In an interview with 'Good Morning America', the 'Black-ish' actress opens up about how she got conned by a 'charming' gym manager into investing in a business that didn't exist.
- May 13, 2020
AceShowbiz - Jenifer Lewis learned about romance scam the hard way. The actress known for her role as Ruby Johnson on "Black-ish" has fallen victim to a $50,000 con by a charmer convincing her to invest in a business that didn't exist, and she shared her story to prevent other women from falling into the same trap.
During an appearance on "Good Morning America", the 63-year-old described California gym manager Antonio Mariot Wilson, whom she dated for three months, as "charming" and "handsome." She added, "He said had graduated from Oxford University. He said he had been in the Navy Seals, I'm thinking, my God, God sent the man."
Admitting that she "wasn't thinking if it's too good to be true," the Mama Odie of "The Princess and the Frog" actress has since accepted that their relationship was a romance scam. "I was investing in a dream," she pointed out. Asked how she felt after finding out about Wilson's deceit, she confessed, "It was so painful."
On the motivation behind her going public over the experience, the "Baggage Claim" actress stressed, "I'm speaking out because I care." She added, "How can this happen to me? Educated, world-traveled, successful in show business, and got conned out of $50,000. I was embarrassed, I was humiliated. But I stood up for other women."
Days earlier, on Friday, May 8, Wilson pleaded guilty to a federal charge of wire fraud. In a plea agreement filed in a Los Angeles federal court, the California gym manager admitted to deceiving Lewis and three other women into giving him nearly $400,000 as investment in his non-existent sound design company and software business.
On Monday, May 11, Lewis celebrated Wilson's guilty plea by tweeting, "It took 5 years, but we FINALLY did it! We caught the man who conned me out of $50,000. Sometimes justice DOES prevail." When a fan pointed out, "You come across as someone immune to being scammed," she responded by stating, "I'm human baby. That's the whole message. If it can indeed happen to MEEEEEE. well u know the rest."
Lewis first met Wilson at the gym where he worked, unlike his three other victims who met him on Bumble and other online dating apps. She later sued the gym for not inspecting Wilson before hiring him, but has since reached a $13,000 settlement.
