Who Is Daejon Love? Two Interactions Shed Light On Accused 'fake 49er' Scammer

Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify when Google search results would have appeared as A.I. results.

The San Francisco 49ers won't have wide deceiver Daejon Love on their roster for the 2026 season.

Love, who has never played for the Niners, let alone the NFL, was arrested Aug. 24 at Boise (Idaho) Airport on wire fraud and conspiracy charges, according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY Sports.

The 35-year-old whose full name is Daejon Labrayae Love was arrested along with 18-year-old Taylor Chan as they allegedly defrauded, or attempted to defraud 26 victims, most of them middle-class women in their 20s and 30s, of $1.3 million in a scheme running since February 2022, according to records filed in United States District Court in Idaho.

The two were transferred to Oregon, where the charges were filed and warrants were issued.

Love met women through social media and dating platforms where his accusers say he posed as a professional football player, notoriously a 49ers' wide receiver. He also posed as a wealthy real estate developer and investor, with Chan acting as his "financial advisor," allegedly lying about Love's financial success and supporting his fabricated stories.

Court records show Love used several aliases, including Jon Love, Avril Lyto Love, and Jordan Love. He often wore 49ers gear everywhere he went, including a replica Niners helmet. He allegedly scammed or tried to scam victims in California, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Idaho and New Mexico.

"Love is a serial fraudster. His method of operation is to contact women through dating platforms, projecting himself as incredibly financially successful. He told victims he was an NFL player and a wealthy investor who was worth $30 million. His elaborate scam included manipulating the internet to show that he was a bona fide NFL player and lived a luxurious lifestyle," the criminal complaint against Love states.

Daejon Love's unbelievable stories

Before he was posing as an NFL player, Love was simply just a Swiss investor. At least that's how he portrayed himself according to Bay Area-native Kristeen Washington.

Washington told USA TODAY Sports she first encountered Love when he messaged her on Instagram in June 2021.

"Every time we were supposed to meet up, it was some kind of crazy lie," Washington said.

Washington said she noticed red flags when Love asked for her Snapchat instead of her cellphone number.

"I went along with it because I just wanted to see what he was going to say. So we exchanged Snapchats, and that video that I posted was the first thing that he sent me," Washington said.

In the video later posted to Washington's social media, Love explained how his family is from Switzerland, but he moved to Los Angeles when he was eight. He claimed to have gone to school at St. John's in New York, where he was a finance major. He said he moved to Sacramento to open a Balenciaga store in downtown San Francisco, more than 80 miles away.

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