Buzz
The world is overflowing with deceitful individuals and fraudsters. Some go to great lengths, dedicating their lives to executing a 'long con' for substantial financial gain. Others take these schemes even further by exploiting the most vulnerable—those who can no longer protect themselves—the deceased.
10. Emily Grant Hutchings
When aspiring authors face repeated rejections from publishers, it can feel like a book deal is out of reach. As strange as it may sound, several people in the early 1900s asserted that they were in contact with renowned deceased writers through Ouija boards.
One such liar was Emily Grant Hutchings. In 1917, she authored a book titled Jap Herron: A Novel Written From the Ouija Board. She asserted that the ghost of renowned author Mark Twain had communicated with her, asking her to transcribe a new novel from the afterlife.
For those interested, the full novel can be found on Google Books. However, Twain’s 'ghost' seemed to have lost its literary prowess in the afterlife. The New York Times harshly criticized the book and humorously suggested that Twain’s ghost should appear in court via the Ouija board to defend his honor.
The holders of Mark Twain’s intellectual property rights filed a lawsuit against Emily’s publisher, who was forced to cease the printing and sale of the novel. Despite the book’s lack of commercial success, Emily still garnered a review in The New York Times and managed to profit from the controversy surrounding the book.
9. Brian Adams
Brian Adams, a 56-year-old unemployed man, lived with his elderly mother, Janell, and his son in Green Cove Springs, Florida. Their income came solely from Janell’s Social Security benefits and her pension each month.
In 2014, Brian learned that his mother had passed away from natural causes. Reporting her death would leave him and his son without any source of income. He persuaded his son to help him move Janell’s body to the backyard, dig a deep hole, and bury her.
Each month, the money continued to flow in. Brian would deposit the checks into Janell’s account and immediately transfer the funds into his own. This scheme continued for quite some time, and he accumulated a total of $35,345.
One day, Brian’s daughter, Brittanie, confronted him about his ability to have money despite being unemployed. He confessed to stealing the checks. Without hesitation, Brittanie reported her father to the police, as he had a previous criminal record. He now faces up to 12 months in prison.
8. Thomas Patrick Morris
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Wendels were the wealthiest property owners in New York City. Their vast Manhattan properties earned them so much money that they became multimillionaires.
However, the family was extremely frugal. They rarely left the house and had minimal social interactions. As a result, none of the Wendels ever married or had children. Ella was the last surviving Wendel. She spent most of her time with her poodle, Tobey, and her servants.
When Ella passed away in 1931, she left behind an extraordinary inheritance of $100 million. (Adjusted for inflation, this would amount to around $1.6 billion today.) In her will, she stated that the fortune should be distributed to charity. Some funds were also allocated to her servants to care for her dog. Following her death, more than 2,300 individuals came forward, claiming to be her relatives.
One man, Thomas Patrick Morris, traveled from Scotland to contest the will in court, claiming to be related to Ella. He presented a forged marriage certificate, asserting that he was the son of Ella’s brother, John Wendel. He also provided a fabricated letter, allegedly written by John Wendel, claiming that he had secretly married Thomas’s mother in Scotland.
On top of everything else, Thomas bore an uncanny resemblance to John Wendel, making it easy to imagine them as father and son. If he truly were a Wendel, Thomas would have inherited a vast fortune.
However, the attorney representing Ella’s estate conducted an investigation in Scotland. He discovered that the forged marriage certificate had been clearly written in Thomas’s handwriting. The lawyer also found business records showing that John Wendel had been in New York City at the time he was allegedly in Scotland, falling in love and marrying. Once Morris’s lies were exposed, he was arrested on charges of fraud.
7. Carel Cody
From 1988 to 1994, Carel Cody ran a licensed eldercare facility in her home in Cottage Grove, Oregon. When social services became aware that her patients were dying rapidly, they grew suspicious that the patients might not be receiving adequate care.
Social services paid a visit to Carel’s home and found it in such a filthy state that it was deemed unsuitable for eldercare. To make matters worse, she had a pet monkey, adding to the unsanitary conditions. As a result, Carel’s caretaker license was revoked. What the Social Security employees didn't know at the time was that Carel had been stealing money from every patient she took in.
After losing her job, Carel began volunteering at nursing homes. She manipulated an elderly disabled man named “M.B.” into marrying her. However, the Social Security income from her new husband wasn’t enough to satisfy her insatiable greed, so she took in a new patient to live with her.
John H. Arnold, an orphan who had never married or had children, was one of Carel’s new patients. She convinced him to leave the nursing home and move into her “elder care facility.” In 1996, he passed away at the age of 76.
Carel buried John’s body on her mother’s land. Since she had lost her caretaker license, she was no longer subjected to checkups by social services. She told her husband that John had simply moved away. When M.B. eventually realized how mentally unstable and abusive Carel was, he divorced her.
Carel continued to collect John’s Social Security checks for the next 16 years. She also had access to his bank account, which contained his retirement funds and investments. Over this period, she stole more than $200,000. In 2013, she was finally caught and sentenced to four years in federal prison.
6. Anna Anderson
In 1920, a young woman attempted to leap from a bridge in Berlin, Germany. A police officer managed to save her and brought her to a mental institution. She was nearly mute, and when she did speak, it was with a distinct Russian accent. The doctors referred to her as “Miss Unknown.” Her body was covered in scars, possibly from some past abuse, and she refused to reveal her identity.
In 1922, a Russian patient arrived at the hospital. Upon seeing Miss Unknown, the new patient immediately told the doctors that she believed Miss Unknown was one of the daughters of the royal Romanov family.
The entire Romanov family had been murdered during the Bolshevik Revolution in 1918, but many still hoped that some of the children had survived. Miss Unknown bore a striking resemblance to Anastasia, and they were the same age. Because Miss Unknown had difficulty recalling her true identity, she never denied the possibility that she was Anastasia.
