Community helps Pacific Palisades widow targeted in $38,000 scam – NBC Los Angeles

A Pacific Palisades woman is rebuilding her life after what she calls one of the hardest years she has ever faced—displaced by fire, widowed by cancer and targeted by hackers who stole nearly $40,000 she had saved to repair her home.

Ellen Rudolph is currently living in Playa Vista while she waits for repairs to be completed on her Pacific Palisades home.

In January 2025, heavy flames tore through Pacific Palisades, forcing Rudolph and her husband, Steve Lewis, to evacuate their home on Jacon Way. When they returned days later, the house was still standing but coated in ash with heavy smoke damage.

“Of the 55 houses on the block, half a dozen survived,” Rudolph said. “Three are being lived in, several are being rebuilt now. But there’s no lighting on the street, it’s scary.”

The couple temporarily relocated to Playa Vista while their home underwent extensive fire remediation and cleaning. A few months later, Lewis was diagnosed with Stage Four lung cancer. He died in October at age 81.

“We had a phenomenally rich and loving relationship we adored each other, and I have no regret with how we left things, I would say, but I miss him terribly,” Rudolph said.

Lewis and Rudolph were together for nearly three decades.

While still grieving, Rudolph said she was targeted by hackers in January. She said they stole $38,000, money she had been saving to repair her Pacific Palisades home.

“I went down the most horrific nightmarish rabbit hole for three days as they took over my computer,” she said.

That’s when the community stepped in to help the 71-year-old.

Rudolph said her synagogue gave her $10,000 and started an online fundraising campaign to help recover the remaining funds. Donations poured in from friends, family and strangers.

“It’s humbling, and it gives me some belief in the future and humankind,” Rudolph said.

She said the kindness of her community is helping her find strength after suffering what she described as unimaginable loss—and the thought of her husband, who was always her biggest supporter.

“He really believed in me when I didn’t always believe in myself, and this is a moment where I am really struggling to believe in myself,” she said.

Rudolph said she hopes that by sharing her story, others will take steps to protect themselves from hackers. She urged people to verify with their bank, a trusted family member or law enforcement before making any major financial decision.