A B.C. man has pleaded guilty to mail fraud in a Seattle court for operating a $1.2-million online dating scam.
Delta resident Barrie Turner, 65, operated more than 200 websites offering so-called "Executive Dating" services, including Executive Gay Dating and Executive Catholic Dating.
He was arrested on March 26 as he attempted to cross the U.S. border to Point Roberts, Washington, where he maintained a mailbox to collect membership fees for his sites.
More than 100 people have filed consumer complaints about Turner's dating sites, according to U.S. District Court records.
Former clients said that after paying up to almost $1,000 for a six-month membership, they were matched with people they suspected to be imaginary. The same photographs were used for multiple matches, with only the personal information changed.
People who tried contacting these suspicious matches were told their potential love interest had decided to date someone else.
Turner's sites also pinched profiles from other dating websites like Match.com.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 24. Turner faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail and a $250,000 fine.
