The new Montauk Grifter: How You to definitely Swindle Man Put OkCupid for fun, Scam, and you can Cash
He could be Dan Kaufman, Dan Kay, Dan Katze. They are a hollywood chef, an online business owner, a tv manufacturer. He has got struggled to obtain Apple, Google, AOL, the Rainbow Room. The guy hangs away having Steve Situation, Gordon Ramsey, Tim Armstrong. He or she is a world-class surfer, an effective AAA basketball legend, the fresh founder away from a beneficial seminal punk ring.
He relentlessly trawled the latest 100 % free dating site OkCupid, duping untold amounts of people (We spoke to 3; the knowledge highly recommend dozens more) towards the relationships him
Daniel Kaufman is 37 yrs . old. He’s from Wayland, Mass., an area out of Boston. The guy submitted for case of bankruptcy in New york inside 1995, as he are 21. He already resides from the New york Detention Complex into the the downtown area Manhattan, awaiting arraignment to your huge larceny costs. One to more or less sums up the definitively genuine guidance I’m able to gather into him, however the lies abound.
Kaufman is arrested because of the NYPD investigators later history few days in Montauk, Letter.Y. He is implicated away from defrauding a new york mobile ads startup named CloudMob News, which he had conned towards the employing him as its chief tech administrator, regarding $20,100000. He allegedly utilized the money to help you lease a coastline household in Montauk, in which he invested the majority of last summer and slide regaling an effective expert public circle of the latest Yorkers-including the editor on the very web site-that have a never ever-conclude cascade off fancy lays. In which he achieved it all while you are busily trying to launch a this new social network who would give credibility and you may trust straight back the fresh new web sites.
“This person is some banging piece of work,” claims individuals I am going to label Andrew (some of the anyone I talked to help you because of it tale denied to get understood to own fear of becoming in public places found given that Kaufman’s dupes). “He told you he was tapped by the board out of AOL to help you resurrect Netscape due to the fact a mobile brand-he was concentrating on they that have Steve Instance. He had good LinkedIn character stating he was a designer in the Google. He said he previously it luxury flat on the Financial Region.”
Kaufman’s Montauk audience knew your since the Dan Kay. He entitled themselves you to definitely since if you Bing “Dan Kaufman,” discover a full page powering over having tales on the history grift he had c, having fun with his genuine name, Kaufman handled (and you can posed given that a good co-proprietor out-of) a great foursome regarding relevant food inside the Brooklyn Levels-Brand new Hectic Cook, the fresh new Bluish Pig, Wines Pub, and you may Oven. He turned into an internet villain after he was stuck skimming customers’ playing cards into the tune out-of $31,one hundred thousand. The Brooklyn Heights Blog site, the fresh new Brooklyn Report, although some assiduously safeguarded the fresh dissolution out-of Kaufman’s devised persona-this new voluble and you will smiling local restaurateur-just after a questionable Active Chef employee visited the authorities having evidence of the fresh fraudulent sales. Every thing tumbled away: He’d fled Boston more $40,000 in debt; he had been “with the capacity of sleeping for the face when you’re robbing you blind”; he had been an effective deadbeat father having a kid when you look at the The fresh The united kingdomt. For every single report about Kaufman’s mendacity drawn good bevy regarding commenters accusing him of obtaining ripped him or her off just before. Pursuing the news broke, his flat is actually ransacked by unfamiliar persons.
Kaufman try such as for instance an experienced swindle when this occurs that the person that posted new $50,100 thread just can you use tinder on pc after their stop try one of his regulars at the actual restaurant the guy familiar with run their swindle.
He or she is the most chronic and you will obsessive grifters to help you ply the new avenue of new York City-let-alone internet dating sites-into the present ages
“I imagined he had been a simple son getting fucked,” Lucille Goldsmith explained a week ago. “He had been an incredibly amicable and you may gregarious guy. My husband and i realized him out-of probably dining indeed there. The guy called of prison and you can asked for help.”