Fake 49ers Player Arrested: The Daejon Love Case
The week began with news of the arrest of the 49ers’ owner posing as a man named “Joe.” It’s ending with news of the arrest of a man posing as a 49er. Via Nick Wagoner of ESPN, federal authorities have arrested two men in connection with a fraudulent scheme that entailed one of them repeatedly posing as a 49ers player.
Two men have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud. Daejon Labrayae Love, 35, and Taylor Jamie Chan, 18, have been charged by criminal complaint in Portland, Oregon.
According to court documents, beginning in February 2022, Love and Chan created fictitious investments to defraud numerous women in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and California. Love met most of the women on the Internet through dating apps. It allegedly started in 2022, with Love meeting multiple women on dating apps. He repeatedly told them he was a member of the 49ers or a wealthy real-estate investor. He used several names including Jon Love, Daejon Love, Avril Lyto Love, and Jordan Love to perpetuate the scheme.
Daejon Labrayae Love and The Fictitious NFL Lifestyle
The scheme relied on Love’s creation of fictitious personas and display of a lavish lifestyle which Love presented to victims both in person and on social media websites. Love falsely portrayed himself as legitimately wealthy, often as an NFL player for the San Francisco 49ers or as a wealthy real estate investor.
Love convinced many of the victims they were in sincere romantic relationships with Love, that he was a sophisticated investor, and that Chan was his investment adviser who helped Love grow a fortune worth tens of millions of dollars. Love had romantic relationships with many of the victims and told them he wanted to build wealth and a future together.
The “Financial Advisor” Wingman: Taylor Jamie Chan
Chan falsely posed as Love’s financial adviser to further gain their victims’ trust and demonstrate the validity of the investments. Love also used phone applications to create fictitious bank and investment accounts and balances which Love showed victims to legitimize the scheme.
Love and Chan also exchanged investment-related electronic communications in which Chan pretended to be Love’s investment adviser. Chan sent Love messages purportedly encouraging Love to invest in new opportunities. Love then sent screenshots of those messages to numerous victims to further convince them to send money to either Love or Chan. Chan and Love also hosted three-way FaceTime calls in which they showed victims falsified investment gains and encouraged victims to part with their money.
The Extortion Escalation: Dating App Fraud
Love advertised nonexistent investment vehicles and claimed these investments would generate massive returns for both him and his victims. Victims sent Love and Chan money due to their belief that their money would be invested in legitimate investment vehicles on the victims’ behalf.
Some victims also loaned Love large amounts of money, if victims did not have cash to invest, Love sometimes instructed them to take out personal loans in both scenarios Love assured the victims that they would quickly be repaid. Once victims had no more money to invest, or if they asked too many questions, Love blocked communication with them, but kept their money.
Of the victims identified and interviewed, none reported receiving any proceeds, returns on their principle, or investment account information, after sending Love and Chan money. Financial records show Love and Chan received about $1.3 million from victim investors. 26 victims have been identified, the FBI believes there are many more victims.
How One Woman Caught Him: Dating App Safety & Verifying Athletes
Ayana Velasquez met Daejon Love, the man federal authorities allege posed as an NFL player and real estate investor to defraud over two dozen women of $1.3 million, through a dating app nearly five years ago.
“When I met him in 2021, he portrayed that he wanted to be with me, wanted to give me kids, wanted to give me a house,” Velasquez told CBS News on Monday. They went on one date together. At the time, Velasquez said Love went by “Jonathan,” and that she did not learn his real name until she saw his picture in a news article.
Velasquez said Love boasted about his family’s wealth, claiming they were “one of the richest families in Switzerland” and owned property in the United States. Velasquez grew skeptical of Love’s claims and said she eventually stopped responding to him.
The two fell out of touch until 2024, when Velasquez said Love reached back out through a voice memo to her phone to tell her he was “in the NFL now.” Velasquez said Love sent her more than a dozen photos and videos portraying himself as a player for the San Francisco 49ers. One appeared to show Love’s point of view walking on the field at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, where the 49ers play. Another appeared to be a video of him filming a group of fans waving at him through the window of a bus.
Velasquez said she checked the metadata of some of the footage to verify when and where it was taken. “Once I saved those into my camera roll, they said that they were screen recorded,” Velasquez said. “So I was like, oh, that’s definitely not any of his.”
After the realization that Love likely did not record the footage himself, Velasquez said she “instantly” blocked him. “I’m not going to be entertaining this for my own good,” she recalled thinking.
“But at the same time, if he says that he’s an NFL player, you could have looked him up on the roster to see that he’s not there,” she said.
FBI Wire Fraud Arrest: Fake NFL Player Arrested
Lance Leising, a retired FBI supervisory special agent, told CBS News that scammers prey on victims’ trust. “When you have that emotional trust built in to that relationship, it’s much easier to get the scam, whether it’s posing as an NFL player or showing on social media all the expensive things you have, it’s simply building that trust,” he said.
Arrest warrants and a criminal complaint alleging conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud and were issued for both Love and Chan on August 17, 2026, in the District of Oregon. The FBI’s investigation revealed that on August 24, 2026, Chan flew from California to meet Love in Boise, Idaho.
The FBI and other law enforcement apprehended both Love and Chan at the Boise Airport. Investigators learned that Love was in Idaho to meet new victims. Investigators learned that from July 15 through August 24, 2026, Love traveled to New Mexico, California, Oregon, Nevada, Utah and Idaho. The FBI encourages anyone having information on Daejon Love or Taylor Chan to contact the FBI at https://tips.fbi.gov/ or to call 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Sources Quoted:
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Oregon (justice.gov)
- Jared Ochacher, CBS News (cbsnews.com)
- Mike Florio, NBC Sports (nbcsports.com)
Leo Falsafi is a digital marketing veteran and senior journalist at Virlan.co, where he covers the intersection of digital marketing, gaming, and breaking US trending news. With nearly two decades of hands-on experience in SEO and digital strategy, Leo has consulted for and scaled hundreds of companies. His deep industry roots allow him to deliver sharp, fact-checked insights and analysis on the trends shaping today’s digital landscape.
