Woman who scammed man out of more than $400K sentenced to 15 years in prison

A Montgomery County Circuit Court judge Friday sentenced a 73-year-old woman to 15 years in prison for defrauding a Silver Spring man of more than $400,000.

A jury in July convicted Janey Sears of conning the man, a federal worker who was in his 50s when they met on an online dating site in 2019. She spent the money at casinos and on an Italian sports car.

Sears, of Washington, D.C., whose aliases include Janay St. Clair and JaNay St. Clair-Sears, was found guilty of securities fraud, misappropriation of funds by a fiduciary and other charges, prosecutors said.

She faced more than 20 years in prison. The victim, addressing the court, said Sears’ con torments him.

“It’s been an incredibly tough 3 1/2 years since now-convicted felon Ms. Sears left my house,” he said. “I have to live with this every day I wake up. ... It takes a toll on you.”

Before sentencing Sears, who wore a khaki jail jumpsuit and was shackled during Friday’s hearing, Judge John Maloney said she had led a “life of schemes” and had engaged in “victim blaming” in her statement to the court.

In addition to the prison sentence, Sears was sentenced to five years of supervised probation and ordered to pay $406,954 in restitution.

Sears “obliterated” the victim’s life savings, said Montgomery County Assistant State’s Attorney Hannah Gleason. The judge and Gleason both expressed doubt that he would see that money again.

“There is no realistic opportunity that Ms. Sears is going to pay this money,” Gleason said.

Sears had five other fraud-related convictions dating back to 1982, Gleason said.

The deception began early in Sears’ relationship with the victim, prosecutors said. Sears falsely presented herself as a Harvard-educated businesswoman who owned a D.C.-based transportation logistics company.

She suggested shortly after they met that she stay at the victim’s home. He agreed, and Sears moved in with him in late 2019, prosecutors said.

The victim allowed her to help him secure a $150,000 home-equity line of credit in May 2020. A little more than a year later, Sears told the man she had a financial opportunity to help him become financially independent and encouraged him to contribute to an “investment pool” that would purchase Pfizer stock, telling him such opportunities were usually available only to wealthy people.

From August 2021 to May 2023, the man gave Sears contributions by check, through wire transfers and in cash.

She deposited the funds into her personal accounts, prosecutors said.

She spent $55,000 of his money on a 2022 Alfa Romeo Giulia, though she told the victim that her father gave her the car. Sears also lost more than $100,000 at casinos.

The victim said in court that he drives a 2001 Toyota Camry and lives frugally.

“I’ve always been careful with my money and I’ve also been very conscious of what you have to sacrifice to make that money.”

He said he gets emotional thinking about how Sears spent his money and blew so much of it at casinos.

Sears’ attorney Archibald McFadden asked for a sentence of 18 months’ probation for his client, noting that if she stayed out of prison, she could work to help pay off the restitution.

He mentioned family trusts and land in Texas that could be liquidated.

“She has the ability to get assets,” McFadden said. “From family, from potentially property.”

When Sears spoke before the judge sentenced her, she said that the victim has “anger management issues” and that he could have stopped writing checks and reported a crime, but didn’t.

“He should have done something from day one, not let this go on for 3 1/2 years,” Sears said. “As far as I’m concerned, I lost a lot when I was with him.”