IM-001 · 1874
Impostor · England
The Tichborne Claimant — a butcher convicted of being a baronet
Two of the longest trials in English legal history · Convicted
IM-002 · 1817
Impostor · England
Princess Caraboo — a cobbler’s daughter feted as shipwrecked royalty
A Bristol lodging-keeper who knew her by sight · Exposed
IM-003 · 1956
Impostor · United States
Ferdinand Waldo Demara — the surgeon, monk and warden who held no degree
Public renown that outran his stolen names · Exposed
IM-004 · 1972
Impostor · United States
Clifford Irving — an author convicted of inventing Howard Hughes
A telephone denial from the billionaire himself · Convicted
IM-005 · 2006
Impostor · United States
James Frey — a memoirist who turned hours in custody into months
A six-week investigation by The Smoking Gun · Exposed
IM-006 · 2008
Impostor · Belgium
Misha Defonseca — a Holocaust survival “memoir” that was wholly invented
Forensic genealogy and Belgian press, confirmed by her 2008 admission · Exposed
IM-007 · 1998
Impostor · Switzerland
Binjamin Wilkomirski — an acclaimed camp memoir by a man who was never there
Journalist Daniel Ganzfried's documents, confirmed by historian Stefan Maechler · Exposed
IM-008 · 2006
Impostor · San Francisco
JT LeRoy — a wounded boy novelist who never existed
A 2005 magazine exposé, a 2006 New York Times report, and a 2007 fraud verdict · Unmasked
IM-009 · 1938
Impostor · Saskatchewan
Grey Owl — an Englishman who lived and died as an “Indian”
The North Bay Nugget, which broke the story the day he died · Revealed
IM-010 · 1991
Impostor · Alabama
Forrest Carter — a Klansman who wrote as a Cherokee orphan
The New York Times in 1976, and conclusively by Dan T. Carter in 1991 · Exposed
IM-011 · 2019
Impostor · New York
Anna Sorokin — a fake German heiress convicted of grand larceny
A Manhattan grand-larceny trial in 2019 · Convicted
IM-012 · 1905
Impostor · Cleveland
Cassie Chadwick — Carnegie’s “secret daughter,” convicted of bank fraud
A creditor's 1904 lawsuit and a bank run · Convicted
IM-013 · 2006
Impostor · Sunderland
Wearside Jack — the hoaxer who diverted the hunt for a serial killer
A 2005 cold-case DNA match · Convicted
IM-014 · 2005
Impostor · San Antonio
Frédéric Bourdin — a French adult who passed as a missing Texas boy
A private investigator's ear comparison and an FBI DNA test · Exposed
IM-015 · 1983
Impostor · New York
David Hampton — a con man who played Sidney Poitier’s son
Cross-checked stories, a repeat appearance, and a guest discovered in bed · Convicted