Married woman faked cancer to steal $69,000 from 80-year-old man she met on Live Links

GOLDEN, Colo. -- (KDVR) -- A 50-year-old woman from Monument has been convicted of bilking an elderly Westminster man out of over $69,000.

Nahid “Venus” Moshrefi convinced the 80-year-old man that she had cancer when she did not, the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office said.

Moshrefi met the victim, William Maruca, through the Live Links dating service and they began seeing each other in 2013.

Two employees from a FirstBank branch where Maruca had an account later called the Westminster Police Department to report possible elder abuse.

They testified during the trial that Maruca had written multiple checks to Moshrefi for large sums of money.

When police contacted Maruca, he told them he paid for Moshrefi's doctor visits and treatment.

“He said Venus told him that without treatments she had five to six months to live,” prosecutors stated. “He said that he knows she has cancer because of the pain she displays to him.”

Maruca also paid for trips to California, Hawaii and Australia for Moshrefi, and bought her a car, the district attorney's office said.

Maruca said their relationship was kept secret because she told him it was against her religion to be with a white man when she was unmarried, prosecutors stated.

However, testimony in court revealed Moshrefi has been married for 13 years.

In addition to the money he spent on Moshrefi, Maruca spent more than $80,000 on supplements that Moshrefi “prescribed” to him, Maruca's cousin testified.

Moshrefi is the owner and operator of Holistic Healing Health in Colorado Springs, and advertises herself as Dr. Venus K. Moshrefi, according to prosecutors.