00+ – legal fees I’ve incurred since filing the civil suit to protect myself against Trash. Money I would NEVER have had to spend had he done the right thing.

Lessons Learned

I have learned so much about myself in this fiasco.

  • I was obviously far too trusting with my money. It just never occurred to me that a significant other would be so deceptive and actually steal from the person that they claim to love.
  • I also came to the realization that I didn’t think I had anything to steal. I never thought of myself as wealthy, of possessing the kind of money that would make me a target for conmen like Trash.

I now know that I am lucky, that I do have funds that people want to steal/take and/or feel entitled to. Moving forward, in any relationship, here is my course of action:

  • NOT share my financial state with anyone.
  • Give access to my credit cards or business accounts to anyone, ever.
  • I will NEVER invest in another persons property/asset. If you want me to invest, put me on title.
  • Simplify my life so that I do not “forget” how much cash I give someone. Or better yet, take responsibility for MY STUFF, never counting on someone to own a project (RV, House Remodel, etc) on my behalf.
  • Reduce the amount of properties I have so I can manage them by myself, without help from a significant other.

Be careful out there peeps. It’s a dangerous world.

Add VPN to ASUS Wifi Router to Watch USA Shows in Mexico

FeaturedLeave a comment

I received feedback from my previous post – How To Stream Services in Mexico (DirectTV, Hulu, Netflix, AppleTV, Prime Video, etc.)

Trash definitely has a con. The Con: He charges people to set up a VPN. He has charged previous clients $250 to set up a physical VPN box as well as charge them for a monthly fee for VPN “service”. That VPN service — NordVPN. Yep. The same one I recommend. He had one customer set up a NordVPN account, got her credentials (username and password), then set up OTHER customers on her NordVPN account. So while she pays for the service, he piggybacks on that service by charging his customers (they pay him) for the service, while he is paying NOTHING.  I’ll say it again, he charges customers a “service fee”, they pay him directly, meanwhile, he is paying nothing AND he is using one paying customers account to provide the service to multiple customers. It may not be illegal, but it is certainly unethical.

Don’t fall for the con. You can set up the VPN device yourself and save yourself $200 (the wifi router I recommend will cost you $50). Here is how:

  1. Get a Wifi Router
  2. Subscribe to VPN Service
  3. Set Up the Wifi Router
  4. Install NordVPN on Wifi Router
  5. Other Recommendations

Get a Wifi Router

You can set up VPN on this Wifi Router yourself and save yourself $200. Takes 20 minutes.

First, there are a lot of Wifi routers out there. Most of them require a degree in computer science to set them up. There is an easy work-around, and is exactly what Trash has charged his clients $250 to do. Save yourself the $250+ and do this yourself.

Get yourself the ASUS AC1750 WiFi Router (RT-AC65). I recommend this wifi router because it is super simple to set up. If you live full time in Puerto Penasco / Rocky Point Mexico, you can have it delivered to K5 Enterprises in Ajo Arizona. For a small fee, they will receive it and hold it for you until you can pick it up.

Subscribe to VPN Service

Again, I recommend NordVPN – If you want to go with NordVPN, use my referral link to sign up and get a free month for purchasing a monthly plan OR get 3 months free for a 1-year or 2-year plan purchase. If you don’t want to go with NordVPN, pick any VPN service. Link below to the top 3 recommended VPN’s for DirecTV Streaming services (note: NordVPN is on the list).

For a deep dive into the top 3 VPNs available, go to
Best VPN for DIRECTV STREAM Outside US in 2023

Set Up the Wifi Router

Super easy to set up. Just turn it on, plug it into the modem (the box where cable comes in for the internet) and program it. Instructions will be included with the Router, but you can also find them here.

Be sure to change the default admin password so no one can take control of your device or make changes to your wifi network setting. This is SUPER important as everyone knows the admin default user name and password (its all over the internet), thereby giving everyone access to reprogram your Wifi router. You DO NOT want this. So change the password as part of the setup.

