1. Financial abuse within relationships

According to the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV), “financial abuse occurs in 99% of domestic violence cases.” NNEDV+1
In their review, Nina Sharp‑Jeffs (2015) summarises how financial abuse is used by one partner to control another — limiting access to money, sabotaging work, controlling bank accounts. London Met Repository
- Example: forbidding someone to work, hiding or controlling finances, restricting access to bank accounts. NNEDV+1
There is a strong link between lack of financial autonomy (income, assets) and vulnerability to such abuse. London Met Repository+1

A recent 2025 study by Laura Johnson et al. (“Economic Abuse and Predatory Financial Service Use among Intimate Partner Violence Survivors”) found that survivors of economic abuse were more likely to use predatory financial services. Office of Justice Programs+1
- Example: the use of payday loans, title loans, reloadable debit cards as ways to access money quickly at high cost. SpringerLink+1
- Key findings: economic abuse predicted use of predatory services; having a bank account was protective. ResearchGate+1
While this is about being financially exploited, it’s relevant because it shows how one person’s financial manipulation / abuse is recognised in research.

A study from University of Southern California (Keck School of Medicine) found that older adults who had interpersonal difficulties (e.g., loneliness, relationship troubles) were more likely to become vulnerable to financial exploitation. Keck School of Medicine of USC
- This suggests that social/emotional variables (relationship problems) precede financial exploitation.
A 2017 article explored financial abuse of adults lacking mental capacity — demonstrating that power/control + dependency = exploitation of finances. ScienceDirect

There is systematic review research on “romance fraud” (online relationships built to extract money). For example: Tainted Love: A Systematic Review of Online Romance Fraud (2023) finds patterns of emotional manipulation + financial extraction. arXiv
- The lifecycle: trust-building → request for money/investment → repeated extraction and high pressure.
This research supports what you described: someone entering a relationship with motives to extract resources, using emotional closeness.

Control via finances: One partner uses access/control of money, assets, or resources to dominate. (“financial abuse”) NNEDV
Dependency and asset scanning: Research on vulnerability shows that when someone is financially dependent, socially isolated, or lacks autonomy, they’re at higher risk. London Met Repository+1
Grooming & staged manipulation: In romance fraud research, the pattern of early intensive intimacy + trust building + asset requests is documented. arXiv
Exploitation of relationship trust: The research emphasizes that exploitation hides behind emotional connection and uses it.
Signs of relational imbalance: Isolation, rapid disclosure, immediate focus on material/financial things rather than emotional foundation.
Recognition that financial abuse often co-occurs with other abuses: emotional, psychological, sometimes physical. London Met Repository

🔍 Gaps & Considerations

Many studies focus on older adults, intimate partner violence, or online romance scams, but less specifically on early-stage relationships where someone enters simply for “quick gain”.
Much of the data is cross-sectional (snapshot), not always longitudinal (tracking over time) so causality is harder to establish. For example the Johnson et al. study notes this limitation. ResearchGate
Cultural/asset differences matter (gender, socioeconomic status, family type) and generalisation is limited.
Because manipulation is subtle and relational, it’s hard to capture in purely quantitative studies — qualitative (interviews) are fewer.

these patterns you do align very strongly with recorded research on financial/relationship-exploitation. These key points emerge:

Financial exploitation in relationships is a recognised phenomenon, often under the umbrella of “financial abuse”.
Rapid involvement + asset questions + control over finances are red flags that match studied patterns.
Emotional manipulation, dependency creation, and resource extraction are part of the abuse cycle.
The vulnerability factors (lack of autonomy, isolation, emotional need, quick attachment) are often present.