Federal authorities have arrested two men for defrauding more than two dozen women out of $1.3 million in a romance scheme where one of the men pretended to be an NFL player and the other posed as his financial advisor.
According to the U.S. Attorney's office in the District of Oregon, the FBI arrested Daejon Love, 35, and Taylor Jamie Chan, 18, on Aug. 24 in Boise, Idaho, and charged the duo with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud. The fraud involved victimized women in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and California, with at least 26 victims.
Love allegedly posed as a wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers and as a wealthy real estate investor, curating “fictitious personas” and “a lavish lifestyle” displayed on his Instagram, with screenshots shared by authorities. Love had romantic relationships with many of the victims, whom he met through dating apps, and introduced them to fraudulent investment vehicles with Chan, who posed as Love’s financial advisor.
“Chan falsely posed as Love’s financial adviser to further gain their victims’ trust and demonstrate the validity of the investments,” the U.S. Attorney's Office statement said. “Love convinced many of the victims they were in sincere romantic relationships with Love, that he was a sophisticated investor, and that Chan was his investment adviser who helped Love grow a fortune worth tens of millions of dollars.”
The scheme included phone applications to create fictitious bank and investment accounts and balances that Love showed victims to create his illusion of wealth. Victims believed that their money was being invested on their behalf, and some were told to take out personal loans to pay Love if they did not have cash to invest.
“Chan sent Love messages purportedly encouraging Love to invest in new opportunities. Love then sent screenshots of those messages to numerous victims to further convince them to send money to either Love or Chan,” the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Financial records show Love and Chan received about $1.3 million from victim investors.
None of the victims interviewed by the FBI said they received any money for their investments, repayments or any account information. Love and Chan were arrested Aug. 24 at the Boise airport and had their first court appearance scheduled for Aug. 27.
The FBI has previously released statistics showing an alarming rise in romance scams targeting seniors. The agency reported that individuals aged 60 and older totaled $390 million in losses from romance scams in 2024.
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