Install NordVPN on Wifi Router

There are instructions all over the internet on how to do this. Here are the instructions I used on How to Set Up VPN on Asus Router. Also, here is a great YouTube video with step by step instructions on how to do this.

Basically you are going to:

  1. Log in to your new wifi router
  2. Go to the VPN section and add your NordVPN details.
  3. Download the OpenVPN client configuration files from NordVPN’s server (choose a server to download its configuration files) and install on the Wifi Router.
  4. Configure DNS Server
  5. Active the VPN Client to start NordVPN on your Asus router.

Once you do this, your Wifi router is now configured to run NordVPN all the time, and every device that is connected to the Wifi network will by default be using the VPN to access content (subscription/streaming services, etc). Again, AS LONG AS ANY DEVICE is connected to the VPN enabled Wifi Network, you will be able to watch your shows in Mexico as if you were watching them from your home country (or whatever country you set up on your VPN).

Other Recommendations

You can do this. Don’t pay someone an exorbitant fee to do this for you.

Also make sure you:

  • DO NOT give your credit card details to anyone. The person offering this service stole my credit cards and racked up almost $6k in debt. Yes I have the police reports. He also used my private information to set up fraudulent DirecTV accounts. Yes, I also have the identify theft reports filed with both the police AND DirecTV. DO NOT GIVE ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION to him or ANYONE. period.
  • DO NOT let anyone have the admin password to your Wifi router. Change the admin default password so no one else has it either. Be sure to write it down. Or better yet, get yourself a password saver. Looks like you can get one for free with your NordVPN subscription: NordPass. I personally use LastPass and love it. My company uses OnePasword . Both are easy to use and a great tool to save/store username and passwords. .
  • DO NOT give anyone the password to your NordVPN account. If you do, they will have access to add devices to YOUR paid subscription! 

Please protect yourself. There are A LOT of people out there that will steal from you under the guise of “helping”. You do not need this drama in your life. Setting up VPN is easy. You can do it. If you need help, reply to this post, I will help you.

Post your questions in the comments section. I’ll do my best to reply within 24 hours. If you want to walk through this together, email me at paulasponderings@gmail.com.

Order of Possession Trial in Mexico

Featured1 Comment
Courthouse in Puerto Penasco, Mexico

Today was a tough day. Today, April 26th 2023, was the Order of Possession trial in Mexico. I am physically and mentally exhausted.

What is an Order of Possession?

I cannot find any good websites that describe it, but basically, it’s a court order that states that one person has exclusive rights to occupy a unit/home. Legase for this action: “The legal mechanism known as possessory action guarantees possession of the property to the legitimate owner of an asset.”.

Trash is listed as a co-owner of the property on the private contract (explained in my Don’t Mingle Finances post), but with this court order, I am the only one who can be in possession of the condo. Meaning if Trash comes near the unit, does any damage, harms me while I am in the condo, he can be taken to Mexican jail and pay a fine. Think of it as a USA version of an Order of Protection but for a piece of property. So as long as I’m in the condo, I am safe… but if I leave the condo, and Trash decides to harm me, I will have to file a separate police report because the Order of Possession ONLY protects the condo from his wrath.

I tried to obtain the USA version of an Order of Protection in Mexico, but from what I was told by my lawyer, this is nearly impossible to obtain in MX. Apparently Mexico is behind the times when it comes to protecting victims of domestic violence. Not to say that the USA has a one up – as we all know, the US version of an OOP is just a piece of paper and law enforcement doesn’t take them seriously (otherwise Forensic Files and Dateline wouldn’t have 20+ seasons each).

Why Do I Have an Order of Possession?

