Valdosta State student wanted for fraud - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

Valdosta State student wanted for fraud

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By Alicia Eakin - bio | email

October 22, 2008

VALDOSTA, GA (WALB) -  21 year-old Rebecca Ross is still in shock.

"Was I just that stupid? Was I that naive? Was I just the only one who fell for his story to this depth?" she asks.

Just last week, a fellow-student she thought was her friend took her for $6,000.

"I can't imagine why. It just completely blows my mind."

She met Michael Flowers at VSU back in 2005. He told her about his struggles with cancer and she took him in. 

Several weeks ago, he told her it came back.  "He told her he had cancer, it was terminal and he didn't have long to live," says Wanda Edwards with the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office. "One of the last things he liked to do is have a weekend at Jekyll Island Club in Jekyll Island."

Having no debit cards, he said he'd transfer money from his account at Park Avenue Bank. He even showed her the receipts. So she booked two rooms.

"They went in a limo to Jekyll Island, spent a four day weekend, wined and dined there, he bought gifts...all of course on her debit card," Edwards said.

Flowers said he'd pay for it all when he got there. But, she says he didn't and Ross called his bank. She found out his receipts were well-forged frauds and his entire life story was a lie.

"At this point I'm in hysterics because everything had completely turned upside down. So I just called my mother, got off the island and left him there," Ross says.

No one knows what happened to Flowers or where he went. He certainly hasn't returned to classes at VSU. Police say he's wanted for fraud and they hope to find him before he can scam anyone else.

If you've seen Flowers or have any idea where he might be, please call the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office at 229-671-2956.