Online dating can be quite risky; sometimes, it can actually be scary, too. Anyone who decides to take this route in an attempt to find love should do so very cautiously. Those who take this advice lightly should consider the case of online dating defrauder Brian Otis Wedgeworth, an Alabamian who’s been dubbed the “Casanova Scammer.”
Wedgeworth was arrested in November after a woman reported to DeKalb County Police that he duped her into giving him thousands of dollars. The charges are related to a scheme he used to defraud many women he met online.
Detective Patrick Cook said Wedgeworth was charged with identity fraud but more charges are possible.
Cook said his investigation revealed Wedgeworth created a “new scam” he may have used on as many as 60 victims throughout the country.
Wedgeworth used many aliases but ran the same game on all of the women. He would pose as a wealthy doctor on dating websites. He’d befriended single women, promising a future together and then lure them in by pretending to pay off their credit card bills, student loans and car loans.
One woman who gave her account, stated he told her his name was Brandon Kirkland, and pretended to clear her debt of $86,000. It wasn’t until after she wired him $6,000 that she realized he really hadn’t paid a dime.
The two met on a dating website and began talking on the phone and on webcam several times a day.
“He had this southern vernacular that really drew me in,” said the registered nurse, Tamara Houston.
Wedgeworth, 37, has been convicted of multiple felonies including financial identity fraud, illegal possession of a credit card, possession of forged instrument, and identify theft. He has arrest warrants in Ohio, Florida and Alabama. Cook said Wedgeworth has victims in at least five other states.
After the incident, Houston admitted to investigators and reporters, “I wasn’t a victim. I was a damn fool.”
