Media sociopaths

Eve Hawkins of Queens, New York City, first contacted Lovefraud in absolute frustration. She said her ex-boyfriend was a con artist, she brought 200 pages of evidence to her local NYPD precinct, and the cops did nothing. I asked Eve to tell me a little more about her story. To my surprise, she sent me an 8,000-word narration: How she met Brian Ellington. How he wormed his way into living with her. The stories and lies Ellington told. How she struggled to get rid of him. How she finally succeeded. Eve's story captured the confusion, mixed emotions, anger and frustration known by anyone who has been targeted by a sociopath. Her story was so passionate and so well-written that I decided …

Victim alerts others about con artist Brian EllingtonRead More

When I came to the realization that I had been manipulated and defrauded by a sociopath, I felt anger and embarrassment about having been a fool. This is exactly what most people victimized by sociopaths feel. I now know that I was targeted, and that there is no excuse for my ex-husband's predatory behavior. Still, what was it in me that made me vulnerable to his lies and manipulation? Sometimes there are answers waiting to be discovered. The experience of being victimized by a sociopath, as painful as it is, can lead to a personal journey of understanding, and eventually healing. The Dandelion Spirit M. L. Gallagher wrote a book, called The Dandelion Spirit, about her fall into …

Sociopaths and the journey into the selfRead More

Last week, my picture was on the front page of the Press of Atlantic City. There I was in a teaser above the masthead. "The high cost of love," it said. "An area woman's story of how Internet love connections can breed impostors who take you for all you're worth." The story itself was on the front page of the "Life" section. There I was again, in a full-color close-up shot across the entire top of the page, with the headline, "Winning their hearts, taking their money." Another photo showed my computer, displaying the Lovefraud.com story about my ex-husband, James Montgomery, who I believe is a sociopath. Scattered on the keyboard was his collection of fake military ID cards—like Special F …

My story in the newspaperRead More

I am an abused woman. I don't look it. I smile at the world from behind big brown eyes. I work, I speak to friends, I function. I am not battered and bruised. I do not sport visible scars of torture. I am well-educated, intelligent, creative, successful, attractive. But, I am also an abused woman. This is the opening paragraph of a new book called The Dandelion Spirit—A True Life Fairytale of Love, Lies and Letting Go, by M. L. Gallagher. The Dandelion Spirit tells the true story of how the author was seduced by a sociopath who dramatically proclaimed his love for her while he played on her sympathies. It then tells how the author slipped into his web of deceit, and by the time she l …

One woman’s story of near-destruction by a sociopathRead More

Last week, Ed Hicks was sentenced by a Virginia court to a year in jail for bigamy. He had been married seven times, with four of his marriages overlapping. The bigamy charge was for marrying wife number six, Julie Flint, while still married to wife number five, Rose Marie Sewell. He has already served four months, so he'll be locked up for approximately eight more months. Wife number seven, Sandra Phipps, originally pressed the bigamy charge—Hicks married her while still married to Julie. Her case was not prosecuted due to a loophole in Virginia law. Still, the fact that Hicks was sentenced at all is a victory for the women—most bigamists get off with a slap on the hand. Both Sandra an …

The amazing audacity of sociopathsRead More

Last week the Lovefraud Blog reported that Phil Haberman, who recently received an other-than-honorable discharge from the military and failed in his quest to get a Purple Heart, is currently online looking for love. Haberman's MySpace.com profile says he was hurt in Iraq and he's still in the reserves—just a few of his bogus claims. The Las Vegas Review Journal included Haberman in a recent article about men who wear military medals that they didn't earn. Glenn Campbell, author of the Family Court Chronicles blog in Las Vegas, sees nothing wrong stolen valor. "Let the boys play," he writes. Campbell expressed his views on the Review Journal article in a commentary called Cads on P …

Las Vegas blog says Haberman is not to blameRead More

Lovefraud was contacted recently by Phil Haberman, who is profiled in True Lovefraud Stories. Haberman doesn't like his profile and said it was based on the opinions of a woman who is a proud member of the first wives club. Haberman said that for his ex-wife their short-lived marriage was all about the money. To vouch for him, Haberman had his friend, Pamela J. Sweeny, contact Lovefraud as well. Sweeny wrote, "Phil was a lonely soldier desperate for the family he never had before shipping out. He wanted someone to be waiting at home for him, and thought this woman and her daughter were exactly what he needed — unfortunately she really is a 'card chaser' looking for her latest meal t …

Phil Haberman keeps the con goingRead More

I happened to see the Dr. Phil Show on March 23, 2006. The topic for the day was Nasty Custody Battles. (The show originally aired on January 9, 2006.) One segment was called An Out-of-Control Father? It featured Angela and Chris, the parents of a seven-year-old girl. Chris wanted visitation rights. Angela didn't want Chris to see their daughter. She feared for the girl's safety. Why? Here's how Chris matter-of-factly described his past on the show: "As a juvenile, I was incarcerated for burning down a house. I stabbed one guy three times and it paralyzed him from the neck down. They ended up convicting me of assault causing bodily injury," he said. "I was arrested in 2001 for …

Looks like a sociopath on the Dr. Phil ShowRead More