FBI case against fake 49ers player expands to 60+ alleged victims
The FBI has identified 35 additional women defrauded by Daejon Love and Taylor Chan in a romance scam scheme using fake NFL athlete identities, bringing total alleged victims to more than 60. Love, 35, and Chan, 18, were arrested in August 2026 after an investigation that began in September 2024 covering allegations from February 2022 through August 2026. The scheme allegedly stole more than $1.3 million from 26 known victims using AI-enhanced fake identities, staged video calls, and fabricated investment accounts.
The FBI has identified 35 additional women defrauded by Daejon Love and Taylor Chan in a romance scam involving fake San Francisco 49ers player impersonation, bringing the total number of alleged victims to more than 60, according to ESPN's reporting. Love, 35, and Chan, 18, were arrested on August 24, 2026, at the Boise, Idaho airport and have been charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
The investigation opened September 30, 2024, and covers allegations spanning from February 2022 to August 24, 2026. According to the criminal complaint, Love and Chan stole more than $1.3 million from 26 known victims in at least four states. The FBI believes additional victims remain unidentified.
Love used social media and dating apps to build fake identities, posing as a 49ers player, a former NFL player, a player on injured reserve, and a wealthy Swiss real estate investor, according to reporting. Chan sometimes posed as Love's financial adviser and assisted in convincing women that Love would invest their money with Chan. The scheme involved fake personas, fabricated investment accounts, staged video calls, and AI-reinforced false identities, per FBI Special Agent in Charge Doug Olson's statement to ESPN. Each fraud was "bespoke" to the individual victim, tailored with specific details designed to appear credible.
Love placed material in media search results so his fake identity ranked first on Google with multiple confirmations of his claimed identity, creating an appearance of legitimacy that exploited victims' natural verification instincts. The San Francisco 49ers confirmed to ESPN that Love was never an employee, never a player, and never affiliated with the NFL in any capacity. The club told ESPN it had no awareness of Love and received no reports about him before being contacted by the FBI in August.
Portland FBI Special Agent in Charge Olson stated, "We were surprised how many people were victimized in such a short period of time and then to have that many more come forward." The FBI believes more victims exist who have not yet reported their losses.
The FBI identified 35 additional women defrauded by Daejon Love and Taylor Chan, bringing the total alleged victim count to more than 60 in a scheme involving fake San Francisco 49ers player impersonation.
Authorities expect the victim count to grow as the investigation continues and more people recognize the scheme. The case illustrates how dating-app platforms and search-engine optimization can be weaponized in coordinated fraud targeting multiple states simultaneously.
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Single-source report. As published, only ESPN had reported this development. No independent outlet had corroborated it.
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