A New York woman who worked as a personal assistant pleaded guilty to wire fraud on Wednesday for a scheme in which she stole $10 million from her elderly employers, one of whom was a retired Salomon Brothers investment banker who died two years before the fraud was stopped.
The woman, Catalina Corona, blew some of the stolen money on luxury goods from Gucci, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, and to pay off her credit card debt, prosecutors said.
Corona, 62, faces a maximum possible prison sentence of 30 years in the case, the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Corona was accused of using fraudulent checks and impersonating her employers to defraud Richard Schmeelk and his wife,…
These frauds exploit emotional vulnerability and trust rather than technical weaknesses.
- Romance Scams: Scammers build long-term online relationships with victims, eventually fabricating a “crisis” (medical emergency, legal trouble, or travel costs) that requires the victim to send money.
- Pig Butchering: A hybrid scam where the criminal builds a romantic or platonic relationship to eventually “tutor” the victim in a fraudulent cryptocurrency investment.