LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The FBI Las Vegas bureau announced Friday criminal charges against a woman who is accused of “deliberately and methodically” targeting older men and then robbing them of everything.
Aurora Phelps is currently incarcerated in Mexico awaiting extradition after the Department of Justice filed a motion to unseal an indictment against her.
Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans says all of the victims in the indictment are U.S. citizens. Two of the men are from Nevada.
The FBI says it’s “one of the most egregious and reprehensible” romance scams in recent history.
The crimes spanned from July 2021 and December 2022.
“We believe Phelps connected with each of them through an online dating application so she could lure them into her confidence under false pretenses and then drug them with dangerous doses of prescription sedatives and other controlled substances,” Evans said during Friday’s press conference.
He goes on to say, “Once she incapacitated her victims, Phelps stole their cars, accessed their bank and brokerage accounts to withdraw cash, used their credit cards to make a variety of purchases including luxury retail goods and gold, and even attempted to access their social security and retirement accounts.”
She is also alleged to have stolen millions of dollars in stock from one of the victims.
In one instance Phelps allegedly kidnapped and sedated a man and then pushed him in a wheelchair across the border while he was in an “inebriated state.”
“Phelps then took him to a hotel room in Mexico City where the victim was found dead a few hours later,“ Evans explained.
Phelps is facing many charges:
- 7 counts of wire fraud
- 3 counts of mail fraud
- 6 counts of bank fraud
- 3 counts of ID theft
- 1 count of kidnapping
- 1 count of kidnapping resulting in death
If you believe you’ve been targeted by Phelps, contact the FBI. The FBI fears there could be more victims.
She faces life in prison if convicted.
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