LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — A Las Vegas woman has been charged in a 21-count superseding indictment for allegedly luring older men through online dating services and stealing their money for personal gain.
Aurora Phelps, 43, who has residences in Las Vegas and Guadalajara, Mexico, faces charges including seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of mail fraud, six counts of bank fraud, three counts of identity theft, one count of kidnapping, and one count of kidnapping resulting in death. Phelps is currently in custody in Mexico.
Authorities are working to extradite her to the U.S.
“This is a romance scam on steroids,” said Spencer Evans, the FBI Las Vegas Special Agent in Charge. “We have not seen one like this in recent history that’s, you know, as nefarious as you know, as sinister and certainly has the you know, as much of a tragic result as some of the other ones that we see.”
The FBI Las Vegas and U.S. Attorney’s Office Nevada District sharing a deadly romance scam that seems out of a movie, during a news conference on Friday.
Phelps, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Mexico, is accused of having 11 victims from 2019 and 2022 across the U.S. and Mexico.
Authorities say she met older men in their 60’s and 70’s on several online apps, met them in person, and drugged them using sedatives to take their money.
“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,” said Evans.
There is a superseding indictment, from July 1, 2021, to December 9, 2022 involving four of the victims who are all U.S. citizens.
“Two were residents of the state of Nevada when they encountered Phelps and were drugged by her,” said Evans. “We believe Phelps kidnapped one of these victims by heavily sedating him and pushing him across the U.S./Mexico border in a wheelchair due to his inebriated state. Phelps then took him to a hotel room in Mexico City, where the victim was found dead a few hours later. Two of Phelps’ other alleged victims were found dead shortly after their encounters with her.”
The FBI says the fourth victim in the indictment did survive after waking up from a coma from a large amount of sedatives Phelps gave him over a week time span.
“Whether or not she had help, we don’t know. It remains an active, ongoing investigation. We’re looking to see if there’s any accomplices that would be identified,” said Evans.
Phelps’ charges stem from a two-year investigation by the FBI Las Vegas Division, with the superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in September 2023.
Romance scams involve scammers gaining an unsuspecting individual’s affection and trust, then using the illusion of a romantic or close relationship to manipulate and steal from the victim. These schemes can cause significant financial losses and deeply impact victims’ lives.
If convicted on all counts, Phelps faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison.
The FBI has established a website to identify potential victims.
Individuals who believe Phelps may have victimized them or someone they know or have information related to the case are encouraged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or complete a survey at FBI.gov/AuroraPhelpsVictims.
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