RivCo man pleads guilty to bilking women out of $1.8M in romance scam

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KESQ) - A Riverside County man who persuaded two elderly women to give him more than $1.8 million after convincing each that they were in a romantic relationship pleaded guilty in San Diego federal court today to wire fraud and money laundering charges.   

Troy Clinton Van Sickle, 55, of Temecula, claimed to be a successful businessman, while he was actually a janitor at a San Diego County preschool with a history of felony convictions for fraud, extortion and other financial crimes.

The first victim was described by prosecutors as "a wealthy divorced woman in Los Angeles,'' who Van Sickle convinced to give him money "to pursue business deals and investment opportunities.''  

Instead, the money was used for personal expenses such as car purchases and gambling, as well as giving money to other women.   

The second victim, who was from San Diego, was also convinced to give money to Van Sickle, who similarly used it for personal purposes.   

He promised to repay the women, but has not repaid any of the money to this day, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.   

Prosecutors say that after the FBI contacted the first victim, Van Sickle was able to convince her to lie to investigators, delete text messages, and falsify a promissory note to make it appear he had repaid her $140,000.   

At the time of the crimes, he was on federal supervision for a fraud conviction and had been ordered to pay $250,000 in restitution to nine victims, prosecutors said. While he was supposed to truthfully report his financial resources, he lied in order to avoid paying the restitution, despite the money he received from the first victim, along with gambling winnings and sales of vehicles.

Van Sickle is slated to be sentenced in January.