A man from Florida, the United States (US) has found himself in legal hot water after being arrested for marrying three different women at the same time.
Henry Betsey Jr. is facing bigamy charges, with authorities alleging that he married the women for financial gain, according to ABC Action News.
Betsey met each of the women on different dating platforms — Tinder, Match.com, and Stir.
Further investigations revealed he also had a profile on a fourth dating site.
Source: ABC Action News on YouTube
His first marriage was in 2020 to a woman named Tonya.
In 2022, while still married to her, he met Brandi, and they tied the knot.
Later that same year, he met Michele, whom he persuaded to marry him just two weeks after their first meeting.
Source: ABC Action News on YouTube
According to the women, Betsey presented himself as the ideal partner, saying all the right things and never revealing that he was already married.
As a result, all three women now share his last name.
Betsey’s deception began to unravel when his first wife, Tonya, grew suspicious of his behaviour.
Sensing something was off, she started digging into public databases across Florida.
“I just started going county by county,” she told reporters.
Her search eventually led to a shocking discovery — Betsey was married to two other women.
Devastated, Tonya reported him to the authorities, who arrested Betsey on charges of bigamy.
Source: ABC Action News on YouTube
He had managed to fly under the radar by marrying each woman in a different county.
This tactic took advantage of Florida’s reputation as a popular marriage destination, where the process is quick and straightforward.
Crucially, there are no cross-county checks for existing marriages, a loophole Betsey exploited.
A marriage official pointed out that Florida’s system largely relied on “honour”.
Michele, his third wife, said their courthouse wedding took just 15 minutes.
“No questions asked, there was nothing that was flagged in the system for him having already two prior open marriage licences,” she noted.
The women believe Betsey’s motives were financial.
In a recording of a court hearing shared by Michele, Betsey admitted he had no source of income and no money in his bank account.
At the time of their marriages, all three women were either recently divorced or in the process of divorcing, making them likely to receive alimony or child support payments.
The women now suspect he targeted them with that in mind.
According to Patch, bigamy in the United States is punishable by a fine of up to US$5,000 (S$6,500) and a maximum prison sentence of five years.
Also read: Polygamous man in Japan makes S$11K monthly as influencer, still relies on 3 wives to pay his bills
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Featured image adapted from ABC Action News on YouTube.