The Buckingham

Esther Ortiz-Rodeghero, a 55-year-old woman of Castle Rock, C.O., lost $500,000 to a man she thought she knew on an online dating site, specific for the elderly.

Recently widowed, Ortiz-Rodeghero sought to the world wide web to find love. “I was grieving, and I was lonely, and I wanted someone to share my life with” said Ortiz-Rodeghero.

She met a man by the name of “Wayne” on seniorpeoplemeet.com. He claimed to be a Major General serving in Iraq. The two emailed every night, but could not speak on the phone because of “security reasons.”

Before long, he began to ask for money. First, for a couple hundred dollars to help his son, then he aked for thousands to launch a business the two would share. Ortiz-Rodeghero wired money all over the world, using her husbands life insurance, her savings, 401k and even took to borrowing loans, believing he would pay her back.

She said she wised up when she sent “Wayne” a plane ticket to Colorado and he never showed up.

Castle Rock Police Lt. Tim Gorman said these scammers could be anywhere, preying on anyone.

One year later, Ortiz-Rodeghero says she is done with online dating, “I will never, ever give another man another dime ever!”