How One Man's $230k Debt Became a $15 Million Loan Shark Nightmare

Jason Shifrin is a London business man who, at the height of his career as a jeweler, was making almost $1,500,000 a year selling jewelry to wealthy soccer players. With his wife, luxurious home, top-of-the-line cars, and regular holiday cruises, Shifrin was living the high life.

Then he made a fatal mistake. He borrowed $230,000 from a friend with questionable connections.

Watch the Reuters report:

"He ran into difficulties himself and he had to leave the country, so the person he borrowed the money from, which I didn't know anything about turned out to be two pretty heavy gangsters," said Jason Shifrin in a recent Reuters report.

With his friend out of the country, and having to deal directly with the lenders, Shifrin saw the his loan's interest rates skyrocket.

"I'd say it was £10 million pounds [$15,500,000] at the worst point. John number 1 would say here's £50,000 [$77,000] and I would say I'll return you £60,000 [$93,000], so I'd then go and borrow £70,000 [$108,000] from somebody else and return him £60,000 and then borrow £80,000 [$124,000] off of another John and return them £90,000 [$140,000]- and it kept rolling up - I just kept borrowing and borrowing just to pay the interest," Shifrin said.

Obviously, he wasn't able to keep up with their demands (as very few could). That's when the intimidation started. Shifrin's family started receiving death threats and ominous phone calls, forcing him to send his family away for awhile.

"It was total shock and disbelief and you know my whole world just completely came crashing down," said Nicole Shifrin.

Although Shifrin's personal debt experience is extreme, he isn't the only one in England with severe debt issues.

"Official figures show that British households have amassed more than a trillion pounds of debt in mortgages, credit cards, overdrafts and other loans. And that figure is set to double by 2015," reports Reuters.

The cost and demand of the loans eventually dismantled Shifrin's jewelry operation. Although he has been able to work his way back up, even writing a book about his experiences, it's been a tough go of it.

"I've learnt that material things are very secondary. Material things are lovely to have but only if you can afford them," said Jason Shifrin.

"I think I took things for granted and I like to think I don't any more," his wife added.

Shifrin hopes that his book, "Money, Money, Money," will encourage other entrepreneurs to avoid unsustainable debt and help him pay off the remaining million pounds he still owes.