Wealthy NYC widow claims gigolo scammed her for nearly $6 million

A wealthy, heartbroken widow from New York City claimed she was scammed out of nearly $6 million by a male escort in a lawsuit filed last week in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Marianne Flippo, 49, claimed in court filings that Gregg Starr, a male escort with ice-blue eyes and six-pack abs, professed his love for her in an attempt to swindle $10 million. He succeeded in getting $5.95 million, she alleged in the lawsuit, and she wanted it back.

Grieving widow

Marianne was widowed when she lost her husband, Chad. They were childhood sweethearts — Marianne had known him since she was 13 years old. They were married for 28 years and had three children. 

Chad made a fortune by developing key software components for Roblox, a gaming platform. But, according to court documents, he always suffered from depression and in August 2024, he took his own life.

Marianne suffered from a rare disease that caused body pain, blood clots, inflammation, fatigue and sometimes depression. She took medication that was manufactured in Russia. With the war in Ukraine, it was no longer available in the United States, but it was available in Italy.

Four months after her husband passed, Marianne decided to travel to Italy to get the medication. She did not want to go alone.

Trip to Italy

One of her husband’s associates suggested she contact Cowboys 4 Angels. The business was featured in a Showtime program called Gigolos. Marianne did not know that it was an escort agency. 

The agency paired her with Gregg Starr, who spoke Italian, according to court documents. Marianne paid $27,000 for Starr to accompany her. “During the trip, Starr had his own room and while he did make advances to Marianne, she turned him down because she was still mourning Chad,” the lawsuit stated.

After the trip, Marianne had no further contact with Starr, until Bridget Collins from Cowboys 4 Angels started calling her, according to the lawsuit. Collins told Marianne that Starr missed her and wanted to talk to her.

“Marianne, extremely vulnerable as she was still mourning the loss of her husband, agreed to meet with Starr,” her lawsuit alleged. “Starr, sensing Marianne’s vulnerability and knowing of her wealth, began to worm his way into her life.”

Exclusive relationship

According to the lawsuit, Marianne paid Cowboys 4 Angels so Starr would see her exclusively. Eventually, Starr and Collins told Marianne that for him to continue dating her, she would need to buy out his contract with Cowboys 4 Angels (CFA). 

“It is not easy – indeed, it is truly embarrassing – to publicly disclose what happened to me,” Marianne stated in her affirmation to the court. “But I do so to regain my dignity as well as to shed light on Starr’s egregious conduct and hopefully prevent others from falling prey to this sociopath.”

According to the lawsuit, Marianne paid Starr $150,000 to date her. Then $368,000. Then $90,000. In the meantime, Marianne needed surgery and contracted an infection. She was prescribed a painkiller and a narcotic.

“Not in my right mind”

“During this time, I was not in my right mind. I did not have full control of my mental facilities due to the medication I was prescribed and the emotional roller-coaster I was on following so many drastic changes in my life,” Marianne stated in her affirmation.

Read more: Asking the wrong question about coercive controllers

“It is also during this time that Starr began to tell me that he wanted to be with me on a full-time and exclusive basis but could not leave CFA because he was bound by a contract with CFA to continue to work for them.

“Unfortunately, I was not capable or perceptive enough to know these statements were false but, since I loved and trusted Starr, I relied on what he said. I now realize I was foolish.”

The $10 million buyout

According to the lawsuit, Starr claimed that he wanted to be with Marianne and moved in with her. But, the lawsuit alleged, for them to stay together she would need to pay $10 million to terminate his association with Cowboys 4 Angels.

Starr and Collins coerced Marianne into signing an “Exit Agreement” by getting her drunk, according to the lawsuit. Suspecting fraud, two banks stopped the money transfers. Finally, Starr convinced Marianne to open a brokerage account in both their names, the lawsuit alleged. 

Starr and Collins tricked Marianne into paying an initial $5.95 million, her attorney, Larry Hutcher, stated in court papers. Starr quickly moved the money from their shared account. He and Collins then tried to get her to pay the rest, according to the lawsuit.

Attorney intervention

Hutcher scheduled a meeting of the parties. He described what happened next in his affirmation to the court:

“While Starr believed that we were there to work out the details of Marianne’s payment of the additional $4,000,000 he was seeking, he had a rude awakening.

“Having seen and investigated what had taken place I knew that this was not a legitimate relationship and that Marianne was the victim of a horrific scheme. Marianne initially did not believe this because she was in essence suffering from ‘Stockholm syndrome’ and was under the Svengali-like control of Starr.”

Starr got angry in the meeting, Hutcher stated, and it took time for Marianne to realize that he was allegedly a con man.

“While Marianne was originally hopeful and believed that Starr loved her and would return ‘home’ to her, she now knows that she was the victim of a sinister fraud,” the attorney wrote.

For more information on this story, read the New York Post:

Wealthy NYC ‘Roblox’ widow claims male escort scammed her out of $6M: ‘Svengali-like control’

Wealthy ‘Roblox’ widow bought $16M love nest for escort who allegedly scammed her

Male escort accused of swindling ‘Roblox’ widow out of $6M underwent extensive plastic surgery to achieve his ‘Maxoris’ icy stare, sculpted abs

Starr denies the claims

Marianne Flippo made these allegations in a civil suit filed last week, accusing Gregg Starr of fraud, fraudulent inducement and more. According to the New York Post, Gregg Starr denied the accusations. 

Starr told the Post that he was the victim. He said Marianne physically and sexually abused him, tried to prevent him from leaving their luxury home, and the “Exit Agreement” contract was her idea.

Marianne acknowledged that she signed the Cowboys 4 Angels contracts and paid the money. But her lawyer said she was “not in her right mind” when she did it. She was grieving, on medication and drunk when she was coerced into signing the “Exit Agreement,” the lawsuit alleged.

Anyone can understand that grief, medication and alcohol affect judgment. But I wonder if the case will reveal an even more powerful method of coercive control.

Emotional and psychological manipulation

Larry Hutcher, Marianne’s attorney, hinted at this in his affirmation. He wrote that Marianne initially did not believe that she was a scam victim, because “she was in essence suffering from ‘Stockholm syndrome’ and was under the Svengali-like control of Starr.”

How does this happen? Through extreme emotional and psychological manipulation.

Marianne’s court documents make no mention of physical abuse. That doesn’t matter — Lovefraud’s research has consistently found that physical violence is the least likely type of abuse experienced in sociopathic relationships. However, almost all victims endure emotional and psychological manipulation.

Here are some examples from Marianne Flippo’s case, according to court documents:

1. Pressure. Gregg Starr and his Cowboys 4 Angels colleague, Bridget Collins, kept telling Marianne how much Starr missed and loved her, and he wanted to be with her, the lawsuit alleged.
2. Love bombing. Marianne was not interested in a relationship with Starr, but she finally relented and agreed to meet him to thank him for his assistance on the trip to Italy. He showered her with praise and affection. She said that with all the craziness in her life, it felt good.
3. Intermittent reinforcement. Even as Starr was seducing Marianne, he had begun seeing an ex-girlfriend. Marianne broke up with him and blocked him, but the Cowboys 4 Angels employees swung back into action, convincing her to give him another chance, according to the lawsuit. Marianne was “back under his spell,” she wrote. 

I don’t know what is going to happen in this case, but I’ve heard many sad stories like this one. I’ll follow it and let you know how it turns out.

Learn more: Maybe you’re not codependent — you’re traumatized