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Two Fresnans Defrauded a Mentally Ill Man out of Millions. First Sentencing Comes Down.
Edward Smith updated website photo 2024
By Edward Smith
Published 1 year ago on
June 18, 2024

Anthony David Flores (right) poses with Anna Rene Moore, both of whom pleaded guilty in 2023 to charges related to defrauding a Malibu physician with mental and physical illnesses. (GV Wire Composite/Paul Marshall)

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A federal judge sentenced a Fresno man to 15 years in prison for defrauding a “vulnerable physician” out of more than $2.7 million before the man died.

Anthony David Flores, 47, will now serve 188 months in prison after he and his former girlfriend Anna Rene Moore were arrested for bilking a Malibu physician whose health was failing out of his wealth after befriending him and giving him drugs, according to a Department of Justice news release.

Even after the doctor’s death, they tried to defraud his estate out of more than $20 million.

Flores and Moore once ran the Fulton Yoga Collective in downtown Fresno. Moore will be sentenced in October.

“This defendant heartlessly lined his own pockets while his victim mentally and physically declined, and ultimately died,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada. “Financial fraudsters can prey on anyone, even the most financially successful among us. We hope that our efforts to convict and now sentence this defendant bring some solace to the victim’s family.”

Anthony David Flores and Anna Rene Moore. (Facebook)

Flores and Moore Befriended Doctor Before Mental Decline

Flores pleaded guilty in October 2023 to conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, and one count of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity.

Moore pleaded guilty to similar charges in August 2023.

In June 2017, Flores befriended the Malibu physician worth more than $60 million. The doctor suffered from a mental illness and lost the ability to care for himself after multiple hospitalizations.

Within days, Flores and Moore moved into his home and “slowly took control control of his life by pretending to be his new ‘best friends’ and caregivers,” prosecutors said.

In September, the victim had a severe mental breakdown after which, Flores induced the physician to sign over power of attorney.

With that power, Flores and Moore moved money into their own bank accounts. They isolated the victim from his family and gave him marijuana and LSD, according to court documents.

Family’s Lawsuit Uncovered the Fraud

In May 2018, the then-57-year-old physician died.

After his death, Flores and Moore moved back into the Malibu home, withdrawing large sums of money. They hid financial information from the victim’s mother and sister who lived in Florida.

A lawsuit from the victim’s family uncovered the fraud. Judges with the Los Angeles Superior Court ordered Flores and Moore to return the money and pay $1 million in restitution. Flores and Moore never complied with that order.

The couple then moved to Monterrey, Mexico. They were arrested in January 2023 at a Houston airport.

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Edward Smith,
Multimedia Journalist
Edward Smith began reporting for GV Wire in May 2023. His reporting career began at Fresno City College, graduating with an associate degree in journalism. After leaving school he spent the next six years with The Business Journal, doing research for the publication as well as covering the restaurant industry. Soon after, he took on real estate and agriculture beats, winning multiple awards at the local, state and national level. You can contact Edward at 559-440-8372 or at Edward.Smith@gvwire.com.

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