Prosecutors: Ruthless duo ‘slowly took control’ of mentally ill investor’s life and stole millions

Federal prosecutors said Wednesday two people were charged with stealing nearly $3 million from a wealthy sick investor, moving into his Malibu beach home, claiming he befriended him, and drugging him before attempting to steal another $20 million. dollars after his death.

Anthony Flores, 46, of Fresno, was arrested last week and pleaded not guilty to a felony, while Anna Moore, 39, who lives in Monterrey, Mexico, was arrested on Tuesday in Houston after flying in a plane, the US said in a statement. . Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

She appeared in a Texas court but did not file a lawsuit.

Both will be extradited to California.

On December 15, a grand jury indicted them. It was not immediately clear whether they had lawyers who could act on their behalf.

Beginning in 2017, Flores, a barber who owned a Fresno window cleaning business, and Moore, a former yoga studio owner, met an ophthalmologist who was a successful investor but suffered from a mental illness that gradually left him unable to care for himself. , according to prosecutors.

“Within days of meeting the victim, Flores and Moore moved into the victim’s waterfront home in Malibu – free of charge – and gradually took control of his life, pretending to be his new ‘best friends’ and guardians,” the statement said.

Flores told the victim’s elderly mother, who lived in Florida, that they cared for him and “considered the victim’s best interests,” according to the indictment, which did not name the victim.

Flores later forced the victim to sign a power of attorney and opened bank accounts in the victim’s name, prosecutors said.

For months, Flores and Moore transferred the victim’s money to their own bank accounts, “isolated the victim from his family and longtime friends, and gave the victim drugs, including marijuana and LSD,” the U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement.

According to prosecutors, in the last days of his life, the two allegedly gave the doctor LSD, which led to a deterioration in his mental state.

Flores also allegedly changed the phone number and security settings on the doctor’s $60 million online brokerage account in order to access it, and transferred $2 million to his own bank account.

By this time, the victim had evicted the couple from his home, prosecutors said, but they set up cameras at the beach house and watched his deteriorating condition from the luxury hotel.

After the victim died in May 2018 at the age of 57, Flores and Moore returned to his home and began withdrawing large sums of money from his account, prosecutors said.

The indictment does not state how he died.

Flores and Moore face criminal charges including conspiracy, identity theft, mail fraud and money laundering.

They could face decades in prison if found guilty on all counts.

The full statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California is below:

LOS ANGELES — A Fresno hairdresser and an actress were charged with a 12-count indictment alleging they defrauded a doctor of more than $2.7 million before he died and then attempted to rob him of an additional amount in excess of $20 million. judge This was announced today by the department.

Anthony David Flores, 46, also known as “Anton David” of Fresno, was arrested last week in Fresno by federal agents. He pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, and a detention hearing is scheduled for February 10 in the Eastern District of California.

His co-defendant Anna Renee Moore, 39, an actress and former yoga studio owner who currently resides in Monterrey, Mexico, was arrested Tuesday in Houston upon her arrival on a flight from Mexico. It first appeared in the Southern District of Texas. Both defendants are expected to appear in federal court in Los Angeles in the coming weeks.

Flores and Moore are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, two counts of wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud mail, one count of money laundering conspiracy, two counts. money laundering and one count of committing a monetary transaction with property obtained by criminal means.

According to the indictment, beginning in June 2017, Flores and Moore used false promises and claims to befriend the victim, a doctor and successful investor with a net worth of more than $60 million but who suffered from mental illness and was unable to take care of himself. Days after meeting the victim, Flores and Moore moved into the victim’s beachfront home in Malibu – for free – and gradually took control of his life, pretending to be his new “best friends” and guardians.

In September 2017, after the victim suffered a severe mental breakdown leading to his arrest and incarceration in the Los Angeles County Jail, Flores allegedly tricked the victim into signing powers of attorney giving Flores control of the victim’s finances.

Flores allegedly stated that he would only use these powers to access the victim’s finances in order to post bail for release, and that he would revoke them immediately once the victim was released from prison. But after the victim was released from custody, Flores allegedly broke that promise and used those powers to open bank accounts in the victim’s name, giving himself and Moore access to the victim’s wealth.

From September 2017 to May 2018, Flores and Moore allegedly transferred the victim’s funds to their bank accounts, isolated the victim from his family and longtime friends, and supplied the victim with drugs, including marijuana and LSD.

In the last days of his life, Flores and Moore allegedly gave the victim LSD, which caused his mental state to deteriorate greatly. While the victim was under the influence of LSD, Flores allegedly changed the 2-step verification feature on the victim’s $60 million online brokerage account after previously changing the phone number listed in the account from the victim’s phone number to his own phone number.

Four days before the victim’s death, while the victim was still under the influence of the LSD allegedly given to him by the defendants, Flores then allegedly initiated two $1 million transfers from the victim’s brokerage account to accounts controlled by Flores, including Flores’ personal bank. Account. Flores and Moore then left the victim, who by this time was mentally ill, and evicted them from their home. From a luxury hotel paid for by the victim, Flores and Moore allegedly watched the victim’s deteriorating mental state on video cameras installed throughout the beach house in Malibu.

In May 2018, the victim died at his home in Malibu at the age of 57. After the victim’s death, Flores and Moore returned to the victim’s waterfront home in Malibu and allegedly withdrew large sums of money from his accounts. They allegedly also withheld information about the victim’s finances from his mother and sister, who lived in Florida. This prompted the victim’s family to file a lawsuit, which uncovered the alleged fraud.

In the ensuing lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court, Flores and Moore allegedly violated numerous court orders ordering them to return funds stolen from a victim. They allegedly tried to launder the fraudulent proceeds by redirecting the money through several different accounts to prevent the victim’s property and the court-appointed recipient from recovering the money. The lawsuit was settled with Flores and Moore agreeing to pay off the victim’s property of $1 million, which they still have not done.

The indictment contains allegations that the defendant committed the crime. Each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

If found guilty on all counts, Flores and Moore face the statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each count of fraud, 20 years for conspiracy to launder money and money instruments, 10 years for money laundering in transactions and a mandatory two-year prison sentence for aggravated identity theft.

The FBI and the IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Roach of the Cybercrime and Intellectual Property Crime Division is leading the case.

The Western Journal reviewed this Associated Press article and may have revised it prior to publication to meet our editorial standards.