“Gladiator” lost more than $6,000 in an elaborate phone scam. But his workout family stepped in to help him recover.
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — A west Harris County man said what began as a financial nightmare ended in an unexpected blessing — all thanks to the power of community and a few workout buddies who now feel more like family.
Sampson Ikpo, affectionately nicknamed “Gladiator” by his fitness group, lost more than $6,000 in an elaborate phone scam. But his workout family stepped in and raised more than $7,000 to help him recover.
“This group is important to me. It’s my family,” Ikpo said.
The past few years have already been difficult for Ikpo, who became partially deaf four years ago after being diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma, a type of brain tumor that damaged his hearing.
“I went from 36 years of hearing to deaf,” he said.
Finding purpose again through a local fitness group that meets in a West Harris County parking lot, Ikpo found not only his strength, but also his people. The group began calling him Gladiator. But last week, he suddenly stopped showing up.
“I started thinking, ‘I hope he’s all right.’ It’s not like him to miss two workouts,” said Morad Fiki, known in the group as “Warthog.”
It turns out, Ikpo wasn’t all right.
“My money was all gone,” Ikpo said. “I didn’t even want to wake up.”
He said the trouble started Sunday night, when he received a series of phone calls from a number that appeared to be his credit union. The caller ID matched, and the person on the line asked all the right questions — even referencing what they claimed was a fraud alert on his account.
“I was in a world of shock,” he said. “They left me — I went from six grand to two pennies.”
What happened next, though, restored his faith in people.
His fitness family quietly organized a fundraiser. Every member chipped in what they could, and by Thursday morning, they presented Gladiator with more than $7,000 during their usual group workout.
“We felt that if we banded together, everybody pitched in a little bit — whatever you can — we could put those funds back in his account and help him not worry about bills,” Fiki said.
For Ikpo, the moment was overwhelming.
“Just pure joy,” he said. “I hugged everybody — we were all sweaty, but we didn’t care. We all hugged each other.”
Now, Ikpo hopes others learn from his painful experience. He’s urging the public to never share personal information over the phone — no matter how legitimate the caller ID may appear.
If you would like to help this fitness family continue their fundraising efforts for Ikpo, you can do so at this GoFundMe link.