Women found double trouble through online dating, according to the SEC. The agency last month filed a charge against a Connecticut man who reportedly defrauded dozens of investors looking for love online – along with their friends.
In all, he duped 50 investors – 21 of which were women or relatives of women he found via online dating.
From the SEC release:
The SEC alleges that Thomas J. Connerton told investors that his company Safety Technologies LLC was developing a material to make surgical gloves better resistant to cuts or punctures. He claimed that several major glove manufacturers wanted the technology and Safety Technologies was on the brink of imminent deals that would result in large payouts for investors in his company. But no deals have ever been anywhere close to materializing, and Connerton has emptied the company’s bank account by writing a series of checks to himself and using investor funds for his own expenses.
According to court documents filed by the SEC, among Connerton’s improper spending of investor funds was $20,000 for an engagement ring for his latest online date turned investor. There are more than 50 investors in Safety Technologies, including six women Connerton met through online dating and 14 others who are family or friends of those women.
The occurrence was significant enough for FINRA to pen an alert on investing in ventures discovered via online dating.
