A Louisiana man is facing criminal charges and serves as a glaring reminder not to trust people you meet in cyberspace.
Police are pointing to a this "catfishing" case as a reminder why you shouldn't fall in love with someone you have never actually met.
48-year-old James William Eaton of West Monroe is in jail after admitting that he was posing online as a woman.
Sheriff’s Office spokesman Glen Springfield says Eaton claimed to be Rose Williams and seduced a man in California. The victim says he sent money and gifts to his love interest.
“The victim went on to tell us that he had sent some money through online services to this person he had been talking to, thinking it was ‘Rose’ to get through some family emergency and some other gifts too,” said Springfield.
The hoax unraveled when the victim drove from California to Louisiana looking to marry Rose.
"The guy came and discovered that it was a scam."
Springfield says Eaton initially denied posing as a woman, but then investigators found a box that had been mailed to Rose Williams in the suspect's home.
“The victim was able to identify some of the items that had been mailed to the person posing as ‘Rose Williams’ as what he had mailed and could furnish the information. Later on, the suspect did admit that the items that the victim said he sent were in the box,” said Springfield.
Springfield believes Eaton thought he’d never end up actually meeting the victim and says this case is another reminder to be careful of who you interact with online.
“Don’t be getting into intimate conversations, don’t be sending them items and so forth, because you really don’t know who you are talking to, but inevitably, some people still do it and this particular case, the guy came and discovered it was a scam,” said Springfield.
No word on how long the relationship had been going on.