77-year-old U.S. man is sentenced to jail in Spain after falling for romance scam

Forum 8 years ago

77-year-old U.S. man is sentenced to jail in Spain after falling for romance scam

A retired pastor from Maine 77 year old Joseph Bryon Martin, was arrested by the Apanish police last year for carrying $450,00 worth of cocaine and has been sentenced to six years in a Spanish prison after he allegedly fell victim to a “romance scam” that targets senior citizens in the United States.

Martin had no idea he was moving drugs. He thought he was only doing a favour for the woman he met online in 2009 by helping her move real estate documents she asked him to help her with.

His son, Andy Martin, told Fox News Latino that he is bringing his dad's plight to the public because
"I'd like to get the word out about this,""so other lonely seniors don't fall prey."
"Seniors get trapped, and they send money, and, once they do that, these people sell their information to other scammers. I want people to know what's happening."

He testified in February before the US Senate Special Committee on Aging, which is looking into catfishing schemes that target seniors.
He said: