‘She can’t let it go’: Elderly Florida woman fell for a “How was your day?” Caller. Then she lost $141,000, her house and car

A friendly phone call shouldn’t cost someone their retirement. Yet scammers can spend months earning trust before asking for money. For one elderly Florida woman, casual conversations with a stranger eventually became part of a devastating financial ordeal.

The danger wasn’t just the promise of sudden wealth. It was the attention that made the promise believable. As with an elderly woman who believed she was talking to Elon Musk, personal connection helped keep an expensive deception alive.

According to Atlanta Black Star, Merdine James, 74, and her husband, Fritz James, 87, were nearing retirement when a caller offered them an extraordinary prize. The Florida couple had just one year left on their mortgage. Instead of enjoying that security, they eventually found themselves without a home.

That should’ve been a red flag 

The trouble began in 2023. A woman identifying herself as Susan Smith claimed to represent Publishers Clearing House and announced that the couple had won $4 million, two cars, and a truck.

A Stuart Police Department report, obtained by the outlet, described the couple being notified about a Jamaican lottery prize. Because both originally came from Jamaica, the claim did not immediately seem suspicious to them.

Fritz reportedly wanted to help his sister in California with the winnings. However, the caller insisted they first needed to pay taxes and keep the payments confidential.

The couple started sending money. Meanwhile, their supposed benefactor cultivated a more personal relationship with Merdine. She asked whether Merdine remembered to take her medication and checked in with questions like “How was your day?”

Those friendly calls reportedly took a different turn when Merdine questioned the arrangement. The caller grew angry and yelled at her, prompting suspicions that something was wrong. Nevertheless, payments continued until February 28, 2026.

By that point, the couple had lost more than $141,000. Their house was gone by July 2025, and they spent months living in a hotel. Merdine also said relatives blamed them for their situation and stopped providing assistance.

Their experience recalls a California couple who sent $30,000 to a Facebook scammer posing as Tom Selleck. In both accounts, a relationship built around a false identity became financially ruinous.

The nightmare wasn’t over 

Kirstin Mikalauskas, a volunteer at St. Mary’s Kitchen, met the Jameses when they sought help at the church. She paid toward their hotel stay and worked to involve authorities. “They had no money and no place else to go,” Mikalauskas told police.

She contacted the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) and an elder abuse hotline. After obtaining an authorized representative designation through DCF, she filed a police report for the couple.

Photographs published by TCPalm showed Mikalauskas examining documents with the Jameses. Bags held wire-transfer receipts dating from 2023 through 2026, alongside a stack of Amazon gift cards sent to “Susan Smith.”

“Merdine is stuck in a loop. Both mentally and in her reality,” Mikalauskas told TCPalm. “She feels so much shame that she can’t let it go.”

Adult Protective Services approved a grant for the couple to stay at a six-bedroom assisted living facility in Port St. Lucie through March. When that funding expired without further word from DCF, the owner agreed to accept what they could pay. The facility charged $3,600 monthly, while the couple could manage approximately $1,700.

Such scams have affected thousands of older Americans. The National Sheriffs’ Association reported that 60,000 victims lost $38 million to Jamaica-linked schemes in 2015, with approximately half older than 70.

In a separate case, Jamaican national Roshard Andrew Carty, 34, was arrested after an elderly woman paid him more than $600,000 believing she had won a sweepstakes. Authorities accused him of exploiting her isolation.

Federal investigators have traced many sweepstakes scams to Jamaica. However, the location of the caller who targeted the Jameses remains unclear.

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