Well, after I discovered Trash’s double life, I broke up with him. Since we lived together in Mexico, I needed to remove my stuff from the home we shared. We agreed that I could get all my things Labor Day Weekend in September 2022. He would not give me the code to the condo until the day I was driving down – August 31st. Throughout the following days, he would remove the code and not allow me into the condo or the MX house to obtain my things. It was a game he was playing – removing my access unless I talked with him, which I would not. Days and days of this BS, all the while he was partying it up in Prescott with Nurse Nincompoop (aka Nurse N’Poop). How he found the time to continually harass me while love bombing his new “soul mate” is beyond me. When he returned from Prescott, he broke into my Chandler home (September 7th (Home Invasion #1)). I immediately hired laywers in both the USA and Mexico.  I was NOT safe and I had no idea how to protect myself.

I began working with Rogelio, my MX attorney on seeking an Order of Possession. It was granted immediately thanks Trash’s break-in on September 13th 2022 ( 1st Break-in and 2nd Break-in). Scariest day of my life. It took forever to serve him in Mexico, but once served, the Order of Possession was official. He was served while he was with Nurse N’Poop and friends at his Princesa D108 condo. Would be interesting to hear how he explained this one away.

He could have left well enough alone, after all, he has contributed $0 to the condo AND he made money on my money (Don’t Mingle Finances). But nope, he hired a laywer and appealed this Order of Possession. So today is the day of the appeal hearing – today is his day in court to prove his case – why he should also possess and occupy the unit.

What is Mexican Court Like?

Mexican court is very interesting – in some ways it’s the same as the US court system – inefficient, behind the times, etc.. What makes it extra complex for Americans is the requirement to translate EVERYTHING to Spanish. And I mean EVERYTHING.

So in the USA, when you have court, you have a judge, a court reporter, you have lawyers ask questions, witnesses give answers, etc.. Witnesses do not get to hear everyone’s testimony, they are called in when it is their turn. SAME in Mexico for the most part.

Here are the differences:

  • there is no judge, there is a Secretary that types the questions and answers into a computer.
  • there are multiple people in the room: the Secretary, the witness, the interpreter, and both lawyers.
  • We are each allowed 2 witnesses:
    • Trash picked his brother and Abe, a guy that works for him.
    • Representing me were:
      • Justine, the former condo property manager and person I was texting with during the breakin. 
      • Cesar, the bodyguard, whom was present when Trash broke into the condo the first time and second time. 
  • There is only one witness in the room at all times. The courtroom is a small room and there is no waiting room, so when we were not being interviewed, we stood outside or sat in our cars.
  • At the end of all the testimony, the lawyers and translators review the documentation.
  • If all looks good, the Secretary prints the documents, and everyone who participated in the day has to sign the paperwork along the borders.

Given this, it took from 11am to 5:30pm to complete all the “interviews”, prepare the documents, and have everyone sign the documents.

So What Happens Now?

The judge will get a file that is thick as thieves — evidence submitted (police reports, ring doorbell recordings, apostiled documents from the USA (my order of protection, the financial statements that show I paid 100% for the condo, all of the Chandler police reports, etc), witness statements from the court hearing today, etc.. The judge will determine the outcome. I understand he will make a decision within 3-5 months. While the court is making its decision, the Order of Protection stands in place.

So, we wait.

Why was this so hard for Me?

It’s the first time I have seen him since the USA Order of Protection hearing on Nov. 9th (OOP Upheld). So the good news is he looks HORRIBLE. I can’t believe that I found him even remotely attractive at any point. His beer gut, his man boobs, and now he has a short haircut that makes his head look like a special needs child that needs a helmet. Outside of his physical appearance, I clearly saw him for who he really is – a conman, a self-entitled, selfish, sociopath narcissist – a what is yours is mine guy that has zero moral compass.

It shook me hard. It’s like a lightning bolt hit me – I was way too trusting, too nice. There was evil on this earth and I saw it in him. 

