Allen says he’s victim in ‘catfishing’ scheme

Former Heat star accused in online stalking lawsuit.

ORLANDO — Former Heat star Ray Allen said he is a victim of “catfishing,” and asked a court to throw out a case where he is accused of stalking someonehe met online.

Allen filed an emergency motion in Orange County on Tuesday, one day after Bryant Coleman told the court he is being stalked by the 10-time All-Star and twotime NBA champion.

Allen said Coleman is the one who is stalking.

“Coleman pretended to be a number of attractive women interested in Ray Allen,” read the motion filed on Allen’s behalf. “Ray believed he was speaking with these women and communicated with them.”

Attorney David Oscar Markus released a statement saying Allen took legal action in an effort to put an end to threats against him and his family, and that Allen was the victim “of an online scheme to extract money and embar- rass him by someone who appears to be troubled.”

In the filing, Allen said Coleman threatened to reveal details of their conversations, and that the sides eventually struck a deal to keep everything private.Allen said that deal has been violated and Coleman has continued to harass him and his family through several social-media accounts.

“He posted about Ray’s wife, Ray’s children, Ray’s dog, Ray’s homes, Ray ’s wife’s restaurant, and numerous other personal items,” read the motion. “Coleman not only posted about these things, he would actually post while physically located inside Ray’s wife’s restaurant in Orlando. And he would make sure they knew it, tagging Ray and his wife on those posts.”

Allen, who lives near Miami, asked the court to stop Coleman’s “cy b erstalking.”

“Ray regrets ever engaging with this person online and is thankful they never met in person,” Markus said. “This experience has negatively impacted Ray, and he hopes that others might use his mistake to learn the dangers of communicating online with strangers.”