Description

My husband passed away in late January (2024). I have been attempting to sell some of his items via FB Market Placeto make ends meet as I am retired and live on a fixed income. A buyer contacted me via my post on FB Marketplace. He wanted to Venmo me the $450 I was asking for the dining room furniture, so I would not sell it before he returned to Durham. When he attempted to send me the money, he said he could not because he had a Venmo business account, and I had a Venmo personal account. He said it would be easy for me to upgrade to a business account. Venmo then informed me that I would have to send money (to upgrade my account) through Cash App bitcoin. (The buyer's name from FB Marketplace is Alexandros Alex Vasiliadis). This is where the problems started. Every time I purchased more bitcoin and sent it to Venmo, they would come back and tell me I needed to deposit more and more. This happened five times. I am a Holocaust educator getting ready to literally leave the country on June 16. The money I have spent has caused me physical ailments. All I wanted to do was to sell the furniture to give me a few more dollars in my pocket. I am not a stupid person; however, I cannot afford to give what I don't have, and I feel as if Venmo is not offering me a way to get out of this situation. No one from Venmo has even spoken to me...only texts and emails. I requested to speak to a live person, but it didn't happen. For results: I would like to get my money back from Venmo quickly. In return, I would close my account forever to avoid this kind of disaster again. Thank you for your consideration. I have emails and text threads to show the sequence of events.