• Daejon Labrayae Delenar Love, 35, pleaded not guilty on 13 October 2026 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
  • An earlier DOJ release says he and an alleged accomplice received about $1.3M from 26 identified victims.
  • Jury trial is scheduled for 15 December 2026; Love is detained pending trial.
  • The DOJ names no dating platform; women cited in news reports mention Hinge and Bumble.

Daejon Labrayae Delenar Love, 35, of Sacramento County, California, pleaded not guilty in Portland federal court on 13 October to a grand-jury indictment for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon announced on 14 October. Prosecutors allege he used dating and social media profiles to pose as a wealthy real estate investor or an NFL player and solicit fake investments from women.

The October release gives no victim count or dollar figure. Those come from the office's August complaint release, which put receipts at about $1.3M from 26 identified victims, adding that the FBI believes there are many more. An indictment is an allegation, and Love is presumed innocent.

The DII Take

The platform exposure here looks reputational rather than legal: the DOJ names no dating service. Yet the alleged playbook, a match on an app followed by FaceTime calls and wire transfers, is exactly the off-platform handoff that trust and safety teams struggle to interrupt. Operators should read it as a case study in where detection has to start.

What prosecutors say happened

The indictment alleges Love and a co-conspirator pitched fraudulent high-yield products, including an "expedited account" promising unusually large and rapid returns. He allegedly spent the money on travel, lodging, high-end vehicles, clothing and jewellery rather than investing it.

The August complaint release adds that 18-year-old Taylor Jamie Chan allegedly posed as Love's financial adviser, and that three-way FaceTime calls showed falsified gains. According to that release, no victim the FBI identified and interviewed said they had received any returns, their principal back or details of an investment account.

According to that release, no victim the FBI identified and interviewed said they had received any returns, their principal back or details of an investment account.

KPTV reported that one woman said she met Love on Bumble (BMBL) in June 2024. Fox News reported another said she met him on Hinge, and, citing an FBI affidavit, that the NFL and the 49ers said Love was never employed by either. No comment from Hinge or Bumble on the case has been reported.

What to watch

FTC data show nearly 60% of people who reported losing money to a romance scam in 2025 said it began on a social media platform, not a dating app, though the FTC notes its 2025 figures are incomplete because reports were not collected during the government shutdown. Chan's indictment status is not stated in the DOJ's October release. Watch the 15 December trial date, and whether prosecutors name any platforms.

  • Romance-fraud cases keep the dating industry in the story even when prosecutors name no platform, because victims name the apps in press accounts.
  • FTC figures show most people reporting romance-scam losses said the scam began on social media rather than a dating app, so cross-platform detection matters more than single-app controls.
  • Watch the 15 December 2026 trial and any superseding indictment for victim counts and platform references.

Sources: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Oregon (indictment release); U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Oregon (complaint release); KPTV; Fox News; FTC; FTC Data Spotlight; Central Oregon Daily