Manti Te’o Was Duped By A Man Who Made Late Night Phone Calls

Manti Te’o wasn’t only drawn into a false relationship with photos of his fake girlfriend, it turns out that his late night calls were made by a desperate man.

Ronaiah Tuiasosopo’s lawyer claims that his client used the voice of a woman in order to trick Manti Te’o during numerous late night phone calls.

Tuiasosopo’s lawyer tells the New York Daily News that his client disguised his voice and assumed the identity of Lennay Kekua in order to develop a relationship with Te’o.

Attorney Milton Grimes tells the publication:

“This wasn’t a prank to make fun. It was establishing a communication with someone. … It was a person with a troubled existence trying to reach out and communicate and have a relationship.”

Tuisasosopo, 22, used his training as a dramatic actor to fool Te’o into believing that he was in fact a female.

Grimes said of his clients choice:

“Come on, Hollywood does it all the time. People can do that.”

Ronaiah was so good at tricking Manti Te’o that he was able to spend many late-night hours on the phone with his fake girlfriend without noticing she was actually a he.

Te’o was part of the fake relationship for nearly four-months. During that time Manti believed his fake girlfriend was being treated in a Los Angeles hospital from an accident she sustained and then later for cancer treatments.

More than 1,000 calls totaling more than 500 hours in length were shared between the two men. According to ESPN at least 110 of those calls lasted at least 60 minutes.

Are you shocked by this newest revelation in the Manti Te’o case?