Women bear a disproportionate burden of severe coercive intimate-partner violence, while men and LGBTQ+ people are also financially abused, defrauded, stalked, and extorted. Prevention must recognize a victim before assigning a gender role.
Safety first: Do not confront a suspected abuser or fraudster merely because an article tells you to. Use a safer device and individualized safety planning when someone has physical, financial, workplace, family, or device access. In immediate danger, call 911.
When the perpetrator is a man and the victim is a woman
Gendered patterns matter. Research on economic abuse has overwhelmingly studied women abused by men, reflecting both the burden of severe coercive IPV on women and the history of domestic-violence services. Tactics can include blocking employment, taking earnings, forced debt, sabotaging credit, withholding necessities, controlling housing and transportation, and using children or immigration status as a means of control.
A current adjudicated example shows how a romance-fraud version can unfold. In April 2026, a federal court sentenced Cedric Wormely to 30 months after he pleaded guilty to wire fraud involving women he met mainly through dating platforms. Prosecutors said he invented a New England life and business future, sought money for that supposed shared future, and turned victims’ questions around to make them feel at fault. Restitution was ordered. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Vermont, 2026)
In June 2026, Oscar Peters was sentenced for stealing nearly $1.9 million from a person he met through a dating site. Prosecutors described daily romantic communications, marriage promises, claims that frozen assets and business obligations stood between the pair and their future, and repeated promises to repay. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Oregon, 2025)
These cases show fraud, not the full universe of financial abuse. A real partner does not need a fake identity to create coerced debt or economic dependence.
When the perpetrator is a woman and the victim is a man
Men can be financially abused, defrauded, stalked, and extorted. Masculine expectations can add a specific trap: embarrassment about being deceived, pressure to appear financially capable, fear that police or friends will laugh, or the belief that a man should be able to handle the situation alone.
In 2023, Peaches Stergo was sentenced to 51 months after pleading guilty to wire fraud. The Justice Department said she met an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor on a dating website, built a years-long relationship, fabricated a need to resolve a personal-injury settlement, and took $2.8 million—his life savings—while creating fake bank documents and invoices. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, 2023)
In 2024, Brittany Lasley was sentenced to three years after admitting she created a fake profile on Plenty of Fish and induced a 96-year-old widower to provide money, cards, gift cards, and personal identifying information in exchange for supposed meetings and a relationship. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Rhode Island, 2024)
Those convictions are not permission to make symmetrical claims unsupported by data. The responsible conclusion is simpler: prevention and services must be able to see a victim before assigning a gender role.
LGBTQ+ and nonbinary victims can face extra pressure points
Outing threats, community visibility, family rejection, immigration issues, HIV or sexual-health information, and intimate images can become coercive tools. A platform designed for sexual openness may hold more sensitive material; a smaller community may make anonymity harder.
In December 2024, a federal court sentenced Omoruyi Uwadiae to 51 months for cyberstalking, extorting, and stealing the identities of gay and bisexual men he targeted on dating apps. Court records described threats to distribute intimate material to friends, relatives, and employers, with demands including money, sex, and damaging statements. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Ohio, 2024)
The important distinction is consent: sharing an image with one person is not consent to publish it, and consenting to sex is not consent to pay, remain silent, continue contact, or surrender identity information.
This article is educational and is not legal, medical, clinical, or financial advice. Reading it does not create a therapist-client or attorney-client relationship. Laws and reporting procedures vary by facts and jurisdiction.
For confidential domestic-violence support in the United States, call 800-799-SAFE (7233), text START to 88788, or visit TheHotline.org. Internet-enabled fraud and extortion can be reported at IC3.gov.