She knew ‘Donnie’ wasn’t real — she sent $90,000 anyway

Jean Booth sent more than $90,000 to a boyfriend she never met — and, by her own admission, never fully believed was real.

The 43-year-old Maryland woman fell for “Donnie,” an online suitor posing as a U.S. Army paratrooper, after connecting with him on Match in January 2025. Over 237 days and more than 10,000 messages, Ms. Booth wired cash for his daughter’s school fees, medical bills and his repeatedly delayed return home from overseas.

She told The Associated Press she recognized the warning signs early, at one point admitting, “I’m at war with myself,” as she debated whether to send yet another payment.

Her doubts eventually led her to track down another woman entangled with the same fake persona — a discovery that upended both of their lives and forced Ms. Booth to confront just how far the deception had spread.

Romance scams are surging nationwide. More than 49,000 Americans reported losing a combined $1.3 billion to romance scams last year, an increase of at least 14% from the year before, according to Federal Trade Commission data. Experts point to pandemic-era isolation as a driving factor, leaving more people vulnerable to online predators who exploit loneliness and hope.

Ms. Booth’s yearlong ordeal, chronicled in a new Associated Press investigation, offers a rare, detailed look at how such scams unfold — and why victims often struggle to walk away even after suspecting the truth.

Read more:

• She knew he wasn’t real. She was in love with him anyway. One woman’s story of a romance scam