A World War II survivor had his life savings cheated by a woman he met on a dating site, prosecutors in the case say.
Peaches Stergo, a 36-year-old Florida woman, also known as Alice, was arrested on Wednesday for wire fraud. Stergo allegedly scammed an 87-year-old man and managed to extract more than $2.8 million from him. The woman allegedly bought Rolex watches, a boat and other luxury items with the old man’s money, according to CNN.
The 36-year-old Floridian met the unidentified victim on a dating site six or seven years ago. In 2017, she asked him for money to pay her attorney so she might receive the settlement funds she claimed she was owed to her, prosecutors say. The settlement, prosecutors said, did not exist.
Over the next five years, according to CNN, Stergo repeatedly lied to the man to receive near-monthly checks, often in $50,000 increments.
The scheme used was simple: she pretended to be a bank employee, sent fake bills and created a fake email account to reassure the victim that he would be reimbursed if he continued to deposit money. money in the account.
Stergo used the money to buy himself a house, a condo, a boat and numerous cars, including a Corvette, according to CNN. Prosecutors allege she also used her money to travel, buy gold and silver bars, jewelry and designer clothes.
In 2021, the alleged victim confided in his son that he gave Stergo all of his savings because he believed he was going to get his money back. After her son told her he had been scammed, the victim stopped writing checks. Unfortunately, the 87-year-old still lost his apartment.
If convicted, Stergo faces up to 20 years in prison.
The Federal Trade Commission said losses from romance scams reached a record $547 million in 2021, more than six times the $87 million lost in 2017. This form of scam has hit the older community harder than other age groups, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
