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Con man's trail of broken hearts, empty bank accounts ends in North Texas

While he posed as Mr. Right, Derek Alldred was actually a thief with a collection of mug shots and convictions.

SHERMAN, Texas — Six states, more than 25 victims, and countless stories to capture women's hearts and their identities. The man behind this string of cons was finally stopped, and sentenced to prison, in Texas.

In late August, a bus full of women arrived outside the Federal Courthouse in Sherman, Texas, anxious for justice. They were closer than they'd ever been before to keeping other women from falling for what they did. Who they did. The man who's real name is Derek Alldred.

"When I met him he was Richard Derek Peterson," said a woman named Linda, who lives in the Twin Cities. "He was finishing his PhD in political science at the University of Minnesota and he was a reservist in the US Navy."

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He had the uniform and everything. She was newly divorced.

"He saw that vulnerability and he went after it," she said.

This Richard Peterson said he was a financial advisor, and took Linda on a lavish Hawaiian vacation. It was only after they came back, she realized Alldred put the trip on two of her credit cards, that a woman named Missi found in her new boyfriend’s wallet.

"I opened up his wallet, and the first thing I see is a social security card that said Derek Mylan Alldred," Missi said.

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That wasn't the name he was using with her. She too was being scammed Alldred, as was another woman named Joann.

"I was on cloud nine," Joann said. "I really thought this was the guy."

What he really was was a civilian and a thief with a collection of mug shots, and convictions for fraud and burglary. The women say Alldred cleared out 401k’s and college funds, stealing thousands of dollars. They made reports to police they say went nowhere. That made it possible for him to skip town and find his next victim.

At least 25 women in Hawaii, California, Nevada, Arizona and Minnesota reported that they’d been duped by the phony war hero. Then he came to North Texas.

"When I met him he went by Richie Tailor," said a woman named Dori.

Dori thought she was dating a Navy Pilot and professor at SMU. He spent their relationship using her credit Card all over The Colony. By the time she discovered his real identity, he’d fraudulently charged more than $12,000. Investigators say he was scamming a woman in Dallas at the same time.

"You know, 'Don’t mess with Texas,' don’t mess with Dori," she said. "I stood up and I said 'We’re going to stop, we’re going to get this guy.'"

Dori reported Alldred to The Colony Police, who arrested him in Tarrant County in June 2017. He plead guilty to mail and identity fraud.

Many of his victims from Texas and beyond showed up Sherman to beg a judge to make it stop.

"None of us were asking to be made whole financially, we were asking to protect women from him," said Linda.

The court listened. Alldred will serve the maximum of 24 years in Federal prison. This was a moment these women dreamed about. Alldred being taken away in handcuffs, them all together and breathing a sigh of relief. It doesn’t mean that they'll ever get any of their money back, but it does bring comfort, knowing his scam finally stopped here.

"I said to myself 'Justice would be served,' it was, I’m leaving that here and I’m going to go back to living my life," said Dori. "The chapter is done."

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