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)
- Fresno resident Anthony David Flores, also known as "Anton David" was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison Monday.
- Flores and his former girlfriend Anna Rene Moore bilked a mentally ill Malibu physician out of millions of dollars.
- Flores and Moore once ran the Fulton Yoga Collective in downtown Fresno
Share
|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
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.”
Related Story: Feds Bust Mexican Cartel That Smuggled Drugs to Valley in Veggie Boxes, Gas ...
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.
Related Story: 120 MPH Chase Ends in Arrest of Fresno Man Emulating Online Videos for ...
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.
RELATED TOPICS:
Categories
Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony
Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight
Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase
613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN
Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man
