AURORA | A 33-year-old woman who met a 90-year-old widower at a local grocery store, told him she was grieving the death of her fiancé and later claimed she had cancer has pleaded guilty to running a scam and stealing $40,000 from him, prosecutors said.
Priscilla Johnson pleaded guilty to theft and criminal exploitation of an at-risk adult in a case the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office described as a romance scam.
Under a plea deal, Johnson must return the victim’s money, plus interest, will not serve jail or prison time, and complete 60 hours of public service, according to prosecutors and court documents.
The investigation has led to other potential victims of similar scams, investigators said.
The case began in July 2025, when Johnson approached the man at a King Soopers in Centennial, according to an arrest affidavit filed in the case.
She told the man she was “Elizabeth John” and said she had come to Colorado after her fiancé, with whom she had two children, was killed in a vehicle crash in Arizona.
The man told investigators he was a widower. Johnson got his phone number, and the two later met for lunch, the affidavit says.
Johnson told the man she was a professional makeup artist and that her makeup kit had been stolen from a car. She said she needed $6,000 to replace it and had a wedding job in Colorado Springs that weekend, according to the affidavit.
The man gave her $6,000 in cash. He told investigators he believed the two had “romantic feelings” for each other, and the affidavit says they kissed and hugged.
Johnson later told the man she had cancer and needed $34,000 for treatment. He took the money from two bank accounts and gave it to her in cash, according to the affidavit.
The requests did not end there.
Johnson told the man that she was in Los Angeles and had been told her cancer had spread. She told the man she now needed another $40,000 or she could die, according to the arrest affidavit.
When the man said he needed to tell his son about the situation, Johnson told him to forget about the additional money and not call her again, according to the affidavit.
The man’s son contacted the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office after becoming concerned that his father had been taken. Investigators determined the phone number Johnson used in the purported scam was registered to her, despite the man knowing her as Elizabeth.
A picture of Johnson was later included in a photo lineup, and the man positively identified her, prosecutors said.
The arrest affidavit also describes an investigation into Johnson’s communications with other men, including an 80-year-old man who told investigators he believed he had lost $7,500.
That man told investigators he met Johnson near a King Soopers in Englewood after she approached him. She later told him she and her sister operated a professional makeup business and that a makeup kit had been stolen from a vehicle. Johnson said she needed money to replace the equipment before a wedding booking and promised to repay him, according to the affidavit.
The 80-year-old man got $7,500 through a credit-card cash advance and gave the money to Johnson. He said Johnson and her sister signed a “promissory note,” but Johnson eventually stopped returning his messages.
Investigators also found records of calls and texts between Johnson and two other men. One said he had no memory of meeting any women and had not given Johnson money. Another, who had saved Johnson’s number as “Elizabeth-Pof,” after the Plenty of Fish dating service, told investigators he had not lost money.
The affidavit says investigators also contacted another man who reported losing about $450,000 in what he described as an investment scheme involving communications via text and WhatsApp. That man’s report was made separately to the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office.
The status of that case was unclear at press time.
18th Judicial District Assistant District Attorney Ryan Brackley said the plea agreement on the case of the 90-year-old man was intended both to hold Johnson accountable and ensure the victim recovered his money.
“Justice is about accountability, but it is also about making victims whole,” Brackley said in a statement.
District Attorney Amy Padden said victims of scams involving personal relationships may hesitate to report them because they fear embarrassment or judgment.
“I want people to know that there is no shame in asking for help,” Padden said.
The district attorney’s office advises people to slow down when confronted with requests for money and consult someone they trust before giving money to someone they have recently met, particularly when a request involves a large amount of cash or a sense of urgency.