Investigating a series of catfishing scams, a traumatized ex-police officer is forced to choose what is just when her eccentric sister gets involved.

SYNOPSIS:

Traumatized by her fatal shooting of an innocent man and the subsequent cover-up by her superiors, Charlotte Jones quit the police force to work as a private investigator. One day she comes upon the case of a romance scammer who defrauded the main shareholder of the successful company Bowtech Pharmaceuticals, Hugh Bowman. Finding herself at a dead end, Charlotte asks her sister and former drug addict Harper for support. Despite her reluctance, Harper agrees to help her out as a means to pay Charlotte back the money Harper borrowed to pay for her stint in rehab. During the course of the investigation, the sisters meet Hugh and his assistant Jesse, who is immediately suspicious of their activities. At the same time, Charlotte’s student boyfriend gets involved in a discussion with his charismatic ethics professor James Cervine, who points out how the rich and powerful seemingly always get away with their immoral behavior.

Charlotte and Harper find out that the scammer specifically targets shareholders of Bowtech. Blindsided with this information Hugh reveals that he has bribed the FDA to ignore a report which disclosed that Bowtech’s best-selling pharmaceutical product leads to an increased risk of opioid addiction. Shocked by this revelation, Harper tries to persuade Charlotte to go public to expose Bowtech’s corrupt business, but Charlotte refuses, and the two sisters fall apart. Shortly after Charlotte’ receives a hint which leads her to believe that James is the scammer, and she decides to observe him to confirm her suspicions. To her dismay, she finds out that Harper has been working with James all along after having met him and his sister in rehab. Following his sister’s death due to her addiction to Bowtech’s product, Harper and James decided to take revenge on the company’s main shareholders, who in their view profited the most from the ongoing opioid crisis.

After struggling to decide whether or not she should turn her sister in, Charlotte decides to confront her in person. At the same time, Harper and James hack into Jesse’s computer to obtain the withheld report, however, Jesse notices and also turns up at Harper’s apartment. Much to Charlotte’s surprise, he reveals himself to be the brother of the innocent man Charlotte killed during her tenure at the police force. Given the chance to avenge his brother and stop Harper from releasing the report, he fires a gun at her. Trying to save the life of the woman he loves, James jumps in front of Harper and catches the bullet. Realizing how the moral corruption of powerful businesses affects the lives of innocent people, Charlotte decides not to turn Harper and James in, giving them the chance to escape. Harper leaks the report and repays Charlotte's loan with the profit she made from illegally betting on Bowtech’s falling share price, which Charlotte accepts as she comes to terms that moral ambiguity is part of life.

* Quarterfinalist Big Apple Film Festival Screenplay Competition (2022 Fall Edition) *

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JUST SCAMS