Sunday, July 07, 2024 - Two women have been charged in years-long “romance schemes” to dupe a number of elderly men out of more than $7 million,'' the Manhattan New York federal prosecutors said in a court filing, Saturday, June 6.
The women, Lisa Stanley and Gina Guy defrauded at least 16
victims out of millions of dollars in a scheme that spanned from 2009 until
this year when they were arrested, according to a criminal complaint filed in
the Southern District of New York.
According to a release from the U.S. attorney’s office,
Stanley and Guy were both arrested on June 25 in North Miami Beach, Florida,
and New York City, respectively
Stanley and Guy lured their elderly victims “into purported
romantic or close personal relationships through in-person meetings, phone
calls, text messages, and an online dating platform,” the complaint said.
Once they earned their victims’ trust, the women convinced
them to send them money “under false pretenses,” telling the victims they
needed money for things like fake businesses and organ transplants, prosecutors
said.
Both women are facing charges of money laundering, wire
fraud and conspiracy, according to prosecutors. Each of the charges carries a
maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
“As alleged, Rosanna Lisa Stanley and Gina Guy callously
defrauded elderly victims who were simply looking for companionship. They
allegedly used the millions of dollars in fraud proceeds to lead lives of
luxury at their victims’ expense,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a
statement.”
As today’s arrests demonstrate, perpetrators of romance
scams will be held to account for their crimes.”
In one alleged instance, prosecutors say Stanley connected
with an “elderly male” victim who believed he was in an “exclusive, romantic
relationship” with her. Stanley repeatedly requested money for things like rent
and living expenses, which the victim paid, according to the complaint.
The victim eventually provided Stanley with credentials for
one of his credit cards and the card itself, leading Stanley to change the
account’s password and rack up thousands in charges, prosecutors said.
He also wired Stanley thousands after she requested funds
for a purported catering business, according to prosecutors, $220,000 of which
Stanley used to pay off loans for her boat and luxury car.
In another alleged example, prosecutors say Stanley conned
another victim out of at least approximately $1,000,000 while pretending to be
a psychic who told the victim his money was “tainted with bad influences.”
Stanley allegedly told the victim that she could “untaint”
and “protect” his money and would eventually return it to him cleaned if he
wired it to her.
Over time, prosecutors said, Stanley convinced the victim to
wire her more and more money so she could help him reach his “desired life.”
Prosecutors said Guy defrauded four elderly male victims out
of at least $908,000 after telling them she needed money for medical
procedures, including kidney transplants, but then “spent the money on
non-medical personal expenses, including expensive meals, utilities, apartment
rent, and luxury goods,” according to the complaint.
She also convinced one of the victims to send her $708,000
so that “she could help him move his money from his current bank to another
bank that offered higher interest rates so that Victim-6 could maximize the
returns on his funds on deposit,” the complaint said.
Together, Guy and Stanley convinced yet another victim to
send them thousands because they wanted to buy a dressmaking business in New
York City and needed a loan, prosecutors said.
“Gina Guy and Rosanna Lisa Stanley allegedly took advantage
of innocent individuals seeking companionship and exploited them for their own
benefit,” said James Smith, FBI assistant director in charge. “Collecting
millions of dollars from their victims, the perpetrators allegedly gained and
betrayed the trust of primarily elderly individuals to fund their luxury
purchases.”
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