A 35-year-old man successfully defrauded women out of $1.3 million by, in part, posing as a San Francisco 49ers wide receiver on social media.
Daejon Labrayae Love, 35, is facing charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for allegedly convincing women that he would invest money on their behalf into legitimate business vehicles. Love and an 18-year-old co-conspirator solicited money from women dating back to February 2022. Several of the women became romantically involved with Love, who claimed that he wanted to use their investments to build a life together for them, via Steve Henson of the Los Angeles Times.
Love’s Instagram page, which was still up as of Friday, depicts him as an undrafted wide receiver playing for the 49ers. Photos and videos show off a lavish lifestyle, and he is seen talking about his “new McLaren,” which he had actually rented. He explained his lack of playing time by claiming to be injured.
The pair also used fake bank statements and multiple dating apps as part of the scheme. 26 potential victims have been identified, though FBI investigators believe that there are more.
According to prosecuting documents, Love promised women rapid windfalls on their investments, and cut off contact with his victims once they no longer had anything to offer him. He was ultimately arrested while traveling to Boise, Id. to meet more potential victims.
Believe it or not, this is not the first time an individual has faked being an NFL player in order to defraud people, though another recent incident had slightly different details to it.
