(WFLA) A Florida man who pretended to be a surgeon to meet women on dating sites and steal their money was indicted on federal charges last week, prosecutors said.
Brian Brainard Wedgeworth, formerly of Tallahassee, is said to have swindled money from at least 21 people in Florida and other states.
According to the indictment, Wedgeworth met his victims on dating apps such as Bumble, Plenty of Fish and Christian Mingle. He claimed to be a physician and surgeon, who had attended and worked at prestigious universities and hospitals.
He also said he was a member of the fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi. Many of his victims were in sororities, and would have been familiar with the fraternity, prosecutors said.
The women gave Wedgeworth their banking and credit card information after he promised to help them pay off their debts, the indictment claims.
Wedgeworth would then pay off the debts using bank accounts that were previously closed and had insufficient funds, and the women were notified that their debts had been paid in full, when they were not.
Prosecutors said Wedgeworth fraudulently added himself as an authorized cardholder to some accounts and would increase his victims’ credit card limits or obtain lines of credit and cash advances in their name.
With their money, he would buy tickets to sporting events and Rolex watches…
He allegedly fleeced them out of more than $750,000 in funds and property in total.
