Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania

You would have to file a complaint in the magisterial district in which she resides. While PA has information online, you would have to figure out which district she is in. You can file the documents by mail but you would have to attend a hearing. Given the cost of air fare, its may not be worth it. And the cost of your travel is not part of the costs of the lawsuit that you can recover.

People do not lend other people money via text messages. You get the borrower to sign a promissory note specifying how and when repayment is to be made. While there is a receipt that you wired her the money, what writing signed by her is there that you made a loan as opposed to a gift? Did she ever repay any of it?

And maybe it was part of her "plan" but unless you have concrete evidence of this and not just your assumption, this argument goes nowhere. Either you made a loan or gift., If there was a loan, then you need a writing signed by her proving that or some other documentation evidencing a loan. Otherwise you made her a very nice gift.

If you truly believe that she scams others, its called fraud. If there is enough here to support criminal intent, then you can try to contact the police in her area and see if they will investigate. They may not want to be bothered unless there are several complaints so if you know others who were also scammed by her that may help.

Short of suing or filing criminal charges, you could hire a lawyer to send her a nasty letter telling her to pay back the loan or else. With a real loan, you usually need a demand for repayment anyway so this is a necessary step. The letter should come from a local Pittsburgh lawyer because then it will make her think twice as she will realize the lawyer could sue.

If she still does not pay, then you have to call her bluff. It would not be cost effective for you to hire a lawyer for court, but perhaps the lawyer can help you file this at least. You will then have to attend a hearing as I stated and prove your case.

Or you just may want to forget this whole mess and chalk it up to "life's lesson learned."

Never do this again. Remember, no good deed ever goes unpunished. So don't loan out funds.