The rich widow of a “Roblox” inventor claims she obtained scammed out of an eye-watering $6 million by a predatory male escort, in accordance with a bombshell new lawsuit.
Marianne Flippo, 49, contends icy-eyed, silver-haired gigolo Gregg Starr manipulated her by declaring his love — and telling her the one means they may very well be collectively was for her to pay out his $10 million contract with an notorious escort company, the go well with alleges.
“Sadly, I used to be not succesful or perceptive sufficient to know these statements had been false however, since I cherished and trusted Starr, I relied on what he mentioned,” Flippo wrote in a Manhattan Supreme Courtroom submitting Monday.
“I now understand I used to be silly.”
The grieving Flippo, who suffers from a extreme genetic medical situation, met Starr, 38, by way of Cowboys 4 Angels, an company that gives “straight elite male companions for ladies,” in accordance with its web site — and was featured within the Showtime actuality TV present “Gigolos.”
However their unconventional love affair soured, Flippo claims, when Starr and one other escort service employee allegedly coerced her into signing an settlement to assist him escape his contract after plying her with pictures of booze whereas she was on a brand new medicine, the court docket papers state.
By the point an lawyer for Flippo found the brazen scheme, she — “beneath the Svengali-like management of Starr” — had already transferred almost $6 million to him, whereas he demanded the remaining $4 million, court docket papers state.
“She now is aware of that she was the sufferer of a sinister fraud,” mentioned her lawyer Larry Hutcher, of New York legislation agency Davidoff Hutcher & Citron.
Hutcher, in a court docket submitting, requested a choose to intervene as Starr now allegedly embarks on a wild spending frenzy to “dissipate the stolen funds.”
“I now acknowledge that I used to be the sufferer of a horrendous scheme by Starr who’s a sociopath who lacks any conscience,” Flippo claimed in an affirmation filed with the court docket.
The 18-page grievance, together with stacks of different filings, lays out a wild story of alleged treachery and desperation that started shortly after the sudden dying of Flippo’s lifelong sweetheart, Chad Flippo, two years in the past.
A pc programmer, Chad Flippo created and patented key software program for the mega-successful on-line recreation “Roblox” — and amassed a considerable fortune.
“He did very nicely,” Hutcher mentioned, declining to reveal the precise quantity.
The pair had been “sweethearts” since Marianne Flippo was 13 and had three youngsters collectively over their 28-year marriage.
However Chad Flippo took his personal life on Aug. 5, 2024, leaving Marianne shattered and alone, Hutcher mentioned.
Just a few months later, the grieving widow wanted to journey to Italy to get medicine that grew to become uncommon because of the Russia-Ukraine battle, however she didn’t communicate Italian and sought a companion, the court docket papers state.
A good friend of her late husband instructed her to contact Cowboys 4 Angels, the place she employed Starr to affix her on the journey for $27,000, the go well with claims.
The corporate is maybe extra well-known, or infamous, as a male escort company that Sean “Diddy” Combs reportedly tapped for his “freak-offs” – wicked, drug-fueled intercourse events.
Flippo contends she didn’t understand it was an escort company as she spent the journey to Italy chatting and studying about her journey companion, and spilling about her late husband’s fortune, court docket papers state.
The pair continued seeing one another on and off after the journey, and Starr moved into Flippo’s New York condominium in December – whereas convincing her to shell out over $450,000 simply to maintain him “unique,” in accordance with the go well with.
The seeming fairytale took a flip throughout a visit to Atlanta early this yr, whereas Flippo was on sturdy medicine following a surgical procedure, the go well with contends.
She claims Starr and a Cowboys 4 Angels handler plied her with “pictures” of booze and cornered her in a 4 Seasons lodge room till she signed the staggering $10 million “Exit Settlement” to purchase the escort out of his contract, the submitting alleges.
When she tried to wire the $10 million, her financial institution recalled the switch over fraud considerations, the go well with states.
“Whereas this could have been a wake-up name for me,” Flippo mentioned in a submitting, “it was not.”
Finally, Flippo claims Starr and the opposite worker satisfied her to open a joint account with him, the place she transferred $5.95 million, in accordance with the go well with.
The alleged scheme fell aside when Flippo tapped Hutcher to hash out the remainder of the “Exit Settlement” in June, the submitting states.
“I checked out this and mentioned, ‘Not even shut. This doesn’t move any scent check by any stretch of the creativeness,” Hutcher mentioned.
The belief allegedly led to a dramatic confrontation throughout a gathering between Flippo, Hutcher and Starr, through which the lawyer mentioned he didn’t mince phrases.
“I mentioned to him, ‘You’re nothing greater than a typical legal,’” Hutcher recalled.
“It obtained very intense. He tried to drag Marianne out of there. It was a really intense heated assembly as soon as I mentioned that.”
An incensed Starr “threatened to take away and conceal the $5.95 million except Marianne agreed to pay the remaining $4 million,” the go well with alleges.
“It was at this level that Marianne lastly realized that Starr … had scammed her.”
The go well with alleges that Starr has transferred $5.7 million out of the joint account, right into a separate one beneath his sole management.
Starr has been “quickly spending my cash,” Flippo alleged in court docket paperwork.
However reached by The Submit on Tuesday, Starr claimed that a lot of the $6 million was spent on bills for the couple and charitable donations, and mentioned that there was roughly $3 million left.
He declined to say precisely the place the cash was or why it was apparently faraway from the joint account.
“I needed to offer it a good shot. I needed to have monetary safety. I needed to depart the company and really pursue a relationship as a result of I used to be in love together with her regardless of all the opposite issues,” he mentioned.
Starr additionally claimed allegations of coercion had been “not true in any respect,” insisting the “Exit Settlement” was Flippo’s thought and that he didn’t need it within the first place. He claimed that she was abusive towards him, calling their relationship “a wild f—king trip.”
“You can’t rewrite a whole relationship just by submitting a lawsuit after it ends,” Starr’s lawyer Todd Spodek added in an announcement. “The grievance tells a dramatic story; the proof will inform the precise one.”
Cowboys 4 Angels — which didn’t return a request for remark — isn’t listed as a defendant within the lawsuit, though Hutcher famous that might change sooner or later.
“At this stage, we don’t know what cash was paid to them,” he mentioned.
“We’re leaving the whole lot open.”
The civil declare isn’t nearly getting again almost $6 million, Hutcher added.
“This lawsuit is just about Marianne recovering her dignity and her sense of self.”
