From Best Friend to Betrayer: The $2.25 Million Heist That Shattered My World

Part 1: The Life-Long Entrepreneur

JP Brown
6 min readAug 23, 2024
Photo of the author shortly after the betrayal had been uncovered.

The worst day during this journey was when I walked up the steps of a nearby federal building, went through security, and buzzed the local FBI field office door.

By this point, I had collected enough evidence to fill a 13-pocket accordion file folder with over 900 pages of bank documents, statements from the Department of Revenue, text messages, and email exchanges I had saved.

I spent most of my time with seven years of bank statements. For three months, I carried them everywhere I went so I could audit each page, line by line, using a color-coded reference scheme I created.

Each color had a different meaning:

  • Blue – Unauthorized/nonbusiness purchases and transfers
  • Purple – Payments to several personal credit cards
  • Yellow – Venmo and Paypal transfers out of the account
  • Pink – Unauthorized checks

You’d recognize the interview room if you’ve seen any true crime documentaries.

It was oppressively tiny, intimidating to even the most confident person. The walls were featureless, and the air was stagnant and thick. There was a bar…

--

--

JP Brown

Entrepreneur/business owner (ElopementBiz.com). Lover of the simple things, always questioning why. Committed to truth, not consistency. Twitter.com/mindofjp