In an announcement from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, Brandon Dae Up Kiehm has been indicted for allegedly conning a woman out of approximately $272,000 in what has been described as a "romance scam" after meeting his victim on the dating app Bumble, as reported by DA Alvin L. Bragg Jr. Kiehm, 45, faces a charge of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree following accusations of manipulating his girlfriend's aspirations of home ownership into a scheme that lined his pockets.
According to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, the layers of deceit began unfolding when Kiehm, under the guise of Dae Up Lee Kim, claimed to be a Stanford-educated finance professional, igniting a relationship that led to cohabitation and plans to purchase a property together; however, the narrative twisted when it was unearthed that the supposed auction bids and subsequent wire transfers were nothing more than intricate ruses, designed to siphon the woman's savings to Kiehm and an associate, District Attorney Bragg explains that the woman Kiehm met, thinking she was investing in a shared future, was in reality being systematically defrauded after being convinced her boyfriend was investing their funds to secure a home.
As the situation progressed, Kiehm went so far as to fake auction attendance, fabricate correspondences with brokers, and concoct a sale contract for his girlfriend to sign, according to the indictment details. The victim, believing in the authenticity of their joint bid for a Brooklyn property on Decatur Street, later discovered identification linking to the man's true identity: Brandon Dae Up Kiehm. Eventually, the sobering truth surfaced that no bid was ever placed, leaving her without a home and substantially less in her bank account. She contacted the broker of the Decatur Street property, who informed her that Kiehm had never placed a bid, revealing the extent of Kiehm's deception.
Building the case against Kiehm has been a coordinated effort by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, as per their press release, the Financial Frauds Bureau's Assistant D.A.s Nina Vershuta and Dennis Dillon leads the prosecution, supported by an investigative team with members hailing from the Investigation Bureau and the Forensic Accounting and Financial Investigations Unit, this team has parsed through financial records, contrasted narratives, and pieced together the staggering evidence of Kiehm's alleged financial treachery.
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office is urging anyone who may have fallen victim to similar scams to come forward. As the case is ongoing, the office remains receptive to new information at 212-335-8900.
