Brodie Brooks met the victims on dating platforms and entered into conversations or relationships with them, Crown prosecutor Clare Jennings said.
A man accused of swindling almost $200,000 from more than a dozen victims he met through dating apps pleaded guilty on Monday.
Brodie Lyle Brooks, 30, appeared in provincial court in Victoria, where he pleaded guilty to defrauding 14 people of money, including some in excess of $5,000, in Saanich, Sidney, Sooke, Victoria, Langford and Duncan between Sept. 1, 2019 and Dec. 14, 2023.
Brooks met the victims on dating platforms and entered into conversations or relationships with them, Crown prosecutor Clare Jennings said.
He deceived them, asking to borrow money and presenting himself as someone in a position to repay the funds, although he was not, she said.
On Monday, Brooks, wearing a Vancouver Island Regional Corrections Centre sweatshirt, stood up in court to say he understood the charge.
“I plead guilty, your honour,” Brooks said.
A sentencing date has not been set, but will likely be about six months away to give Brooks time to save some money for restitution ahead of his sentencing, Jennings said.
He was released from custody Monday on other charges of breaching his conditions of release.
Brooks is subject to 24/7 house arrest, with limited exceptions.
Saanich police said at the time of Brooks’ arrest that officers began to investigate him in the fall of 2019.
He would convince people to loan him money with the promise he could pay it back quickly. Once victims asked for their money back, he would limit contact.
One woman who spoke to the Times Colonist in 2023 said she loaned Brooks about $10,000 during their relationship.
It started when he claimed he had lost his wallet and needed $35 to replace his driver’s licence. Then the request ramped up to another $250 for a ticket he needed to pay before he could replace his driver’s licence.
“He had a knack for turning a no into a yes,” she said at the time.
Brooks is scheduled to make a court appearance on Feb. 13.