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Where Did the $1.378 Million Go? The Money Trail in the Fake 49ers Player Case

Last updated September 21, 2026. This article relies primarily on the federal criminal complaint and FBI affidavit, supplemented by Justice Department statements and current reporting. The allegations described here have not been proven at trial. Daejon Love and Taylor Chan have been charged, not convicted, and are presumed innocent.

On August 24, 2026, FBI agents and other law enforcement officers apprehended Daejon Love, 35, and Taylor Chan, 18, at Boise Airport. Federal prosecutors allege that, beginning in February 2022, Love posed as a San Francisco 49ers player or wealthy real-estate investor to women he met online, while Chan posed as his financial adviser. The Justice Department says financial records showed the two received about $1.3 million from 26 identified victims.

The case has since expanded. On September 18, the FBI said 35 additional women had come forward, bringing the number of potential victims to 61. The agency said it was still working to verify the additional allegations and did not announce a new total loss figure.

The federal affidavit contains a more detailed financial record than the headline figure suggests. Its published tables report $1.378 million received and $1.378 million spent in the financial records reviewed by investigators. But the tables do not identify the ultimate recipients of the cash and peer-to-peer transfers, do not provide a separate published recipient-level ledger for Chan, and stop on June 30, 2025 — fourteen months before the arrests.

That distinction is the key to understanding where the public money trail currently ends.

The short answer

  • The FBI reviewed financial records associated with Daejon Love and Daejon Love Enterprises from January 1, 2021, through June 30, 2025. The published receipts and spending tables themselves are presented as funds received and spent by Daejon Love.
  • The affidavit's stated totals are $1,378,423.96 received and $1,378,210.74 spent, a difference of $213.22.
  • $683,201.10, or about 49.6% of the stated spending total, left through cash withdrawals and peer-to-peer transfers.
  • The spending table identifies categories such as travel, food, retail and automobile costs, but it does not identify the recipients of the cash withdrawals or outgoing P2P transfers.
  • The Justice Department's separate $1.3 million figure refers to money investigators say Love and Chan received from 26 identified victims. It is not treated here as the same measurement as the FBI's $1.378 million financial-record total.
  • The FBI's published account analysis ends on June 30, 2025, while the complaint alleges the scheme continued until at least March 2026 and the Justice Department says it continued until the August 24 arrests.
$683,201
Cash withdrawals and outgoing P2P transfers combined — approximately 49.6% of the FBI's stated spending total.

Three figures, three different measurements

The case contains several large dollar figures that can look interchangeable when they are not.

Figure What it measures Period
About $1.3 million Money the Justice Department says Love and Chan received from 26 identified victims Alleged scheme beginning February 2022
$1,378,423.96 Total funds received in the financial records reviewed by the FBI and presented in the affidavit's table as funds received by Daejon Love January 1, 2021 to June 30, 2025
$1,378,210.74 Total spending recorded in those financial records and presented in the affidavit's table as funds spent by Daejon Love January 1, 2021 to June 30, 2025

The FBI's financial review therefore begins 13 months before the alleged scheme began.

It also ends well before the case's alleged endpoint.

The complaint says the conduct continued from February 2022 through at least March 2026. The Justice Department's August 25 announcement says the scheme lasted until Love and Chan were arrested on August 24, 2026.

That creates an important limitation: the $1.378 million financial-record total is not a complete financial ledger of the entire alleged scheme.

It is a record of funds received and spent within the defined financial records and period described in the affidavit.

Timeline of the money record

Date Event
January 1, 2021 FBI financial-review window begins
February 2022 Complaint says the alleged scheme begins
September 30, 2024 FBI opens its investigation
June 30, 2025 Published FBI financial-review window ends
March 2026 Complaint alleges the scheme continued until at least this point
August 17, 2026 Criminal complaint and arrest warrants filed
August 24, 2026 Love and Chan apprehended at Boise Airport
August 25, 2026 DOJ announces charges, approximately $1.3 million and 26 identified victims
September 18, 2026 FBI announces 35 additional potential victims, bringing the reported total to 61

The timeline matters because it prevents the $1.378 million from being treated as a complete account of every dollar allegedly obtained during the entire scheme.

