About a year ago, I wasn’t going down the right path. I had a job, but I was always chasing more money. I ended up doing some unethical things for extra cash. Eventually, I got involved in a “system” through someone I trusted — a type of fraud known in certain circles. I let myself get carried away and introduced it to four friends, who knew exactly what it was. They met with the guy behind it and willingly invested.

At first, the system paid small returns and everyone was happy. Then the money stopped. The guy behind it didn’t ghost us — he responded but avoided giving real answers. None of us confronted him because he was dangerous and from a rougher street background. I was the only one who had the guts to try and face him.

At the same time, I was dealing with other legal and personal problems. I shut down completely and stopped talking to everyone — including them. That’s on me. I should’ve spoken to them, but I was going through a lot.

Later, I started hearing rumors: these same friends were telling people I scammed them, teamed up with the guy, and stole their money. They turned others against me, involved my mother, and shared personal things I had told them in confidence. They even tried to set me up in the street to get hurt.

Then came word they were planning to sue me. Mind you — we all knew what we were doing. They wanted me to pay them back just because I brought them in. I still tried to fix things. I talked to two of them, explained everything, and even offered to help repay them slowly. Things seemed okay… until I found out they were still spreading lies — saying they didn’t know it was a scam, that I tricked them, questioning my loyalty and making me out to be a snake.

These were people I grew up with, and they were trashing my name. One of them even stole a piece of gold I had given him to fix before everything went down — not one of the four, just a friend of the group. Said it was “loyalty” to them.

That’s when I asked myself: Why am I helping people who betrayed me, involved my family, stole from me, and lied to protect themselves? Just because things didn’t go as planned, they made me the scapegoat.

I left the country after being accepted to a university. I changed my number and started fresh. I know I should’ve spoken to them earlier. I take responsibility for that. But after everything they did, I chose not to pay them back.

So, AITAH?