I’ve been in shock since August of last year. I don’t go out, I don’t get to know people. I am alone almost 100% of the time. It has been really hard for me to come to grips with the fact that I was with someone that I thought I knew, but in the end, it was never real: 

  • He knowingly lied to me (he never had the money for the condo); he never intended to pay me back for his 1/2 of the condo
  • He took all the rental income; did not give me a penny
  • And now he wants to profit from my investment
  • He was not in a committed, monogamous relationship as he presented to me – he had been having sex with anyone who would have him (so gross)

Nothing about him is or was real. I’m still shook by all of this. Since November 2022, I have basically been self isolating. I don’t trust myself, I don’t trust others, I don’t want want or need any drama in my life. I don’t go out. I work from home… I’ve gone weeks without leaving my house (thank you Door Dash!).

Right now, I’m just done. I’m done with people, with humans….. I need to find a therapist to help me through this period. Just know I’m working on it. I’ll get there. But if you do not hear from me, it’s because I am trying to figure things out and heal myself.

Lessons Learned

Same lessons I speak of all my previous posts – don’t trust anyone:

  • Always do a background check before dating anyone (I use Truthfinder)
  • Speak to the ex prior to engaging in the new relationship
  • Never co-mingle money

Please pass / forward this blog onto other women who may be going through the same thing. The more we ladies a) stick together, and b) learn from each other, the less havoc these conmen will wreak in our lives.

I’m going to bed now. Going to have a good cry, hug my new cat Josie, and hope that I can sleep as I have a shit-ton of work to do tomorrow.

Ending Narcissistic Abuse Using The Court System

PaulasPonderingsLeave a comment

Narcs will do just about anything to stay in contact. Best solution is to go no-contact and move on.

I asked him to never contact me again. I blocked him on every platform (WhatsApp, Text message, Email, Facebook, Snapchat, etc). Instead of just moving on with his life with his new girlfriend Nurse Nincompoop (aka Nurse N’Poop), He:

I’ve never had to work with the police before so everything is so new to me. I’m lucky I have an amazing Arizona attorney helping me through the process.

What I’ve learned:

  • Narcissists will never take accountability for their actions. It’s always someone else’s fault.
  • When dealing with an aggressive Sociopathic Narcissist, hire a lawyer immediately — this may very well save your life.
  • Always always always go no contact. Nothing they have to say is true or warrants any of your attention — as my lawyer says, “If his lips are moving, he is lying”..

Please take care of yourself out there. I had no idea these kinds of people existed.. I’m learning the hard way. Educate yourself on narcissism and their behaviors…. it will help you spot one earlier in the dating cycle and could save your life and your sanity.

Do NOT mingle finances with anyone. You will regret it.

PaulasPonderingsLeave a comment

My fight to financially untangle myself from my Ex.

In February 2022 I purchased a condo in Mexico. Trash and I were to go in on it 50/50.  Purchase price was $250,000.  The day before we were to close, Trash told me that he didn’t want to sell his stock (which is where he said he was getting his half of the purchase). He sad he would pay me back when the market improved, SO I paid for the condo myself — 100%. I got the money for this purchase by refinancing my house in Salt Lake City Utah. I was fortunate to pay all cash for the condo.

Because of the anti-laundering laws in Mexico, they would not let me wire the money from my Bank of America account because According to Mexico laws, any account that has the words “living trust” or “trustee” in it is not considered a personal checking account. Here are the emails I received the day before closing.

Email #1 from Closing Coordinator
Email #2 from Closing Coordinator

So the end result of this email exchange is that the Mexico title company could not accept the money from my account. And we were closing the very next day — Feb. 25th 2022.  Given that we needed a quick solution — I transferred the total amount required to close Trash’s Bank of America account and he wired it to the title company.

What I did not do, and the biggest mistake of my life thus far, is remove Trash’s name from the Private Contract. I didn’t think to do this because he said he would pay me back. Big Mistake.

Now Trash is trying to take the condo from me — saying it’s 50% his since his name is on the Private Contract and is demanding that I pay him 1/2 — which would be approximately $150,000. It’s a big mess that I am trying to work out here in Mexico right now. Lawyers in Mexico are not cheap…. but what else can I do?