How the money came in

The FBI's receipts table lists seven categories:

Channel Amount
Cash deposits $489,879.00
Zelle $255,456.00
Apple Pay $254,071.09
CashApp $153,765.39
Bank/Credit Union deposits $96,595.00
Miscellaneous deposits $65,446.17
Venmo/PayPal $60,749.31
Stated total $1,378,423.96

The four listed P2P categories — Zelle, Apple Pay, CashApp and Venmo/PayPal — total about $724,042.

The affidavit says the incoming funds came through frequent cash deposits and P2P applications, and that this was consistent with how Love and Chan directed victims to send money.

Some P2P transactions contained notes such as "investing," "investments" and "second installment for expedited stock." Some were later followed by requests from the original sender asking Love to return the money.

Those notes provide evidence that some payments were connected to the alleged investment scheme.

They do not, by themselves, establish that every dollar in the $1.378 million financial-record total came from victims.

A discrepancy in the FBI's printed receipts table

There is also a numerical issue that should not be silently removed.

Adding the seven line items as printed produces:

$1,375,961.96

The table's stated total is:

$1,378,423.96

The difference is:

$2,462.00

The affidavit does not explain the difference.

This article therefore uses the affidavit's stated total for the overall financial-record calculation while preserving the discrepancy rather than inventing an explanation for it.

That distinction matters because the difference is small relative to $1.378 million, but the source itself does not reconcile it.

What the victim accounts show

The affidavit separately describes individual victims and the amounts they say they sent or lost.

Among the twelve victim accounts with dollar amounts summarized in the affidavit, the figures used below total approximately $265,700. This is a Money Traces calculation based on the loss or payment figures stated in the affidavit; it is not a second FBI loss total.

Victim Timing Amount described in affidavit
A.T. June 2022 onward $87,500 stated total loss
N.W. Aug./Sept. 2023 onward About $30,000
M.M. Dec. 2025 $41,000
B.S. Aug. 2025 $20,000
M.F. Aug. 2024 $18,000
A.A. March 2025 $17,200
T.A. May 2025 $15,000
G.H. Jan. 2024 onward $10,000
S.G. March 2024 $7,500
I.H. July 2023 $7,000
R.C. Dec. 2024 $7,000
J.M. Sept. 2024 $5,500

A.T.'s $87,500 figure needs to be read separately

A.T.'s case is particularly important because the affidavit states an $87,500 total loss, but the individual components described in paragraphs 32 through 35 do not independently add to that number.

The affidavit says A.T.:

  • sent $20,000 to Love's Chase account;
  • gave Love $20,000 in cash;
  • sent an associate $5,000;
  • later loaned Love another $19,500;
  • received $13,800 back from that loan through an associate; and
  • paid $30,000 to break a McLaren lease.

The affidavit then states: "In sum, A.T. lost $87,500."

The published narrative does not provide enough information to reconstruct that $87,500 figure independently from the listed components.

This article therefore uses $87,500 as the affidavit's stated total loss, rather than pretending the component figures reconcile on their own.

That is also why the $265,700 figure above is described as a tally of the loss figures stated or described in the affidavit, rather than a complete independent reconstruction of every transaction.

Two payments fall outside the FBI account window

The timing of the individual victim accounts exposes another important gap.

The affidavit describes:

  • B.S. sending $20,000 in August 2025
  • M.M. sending $41,000 in December 2025

Those transactions occurred after the FBI's published account-analysis window ended on June 30, 2025.

Together, the two described amounts total $61,000.

That does not mean those payments are absent from the government's broader investigation. It means they are outside the date range of the specific account analysis published in the affidavit.

Some money or value never appears in the receipts table

The bank records summarized in the affidavit are not the entire financial universe described in the victim accounts.

