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Woman Lured, Drugged and Stole From Older Men in Deadly Scheme, U.S. Says
A 43-year-old Las Vegas woman has been arrested in Mexico on charges that she lured at least four older men on dating websites, drugged them and tried to steal millions of dollars from them in a deadly scheme, the authorities said Friday.
The woman, Aurora Phelps, was charged with one count of kidnapping resulting in death in the scheme, which the F.B.I. said had led to at least three deaths.
Spencer L. Evans, the top F.B.I. agent in Las Vegas, said Friday that the investigation was “ongoing” and that Ms. Phelps might face more charges in the United States and Mexico.
In one case, Ms. Phelps drugged a man in Las Vegas after meeting him online, took him to Mexico City and used his credit card to rent a hotel room, where he died, according to a 21-count indictment unsealed this month.
Ms. Phelps pushed the man, who was “zonked out of his mind” on drugs, in a wheelchair as they crossed the U.S.-Mexico border at a pedestrian crossing, Mr. Evans said in an interview on Friday.
She took her daughter on the trip to Mexico City, in November 2022, according to the authorities. She had drugged the man during a lunch in Las Vegas one day after meeting him on an online dating service, according to the indictment, filed in federal court in Nevada.
Mr. Evans said that Ms. Phelps had stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars in a “romance scam on steroids.”
“It’s probably, in recent history, the worst one that we’ve seen,” Mr. Evans said. “But for meeting with Phelps, all of these folks would be alive.”
Ms. Phelps carried out her scheme at least from July 2021 to December 2022, taking her victims’ tech devices and bank cards, according to the indictment.
In one case, she used a victim’s bank account to buy a gold coin, days after the victim had been found dead in the bathroom of his home in Guadalajara, Mexico, court papers said.
In another case, she sold around $3.3 million in Apple stock belonging to a different victim and unsuccessfully tried to steal more than $3 million from his E-Trade account after drugging him, according to the indictment.
Court papers said that she had stolen Social Security payments and a BMW from one victim after meeting him at a Hard Rock hotel in Guadalajara.
All four of the victims mentioned in the indictment appeared to be in their 60s or 70s, and the man who survived emerged from a five-day coma after being heavily drugged, Mr. Evans said.
Ms. Phelps has been charged with one count each of kidnapping and kidnapping resulting in death, seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of mail fraud, six counts of bank fraud and three counts of identity theft.
Ms. Phelps, who remained in custody in Mexico on Friday, faces up to life in prison if she is convicted, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Las Vegas said.
She was arrested by the Mexican authorities, the office said. The authorities declined to say when Ms. Phelps had been taken into custody.
She could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday, and it was unclear if she had a lawyer. Prosecutors wrote in court papers this month that she had been presented with an extradition warrant and that she “may challenge her extradition.”
Although the indictment described four victims, prosecutors wrote in a request to unseal the indictment, dated Feb. 10, that the “government believes that other victims exist and need to be identified.”
Ms. Phelps, a dual U.S.-Mexican citizen who was born in the United States, has lived in Nevada, Arkansas and Guadalajara, according to the F.B.I.
Mr. Evans said the F.B.I. had identified at least 10 victims, including one in Arkansas. The names of the victims have not been released.
Ms. Phelps was indicted after a two-year investigation by the F.B.I., which started with a missing-person report, Mr. Evans said.
“We’re still looking for additional evidence,” he said, adding, “I’m hoping that someone sitting back and reading the newspaper or watching TV, it might jog their memory and say, ‘Hey — that might be my uncle that disappeared, or my father, or grandfather.’”
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Video: Prosecutors Charge Nick Reiner With Murdering His Parents
new video loaded: Prosecutors Charge Nick Reiner With Murdering His Parents
transcript
transcript
Prosecutors Charge Nick Reiner With Murdering His Parents
Los Angeles prosecutors charged Nick Reiner with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his parents, the director Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner.
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Our office will be filing charges against Nick Reiner, who is accused of killing his parents, actor-director Rob Reiner and photographer-producer Michele Singer Reiner. These charges will be two counts of first-degree murder, with a special circumstance of multiple murders. He also faces a special allegation that he personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, that being a knife. These charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility parole or the death penalty. No decision at this point has been made with respect to the death penalty.
By Shawn Paik
December 16, 2025
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Nick Reiner will be charged with first degree murder in his parents’ killing
Michele Singer Reiner, Rob Reiner and their son Nick in 2013.
Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Teen Vogue
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Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Teen Vogue
Nick Reiner, the 32-year-old son of filmmaker Rob Reiner and photographer Michele Singer Reiner, is being charged with two counts of first degree murder. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said at a press conference Tuesday that the charges include a “special circumstance” of multiple murders and a “special allegation” that Reiner used a dangerous and deadly weapon — a knife.

The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
“No decision at this point has been made with respect to the death penalty,” Hochman added.
Hochman called Rob Reiner an “iconic force in our entertainment industry” and his wife Michele Singer Reiner an “equally iconic photographer and producer.” The police became aware of their deaths on Sunday after a call from the fire department. Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said the cause and time of the deaths aren’t available at this time as they await updates from the coroner’s office.
Alan Hamilton, deputy chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, said that Nick Reiner was arrested in public on Sunday, in the Exposition Park area of Los Angeles, near the University of Southern California campus. In response to questions, McDonnell said he was unable to say whether or not Nick Reiner was under the influence of drugs at the time of his arrest. Reiner had been open about his struggles with addiction in the past.


When asked whether there was evidence of mental illness in Nick Reiner’s background, Hochman said “any evidence, if there is any” would be presented in court. Hochman wouldn’t answer a question about whether Reiner admitted to the crimes, saying that is the type of evidence that would come out in court.
Hochman emphasized that “charges are not evidence” and that his office would be presenting evidence to jurors in a court of law. He asked people to rely on trusted sources and not hearsay about the case.
He said that, as in any case, his office would be taking “the thoughts and desires of the family into consideration.”
Prosecutors are filing charges Tuesday afternoon. Reiner is going through medical clearance – a normal process, according to officials – and will be brought to court for arraignment, where he will enter a plea. Reiner is currently being held without bail.


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Video: Nick Reiner Talked Openly About His Addiction Struggles
new video loaded: Nick Reiner Talked Openly About His Addiction Struggles
transcript
transcript
Nick Reiner Talked Openly About His Addiction Struggles
Nick Reiner was arrested and booked on suspicion of murder after his mother and father, the movie director Rob Reiner, were found dead in their home. The younger Reiner had been open about his struggles with drug abuse and homelessness.
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“I was scared to get in trouble…” “We’re talking with Nick Reiner and his father, Rob Reiner.” “I think I’m lucky in the sense that I have parents that care about me. And because of that, when I would go out and do, you know, things like drugs and stuff like that, I’d feel a tremendous amount of guilt because I’d think, oh, you know, they’re thinking about me right now. They want me to do good.” “How was it working with your son?” “Oh, good, good.” “Deep down, he trusted that we loved him and that we were there for him. And that put a little bit of a break on certain things. I mean, it’s a desire to survive.”
By Shawn Paik
December 16, 2025
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