39°
At least, that's what Anna Akbari says Emily Slutsky called herself when she messaged her on OKCupid in 2011.
Akbari, who holds a PhD, details how Slutsky catfished her and multiple other women in her new book, "There Is No Ethan: How Three Women Caught America's Biggest Catfish."
When Akbari met "Ethan" on OKCupid, she found him to be brilliant and charming, and they exchanged messages, developing a deep connection, she tells Daily Voice.
But Akbari realized something was up when Ethan kept canceling plans to chat on the phone or via webcam. His excuses for not meeting up became increasingly more brazen, including claiming he had been diagnosed with cancer.
After Akbari realized she had been duped, she connected with two other women, Gina and a British woman named Anna, and they worked together to figure out who Ethan Schuman really was.
To their complete shock, they discovered Ethan Schuman was actually a medical student named Emily Slutsky when Akbari remembered that Ethan's email address was associated with a woman's name- Emily Slutsky.
Akbari identifies Slutsky as the same Emily Slutsky who works for RWJ Barnabas Health at Jersey City Medical Center and was featured in a video for the hospital as director of women's health, and medical genetics division last year. Slutsky now goes by her married name, Emily Marantz.
The hospital issued a statement standing by Slutsky.
"Jersey City Medical Center has full confidence in Dr. Marantz’s ability to continue providing the highest quality of care to her patients,” a hospital spokesperson told The New York Post. “The events from more than a decade ago have been reviewed and addressed to the satisfaction of the medical center."
Slustky graduated from MIT with an engineering degree. She later went to medical school in Ireland, completing her residency in Ohio. Ethan Schuman also claimed to be a graduate of MIT.
There were numerous victims of Slutsky's catfishing, including one woman she talked to as Ethan for two years, Akbari's book details.
Akbari said she notified Slutsky's medical school, and later published an article about her deception. She learned there were even more victims, including a woman who had received messages from "Ethan" the morning the article was published, even though she had vowed to stop.
"To our knowledge, there have been no professional repercussions for her," Akbari said. "There are a lot of people working under her and it brings up a lot of questions. Where is the line when it comes to the Hippocratic oath and medical ethics? Does your virtual behavior count?"
Akbari said her research found Slutsky was catfishing women for 10 years.
"The victims felt badly duped," Akbari said. "They were emotionally abused and manipulated. Ethan Schuman was not a nice guy."
Akbari said she doesn't feel comfortable knowing Slutsky is treating women given her past conduct. Since Slutsky never asked for money or anything else, she did nothing illegal.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Watchung-Green Brook and receive free news updates.