For example, A.T.'s account includes a $250,000 McLaren lease arrangement. The affidavit says Love used a fake payroll check showing approximately $50,000 in monthly income to help secure the lease. A.T. ultimately paid $30,000 to break the lease.

N.W. also gave Love access to credit cards, which the affidavit says he used for personal expenses and airline tickets.

Those transactions are relevant to the alleged financial conduct but are not equivalent to cash deposits or P2P receipts in the FBI's published $1.378 million table.

How the $1.378 million went out

The FBI's spending table contains nine categories:

Category Amount Share of stated spending
Cash withdrawals $478,353.19 34.7%
Travel/Entertainment $237,177.62 17.2%
P2P $204,847.91 14.9%
Food/Beverage/Groceries $98,592.22 7.2%
Miscellaneous $96,335.38 7.0%
Retail $89,179.31 6.5%
Auto $79,990.60 5.8%
Gas/Convenience Store $59,412.15 4.3%
Debt Payment/Fees $34,322.36 2.5%
Stated total $1,378,210.74 100%

The percentages above are Money Traces calculations from the FBI's stated spending total.

Cash withdrawals and outgoing P2P transfers together equal:

$683,201.10

That is approximately 49.6% of the stated spending total.

This is the source of the description that roughly half of the money left through cash or P2P transactions.

The other $695,009.64 was categorized primarily as travel and entertainment, food, miscellaneous spending, retail, automobile costs, gas/convenience stores, and debt payments or fees.

What "Auto" does — and does not — mean

The affidavit labels the category "Auto."

It does not establish that the $79,990.60 represents the purchase price of vehicles.

The affidavit's surrounding description refers to automobile care, so this article does not describe the category as $79,991 of vehicle purchases.

The $213 difference does not mean the accounts ended nearly empty

The stated receipts total is:

$1,378,423.96

The stated spending total is:

$1,378,210.74

Difference:

$213.22

That is an arithmetic reconciliation between the two stated totals.

It is not a calculation of the account balance on June 30, 2025.

The affidavit does not publish the opening balances of the accounts on January 1, 2021, so the two totals cannot be used to determine how much money remained in the accounts when the review period ended.

Where the public money trail stops

The FBI's tables tell us how the money was categorized.

They do not identify every final recipient.

Seven gaps remain.

1. The cash

About $478,353 left through cash withdrawals.

The public affidavit does not provide a dollar-by-dollar recipient ledger for that cash.

2. The outgoing P2P transfers

About $204,848 left through P2P transactions.

The affidavit provides the aggregate category but does not publish a complete list identifying every recipient of those outgoing transfers.

3. The final fourteen months

The financial analysis ends on June 30, 2025.

The arrests occurred on August 24, 2026.

The public record therefore leaves a substantial period between the end of the published financial analysis and the arrests.

4. Chan's separate financial picture

The affidavit says investigators obtained all known financial records associated with both Love and Chan.

But the published financial tables are presented as funds received and spent by Daejon Love, following the affidavit's discussion of records reviewed in the names of Love and Daejon Love Enterprises.

The affidavit also documents victims sending money directly to Chan.

The public filing therefore does not provide a separate, recipient-level published ledger for Chan comparable to the category tables presented for Love.

5. Daejon Love Enterprises

The FBI says it reviewed financial records in the name of Daejon Love Enterprises.

The published financial tables do not provide a separate company-by-company breakdown of the amounts shown.

The public filing therefore does not establish from those tables alone how much of the $1.378 million was attributable separately to the company.

6. The $1.3 million victim figure

The Justice Department's $1.3 million figure covers the money investigators say Love and Chan received from 26 identified victims.

The affidavit's individual victim accounts provide examples, but they do not publish a victim-by-victim reconciliation of the entire $1.3 million.

The two figures therefore should not be merged into one ledger.

7. Assets and balances at the end of the review

The public filing does not provide a complete balance sheet showing what Love or the company owned or held at the end of June 2025.

