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A California man was federally charged for allegedly scamming more than $2 million from people over popular dating apps by posing as someone who was “financially successful and knowledgeable about investments,” prosecutors said.
Christopher Earl Lloyd, 39, of Whittier, is now facing a 14-count federal indictment in connection with the alleged scheme he carried out for nearly three years on dating apps such as Tinder, Hinge and Bumble, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Central District of California.
“According to the indictment that a federal grand jury returned on July 2, from April 2021 to February 2024, Lloyd used dating apps and websites to befriend and engage in romantic relationships with his victims. Lloyd lied to his victims to give them the impression that he was financially successful and knowledgeable about investments,” the Attorney’s Office said.
“Lloyd fraudulently induced his victims to provide money and property to him, including in the form of purported investments, by telling them he knew of investment opportunities that would benefit them. Lloyd also told his victims that he would invest their money, that they would receive regular returns on these investments, and that they could withdraw these investments at any time,” it added.
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The Bumble app was one of the dating apps that Lloyd used in the alleged scam, according to prosecutors. (Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
However, Lloyd used the money that his victims sent him for his own personal benefit, prosecutors said.
“For example, in May 2023, Lloyd allegedly withdrew $40,000 in funds a victim sent him to write a check to a Lexus car dealership in Mission Viejo,” according to prosecutors.
They said Lloyd helped sell the scam by telling his victims that “he had closed on multiple properties, that he had been a financial manager for years, that he was the vice president of a company called Planet 13 Holdings, and that he worked for an investment company called Landmark Associates.”
“None of these statements was true,” the Attorney’s Office said.
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A Tinder logo is seen displayed on a smartphone and in the background. Federal prosecutors said “Lloyd used dating apps and websites to befriend and engage in romantic relationships with his victims.” (Algi Febri Sugita/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
It added that Lloyd “supported his false statements by signing contracts with victims that specified the investments that the victims were to make and setting a false schedule of investment returns” and that they then “sent him money, including via wire transfers, Cash App, Zelle, or cash payments.”
Lloyd was charged with 13 counts of wire fraud and one count of engaging in a monetary transaction in property derived from the fraud.
Christopher Earl Lloyd carried out the scam for around three years, the federal indictment alleges. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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“If convicted, Lloyd would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each wire fraud count and up to 10 years in federal prison for the monetary transaction count,” prosecutors said. “The FBI is investigating this matter.”