Holocaust survivor had entire life savings swindled by woman he met on dating app, FBI claims
Prosecutors claim that an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor was swindled out of his life savings by a woman from Florida who he met on a dating site.
According to federal prosecutors a 36-year-old Florida woman named Peaches Stergo has been charged with one count of wire fraud.
If found guilty she could face up to 20 years behind bars, though a judge will determine her final sentence.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams accused Stergo of 'maliciously draining [the victim's] life savings so she could become a millionaire through fraud', while FBI Assistant Director Michael J. Driscoll also condemned her.
Advert
He said: "Today we allege the defendant callously preyed on a senior citizen simply seeking companionship, defrauding him of his life savings.
"The FBI is determined to get justice for victims of fraud and to ensure that scammers face justice for their actions."
The Department of Justice claims that Stergo met the unnamed victim on a dating site 'approximately six or seven years ago' and would go on to defraud him out of a total of $2.8 million made out across 62 checks.
They allege that in or around early 2017 Stergo asked to borrow money to pay her lawyer, claiming they were refusing to release funds to her from an injury settlement.
Once the victim had paid up she told them she had finally received her injury settlement, but prosecutors state that Stergo's bank records show she never received any settlement at all.
Prosecutors then go on to claim that for four-and-a-half years Stergo continued to ask the victim for money, claiming that if he didn't pay her then her bank accounts would be frozen and he'd never get back the rest of the money he'd given her.
They claim that she perpetuated fraud by creating a fake email account, fake letters and false invoices to 'prove' her financial situation was as dire as she said it was.
Documents then go on to accuse Stergo of having 'lived a life of luxury' while the elderly Holocaust survivor 'lost his life savings and was forced to give up his apartment'.
Prosecutors claim that among her purchases with the money she allegedly stole were a home in a gated community, a condo, a boat and several cars including a Corvette.
They also claim that she took a number of expensive trips and splashed someone else's cash on expensive meals, gold coins and bars, jewelry, Rolex watches, and designer clothing.
Joe Harker