Fake 49ers Player Daejon Love’s Case Explodes As 35 New Victims Step Forward
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
The FBI just made a strange NFL story even larger. Agents now say 35 more women have come forward, claiming they lost money to the same alleged scheme. That scheme featured a fake 49ers player named Daejon Love.
Love is 35. Prosecutors say he posed as a San Francisco wide receiver. He also sold himself as a rich investor. His alleged partner, Taylor Chan, is 18. Chan posed as a financial adviser. The scheme ended when the pair was arrested on Aug. 24 at the Boise airport. Federal charges include wire fraud and conspiracy.
The first wave listed 26 victims and about $1.3 million. The new count pushes the pool to 61 potential victims, Yahoo Sports reported on Friday. It matches what the FBI said at a Portland briefing.
How the Fake 49ers Player Hooked Dating-App Targets
Love met most of the women on several dating apps. He built romance first before pitching “investments.” He showed fake bank balances on his phone and then sent screenshots of phony gains. Chan joined three-way FaceTime calls to sell the lie.
Some women took out personal loans. Love told them the money would come back fast. Court papers say it never did. Once cash dried up, or questions started, he cut contact and kept the funds.
He worked hard on the football look. Love bought a custom 49ers helmet, posted training photos in team gear and even ran routes on a beach with cones set out like practice. The 49ers and the NFL told investigators he never worked for either one.
Why the Fake 49ers Player Case Keeps Growing
The alleged plot ran from February 2022 until the August arrests. Love used several names: Jon Love, Avril Lyto Love, even Jordan Love. He bounced through California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and more. Prosecutors called him nomadic and said he had no known real job.
Portland FBI special agent Douglas Olson pushed back on online jokes.
“Victim blaming is unjust and it’s harmful,” he said.
He noted the loans and the life choices made under a fake future, while asking other possible victims to call the bureau.
The original charging details sit in a federal complaint from Oregon. That filing still lists the $1.3 million figure from the first 26 women. The new names have not yet changed that public total.
Love and Chan remain charged, not convicted. A complaint is an accusation. Both men are presumed innocent unless a court says otherwise. Anyone with information can reach the FBI at tips.fbi.gov or 1-800-CALL-FBI.
