BENTON COUNTY, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — A woman accused of deadly “romance scams” will be tried in Benton County following her return to the United States.
Aurora Phelps, 43 (Courtesy: FBI Las Vegas)
Aurora Phelps, 43, is charged in a 21-count superseding indictment for the alleged drugging and scamming of older men. Phelps is facing charges of wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud, identity theft and kidnapping resulting in death.
In Benton County, Phelps faces charges of theft of property and fraudulent use of a credit card stemming from a 2019 incident.
Phelps has been unable to appear in Benton County due to being arrested and held in prison in Guadalajara, Mexico.
According to court documents, Phelps has been rescheduled to appear since Aug. 2023 due to her arrest in Mexico, the most recent filing being on March 12.
According to that filing, Phelps is set to appear in Benton County on Aug. 13, if she is returned to the U.S. by then.
Phelps’ Cases in Arkansas
In 2019, Phelps was accused of drugging and stealing a woman’s credit card whom she had previously been friends with.
The woman claims she met Phelps at a Benton County hotel in 2019 where she bought three beers, briefly leaving them unattended.
Woman accused of deadly ‘romance scams’ facing theft, fraud charges in Arkansas
According to a probable cause affidavit, the woman then became drowsy, unable to move her body. When she woke up, the woman said she could not find her wallet.
Phelps returned the woman’s wallet and phone later that day to her home.
Aurora Phelps, 43 (Courtesy: FBI Las Vegas)
The woman later noticed her credit card was missing and began receiving alerts to verify charges of more than $5,000, the affidavit said.
After trying to cancel the card, the woman was told by her credit card company that another woman was attempting to have a new card sent to a Las Vegas address. Phelps denied taking the woman’s card and making purchases.
Detectives with Bentonville Police Department found a $1 transaction was made with the woman’s credit card at the hotel on June 11, 2019. This purchase was tied to Phelps’ room.
After further investigation, authorities learned her credit card was also used to purchase a flight from Northwest Arkansas to Las Vegas.
Phelps was sentenced to three years of probation in 2018 in a separate case for filing a false report with a law enforcement agency. Her sentence was relocated to Benton County in July 2019 after she was charged with theft of property and fraudulent use of a credit card.
To read more details about Phelps’ case, along with a full breakdown of her federal case with the FBI, click here.
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