GOLDEN, Colo. – A Jefferson County woman who faked having cancer to bilk an elderly man out of thousands of dollars is awaiting her fate after a jury returned a guilty verdict last month.
Nahid Moshrefi, 50, of Monument, could spend up to 24 years in prison for stealing more than $69,000 from an 80-year-old man. She’ll be sentenced September 8, a First Judicial District press release announced Tuesday.
Moshrefi met the elderly victim through an online dating site, where she went by the name of “Venus.” The couple began dating for several months in 2013 when she told the victim she had cancer and only five to six months to live.
The victim's bank got suspicious, and bank officials called police after the elderly man wrote checks to Moshrefi and transferred money to her account. The victim told police the money was for Moshrefi’s cancer treatments. He said the suspect displayed pain during their dates.
Prosecutors say Moshrefi also convinced the elderly man to buy her a car, give her all his cash savings and pay for trips to California and Australia. She also had herself installed as sole beneficiary in his will.
Prosecutors say the depths of Moshrefi's deception knew no bounds when she made the victim give up his prescription medication and take supplements instead, which altered his moods and increased his depression.
Moshrefi owns Holistic Healing Health in Colorado Springs. She advertises herself as Dr. Venus K. Moshrefi. Investigators have been unable to confirm whether she is a medical doctor.
Moshrefi was convicted on July 24 of two felony counts of theft of an at-risk elder and criminal exploitation of an at-risk elder.