He continues to tell people that it is HIS condo and that I am stealing it from him. He’s waving around a piece of paper that says he paid for the condo and I’m squatting.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

I purchased the condo.  I wanted a place for my parents to stay when they come out to visit me in the winter (they live in Pennsylvania). Outside of this, we would use it as a short term rental.

Facts are:

  • I transferred all the closing money, a total of $255,395.24 from my Bank of America account to Trash’s Bank of America on Feb. 25, 2022.
  • I also paid for the earnest money deposit of $5,000.  So I paid a total of totaling $260,395.24
  • I paid for any/all repairs or improvements.  All charges were put on a credit card THAT I PAID FOR.
  • I never saw a dime of the short term rental proceeds.  As I understand it now, he has grossed over $16,000 between March — August 2022.
  • I moved into the condo early September 2022 when I moved out of Trash’s house in MX. Our house that HE stayed in with his new girlfriend.  Told me she was an “old friend” and that I had met her before (more on this later)..

So now I have two attorneys — one in the US and one in MX to fight for what is mine.

Lessons learned:

  • never ever ever mix finances with anyone, let alone a narcissist. They believe what is yours is theirs.. and will fight for it.
  • They will steal from you and not feel bad about it at all. They have zero integrity or any moral compass….
  • They will never do the right thing — in their mind it is all about them and what is owed to them.

At the end of the day, I am spending a lot of money on lawyers and a lot of time fighting for what is rightfully mine. This lesson is the hardest lesson I’m learning and the hardest battle I’m fighting to date. So save yourself the headache and heartache— never ever mix finances with an ex, let alone a Narcissist.

I met the ex girlfriend —  she is absolutely lovely

PaulasPonderingsLeave a comment

What I learned — and how it is helping me heal.

So how did it happen? I reached out to her.

Why would I do such a thing? Let me tell you.

So after Trash was evicted (story here), AZ law gives him 14 days to “make reasonable effort” to make arrangements to get his things. He had 14 days from the day after the writ was served — 10/17/22. So October 31st was his last day to make contact. He never contacted my AZ attorney, so I got the green light from my Lawyer to get rid of the stuff he left behind.

While I was making arrangements, a friend told me that the furniture Trash had convinced me to put in the house was actually not his; he had stolen it from his ex-girlfriend, Lola. I was mortified. Upon learning this, I reached out to Lola — shared with her what was going on, and let her know that I wanted to return her things to her. She responded, and we agreed to meet at my house.

To say I was nervous is an understatement. I had so much anxiety about it I took a Xanax. Trash had told me so many horrible things about her — how she wanted him back, she was stalking him, she was sending nude photos of herself to him when we were together. He said it was so bad he had to block her.

Well, as you all can guess, none of this was true. The truth is:

  • He never blocked her; they have always been in communication and continued a sexual relationship the entire time I was with him
  • She was not stalking Trash; Trash was stringing her along; breadcrumbing her. He told her that I was just a “business transaction” and alluded that they would get back together as soon as he was “done” with me
  • Yes she sent pictures to him, of her in her swimsuit (she has great boobs).. because she thought they were getting back together
  • She is a lovely woman who also had her heart broken by this monster

So the truth is, while Trash and I were doing the two-week on, two-week off time between May and December of 2021, He was stringing her along. I saw all the texts. She continued to ask him if he had a girlfriend … he insists that he was single — The very same thing he did to me after I arrived in Chandler, when questioning him about Nurse Nincompoop (aka NN), his new supply/girlfriend. I went from feeling scared to feeling compassion and empathy for Lola. She has been through so much, she is still hurting, just like me, for being so actively deceived. She has been traumatized. AND she still agreed to meet with me.

