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.
“I now realize I was foolish,” Flippo wrote in the lawsuit filed on Monday, according to a New York Post report.
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.
Flippo lost her husband in 2024
According to the lawsuit, Flippo and her late husband, Chad Flippo, had been together since she was 13. The couple were married for 28 years and had three children.
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.
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.
{{/usCountry}}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.
{{/usCountry}}Flippo was also dealing with vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a genetic condition that can make blood vessels, connective tissues and organs extremely fragile.
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.
How Flippo met Gregg Starr
A few months after her husband's death, Flippo travelled to Italy to obtain medication that had become difficult to find because of the Russia-Ukraine war.
As she did not speak Italian, she wanted someone to accompany her on the trip. One of her late husband's friends recommended Cowboys 4 Angels, an agency that provides male companions to women.
The agency was featured on the Showtime reality show Gigolos and has also been linked to Sean “Diddy” Combs' alleged sex parties.
Flippo claims she did not know the agency provided escort services when she hired Starr. She paid him $27,000 to accompany her to Italy, according to the lawsuit.
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.
Widow spends money on male escort
Starr describes himself on LinkedIn as a healthcare private equity investor. His profile lists work experience at several financial firms but does not mention his alleged work as a male escort.
According to the lawsuit, Flippo and Starr began meeting again after their trip to Italy. 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.
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.
“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.
How the deception came to light
According to the lawsuit, 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.
After reviewing the agreement, Hutcher reportedly became suspicious of its terms.
“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 got very intense. He tried to pull Marianne out of there. It was a very intense heated meeting once I said that.”
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.
“It was at this point that Marianne finally realized that Starr … had scammed her.”
Flippo alleges that Starr subsequently transferred $5.7 million from their joint account into a separate account that he controlled.
“Starr has been ‘rapidly spending my money,’” Flippo alleged in court documents.
Gregg Starr’s version of events
Gregg Starr gave the New York Post a starkly different version of events. He claimed that Marianne Flippo was abusive and mistreated him frequently.
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. “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. 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.
He insisted that much of the $6 million was actually spent on Flippo and on charitable donations.