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Preposterous Imposters (Identity Thieves; Fraudsters; Etc.)

Hello from the future! I don't think so.

I'm looking for one too, hoping to post this video about a man who pretended to be Peter Criss of KISS, and in a strange turn of events ended up meeting the real deal on TV.

Of all the people to impersonate, why choose the third-best drummer from Kiss? (Fourth-best if you count Anton Fig as having been a member of the band.
 
Couldn't watch all the vid, the interviewers voice was doing my nut in
 
Nice of the real Paul McCartney to have turned up in the audience (at the back, 31:35)
Well, it does look like a nice warm studio.
Macca.jpg
 
Pssshhhh, the missus says it's easy to fake it for 20 years.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/woman-faked-being-nurse-jonquiere-20-years-1.5157101
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With no training or certification, a woman who worked as a nurse in Jonquière for 20 years has turned out not to be a nurse at all, according to Quebec's Order of Nurses.

The order said this week it was looking into the case. The woman, whose identity has not been revealed, worked in several different departments in the hospital, including surgery.

She had been using the licence number of another accredited nurse who has the same name and also works in the region, according to Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) du Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, the region's health authority.
 
Pssshhhh, the missus says it's easy to fake it for 20 years.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/woman-faked-being-nurse-jonquiere-20-years-1.5157101
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With no training or certification, a woman who worked as a nurse in Jonquière for 20 years has turned out not to be a nurse at all, according to Quebec's Order of Nurses.

The order said this week it was looking into the case. The woman, whose identity has not been revealed, worked in several different departments in the hospital, including surgery.

She had been using the licence number of another accredited nurse who has the same name and also works in the region, according to Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) du Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, the region's health authority.
Wow
 
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The same Diderici alleged to have vanished from a prison in front of witnesses was in prison for having impersonated Captain Fritz Alswanger (for whom he'd served as valet, and to whom he had a remarkable resemblance).

The vanishing story is probably apocryphal, but the impersonation bit is well documented.

http://anomalyinfo.com/Stories/1811-double-life-captain-fritz-alswanger
 
I’m surprised that no- one has yet mentioned the case of the Tichborne Claimant.

14049059.jpg


Thumbnail: In 1854 the wealthy heir to the baronetcy of Tichborne was lost at sea off the coast of Brazil, having been packed off on a three-year round the world trip to knock out of his head his passion for a cousin.

Mum refused to believe he was dead, and published newspaper appeals promising that anyone who could provide info as to his whereabouts would be able to trouser a hefty wedge.

Amazingly - :rolleyes: - she received an answer. A man claimed to be her little Roger. Except that he was a butcher in Australia. And was several inches shorter, and stones fatter, than the missing aristo. And he’d apparently forgotten how to speak French. And had changed his handwriting, like you do.

Obvs, mamma believed him!

Then mamma died, and the lardy Ozzie butcher Baronet Tichborne initiated a court case to establish his bona fides.

Did he win?

;)

maximus otter
 
Uncovered due to his "insane story".

A man who claimed to be a substitute teacher and survivor of a school shooting in Texas in 2018 never actually worked at the school, officials say.

David Briscoe told news outlets he had protected students from harm while working at Santa Fe High School, where 10 people were killed. The Texas Tribune revealed the truth behind his false claims on Monday. But not before CNN, Wall Street Journal and others had published his lies.

After tweeting about the shooting at the time, the account @Daviddbriscoe was approached by the BBC. Mr Briscoe claimed in a private Twitter message to have been a teacher at the school who had got scared and had left the scene. The BBC did not pursue him further or use any of his quotes in their coverage.

Mr Briscoe told CNN at the time he had been teaching English when he heard screaming and gunshots.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48836786
 
She has won awards and accolades, and has been feted internationally for her scientific work, but now a woman hailed as one of Greece's youngest and brightest minds has come under more intense scrutiny than ever before.
The rise and possible fall of Eleni Antoniadou, 31, has become the subject of intense discussion among Greeks.
For years she has been giving interviews portraying herself as a researcher working for Nasa; an expert on regenerative medicine; a maker of cutting-edge artificial organs; a passionate activist against organ trafficking; and a trainer of astronauts.
But it seems that not a single Greek news outlet, out of dozens that have interviewed her, ever bothered to check if everything that had been attributed to her was entirely accurate.


