Best friend scammed me out of $18,000 to buy gold. Can I sue he?
My then best friend, John, is in the gold buying business. He travels twice or more a year to Ghana where he buys 20 to 40 kilos gold dust along with his cousin. He has many contacts in Ghana including members of the Royal Family. He owns several exotic cars like a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche and a new Corvette. His family is also very wealthy and own priceless works of art. I know the artwork for a fact since he asked me to clean up dozens of documents he has on a piece of artwork valued at over $25 million. And I sent these documents to his potential buyers.
We became such close friends we even introduced him to our lady friend and they soon became inseparable and were planning to get married.
Since I had worked ten years in Africa, I knew my way around. And this past February, John asked me if I would be his representative to fly to Ghana and pick up gold dust which was waiting for him. John's office arranged my visa and at the beginning of June I was scheduled to fly over.
Then in May, John calls me up and says his Royal Family member had sent his courier to New Jersey with 25 kilos of gold dust for John to pick up. The cost was only $100,000 and John would pay the agreed balance once he had the gold assayed at his refinery in Miami.
This was a last second trip and John was only able to pull $85,000 out of his bank account and asked me for $15,000 to help him out. Being my best friend I saw little risk in helping him at this last second. John was also taking his uncle Waldo with him and was going to bring the Ghana courier back with us, so John also asked if I could use my mini van for the trip. He would cover all expenses.
When we arrived in New Jersey we met the courier at a shopping mall. John inspected the gold dust and took it to a jeweler who tested it, while uncle Waldo and I stayed by my car with the cash in it. John returned very happy the gold was real. The courier said he had to go back to his hotel room to get his things. When the courier came back with the gold dust, John counted out the $100,000 and gave it to the courier and was handed the 25kg gold dust. The courier said he forgot his passport in the hotel room and left to get it.
We waited and waited. John then had a sick thought... he took another sample of gold dust to the jeweler, but this time it was fake... and the courier never came back and never answered his cell phone.
John was very upset. On the drive back home John said he would immediately pay me back my $15,000 plus add $3,000 for the use of my car.
Days after we returned John and I were in constant contact with each other and also his Royal Family member contact, named Nana, in Ghana. John and I exchanged countless emails amongst ourselves and Nana about all the money we both lost. Nana said to be patient and that he would make good on our loss.
Days turned into weeks and into months waiting for some good news from Nana. I pleaded with John via emails and phone calls to sell some of his riches and give me back my money, but John said he does not operate that way and I need to wait till Nana sends him some gold.
Several weeks ago I wrote a stern letter to John via email demanding my money back, or I would be forced to take him to court. John then became deadly silent. I emailed John to tell him if he does not respond I will have to tell his fiancé what he did to me. In time I told her and they broke up.
So now the question is, do I have enough emails which John admits to owing me the money, along with uncle Waldo who saw me give John the money, to pay a lawyer to represent me and take John to court? You know when supposedly best friends help one another, rarely is there a written IOU, just a handshake... so all I have are these emails, several dozen, repeatedly speaking about the money I gave John and his responses that he will make everything good in time... well my patience has run out and I need to do something.
Do I have a case? Or should I chalk this one up to being stupid?
Thanks.
