She Trusted the Wrong Man
An intelligent accounting professor falls for a charming yoga instructor younger than her. But his seduction masks a devastating scheme that will cost her everything.
Why did this very intelligent woman fall for this much younger loser?
That's the question at the heart of this story.
Meet Jorge. He's 35, living in Washington, D.C.
By day, he teaches yoga. By night, he teaches Spanish in his community.
And he's handsome. Very handsome.
One day in 2005, a woman walks into his Spanish class.
Her name is Sue. She's 47 years old.
Sue is no ordinary student. She's a professor at American University's School of Business.
She teaches accounting and taxation.
She likes Jorge's teaching style. A lot.
Soon, Jorge becomes her private yoga instructor.
They meet regularly. They spend hours together.
And something happens. They start to feel it for each other.
Despite the age gap, they begin dating.
By 2008, they're still together. Sue is deeply in love with him.
One day, Jorge discovers something. Sue has money saved up.
Not a fortune. Just what a college professor manages to stash away.
He approaches her with an idea.
I have experience trading stocks. Let me invest for you.
We can build a secure financial future together.
Sue trusts him completely. She agrees.
Jorge opens a joint investment account. Sue starts transferring her savings.
But here's what Sue doesn't know. Jorge has no idea what he's doing.
He's day trading. Which is essentially gambling.
And he's losing. A lot.
Instead of admitting the problem, he tells Sue they need to invest more money.
So Sue remortgages her house.
She withdraws money from her retirement fund.
She borrows money from her own father.
And she hands it all to Jorge.
But while Sue's account is bleeding money, Jorge is quietly pocketing a cut for himself.
Sue is losing everything. Jorge is getting rich.
An accounting professor. A taxation expert. Yet she doesn't stop it.
Probably because she loves him.
By 2009, Jorge has lost over 300 thousand dollars of Sue's money.
He's made about 250 thousand dollars for himself.
But then it gets worse.
Over the years, the total volume of Jorge's trades exceeds 100 million dollars.
The IRS notices.
Their automated systems see an accounting professor making millions in revenue.
Come tax season, Sue gets an adjustment notice.
She owes 15 million dollars in back taxes.
Plus 3 million more in penalties.
Sue is not only broke. She's in debt. Deep debt.
Her reputation as an accounting professor is shattered.
Everything she worked for is gone.
A few months later, Jorge comes to Sue's house.
We don't know exactly what they discuss.
But we can guess. She's had enough. She wants her money back.
Something in Jorge snaps.