A television actor has described how his identity was used to deceive and manipulate a lady, who subsequently committed herself.
Lincoln Lewis made the surprising discovery in 2011 when he received a phone call from an unidentified woman who said they were dating.
Lydia Abdelmalek, 32, impersonated the celebrity, among other aliases, as well as English actor Danny Mac, in a nasty four-year catfish scheme involving three victims.
Lewis reported that the stranger had phoned him and inquired, “Have we been dating for the past few months?”
It was then that he realized he was being utilized in a catfishing plot, he explained.
She was then informed that he had never met her.
The actor said she sounded “shaken” and “panicked” when she told him she had been sending intimate images and videos of herself to someone she believed to be him.
The lady felt that they had been dating for some months.
Lewis reported that she said, “Linc, I don’t know who this is now.”
“Linc, this individual has photographs and videos of me,” I assumed we were dating. I believed you were the one requesting these items. I thought you were the recipient of all these items.
Abdelmalek used these photographs to blackmail her and harass her family and friends.
In 2018, the woman later took her own life.
With the Lewis pseudonym, Abdelmalek had also deceived two people who had approached him on two separate occasions.
Many months later, a second female victim contacted Lewis to inform him that an unknown somebody had created Facebook pages in his name, updated his existing social media, and disclosed his address.
A false license including his photograph and identity was also created.
“(She) gave me a very similar tale about someone posing as me and creating online contacts with these girls,” he stated in a police statement.
“(She) informed me that someone was making Facebook accounts in my name, altering my existing social media profiles, and disclosing my home information,” she said.
Mr. Lewis recalled telling the “extremely shaken” woman that he hoped she was “OK.”
A third was a man who approached him at a sports bar in Bali, mistaking them for buddies.
Lewis stated, ‘I just looked at him, and my friends were all standing there confused, and he said, ‘Brother, it’s me.’
I was unsure of what to do because I had never seen him before.
The actor had to pull him aside and inform him that they were not friends before the man became humiliated, apologized, and departed.
“Mate, I apologize. I do not recognize you. I’ve never met you before. Mr. Lewis recalls responding, “I apologize, but I’ve never spoken to you before in my entire life.”
Mr. Lewis said the court that Abdelmalek may have deceived her victims into believing she was the well-known actor by using a bogus Queensland driver’s license that contained inaccuracies.
The discoveries surfaced after Abdelmalek lost her petition to be released from prison early.
After a lengthy appeal of her 2019 sentence, she appeared in Melbourne’s County Court on Tuesday, where she was resentenced to four years in prison.
She pursued an appeal of her two-year-and-eight-month sentence after failing to overturn her conviction for six stalking offences earlier this year.
Lewis took to Twitter on Tuesday afternoon, immediately following Abdelmalek’s resentencing, to express his joy that the catfishing ordeal was ‘finally over’
He stated, “It’s difficult to find the right words to express my satisfaction that the cruel and horrifying deeds performed by this individual over a decade ago have finally come to a close with justice triumphing.”
“I hope the punishment provides closure for the victims, their families, and others affected, allowing them to recover and move on.
‘Finally, I hope this information sparks talks about online safety with friends or amongst parents and children. Social networking is excellent, but make sure you always know who you’re conversing with, and look out for one another. Much love.’
Abdelmalek must now serve a minimum of two years and eight months before becoming eligible for parole, an increase from her prior minimum term of one year and nine months.
Abdelmalek’s victims and their relatives were in court for sentencing, with Judge Claire Quin presiding over their requests for a longer sentence.
She stated that she had told Abdelmalek and her attorneys “many times” that she could impose a harsher prison sentence if they continued to pursue the appeal.
Judge Quin stated to the court, “This issue proceeded despite an overwhelming prosecution case and with full knowledge of the additional stress this causes for the victims.”
She referred to Abdelmalek’s behavior as ‘persistent and vicious,’ stating that she had spent thousands of hours secretly pursuing her victims online.
Judge Quin stated that the appellant built a network of fake names and personas.
Although the content of some of the material resembled that of a soap opera, it was not a work of fiction; it was real and affected real people.
What may begin as a joke can swiftly turn into a serious threat to the mental health of individuals targeted by the risk.
Abdelmalek’s sentence has been served for longer than four months.