Legacy of husband's casino debts: a life of fear

The estranged wife of a man who racked up a $5,000 debt at a Surrey casino saysa loan shark came to her home and put a gun to her stomachin an attempt to collect the debt.

"I thought that was it," said the woman, whose name is not being used to protect her identity. "I thought for sure they were going to shoot me, absolutely, because I did not have that money, and I know from what I heard that when money was owed on that magnitude, they didn't hang around. They would take revenge."

The womansaid she escaped when the loan shark let his guard down, running outthe back door of her home and into a nearby park, where she hid for hours.

The fear has never left her, she says.

"Night and day, it was always there, not just for me but for family and friends I knew I was being watched. I was the main source of his [her husband's] finances," she recalled.

The woman said she was a successful businesswoman when the loan shark came to her door, but because of her husband's addiction she lost her home, her business and more than $500,000. After paying off her husband's debts, she was forced to file for bankruptcy.

Her husband's addiction also destroyed their marriage, she said. She left him after he became physically and emotionally abusive and attempted suicide numerous times.

Ten years later, she says, she still fears that she will be tracked down because of his debts.

"It's still very much there ... knowing that if my identity was ever discovered, even today I know there are still people out there looking for him and possibly could still find me."