Nor does the public record reviewed for this article establish a final accounting of all assets at the August 2026 arrests.

What investigators say they found

The affidavit says investigators found no identifiable source of legitimate, non-fraud income in Love's financial records and no direct deposits or payroll checks from the 49ers or another legitimate employer.

It also says investigators found no evidence that Love or Chan invested victims' money or repaid loans in the manner represented to victims.

The affidavit describes fictitious investment-account screenshots and says Love used the Pocket Option platform's demo environment to display purported investment balances.

The government also alleges that Love used a variety of false identities and that Chan presented himself as Love's financial adviser.

Those allegations explain the alleged mechanism behind the money flows, but they do not by themselves identify where every dollar in the financial records ultimately went.

Has any of the money been recovered?

As of September 21, 2026, I found no public court or Justice Department filing establishing a seizure, forfeiture order, restitution order or completed recovery of the money described in this article.

That is an absence-of-public-record finding, not proof that investigators have recovered nothing.

The affidavit does describe one partial repayment: A.T. received $13,800 of the $19,500 loan she made to Love, with the repayment routed through an associate.

What happens next

The case remains at the criminal-complaint stage.

Love and Chan have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud. The federal complaint is an accusation, not a conviction, and both defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

The FBI's September 18 announcement added 35 potential victims to the case, bringing the reported total to 61. The agency said it was still verifying the new allegations.

That means the $1.3 million figure should not be treated as a final loss figure for all 61 potential victims.

The next filings that could materially extend the money trail would include:

  • additional financial-account records;
  • a new government loss calculation;
  • an indictment or superseding charging document;
  • forfeiture allegations or seizure records;
  • asset-identification filings;
  • or a restitution order.

Bottom line

The public record now answers a substantial part of the question "Where Did the Money Go?"

The FBI's published financial analysis shows $1.378 million received and $1.378 million spent across the reviewed financial records and period. Roughly half of the spending — about $683,201 — left as cash withdrawals or outgoing P2P transfers. Most of the remainder was categorized as travel and entertainment, food, retail, miscellaneous spending, automobile costs, gas and fees.

But the financial record has a hard limit.

It organizes the money by category, not by final recipient.

It does not identify who received the approximately $478,000 in cash withdrawals or the approximately $205,000 in outgoing P2P transfers. It does not publish a separate recipient-level ledger for Chan. It ends on June 30, 2025, while the alleged scheme continued much later. And the Justice Department's $1.3 million victim figure is not publicly reconciled victim by victim against the FBI's $1.378 million financial-record total.

There is therefore a documented trail showing how the money moved through the reviewed financial records, but the public record still does not provide a complete answer to where the money ultimately landed.

And that is the unresolved part of the money trail.

Notes on the figures

  • The FBI's receipts table states $1,378,423.96 received from January 1, 2021, through June 30, 2025.
  • The seven printed receipts line items total $1,375,961.96, leaving a $2,462.00 difference from the stated total. The affidavit does not explain that difference.
  • The FBI's spending table states $1,378,210.74 spent during the same period.
  • The difference between the two stated totals is $213.22.
  • Percentages in the spending table are Money Traces calculations based on the FBI's stated spending total.
  • The approximately $265,700 victim tally is a Money Traces calculation from the loss/payment figures described for twelve victims. It is not presented as an FBI loss total.
  • A.T.'s affidavit-stated loss is $87,500, but the individual components described in paragraphs 32–35 do not independently reconcile to that figure. This article preserves the affidavit's stated total rather than manufacturing an explanation for the difference.
  • The $1.3 million figure refers to approximately that amount received from 26 identified victims, according to the Justice Department. It is not treated here as identical to the FBI's financial-record total.
  • The reported 61 potential victims includes 35 additional women identified by the FBI on September 18, 2026. The FBI said it was still working to verify the additional allegations.
  • All allegations concerning Love and Chan remain allegations. Neither defendant has been convicted.
Written and edited by Hossam Seif, founder of Money Traces.

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