A New Jersey-primarily based romance scammer who has allegedly conned as a minimum one hundred fifty five women out of extra than $500,000 changed into sentenced to five and a half of years behind bars, government said Friday.

Patrick Giblin, 58, of Atlantic City — who has been busted again and again for swindling widows, disabled ladies and unmarried moms — had confronted 25 years in jail for his maximum latest fraud arrest, according to the USA Attorney District of New Jersey.

But the fake Romeo become sentenced to just sixty six months by using US District Judge Robert Kugler Wednesday after pleading guilty to 1 count number of cord fraud and escaping federal custody. Giblin changed into also ordered to pay $23,428 in restitution and to serve 3 years of supervised launch.

The misleading Don Juan has been to prison as a minimum four times for scamming girls has escaped federal custody twice — and endured to tug the con at the same time as at the lam, according to local police and federal authorities.

Though Giblin is idea to be America’s maximum prolific romance scammer — conning girls starting as a ways again because the mid-Nineteen Nineties — he has averted ever serving extra than 9 years behind bars, consistent with The Daily Beast.

For decades, Giblin wooed women he met thru relationship offerings with communication designed to smell out their emotional weak spots — then used allure and stress to persuade them to twine him cash, starting from $250 to $50,000 consistent with victim, in keeping with prosecutors from past and current instances.

In his most latest bust, Giblin escaped from federal government while being transferred from federal prison in Pennsylvania, in which he became doing time for ripping off romantic pastimes, to a halfway residence in Newark, New Jersey in July 2020.

America’s most prolific romance scammer sentenced to 5-year slap on the wrist

— New York Post (@nypost) December 9, 2022

But he by no means showed up and changed into later arrested in Atlantic City in March 2021. He was charged with pulling the con on 12 greater women he met on smartphone courting websites while at the lam.

Giblin formerly saved meticulous logs with notes on dozens of his girl victims, including when they were equipped to be scammed, in line with the prosecutors.

In other instances, he instructed victims lies inclusive of that he’s the son of a prominent judge, a huge winner at a on line casino and a wealthy Jersey Shore resident who’s down on his success, in keeping with the Daily Beast — which tallied at the least a hundred and fifty five victims from court documents, press releases and newspaper clippings.

In September, Giblin advised the opening he had compulsively conned girls to guide his “degenerate” playing habit and that he didn’t count on a stiff sentence.

Giblin, who has get entry to to a textual content messaging carrier in federal prison, instructed The Post he’s glad with the sentence.