Key takeaways:
- The Department of Justice has arrested Peaches Stergo, a 36-year-old Florida woman, for allegedly defrauding an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor of his life savings.
- Stergo had asked the victim for money at the beginning of 2017, claiming she needed to pay her lawyer who was refusing to release funds from an injury.
- Stergo is currently in custody and is facing charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft. If convicted, she could face up to 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud and money laundering, and a mandatory two-year sentence for aggravated identity theft.
The Department of Justice has arrested a 36-year-old Florida woman, Peaches Stergo, on Wednesday for allegedly committing a “years-long scheme” to defraud an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor of his life savings.
Stergo, who also goes by “Alice,” met the victim on a dating website six or seven years ago, officials said. In 2017, she asked for money — claiming she’d gotten a settlement from a lawsuit but needed to pay her lawyer to receive it — prosecutors said.
Over the course of more than four years, Stergo took over $2.8 million from the survivor, according to the Department of Justice. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said she “maliciously” drained the unnamed Holocaust survivor’s savings so “she could become a millionaire through fraud.”
The Department of Justice said that Stergo had asked the victim for money at the beginning of 2017, claiming she needed to pay her lawyer who was refusing to release funds from an injury.
Stergo is currently in custody and is facing charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft. If convicted, she could face up to 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud and money laundering, and a mandatory two-year sentence for aggravated identity theft.
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