Woman accused of scam of deadly romance against at least 11 victims

Undated (WKRC/KVVU/CNN Newsource) – a woman was accused of orchestrating a “sinister” romantic scam that targeted older men, according to the FBI. The agency described the scheme as one of the most unfit he has encountered, with almost a dozen known victims and potentially unidentified.

“This is a romantic scam on steroids,” said Spencer Evans, a special FBI agent, at a Friday press conference.

Aurora Phelps, a US and Mexico dual citizen, was accused of victimizing 11 men between 2019 and 2022 in the US and Mexico. The authorities claimed that he met men in the 1960s and 70s through online applications, they met personally and drugs with sedatives to steal their money.

“After incapable of victims, Phelps stole their cars, accessed bank and brokerage accounts to withdraw cash, and used credit cards to make a variety of purchases, including retail goods Lux and gold and even tried to access social security and retirement accounts, “Evans said.

An indictment involved four victims, all American citizens.

“Two were residents of the state of Nevada when they met phelps and were drugged by it,” Evans said.

“We believe that Phelps kidnapped one of these victims, sedating him and pushing him across the US/Mexico border in a wheelchair because of his inebriated state. Phelps then took him to a hotel room in Mexico City, where the victim was found dead a few hours later.

The FBI reported that the fourth victim of the indictment survived after waking up from a large amount of sedatives administered by Phelps over a week.

“Whether or not he had help, we do not know. An active, ongoing investigation remains. We are looking to see if there are accomplices that would be identified,” Evans said.

Phelps faced 21 accusations and was detained in a Mexican prison, waiting for extradition to the US if convicted, it could cope with life in prison.