A former music student was awarded $270,000 after his girlfriend impersonated him to reject his dream college

• Former music student Eric Ambramovitz won a $270,000 court case against his ex-girlfriend.
• His ex Jennifer Lee impersonated him to reject a scholarship for free tuition to learn with one of the best clarinet instructors in the world, who takes only two students a year.
• Ambramovitz now has a job with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra.

Former McGill University student Eric Abramovitz was awarded $350,000 Canadian — roughly $270,000 in US currency — in a Canadian court ruling against his ex-girlfriend, Jennifer Lee. What did Lee do? She impersonated him in order to reject a scholarship that she was afraid would have led him break up with her.

Abramovitz was attending McGill University in 2013 and one of the top clarinet players in Canada, according to the Montreal Gazette, when he applied for a two-year program at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles to finish his bachelor's degree. He aimed to study under Yehuda Gilad, widely considered to be among the greatest clarinet teachers in the world. The application includes an exhaustive pre-screening process and a live audition in Los Angeles before Gilad and other faculty members.

The conservatory scholarship included free tuition, room and board, and a stipend for meals and other expenses — all worth around $40,000 in US dollars.

Gilad accepts only two students every year, and Abramovitz was one of them.

But he never found out.

Lee, a fellow McGill student with whom Abramovitz had a relationship, was afraid he'd move away and break up with her. So she deleted Abramovitz' acceptance email and sent one to Colburn as Abramovitz rejecting the scholarship.

Then Lee apparently created a new email address and pretended to be Gilad in emails to Abramovitz. With that account, she emailed Abramovitz that Colburn rejected him.

Abramovitz, thinking that Colburn turned him down, finished his studies at McGill. He later did a two-year certificate program at the University of Southern California, where Gilad taught part-time.

When Abramovitz learned what happened, two years later, he sued Lee.

"I cannot speculate as to how high and how quickly Mr. Abramovitz’s career might have soared, but for the interference by Ms. Lee," the judge wrote in his ruling. "But the law does recognize that the loss of a chance is a very real and compensable loss."

The $350,000 figure in damages factors in lost scholarship tuition, lost wages, and damages for Lee's "despicable interference in Mr. Abramovitz’s career," according to the judge.

Abramovitz now plays in the Nashville Symphony Orchestra.

Gilad himself wishes things were different.

"I am very frustrated that a highly talented musician like Eric was the victim of such an unthinkable, immoral act that delayed his progress and advancement as an up-and-coming young musician, and delayed his embarking on a most promising career," Gilad told the Montreal Gazette.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: This top economist has a radical plan to change the way Americans vote