I also found out that in the early morning hours of January 8, 2022, mere weeks after I arrived in Mexico to live with him (Dec. 23rd 2021), she had made arrangements to pick up her things from Trash’s MX Mirador townhouse. She showed up early to avoid seeing him. Like 6 am early. She got up early to get her stuff before going fishing. Trash showed up and attacked her — pressured her to have sex with him.  So while I am laying in his bed, in the MX Costa Diamante house that we now called home, he got up early to harass, intimidate, and attack Lola. She showed me pictures of her bruises and the text exchange between them. He’s a disgusting human being for treating anyone like this.

Anywhoo, she came over to my house. We identified the furniture that was hers. She does not have a place to store it, so we agreed I would list it for sale and give her the money. Of course the sold price is a fraction of what she originally paid for it….. but at least it’s something. It breaks my heart to know how devastated she must have felt when she found out he stole a house full of her furniture and put it in his new girlfriends house.

She didn’t/doesn’t blame me. She treated me with nothing but kindness. Extreme kindness. She knows that I do not know anyone in Chandler, so she invited me to have Thanksgiving dinner with her. How NICE is that? But wait, there is more. She told her friends about me, and her friends reached out to me and we all met up. I now have 3 girlfriends in Chandler — the ex Lola, and her two besties Bambi and Vexatious.

So who would have thunk it, that reaching out to do the right thing would lead to new friendships.

What I’ve learned:

  • Trash was not truthful with me. Nothing that comes out of his mouth was or is true — I have receipts for everything. He continues to state untruths but has zero receipts. as my AZ attorney says, “if his lips are moving, he is lying”.
  • Trash is not a genuine person. He never cared for me — everything he presented about himself to me was a facade. He was a fake, a fraud.

When I’m ready to date again, I’m going to do things differently:

  • I will ALWAYS do a background check on the potential mate. The cost is well worth it. I purchased a truthfinder.com on Trash and the results were shocking. 4 evictions, email addresses associated to sex websites, multiple altercations with the law, etc. Crazy shit. Had I seen this report sooner, I would never have dated him.
  • I no longer believe in “crazy ex’s”. I will ALWAYS request to speak with the ex. If he is a good man and treated his lady with respect, then this should not be an issue. I know that my ex prior to Trash would happily talk to a potential partner on my behalf.

I do hope someday that karma does pay Trash a visit. For now, I will keep moving forward to heal my heart. Knowing that I never meant anything to him really hurts. But it is also helping me heal — the person that Trash presented to me never existed, the relationship I thought we had was never real.

I am forever grateful to Lola for agreeing to meet with me, for being so kind to me, and bringing the receipts I need to validate what was truly going on during our relationship.

How did I get mixed up with such a conman?

PaulasPonderingsLeave a comment

Answers to the questions friends & family are asking me.

I am a nice person. It’s my nature to see the good in all people. I trust people and take them at their word. I assume people are like me — honest, kind, compassionate, empathetic, etc..

When someone tells me they are at work, I believe them. I believe it because that is what I am doing. When someone tells me they are “just a friend”, I believe them. Because I mean it when I say it — I tell the truth, I don’t hide things. And when in a committed relationship, I am as transparent as possible.

I thought Tiny Trash was like me — kind, sincere, in love with me, and wanted the same things in a long-term committed relationship. Obviously I would NOT have turned my world upside down if I didn’t believe this. I was invested and I showed it through my actions:

  • All the time and money to fly back and forth between Salt Lake City Utah and Rocky Point Mexico for the first 6 months
  • The purchase of a house in Chandler to be closer to him
  • Moving to Rocky Point Mexico in December to live with him
  • Help him raise his 13 year old wayward son for 6 months
  • and finally, the selling of my home in Salt Lake City Utah so we could be together forever

The demise of the relationship and the way it ended sits entirely on Trash’s shoulders. He found me, a good girl, mirrored me to get what he wanted. Based on all the research I’ve done, it’s his MO — His behavior with me is consistent with his past 3 girlfriends AND his ex-wife (story to come).