Once the news broke in the media, rumors quickly circulated that this woman could indeed be Anastasia. Friends and family who had known Anastasia personally met Miss Unknown, questioning her with details that only someone from the Romanov family would know. Half of them were convinced she was Anastasia, while the other half believed she was an impostor seeking fame and wealth.
The Romanov family members ultimately decided she was not entitled to any inheritance. However, many of their friends believed her story and felt great sympathy for the disinherited 'princess.'
A woman named Annie Burr Jennings took 'Anastasia' under her wing, financing her move to the United States and helping her adopt the name Anna Anderson. Jennings provided Anna with a luxurious apartment in Manhattan. Aristocrats sent her money and met all her needs. Throughout her life, Anna lived in a Romanov relative’s castle and mansions owned by her supporters.
In the late 20th century, investigators compared DNA evidence and uncovered that Anna Anderson was actually a Polish factory worker. She had suffered head trauma from a grenade explosion, which explained her scars. Because of her confusion about her identity, it’s possible Anna convinced herself she was Anastasia. In the end, however, it was all a fabrication.
5. Marsha Henderson
A woman named Marsha Henderson, in her twenties, married 76-year-old Newton Davies in London. He was retired and volunteered as a school crossing guard. Along with his pension and life savings, Newton owned a home in London, where property values had recently soared.
If the phrase 'gold digger' doesn't immediately come to mind, it might be worth reconsidering. When Newton passed away at 85 in 2013, he left an inheritance of £600,000.
Marsha was taken aback when she learned that Newton's will stated she would only inherit £25,000. The remainder of the money and the deed to his house went to Newton’s daughter, Paulette.
Marsha refused to leave the house, which had been left to her stepdaughter. In an effort to claim the inheritance, she forged a new will that stated she was entitled to keep the house and over £500,000.
The forgery was laughably poor, riddled with spelling errors, and even referred to Mr. Newton as a woman at one point. To make things even more ridiculous, Marsha claimed that no one had found the 'latest will' until that moment, as it had supposedly been hidden in an attic crawl space inside an empty Doritos bag.
When the case reached the courtroom, the judge immediately called out the obvious absurdity of Marsha's lies. He ruled that Marsha owed Paulette £42,000 in unpaid rent for refusing to leave the house after Newton's passing.
4. Renee Bowman
In the United States, families can take in foster children and receive monthly financial support for their care. In Maryland, foster parents can receive up to $800 per month for each child they care for.
Renee Bowman took in three foster children, two of whom were sisters who had escaped an abusive family environment. In exchange, she received $2,400 per month from the government, which was meant to cover her housing and personal expenses.
In 2009, one of the girls, a seven-year-old, jumped from a window in Bowman's home and ran to a neighbor for assistance. It was later discovered that Bowman had been mistreating and starving the child, but the full extent of the truth was even more disturbing.
The girl's sister and the third foster child were found dead. Their bodies had been stored in a freezer, which Bowman had taken with her as she relocated three times. She had murdered the two children, keeping the third alive to explain their disappearance if anyone asked.
3. The Manchester Frauds
GoFundMe is an online platform designed to help individuals raise funds for various causes, particularly for those in need of medical treatment or charitable efforts. While anyone can create a fundraising page, the platform is especially popular for those who face financial struggles with healthcare or for organizations in need of support.
In May 2017, a tragic terrorist attack occurred outside an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, claiming the lives of 22 innocent people. In the wake of this heartbreaking event, some unscrupulous individuals sought to take advantage of the tragedy by exploiting the situation for personal gain.
Following the Manchester bombing, numerous GoFundMe pages were set up under the pretense of raising money for the victims' families. However, some of these pages were created with the sole intention of pocketing the funds, rather than helping those in need. Unlike other crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter, GoFundMe allows users to withdraw donations at any time.
The number of fraudulent GoFundMe pages linked to the Manchester attack became so overwhelming that the platform's team had to work tirelessly to remove and suspend these dishonest accounts in an effort to protect the donations meant for the victims.
2. Arafa Nassib and Adil Kasim
In 2017, a 48-year-old woman named Arafa Nassib was arrested under shocking circumstances—she was supposed to be dead. She had orchestrated a scam with her 18-year-old son, Adil Kasim. They took out a large life insurance policy on Arafa. Originally from Tanzania, the family had been living in the United Kingdom. When they traveled back to their home country, Adil falsely reported that Arafa had died on the island of Zanzibar.
The scheme was initially successful. Arafa and Adil received £136,000, even though Arafa was alive and well. Adil returned to the UK alone, claiming his mother had passed away. However, they were caught when Arafa tried to return as well.
Arafa’s passport indicated that she was supposed to be dead, leading to her arrest by airport security. Had she remained on the idyllic island of Zanzibar, the scheme might have gone undetected, allowing her to live out her days in luxury.
1. Albert Houghton Pratt
In 1918, Albert Houghton Pratt published a book titled *My Tussle with the Devil and Other Stories* by O. Henry’s Ghost. In the book’s introduction, Pratt addresses the “skeptics” he anticipates will read his work. He asserts that if the writing doesn’t quite match O. Henry’s famous style, it’s because his own writing has evolved in the afterlife.
Pratt was another author who claimed to communicate with deceased writers through a Ouija board. He even pauses certain stories to include what he describes as dialogue between himself and the ghostly authors.
There is little documentation on how the public responded to Pratt’s ghostly novel, but there is record of some of his other works, including a book on mysticism. In 1922, *The New York Times* reported that Pratt had been evicted from his home in New Jersey due to unpaid mortgage bills. It seems that O. Henry’s ghost didn’t bring Pratt much financial success after all.
