Man sentenced to 10 years for catfishing scam involving Kenosha woman

KENOSHA COUNTY (CBS 58) – An Illinois man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for a catfishing scam involving a Kenosha County woman.

According to court documents, Chad Elliott of Bartlett, Illinois is accused of felony theft – false representation and felony bail jumping.

A criminal complaint states Elliott met the Village of Somers woman on the dating site, eHarmony in 2016.

Elliott provided a false name on the site. Authorities say the two exchanged emails and phone calls. Elliott presented himself to the woman as a wealthy corporate executive and said he had offices across the Midwest and in New York City.

Court documents state Elliott also told the woman he had homes in Wisconsin, Illinois and New York. The two eventually met in person and would see each other often.

A few weeks into the relationship, the victim says Elliott was driving a luxury car and said he had bought another luxury car.

Eventually, the victim says Elliott told her his bank accounts had been hacked and he started to ask her for money.

He then made large purchases and told her he would pay her back. Court documents state Elliott told the woman he wanted to buy her a 2007 Maserati. He had the victim secure the financing and purchase the $26,600 car in her name. Elliott told the victim once he could access his money, he would pay off the loan.

Elliott continued to ask for more money from the victim, totaling $34,374.

The victim says he never paid her back and continued to give excuses as to why he couldn’t get her the money.

Eventually, the woman reported Elliott to police for stealing jewelry from her and following his arrest, she did not speak with him again.

Authorities say Elliott also conned another woman out of money in 2017.