Former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt’s likeness was used by a Welsh supermarket worker, who chose a profile picture featuring Garbrandt to “catfish” a host of women and swindle them out of more than $20,000.
Paul Davies, 30, used a photo of Garbrandt as his Tinder profile under the fake name Aaron Edwards, posing as a successful 28-year-old businessman who worked as a regional manager for car manufacturer Audi and lived in a penthouse apartment.
According to the BBC, Swansea Crown Court heard that Davies used Garbrandt’s picture to attract vulnerable women to his Tinder profile then, after gaining their confidence, began “spinning stories” to lay the groundwork for requests for money to help fund his gambling addiction.
One victim had already given Davies more than £8,500 ($10,500 USD) before a friend’s nephew saw the scammer’s Tinder profile and alerted her to the fact that it was actually a photo of Garbrandt and pointed out that she’d been catfished.
During the course of the investigation, South Wales Police identified seven other victims, who gave Davies more than £7,700 ($9,500 USD) among them.
After a court hearing on Friday, Davies was found guilty of eight counts of fraud by false representation and sentenced to 34 months in jail. He will serve a minimum of 17.
