Bumble Date Turns Nightmare: $272K Stolen in Housing Scam

Brandon Dae Up Kiehm, 45, faces charges for a romance scam that defrauded a 44-year-old woman of approximately $272,000. The couple met on Bumble in 2019, with Kiehm allegedly using a false identity and claiming to be a Stanford-educated finance professional. He convinced the woman to participate in a Brooklyn home auction in February 2020.

Kiehm allegedly told the woman they were second-highest bidders and instructed her to send cashier's checks totaling $78,250 to a purported broker, who was an associate. He later convinced her to wire an additional $86,750 and $107,000 for the property sale, using specific wire transfer details. The victim also signed a contract of sale provided by Kiehm.

The funds were transferred to Kiehm's associates and withdrawn as cash, and also moved into a joint account before being withdrawn. The victim discovered Kiehm's true identity through identification cards. Kiehm has a prior conviction in December 2017 for grand larceny and identity theft, for which he served over a year and a half of a prison sentence.