The FBI has long warned women about romance schemes, but police in Lighthouse Point say it happened again, this time to a 71-year-old woman who lost more than $61,000 to a man she believed was a romantic partner.
Victim believed she was helping
According to police, the woman thought she was communicating with a man named “James Lee Jackson” and agreed to loan him $61,530 for a construction project. She believed the money would be repaid.
Instead, detectives say, the person she was talking to was actually 64-year-old Kevin Crosswright.
Suspect turns himself in
Police said Crosswright flew from his home in Colorado to South Florida to turn himself in. His arrest report describes his actions as part of a “clear pattern of money laundering” carried out “in a scheme to defraud victims with a promise of a return on their investment.”
Defense pushes back
Defense attorney John Hager told a judge, “These are mere allegations. He’s not charged with anything whatsoever.”
Victim speaks of betrayal
The Lighthouse Point woman told detectives, “She feels horrible and penniless… and betrayed.”
