Clarinetist awarded for his ex's deception says it's a 'long road' to his $350K

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Montreal clarinetist Eric Abramovitz says he is "not angry at" his former girlfriend, but she has yet to pay any of the $350,000 in damages ordered by a Toronto judge. 

Abramovitz was awarded the money after his former partner, Jennifer Lee, intercepted an e-mail notifying him that he'd been accepted to the prestigious Colburn Conservatory of Music back in 2014. Lee then forged an e-mail telling Abramowitz that he had been rejected, and forged another e-mail telling the school that Abramovitz had declined. 

The CBC does not have Lee's version of events. She has not responded to repeated attempts to contact her and did not participate in the court proceedings. 

As It Happens guest host Robyn Bresnahan spoke with Abramovitz about his reaction to the saga — and what awaits him going forward.

Mr. Abramovitz, you won this ruling earlier this month. Have you received the money from your ex-girlfriend yet?

No. That is a whole other process that has to take place too. First she has to be served the ruling by a government official and then I'm not exactly sure what would happen from there... However it's going to be difficult to say least just because even finding her will be a challenge.

I have no contact with her at the moment and no one that I know does. So it's a long road ahead still if I want to see any money.

Take us back to the moment you received this fake rejection. What was going through your mind?

Obviously at the time I did not know it was fake. So, of course it was disappointing and I really wanted it. It was a little bit crushing. But it's a very competitive field, so I couldn't be so surprised. I could just say to myself, 'All right. It wasn't good enough. I've got to keep working.'

Why was this opportunity with the Colbourne Conservatory of Music was so important?

First of all of the teacher that I would have gone to study with, Yehuda Gilad, is one of the best teachers in the world. Most students that have studied with him have gone on to have great careers all over the world. The conservatory also comes with all tuition, expenses, room and board covered and so that's very attractive. So many universities are very expensive, so to attend such a world-renowned school for free is quite something.

Believe it or not she was the one that was there consoling me. She was the shoulder that I was leaning on. So at the time I thought, 'Man, my girlfriend is very nice and comforting.' It's kind of disturbing to think back.- Eric Abramovitz on receiving his fake rejection letter

So you got this rejection, and I take it you went home. How was your then girlfriend behaving towards you as you went through that rejection?

Believe it or not she was the one that was there consoling me. She was the shoulder that I was leaning on. So at the time I thought, "Man, my girlfriend is very nice and comforting." It's kind of disturbing to think back knowing that she's actually the one who caused it all.

How did you find out that she had forged this letter of rejection?

I had gone back to audition two years later for Mr. Gilad. We had an awkward exchange where he said to me, "What are you doing here? You rejected me." And I said, "No, you rejected me."

I was very confused from that exchange. So then I started doing a little bit of digging and [went] back to an e-mail exchange I had with the fake Yehuda Gilad and I forwarded it to the real one.

I said "Is this your e-mail address?" and he confirmed that it was not. That was when I first knew that something had gone awry, but I still didn't know it was my girlfriend who did it.

A few months later I was trying to figure out who may have done it, and at first I wouldn't even entertain the thought that it could have been my girlfriend, someone who I loved and trusted so much, but it started sinking in.

Finally one day me and my friend tried to log into the fake e-mail account that was created for Yehuda Gilad. And I remembered one of her old passwords and just on a whim, [I] tried it, and sure enough it logged right into the fake account. And it listed her personal email address as the recovery e-mail address so that was all the evidence that pointed to her being the culprit.

What was that moment like for you?

It was just a feeling of overwhelming betrayal. It was really a lot to take in.

At the same time me and my friend who cracked the case were pretty happy our detective work. So I was feeling the whole range of emotions that night.

Were you angry?

Yes, I was angry but probably more sad than angry. Just [strange] to look back on my relationship and realize that everything was a lie.

Did you ever confront her about it?

I wanted to but my parents and some friends recommended that I just seek legal counsel which was probably wiser because nothing I would have said would have done any good.

Your ex's name and picture are out there. She's on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Is there any part of you that feels any sympathy for her?

I wouldn't say I have any sympathy for her but I don't wish any ill-will to her. A person who can do something like this needs some help, and I hope that she gets it.

I think what she did is absolutely appalling but I'm not angry at her. I've kind of gotten over it, and try to be optimistic about life and obviously I think that I've still been able to achieve my goals despite the setback that she put me through. So, I'm lucky that I landed on my feet.

Your career is obviously flourishing, both at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Nashville Symphony, but how do you think your life would have been different had you been able to take this scholarship?

I'm just thankful that the path that I ended up on worked out. And I try not to wonder too much about what could have been.

This segment was produced by Kevin Robertson. Q&A edited for length and clarity.