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49753214
 
I wonder what it was that tipped off Florida residents this guy claiming to be "the Sheriff" was a fake ... :thought:

The bulletproof vest worn on a house call? The New Jersey license tags? ...

... Or perhaps the fact he was driving a Maserati? :roll:
Man claiming to be a sheriff accused of impersonating a cop

A New York man claiming he was “The Sheriff” was arrested on New Year’s Day after investigators said he tried to impersonate a law enforcement officer to get rid of a lien placed against his new home.

Todd Gieger, 51, of Montville, New York, faces two counts of false impersonation of a law enforcement officer, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff’s investigators said they learned in November that Gieger tried to intimidate a subcontractor who had placed a lien against the home Gieger was having built in Sarasota County due to lack of payment.

Geiger drove to the subcontractor’s neighborhood in a white Maserati with New Jersey license plates and asked neighbors about him.

“He was wearing a bulletproof vest, had a law enforcement type badge clipped to his belt, and he was presenting himself as the sheriff,” Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Jason Mruczek told news outlets.

Gieger also called other subcontractors involved in the lien and the construction company building his home, the agency said. During these calls he also claimed to be a law enforcement officer

The agency did not say how the allegations came to light or if Gieger made any statements when deputies arrested him.
SOURCE: https://apnews.com/2b5246ec73d8cee09af220b711b2635d
 
It's just emerged in the swedish news that a fake officer has been working for the military for 20 years. He has had several high-ranking jobs, which included access to matters of national security.
 
It's just emerged in the swedish news that a fake officer has been working for the military for 20 years. He has had several high-ranking jobs, which included access to matters of national security.

More info (in Swedish) :

The man has stated that he graduated in 1999 with the Signal Troops Officer's College in Enköping - but he never studied there. His forged diploma is signed with the name of a non-existent colonel.

In defense, the man has worked as a captain in Kosovo and a major in Afghanistan, where he supervised soldiers and was responsible for information security.

For that, he needed both a reserve officer's degree and a special education at the National Defense College - but he lacks both.


https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/falsk-officer-ljog-sig-till-toppjobb-i-20-ar
 
More info (in Swedish) :

The man has stated that he graduated in 1999 with the Signal Troops Officer's College in Enköping - but he never studied there. His forged diploma is signed with the name of a non-existent colonel.

In defense, the man has worked as a captain in Kosovo and a major in Afghanistan, where he supervised soldiers and was responsible for information security.

For that, he needed both a reserve officer's degree and a special education at the National Defense College - but he lacks both.

https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/falsk-officer-ljog-sig-till-toppjobb-i-20-ar

Another report on the "major".

Make-believe major in Swedish army echoes con trick of Friedrich Voigt
Security breach of fraud’s rise through military reminds of 1906 Köpenick shoemaker

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/wor...echoes-con-trick-of-friedrich-voigt-1.4143234
 
This impostor cost her employer millions ...
Walgreens to pay $7.5M in settlement over phony pharmacist

Walgreens will pay $7.5 million to settle with California authorities after an employee was criminally charged with impersonating a pharmacist and illegally filling more than 745,000 prescriptions in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Kim Thien Le has pleaded not guilty to felony impersonation charges. Prosecutors said that from late 2006 through 2017, Le used the license numbers of registered pharmacists in order to impersonate them and dispense prescriptions at Walgreens stores in Santa Clara and Alameda counties.

The prescriptions allegedly included more than 100,000 for opioids such as fentanyl, morphine and codeine.

Le herself didn’t have a pharmacist license, prosecutors said.

The district attorneys in both counties filed a consumer protection action against Walgreens. Prosecutors on Monday announced that the pharmacy giant agreed to settle. The company will pay $7.5 million in penalties, costs and remedial payments.

