Peaches Stergo, $2.8 Million Romance Scam, New York 2021

Grimy Times has learned that a Florida woman was arrested for her role in a years-long romance scam that defrauded an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor of $2.8 million.

Peaches Stergo, 36, of Champions Gate, Florida, was arrested today and will be presented in the Middle District of Florida. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos.

The romance scam began in or about May 2017, when Stergo met the Victim on a dating website. She asked the Victim to borrow money to pay her lawyer, who she claimed was refusing to release funds from an injury settlement. After the Victim gave her the money, Stergo said the settlement funds had been deposited into her TD Bank account. In reality, bank records show Stergo never received any money from an injury settlement.

Over the next four and a half years, Stergo continued her lies. She repeatedly demanded that the Victim deposit money into her bank accounts, claiming that if he did not, her accounts would be frozen, and he would never be paid back. In total, the Victim wrote 62 checks – totaling over $2.8 million – that were deposited into one of two of Stergo’s bank accounts.

According to the allegations contained in the Indictment, Stergo created a fake email account, intended to appear as if it belonged to a TD Bank employee. She also created fake letters from a TD Bank employee and fake invoices.

In furtherance of the fraud, Stergo lived a life of luxury with the millions she received from the fraud. She bought a home in a gated community, a condominium, a boat, and numerous cars, including a Corvette and a Suburban. During the course of the fraud, Stergo 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.

Stergo is charged with one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Sowlati is in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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