Ein Detail, aber wäre es nicht eher "to diddle someone out of something"? Oder gibt es beide Varianten?

#1 - exactly. To diddle is to fiddle, to cheat etc., so the object is the person. It is quite a common word, at least in BE. I think one would get a better idea of the frequency of its usage if one selected the period to be more contemporary than the 18th century.

I don't think I say it, but I hear and read it occasionally. It is not as common as screw or cheat etc., but not unusual. I'd guess that it is part of the vocabulary, at least the passive vocabulary, of most of AE speakers, but it wouldn't shock me to learn that someone wasn't familiar with the word.

I know "diddle" (AE) as a euphemism for "to fuck," and it has here the same extension of meaning. You can "fuck" or "screw" someone out of money (or other things), just like someone who is taken advantage of can exclaim "He totally fucked me!" or "Oh man, I got screwed!"

Some googling shows that this usage is restricted to AE, but I would advise against using it in ambiguous situations as a non-native -- don't accuse anyone of "diddling" children and seniors!

Dankeschön an alle, die sich hier beteiligt haben !

:-)