California man pleads guilty to $1.8 million romance fraud against two elderly women
Troy Clinton Van Sickle, 55, of Temecula pleaded guilty, admitting that he stole more than $1.8 million, according to the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California.
On October 6, 2026, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California announced that Troy Clinton Van Sickle, 55, of Temecula, California, pleaded guilty in federal court. Prosecutors say he stole more than $1.8 million from two elderly women he claimed to be romantically interested in.
According to the release, Van Sickle received more than 30 money transfers from the women. He gave one woman a fake multi-million-dollar contract between his company and Lotus Cars to make the scheme look legitimate. Prosecutors say he used the money for personal expenses, including payments on luxury cars and gambling at casinos, and made a payment on a 2022 Ferrari SF90 Stradale.
The release also says Van Sickle submitted a false financial packet, signed under penalty of perjury, to his probation officer, and falsely claimed he had already repaid $140,000 to one of the women.
The release lists wire fraud, money laundering under 18 U.S.C. Section 1957 and false statement charges. The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case. Sentencing is set for January 15, 2027, before US District Judge Ruth Bermudez Montenegro.
Why it matters to AML professionals
Romance fraud against older customers often shows up first as unusual outgoing transfers from a long-standing account. AML professionals in fraud and transaction monitoring roles can protect victims by spotting repeated large payments to a new beneficiary. Spending fraud proceeds on high-value goods can itself be charged as money laundering, a separate crime.
Red flags in this case
- An older customer sends repeated large transfers to a new beneficiary over a short period
- The customer explains payments as loans or investments in a business run by a new romantic partner
- Funds received by the beneficiary are quickly spent on luxury vehicles or at casinos
- Business documents supplied to support the payments cannot be verified with the named counterparty
If this landed in your queue
- Pull the full transfer history between the customer and the beneficiary and total the amounts and frequency
- Check whether the beneficiary account receives funds from other older customers
- Review how the beneficiary spends incoming funds, looking for luxury purchases or gambling
- Escalate for a SAR and follow internal elder financial exploitation procedures if the pattern is confirmed
Key terms
- Romance fraud
- A scam where the criminal builds a fake relationship with the victim to get money.
- 18 U.S.C. Section 1957
- A US law that makes it a crime to carry out a monetary transaction over $10,000 with criminal proceeds.
- Elder financial exploitation
- The illegal or improper use of an older person's money or assets.
Interview angle
What signs would make you suspect elder financial exploitation in a customer's account?
A strong candidate describes changes from the customer's normal pattern, such as new large repeated transfers to an unknown party, and explains how they would document the pattern and escalate it.
Sources
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