Former Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o would be hard-pressed for relief from a civil suit 
Manti Te'o has limited options if he is thinking of any legal recourse to the girlfriend hoax that has enveloped the former Notre Dame linebacker. (Photo: Matt Cashore, USA TODAY Sports Media) Story Highlights - A civil lawsuit for intentional infliction of emotional pain would be difficult for Te'o to pursue
- Criminal charges facing the perpetrator of the "catfishing" hoax are unlikely
- Scams such as this enveloping Te'o often involve money, although this one did not reach that level
Manti Te'o says he has received a confession from Ronaiah Tuiasosopo for leading the former Notre Dame linebacker to believe he was in a relationship with a non-existent woman, but that might be all he gets from Tuiasosopo.
Victims of "catfishing" schemes, in which someone creates a fake online profile to pursue romantic relationships, seldom have much legal recourse.
Te'o would likely have a hard time making a civil lawsuit against Tuiasosopo, the 22-year-old California man Te'o said was responsible for creating fictitious girlfriend Lennay Kekua.
Deadspin reported this week that Kekua not only did not die from leukemia Sept. 12, as has been previously reported, but that she never existed. Reporting by the website and several other media outlets, including USA TODAY Sports, indicated that Tuiasosopo was likely responsible before ESPN confirmed that late Friday with an off-camera interview with Te'o.
HOAX SAGA: All the latest news on Te'o
"The only other thing I can think of is some intentional infliction of emotional stress," said Karl Kronenberger, a San Francisco attorney who specializes in Internet law. "If someone did this to harm Te'o, if it's outrageous misconduct and Te'o clearly was not in on this and it caused Te'o emotional distress, there's perhaps a claim for intentional affliction emotional distress. But I'm stretching."
The possibility of Tuiasosopo facing any sort of criminal charges seems to be a long shot, as well.
In most of these cases, the scammer often uses a person's romantic feelings to exploit them for money.
According to the National Consumers League, "friendship and sweetheart swindles" were the seventh most common scam reported to the non-profit organization last year. But, they were the single-most costly type of scam, at an average of $5,500.
Te'o told ESPN's Jeremy Schaap in the late Friday interview that whoever was pretending to be Kekua asked for his checking account number to send him money but that he did not provide it. He said he was never asked for money.
"Unfortunately, consumers who report these scams to us, typically it's practically impossible to get their money back," said John Breyault, director of the NCL fraud center. "It's difficult to recover. That said, if someone has been a victim of this, we absolutely encourage them to report it."
Short of any revelation that money was involved, Kronenberger said it is unlikely Te'o would want to take the case to court. He has dealt with intense media scrutiny in the days since the story was first reported, and a civil suit would only stand to expose more details in an already embarrassing saga.
"I think Manti Te'o probably doesn't need any more attention paid to this," Kronenberger said. "If you sue somebody, there's going to be an even closer analysis
"It's an uphill battle for him, and really the last thing he wants is focus on him."
Source : http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2013/01/19/manti-teo-legal-recourse-hoax-fake-girlfriend/1847259/
Manti Te'o has limited options if he is thinking of any legal recourse to the girlfriend hoax that has enveloped the former Notre Dame linebacker. (Photo: Matt Cashore, USA TODAY Sports Media) Manti Te'o says he has received a confession from Ronaiah Tuiasosopo for leading the former Notre Dame linebacker to believe he was in a relationship with a non-existent woman, but that might be all he gets from Tuiasosopo. Victims of "catfishing" schemes, in which someone creates a fake online profile to pursue romantic relationships, seldom have much legal recourse. Te'o would likely have a hard time making a civil lawsuit against Tuiasosopo, the 22-year-old California man Te'o said was responsible for creating fictitious girlfriend Lennay Kekua. Deadspin reported this week that Kekua not only did not die from leukemia Sept. 12, as has been previously reported, but that she never existed. Reporting by the website and several other media outlets, including USA TODAY Sports, indicated that Tuiasosopo was likely responsible before ESPN confirmed that late Friday with an off-camera interview with Te'o. HOAX SAGA: All the latest news on Te'o "The only other thing I can think of is some intentional infliction of emotional stress," said Karl Kronenberger, a San Francisco attorney who specializes in Internet law. "If someone did this to harm Te'o, if it's outrageous misconduct and Te'o clearly was not in on this and it caused Te'o emotional distress, there's perhaps a claim for intentional affliction emotional distress. But I'm stretching." The possibility of Tuiasosopo facing any sort of criminal charges seems to be a long shot, as well. In most of these cases, the scammer often uses a person's romantic feelings to exploit them for money. According to the National Consumers League, "friendship and sweetheart swindles" were the seventh most common scam reported to the non-profit organization last year. But, they were the single-most costly type of scam, at an average of $5,500. Te'o told ESPN's Jeremy Schaap in the late Friday interview that whoever was pretending to be Kekua asked for his checking account number to send him money but that he did not provide it. He said he was never asked for money. "Unfortunately, consumers who report these scams to us, typically it's practically impossible to get their money back," said John Breyault, director of the NCL fraud center. "It's difficult to recover. That said, if someone has been a victim of this, we absolutely encourage them to report it." Short of any revelation that money was involved, Kronenberger said it is unlikely Te'o would want to take the case to court. He has dealt with intense media scrutiny in the days since the story was first reported, and a civil suit would only stand to expose more details in an already embarrassing saga. "I think Manti Te'o probably doesn't need any more attention paid to this," Kronenberger said. "If you sue somebody, there's going to be an even closer analysis "It's an uphill battle for him, and really the last thing he wants is focus on him." Story Highlights
Source : http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2013/01/19/manti-teo-legal-recourse-hoax-fake-girlfriend/1847259/