I think you have the right idea. And that's what threw me off at the end. How did this lady (as well as the others he mentioned) get pulled in to the mix?
Perhaps the scammer convinced this lady to handle the call for him since it was taking hours/days of his time. If she was gullible (no disrespect) enough to be scammed for 6 years, she could be easily manipulated into doing their tedious work.
