COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — An Arizona man swindled $132,000 from his Gold Coast girlfriend by claiming he wanted to buy out a corrupt a hedge-fund partner, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Brian Metz, 46, told the 44-year-old woman he worked for a financial-planning group in Scottsdale, Ariz., and would pay back the loan whenever she asked, according to police and prosecutors.
But when Metz kept the cash, officers put in a call to Metz's alleged employer — who'd never heard of the man, Assistant State's Attorney Lorraine Scaduto said during a bond hearing Wednesday.
It turns out: Metz worked as a photographer.
When police arrested him Tuesday at O'Hare International Airport, he told authorities he'd given the money to a girlfriend and two children in Tallahassee, Fla., prosecutors said.
According to Scaduto, Metz dated the victim, a 44-year-old Gold Coast woman, in 2015. He asked for three initial "loans" to cover medical bills for a sick relative, Scaduto said, and 17 additional transactions to buy out a corrupt hedge-fund partner.
The woman wired Metz a total of $132,060 over 20 payments, court records show.
Metz, who lives in Phoenix, Ariz., is charged with theft/deception. He has a prior Illinois conviction for aggravated identity theft, Scaduto said.
Cook County Judge Donald Panarese Jr. on Wednesday said Metz could be released on his own recognizance so long as the Cook County Sheriff's Office agrees to provide electronic monitoring.
Metz in court Wednesday said told the judge he could live with someone in Cook County awaiting trial.
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