Mexican authorities arrest 43-year-old
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A woman with Las Vegas ties allegedly drugged men she met on dating sites and stole their money and personal information, leading to several of their deaths, federal officials announced Friday.
Aurora Phelps, 43, faces nearly a dozen federal charges connected to several incidents from 2019 until 2022, the FBI Las Vegas division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Phelps has homes in both Las Vegas and Guadalajara, Mexico.
“We believe Aurora Phelps deliberately and methodically targeted older men to drug them and steal from them,” FBI Las Vegas Special Agent In Charge Spencer Evans said Friday.
Investigators suspect Phelps targeted men in their 60s and 70s, sometimes drugging them and then accessing their bank and financial accounts. Phelps also victimized women, Evans said.
“In romance scams, the scammer gains an unsuspecting individual’s affection and trust, then uses the illusion of a romantic or close relationship to manipulate and/or steal from the victim,” federal officials said. “These schemes not only cause significant financial losses, but also deeply impact the lives of victims.”
“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,” Evans said.
Several victims lived in the Las Vegas valley, federal officials said. Mexican authorities arrested Phelps and she was awaiting extradition to the United States.
The indictment filed against Phelps in federal court in Las Vegas notes four victims who were part of the so-called “romance scam on steroids,” FBI Special Agent In Charge Spencer Evans said.
In one case, Phelps allegedly tried to liquidate more than $3 million in a victim’s stock account, documents said.
It was not immediately clear how long Phelps lived in Las Vegas or when she could return to the U.S. to face charges.
“We believe that she likely encountered other individuals who would have key information and evidence for us or that potentially have a family member that was also victimized by her,” Evans said.
The FBI asked anyone with information to visit a website it launched for the investigation. Tips can also be submitted by calling 800-CALL-FBI.
8 News Now Investigator David Charns can be reached at dcharns@8newsnow.com.
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