My Mom Is In A Love Scam And Has Lost All Her Money And Refuses Help. Doctors Are Taking This Very Lightly. I Don't Know What To Do Next.
location: California
I posted this in another group and was told that I may get some extra help here. I don't know how to help my mom who has dementia from the financial abuse she is a victim to when she refuses to believe that there is anything wrong. any and all suggestions would be appreciated
orifinal post:
for two years now my mom (80) has destroyed her life because she believes that she is in a relationship with Elon musk and will be receiving millions of dollars, cars, etc. this started when she was on facebook and 'won a car' and needed to pay $500 shipping fee to receive it. it's just snowballed from there.
we were very close. she was with me and my 3 kids daily. she would pick up and drop off my oldest at school. we were together weekends and holidays. very close. she slowly became distant even when present. just looking at her phone or laying in the bed all day long. she seems disinterested. slowly she started spending more time alone at home. ive hand mental health concerns about my mom entire life. she would always brush it off as being 'different' or 'the black sheep' of the family. she takes medication for depression but overall kept me in the dark about the details. parents have been divorced early on, she's had boyfriends but most used her and moved on. she's been alone, focused on her religious beliefs for over 10 years and seemed the happiest she's ever been.
these opportunities that came up through Facebook really excited her. she would spending her entire day running around town buying gift cards to send to receive 'the shippment'. i did everything to prove that it was a scam but she refusea to believe me and says 'you just don't know.'. Everyone tells her it's a scam but she refuses to believe. it's gone so far that some stores have banned her from buying gift cards. she gave away all of her savings. the exact amount is unknown but I estimate it was over 20k. she ruined her credit taking out cash for gift cards. another $15k. she was out of money in about a year. for the last shes been using her income (disability) to pay scammers. she doesn't pay her rent or her utilities. it's been the same cycle, first of the month comes and she vows that she wont be spending any money and by the 5th she has nothing left. which leaves me to pay for all her expenses, rent, food, utilities, etc.
my husband has not been supportive as he says she is minipulating me and she knows exactly what she is doing. we have 3 kids together and I work full time so we are doing ok but not well enough to cover all her expenses. eapcially since she is creating this problem for herself. i feel like im being scammed by the scammers. they know that I will help (im an only child) so they convince her each month to give it all alway. and come back for more at the 1st of the next month.
I have taken her to the doctors and they say that she has dementia but that she doesn't meet the criteria for any further action. she insists on living alone (so she can continue doing what she is doing) so they are not providing any help.
this past month, she gave me her money because she didn't want to give it away. immediately she was convinced that it was a mistake and wanted it back but told her she gave it to me for a reason and that we weren't going back. I gave her money to pay her rent, she gave it to the scammer and caused a $75 late fee. she doesn't care. during the month, i bought her food, paid her bills, had groceries delivered every few days. hired someone to do her laundry (she had completely let her home go) and doing everything to get her comfortable again. it was so bad (she kept so much from me) that she didn't have toilet paper or soap to bathe with or wash hands.
during the month she was convinced that $200 more would get elon to come with the shipment and take her to Texas where they would get married. a gave in, gave her the money and nothing happened. she still believes that all of this is true.
my final straw. today she tells me that the scammer made her promise that I would have nothing to do with her money and she agreed. this hurt me so much. I cant stand the control this person has over my mom. month after month, destroying her life and dragging me into it. i told her that I can't stand by and let someone take advantage of her and that if she didn't want me to manage her finances then we both know that she will end up giving it all away. I can no longer be apart of this toxic situation. it's not health for my mental health and causes a lot of stress. I, in turn, am less patient at home with my own family. I don't know what else to do. I'm at the point where I think that going no contact is the only option. she's choosen the scammer and I don't want to be scammed anymore in the process. Am I wrong
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