Police say convicted fraudster bilked thousands from Orlando woman he met through dating app

It started when Orlando woman met a man named Michael Reynolds on the dating app Plenty of Fish. Soon, they were trading messages through Facebook. Then, came the request: Reynolds said he had lost his wallet with his bank card inside.

He needed to borrow cash. She agreed to lend him $1,000.

The woman would eventually lend the scammer she knew as Reynolds several thousands dollars, police say. But his plot — which led to his arrest last week — grew more convoluted, eventually involving nude photos and a likely-fake teenager, according to court records.

Michael William McDougal, 35, faces charges of extortion and scheme to defraud. Records show he has a history of scams, having served prison time for similar cases out of Lake County. He’d even used the lost-wallet claim before, according to case documents.

News that McDougal would face charges was celebrated on a Facebook page for people who say they were bilked by him: “Mike McDougal Victims United.”

McDougal, of Winter Garden, was arrested Thursday on a warrant issued Feb. 27. He was released after posting $4,500 bond.

No phone number or attorney were listed for him in court records.

The Orlando woman told police she and McDougal, who was posing as Reynolds, met on the dating app, then switched over to Facebook Messenger. She later delivered the $1,000 in cash to his “friend,” McDougal. Over several days, she lent him a total of $3,000.

“Reynolds” meanwhile promised the woman he’d wire her repayment electronically, but PayPal notifications she received turned out to be fraudulent and the money never came, according to an affidavit by Orlando police Detective Annemarie

Esan.

When the victim confronted “Reynolds,” he gave a variety of excuses, police said. Then, according to Esan, McDougal also started messaging her under his own name, in the guise of being his alter-ego’s friend, and offered to “clear up” her “confusion” about Reynolds.

McDougal boasted about the size of his bank account offered to pay Reynold’s debts out of “generosity,” even sending the woman account and routing numbers he said were his, the affidavit said. Esan wrote she suspects he actually got the bank