It takes years to build a reputation and seconds to destroy it. It’s a reality 22-year-old Alex Bugay, a college student pursuing a career in medicine at the University of Central Florida (UCF), learned the hard way after he says someone posed as him online and put his future at risk.
"I felt my future was gone," said Bugay, describing the impact of a hateful message directed at Georgia State Representative Mesha Mainor.
"Basically my entire reputation was destroyed.”
Alex Bugay
"An individual commented in my name using my name, email, and phone number," Bugay explained. "Awful racist comments.”
The comment was made after Representative Mainor announced her switch from the Democratic to the Republican Party.
"I was shocked. I didn’t even know about the whole situation," Bugay said.
He says the representative then shared the comment on her X account, formerly known as Twitter, with Bugay’s information included. Public outrage followed.
"People are saying awful things about me. They're calling me a racist," Bugay said. "So many people on Twitter (X) were just adding like places that I've worked so hard to get. Yeah, it was hard," he said.
Following the incident, Bugay says he was removed from his volunteering position at Orlando Health.
Bugay took the matter to campus police and filed a report for cyberstalking. "I remember sitting in the police station, and once I realized the extent, I just sat there crying and I'm like, what am I going to do? My life is over," he recalled.
Weeks later, Representative Mainor issued an apology on her X page that said in part “…It became apparent the response did not come from Alex. Instead, it came from a person impersonating Alex. Alex has shown me proof that the submission was falsely attributed to his name. I apologize to Alex for the harm this has caused him…”
Bugay says he also wrote letters to UCF and Orlando Health to clear his name. "So I was actually very grateful that she had written that, because that was definitely the start towards restoring my reputation," Bugay said.
The Representative told NBC6 in an email she took Bugay’s word and law enforcement at all levels are involved in the investigation.
When it comes to these crimes, Special Agent Supervisor Nigel Morrison with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said, "The spreading of harmful material, impersonating someone, it causes undue daily stress on that individual. There are cases of individuals who have taken their life.”
Morrison, who is not involved in Bugay's case, added that tracking down the person behind a fake post is not an easy task. "We are working with IP addresses and actually forensically examining devices, looking at email headers," he said.
When asked Bugay if he thought he was targeted, he said, "I absolutely think this was targeted."
He wouldn't say more about who he believes is responsible, citing the pending investigations.
But he has a message for others in his shoes: "You're going to have to fight. And that's what it's been for me. It's been a fight. But I have not given up and I will not give up."
Orlando Health didn’t respond to our specific questions about Bugay’s case but told us in a statement, in part, "Volunteers have always been a vital part of Orlando Health and play an important role in the healthcare system’s mission of improving the health and quality of life of our patients, their families, and community."
As for UCF, a spokesperson said they have no updates about its ongoing investigation into the matter.
The Miami-Dade Police Department is also investigating his case.
