News

Angry women, police on his trail

The con artist takes his victims for money and more, police say.

By REBECCA CATALANELLO and ROBBYN MITCHELL
Published October 10, 2007

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ADVERTISEMENT Jordan P. Gann goes by many aliases.

TAMPA - The dark-haired man sidled up to her at a Clearwater Beach bar.

"I don't believe in karma anymore," he said.

You try to be upright, try to do the right things, he told the 36-year-old Largo woman, and the world still takes from you.

"I'm sorry to hear that," she responded. "I'm Jennifer."

"I'm Doctor Marino," he said.

It started off so well.

She was a biochemist. He was a pediatric oncologist.

They talked about molecular chemistry, biochemistry. He knew his stuff. She knew hers.

Who could have known that within 24 hours, this man would be running across a Tampa parking lot with $750 belonging to the Largo woman planted firmly in his grip?

That's the way Jordan P. Gann - a.k.a. Dr. Jonathan Marino - operates, Tampa police Detective Curtis Smith said Tuesday.

Tampa police issued a warrant for Gann's arrest, describing him as a scam artist who has made a fine art out of targeting single women, telling them he's a doctor, then taking them for money, goods and services before disappearing.

"This guy basically uses opportunity," Smith said. "He's definitely a con artist and he knows his subject matter, but I believe he's done his research on his Internet."

A handsome man with a smooth demeanor, Gann goes by many aliases, Smith said. Simon Gann, Charles Morales, Simon Wilkes, Dr. Shawn P. Cohen and Dr. Jonathan Marino are a few.

He has left traces in Arizona, Philadelphia and New Hampshire, Smith said.

Police believe he has been making the rounds in the Tampa Bay area on and off for the past two years.

He touts himself as a wealthy physician and real estate investor. Then, he persuades them to open joint accounts before cleaning out those accounts, Smith said.

Gann was last seen on Sept. 28 at Coldwell Banker, 5010 W Kennedy Ave., police said. As part of his scam, he visits real estate companies to obtain paperwork showing he is in the market for multimillion-dollar property - documents he uses to construct his false identity.

"I don't know many con artists," said Jennifer, the Largo victim who does not want to be identified by her last name, "but most of them don't pick molecular chemistry to brush up on."

Meredith Gavin, 31, said she knows the gig.

She was hanging out with a girlfriend in Orlando in 2004 when Gann approached and impressed them with his medical lingo.

"He's so smart and so nice that you wouldn't suspect anything from him," she said.

He was a doctor who sold his rights to his cancer research to a drug company, he told them.

The two women hung out with him that night and took him back to Tampa with them.

During the four days, Gavin and Gann were acquainted, she said her roommate and two friends spent $1,000 supporting the con man, including buying him CDs, a cell phone, clothing and meals. He took them to the mall, then said he had forgotten his credit cards, she said.

When Gavin was returning Gann to Orlando, her roommate called and told her she couldn't find anything about Gann or his research on the Internet. "She told me not to let him out of my sight," Gavin said.

But Gann slipped away from her as she parked her car at his hotel. It was the last time she saw him.

Gavin, who now lives in Albany, N.Y., believes her 3-year-old autistic son, Liam, is Gann's.

Outraged by Gann's lies and the lack of media coverage in his case, Gavin created a Web site to warn others, http://home.nycap.rr.com/simonwilkes2003/.

"He deserves to have his face plastered all over the U.S.," she said.

Gann, who served two years in jail on 2004 grand theft and larceny charges out of Panama City, is wanted on an active warrant in New Hampshire, accused of larceny.

Anyone who knows anything about Gann or his whereabouts is asked to call Tampa police at (813) 231-6130.

Times researcher John Martin and staff writer Casey Cora contributed to this report.

[Last modified October 10, 2007, 00:04:43]