A saying almost as old as the World Wide Web goes that you can pretend to be anyone online. An even older saying goes that, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. One would think that in this era, in which no sooner is anything posted online than someone calls B.S. on it, even if it is true, that Derek Alldred would not have been able to get away with his crimes, which range from mail fraud to wire fraud to credit card abuse, but the heart believes what it wants to believe. Alldred used dating sites as a platform to scam women in several states, but he was finally arrested in Texas.
A Phony Knight in Shining Armor
Between 2014 and 2016, Derek Alldred, now age 46, scammed 20 women out of large amounts of money. He accomplished this by meeting the women on dating sites and charming them out of their money and credit card information. He impressed them with untrue tales of his high-profile jobs. One of the victims of his deception was a Minnesota woman named Joann, who asked that the press identify her only by her first name. Alldred convinced Joann that he was a lawyer, even though he was not. Her trust in him ended up costing her $17,000, the amount Alldred charged on a credit card that he opened in her name without her knowledge.
In 2016, he also successfully fooled another woman, named Linda, and was able to live with her for several months before she began to suspect that he was not who he said he was. For all Linda knew, her live-in boyfriend was a Navy Seal named Rich Peterson. After all, if he were not, then why would he have a Navy Seal uniform and a Purple Heart medal? When it appeared that Alldred would not be able to keep up the charade much longer, he broke up with Linda and moved to Arizona, where he continued his deceptions, finding plenty of other women who fell for his lies.
The Lies Unravel
In Arizona, Alldred was eventually arrested for stealing money from women he met in that state. He went on the run in December of 2016, while out on bail before his sentencing. By the time he was arrested in Texas, women in California and Nevada had also told law enforcement that Alldred had cheated them out of money. The crimes with which he is charged range from identity theft to felony possession of a firearm. As far as the Naval Criminal Investigative Service is concerned, though, Alldred’s deception is a case of Stolen Valor.
Contact Madrid Law About Fraud Cases
This Valentine’s Day, do not let phony paramours steal your identity. Likewise, do not let a bitter ex accuse you of financial crimes you did not commit. Contact Madrid Law in Houston if you find yourself in either situation.
