COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (KKTV/Gray News ) – A couple was placed behind bars in Lee County, Florida this week after officials say they defrauded two Monument, Colorado women out of millions of dollars.

Philip and Nicole Scolaro now face five felony charges.

One of the victims was an elderly blind woman at the time of the alleged scheme. She has since died and could not find her justice in life.

“It happens far too often. I think a big part of it is, again, they don’t know it’s a scam,” said Annie Hewitt, director of health and wellness at Silver Key Senior Services.

The Scolaros told the victims they were the owners of an operating gold mine in Africa.

Over the course of three years, the pair stole more than $4 million from two women, according to a 17-page indictment from the state of Colorado.

The Scolaros were arrested in Florida in late October.

The pair reportedly asked investors to help extract, insure and transport gold from their so-called mine with a promise of a return on their investment. This money, in turn, was used for their own personal expenses, buying property and luxury cars.

According to the indictment, one of the victims, identified as Martha Larson, was a person at risk during the scheme. She transferred more than three properties to Scolaros, totaling more than $2.1 million.

The second victim, Leslie Cohen, gave them over $800,000.

“It’s really sad when that happens because it’s almost impossible to recover from,” Hewitt added.

The indictment also says that this would not be Philip Scolaro’s first misconduct. Court documents detail that he has a lengthy criminal record dating back to 1987 in New Jersey.

Philip Scolaro also faces charges in Florida for crimes that include grand theft and fraud under $20,000.

It is not yet known when the couple will be extradited back to Colorado.

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