Colorado victim's family says woman who pleaded guilty to elder fraud "worked him a lot of different ways"

What started as apparently innocent grocery store conversations between strangers turned out to be an alleged "romance scam" for several older people in Arapahoe County.

The family of a Colorado man who was a victim is now sharing an important reminder about the dangers of lending money.

Priscilla Johnson, 33, pleaded guilty this week to theft and criminal exploitation after she defrauded a 90-year-old man out of $40,000. According to a second set of arrest papers, she's also accused of pulling the same scam on others, amounting to nearly half a million dollars total.

CBS Colorado spoke with the 90-year-old's son, who wanted to remain anonymous. He said Johnson approached his father, a Centennial resident, at a grocery store in July 2025. She told the 90-year-old that her fiancé was killed in a car crash.

The two exchanged phone numbers and eventually met up for lunch one day. She told the victim she was a makeup artist and cosmetologist who recently had items stolen out of her car that needed to be replaced as quickly as possible.

"She had definitely worked him a lot of different ways to try and make him feel very comfortable," the victim's son said. "She made him feel like he was maybe even a romantic involvement."

The 90-year-old victim gave Johnson $6,000. Soon after, she requested $34,000 for her cancer treatment, claiming she had cancer.

"And that she had to pay her doctor in cash, which immediately made me suspicious," the victim's son said. "My wife and I both looked at each other and we realized that there was something going on. ... Clearly this was a pattern."

The victim's son then contacted the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office. With surveillance video from the grocery store, and phone records, the investigators were able to track Johnson down.

"We're really fortunate that the son alerted to the fact that something seemed improper with the relationship between his dad and the defendants, and alerted authorities," said District Attorney Amy Padden, of the 18th Judicial District. "One of the challenges about romance scams is they're very difficult to detect."

Padden said these kinds of cases are often unreported, as people might not even realize they're a scam victim.

"But there's also sometimes some shame involved, and there are sometimes legitimate romantic feelings between the victim and the person who is victimizing them," said Padden.

Padden said the DA's office has a designated prosecutor who works on elder abuse and elder fraud cases. Johnson has been accused of doing the same thing to several other older people.

Rick Wadleigh, in his 80s, said Johnson also approached him at a grocery store in July 2025. She had a similar story -- saying she was a makeup artist and cosmetologist who was down on her luck and had items stolen out of her car that needed to be replaced.

"She also gave her little story about her fiancé, which I know her husband, but was killed in this accident down in Arizona," said Wadleigh.

According to a second set of arrest papers, another man, who was convinced he was legitimately investing in Johnson's gold company, gave her $450,000.

In more than one case, according to court records, Johnson said she was trying to rebuild her life after the death of a fiancé. Records show the relationships quickly evolved into phone calls and text messages. In some cases, the men believed a friendship or romance was developing. That's when Johnson would request money.

Wadleigh and Johnson had met up a handful of times in a two-week period. Wadleigh gave her nearly $8,000. He said he even took out a cash advance on his credit card to pay her the money. She promised to pay him back.

"Everything she told me was a lie," said Wadleigh.

Wadleigh's case is still pending, and he's unsure if he'll ever get his money back.

Padden encourages people to check in on loved ones. Be aware of large age gaps in new friendships, romances that move quickly, and people saying they need money quickly with serious stories like cancer or death of a loved one.

With the case that is closed with the anonymous victim, as part of the plea agreement, Johnson is required to return all of the victim's money, plus interest. She must also complete 60 hours of public service.

"When he called me last Monday (after) he was notified that he was going to be getting a check for his money back, he was elated," the victim's son said.

With the other victims, Johnson is now facing additional charges, including crimes against at-risk persons, theft and forgery.

"If someone is good at what their craft is, which is deceiving people by false pretense, you can get scammed, and I think people just need to be aware of that," said the victim's son. "You just have to stay on top of these things and really protect the people we care about and love."