A Berks County man was bilked out of nearly $200,000.

State police at Hamburg said a 65-year-old Hamburg resident was bilked out of $194,000 in an elaborate online scam. The victim was befriended by a woman named Sharon Bobby via Facebook starting in January. Over the following months Bobby gained the trust of the victim and then requested the help of the victim to pay for the release of a large amount of gold as inheritance from her late father in the United Kingdom.

Through many months of communication via text messages, emails and phone calls, Bobby and her attorney, Allen Bruce, requested the victim to make numerous payments for the lease of the gold.

The investigation is continuing.