Vegas stripper, 47, ‘tricked lonely tycoon into thinking he was her only boyfriend while conning him out of millions’

A businessman claims a Las Vegas stripper harassed him during a messy divorce and conned him out of millions by posing as his girlfriend.

Fred Michael Brunner, 61, claimed Melanie Sterling, 47, saw him at a strip club when he was sad and lonely and extorted $3.5 million from him over a decade.

Eventually, Sterling, born Melanie Slutzky, convinced him to buy them a $720,000 home in Las Vegas where they could live together, splitting the proceeds if they split.

But in his lawsuit in Washington County, Arkansas, where he lives in Fayetteville, he alleged that she put it in a trust so he couldn’t get to it.

Brunner alleged that Sterling had been secretly dating another man for ten years until he found out in January.

In his lawsuit, he seeks the $3.5 million back, along with his half of the house, and $35 million in damages from Sterling and 20 anonymous accomplices.

Brunner’s lawsuit describes how, after his marriage to Elizabeth Stensgaard ended in January 2014, he ended up in Las Vegas that same June.

‘Given his emotional distress, [he] decided to go to a gentlemen’s club to smoke a cigar and have a few cocktails… he sat down at his table alone, lit his cigar and began ordering drinks,” the lawsuit reads.

Sterling found himself sitting alone, ‘in fine clothes, with an expensive watch on, and probably vulnerable because he had no company’ and that he was ‘clinging to him’.

“She did what all adult dangers are likely to do in their professions: She gave priority to the customers who were likely to spend the most money,” the complaint said.

Brunner claimed that Sterling knew “from experience” that he was the best customer “to take advantage of.”

Sterling then led him by the hand into a back room for a private dance and listened as he poured out his heart about his marital problems, the complaint alleges.

That made him “vulnerable to her seduction” and made her “her prime target for a much more profitable enterprise.”

Sterling learned that [Brunner] “Much wealthier than her normal clients – wealthier enough to change her life,” the complaint read.

They exchanged phone numbers and began texting, Sterling pretending to be “a shoulder to cry on,” and eventually they became romantic.

Sterling quickly became his mainstay as he lamented his “extraordinarily complex, litigation-intensive and downright grueling” divorce.

‘As time went on, Sterling had fooled him [Brunner] believing they were in an exclusive, romantic relationship,” and she began asking for money, the lawsuit alleged.

Brunner visited her regularly in Las Vegas and took her on “extravagant” vacations, with “everything paid for.”

The indictment details how Sterling sent him thousands of text messages, had long, romantic phone conversations and told him she loved him.

She also sent him romantic cards in the mail and left love notes when they were together, making him think that “she was the love of his life.”

Brunner claimed that her performance was so convincing that she met the most important people in his life and even became a “grandmother figure” to his grandchildren.

The indictment alleged that he gave Sterling money, often five-figure sums, whenever she asked for it, at least 100 times in the decade they were together.

Sterling had convinced [Brunner] that after his divorce they would live together and grow old as lovers,’ it claimed.

‘[He] was so convinced that Sterling was his soul mate that, at Sterling’s specific request, he even sent financial support to Sterling’s friends.’

The indictment detailed how Brunner gave her “excessive” amounts of money, gave gifts and paid for her expenses and cosmetic surgeries.

Sterling told him she wanted a house they could live in together in Las Vegas. They also decided to build one in Arkansas so they could live in both states.

Brunner claimed that he had agreed to buy the house on the condition that she would maintain and improve it while he was away. If they ever separated, they would sell the house and split the proceeds.

On September 23, 2019, he purchased the 4,980-square-foot, six-bedroom, 5.5-bathroom new-construction home on El Malpais Street for $720,000.

The current value of the house is estimated to be approximately $1.28 million.

Brunner claimed he agreed to put the house in Sterling’s name because she was afraid that if he died, his children would try to take it from her through the courts.

Just a week after the house was settled, Sterling secretly transferred it to a trust in her name. According to Brunner, this was a plan to prevent him from gaining financial access to it.

Everything came crashing down in January when Brunner discovered she had a real boyfriend, claiming she had been in a relationship before he met her at the strip club.

The lawsuit alleged that Sterling “stole” money from Brunner to send to her boyfriend, and to numerous other people involved in the scam.

After finding out, Brunner claimed she was ignoring him and he was forced to sue her to get his house and money back.

Sterling has yet to file a defense.