Dating app scammer accused of luring, drugging and robbing victims
The FBI suggests Aurora Phelps used online dating apps to lure older men to meet her in person, then drugged them and stole their money.
A Las Vegas woman, identified as Aurora Phelps, was arrested in Mexico on Friday after U.S. authorities issued a federal indictment against her for allegedly using dating apps to target elderly men. She was accused of luring and drugging them to steal their money by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This romance scam happened over the years, with a clear pattern in the sinister crimes.
Phelps is accused of using the trust she gained from victims to steal their financial assets, including bank accounts and retirement funds, amounting to millions of dollars. Reportedly, the woman even went as far as causing the death of some victims, as she allegedly pushed one across the US-Mexico border in a wheelchair.
Drugging, robbing and kidnapping victims
The FBI’s investigation revealed that the dating app scammer stole millions of dollars, including the selling of approximately $3 million in Apple stock from one victim. In one of the most chilling aspects of her scheme, Phelps supposedly drugged a Nevada man she met on an online dating service and pushed him across the US-Mexico border in a wheelchair.
Authorities stated the man was found dead hours later in a hotel room in Mexico City. Two other victims were also found dead shortly after their encounters with Phelps. The scammer is alleged to have targeted a wide range of people, including women and younger men. The FBI said she has also gone by the names Aurora Flores, Aurora Velasco, and Aurora Alvarez, on apps like Tinder, Hinge, Bumble and Match.
Dating app scammer faces charges
The FBI is currently investigating whether more deaths are connected to Phelps' actions. She now faces multiple charges, including wire fraud, identity theft, and kidnapping, with prosecutors working on her extradition from Mexico to have a trial in the United States. If convicted, she is facing a maximum sentence of life in prison, as the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
As investigations continues, the FBI is urging anyone who might have been targeted by Phelps or interacted with her under one of her many aliases to come forward. Authorities consider that there could be more victims who have not yet been identified. They also warned the scam may have lasted for years and affected people in both the US and Mexico.