Peaches Stergo: Woman accused of robbing Holocaust survivor’s life savings using dating site
ORLANDO, FLORIDA: A Florida woman is facing charges after she allegedly scammed an elderly man and cheated him out of over $2.8 million. Peaches Stergo has been charged with one count of wire fraud after she reportedly robbed an unidentified Holocaust survivor from Manhattan of his life savings after meeting him on a dating site.
It has been said that the 36-year-old suspect first interacted with the 87-year-old man between 2016 and 2017. Then, from 2017 to 2021, she took 62 checks from him, totaling nearly $3 million. Stergo is also accused of using fake letters, a fake email account, and invoices to show that they were from TD Bank.
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As per an indictment from the Justice Department, the suspect, also known as Alice, “told the victim that she had settled a lawsuit involving injuries she suffered in a car accident, but that her lawyer would not release the settlement funds unless he received a certain amount of money. Stergo asked the victim if she could borrow from him to pay the lawyer. In May 2017, bank records show the Victim wrote his first check to Stergo for $25,000.”
The official document explained, “From in or about May 2017 through in or about October 2021, Peaches Stergo, aka 'Alice,' the defendant, repeatedly lied to the victim to induce him to send money. The victim wrote almost monthly checks to Stergo, often in increments of $50,000."
“After each check was deposited, Stergo told the victim that her bank needed more money, otherwise the accounts would be frozen, and the victim would never be paid back," the document added. The victim apparently continued to write her checks, 62 in total, out of fear that he won't see his money again otherwise. As a result, over $2.8 million was deposited into "one of two accounts controlled by Stergo,” the document noted. It also stated that the alleged fraud came to light when the old man told his son about it.
Due to continued cheating, the victim not only lost all his money but also had to let go of his apartment. The indictment added that on the other hand, the accused lived a luxurious life, which included purchasing "a home in a gated community, a condominium, a boat, and numerous cars, including a Corvette and a Suburban." She also "took expensive trips, staying at places like the Ritz Carlton, and spent many tens of thousands of dollars on expensive meals, gold coins and bars, jewelry, Rolex watches, and designer clothing from stores like Tiffany, Ralph Lauren, Neiman Marcus, Louis Vuitton, and Hermes.”
Meanwhile, after her arrest on Wednesday, January 25, it has been said that if found guilty, Stergo could face up to two decades of jail time.