Gianna Abel-Venezia is accused of scamming someone she met on a dating app out of $2000 by claiming to be a victim of domestic violence. Courtesy of the Marion County Sheriff's Office.
OCALA, Fla. - Deputies in Florida are searching for additional victims of an accused scammer who was recently arrested for swindling a man she met on a dating app out of money while pretending to be a victim of domestic violence.
Marion County fraud arrest
What we know:
According to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Gianna Abel-Venezia met the victim on Facebook Dating and they started talking on the phone.
She reportedly told him that she was trapped in a domestic violence relationship, needed money to escape and even sent photos appearing to show injuries.
The victim said he felt bad for her and ended up sending her more than $2,000.
Deputies said when the victim confronted Abel-Venezia, who allegedly said she was only talking to him for money and because he was disabled.
She also told him that she had been doing this to people since 2025 and "there ain’t nun that can happen".
During an interview with a detective, Abel-Venezia said that if someone is "dumb enough" to send money, that’s on them.
The detective said Abel-Venezia admitted that she knew what she was doing was wrong and even asked him to apologize to the victim.
Search for additional victims
What we don't know:
Authorities do not know how many other people may have been scammed by Abel-Venezia. Based on statements she made during her interview, the detective believes there are likely additional victims who fell for her domestic violence or sex trafficking stories.
Law enforcement personnel are currently working to determine the full identity and location of any other individuals who sent her money.
Reporting dating app scams
What you can do:
Anyone who was scammed by Abel-Venezia and lives in Marion County is asked to contact Detective Bradish at 352-402-6022. Possible victims who live outside the county are asked to contact the local law enforcement agency and let them know the case number is MCSO26OFF9638.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from reports and interview notes provided by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, which explained how a detective interviewed Gianna Abel-Venezia regarding the Facebook Dating fraud investigation.