Online dating scammer sentenced in U.S.
Last Updated: Friday, November 12, 2010 | 8:31 PM PT
The Associated Press
Related
The man who ran this site several others has been sentenced to a prison term in Washington state. (CBC)A B.C. man who ran online dating scam has been sentenced in the U.S. to more than four years in prison for mail fraud, the U.S. attorney's office in Seattle says.
A federal judge also ordered Barrie Turner, of Delta, to pay more than $300,000 in restitution to people he defrauded.
The sentence was handed down Friday.
Turner, 65, used 200 websites to elicit money from more than 1,000 customers, sending them fake matches with elaborate, made-up profiles, prosecutors said.
If clients attempted to meet the matches, they were sent e-mails saying the matched person was no longer interested.
Turner collected more than $1.2 million US from clients, 100 of whom filed consumer complaints saying they'd paid as much as $997 for six-month memberships only to be matched with fictitious people.
The websites had names like Executive Gay Dating, Executive Catholic Dating and Executive Seattle Dating.
Turner was arrested in March after he tried to cross the border at Point Roberts, Wa., to pick up mail.
He pleaded guilty in June.
Share Tools
Latest British Columbia News Headlines
- B.C. premier unhappy with disgraced Mountie's transfer
- B.C. Premier Christy Clark says she is not happy with the RCMP decision to transfer a disgraced Alberta Mountie to the West Coast. more »
- RCMP officer charged in fatal crash
- An RCMP officer has been charged in connection to a late-night fatal collision in Agassiz, B.C., last July. more »
- Video of West Vancouver arson attack released
- Police are asking for the public for help identifying a man who set the home of a former West Vancouver police chief on fire earlier this year. more »
- Missing gun recovered by Vancouver police
- Vancouver police have recovered a handgun lost by one of their officers during a foot chase Wednesday. more »
Top News Headlines
- Aylmer triple stabbing leads to first-degree murder charges
- The estranged partner of a young mother who was stabbed to death along with her parents at their home in Aylmer, Que., has been charged with first-degree murder Friday. more »
- Wildfires, high winds put northeastern Ontario on alert
- It's going to be a tense weekend in northeastern Ontario where strong, shifting winds have been fuelling a forest fire that has blanketed the Timmins area with smoke and ash. more »
- Labrador fire out of control
- A forest fire continues to burn out of control in Happy Valley-Goose Bay today, according to provincial firefighting officials. more »
- The risks and responsibilities of taking on Mt. Everest
- The deaths of five climbers last weekend on Mt. Everest, with more summits underway this weekend, fuels the debate about the risks and responsibilities of high altitude climbing. more »
- B.C. premier unhappy with disgraced Mountie's transfer
- Third B.C. salmon farm quarantined
- RCMP officer charged in fatal crash
- Tsunami motorcycle heading to Harley museum
- Missing gun recovered by Vancouver police
- Province considers BYOB in B.C. restaurants
- Video of West Vancouver arson attack released
- Metro Vancouver gas prices match record levels
- Super microscope installed at University of Victoria
