wealthy woman should be attention

A Rensselaer County woman is warning other women to watch out for a smooth-talking con artist who poses as a wealthy playboy to bilk women out of whatever he can. He's already been convicted of one con and served two years in prison, but he is now out and police in Florida -- the scammer's home state -- say he is apparently at it again. He's also wanted in New Hampshire, and one of his victims lives right here in the Capital Region. Meredith Gavin went to a job-training session in Florida four years ago and got a real life-lesson. There, she says, she was victimized by a con man. "He was there and started talking to us, was nice, charming, saying he had a lot of money," said Gavin. "He wanted to take us out and have fun. After we had gotten some appetizers and dinners and drinks, he forgot his credit card, so we had to pay for the tab, which was fine." That went on for days. Gavin says the man, Jordan Gann, cheated her and her friends out of hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. "He's very smart," she said. Florida police agree. They say he is a con artist -- and a good one. He impersonates a doctor to gain trust. "He has a gift of gab," said Det. Curtis Smith of the Tampa police department. "According to my victim, he's very smooth as far as his approach, he's very credible when he talks about being a doctor. Apparently, he has some knowlege." "He had some paperwork that I'm assuming he printed offline," said Gavin. "It said Jordan Gann, MD. It had the name of his company." The smooth-talking fake doctor had also gotten Meredith pregnant. She now has a three-year-old son but has no contact with Gann. Gavin started a website (http://home.nycap.rr.com/simonwilkes2003/) to warn other women about the man who she says stole more than her money "It cost a lot emotionally," said Gavin. "I don't trust anyone. I've been single since then." Police are still searching for Gann after they say he pulled off more scams in Florida. They say he reminds them of the legendary scam artist Frank Abagnale, the subject of the 2002 Steven Spielberg movie "Catch Me if You Can."