The truth is, the person he presented to me is not who he is. He is a conman, sociopath, and a narcissist. He played a long con-game and I simply did not see it. I never new narcissists existed, so I was blindsided when it ended.

At first I was ashamed, embarrassed that I was so gullible, that I didn’t suspect a thing until August 24th. A good friend of mine said “Don’t make it your problem. He is at fault.”  This made me feel a lot better about the situation, and has given me the strength to share my story in hopes that others become aware that there are monsters on this planet and you need to be very careful.

I have spent the last 4 months now (to the day), researching and learning all about Narcissism and how this could have happened to me. This Medium article by Myla Morningstar The Covert Narcissist’s Wish List: 10 Traits of the Ideal Victim does a great job explaining how I was a perfect target.

So here is what I have learned / come to grips with over these last 4 months:

  • The person Trash presented to me never existed; he was mirroring me to get what he wanted.
  • That what I thought we shared was not real (real to me, not to him).
  • He lied to me about everything; he never blocked his ex, Lola (they remained friends and even slept together while we were in a committed relationship).
  • That he used my trust in him to have multiple affairs and hookups; we were never in a committed relationship in his mind.

All I did was love someone, truly, deeply, and trusted that what he told me was true. This does not make me a bad person nor is it something to be ashamed of. And I will not change who I am because of this experience. I will continue to be loving, trusting, empathic and compassionate. But what I will do, moving forward, is:

Knowing what I know now has given me the closure I need to move on from this brutal life lesson. Outside of a few more stories that need to be shared, I will focus on my future, move past this, and start living my life again.

Thank you all for reading and please share this with any friends or family that you think may be involved with a narcissist. I wished someone had let me know sooner, because finding out on my own has been a very painful experience.

Credit Card Fraud — Part 1

PaulasPonderingsLeave a comment

The Ex knows how to game the system – the system lets criminals keep on crime-ing.

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

So today, Monday January 23rd 2023, I filed a police report for credit card fraud. Chandler AZ police report (police report # redacted as to not reveal Trash’s true identify).  This is the story of how my Ex, Tiny Trash, began using a Credit Card he was no longer authorized to use 16 days AFTER we broke up. 

Let me make this perfectly clear — I own 3 Short Term Rentals (STR). I created an LLC in 2018 to manage these rentals for tax purposes. Trash is in no way associated to the LLC nor is he on any deed of these properties.

He offered, as a boyfriend, to be the primary contact for one of my properties located in Chandler AZ. All other properties are managed by property managers. He offered — he said he wasn’t busy and could do it, and I mistakenly accepted.  Because he was the main contact for this property, I gave him access to my credit cards. The purpose was to purchase items for the rental property only.

Trash had access to two of my credit cards (account numbers no longer active):

  • card ending in 7767, a personal credit card I used for business management until early 2022.
  • card ending in 4757, a business credit card, associated to the LLC I used to support my STR business. Created in early 2022.

Once I created the small business account with Bank of America that was directly tied to my LLC, I switched from using 7767 and began using 4757. This happened early 2022. I got a credit card in Trash’s name so that he could purchase materials needed to sustain a short term rental, i.e. shampoo, conditioner, toilet paper, etc..

I deactivated Tiny Trash’s business credit card (ending in 4757) on Aug 24th 2022 when I found out he was living with his new girlfriend Nurse Nincompoop (NN for short).  He of course was livid. Once he knew it was over — that I wasn’t buying his lies, he began using the first card he had access to. I thought he gave the credit card back, but clearly he did not.

We broke up on August 24th 2022. He began using the card ending in 7767 on September 8th 2022. I did not realize this until I received the statement. There should have been ZERO charges on the card as I had migrated to the credit card associated with my business (ending in 4757) and the personal card (7767) was dormant.

