Someone (22M) who I (21F) thought I could trust and was my genuine friend took $6000 from me, and I haven't heard from him in two weeks.
He had recently moved to my city but was having issues with his bank, where all of his accounts were temporarily disabled. I had been lending him money to help pay for his Airbnb and hotels while he was looking for a place to rent and to get his bank issues solved.
First it started off as smaller amounts of a few hundred, then grew to a couple thousand. He would always pay me back in time (in cash as he sold Pokémon cards on marketplace) while also adding in more money as a token of appreciation. He had been asking to borrow bigger sums of money, giving me various different reasons as to why he needed the money. It sounded reasonable and I just wanted to help a friend out, so I trusted him enough to send him the money, which now I realize was a terrible choice.
The day he was supposed to come by my house to pay me back for the $6000, he went MIA and had completely stopped responding to me. In a panic, I was spam calling and texting him but got no response for the next two days. Every time I call him, it disconnects right away and says "The customer you have dialled is currently unavailable, please try again later." At this point I knew he had found a place to stay, and I ended up emailing his supposed "landlord" (I had her email as I had paid for his $300 security deposit). She told me that on the day he was supposed to come to my house, he had fainted and was admitted to the hospital? That was what his roommate had told her.
I have been emailing with the landlord back and forth, and the situation right now is that the roommate is out of the city until September 7th, and the landlord is also away in Asia. I haven't been able to contact him, and the landlord is also saying he hasn't been responding to her emails. What the landlord is suggesting right now is that since I paid the $300 security deposit for Austen, she can also sign me as a tenant with him, which gives me all access to his apartment. Mind you, I do not know where he lives.
I understand due to privacy and legal reasons, she cannot disclose much information. So far I haven't received any legitimate proof that she is his actual landlord; I only know her full name and that she's the property owner (based off her words). She is telling me that I have to send her $230, which is the fee for creating all the paperwork needed for me to sign, and then I will have access to the agreement. So I won't be having the agreement until I pay her the $230. Is this reasonable? I also asked for her attorney's information, but she said she uses this website called legalshield.com, which makes me even more cautious. Everyone I have told this to are telling me to not send the money.
We are thinking he got a new phone, because apparently he had been ordering food to his apartment and using his key fob.
I know I made a huge and stupid mistake, but I would seriously appreciate any advice.