An accomplished clarinet player’s ex-girlfriend Jennifer Lee sabotaged his career back in 2014 by sending him a fake rejection letter from his dream school. But the clarinetist, Eric Abramovitz, didn’t learn of her dishonesty until two years later. Now, her lie will cost her more than $265,000 in damages, CNN reports.
In 2014, Lee deleted Abramovitz’s acceptance letter to Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, and instead, sent him a fake rejection email from the school. Abramovitz was a college sophomore at McGill University, and had applied to a two-year, full-scholarship program where he would complete his bachelor’s at Colburn Conservatory.
Abramovitz would also have studied under Yehuda Gilad, who's known as one of the best clarinet professors in the world. But he was devastated when he was rejected, particularly since Gilad only accepts two students every year.
On Wednesday, a Canadian court ruled that Lee owed Abramovitz over $265,000 (350,000 Canadian dollars) for damages, including loss of reputation, educational opportunity, and two years of potential income. The judge added around $37,000 on the final amount for Lee’s “despicable interference” in Abramovitz’s career.
“It was really devastating to feel that incredible betrayal,” Abramovitz said. “It made me think of our whole relationship and it made me feel like everything might have been a lie.”
Lee convinced Abramovitz that he was rejected by posing as Abramovitz when replying to the school’s acceptance email, and telling them that he wouldn’t accept the scholarship because he would “be elsewhere.” She then deleted the acceptance email from Abramovitz’s inbox.
Next, Lee created a fake email address for Gilad, giladyehuda09@gmail.com and sent Abramovitz a rejection email, which instead offered him a spot at the University of Southern California with a $5,000 scholarship, where Gilad also teaches. However, tuition at USC is over $50,000, so Lee knew Abramovitz couldn’t afford that.
“It still puzzles me why she even added that,” Abramovitz said. “She knew it wouldn't be realistic, so I had to turn that down even though it wasn't real.”
Abramovitz finished at McGill, and he and Lee broke up a few months later for different reasons, he told CNN.
Abramovitz put it all together in 2016 when he auditioned for a graduate program at USC, where Gilad was present. The audition was a confusing one: Gilad asked Abramovitz why he was there since he had rejected Colburn in 2014. “With all due respect, I believe you rejected me,” Abramovitz told Gilad. Gilad then said it had been the other way around.
Abramovitz then did some digging on his own after his classmates asked why he rejected Colburn. He found the rejection email that Gilad had sent him in 2014 and forwarded it to Gilad, who said he didn't write it. After testing some of his ex’s old passwords, he was able to sign into the Gmail account that sent him the rejection email, and saw that the account’s recovery information was Lee's email and phone number.
Following Abramovitz’s discovery, Lee was served with the initial lawsuit, but lost by default after failing to respond. According to Canadian law, a defendant in default “is deemed to admit the truth of all allegations of fact” pertaining to the plaintiff’s claim.
Abramovitz has since found success in his career. He won a position with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, and was recently chosen as the principal clarinetist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
