Atlantic County, New Jersey, Man Sentenced To Five Years In Prison For Scheme To Defraud Women Over Telephone Dating Services

CAMDEN, N.J. – An Atlantic County, New Jersey, man who was sentenced in 2007 in connection with a scheme to defraud women over telephone dating services and in 2015 for violating the conditions of his federal supervised release was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for traveling to launder money in connection with a similar scheme, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.

Patrick Giblin, 53, formerly of Ventnor, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler to an information charging him with one count of interstate travel and use of a facility in interstate and foreign commerce with the intent to launder money. Judge Kugler imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From January 2013 to Dec. 16, 2014, Giblin allegedly posted advertisements and messages on telephone dating services throughout the United States. Giblin cultivated a telephone rapport with the women he spoke to on these services, falsely claimed that he would be relocating or travelling to the woman’s geographic area, and falsely represented that he wished to pursue a committed, romantic relationship with each woman. He then lied to the women about needing a loan, which he never intended to repay, for relocation or travel expenses. Giblin received money from the women he spoke to on the dating services via interstate wire services such as Western Union and MoneyGram. Giblin also directed women to transfer money through one of these services onto a payroll/debit card that he used. Giblin used some of his victims’ money in order to purchase airtime minutes for cellular telephones, which he in turn used to defraud additional women.

In October 2014, Giblin travelled from Atlantic County, New Jersey, to Albany County, New York. Giblin, who was on federal supervised release from a previous conviction, was not allowed to leave the state. While traveling in New York, Giblin continued to defraud women and used money he received from women to purchase additional airtime minutes and contact more women. Giblin victimized more than 10 women in various states, causing losses of $15,000 to $40,000.

Giblin was previously convicted of 10 counts of wire fraud in 2007 in connection with a similar scheme. In 2015, Giblin was imprisoned for violating the terms of his supervised release imposed in connection with the 2007 sentence. Giblin was also sentenced in 2013 in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for escaping from a halfway house in Philadelphia, where he was living following the completion of the 2007 sentence. Giblin initiated the scheme in this current case at about the time that he escaped from the halfway house and resumed the scheme following the service of his sentence on the escape conviction.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Kugler sentenced Giblin to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $39,130 in restitution.

Acting U.S. Attorney Fitzpatrick credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing. He also thanked the U.S. Marshals Service, under the direction of U.S. Marshal Juan Mattos in Newark, for its assistance in this case.

The government is represented by Deputy Attorney-in-Charge Matthew J. Skahill and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabriel J. Vidoni of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.

Defense counsel: Christopher O’Malley Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender (Camden)