Meehan nearly swindled $37 million from a Brazilian multimillionaire. Prior to meeting Newell, Meehan dated author Marileide Andersen and almost convinced her to transfer millions of dollars from her bank account in Brazil to his personal account. Andersen had just undergone brain surgery in the US and told Meehan she was unable to move her money from her Brazilian bank account, so Meehan suggested she use his. Andersen agreed and initiated the transfer, however, she immediately cancelled the transaction after realising it was a mistake.
"The money never came to his account, then he started to be very mad and rude to me," she told Oxygen. Andersen explained that Meehan began harassing her and told her that she owed him money. Authorities eventually arrested Meehan for burglary, extortion, and stalking Andersen. He pleaded guilty to felony possession of a firearm, burglary, and stalking and was sentenced to serve two years in jail. Meehan met Newell two years later when he was released from prison.
Terra still suffers from PTSD after her encounter with Meehan. While Newell and her family hope they can help others by sharing their story, Newell's daughter Terra still suffers from PTSD after her violent incident with Meehan that led to his death. "She did everything right to fight that man!" Newell told Forbes. "We're all healing but everything you go through in life is a learning experience."