Imagine you are a young woman and you open one of your dating apps. You get matched with a famous NFL player, and naturally, you Google him to see if he's legit. Nothing tells you this dude is fake. You see his social media page, which shows off his lavish lifestyle, so you decide to pursue the relationship. Before you know it, he professes his love and convinces you to invest in his real estate venture, promising you a future together. And then it turns out it was all a lie. The real estate venture was fraudulent, the relationship was false, and most importantly, the man you believed was an NFL player turned out to be a scammer.
This isn't a story about one woman. This is a story about how more than a dozen women were scammed out of millions by a man claiming to be a San Francisco 49ers wide receiver.
Daejon Love created dating profiles on apps like Hinge, Bumble, and Tinder, pretending to be an NFL player or, at times, a wealthy Swiss real estate developer. As part of his alleged scheme, he posed as a member of the 49ers by posting photos and videos of himself in 49ers gear and acting like a wide receiver for the team. Daejon convinced many of his victims that they were in a romantic relationship together, that he was an investor, and that Taylor Chan, who is 18 years old, was his investment adviser. He deceived his numerous victims by claiming he was in love and wanted to build wealth and a future together. Daejon advertised fake investments, claiming they would generate immense wealth for both him and his victims.
Daejon's scheme was elaborate, and he went to great lengths to make his lies seem true.
Exhibit A
His Instagram account features photos of him pretending to be a 49ers player. It wasn't enough to pose with 49ers gear; he also had to act the role by posing in front of luxury cars.
Exhibit B
Daejon and his accomplice would also exchange investment-related electronic communications. Taylor would send Daejon messages "encouraging" him to invest in new opportunities. In turn, Daejon would send screenshots of those messages to his victims to further convince them to send money to him or Taylor. Sometimes they would host a three-way FaceTime call, during which they showed victims fake investment gains to further influence them to send money.
Once victims ran out of money or asked too many questions, Daejon would block communication with them but keep the money. Many of the victims that were identified and interviewed by the FBI reported that they have not received any proceeds, returns on their principal, or investment account information after sending Daejon and Taylor money. Financial records showed that Daejon and Taylor received $1.3 million from their victims.
After four years of this deception, prosecutors issued arrest warrants and a criminal complaint alleging conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud against Daejon and Taylor on August 24, 2026, in the District of Oregon. The FBI and local law enforcement apprehended both of them in Boise, Idaho. The FBI's investigation revealed that on the day of their arrest at the Boise Airport, Taylor flew from California to meet Daejon, and they were going to meet new victims.
When I first heard this story, I was perplexed. Who in 2026 is still falling for these types of scams? Especially after learning that many of the victims were in their 20s and 30s, you would think younger people would be more digitally savvy and less likely to fall for these scams. But this is where the story takes an interesting (and cautionary) turn.
Daejon Love built a digital identity as a 49ers wide receiver. He not only fooled his victims into believing his fake persona, but also AI search engines, as well. Investigators learned that when they searched for Daejon Love online, the AI search results would often depict Daejon Love as a real 49ers player.
So imagine if you were one of those women who fell for Daejon's lies. You don't know much about football, so you Googled him, and Google Gemini tells you that this man is, indeed, a wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers. You most likely would stop there and not investigate further.
A scam like this probably wouldn't have reached this scale ten years ago, but AI has made an easy, provable lie more compelling to believe.
What's next for our 49er superstar?
The case is still ongoing. As of September 18, an additional 35 women came forward believing they were victims of Daejon and Taylor. That would bring the total up to 61, and the FBI believes there could be more.
What was the San Francisco 49ers' response?
A woman who interacted with Daejon Love reached out to the 49ers through an inquiry form on their website, telling them a man was pretending to play for the team. A week later, Levi's Stadium guest service account responded by stating they take the matter seriously and encouraged them to reach out to local law enforcement. No evidence shows anyone connected to the San Francisco 49ers knew about that communication. When it became national news, the 49ers stated that it was the first time they learned about the situation.
As this story unfolds, I'm sure more will be revealed. For now, we can only anticipate the twists and turns that lie ahead.
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