Match.com claims it has some 20 million registered users, but the $5 million federal suit alleges that the website is leaving some profiles up, even after those people stop paying to be there.

Before meeting his wife, Barry turned to Match.com, where he says he was rejected over and over again.

"It was really depressing. I get into writing, I write very deeply, and it really hurt," he explained.

So what went wrong? Barry believes he was actually sending emails to ghosts of Match.com’s past.

A class action lawsuit seeking more than $5 million in damages claims the company keeps profiles of cancelled members up on the site, pretending they're still current and creating false hope.

"I put a lot of time and effort into these subscribers I feel they never existed," Barry said, however he did admit the people might have not been attracted to him.

But attorney Norah Hart claims she has proof through her own clients.

"They cancelled their subscriptions and then they still get emails from March. It says someone's trying to reach you maybe he's the one or she's the one and that's when they realize if these people are writing to me and I’m a cancelled member, I can't read their email, I must have been writing to people who were cancelled who couldn't read my email," she said.

Match.com says "the allegation that we would deceive our subscribers by encouraging them to connect with inactive members does not make sense and is contradicted by our 14 year record."

It’s not the first time the company has been sued. In 2005, a subscriber cried ‘date bait,’ claiming Match set him up with an employee posing as a member to keep him from cancelling his subscription. The suit was thrown out.

Yahoo Personals was also sued for allegedly posting fake profiles, something the company denied.