Photo: U.S. Justice Department
A Florida woman who admitted to scamming an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor out of $2.8 million as part of a romance plot was sentenced to more than four years in prison on Thursday (July 27), federal prosecutors announced via NBC News.
Peaches Stergo, 36, pled guilty to one count of wire fraud in connection to accusations that she "stole the life savings from an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor who was just looking for companionship," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a news release on April 14.
Stergo's attorney, Ann Fitz, wrote that the the 51-month sentence was fair after prosecutors initially sought 96 months and claimed her client had suffered childhood instability and trauma, which led to compulsive past behaviors, including the scam, in a sentencing submission.
"Ms. Stergo has expressed remorse for her actions and will make every effort to repay the restitution in this case," Fitz wrote via NBC News.
Stergo reportedly met the man on a dating website and initially asked to borrow money from him "in or about early 2017," which she claimed was to pay her lawyer who was refusing to release funds from an injury settlement. She continued to repeatedly demand the victim deposit money to her TD Bank account during the next four and a half years, which totaled $2.8 million in 62 total checks. T
he 87-year-old lost his life savings and was forced to give up his apartment while Stergo purchased a home in a gated community, a condominium, a boat and several cars, as well as took expensive trips with the money.
"This conduct is sick – and sad. Using the millions in fraud proceeds, Stergo lived a life of luxury, purchasing a home in a gated community and a Corvette, taking vacations at hotels like the Ritz Carlton, and buying thousands in designer clothing, while at the same time causing her elderly victim to lose his apartment. Thanks to the hard work of the FBI and this Office, Stergo is being held accountable for her fraud,” Williams said in the news release shared in April.
A guilty plea to one count of wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Stergo also agreed to pay $2,830,775 in restitution and forfeit the same amount, as well as the more than 100 luxury items purchased during the scheme.