Anna North — You know how one time in high school you made up a fake boy and IM'ed some girl you didn't like as "him" and asked her out on a date, but then you couldn't figure out how to keep things going so you just told her he moved to Florida? That, on a much grander scale, is what happened to Paula Bonhomme.
According to ABC, Bonhomme, who's now 50, started chatting with a woman named Janna St. James on a Deadwood message board in 2005 (Bonhomme was apparently married at the time). St. James then e-introduced Bonhomme to her "friend," one Jesse Jubilee James (guess that name wasn't as bad an idea back then) who said he was a firefighter and who soon professed his love for Bonhomme. He also introduced Bonhomme to several members of his family, and she says she sent them gifts worth $10,000.
In 2006 Bonhomme agreed to move to Colorado to be with James — but then his "sister" told her James had suddenly died. St. James remained friends with Bonhomme, even accompanying her on a trip to Colorado so they could mourn. It was only when St. James visited Bonhomme in California and Bonhomme's friends confronted her (video of which is at left) that the truth came out — James had never been real.
http://jezebel.com/#!5796755/woman-deceived-in-fake+boyfriend-hoax-for-six-years