Somehow Trash still had the card. And he began using it in September 2022, mere weeks after we broke up. By Sept. 16th 2022, he had charged a total of $1057.62 to the card. When I learned of the charges, I filed a credit card fraud case with Bank of America:

He clearly made charges for gas, Amazon purchases, and even tried to hire a lawyer — Cardis Law Group — I assume to help him fight the eviction case I started on Sept. 8th 2022 (story here: The Eviction Process).

Ultimately Bank of America found all these charges fraudulent.

Given this confirmation from Bank of America, I filed a Police Report with the Chandler AZ police department (police report # redacted as to not reveal Trash’s true identify). I filed the report with Officer Swanson. He took the report then called Trash to get his side. Officer Swanson called me back and stated that Trash did admit to making the charges stating that the card had his name on it. That’s some kind of logic isn’t it???

Officer Swanson told me that because Trash did indeed have a card with his name on it, these charges to not meet the criteria for Credit Card fraud (like the DirectTV fraud does). So again, this has to be dealt with in Civil Court (along with all the stolen items They Steal What You Love — Part 1).

So once again, Trash gets away with NOT being held accountable in the criminal court system. It is ridiculous to me that conmen like this continue to get away with this — theft, fraud, active deception, and breach of trust/contract. Again, I go back to my experience that the system is set up for criminals to crime. Nothing more, nothing less.

The laws need to change. If there is anyone out there that knows how to change the laws and needs an advocate for why changes are needed, reach out to me. I will stand with you. These criminals need to be held accountable.

Lessons learned:

  • NEVER mix business and personal. I will never ever again give access to my credit cards to anyone else. I will manage everything myself. If I begin to feel overwhelmed, I will sell a property or hire someone to help. Period.
  • Always cancel credit cards you are not using. I did not do this because there were still some monthly charges that Trash was supposed to transition to the new card. He did not. I should have taken care of this.

At the end of the day, I will never be too busy with work and my side hustle to not protect myself. I will never trust a partner to do the right thing. I will make sure that I take care of anything and everything. Because at the end of the day, this is my livelihood.

Wire Fraud — January 2023 (5 months post-breakup)

PaulasPonderingsLeave a comment

Retaliation is real.  Drama is his game.

Picture from Utahlandtitle

On January 31st, 2023, I received a call from Bank of America. Trash had wire transferred money into my account from his Wells Fargo account and it was flagged as fraudulent. Bank of America was calling me to get my approval to return the funds. Of course I said yes. The agent that called me did not have details on why the transfer was marked as fraud, and gave me the Bank Of America business account fraud department number (1–800–729–9437 option 2,3,3)to call to get more details. (Case # redacted as to not reveal my identify).

So today, Feb. 3rd 2023, I called Bank of America Business checking Fraud department to get more details about the wire fraud.

Here is the timeline:

1/19/23 — Trash wire transferred $3500 from his Wells Fargo account to my BofA business checking account. Here are the details from my Bank of America statement:

wire fraud - update due to settlement

1/30/23 — Trash then called his bank (Wells Fargo) and reported wire fraud on the transaction that HE INITIATED. Bank of America has the following note from Wells Fargo (the remitter): “Please return payment per fraud”.

1/31/23 — My bank, Bank of America, called me and told me the transfer had been flagged as fraud and was seeking my approval to return funds. Of course I gave permission and the funds were returned the very same day. Here are the details from my Bank of America statement:

What in the sand hill is going on? Why would he do this? And what is the significance of the dates January 19th and 30th 2023?  Was he trying to hide money?  Was he trying to set me up as perpetuating wire fraud?  He has not reported this to the police as no officer has called me from Gilbert Police to seek an explanation.

But for now, be very very very aware that retaliation is real — they will do whatever the can to hurt you. I have reported this incident to my Lawyer as well as the Chandler police (police report # redacted as to not reveal Trash’s true identify).

If anyone has been through this and can explain the significance of doing this, please comment. I just have no idea why someone would do this 5 months post-breakup.