Whoops! Did This Catfish Con Commit The Biggest Blunder Ever?

A good catfish will know how to cover his bases: leave no trace of phone records, create convincing social media profiles, toss red herrings into the mix any time possible.


A bad catfish? Well, you may as well ask a guy named Antonio, or should we mention James, or should we mention Jay. Suffice it to mention, the newest schemer’s plan did not go off without a hitch.


On the hit show’s most recent episode, a 23-year-old single mother named Angel from Valdosta, Georgia, sought out the help of Nev and his spouse Laura. Angel mentioned she’d fallen for 25-year-old Antonio immediately after he reached out to her on a dating app in 2018. Since then, they'd cemented a relationship, Angel mentioned, adding that they’d even exchanged I-love-yous.


Still, for all of Antonio’s appeal, there were obvious red flags (WHO COULD’VE SEEN IT COMING?!). Antonio, who mentioned he worked at a nightclub as a DJ, lived in the same town as Angel however was routinely reluctant to meet and wouldn’t accept her Facebook request. Even more alarmingly, Antonio had all however asked for financial support from Angel immediately after claiming that he’d been hospitalized.


And the cash trail didn’t stop there…


Across more than 20 transactions, Angel admitted that she’d sent Antonio close to $400 -- and even agreed to support him pay his phone bill. However as soon as she went to settle up, she found the name on Antonio’s account wasn’t listed under “Antonio James,” as he’d mentioned it was nevertheless, alternatively, belonged to “Mr. Williams.” Immediately, Nev and Laura knew they had a con artist on their hands, however Nev mentioned he was surprised that — if Antonio was attempting to shield his identity — he’d so willingly give out the location of what Nev and Laura would eventually deem to be his real workplace, a bar called Déjà Vu.


^^^BLUNDER ALERT!!!^^^


Right after some investigating, Nev and Laura concluded that Antonio had stolen the identity of a musician named EazieDaGod, who'd nearly 25,000 followers on Instagram. Even more troubling, the couple got in touch with Eazie’s manager, who mentioned his team had been trying for years to scrub The world wide web of the scam artist — whom she’d identified as Antonio — to no avail.


Convinced their suspect was hiding in plain sight, Nev and Laura drove to Déjà Vu for answers. They asked the space’s manager if he knew of anyone on personnel named Antonio or James, nevertheless it didn’t ring a bell for him or any of his bartenders. Still, Nev and Laura were convinced they were on the correct track. The discovery came with implications, though, and the revelation reduced Angel to tears any time if she learned what the detectives had found.


“It’s heartbreaking to know that somebody is actually using me,” she said.


A day later, the very same bar manager Nev and Laura had met called Nev and mentioned one of his personnel had overheard a security employee gloating about how he’d been scamming ladies online and that he went by the name “Antonio.” He called the females he’d duped “trophies,” and Nev and Laura were horrified to learn that the man was the very same security employee who’d let them into Déjà Vu. The boss mentioned he’d only ever called the guy Jay, so it didn’t occur to him that the security employee could have been the James that Nev and Laura sought.


Soon after finally confronting the security employee, whose legal name was James Williams (he went by Jay), Nev, Laura and Angel finally convinced him to cop to his scheming, and James proceeded to admit to conning hundreds of ladies out of cash over the course of 15 years. He called his catfishing a “coping mechanism” to deal with depression that stemmed from not having an ideal body type, although Laura called BS and speedily reminded him of his “trophies” remark.


“That doesn’t sound like somebody going through a hard time,” she said.


Unsurprisingly, Angel and James didn’t leave on good terms, and James failed to prepare good on his eventual promise to pay Angel back. Still, while the jig was up, James could definitely take some solace from the fact that he’d probably earned standing in Catfish history books (though maybe for the incorrect reasons): Soon considering that, if he’d never told Angel that he’d worked at Déjà Vu, he’d have probably continued to get away with his games.


What do you suggest — was James’ error Catfish’s biggest ever? Share your thoughts on the episode and the latest season!