A California man was arrested on a 14-count federal indictment Thursday that alleges he used relationship apps to con matches out of tens of millions of {dollars} by posing as an investor, officers mentioned.
Christopher Earl Lloyd, 39, of Orange County, is accused of executing the scheme from April 2021 till February 2024, in keeping with the indictment, launched Thursday by the Justice Division within the Central District of California.
The indictment accuses Lloyd of utilizing relationship apps — like Tinder, Hinge and Bumble — “to befriend and interact in romantic relationships with victims,” whom he then lied to about his funds and profession to get them to take a position their cash with him. After they despatched him money, he used it for his “private profit,” in keeping with the federal indictment.
Lloyd advised the victims that he had lately closed on a number of properties, that he had been a finance supervisor for years, that he was vice chairman of an organization known as 13 Holdings and that he labored for an funding firm known as Landmark Holdings — none of which was true, the indictment alleges.
He satisfied his victims that he was educated about investments and inspired them to ship him their cash for him to take a position, in keeping with the indictment.
The indictment alleges he promised that his victims would see “common returns” on the cash invested with him and that their investments have been “insured as much as a big quantity.” He additionally advised them they might withdraw their funds at any time, the indictment says.
To legitimize the method, Lloyd signed contracts that “specified the investments that the victims have been to make” and created “a false schedule of returns on their investments,” the indictment alleges. His victims despatched cash to various financial institution accounts he owned through wire, Zelle and Money App or by utilizing money, it says.
“Fairly than utilizing the victims’ funds for investments, defendant Lloyd largely spent it for his personal private profit,” the indictment says, together with a 2023 incident by which he used $40,000 of his victims’ cash to jot down a test to a Lexus dealership in Southern California.
The federal indictment lists no less than 5 victims who it says, on a number of events, wired Lloyd quantities that ranged from $15,500 to $110,000. In complete, Lloyd collected greater than $2 million from his victims by the scheme, it says.
Lloyd was charged with 13 counts of wire fraud and one rely of participating in a financial transaction in property derived from the fraud, the U.S. legal professional’s workplace mentioned in a launch.
He made an preliminary look in U.S. District Courtroom in Santa Ana on Thursday afternoon and stays in federal custody.
A lawyer representing Lloyd didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
If he’s convicted, Lloyd would face a statutory most sentence of 20 years in federal jail for every of the 13 wire fraud counts and as much as 10 years in jail for the financial transaction rely.
