James Doyle, a former reality TV star, is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from unsuspecting gay men in Oklahoma.
Doyle appeared on the show A-List: Dallas as a self-described “trust fund baby,” but has recently gotten into hot water for not returning money he borrowed from gay men on dating apps.
The reality show ran on LOGO, following a group of self-called “A-Listers” in the gay scene of Dallas, Texas. It was canceled after one season.
One of the victims gave an interview to K-FOR News in Oklahoma City, but remained anonymous.
The victim told K-FOR that he and Doyle had talked a few times online since 2013, but nothing progressed much until he matched with Doyle on the dating app Tinder in August of 2022.
“I’m like,’ Oh, hey, dude,’ swiped right, and we ended up matching, and so we just kind of started talking,” the victim said.
The conversation took a turn, the victim explained, as Doyle told him that he was in an abusive relationship and needed money.
“[Doyle] is like, ‘I just literally do not have the money to put gas in my tank and drive so I can leave this place.’ I’m like, Well, ‘You’re a lot more prepared than I am.’ I’m like, ‘I can give you $50,’” he said.
The victim explained that he was sympathetic to Doyle’s situation initially.
“I want to see this through because I’ve been in that situation where it was like things just weren’t working out,” he said.
But after asking about repayment, Doyle began to give excuses.
“Then it turned into this whole, ‘Well, my account is overdrawn and I have a pending check for a couple thousand dollars, but they aren’t going to release it to my checking account until my account is brought back into the green,’ which I knew wasn’t true. I know that’s not how banks worked.”
Doyle then continued to ask for more money.
“I have never been this hungry in my life,” Doyle texted. “If it doesn’t work, my entire life is over.”
Another alleged victim revealed texts between him and Doyle, where he had asked for repayment.
“I am literally on edge so please don’t push,” wrote Doyle, and then asked the man for more money. When the second victim told Doyle he was “wiped out,” Doyle responded that he was going to “ruin everything.”
“For me, it was four and a half thousand,” the alleged victim told K-FOR. “For someone else, it was $1,200. The largest amount I know he’s taken from a single person was $20,000.”
The victim took Doyle to small claims court in an attempt to retrieve the $4,165.77 he had given him.
Doyle threatened him to drop the suit.
“He threatened to fabricate sexual assault charges to try and coerce me into dropping my lawsuit,” the victim said.
To get his money back, the victim has to prove to the court that he loaned the money to Doyle with some form of a promise of repayment. In Oklahoma, if the amount of money loaned is over $500, a written statement promising repayment needs to be produced.
“For a civil case, it’s a tough one, unless there’s some sort of writing or text messages or something that indicates that he’s agreeing to pay it back,” said Oklahoma attorney Tod Mercer.
Despite this, Doyle never showed up in court. The judge ruled a default judgment in favor of the Plaintiff.
This was not the only time Doyle has been in legal trouble for allegedly defrauding people. In February, Doyle was arrested and booked into the Oklahoma County Detention Center for forging a financial document.
According to court documents, Doyle is accused of defrauding the City National Bank in Oklahoma City 21 times.
That case is still ongoing and has a preliminary hearing conference scheduled for July 27.
After his attorney declined to comment on the story, Doyle texted a K-FOR reporter.
“I am honestly confused and not sure what is going on. I have been working with them to have everything fixed with the plaintiff and to clear my name. A story about my incredibly rough year last year would not only destroy my softball coaching (volunteer) but also my career I have finally managed to get going after divorce,” Doyle said in the text.
“I know you are not on my side with the story, but just wanted to send you a message and let you know something like this is going to destroy months and months of therapy I have put myself through. But not your issue.
“I’m doing what I can to fix the rest. Including the $4,100,” stated Doyle.
“I don’t hate him. I don’t want anything bad or horrendous to happen to him,” the first alleged victim said. “I just want the situation done right.”
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