A Holocaust survivor was scammed out of his $2.8million life savings by a woman he met on a dating app, federal prosecutors have charged.
The con was allegedly carried out over the course of several years by 36-year-old Peaches ‘Alice’ Stergo, and eventually left the unnamed 87-year-old victim so destitute, he was forced to leave his Manhattan apartment.
Meanwhile, feds wrote in an indictment filed Wednesday, Stergo lived like a queen, snapping up a $300,000 home in a posh private community in Florida, as well as Rolex watches, a boat, two cars, and several other luxury items, thanks to 62 checks loaned out by the unsuspecting senior.
Stergo, who went by the alias ‘Alice’ when messaging her elderly mark, was arrested by federal agents on Friday, apprehended in her home state on charges of wire fraud.
Facing up to 20 years in a federal prison if convicted, she will now be transferred to New York to face those charges, officials with the Justice Department said Thursday.
The con was allegedly carried out over the course of several years by 36-year-old Peaches ‘ Stergo, and left the 87-year-old victim so impoverished, he had to leave his Manhattan home
Meanwhile, feds wrote in an indictment filed Wednesday, Stergo lived like a queen, snapping up this $300,000 home in a posh private community in Florida, as well as Rolex watches, a boat, two cars (not pictured), and several other luxury items
Michael J. Driscoll, assistant director of the FBI’s New York field office, announced the charges Wednesday, saying that the suspect ‘callously preyed on a senior citizen simply seeking companionship, defrauding him of his life savings’ in the process.
The indictment elaborated on the Stergo’s alleged schemes, which prosecutors said began in 2017 when she told the victim that she needed a loan to pay off a lawyer so that she could collect a settlement she said she was due after a car accident.
To start, officials said Stergo only asked for $25,000 – but the amount quickly burgeoned as the federal fraud suspect continue to request money, alleging the funds were still held up.
When the man got suspicious, feds said the woman allegedly falsified documents and emails from a bank to convince him she was telling the truth, going as far as to impersonate a bank employee and create a fake email to reassure he would get paid.
The lies allegedly lasted five years, before the man confided in his son that he had given away all he had, after being forced to move out of his apartment in New York City.
Read the indictment here:
The man’s son would then reach out to authorities to tell them his father – who officials only identified as an ’87-year-old Holocaust survivor’ – had been scammed.
That event, prosecutors wrote, transpired in October 2021 – by which point the victim had already sent out 62 checks to Stergo amounting to $2.8million.
The checks were all deposited into accounts belonging to Stergo, according to the indictment, and helped her live high on the hog, going on luxury trips and purchasing the new condo – set in a private bayside community all while the senior fell into poverty waiting to be repaid.
Federal prosecutors detailed the extent of Stergo’s alleged crimes in eight-page indictment, citing how she used the funds to buy not only a home, but ‘numerous cars,’ including a Chevy Corvette and Suburban, both of which cost around $60,000 brand new.
Feds detailed the extent of Stergo’s alleged crimes in eight-page indictment, citing how she used the funds to buy not only a home, but ‘numerous cars,’ including a Chevy Corvette (seen in a stock image at left) and Suburban (right), both of which cost around $60,000 brand new
Prosecutors said the suspect bought several Rolex watches and other luxury items with the money, which she received on almost monthly basis – often in increments of $50,000
‘She has lived a life of luxury with the millions she received from the fraud: she bought a home in a gated community, a condominium, a boat, and numerous cars, including a Corvette and a Suburban,’ the indictment read.
It further revealed that during the course of the fraud, Stergo took several trips while ‘staying at places like the Ritz Carlton, and spent many tens of thousands of dollars on expensive meals, gold coins and bars, jewelry, Rolex watches, and designer clothing.’
Prosecutors cited that the items the defendant had bought came from stores such as ‘Tiffany, Ralph Lauren, Neiman Marcus, Louis Vuitton, and Hermes,’ noting their cost.
Stergo was allegedly able to keep the masquerade going for nearly five years, during which she received almost monthly checks – often in increments of $50,000.
The gated community where the suspect lives features amenities like Golf Courses, restaurants, and a personal spa for residents
To accomplish this, the Florida woman allegedly impersonated a bank employee, and sent fake invoices to the victim, feds said, adding that the pair had become acquainted on an unnamed dating platform around ‘six or seven years ago.’
Only when the senior’s son told him that he had been scammed, prosecutors said, he ceased writing checks.
Stergos, who purchased her home in Champions Gate in 2020, is currently being held in Florida, where she is expected to appear before a federal court prior to being transferred and arraigned in New York to face the fraud charge.
The gated community in which she now resides features amenities like Golf Courses, restaurants, and a personal spa for residents. A lawyer for the suspect was not listed in Wednesday’s filing.
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