Fraudsters will go to great lengths to con their victims, even if it means pretending to be an NFL player.
Thirty-five-year-old Daejon Labrayae Love allegedly defrauded 26 women and stole $1.3 million in an elaborate investment and romance scheme, NBC Bay Area reported.
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Love allegedly met women on social media and portrayed himself as either a member of the San Francisco 49ers or as a wealthy real estate investor living a luxury lifestyle. He would then forge romantic relationships with the victims and claim he wanted to build more wealth with them.
Love and his alleged accomplice, Taylor Jamie Chan, 18, created fictitious investment opportunities to convince victims in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and California to buy in with their own money or by taking out a personal loan, according to the United States Attorney's Office District of Oregon.
Chan's alleged role was as Love's "investment adviser." Under this guise, he would send messages to Love encouraging him to invest in new opportunities. Love would then forward the messages to the victims, claiming it would generate large returns. Once victims either ran out of money to invest or began to ask too many questions, Love would block them.
Both men were recently arrested in Boise, Idaho. Each was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud.
Romance scams are more common than you'd think
The cautionary tale above is an example of a romance scam, specifically a "pig butchering" scam where criminals forge close relationships with victims and convince them to invest in a fake investment vehicle. The term "pig butchering" refers to the practice of fattening up the animal before slaughter.
According to the FBI's latest Internet Crime Report, there were just over 23,000 romance scam complaints made to the agency in 2025. Losses related to these kinds of scams topped $929 million. Investment scams overall were the biggest loss driver last year, at $8.6 billion.
Romance scams can be tied to investment opportunities, but can also be classic cases of a "romantic interest" claiming to be going through tough times and asking for money to make ends meet or get out of a hairy situation.
Overall, victims lost $20.8 billion to swindles in 2025.
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Romance scams can run the gamut. But like other scams, fraudsters more often than not are looking to manipulate you into handing over your hard-earned money.
If you develop a romantic interest that claims to be in need of cash for a medical emergency or is stranded in another country, it's likely a scam — especially if you have never met in person. Furthermore, if a love interest pushes you to buy into a lucrative investment opportunity where returns appear too good to be true, it likely is.
In both cases, it's best to avoid cold social media and text reach outs, and trust your gut when something doesn't feel right. It's also a good idea to be careful about what you post online. Cybercriminals will use that information to better understand you when they target you.
If you fall victim to a romance or investment scam, you should report it to the authorities immediately, including the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and Federal Trade Commission, and fill out a police report. You will also need to contact your financial institution if you lost money in the scam. You may not get your money back if you initiated the wire transfer, but it may prevent more money from being withdrawn from your account if the criminal has your information.
If you relinquished personal identifiable data like your Social Security number or full name to the criminal, it's worth freezing your credit with all three major credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax and TransUnion — to ensure no new credit accounts can be opened in your name.
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This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: Man posed as a 49ers player and convinced 26 women to hand over $1.3 million in romance scam scheme
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
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