An Atlantic County man admitted to escaping federal custody and scheming to defraud women over telephone dating services.
Patrick Giblin, 57, escaped July 23, 2020, after serving nearly three years of a five-year plea deal in a case in which he was charged with scamming anywhere from $15,000 to $40,000 from 10 women.
Those crimes were committed while he was on supervised release.
He continued his deceptive ways even before becoming a fugitive, according to documents and statements made in the case.
From April 2019 until March 2021, Giblin posted advertisements and messages on telephone dating services.
He would cultivate a rapport with these women, then falsely claim he was relocating to where they lived, letting them believe he wished to pursue a committed, romantic relationship.
Giblin received money from these women via interstate wire services such as Western Union and MoneyGram.
The escape happened July 23, 2020, after Bureau of Prison personnel took Giblin from the Lewisburg penitentiary to the Harrisburg Airport at about 6 that morning, and watched him leave on a plane headed for Newark with a stopover in Charlotte, N.C.
He was to report to the Kintock Residential Re-entry Center at 3 p.m., but never returned.
Giblin, who previously lived in Ventnor, was arrested March 10, 2021, in Atlantic City.
The charge of escape carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest.
The charge of wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest.
Giblin is set to sentenced Nov. 16.
