Arizona man accused in online dating scheme sentenced to over 15 years in prison

PHOENIX - Daylon Pierce, a man convicted of preying on women in an online dating scam, learned his fate on Friday.

Pierce, who sentenced to 15.75 years in prison on Friday, admitted to conning more than a dozen women and spending their life savings, instead of investing the money. Pierce's sentence was handed down by a judge on Friday.

Several of the women Pierce scammed were in court, and tearfully shared their stories of falling for Pierce's scheme.

"I met him on match.com, went on a few dates," said Rose Reddy. She is one of 13 women, who were duped by Pierce. He would meet women on sites like Match, PlentyOfFish, and Tinder.

The women who shared their stories during the sentencing hearing told the judge that Pierce said all the right things to gain their trust, and convinced them to give him their money to invest.

"He was on the phone, working deals with his computer right there, listening to him talk and be so courteous and nice to other investors," said Reddy.

Prosecutors said Pierce bilked more than $1 million out of his dates, and used to money to fund his lavish lifestyle.

"He had the BMW, the Porsche, the Jeep, the house in Paradise Valley," said Reddy.

"He was constantly on the phone with clients," said Sarah Schroeder. "Constantly on the phone sending me pictures of him on an airplane, visiting clients, taking clients out. He had an answer for absolutely everything. You never would have thought what he was saying was false.

"I had $425,000 lost in an instant," said Reddy. She went on to say because of the scam, she couldn't send her daughter to college.

Victims also say Pierce took out fraudulent loans in their names, ruined their credit scores, and as a result, they suffered financial losses such as foreclosure, repossession and bankruptcy.

"Quite frankly, he was a scumbag," said Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich. "He took advantage of people, and he manipulated them."

During his sentencing, Pierce apologized, and said he takes full responsibility for his actions. The victims are, however, not likely get all their money back.