Daejon Love wanted the NFL fame so badly he brought the props everywhere, including the dinner table.
Federal prosecutors say Daejon Love spent nearly four years posing as a San Francisco 49ers wide receiver and a wealthy real estate investor to con women he met on dating apps. The scheme allegedly ran from February 2022 through March 2026, targeting at least 26 victims for roughly $1.3 million in losses.
Love, 35, and an alleged accomplice, 18-year-old Taylor Jamie Chan, were arrested on August 24, 2026, at Boise Airport in Idaho on federal wire fraud and conspiracy charges. Since then, the internet has zeroed in on one specific prop that made the whole act work.
Love didn't just claim to play for the 49ers. He carried around an actual helmet to sell the lie, reportedly dropping over $1,160 on a custom version and hauling it to beaches, football fields, car rides, and even restaurant dinners.
DAEJEON LOVE BROUGHT HIS #49ERS HELMET TO A RESTAURANT FOR DINNER.
— MLFootball (@MLFootball) September 1, 2026
💀💀💀 pic.twitter.com/K0ixlaWKMD
Investigators later found the helmet, along with cash and additional team gear, inside an Airbnb connected to Love. He also staged a fake NFL contract signing video while decked out in 49ers gear and jewelry, then leaned on edited photos and AI-generated snippets to make the persona look real.
A barber who used to cut Love's hair posted old clips of him rolling up to appointments in expensive cars, helmet in tow. Commenters had already flagged him as a scammer back then.
Once Love's mugshot went viral this week, fans piled on. "You forgot the helmet," one fan joked. Another wrote, "Bro went from fake 49ers star to a very real mug shot."
How Daejon Love used Instagram to score free food and deals
The fake NFL persona wasn't just for the dating app scam. Reports show Love also used it to slide into the DMs of small businesses and influencers, hoping his "player" status would get him free products and services.
Screenshots show him messaging a caterer under his 49ers cover story: "I'm sure you know me. I play for the 49ers and I'm gonna be in LA next week. If your food hitting like it looks on Instagram, I might have to put some money behind you and get you your own spot. I'll need security at the catering though since I play for the 49ers."
He tried a similar angle with a fitness influencer, offering to pay for workout content while dangling his fake job title: "I'm a professional football player for the 49ers. If you want to lose more weight I can send you all my professional football workouts."
He also messaged a hair braider claiming he'd need security at his appointment because of his "49ers" status. Fans didn't hold back once the DMs surfaced. "By 'let's colab' he means 'give me free food,'" one user wrote.
The Instagram hustle was small change compared to what Love allegedly pulled off with the dating app victims. Prosecutors say he used aliases like "Jon Love," "Jordan Love," and "Avril Lyto Love," and dismissed any inconsistencies fans found online by saying, "That's Google, that's not me."
Love allegedly showed victims doctored screenshots of a fake banking app displaying a balance north of $30 million. He also ran three-way FaceTime calls with Chan, who reportedly posed as his financial adviser to make the fake investments look legitimate.
Retired FBI agent Lance Leising told CBS News that this kind of con relies entirely on emotional manipulation. "When you have that emotional trust built into that relationship, it's much easier to get the scam, whether it's posing as an NFL player or showing on social media all the expensive things you have."
Ayana Velasquez, who says she met Love on a dating app back in 2021, described how deep the manipulation went. "When I met him in 2021, he portrayed that he wanted to be with me, wanted to give me kids, wanted to give me a house."
The mugshot only added fuel to a story that was already spreading across NFL circles, with players and analysts weighing in on the audacity of the con. Analyst Emmanuel Acho specifically pointed to the helmet photos while breaking down how the scam worked.
Fans, meanwhile, mostly just found it funny. "This guy just keeps getting better and better with this whole scam, people way too gullible and believe anything," one fan wrote. Another added, "No way bro was even scamming free food."
Each wire fraud and conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. Love is currently being held at a federal jail in Ada County, Idaho, ahead of his transfer to Oregon, where the case against him and Chan is being prosecuted.