My Dad Faked Kidney Disease & Stole My College Fund! | KARAMO

You gotta start off, $20,000 is a lot of money. So please tell me. Yes, it is. What's the story with this $20,000?

So, I mean, first I think we gotta go back to where it all began.

Yeah.

Growing up, my father wasn't around much. He was an addict.

Okay.

He was able to hide the fact that he was an addict because he was such a damn good liar. Like such a good con man, right? He's an abuser. He blames all of it on addiction, but It's just who he is, I think.

So all of that is leading you to believe that he took this money. So what did your father say about the money?

So my grandmother died. She had money, she had a lot of money. She spoiled him growing up. Everybody in the family knows this. He was known for being a spoiled brat and my grandmother would bail him outta everything. When my grandmother died, she left me $20,000 to go to college. Only stipulation was that Had to have my name, had to go to college. When I was in high school, I think my junior year, he told me that he was getting his associate's degree. At the end of high school though, I asked him where my money was and he told me that it disappeared.

What's interesting about that thing about the associate's degree is because you said that part of the stipulation was the $20,000 was to you as long as you went to college and is in your name.

Exactly.

And so you and your father have the same name. So do you think that your father went to college just to take your money?

I think he went to college just to take my money. It made zero sense that he would go to college for anything considering he doesn't have anything that he wants to do with a degree. He's all—

Did he finish?

I believe so. I haven't spoke to him in a while.

How long has it been since y'all spoke?

About 2 and a half years.

2 and a half years, got it.

The last time I spoke to him, he told me stop contacting him.

Oh wow.

Yeah, he told me stop contacting him because I wasn't giving up on the money that he had said my grandmother left for me for college.

Was your father around when you were growing up?

Not much. Growing up, he had visitation rights here and there, but I would go visit him in halfway houses and all types of things. Like, we slept different places. He tried, he tried somewhat, but he's a shitbag. He can't help it, I guess.

Was he abusive towards you?

Yes, for about a year when I was around 12.

Got it.

We were living in Dayton, Ohio. When we were living with him, it went from, you know, living in an abandoned house in Dayton where there were roaches and mice and all types of stuff. Like, you could go into the kitchen and the mice and the roaches, they're just there. They don't run, they're just there. That's how comfortable they— it was more their home than it was ours.

Wow.

Then we moved to a second home in Dayton And in that second home, one morning, I think probably about 2 weeks into us staying in the second home, he woke me up with a belt, beating me. He didn't say anything. He didn't just wake me up first. I turn around and I get smacked in the face with a fucking belt. I get up. I think he said, "You wanna fight your mama? You wanna argue with your mama?" I have no idea what he's talking about. But he's in some Timberland boots with basketball shorts on, no underwear. I know because his stuff is just hanging all in the wind. But he's like, But fight me, he's like, fight me, fight me. So I'm not a— I'm no bitch. So I fight back somewhat, or at least I try to, but my pop's 6'7". He boxed and wrestled in the Army. He's beating me up, he puts down the belt, he's like, fight back, fight back, like I'm getting initiated into a gang or something. And you know, essentially it took me a while to comprehend the fact that that was abuse because I've always been accustomed to fighting back. I'm from Detroit. I come from nothing. I had to fight for everything I have. But growing up, I realized how much it really messed me up. He beat the shit outta me.

So when you got to high school, you started to try to, you got outta that household because he stayed on drugs. Is he sober now?

He claims he is. I don't believe him though.

My producer, and this is striking me 'cause my producers, I remember telling me earlier that your father, told you something about his kidneys. What did he tell you about his kidneys?

Yes, yes.

So my junior year in high school, he contacted me and he said that his kidneys were failing. You know, I took that as, you know, he's dying. And I mean, I was thinking all types of things like, man, would I be able to give him one of my kidneys? So, you know, he slowly, you know, we started talking again. He came down to Texas and watched a football game. And he went down for my graduation. The night of my graduation, we went to dinner and when it was me, him, and his wife, and when he went to the restroom, I asked his wife about the kidney. She said she had no idea about it.

Was his wife Jamie?

Yes.

Okay, Jamie, you're here today, right? Hi, Jamie. Is it true that when you were at dinner that you didn't know about the kidney failure?

No, I didn't know about the kidney failure.

You didn't know about it. And how long at this point had y'all been married? 2 years. 2 years. And did you ever find out, ever, did he ever go get treatment for his kidney during that time?

We never really talked about it anymore.

Never talked about it anymore?

No, that wasn't.

How do you feel about this situation? Do you think that your husband is capable of doing this?

