Woman accused of drroging and robbing older men in a deadly romance scheme

Las Vegas -a woman used online meeting applications to lure at least four older men to meet her, then drug them with sedatives and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in a romance scheme “Sinister ”, FBI officials from Las Vegas said on Friday.

Three of the men died, the authorities said, and she was accused of a death.

Aurora Phelps, 43 years old, who is under arrest in Mexico, is facing 21 charges, including wire fraud, identity theft and an abduction number resulting in death, said Sue Fahami, interim lawyer of states. United for the Nevada district, at a press conference.

“This is a romantic scam on steroids,” said Spencer Evans, the special agent responsible for the Las Vegas A FBI division. One of the four victims, which were targeted in 2021 and 2022, woke up from a coma after Phelps gave him a recipe sedatives over a week, Evans added.

In one case, it is assumed that Phelps kidnapped a victim by his strong sedation and taking him across the US-Mexico border in a wheelchair and then in a hotel room in Mexico City, where he was later found dead.

After incapacitating his victims, Evans said, Phelps and stole the cars, withdrew the money from their bank accounts, and used his credit cards to purchase luxury and gold items and even tried to access the accounts social security and retirement.

According to the indictment, Phelps met a man in July 2021, went with lunch with him and that November ordered lunch at his house and slipped a prescription drug.

While he was “mostly unconscious” for about five days, Phelps obtained access to his accounts and stole his iPhone, iPads, driving license and bank cards, according to the indictment. She also accessed her electronic trade account and sold an Apple stock worth about $ 3.3 million, although she could not withdraw this money.

Authorities believe that Phelps has used popular meeting applications, including Tinder, Hinge and Bumble, to find their targets. The men were alone and were looking for companionship and went to more data with Phelps before giving them sedatives, according to Evans.

“It is about people who are looking for love who face something much more sinister,” he said.

Phelps, a dual citizen of Mexico and US, has been on the FBI radar for several years, according to Evans. He refused to comment on her criminal historian.

Phelps does not have a US lawyer who could speak on his behalf, a spokesman for the Justice Department said. Associated Press has left messages looking for comments with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico and the Attorney General.

Several victims’ relatives called authorities when they could not contact their loved ones, Evans said.

A woman could not reach her father the day after she went to a meeting with Phelps in Guadalajara, Mexico, in May 2022, according to judicial documents. The next day, the Mexican police found him dead on the bathroom floor of his house. Phelps then used an account belonging to the victim to purchase a gold coin, along with other transactions, says the indictment.

FBI is aware of several supposed victims in the US and Mexico, Evans said and makes case about case, including suspected aliases, hoping to identify others who “fell victim to her scams and whose confidence in her would could cost her cost their lives. “

The FBI also works with the Department of Justice and the Mexican authorities to ensure their extradition.

If he is convicted of each charge, which includes seven charges of fraud in the wire, three charges by post, six allegations of bank fraud, three accusations of identity theft and abduction number, Phelps are facing a maximum life sentence In prison, Fahami said.

– By Ty Oniel, Jesse Bedayn and Sejal Gindarao, The Associated Press.