“The burden is on the company to make sure its employees are properly licensed and to complete a thorough background check,” Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley said in a news release announcing the settlement. ...
FULL STORY: https://apnews.com/a3c0979140d66397a01498f2744ea84b
 
It's not clear whether this cop impersonator had ever tried to act like / as a law enforcement official, but he was certainly equipped for the role.
‘I’m the sheriff’: Detroit-area lawman stops phony cop car

A man driving what appeared to be a police car didn’t fool a suspicious sheriff in suburban Detroit.

Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said he was driving away from a meeting Thursday when he spotted a vehicle with police-style bumpers, an array of lights on the back and a decal that read “emergency response.”

Bouchard activated his emergency lights and stopped the vehicle. He said there was a fake radar on the dashboard and a police-style computer. He also discovered a loaded gun and a large knife.

“He looks at me and says, ‘Who are you?’ And I said, ‘I’m the sheriff. Who are you?’” Bouchard told WDIV-TV.

The man was arrested. Charges are pending.

“We want to know if anybody had been stopped by this vehicle,” the sheriff said.
FULL STORY: https://apnews.com/bed82d0f91d1b1b45e5fb17423578b37
 
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It's not clear whether this cop impersonator had ever tried to act like / as a law enforcement official, but he was certainly equipped for the role.
FULL STORY: https://apnews.com/bed82d0f91d1b1b45e5fb17423578b37

Update:

The faux cop has now been formally charged and arraigned ...
Man charged after sheriff stops vehicle resembling cop car

A Detroit-area man who was driving a SUV decked out like a police car when he was stopped by a county sheriff has been charged.

Adrian Ansah-Asante was arraigned Saturday in the Oakland County Jail on a felony concealed weapons charge and misdemeanor possession of flashing lights ...

Sheriff Mike Bouchard pulled over the vehicle Thursday in Waterford Township after noticing it had police-style bumpers, an array of lights on the back and a decal that read “emergency response.”

The vehicle was speeding and had illegally tinted front windows ...

Bouchard said there was a fake radar on the dashboard and a police-style computer. He also discovered a loaded gun and a large knife.

The sheriff’s office was trying to determine if anyone has been stopped by the vehicle, Bouchard said. ...

Bond was set at $50,000. Ansah-Asante was to be placed on GPS tether before release from the jail. He also was ordered not to operate a vehicle equipped with emergency lights or possess firearms or other weapons. ...
FULL STORY: https://apnews.com/bed82d0f91d1b1b45e5fb17423578b37
 
This guy needed to prevent charges from being filed against him, so he impersonated two prosecutors. A real prosecutor had the final say ...
Florida man accused of impersonating state prosecutors sentenced to 10 years in prison

Christian Mosco tried to drop charges against himself

A Volusia County man was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday after authorities say he impersonated two assistant state attorneys and filing a false court document.

The 7th Circuit State Attorney’s Office said Christian Mosco used the personal identification of two assistant state attorneys to file a “no information” document to try and drop charges against himself. The Volusia County Clerk of Court’s office thought the document seemed suspicious and contacted the state attorney. After an investigation, the two offices determined the document was fraudulent. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.clickorlando.com/news/l...medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark
 
Pakistan's civilian pilot population is disturbingly riddled with fakers / imposters ...
Almost 1 in 3 pilots in Pakistan have fake licenses, aviation minister says

More than 30% of civilian pilots in Pakistan have fake licenses and are not qualified to fly, the country's aviation minister revealed Wednesday.

Addressing Pakistan's National Assembly, Ghulam Sarwar Khan said 262 pilots in the country "did not take the exam themselves" and had paid someone else to sit it on their behalf.
"They don't have flying experience," he said.

Pakistan has 860 active pilots serving its domestic airlines -- including the country's Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flagship -- as well as a number of foreign carriers, Khan said.
PIA has grounded all its pilots who hold fake licenses, effective immediately.

"PIA acknowledges that fake licenses is not just a PIA issue but spread across the entire Pakistani airline industry," spokesperson Abdullah Khan said, adding that some of the fake pilots also fly for foreign carriers.

