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False Identity

Best Article Science

The Identity Hoaxers

What if people don’t just invent medical symptoms to get attention—what if they feign oppression, too?

Helen Lewis The Atlantic Mar 2021 Permalink

Best Article Crime

The Man in the Rockefeller Suit

When Clark Rockefeller snatched his daughter during a custody dispute, what the D.A. called “the longest con I’ve seen in my professional career” came unraveled, and the trail led to bones buried in a California backyard.

Mark Seal Vanity Fair Jan 2009 50min Permalink

Crime

Convincing a Murderer Not to Die

Christian Longo brutally murdered his familyand then posed in Mexico as a New York Times reporter named Michael Finkel. From death row, Longo asked the real Finkel to attend his execution.

Michael Finkel Esquire Dec 2009 1h Permalink

Best Article

An IM Infatuation Turned to Romance. Then the Truth Came Out.

He was an 18 year old Marine bound for Iraq. She was a high school senior in West Virginia. They grew intimate over IM. His dad also started contacting her.  No one was who they claimed to be and it led to a murder.

Nadya Labi Wired Aug 2007 15min Permalink

Crime

Inside the Secret Life of Ronald Stan

Jeff Walton is a 69-year-old plumber with a wife and 35-year-old son. It turns out he’s also Ronald Stan, a Canadian man who faked his own death in 1977.

Tim Alamenciak The Toronto Star Sep 2014 15min Permalink

Crime Sports

The Kid Who Wasn't There

An investigation into the true identity of a high school basketball player.

Wright Thompson ESPN Apr 2012 Permalink

Arts Crime

The Lies of Laura Albert, a.k.a. JT LeRoy

For nearly a decade, Laura Albert lived a double life as troubled teen turned cult writer J.T. Leroy, writing books, chatting constantly with celebrities, and convincing another woman to appear as J.T. Leroy in public.

Nancy Rommelmann LA Weekly Feb 2008 35min Permalink