Stealing the money?

Stealing money?

No. From the 4 years that I know him, well, been married to him, I don't see him as stealing any money. Not from his son.

Got it.

Got it.

I just see him about trying to get back together with his son.

How do you feel about what was just said?

Well, about the addiction part, got 8 years clean, he said, and I'm proud of that. 8 years clean.

Congratulations.

Business owner, and I'm still in school, right?

So what happened with the $20,000 in your hand?

It was $30,000, right? I've never seen the will, right? And yes, my grandmother spoiled me. She died in my arms. And what was supposed to have been left for me, because I was getting high at that time, that she said she wasn't gonna leave it to me. Gonna leave it to your son. I'm cool. I was cool with that. I was getting more money from her being alive than I do with her dead. So I'd rather for her to be here. So it ain't about the money with me, right? Never been about money.

When did they pass away?

2015.

2015.

Yeah.

So 8 years ago.

Yeah.

So you were still been, like you just said, you were still using at that time. Yes. Did you take your son's money? I gotta ask you clearly.

No. For what reason? No.

So what do you think happened to the money then?

I don't know. I really don't know. I've never seen no paperwork with the money.

If you're referring to my great-grandmother, right? Gramps?

My Gramps. Then her.

I'll have access to that will. But I don't think anybody's been referring to Gramps as the one that left the money.

Oh, you talking about my mom? Yeah. Oh, my mom.

Yeah, she left you everything.

No, me and my sister split it. I did everything.

So is that not the one that left the money?

No, my grandmother. Let's go back. My mother passed away, what, 2002?

So if you received everything, you must have access to that will, right?

No, I didn't. Well then how'd you receive the money? Listen, listen, listen.

Final will and testament is a legal document.

Well, you find it, son. Listen, I never seen it. Oh, see, I find it. Listen, check this out, check this out. We both can't talk at the same time, right? And you always had a lot of mouth since a little boy.

Oh wow.

Regardless of the situation. And that's why we always went through what we went through. You can say what you want. That's why? Listen, you can say what you want to me, but when it comes to your mom, and me and your mom, I don't even like your mom, but for you disrespecting your mom in front of me, I'm gonna put my foot in your ass. Simple, just straight.

Why would you tell me that your kidneys are failing?

I didn't tell you my kid is from me.

Yes, you did. Man, you such a liar.

We should've took a lie detector test for that.

You ain't changed at all.

I didn't know.

Well, tell me about not talking about it.

Have you done everything you think you can to mend this relationship with your son?

Yeah, you know, for the last 8 years I've been living real good.

Have you apologized?

I apologized to him face to face in Texas, right? And when he told me, he said—

You don't even take accountability. How you gonna make an apology?

Listen.

Sorry, look, apologies are action statements. Sorry is an action statement.

Hold on, I haven't been, hold up, hold on. Check out the actions you take at the same time.

You take accountability for your actions when you apologize.

I didn't steal your money because we both can't talk at the same time, right? So I didn't steal his money. So even for me to give my apology, right? He won't even shut up enough for me to even give him that. So I didn't steal his money. So get to that.

Okay, but I'm trying to do that right now. I can't, even if I wanted to apologize to you. But even without the money, I'm watching the behavior and I'm even watching how you talk to him right now, telling him to shut up, the way that you're not acknowledging the abuse and how you're saying—

You've been like this forever.

Like I'm watching those things. There's still patterns of what he expects experience as a child that I'm seeing exhibited by you right now.

Yeah, like you still got the same crackhead abusive ass tendencies.

It's some drama. That's still my child.

I didn't do that to her. I am in the process of writing a book.

I'm not gonna be here to make me look bad.

A lot of people know my story. Within a year, I'll be a published author. People are gonna read my shit.

My book is in—

And your book gonna be straight shit, so.

We're gonna unlock the truth now to get to the truth of this. But I will tell you this, this is my advice before I end this. No matter what the test says, You stole his childhood. I do know that much.

Yeah, I know I stole his childhood.

You stole his childhood. I stole his childhood. And I'm gonna tell you this, you are still stealing his dignity. I'm watching this right now. You are still stealing his dignity. So whether you stole money, you do have to reconcile the fact that there's a childhood that's stolen, his dignity is stolen, and you're not acknowledging it. I'm watching the way that you're still talking about it. If someone has expressed, as a father, if my child expressed to me, this is what you did to me, I was abused, I felt hurt by this. No matter what a child's actions are, they're still a child. And he's telling you right now that it affected him deeply. Money in this context is a synonym for security. Because what happened is, is the child did not have any security and the one bit of security that was given to him and passed down to him, he feels like the man who robbed him of his security his entire life has now taken the last bit of security that he deserves. So that's why money is an issue. So we have to understand that.

