Manhattan federal prosecutors have charged two women for multi-year “romance schemes” to cheat elderly men out of over $7 million.
Two women con seniors out of millions
The two women, identified as Rosanna Lisa Stanley and Gina Guy, allegedly swindled at least 16 victims out of millions from 2009 until their recent arrests, according to a criminal complaint out of the Southern District of New York.
Stanley and Guy were apprehended separately on June 25, states away from each other in North Miami Beach, Florida, and New York City.
The complaint explains how the two women scammers honey trapped their elderly victims “into purported romantic or close personal relationships through in-person meetings, phone calls, text messages, and an online dating platform.”
Once trust was established, Stanley and Guy persuaded the victims to send money “under false pretenses,” claiming they needed funds for rent, fake businesses, psychic cleansings, and organ transplants.
They now face charges of money laundering, wire fraud, and conspiracy, with each charge carrying a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
“As alleged, Rosanna Lisa Stanley and Gina Guy callously defrauded elderly victims who were simply looking for companionship,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated. “They allegedly used the millions of dollars in fraud proceeds to lead lives of luxury at their victims’ expense.”
“As today’s arrests demonstrate, perpetrators of romance scams will be held to account for their crimes,” he added.
Prosecutors allege Stanley connected with one “elderly male” victim who thought he was in an “exclusive, romantic relationship” with her. Stanley asked for money for rent and living expenses multiple times, which the victim provided.
He even gave Stanley credentials for one of his credit cards and the card itself, leading Stanley to change the account’s password and incur thousands in charges.
The man also wired Stanley hundreds of thousands of dollars after she claimed she needed funds for a catering business.
Prosecutors say Stanley defrauded this victim out of at least $555,000, and used $220,000 of the money to pay for a boat and a luxury car.
Stanley allegedly deceived another victim out of approximately $1,000,000 by claiming to be a psychic who told him his finances were “tainted with bad influences.”
She convinced the man that she could “untaint” and “protect” his money and would return it free from evil influences after he sent it to her through a wire.
As for Guy, she allegedly swindled four elderly male victims out of at least $908,000 by claiming she needed money for medical procedures, including kidney transplants,
In reality, she “spent the money on non-medical personal expenses, including expensive meals, utilities, apartment rent, and luxury goods.”
She swindled another man into sending her $708,000 to “help him move his money from his current bank to another bank that offered higher interest rates.”
They tag-teamed another man to send them thousands to buy a dressmaking business in New York City.
“Gina Guy and Rosanna Lisa Stanley allegedly took advantage of innocent individuals seeking companionship and exploited them for their own benefit,” FBI assistant director James Smith stated.
“Collecting millions of dollars from their victims, the perpetrators allegedly gained and betrayed the trust of primarily elderly individuals to fund their luxury purchases.”
Two women run a therapy scam
Elsewhere, a woman has been accused of defrauding hundreds of people by impersonating her social worker wife in online therapy sessions for two years.
Tammy Heath-Randolph allegedly provided therapy to patients using her wife Peggy Randolph’s name.
The scam surfaced following after Tammy died in February 2023, when a client discovered on social media that she had been fraudulently acting as a licensed therapist.
The deception was allegedly a family affair, as Peggy worked for Brightside Health from January 2021 to February 2023, while Tammy allegedly ran her online practice at the same time.
Peggy was accused of knowingly allowing her wife to treat patients under her name, and sharing her company credentials so Tammy could access her account.
Peggy voluntarily retired her license in August 2023 after the company investigated the years-long scheme, and was ordered to pay a $1,000 penalty.
‘We’re extremely disappointed that a single provider was willing to violate the trust that Brightside and, most importantly, her patients had placed in her,’ the spokesman said in a statement.
The healthcare company issued refunds to all of the people that unknowingly received treatment from Tammy.
