A conman-turned-doctor is working as a gynecologist in New Jersey — despite being exposed as a long-term catfisher in one of this summer’s most talked-about coastal news stories.
Described by sociologist Ethan Schuman Anna Akbari's “There Is No Ethan” is actually Dr. Emily MarantzThe book’s author told The Post that Dr. John Livingston, 39, lives in New Jersey and works at Jersey City Medical Center, owned by RWJBarnabas Health.
This nonfiction book, which is also part memoir, tells the story of how three accomplished, well-educated women — including Akbari, who taught psychology at NYU — worked together to track down and expose an online predator who had cruelly manipulated their emotions for years, taking advantage of the anonymity of the internet to carry out his twisted plan.
“We know of 10 victims, and this continued for more than a decade,” Akbari told the Post.
Marantz, who has been in the medical profession for 11 years, uses her married name in her professional life. But Akbari readers know her by her maiden name, Emily Slutsky.
In 2010, through a profile he created on the dating site OKCupid, Marantz misled several women into believing he was an attractive, 6-foot-tall, Columbia and MIT-educated, BMW-driving Jewish economic analyst with a dog named Harvey who lived on the Upper West Side.
She wasn't after the money. Instead, Marantz led her victims to fall in love with Ethan over time, through her unique, charming messages — some of which were sent from Ireland, where she studied medicine. What drove the doctor's sick behavior? Victims said in the book that she simply wanted to emotionally devastate and degrade attractive, successful women.
But all three women — Akbari; a woman known only as “British Anna,” and Gina Delago, an architect who studied at both Harvard and Princeton — realized something was wrong when Ethan was never available for video chats and constantly canceled dates at the last minute.
That's when the women found each other online and set out to stop Ethan.
Soon after the conversation began and a strong connection was established, Marantz confided in Akbari that Ethan had esophageal cancer, for which he required immediate surgery — Akbari said this was the most heinous act of emotional abuse she had ever endured.
“Emily asked Ethan to pretend to have cancer so that while we were talking, she would be diagnosed with cancer, even though she already knew I had lost someone close to me” — her grandmother — to lung cancer “about a month prior,” she said.
“Of course, she knew I wouldn't leave the person who told me this, because by then the intimacy and closeness between us was well established.”
The book consists mostly of conversations Akbari had with her false Romeo, who was known for always saying the right thing, often starting unimportant drama to cause a quarrel, and then punishing her with a period of unusual silence or by reactivating his dating profile.
“Emotional abuse, that was her character choice,” Akbari said. “Why? I don't know. But she was making us question ourselves.”
In her book she describes it as “I felt like I had entered an emotional blender.”
With Dallago, Marantz would shower her with compliments and desire to learn more about her, and then talk about her Catholic background, noting that his mother would never accept it. He would plan trips only to cancel them a few days in advance, without giving a reason.
Marantz never faced any consequences for his actions, as he never violated any laws.
“Will someone who is facing no consequences for their past bad behavior stop doing it?” Akbari asked. “That's an interesting question.”
Marantz declined to answer his door Friday evening and did not return calls or emails seeking comment.
“Jersey City Medical Center has full confidence in Dr. Marantz’s ability to provide the highest quality care to his patients,” a hospital spokesperson told the Post. “The incidents from more than a decade ago have been reviewed and resolved to the medical center’s satisfaction.”
A video promoting the Jersey City Medical Center that featured Marantz was removed from YouTube on Friday.
As detailed in his book, Akbari said there were numerous instances where people in power, including university authorities, were aware of his abhorrent behaviour but ignored it.
“It's not my job to say what is a violation of medical ethics or the Hippocratic oath, but it's shocking to me if it doesn't qualify,” Akbari said. “It raises a lot of questions, like should we be held accountable for our digital behavior the same way we are for our physical behavior? In a culture where it seems like everyone is so easily canceled, this is a notable case.”
Akbari added: “This raises a number of other questions, such as who is allowed to get away with this type of behaviour and why, and do we agree with it?”