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Woman duped out of $500 on Christian dating site

WINDER, Ga. — Winder police are investigating after a woman said she was scammed by a man she met on a Christian dating website. The woman said the man would call her twice a day and she said she fell in love with him before realizing who he really was.

"I put my heart out there, he took it and destroyed it," said Jewell Berggrun, who lives in Winder.

Berggrun, 54, recently lost her husband to a heart attack and turned to a free Christian dating website to meet someone. She said she was attracted to a man named "Alexi" who she said sent her a picture of himself. He told her he lived in Texas and was doing business in Malaysia.

"He said when he came back from Malaysia, before going back to Texas, he would be stop by Atlanta to say hello and to know me," Berggrun said.

Berggrun said the man told her he ran into problems with a generator and asked her for $8,000. She ended up wiring him $500. But soon after she learned the man she had fallen for, may be operating some sort of scam.

"This guy is not who he says he is. He (his pictures) were on three different dating website(s), under three different names," said Berggrun. "He is doing this to several other women."

Berggrun said she is on disability and is on a fixed income each month.

"I can't get any medication or groceries for the rest of the month," Berggrun said.

Winder police said they frequently get reports like this and there often is not much that can be done when money is transferred to a foreign bank account.