The widow of a computer programmer who helped create key software for the popular online game Roblox has alleged that a male escort manipulated her into giving him $6 million. In a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, Marianne Flippo, 49, accused Gregg Starr, 38, of claiming to love her and convincing her to pay millions of dollars so they could be together.
The lawsuit alleges that Starr took advantage of Flippo while she was grieving the death of her husband. She has accused him of spending her money and asked the court to intervene. Chad Flippo was a computer programmer who created and patented software used in Roblox. He made a substantial fortune through his work, although his lawyer, Larry Hutcher, did not disclose the exact amount.
Flippo and her late husband, Chad Flippo, had been together since she was 13, according to the lawsuit. The couple were married for 28 years and had three children. Chad, who had struggled with depression for years, died by suicide on August 5, 2024. His death left Marianne grieving and alone, according to her lawyer. (Also read: Engineering student loses ₹ 6 lakh to fake online escort services in Mumbai ) Flippo was also dealing with vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a genetic condition that can make blood vessels, connective tissues and organs extremely fragile.
“I now realize I was foolish,” Flippo wrote in the lawsuit filed on Monday, according to a New York Post report.
As she did not speak Italian, she wanted someone to accompany her on the trip. Flippo claims she did not know the agency provided escort services when she hired Starr. Starr reportedly spoke Italian and accompanied her during the trip. The two spoke about several things, including Flippo’s wealth. The lawsuit states that they stayed in separate rooms and that Flippo rejected Starr’s advances. After returning from Italy, the two went their separate ways. However, Flippo claims the agency later contacted her several times, saying that Starr missed her. Flippo has accused Starr of using her grief and feelings for him to gain access to her money. She and her lawyer allege that he went on a spending spree with the funds and are asking the court to prevent him from spending any more of the money. After reviewing the agreement, Hutcher reportedly became suspicious of its terms. “It got very intense. He tried to pull Marianne out of there. “It was at this point that Marianne finally realized that Starr … had scammed her. Gregg Starr gave the New York Post a starkly different version of events. He claimed that Marianne Flippo was abusive and mistreated him frequently. “She was also abusive — like sexually. So [when] I tried not to sleep with her, she would scream at me to do it. “I wanted to give it a fair shot. I wanted to have financial security.
One of her late husband’s friends recommended Cowboys 4 Angels, an agency that provides male companions to women. She paid him $27,000 to accompany her to Italy, according to the lawsuit. Starr moved into Flippo’s New York home in December 2024. Flippo alleges that Starr convinced her to pay more than $450,000 to keep him exclusive. She later claims that he told her the only way they could be together was for her to buy out his $10 million contract with the escort agency. Later, Starr convinced her to open a joint account with him, where she transferred $5.95 million. The lawsuit claims that Starr became angry during the meeting and threatened to take away $5.95 million unless Flippo agreed to pay him another $4 million. Flippo alleges that Starr subsequently transferred $5.7 million from their joint account into a separate account that he controlled. He insisted that much of the $6 million was actually spent on Flippo and on charitable donations.
Because of the Russia-Ukraine war, a few months after her husband’s death, Flippo travelled to Italy to obtain medication that had become difficult to find. Because i was in love with her despite all the other things,” he said, i wanted to leave the agency and actually pursue a relationship.
The agency was featured on the Showtime reality show Gigolos and has also been linked to Sean “Diddy” Combs’ alleged sex parties. Flippo and Starr began meeting again after their trip to Italy, according to the lawsuit. “Pressured by Starr and (the agency employee), under the influence of multiple prescription medications as well as five alcoholic drinks, suffering from a severe infection, still recovering from surgery, and still emotionally lost due to the loss of her husband, Marianne signed the Exit Agreement despite lacking the capacity to understand its import,” her lawsuit says. Flippo began to question the arrangement in June when she asked her lawyer, Larry Hutcher, to help negotiate the remaining terms of the so-called “Exit Agreement” with Starr, according to the lawsuit. “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 concerns led to a heated meeting between Flippo, Hutcher and Starr, during which the lawyer confronted Starr about the alleged arrangement. (Also read: An escort for the ultra-rich reveals why she quit sex work: ‘regardless of the compensation…’ ) “I said to him, ‘You’re nothing more than a common criminal,’” Hutcher recalled. It was a very intense heated meeting once I said that. “Starr has been ‘rapidly spending my money,’” Flippo alleged in court documents. Starr said that Flippo regularly screamed at him, threw a phone at him and tried to prevent him from leaving the NYC house where they lived. “She would chase me down the street as I tried to run away from her,” he said.
Her lawsuit states that people with the condition have an average life expectancy of 48 to 51 years. Flippo was 49 when she filed the case.