Open that thing, man.

I will, I will. But your question was, why is this about money? And I'm trying to break it down to you in a way of what it is. So in this envelope is the truth of the matter. Are you ready for this?

Sure.

All right. So when it comes to if Eric Sr. has stolen the $20,000 or $30,000 from you, the truth is he did not take your money. How do you feel about that?

I feel like it was a whole lot more questions.

I feel like Eric Sr. is a really good liar and he believes all his lies. So quite frankly, you pass a lot of your skills down to me. So I know, I know how to lie just as well.

And I know that from the wrestling, from the lying, from the cheating, from the stealing, from the conniving, from the lying that you doing up here. All that shit had— Up here? Listen, it's a lot of shit I wanna break the cycle with from the womanizing.

Just 'cause like womanizing?

Yeah, from everything that I lived through that I was passed down, I would love to break it. Oh, I'm not womanizing like you. That's why I was hoping you was gonna be the first one to go to college, but I kind of beat you there. You was supposed to be in the first gamble, but I beat you there.

So you know I'm good.

So hold on, so you wanted this test so that you can repair your relationship. I'm gonna tell you again, I'm gonna tell you again, Eric Jr., you gotta gimme a moment real quickly because the way that you're communicating him right now as if it's a competition, I beat you there, I beat you there. If you really wanted to get this to be cleared up so you can move forward with him, the way you just communicate with him is still abusive. It's still abusive in it. I beat you to it. It's like, why beat him down more?

No, no, no, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on.

But you know what?

Hold on, listen, because you put it out there wrong on me, so I'm not gonna let you do it. But I wanna see what you said. It was supposed to have been celebrated, right? Because I didn't go to college. My mother saved up all this money for me.

Yeah, you wanna be celebrated, right?

And you wonder why. So, so—

But he's right in that moment. I listen, I'm an outside third party.

You know, right? And I'm trying to talk to you.

But to celebrate him, you don't have to say that I made it first.

No, no, no.

I can celebrate. Okay, okay. I can celebrate my kids all day long and never have to tell them that I did it first. My children, one of my sons right now is getting in the industry And there are so many things he accomplished. And when he accomplished them, I say, "Oh my, it's good for you." I have never once come outta my mouth and said, "You know what? Well, I did it first. You know, Dad did it." Oh, okay. I sit there and I say to him always, "I'm so proud of you. You keep going, you keep making it." I'm always proud of him. I know, but what I'm trying to help you to see is that—

He was supposed to be the first Gamble to go to college.

It's the point I was supposed to make. He was supposed to have been the first Gamble to go to college. I waited till I was 50-something years old. That was the point I was trying to make. Not competition. I didn't want you to have been the first.

Every time that you were around, you know, to witness my success, it was always, you know, you just, not you feeling good for me, but you feeling good about me. 'Cause you seem to think that my success is in some way your success. It's not, not at all.

I didn't play no part in you getting here.

Everything that I have, I've worked for. You are, and quite frankly, I don't need you in my life.

Okay, listen, I will tell you this, I'll tell you this.

I'm cool with that.

I'm cool with that. I think that was a, You've made your point clear of where you stand in your life right now. Listen, Eric Jr., I wanna let you know something. I believe in you. You have accomplished so, so much and you are gonna do really great things in your life. And I don't want you to let anybody, not even your father, put limits on what you can accomplish because you're gonna accomplish great things. I know there's a lot of trauma and things that you have not been able to deal with that you're not gonna get answers for, but you can still You can still overcome this as you already have and you can soar. So just keep soaring. We all believe in you, trust me, okay? I believe in you, all right? Good luck. I wish you all the best. All right everyone, thank you for being with us. Make sure to come back next time, friends, so we can keep talking and we can keep growing. I love you all.

Good luck. Good luck. Good luck.

Good luck.

No redemption, you know? Uh, a lot of stuff was said, right? A lot of stuff I could have said, but I did not attempt to damage my son. I wanted him to be successful. I just wanted my name clear with this money, you know. Kind of hurt behind the situation, and I got a relationship with him. Um, kind of made— he made me look bad out there, but I'm okay with that. Um, and I would never make him look bad. I'm Nobody asked, not even my son. So if you don't want nothing to do with this, I did my part. I can sleep well now. I'm cool with that.