If convicted on every charge, which include seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of mail fraud, six counts of bank fraud, three counts of identity theft and one count of kidnapping, Phelps faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, Fahami said.
Aurora Phelps, 43, who is in custody in Mexico, faces 21 counts including wire fraud, identity theft and one count of kidnapping resulting in death, Sue Fahami, the acting US attorney for the district of Nevada, said at a news conference.
After incapacitating her victims, Evans said, Phelps stole their cars, withdrew money from their bank accounts, used their credit cards to purchase luxury items and gold, and even tried to access social security and retirement accounts.
The FBI is aware of more alleged victims in the US and Mexico, Evans said – and is making information about the case public, including suspected aliases, in hopes of identifying others who “fell victim to her scams and whose trust in her may have cost them their life”.
A woman used online dating apps to lure at least four older men to meet her in person, drugged them with sedatives and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in a “sinister” romance scheme, FBI officials in Las Vegas said on Friday.
