When Romance Meets Fraud: A Maryland Woman’s $400,000 Love Scam

It started like a scene from a rom‑com: a 72‑year‑old Maryland retiree, Janey Sears, swiped right on a dating app, met her match in person, and moved straight into his house. The romance was real‑enough to convince the man, a homeowner in Montgomery County, that she was a trustworthy partner who could help him grow his wealth.

What followed, however, was anything but a love story. Within months, Sears—who also went by the alias JaNay St. Clair—began persuading her new boyfriend to hand over money for an “investment pool.” She claimed the funds would be funneled through Goldman Sachs to buy Pfizer stock, a pitch that sounded plausible to someone with limited financial know‑how.

In reality, the money never left her personal account. Over three years, from 2021 to 2023, she siphoned off $406,954. Instead of buying shares, she gambled at casinos and splurged on a $55,000 luxury car. As the state prosecutor, John McCarthy, put it, “She saw a mark and took advantage of him, pretending to be an investor while spending the cash on herself.”

The scam didn’t stop at mis‑directed investments. Sears nudged her victim toward a home‑equity line of credit (HELOC) in 2020, urging him to borrow against his house’s equity. A HELOC works like a credit card but is secured by the home, meaning failure to repay could jeopardize the property itself. By encouraging this risky move, she not only accessed more cash but also deepened the victim’s financial vulnerability.

When the fraud finally unraveled, a Montgomery County jury needed only 75 minutes to convict her of a theft scheme, securities fraud, and misappropriation of fiduciary funds. The judge handed down a 20‑year sentence: 15 years behind bars followed by five years of supervised probation.

Unfortunately, Sears is far from an isolated case. Romance scams have exploded alongside dating apps and social‑media platforms. In 2025, the FBI recorded $929 million in losses from confidence‑or romance‑based scams, making them the third most costly fraud type for victims aged 60 and older. The FTC reported that almost 30 % of all scams that year began on social media, with romance scams accounting for nearly 60 % of those.

Why are these scams thriving? Technology, especially AI, is making it easier to create convincing fake identities. Deep‑fake videos of celebrities have duped victims out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Scammers can now pose as a trustworthy lover, a successful investor, or even a grieving friend in need of emergency cash.

If you meet someone online, remember a few hard‑earned rules:

• Never send money before you’ve met the person in person and verified their identity.
• Be wary of anyone who pushes you toward financial products you don’t understand—especially HELOCs or other secured loans.
• Watch for promises of high‑return, “exclusive” investments that only “wealthy insiders” can access.

Red flags also include a sudden urgency—whether it’s an “emergency” needing cash or a limited‑time investment window. When a partner seems more interested in your money than in building a genuine connection, it’s time to step back.

For the victim in this case, the damage goes beyond the $400 k gone. He now faces a hefty debt from the HELOC and the emotional fallout of being betrayed by someone he thought he could trust. The lesson? Even love can be a cover for fraud, and a little skepticism can protect both your heart and your wallet.

Authorities continue to advise anyone who suspects a romance scam to report it promptly. Early reporting can halt further losses and help law enforcement track the networks behind these schemes.

As the legal process winds down, Sears will spend the next decade and a half in a Maryland correctional facility, with a supervised probation period after release. Whether her story serves as a cautionary tale for future online daters remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: love doesn’t have to be a financial trap.