A fraudster posing as radio host and celebrity financial advisor Dave Ramsey tricked a 72-year-old woman on a fixed income into investing in a bitcoin scam, according to an Omaha TV news report.
Ellen Graham told WOWT-TV this week that she invested $2,000 after being fooled by a phony website that appeared to be connected to Ramsey, including a video of the financial-advice personality.
"It fooled me, fooled me, fooled me, fooled me," she said, showing the faked website on her smartphone. That site led Graham to a text-messaging conversation with someone who claimed to be "Dave," who pushed her to invest more, telling her, "You've got to have more money," she told a reporter.
A fake bitcoin wallet appeared to show that Graham's $2,000 investment had more than doubled to over $5,000, but another app showed her account really contained less than $6, the station reported.
WOWT reported this week it contacted Dave Ramsey program representatives about the fake website and they said the info was being shared with the show's lawyers. Ramsey's offices were closed Friday and spokespeople weren't immediately available for comment.
