An Illinois widow found dead hundreds of miles from her home was scammed out of $1.5 million by someone she met on a dating app – and wrote a chilling note predicting that she would “end up dead” because of her secret “double life,” according to her family.
Laura Kowal, 57, had a nearly two-year online relationship with someone she thought was a handsome Swedish businessman named “Frank Borg” who she met on Match.com after losing her husband of 24 years due to cancer, her daughter, Kelly Gowe. , told CBS News.
Gowe then received an alarming message from a federal investigator on August 7, 2020, warning that his mother was allegedly the victim of “a fraudulent scam” – after which the widow disappeared.
The panicked daughter rushed to her mother’s house in Galena, Illinois, where she found a disturbing handwritten note addressed to her, she told the outlet.
“You were correct in your judgment of me,” Kowal’s letter read.
“I lived a double life last year. It left me shattered and shattered. Yes, it involves Frank, the man I met through online dating.
“I tried to stop it several times, but I knew I was going to die eventually.”
The note also provided instructions on how to access her mother’s emails, which detailed how her “relationship” with “Frank” had transformed over time – and how she had been manipulated into sending more $1.5 million to a fake company called Goose Investments.
Just two days after the federal government’s appeal, Kowal’s body was found floating in the Mississippi River near Canton, Mo., more than 200 miles from his home in Galena.
An autopsy was inconclusive and police ruled Kowal died by drowning without any obvious signs of fair play.
His family is not convinced.
“I was never ashamed if the outcome was suicide,” Gowe told CBS News.
“And it’s not because I don’t want to believe it. There would be some closure if we could prove that my mother committed suicide. …But do I believe they proactively sought evidence as part of an investigation beyond suicide? No.”
Investigators have yet to determine who “Frank” really is. Her email was sent from Ghana and the photos used were actually photos stolen from a Chilean doctor’s social media, the report said.
Gowe believes “Frank” made his mother feel “like she was in danger.” That she was going to die.
“They’re the crooks,” she said. “These are the criminals behind these emails. It’s Frank Borg… this character. He killed my mother. And everyone who is involved in this scam in any capacity, who moves money, who makes a phone call, who clicks “enter” and “send” via email – they are all responsible for the death of my mother.
Kowal is just one of 64,000 Americans who have been scammed out of more than $1.14 billion in the past year, according to the Federal Trade Commission, which says the number of victims is probably much higher.
Gowe believes that at that point her mother and the scammer took their conversations offline and her mother began receiving threats.
“I think there were threats behind it, or maybe it was her way of getting back the money she gave them,” Gowe said.
“It really saddens me that it got to this point where she ultimately participated in illegal behavior, doesn’t it? And I believe she was doing this because she felt obligated to do it. There was no other choice.
Last year, Gowe quit her job to focus on sharing her mother’s story, in hopes that others would not fall victim to similar schemes.
“I wouldn’t be doing her justice,” Gowe said, “if I didn’t share this case and her story to help other victims and educate people so no one else falls victim to the crime of romance scam. “
New York Post
