Federal prosecutors in Oregon charged two men with fraud for posing as a San Francisco 49ers player and his financial adviser to scam women found they met on dating apps.
Daejon Love, 35, posed as a 49ers wide receiver, and Taylor Chan, 18, posed as Mr. Love’s financial adviser, according to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.
The two men were arrested Monday in Idaho and appeared in court Thursday on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud.
The prosecutors said that the pair brought in $1.3 million through the scheme with 26 victims identified so far from California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
Starting in February 2022 and continuing until his arrest, Mr. Love used the app profiles and in-person meetings to portray himself as leading a lavish lifestyle under names including “Jon Love,” “Avril Lyto Love” and “Jordan Love.” After convincing victims that they were in a relationship, he asked them to invest money, prosecutors said.
Mr. Chan played Mr. Love’s financial adviser to deepen the victims’ trust in the fake investments. The two exchanged messages to keep up the ruse, prosecutors said, and called victims over video to showcase false returns on investments.
The U.S. attorney’s office did not specify exactly when Mr. Chan joined the alleged wire fraud conspiracy, which began when he was still a minor.
Mr. Love also used apps to create fake bank accounts and show fake balances as part of making it look like the investments were real. The victims loaned him money, some of them taking out loans of their own to do so, before being blocked from communicating with Mr. Love after running out of money, prosecutors said.
The FBI believes that there are additional victims in the case and asks anyone with information on the suspects to file a tip via the FBI website or call 1-800-CALL-FBI.
