Melbourne, Jan 21 (ANI): A US conman is said to have posed as a gorgeous female swimsuit model to lure men on the Internet into sending him gifts and money.

According to the Texan Police, Justin Brown, 24, masqueraded as Californian Guess Jeans and Maxim swimwear model Bree Conden, 23, for two years.

In a fake online profile on SeekingMillionaire.com, which is “the meeting place for wealthy and beautiful singles”, Brown identified himself as “Bree - just looking for Mr. Right”, and posted her photos along with it.

Brown lured rich suitors by sending them pictures of Conden’s face photo-shopped onto nude photos of other women, and he also set up web chats and even had intimate telephone conversations with his contingent of male fans, using his “very feminine voice” to dupe them.

Some of the men, who fell for the Bree imitator’s charms, were duped into sending gifts like an iPhone and a small dog, with an affluent doctor even handing over 15,000 dollars.

The scam was only uncovered after authorities, prompted by an investigator hired by the real Conden, tracked Brown down to a budget motel room in Austin, Texas.

John Carbona, a private investigator involved in the case, told the Los Angeles Times he was stunned to find out that “Bree” was a man.

“I’d been talking to this person for three months,” the Herald Sun quoted Carbona as saying.

“I’m telling you this guy has either had his gonads removed or he is talking through a voice synthesizer.

“He (Brown) had this whole persona created. You have to hand it to this kid. He stayed in character for two years,” he stated.

Representatives for Conden, who has never met Brown, said she is engaging the law as the conman behaved in a way she never would.

“She pursued this with law enforcement because she was very concerned about other people being conned by this impersonator, especially since he was apparently taking money from people and engaging in behaviour that Bree would never participate in,” the reps said.

A grand jury indicted Brown on a felony theft charge last week and Austin police are currently investigating whether he created a fake “official” website for Conden, as well as Facebook and MySpace profiles in her name.

“We think there are a lot of other (duped) guys out there. How many, I don’t know,” Austin police Det. Carl Satterlee added. (ANI)