By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2026-09-16 11:11:52 | Updated at 2026-09-16 11:52:18
52 minutes ago
The wealthy widow of a “Roblox” inventor claims she got scammed out of an eye-watering $6 million by a predatory male escort, according to a bombshell new lawsuit.
Marianne Flippo, 49, contends icy-eyed, silver-haired gigolo Gregg Starr manipulated her by declaring his love — and telling her the only way they could be together was for her to pay out his $10 million contract with an infamous escort agency, the suit alleges.
“Unfortunately, I was not capable or perceptive enough to know these statements were false but, since I loved and trusted Starr, I relied on what he said,” Flippo wrote in a Manhattan Supreme Court filing Monday.
“I now realize I was foolish.”
The grieving Flippo, who suffers from a severe genetic medical condition, met Starr, 38, through Cowboys 4 Angels, an agency that offers “straight elite male companions for women,” according to its website — and was featured in the Showtime reality TV show “Gigolos.”
But their unconventional love affair soured, Flippo claims, when Starr and another escort service worker allegedly coerced her into signing an agreement to help him escape his contract after plying her with shots of booze while she was on a new medication, the court papers state.
By the time an attorney for Flippo discovered the brazen scheme, she — “under the Svengali-like control of Starr” — had already transferred nearly $6 million to him, while he demanded the remaining $4 million, court papers state.
“She now knows that she was the victim of a sinister fraud,” said her attorney Larry Hutcher, of New York law firm Davidoff Hutcher & Citron.
Hutcher, in a court filing, asked a judge to intervene as Starr now allegedly embarks on a wild spending frenzy to “dissipate the stolen funds.”
“I now recognize that I was the victim of a horrendous scheme by Starr who is a sociopath who lacks any conscience,” Flippo claimed in an affirmation filed with the court.
The 18-page complaint, along with stacks of other filings, lays out a wild tale of alleged treachery and desperation that began shortly after the sudden death of Flippo’s lifelong sweetheart, Chad Flippo, two years ago.
A computer programmer, Chad Flippo created and patented key software for the mega-successful online game “Roblox” — and amassed a substantial fortune.
“He did very well,” Hutcher said, declining to disclose the exact amount.
The pair had been “sweethearts” since Marianne Flippo was 13 and had three kids together over their 28-year marriage.
But Chad Flippo took his own life on Aug. 5, 2024, leaving Marianne shattered and alone, Hutcher said.
A few months later, the grieving widow needed to travel to Italy to get medication that became rare due to the Russia-Ukraine war, but she didn’t speak Italian and sought a companion, the court papers state.
A friend of her late husband told her to contact Cowboys 4 Angels, where she hired Starr to join her on the trip for $27,000, the suit claims.
The company is perhaps more famous, or notorious, as a male escort agency that Sean “Diddy” Combs reportedly tapped for his “freak-offs” – depraved, drug-fueled sex parties.
Flippo contends she didn’t realize it was an escort agency as she spent the trip to Italy chatting and learning about her travel companion, and spilling about her late husband’s fortune, court papers state.
The pair continued seeing each other on and off after the trip, and Starr moved into Flippo’s New York apartment in December – while convincing her to shell out over $450,000 just to keep him “exclusive,” according to the suit.
The seeming fairytale took a turn during a trip to Atlanta early this year, while Flippo was on strong medication following a surgery, the suit contends.
She claims Starr and a Cowboys 4 Angels handler plied her with “shots” of booze and cornered her in a Four Seasons hotel room until she signed the staggering $10 million “Exit Agreement” to buy the escort out of his contract, the filing alleges.
When she tried to wire the $10 million, her bank recalled the transfer over fraud concerns, the suit states.
“While this should have been a wake-up call for me,” Flippo said in a filing, “it was not.”
Eventually, Flippo claims Starr and the other employee convinced her to open a joint account with him, where she transferred $5.95 million, according to the suit.
The alleged scheme fell apart when Flippo tapped Hutcher to hash out the rest of the “Exit Agreement” in June, the filing states.
“I looked at this and said, ‘Not even close. This doesn’t pass any smell test by any stretch of the imagination,” Hutcher said.
The realization allegedly led to a dramatic confrontation during a meeting between Flippo, Hutcher and Starr, in which the lawyer said he didn’t mince words.
“I said to him, ‘You’re nothing more than a common criminal,'” Hutcher recalled.
“It got very intense. He tried to pull Marianne out of there. It was a very intense heated meeting once I said that.”
An incensed Starr “threatened to remove and hide the $5.95 million unless Marianne agreed to pay the remaining $4 million,” the suit alleges.
“It was at this point that Marianne finally realized that Starr … had scammed her.”
The suit alleges that Starr has transferred $5.7 million out of the joint account, into a separate one under his sole control.
Starr has been “rapidly spending my money,” Flippo alleged in court documents.
But reached by The Post on Tuesday, Starr claimed that much of the $6 million was spent on expenses for the couple and charitable donations, and said that there was roughly $3 million left.
He declined to say exactly where the money was or why it was apparently removed from the joint account.
“I wanted to give it a fair shot. I wanted to have financial security. I wanted to leave the agency and actually pursue a relationship because I was in love with her despite all the other things,” he said.
Starr also claimed allegations of coercion were “not true at all,” insisting the “Exit Agreement” was Flippo’s idea and that he didn’t want it in the first place. He claimed that she was abusive toward him, calling their relationship “a wild f—king ride.”
“You cannot rewrite an entire relationship simply by filing a lawsuit after it ends,” Starr’s attorney Todd Spodek added in a statement. “The complaint tells a dramatic story; the evidence will tell the actual one.”
Cowboys 4 Angels — which didn’t return a request for comment — isn’t listed as a defendant in the lawsuit, although Hutcher noted that could change in the future.
“At this stage, we don’t know what money was paid to them,” he said.
“We’re leaving everything open.”
The civil claim isn’t just about getting back nearly $6 million, Hutcher added.
“This lawsuit is simply about Marianne recovering her dignity and her sense of self.”
