Within two months of texting and talking, Mike told Ms. Handeland, 71, that he loved her. Then he asked her for money.

Ms. Handeland was instructed to deposit cash into machines known as cryptocurrency A.T.M.s. Often found inside grocery stores, gas stations and smoke shops, the kiosks resemble conventional A.T.M.s but convert cash into cryptocurrency.

In 19 transactions starting last October, Ms. Handeland deposited $98,300 into the machines. All of it vanished — as did Mike, who turned out to be a fiction.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/technology/fraudsters-cryptocurrency-atms.html

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5799124&forum_id=2#49437281)

Taylor Thomson, the 66-year-old middle child of the billionaire Thomson family, and Ashley Richardson, a 47-year-old once-affluent California mom, were the best of friends who enjoyed living it up in Los Angeles after first meeting at a 2009 house party in Malibu.

The rosy relationship, however, collapsed in 2022 when their psychic advisers pointed them to invest in a crypto token that crashed within a year.

Thomson accused her friend of making hundreds of thousands of risky trades behind her back and only using her for her wealth, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Richardson denied the allegations and blamed the billionaire — who she claimed once hit on her — for destroying their friendship and leaving her struggling to make ends meet.

“Because of you I have lost everything, and you decided to sue the person who had nothing left to lose,” Richardson said in one of her last messages to Thomson. “I loved you more than anything.”

In their more than 12 years as close friends, Richardson was one of Thomson’s biggest supporters, even going as far as helping the heiress relocate her beloved chickens from Bel Air to Hollywood, according to messages between the two women.

Friends claimed that Thomson, whose family ranks as the third richest clan in the world, had trouble trusting people and could be aggressive when she believed anyone was after her money, the WSJ reported.

Following the pandemic, Richardson found herself engrossed in the words of celebrity psychic Michelle Whitedove, who recommended that her followers invest in the upcoming Persistence crypto coin.

Richardson brought up the token to Thomson, who grew interested and sought advice from her own psychic, Robert Sabella, an astrologer she regularly consulted with, according to the women’s messages.

“Taylor trusts her own instincts and would use Robert as a sounding board,” Thomson’s spokesman told the WSJ now of their interactions, “but by no means would she make substantial life decisions based on his suggestions.”

After getting the confirmation from Sabella, the two women began investing heavily in Persistence. Richardson put most of her savings into the coin while Thomson poured in more than $40 million.

Richardson claimed that Thomson became overzealous in the spending and reined in the heiress when she suggested spending another $60 million on the token following early success.

Thomson also drafted a letter to her brothers, who own the largest stake in the Thomson fortune, accusing them of restricting her ability to invest the family wealth in the crypto market, the outlet reported.

During their trading spree, Richardson said she spent as much as 20 hours a day researching cryptocurrencies and executing trades for Thomson — at times holding as much as $140 million in her friend’s investment, according to the WSJ.

When the 2022 crypto market crash happened, Richardson lost everything, while Thomson felt betrayed and hired lawyers and consultants to get her money back.

Thomson sued both Richardson and Persistence in 2023, seeking at least $25 million for their alleged role in roping her into the investment as a targeted “whale.”

Thomson and Persistence settled for an undisclosed amount of money, while Richardson is fighting her former friend in court.

https://nypost.com/2025/08/24/us-news/how-thomson-heiress-dumped-and-destroyed-her-best-friend-after-pumping-80m-into-crypto-deal-over-psychics-advice-report/

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5799124&forum_id=2#49439193)