| Agent 488 |
06-28-2010 01:01 PM |
US Dating Site Owner Looking At 20 Years In Jail - Used Fake Profiles To Bilk Customers
http://www.timescolonist.com/news/De...024/story.html
A Delta man has pleaded guilty in a Seattle courtroom to mail fraud -- for bilking his online-dating website customers out of $1.2 million.
Barrie Turner, 65, was arrested in March as he tried to cross the border into Point Roberts, Wash., where he kept a mailbox for his fraudulent businesses.
More than 100 people have filed complaints against Turner, according to U.S. court documents. Turner operated more than 200 dating websites offering matchmaking services, such as Executive Catholic Dating, Executive Seattle Dating and Executive Gay Dating among others.
An investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service revealed that Turner was accepting up to $997 US for six-month membership fees, but wasn't providing legitimate matchmaking services.
In many of the complaints, customers said they were matched with what they suspected were fictitious people.
In several instances, the same picture was used for multiple profiles, with the personal information alter-ed to suit the customer's geographical location.
Those interested in meeting their matches received identical emails informing them that the match had decided to date someone else.
The investigation also found that Turner lifted real identifies from dating sites such as Match.com -- causing unknowing people to be contacted, some of them who had since been married.
The fees for the websites were sent to mailbox outlet stores across the U.S. before being forwarded to the Point Roberts post office.
Turner is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ricardo Martinez on Sept. 24 in Seattle. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
|
