FBI identifies 35 additional women who claim they were defrauded by alleged scheme that featured fake 49ers player

The U.S. Attorney's office in the District of Oregon announced last month that a man masquerading as a San Francisco 49ers player was part of a wire fraud scheme that exploited 26 then-known victims of more than $1.3 million across California, Idaho, Washington and Oregon.

FBI special agent Douglas A. Olson revealed Friday that federal investigators have identified 35 additional women who claim they were defrauded by 35-year-old Daejon Love and 18-year-old Taylor Chan, according to multiple reports .

Olson said the agency is in the process of verifying that the 35 women are victims of Love and Chan, per ESPN .

There are now 61 potential victims in the case.

Love and Chan were arrested on Aug. 24. The duo has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud. They were apprehended at the Boise Airport in Idaho, where Love was set to meet new victims, per investigators .

During a news conference on Friday, Olson emphasized that anyone could have been a victim of the alleged fraud, as reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive .

"Victim blaming is unjust, and it's harmful, and it overlooks the calculated, highly-manipulated lengths these individuals went to in order to deceive and exploit others," Olson reportedly said.

"The women didn't just fall for something obvious; they were deliberately targeted by people who worked very hard to earn that trust and steal their money."

Love, who the U.S. Attorney's office says repeatedly posed as a Niners player or as a wealthy real estate investor, is still in custody in Boise, per The Oregonian/OregonLive, which reported that he's expected to make a federal court appearance next month in Portland.

Chan, who the U.S. Attorney's office says acted as Love's financial adviser, reportedly already appeared in federal court in Portland this month. He was released pending trial, according to The Oregonian/OregonLive.

The alleged scheme spanned four years, beginning in February 2022. Love and Chan targeted women in the four aforementioned states out west, most of whom Love met through dating apps, prosecutors said. Along with his actual name, Love used several other names — including Jon Love, Avril Lyto Love and Jordan Love — while carrying out the caper, per the U.S. Attorney's office.

"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 U.S. Attorney's Office Aug. 25 statement said. "Love had romantic relationships with many of the victims and told them he wanted to build wealth and a future together. Love advertised nonexistent investment vehicles and claimed these investments would generate massive returns for both him and his victims."

"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 U.S. Attorney's Office Aug. 25 statement said.

"Love had romantic relationships with many of the victims and told them he wanted to build wealth and a future together. Love advertised nonexistent investment vehicles and claimed these investments would generate massive returns for both him and his victims."

Phony bank and investment accounts and balances, created via phone applications, allegedly allowed Love to strengthen the validity of the ploy. Chan and Love even held three-way FaceTimes to flaunt falsified investment gains to whichever victim was on the call, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

Love also attempted to bolster his fake identities with AI-enhanced images, according to Olson, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.

Victims sent Love and Chan money with the intent that it would be deployed for fruitful investments overseen by the tandem, prosecutors said.

"Once victims had no more money to invest, or if they asked too many questions, Love blocked communication with them but kept their money," the U.S. Attorney's office Aug. 25 statement said.

At the time of that statement, of the victims who had been identified and interviewed upon sending Love and Chan money, "none reported receiving any proceeds, returns on their principle, or investment account information," according to prosecutors.

Olson said Friday that the FBI believes there are even more victims out there and that the agency encourages them to come forward, per ESPN's report.

As for the 49ers organization, "they were completely cooperative," Olson reportedly said. "They were very helpful in doing things that most people think are probably pretty simple, but it's not always that easy to confirm," he said, according to ESPN. "Like, this person was never an employee, never a player, not even ever in the NFL. They were able to help with a lot of that stuff."

As for the 49ers organization, "they were completely cooperative," Olson reportedly said.

"They were very helpful in doing things that most people think are probably pretty simple, but it's not always that easy to confirm," he said, according to ESPN. "Like, this person was never an employee, never a player, not even ever in the NFL. They were able to help with a lot of that stuff."