Woman Convicted Of Bilking Man Out Of $69,000+
GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4)- A woman who bilked a Westminster man out of more than $69,000 has been found guilty by a jury in Jefferson County.
Nahid "Venus" Moshrefi, 50, convinced her 80-year-old victim that she had cancer when she did not. He then gave her large sums of money for treatments.
The jury found Moshrefi guilty of theft of an at-risk elder and criminal exploitation of an at-risk elder.
In October 2016, the victim did not want Moshrefi charged and the two held hands in court. The two met on the dating site "Live Links."
When police contacted the victim, Bill Maruka of Westminster, he told investigators he paid for her doctor visits and treatment. He said that Venus told him without the treatments she had five to six months to live.
Maruka told investigators that their relationship was kept secret because it was against her religion to be with a white man when she is unmarried. Moshrefi's husband testified that they had been married for 13 years.
Moshrefi is the owner/operator of Holistic Healing Health in Colorado Springs, and advertises herself as Dr. Venus K. Moshrefi. She admitted in court that she is not a licensed medical doctor in Colorado.
Maruka paid for trips to California, Hawaii and Australia for Venus. She told him that she had family in Australia that she would never see again because she was dying.
Sentencing for Moshrefi has been set for Sept. 8 at 3 p.m. She could potentially face up to 24 years in prison.