California man pleads guilty to scamming elderly women out of nearly $2 million

Troy Van Sickle pleaded guilty to wire fraud, money laundering and making false statements after the DOJ says he swindled a wealthy Los Angeles woman out of $1.5 million through a romance scam involving fake business deals and investments.SAN DIEGO (CN) — A Southern California man pleaded guilty to charges in connection with scamming two elderly women out of about $1.9 million on Tuesday.Troy Van Sickle, 55, of Temecula, pleaded guilty to three counts: wire fraud, money laundering and making false statements to the government.Van Sickle, who the Department of Justice says is a 10-time convicted felon, now faces up to 30 years in prison and has been ordered to repay the women the funds they sent to him.In its indictment, DOJ says Van Sickle pretended to be a successful businessman who was romantically interested in a woman, described as a wealthy divorcee from Los Angeles, to gain access to her finances. After gaining access, he claimed he was facing financial hardship and needed money to pursue business deals and investments — and promised to repay her and share future profits.Instead, he used her money to pay for luxury cars, gamble at casinos and send to other women, the DOJ says.Van Sickle appeared alongside four other unrelated defendants before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Butcher on Tuesday. He said nothing except to affirm the conditions of his plea agreement.When asked if he would like to plead guilty to the charges, Van Sickle emphatically responded: “Yes, I would, your honor.”Van Sickle’s latest wire fraud scheme ran from July 2022 to July 2024 and included fraudulent business deals he used to enrich himself, the DOJ says.The government says Van Sickle created a miniature car company and asked his first victim to make multimillion-dollar contracts between the company and another to give the impression it was legitimate. The woman sent $150,000 to Van Sickle to fund the agreement, but he used the money to purchase a 2022 Ferrari worth $650,000.The DOJ says he received about 20 wire transfers from the woman between 2022 and 2023.Van Sickle concealed his fraud to avoid paying restitution by submitting a false financial packet to his probation officer that did not include any of the money he received from the woman he defrauded, the luxury cars he purchased or his gambling winnings.At Van Sickle’s direction, the woman made false statements during an FBI interview, the DOJ says.Van Sickle manipulated and exploited her to delete text messages, lie to law enforcement and sign a fraudulent promissory note to make the wired funds appear as a single 10-year loan, the DOJ says. Additionally, he directed her to sign a false statement saying he already paid her $140,000.He is ordered to repay her $1.7 million.Van Sickle also admitted to defrauding a second victim, identified as a woman from San Diego, in his plea agreement, the DOJ says. He is ordered to repay her $165,000.He admitted in his plea agreement that he knew the women were vulnerable victims due to their age, health and trusting nature, the DOJ says.Van Sickle’s criminal history includes convictions for fraud, theft, extortion and perjury, which he concealed from his victims.He was out on a three-year term of supervised release for a 2021 mail-fraud conviction, for which he was ordered to pay $250,000 to nine victims when he targeted his most recent victims, the DOJ says. He was charged in May.His sentencing is scheduled for January.Attorney John Kirby, representing Van Sickle, declined to comment on the case after the hearing.Categories / Courts, CriminalSubscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads