Woman Thought She Was Buying a Home with Boyfriend She Met on Bumble — But Says He Turned Out to Be a Scam Artist Who Stole $272,000 from Her

A man was indicted for allegedly stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from a woman in a “romance scam,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. announced on Thursday, Dec. 18.

Brandon Dae Up Kiehm, 45, allegedly stole approximately $272,000 from a 44-year-old woman he met on the dating app, Bumble. He was charged with one count of second-degree grand larceny. He was released on non-monetary bail.

Kiehm and the woman met online in 2019, and he introduced himself under a different name, “Dae Up Lee Kim,” court documents allege, Bragg said. He claimed he “was a finance professional who had graduated from Stanford."

Then, in February 2020, he allegedly convinced the woman to purchase a Brooklyn home at an auction. At the time, she was traveling for work and couldn’t attend the property auction, but he told her he had. 

He allegedly told her that they were the second-highest bidders, and that “to maintain that second-place spot, they needed to send a cashier’s check to the trustee of the property,” Bragg said. 

Kiehm alleged he “had communicated with the broker for the property over email,” and told the woman to sign the terms and conditions of the sale and send a cashier’s check for $78,250 to the person believed to be the broker. Bragg allegeed that the “broker” was one of Kiehm’s associates. The associate has not been named.

Two weeks later, Kiehm allegedly told the woman that the highest bidder's bid fell through. “He instructed her to send additional funds to the same purported broker, and provided her with specific wire information, including the bank and account number," the D.A. alleged.

The woman sent two wire transfers, one for $86,750 and another for $107,000 and signed a contract of sale allegedly provided by Kiehm.

The victim’s funds were sent to Kiehm’s associates and "quickly withdrawn as cash." The funds were also transferred into an account jointly held by Kiehm and his associate, “before also being withdrawn as cash,” Bragg said.

Eventually, the alleged victim found an ID card belonging to her boyfriend with an unrecognizable name: Brandon Kiehm. She then found more ID cards and “mail addressed to that same name.” 

He admitted that Brandon Dae Up Kiehm is his real name and the woman contacted the broker for the Brooklyn property, who said Kiehm never placed a bid, the D.A. said.

“Romance scams are all too common, and our office is here to prosecute egregious conduct like this,” Bragg continued. This is an ongoing investigation.

The recent indictment comes eight years after Kiehm pleaded guilty and was convicted of grand larceny, identity theft and scheme to defraud in December 2017, the Associated Press reported.

Between July 2015 and October 2015, he scammed two women for a total of $49,000, claiming the money was for his relative’s cancer treatment, according to AP. He also stole $800 from a neighbor and $13,000 from a man who hired him to be a dog walker.

He was sentenced to two to six years in prison and released after one year and eight months, per the outlet.

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PEOPLE reached out to Bumble for comment.