Consumer complaint received 2022-02-23
Company: Coinbase, Inc.
State: FL
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Virtual currency
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
I was contacted on XXXX Dating on XX/XX/2022 by a person named XXXX XXXX who then suggested we chat on XXXX. We started chatting on XXXX on XX/XX/2022. His contact # was XXXX, and he said he lives in XXXX XXXX, FL. He said he works for a company that purchases houses and flips them and then sells them for profit in FL, NY, CA, and HI. On XX/XX/2022, he suggested that he show me how to use cryptocurrency and that I should open a Coinbase account. He sent me a screenshot of a profit he made on a trade of {$39000.00} USD. He continued to chat about other things as though he was interested in dating me. On XX/XX/2022, I opened my own Coinbase account. I sent an ACH transfer from XXXX XXXX  on that day in the amount of {$1000.00}. Because it was an ACH transfer, the funds could not be used in Coinbase for 17 days, so he suggested I do a wire transfer of {$1000.00} that could be traded immediately. Because it was the weekend, I said I would do it on Monday. On XX/XX/2022, he contacted me from a different XXXX address and said to use that one instead. The contact # for this account is XXXX. I did the {$1000.00} wire transfer from XXXX on XX/XX/2022. He then sent me a link for https : /XXXX to transfer the funds in the form of XXXX to XXXX from Coinbase. When I clicked the link of XXXX, it had me install the website. I transferred the money at his direction. He had me screenshot each step to explain to me how to do the transactions. I transferred an initial amount of {$870.00} USDT after fees to account XXXX. I had to contact XXXX Customer Service get a link from to " recharge '' XXXX  to get it into XXXX. The amount that actually showed up in XXXX was {$860.00} USD. On XX/XX/2022, we did our first trading transaction in XXXX. He told me what to buy long or short and 60S intervals. I made a few small profits, and my balance was {$1100.00} USD that night. He told me I had to verify my account on XXXX which required me to take a photo of my passport for trading verification. He asked if I had any more money to transfer so that my earnings could be higher. I had savings of {$50000.00} which I had from a mortgage I took out. He convinced me to use the money to trade and make a profit. When I had reservations, he became angry in his texts and then nice again. I put this off for a few days, because I did not feel comfortable doing it. He was very persistent and convincing in helping me to make money off of the funds. In the meantime, the {$1000.00} ACH transfer became available. I did a wire transfer on XX/XX/2022 from XXXX to Coinbase. Again he sent a link to coindeal at https : //www.coindealst.com. I got the link to " recharge '' the XXXX funds, and they appeared in my XXXX account. My XXXX  balance on XX/XX/2022 was {$49000.00} USD. He told me what to buy/trade in higher amounts with larger profits of $ XXXX {$2000.00}. By the end of that night, my balance was {$60000.00} USD. I said I wanted to transfer money out to my XXXX account, and he asked how much, so I said {$2000.00}. I was able to transfer the money back to Coinbase, and it came to my XXXX account the following day. There are VIP levels, and at $ XXXX, the profits are greater when not trading. He coerced me to get to the $ XXXX level, and I wired an additional {$40000.00} on XX/XX/2022, which was the remaining amount I had from my mortgage. This time he gave me a new link for XXXX at XXXX XXXX XXXX After fees, {$39000.00} was sent from Coinbase to XXXX, and my XXXX balance was then {$97000.00} USD on XX/XX/2022. All the while, he continued to text me about work, my day, and other mundane things as though he was getting to know me. On XX/XX/2022, we did more trading, and my balance increased to {$110000.00} USD that night. He wanted me to take out a loan to get to the next VIP level at $ XXXX. I did not want to do this, and he became angry, insulting my intelligence for not taking advantage of the opportunity to earn more money. He said we could earn more per trading transaction at the higher amount. I ultimately listened to him and applied for a $ XXXX loan from XXXX on XX/XX/2022. He sent me a new link to XXXX on XX/XX/2022 stating the trading platform is " updated in real time. '' The new link was XXXX XXXX XXXX. The XXXX loan was funded on XX/XX/2022, and I did the wire transfer from XXXX. My balance in XXXX was {$160000.00} USD at this point. We did more short term trades on XX/XX/2022, and my ending balance that night was {$220000.00} USD. He wanted me to get to the VIP3 level at $ XXXX with another loan, but I said I would not take out any additional loans. Again, he was angry, but he let it go. The final trades with him were on the afternoon of XX/XX/2022. My ending balance was {$250000.00} USD. At that point, I wanted to get my money out, so I initiated a transfer from XXXX to Coinbase for {$250000.00}. The funds became " frozen. '' Coindeal customer service was not responsive, and suddenly the link wouldn't work. For a period of time, my account was logged out. Then my balance said {$0.00}. Then I contacted XXXX and said the XXXX site was glitching. " Miraculously '' the site came back up, and funds appeared frozen again. When I contacted customer service about withdrawing the funds, they said that I had to pay 23 % tax on my gains which totaled {$110000.00} with a tax amount of {$26000.00}. They said once I paid the taxes, my funds could be withdrawn. When I contacted XXXX about this, he said gains over $ XXXX are taxed. He had never mentioned this in the past. I asked him to help me with this, and he suggested I borrow the money from family. When I asked him to put funds in for me, he never responded. The last text I received from him was at XXXX PM on XX/XX/2022 during which time he told me to withdraw my funds.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation