Laura Kowal, a widow from Illinois, was found dead hundreds of miles from home after being scammed out of $1.5 million by someone she met on a dating app. The 57-year-old had a nearly two-year online relationship with a person she thought was a Swedish businessman named “Frank Borg.” Not long after her daughter received a message from a federal investigator alerting her to a possible fraud scam, Kowal disappeared. When her daughter visited her home in Galena, she found a chilling note penned by her mother predicting her own death due to her secret “double life” involving Frank.
In the note, Kowal admitted to living a double life over the past year, leaving her broke and broken. She mentioned trying to stop the situation multiple times but believed it would ultimately lead to her death. The handwritten letter also included instructions on how to access her mother’s emails, which detailed how her relationship with “Frank” evolved and how she was manipulated into sending over $1.5 million to a fake company called Goose Investments. Kowal’s body was found floating in the Mississippi River just days after her daughter received the warning from the federal investigator.
Authorities have not been able to determine the true identity of “Frank.” His emails originated from Ghana, and the photos used were stolen from social media images of a doctor in Chile. Kowal’s daughter believes that the scammer caused her mother to fear for her life. She blames the scammers and everyone involved in the scam for her mother’s death. Statistics from the Federal Trade Commission revealed that over 64,000 Americans were defrauded of more than $1.14 billion by romance scammers in the past year. Gowe believes that at some point, her mother began receiving threats from the scammer, leading her to participate in illegal activities to try to recoup the money she had given.
Gowe has made it her mission to share her mother’s story in the hopes of preventing others from falling victim to similar scams. She left her job to dedicate herself to educating others about the dangers of romance scams. She believes that her mother felt she had no other choice but to participate in illegal activities due to the threats she received. Gowe is determined to spread awareness about these scams to prevent others from becoming victims. She believes that by sharing her mother’s story, she can help people recognize the signs of romance scams and protect themselves from falling into the same traps that led to her mother’s tragic end.
