MANHATTAN — They should have swiped left.
Brandon Kiehm, 35, bilked two women he met on Tinder out of $26,000 after telling them his name was "Tristan," that he worked for Goldman Sachs and that he needed the money to pay for his relative's cancer treatments, according to court papers and the Manhattan District Attorney.
“The classic dating scams of yesteryear appear to be thriving online,” DA Cyrus Vance said in a statement.
Kiehm met the first victim in August through the popular dating app and told her he worked for Goldman Sachs, according to prosecutors.
He then repeatedly asked the woman for cash, insisting that his wallet had been stolen and that he desperately needed funds to pay for his sister’s treatment, according to court papers.
The accused hustler got about $14,000 out of the woman after promising to repay her and, in at least one instance, writing her a check for $5,000 from a closed account, prosecutors said.
The check bounced, and the victim noticed the name on the check had been whited out, according to court papers.
Kiehm met a second woman in October and stole about $12,000 from her after saying his mother needed cancer treatment, prosecutors said.
He also wrote her two bad checks from a closed account in that incident, according to court papers.
Both women eventually told investigators about the scams.
The Tinder con man was also charged in a separate scam for stealing debit card information in July from a man who employed Kiehm as a dog walker, prosecutors said.
He was accused of using that information to open up an account on the pay service app Venmo and made transactions totaling about $13,000 during the next two months.
Kiehm was indicted on charges of grand larceny, identity theft and scheme to defraud.
He was arraigned in Manhattan Supreme Court Tuesday morning and released without bail.
His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kiehm is due back in court on March 8.
Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of a similar scam can call the DA's Financial Frauds Hotline at 212-335-8900.
