A 74-year-old Brighton woman serving a 10-year prison sentence for a scam in Weld County will serve more time in prison after pleading guilty to charges stemming from her role in an international online dating scam.
Karen Vasseur pleaded guilty to a federal indictment alleging that she and her daughter, Tracy Vasseur, helped steal more than $1 million in an international dating scam that duped users into thinking they were in contact with American soldiers stationed in Afghanistan, according to a news release. The mother-daughter pair were accused of collecting money from women in the U.S. and 40 other countries and laundering it through Colorado banks.
A Weld County jury convicted Vasseur in April of offering five men fake unsecured loans — telling them she had a multi-million-dollar insurance settlement — and then using their money for personal expenditures. She was sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison for the felony theft charges, including several against elderly men who are considered at-risk adults.
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers charged Vasseur and her daughter under the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act for their role in the “Nigerian internet romance scam,” the release states.
Karen Vassuer was ordered to serve 12 years in prison, a sentence to run concurrently with her 10-year sentence.
Tracy Vassuer received a total of 19 years in prison — 15 years for her role in the dating scam and four years for violating bond conditions, according to the release. Tracy Vasseur was accused of trying to gain control of her children’s inheritance and attempting to influence a public servant while she was free on bond in the dating scam case.