The Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog
Stefanie Gurzanski is a 23-year-old model who works with the “Unruly Agency” which provides services as a creative marketing agency and a production studio. She also has an OnlyFans site where she posts images of herself for professional purposes.
At the end of July, Gurzanski met 59-year-old Stephen J. Cloobeck through a woman who provided professional matchmaking services to the man.
The matchmaker, Katherine Abigail Le, reportedly told Cloobeck, who is a well-to-do businessman, she specializes in helping people like him meet life partners and he agreed to a date with Gurzanski.
Cloobeck said that Le informed him that Gurzanski was “a prominent fashion model.”
The pair enjoyed their first meeting, and they mutually decided to continue dating.
As their relationship began to grow, Cloobeck reportedly spent a great deal of money lavishing Gurzanski with gifts of cash, credit cards, payments of her rent, vacations, and other extravagant offerings.
According to Gurzanski, after giving her the gifts, Cloobeck began making statements to her that sounded as if he believed he was entitled to her. She said that the man told her he would “haunt” her for the next couple of decades.
On December 24, Gurzanski said that Cloobeck was grilling her about the type of modeling she was doing, and reportedly ordered her to remove her racy pictures from the internet.
Though they fought on the eve, on Christmas day Cloobeck proposed to Gurzanski, but the woman turned him down and broke off the relationship instead.
Gurzanski alleged that Cloobeck started to harass and frighten her after they broke up.
In contrast, Cloobeck believed that Gurzanski and Le, in addition to one of Gurzanski’s friends, had orchestrated a scheme so that she could get her hands on his wealth while pretending to be in love with him.
Cloobeck decided that he would file charges against Gurzanski, her friend, and Li for suspicion of fraud, theft, unjust enrichment, and invasion of privacy.
Gurzanski said Cloobeck has made it clear to her that she must agree to return to the relationship or he would wreck her life and career.
The woman decided to file for a restraining order to try to prevent Cloobeck from causing further disruption.
Last Tuesday, a judge granted a temporary restraining order against Cloobeck, which disallows him from coming into contact with Gurzanski and her 54-year-old mother.
On February 2, a hearing is scheduled to determine if the temporary order will be extended.
If you or someone you love is suspected of a criminal offense, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.