An Oregon man has been charged with federal wire fraud after authorities say he posed as a San Francisco 49ers player and a wealthy real estate investor to solicit more than $1.3 million from dozens of women he met online.
Daejon Labrayae Love, 35, was arrested on Aug. 24 and accused of running a yearslong scheme in which he allegedly created fictitious personas to defraud more than two dozen women, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon. A second man, 18-year-old Taylor Jamie Chan, is accused of posing as Love’s financial advisor and faces the same charges.
Arrest warrants for Love and Chan were issued Aug. 17, and both men were taken into federal custody in Boise, Idaho, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. Love remains in custody and is being transported to Oregon, where the case is being prosecuted. Chan has been released and is scheduled to appear in court in Oregon on Sept. 10. Neither man currently has an attorney of record in Oregon, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Both men have been charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to the press release.
According to the criminal complaint, the alleged scheme began in February 2022 and continued until the day of the men’s arrest. Investigators have identified 26 alleged victims, many of whom lived in Oregon, Washington and California and met Love through dating apps.
Court documents allege Love convinced many of the women that they were “romantically involved” with him and that he intended to build a future with them. “Victims sent Love and his co-conspirator, Taylor Jamie Chan, money believing they would invest the money in legitimate investments on the victims’ behalf,” the complaint states. “Some victims also loaned Love large amounts of money believing Love would easily pay the money back.”
Investigators say they found social media accounts showing Love wearing 49ers clothing and gear, along with what they believe was a replica 49ers helmet. The complaint also alleges that Love and Chan would FaceTime victims together to show them fabricated investment gains, after which Chan would tell victims he could invest their money the same way he managed Love’s finances. In some instances, according to the complaint, Love allegedly helped victims take out personal loans when they lacked funds to invest.
The complaint states that once victims ran out of money or began asking too many questions about the supposed investments, Love allegedly cut off contact and kept the money they had sent. Investigators also say electronic communications between the two men showed them mocking and criticizing victims, at times using derogatory language.
Investigators noted that Love’s social media presence appeared to influence online search results. “Due to Love’s false social media representations, search engines and artificial intelligence occasionally stated that Love was a bonafide 49ers player,” the complaint says. When investigators searched Love’s full name in January, they found that “results did, in fact, sometimes depict Love as a player for the 49ers,” and observed similar results tied to an Instagram account believed to be controlled by him.
The San Francisco 49ers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The situation has drawn attention from current and former players; retired 49ers safety Logan Ryan posted a video of himself wearing a football helmet while running errands, captioned, “Heard this is what NFL players are doing nowadays..”
Wire fraud is a federal offense involving the use of electronic communications, such as phone calls, texts or the internet, to carry out a scheme to defraud someone of money or property. Conspiracy to commit wire fraud involves an agreement between two or more people to carry out such a scheme. Both charges can carry significant federal prison time upon conviction.
Love and Chan have been charged but not convicted, and both are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. Chan is set to appear in Oregon federal court on Sept. 10, and Love is being transferred to Oregon to face prosecution as the case proceeds.
Source: TODAY
