WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – Testimony continued Wednesday in the case of a woman from Wichita who says she was scammed out of thousands of dollars by a man she met on a dating app. It’s the first of its kind to be prosecuted in Sedgwick County.
On Wednesday, Dr. Stephen Benson, a psychologist, testified on the mindset that older individuals may have when facing similar situations. Benson has practiced psychology for over two decades, specializing in geriatrics and dementia. The experienced psychologist said he frequently sees romance scams.
“I’ve had experience with people that have lost millions of dollars to people that have lost thousands of dollars, and either way, it impacts their life,” Benson said in the courtroom.
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In romance scams, the victim believes they are forming a relationship. That relationship can cloud the person’s judgment over time.
Trisha, the alleged victim, said that in June 2022, she had just moved to the Wichita area and was looking for a relationship. When she found Frank Annin on eHarmony, a dating website, she had no reason to suspect anything was wrong.
Shortly after they connected, Annin asked Trisha to move off the app and start texting him. In hindsight, she recognized this as her first red flag.
Frank Annin is now on trial for scamming her and several other women.
Benson said Annin would get upset whenever Trisha questioned him. Afterward, Trisha would end up apologizing to him, making Annin look like a savior instead of a scammer. Benson called that classic scammer behavior.
In court, it was revealed that Annin “love bombed” Trisha, telling her he loved her, wanted to marry her, and even promised to move to Wichita while showing off his wealth. Benson said that’s all part of how scammers work: they go over the top to get what they want.
However, once a scammer gets the money, they disappear; yet even then, it’s hard for people to realize that they have been scammed.
“There are people who know they’ve been defrauded of money, but still believe the relationship is real,” Benson said.
Benson told Trisha’s lawyers that she was tricked in a scam. But Annin’s lawyers argued that Trisha waited too long to report what happened, so they say she doesn’t have a valid case.
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