NFL

Odell Beckham’s ‘fiancée’ was an elaborate Internet hoax

The life of a star athlete is a dream, replete with women, millions of dollars and adulation from the general public.

It also has its treacherous pitfalls. The tangled web of social media is one of them. Just ask Giants rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who reportedly was the victim of an elaborate hoax from a made-up woman claiming to be his fiancée and accusing him of philandering just as he had arrived as a first-round NFL draft pick.

The woman making the claims, Erica Mendez, never existed, according to a report on The Big Lead.

The first mainstream mention of Mendez came when he appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” with several other top prospects on May 7, the day before the NFL Draft.

Last week, Mendez claimed to be Beckham’s “fiancée” in a story published on RadarOnline.com. The Big Lead reported Mendez is a “fake online person” that has existed in the digital realm for several months.

The tall tale is reminiscent of the catfishing saga of Manti Te’o — except, of course, the athlete wasn’t duped. Beckham denied any knowledge of the woman from the moment the story broke and has been vindicated by the exposé.

Danielle Nash, who said she was representing Erica Mendez, denied the report.

The online photos of Mendez — including on a personal website attributed to Mendez — are actually a pair of cousins from California, the report said.

Screen grab from Erica Mendez’s website, which has since been taken down. The photo is actually of model Dior Patterson, according to The Big Lead.

Photos used on Mendez’s website were taken by photographers Milon Carter and Louis Cuthbert. Carter told The Big Lead the woman pictured is Dior Patterson and the website was using his photos without permission. Another photo used on the site and on now-deleted Twitter and Instagram accounts are of Patterson’s cousin, Jade Morning, she told The Big Lead. She said she saw the photos of her attached to the Beckham story, and she’s made efforts to address the issue, going as far as to send an email to Nev Schulman, host of MTV’s “Catfish.”

The Mendez hoax has been going on for several months. Mendez was first linked to Beckham, according to The Big Lead, on the website Baller Alert in February, and that mention was picked up by other sites.