A $6,247 Verizon bill unravels crime hatched through online dating site, NC cops say

A North Carolina man who tried to swindle Verizon Wireless out of more than $6,000 was left holding the bag this week by his mysterious “love interest” and partner — a person he met via an online dating site, according to the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office.

Christopher Lee Long, 36, of Elon now faces a felony charge of obtaining goods by false pretense and a misdemeanor charge of making a false report to police, officials said in a release.

His accomplice — known only as “Victoria” — got away with $6,247.97 worth of iPhones, deputies said.

“Victoria was found to be an online love interest of Long, having met her on a dating site named Plenty of Fish,” officials said. “Victoria reportedly lives overseas, possibly in Nigeria, Africa.”

PlentyOfFish, now known as POF.com, bills itself as a “true pioneer in free dating” and “as the world’s largest dating site,” with more then 4 million clients.

Investigators say Long was the source of his own undoing, when he went to police and reported he was being fraudulently billed $6,247.97 by Verizon Wireless, according to a sheriff’s office release.

However, investigators say they later found text messages sent from Long to “Victoria,” confirming that he not only knew about the iPhones, but had voluntarily transferred account information to her, the release said.

“When confronted with the evidence ... Long admitted to having received the packages and sending them to Victoria via UPS to a South Carolina address,” officials said in a release.

He was arrested Tuesday and bond was set at $5,000, officials said.

Investigators did not say if Long knew “Victoria” lived on another continent, or if the two had ever met in person.

This story was originally published August 27, 2019 at 1:02 PM.