No Love Here: Atlantic City, NJ, Man Admits to Escaping Federal Custody, Wire Fraud
An Atlantic City man has admitted to escaping from federal custody and also engaging in a scheme to defraud women over telephone dating services.
U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger says on Monday, 57-year-old Patrick Giblin pleaded guilty in Camden federal court to one count of escape from the custody of the Attorney General and one count of wire fraud.
According to Sellinger's office, in July 2020, Giblin escaped from custody while he was traveling from a federal prison in Lewisburg, PA, to a residential living facility in Newark, NJ, where he was going to serve the remainder of a prison sentence.
At the time, Giblin was serving a sentence imposed in 2017 for...unlawful activity in connection with a scheme to defraud multiple women. Giblin’s 2017 sentence followed an earlier sentence of 115 months in prison for a 2007 wire fraud conviction for a similar fraud scheme.
Sellinger says from April 2019 through March 2021, which includes when Giblin was a fugitive, he posted advertisements and messages on telephone dating services.
Giblin cultivated a rapport with the women he spoke to on these services, falsely claimed that he would be relocating to the woman’s geographic area, and falsely represented that he wished to pursue a committed, romantic relationship with each woman. Giblin received money from the women he spoke to on the dating services via interstate wire services such as Western Union and MoneyGram.
Members of the U.S. Marshals Service arrested Giblin in Atlantic City on March 10th of last year.
The escape charge that Giblin is facing carries up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years behind bars and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater.
Sentencing is scheduled for November 16th.