The results of the investigation were announced Wednesday as part of a preliminary report into a plane crash that killed 97 people in the southern city of Karachi on May 22. The PIA plane crashed after taking off from Lahore, killing all but two of the passengers and crew on board. ...

Khan did not clarify if the two pilots on flight PK 8303 held fake licenses. ...

FULL STORY: https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/25/business/pakistan-fake-pilot-intl-hnk/index.html
 
Another apparent cop impersonator in California ...
Upland police arrest armed man driving in Charger that resembles police vehicle

Upland police arrested an armed man who was driving around in a vehicle that was made to look like a police vehicle Thursday. ...

They observed that the man was driving in a black Dodge Charger that resembled a police vehicle.

Video from the scene shows the vehicle has blue police-style flashing lights mounted in the windshield and a push bumper mounted in front, as well as several antennas that appeared to be magnetically mounted.

Officers searched the vehicle and say they found a loaded rifle, a shotgun and a handgun. Video also showed the officers looking at what appeared to be a badge and a credential.

The man was placed under arrest and the vehicle was towed. ...

FULL STORY: https://abc7.com/police-impersonator-dodge-charger-vehicle-upland/6344162/
 
I’m surprised that no- one has yet mentioned the case of the Tichborne Claimant.

14049059.jpg


Thumbnail: In 1854 the wealthy heir to the baronetcy of Tichborne was lost at sea off the coast of Brazil, having been packed off on a three-year round the world trip to knock out of his head his passion for a cousin.

Mum refused to believe he was dead, and published newspaper appeals promising that anyone who could provide info as to his whereabouts would be able to trouser a hefty wedge.

Amazingly - :rolleyes: - she received an answer. A man claimed to be her little Roger. Except that he was a butcher in Australia. And was several inches shorter, and stones fatter, than the missing aristo. And he’d apparently forgotten how to speak French. And had changed his handwriting, like you do.

Obvs, mamma believed him!

Then mamma died, and the lardy Ozzie butcher Baronet Tichborne initiated a court case to establish his bona fides.

Did he win?

;)

maximus otter
This has always puzzled me. I understand that Mama may have been delusional, but so many other people believed in the claimant?
 
TORONTO -- An activist and historian admitted Thursday in a bizarre online confession that she has been pretending to be a Black woman for years.

Jessica A. Krug has described herself over the years as having various Black heritages, from North African to Caribbean to Afro-Latina.

But according to a Medium article penned by Krug herself, she has never been any of these things. She grew up as a “white Jewish child in suburban Kansas City,” and completely fabricated her identity as a person of colour.


Full Article:
https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/historian-confesses-she-has-posed-as-a-black-woman-for-years-1.5092034
 
A grad student / teaching assistant and candidate for a university teaching position has resigned after admitting she'd been falsely claiming to be African American.
University of Wisconsin-Madison grad student admits pretending to be a person of color

A graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has resigned from a teaching position after admitting on social media that they falsely claimed to be a person of color.

CV Vitolo-Haddad apologized last week in two posts on Medium and announced that they were leaving their position as the co-president of the university's Teaching Assistants' Association (TAA). Vitolo-Haddad uses the nonbinary pronouns they/them.

The apologies came after an anonymous post on Medium accused Vitolo-Haddad of misleading people about their racial and ethnic identity.

In a September 6 post addressed to "dear friends, loved ones and organizing comrades," Vitolo-Haddad wrote that they were "so deeply sorry for the ways you are hurting right now because of me."

"I have let guesses about my ancestry become answers I wanted but couldn't prove. I have let people make assumptions when I should have corrected them," Vitolo-Haddad wrote.

In a second post that was edited on September 11, Vitolo-Haddad wrote that they were of southern Italian/Sicilian heritage.

"It was my choice and error to identify any differently," Vitolo-Haddad wrote. ...

FULL STORY: https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/17/us/wisconsin-grad-student-race-trnd/index.html
 
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