This was all too predictable: Again and again, Eric’s explanation of various predicaments sounded plausible to Debby as well as to her parents, who were helping her run the family’s business. “The story was so compelling that you would never, ever think it was fake,” said her father, Jack Butz, a retired dentist. “She’s not the kind of girl you could slip things over on.” Online, Eric introduced Debby to his 10-year-old son, Kenny, who lived with his widowed sister, Mary, in Eng...
