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Serial swindler arrested after stealing $80,000 from woman he just met, police say

John Martin Hill, 35, was also wanted in Virginia, Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey for similar schemes, police said.

An alleged serial swindler is accused of conning a Georgia woman out of more than $80,000 after meeting her on a dating site and becoming engaged in a week, police said.

John Martin Hill, 35, was arrested Tuesday night on an outstanding warrant for theft by deception, a felony, in Franklin, Tennessee, according to Gwinnett County Police.

Police said Hill and the victim from Alpharetta, Georgia, began talking on Match.com on March 27, met in person later that day, and were quickly engaged.

Hill told the woman that he was a millionaire. "During their short romance, he convinced her that they were in love and wanted to buy a house together," police said in a statement.

The victim gave Hill more than $80,000 to put toward the cost of the home, but he cut all contact with her after receiving the money, police said.

John Martin Hill
John Martin HillGwinnett County Police

Hill lived in Duluth, Georgia, with another woman and a child, and had recently bought a 2014 BMW that he painted black, according to a subsequent investigation by Gwinnett County's Electronic and Financial Crimes Unit.

Police said Wednesday that after releasing information about the victim from Georgia, several women had reported to them that they were in a relationship with Hill, or knew women who were.

Hill has changed his name more than five times in two and a half years, and is also wanted in Virginia, Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey for similar schemes, authorities said.

"By sharing this story, it is our hope that he is not able to victimize any other women using this scam," Gwinnett County Police said in a statement. "These types of con men are very good at manipulating their victims. They tend to say everything that a woman wants to hear."