A Minnesota man who left a “trail of tears” while bilking unsuspecting women out of thousands of dollars by posing as a US Navy pilot, a doctor and a professor has been sentenced to 24 years in prison.
Derek M. Alldred, 47, was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to mail fraud and aggravated identity fraud in connection to more than two dozen women he victimized after meeting them on dating websites, the Star Tribune reports.
One of Alldred’s victims said the Twin Cities man posed as an international business attorney before stealing $18,000 from her during a one-month period in late 2014, during which he opened an American Express credit card in her name after stealing her Social Security number.
“He was taking me out to dinner, buying me flowers, and we had a trip to Hawaii that was probvably close to $9,000 by itself,” JoAnn Venhuizen said during Alldred’s sentencing. “The room was $800 a night.”
Venhuizen, who met Alldred on Match.com, where he identified himself as “Derek Allarad,” said the upscale excursion was billed as a way for Alldred to introduce her to his daughter, who was purportedly going to school in Hawaii, but the meeting never materialized. That prompted Venhuizen to dig further into Alldred’s background, leading her to find several news reports of him previously duping other women out of money.
“I got very, very sick to my stomach, of course,” Venhuizen said.
Alldred claimed his ex-wife had been setting him up and Venhuizen kicked him out, never to see him again. But Alldred’s web of deception came to an end after meeting a woman near Dallas who went to police after learning the real identity of the man she knew as Richard Tailor.
Investigators later discovered that Alldred had charged more than $12,000 on her credit card, sending purchases in his name to her residence, including Ray-Ban sunglasses and a Hugo Boss suit. All the while, authorities said Alldred was still in another relationship with another woman in Dallas.
“For a year afterward, I was in a really dark place,” Venhuizen said. “But what makes me feel like it’s not my fault is that he did this over and over and over … That helped me get over that.”
Alldred, who victimized at least four women in Minnesota and others in California, Hawaii and Nevada, was also ordered to pay about $255,000 in restitution.
“This defendant left a trail of tears, emotional devastation and financial ruin behind him,” US Attorney Joseph Brown said. “It is clear that he will never change, and we expect his sentence to reflect that. We are glad we were able to get some level of justice for these women.”
Alldred also posed as a doctor, a professor and a defense analyst, authorities said. One victim knew him as the financier of hotels in Lake Tahoe, Maui and other posh destinations.
“He asked, ‘You mind if I stay at your house? I want to move back to San Francisco,’” Cindi Pardini recalled. “I said, ‘Sure, no problem.’”
In the next month, Pardini said, she lost in excess of $250,000 due to Alldred’s actions, including the depletion of her nest egg and other assets.
“And all that happened in one month,” she said.
