A federal indictment alleges that a California woman conned nuns in a Rhode Island convent out of $285,000.

Charged with three counts of wire fraud, the alleged con artist presented herself as a real estate maven with a company that specialized in delinquent mortgages and property deals. She said she could help the nuns buy a property in San Diego and convinced the nuns to wire her $285,000, then used the money for mortgage and rental payments, car payments, lingerie, pet sitting and cash withdrawals. She also gave more than $4,000 to her daughter.

According to AOL, when the nuns suspected something was up and asked the alleged con artist to return the money, she claimed she was still negotiating the sale and asked for another $285,000 to close the non-existent deal.

Calif. Woman Charged With Scamming $285,000 From Nuns [AOL]

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