Atlantic County, New Jersey, Man Charged With Using Telephone Dating Services To Defraud Multiple Women Across Several States
CAMDEN, N.J. – An Atlantic County man who was previously sentenced for wire fraud was charged today with using telephone dating services to lure and defraud multiple women after he escaped from a halfway house and later, while being on federal supervised release, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Patrick Giblin, 52, formerly of Ventnor, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of wire fraud. He made his initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ann Marie Donio in Camden federal court and was detained.
Giblin was previously sentenced in April 2007 to 115 months in federal prison on wire fraud charges related to a similar scheme to defraud women. Giblin was sentenced again on Oct. 2, 2015 to 24 months in prison for violating the terms of his supervised release. He was taken into custody today following the completion of this sentence at FCI-Fairton.
According to the complaint:
Between December 2012 and Dec. 16, 2014, Giblin contacted telephone dating services in an attempt to lure and defraud women by preying on their hope of developing a relationship. Giblin used a series of false representations to convince women on these services to loan him money based on the false promise that he would pay them back.
Giblin posted advertisements and messages on the telephone dating services wherein he falsely claimed, among other things, that he was moving to a victim’s location, that he owned oceanfront property in Atlantic City, and that he worked in the casino business.
Giblin fraudulently told the victims he needed to borrow money for bills, car repairs, moving expenses, and other phony expenditures. He received money from the women via interstate wire services such as Western Union and Moneygram. The complaint – which only includes a sample of the victims involved in the scheme – discusses eight separate victims in five different states and Canada, who lost a total of over $7,000 to Giblin. The investigation remains ongoing.
During the course of the scheme, Giblin, who was on federal supervised release for previously defrauding over 50 women for over $200,000 in losses, unlawfully fled New Jersey for Colonie, New York, where he continued to receive money until his arrest by the U.S. Marshals on Dec. 16, 2014. Giblin has been in federal custody since that time.
Giblin faces a statutory maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charges. Fishman also thanked the U.S. Marshals Service, under the direction of U.S. Marshal Juan Mattos in Newark, for its assistance in this case.
The charge and allegations against Giblin are merely accusations, and he is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The government is represented by Deputy Attorney in Charge Matthew J. Skahill and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabriel J. Vidoni of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.
