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Prosecutors: Sacramento Man Defrauded Nicole Murphy Of $7 Million In Financial Scheme

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A fraud trial in Sacramento federal court reads like a Hollywood script, with a defendant claiming ties to the rich and famous, and even royalty.

Prosecutors say Nicole Murphy, Eddie Murphy's ex-wife, is a victim who lost millions. She may have her own reality show called Hollywood Exes, but it'll be hard to find a storyline there tha cna beat the Hollywood drama prosecutors found in this fraud case.

Murphy will be testifying in the federal fraud case as just one victim of Troy Stratos of Sacramento.

Prosecutors allege Stratos, a self-titled music producer and financial adviser, defrauded Murphy of $7 million by claiming to invest her money overseas. He also said he'd sell her massive Granite Bay mansion by claiming he had "friends in the Middle East who were members of Middle Eastern royal families."

The catch? Prosecutors say Stratos his buyers would expect to see luxury automobiles at the house, so he used her money to lease Rolls Royces that he personally used. They say he also moved his staff for his media company into her home.

And in another wild claim, prosecutors claim after Stratos was arrested in one case, he continued making fraudulent deals by text from inside Sacramento County Jail.

Prosecutors say Stratos also claimed business ties to billionaires Carlos Slim and Mark Zuckerberg. They say his claims convinced a financial adviser that he could buy $11 million in pre-IPO Facebook stock.

Sacramento defense attorney Phil Cozens says the U.S. Attorney's Office likely spent thousands of hours gathering evidence for the trial.

"If there's no plea bargain, by the time the jury walks in the door, it's gloves off," he said. "It's bare knuckles, and if you have brass knuckles too with 'em, it's time to use them."

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