The FBI confirmed to Newsweek that a woman accused of using dating apps to target older men, drugging them, and then stealing their money and identities, will be extradited from Mexico to the United States. The suspect, Aurora Phelps, a 44-year-old dual U.S.-Mexican citizen, is on trial in Mexico for murder.
Phelps faces accusations from U.S. prosecutors of executing a scheme over several years, allegedly resulting in multiple deaths and costing victims millions of dollars. The case is notable on both sides of the border due to the apparent scale of the fraud, the use of dating apps to find victims, and the possibility that more victims remain unidentified.
“Ms. Phelps will be extradited to the U.S., but no date has been set yet,” stated Sandy Breault, an FBI spokesperson for the Las Vegas field office.
Federal prosecutors in Las Vegas indicted Phelps last year on 21 counts, including wire fraud, identity theft, and kidnapping. One kidnapping charge suggests a victim died due to the crime. If found guilty on all counts, she may face life imprisonment.
Murder Trial Underway in Mexico
The murder trial in Mexico pertains to Robert Erbach’s death, an American retiree near Guadalajara. Phelps met Erbach on Tinder in 2021 during his divorce process. Friends mentioned to the Los Angeles Times that they dated for months before attending a concert together at Guadalajara’s Hard Rock Hotel in December 2021. That was the last time anyone saw Erbach alive.
His body was found two days later along a roadside outside of Guadalajara, and authorities determined that he died from asphyxiation. Initially, identifying him posed a challenge for investigators.
Court records indicate that Phelps drove Erbach’s BMW to Las Vegas afterward and opened a Wells Fargo account with his details. Surveillance footage allegedly captured her withdrawing money using Erbach’s debit card. Authorities claim over $50,000 was taken from his accounts.
Following Erbach’s disappearance, his son received texts from his father’s phone, written in broken English, asserting a move to Ecuador and urging everyone to cease looking for him. Prosecutors assert that Phelps also attempted to redirect Erbach’s pension payments unsuccessfully due to a lack of verified signature.
Federal Indictment Alleges Broader Pattern
According to the indictment, Erbach was not Phelps’ sole victim. Prosecutors state that she met another man in Las Vegas in 2021, slowly gaining his trust through repeated lunch meetings.
Investigators allege that she later delivered food to his house, covertly administering prescription medication that kept him nearly unconscious for about five days. During this time, she stole various personal items including his phone, tablets, identification documents, and bank cards.
Authorities further claim that she accessed his E-Trade account and attempted to liquidate about $3.3 million in Apple stock, although she failed to withdraw the funds successfully.
Phelps is linked to another presumed victim she met via a dating app in November 2022. Prosecutors allege she heavily drugged the man, transported him across the U.S.-Mexico border, and took him to a hotel room in Mexico City where he was found dead later.
The indictment also connects Phelps to another man’s death in Guadalajara in May 2022. His daughter contacted the police after losing contact with him, and officers later discovered him dead at home. Authorities allege that Phelps utilized one of his accounts to purchase a gold coin, which was mailed to her address.
FBI Believes More Victims May Exist
Federal investigators suspect the known cases to represent only part of Phelps’ alleged fraud scheme. A public alert and news conference were held by the FBI in February 2025 to find more potential victims. Investigators have identified at least 11 likely victims thus far.
Prosecutors claim Phelps used dating platforms and personal relationships to acquire victims’ financial information between 2019 and 2022. Per an FBI bulletin, she often employed stolen personal information to infiltrate victims’ bank, Social Security, and retirement accounts, frequently drugging them unknowingly to gain account access.
While older men were her main targets according to authorities, the FBI mentioned that women and younger individuals might also have been exploited. The bureau’s bulletin provides photographs of Phelps, listing several aliases she allegedly used, such as Aurora Flores, Aurora Velasco, and Aurora Alvarez.