Criminalia

A False Dmitry refers to all the individuals who claimed to be Dmitry Ivanovich, son of Tsar Ivan IV, and heir to the Russian throne. Between 1605 and 1612, three men made the claim. Only one made it to the throne, but all met violent ends.

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It was unlikely she would rule England, but she Elizabeth Tudor did ascend to the throne, and became Queen Elizabeth I. There are often conspiracy theories when you're talking about royalty. But, was Queen Elizabeth I swapped with a boy when she was a child? Holly and Maria talk about the life story of the famed monarch, and delve into a persistent rumor of imposterism regarding her true identity.

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Frédéric Bourdin, nicknamed "The Chameleon" by the media, began his impersonations as a child, and claimed to have assumed between 40 to 500 false identities, some of which were actual missing people children and teens.

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When Stephen Weinberg was a child, he wanted more than anything to be a doctor. When his parents couldn't afford tuition, Stanley began his path to becoming on of the greatest impersonaters. As Stanley Clifford Weyman, he pretended to be a lot of things -- none of whom were real people.

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Anna Anderson claimed she was Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of the Romanov dynasty, after rumors swirled that one of Tsar Nicholas II's daughters had survived the execution of the family. Her real name? Neither Anna nor Anastasia.

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Upon Richard III's death in 1485, a man named Perkin Warbeck saw an opportunity. Since there was no firm evidence as to the fate of either of the Princes in the Tower, what should stop him claiming one of their identities? So he laid claim to the throne of the first Tudor King of England, Henry VII. 

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This episode is a story about a shipwreck, a contended inheritance, and a butcher. You'll meet three men: Arthur Orton, Thomas Castro, and Sir Roger Tichborne, who was the man at the center of this whole affair and a man lost at sea.

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Betty Bigley's biggest fraud of all began when she convinced the world that she was the daughter of Andrew Carnegie, although born out of wedlock. She let the word spread, while she ran up debts totaling in the millions. She became known in the papers as "the Queen of Ohio" -- that is, until her secret was discovered by a banker in Boston.

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Using a series of stolen identities -- many of whom were still living -- Ferdinand Waldo Demara, aka Fred Demara, built a lengthy résumé as an imposter. But unlike many other imposters, his goal wasn't money. It was to attain prestige and status. Time magazine called him, we quote, "audacious, unschooled but amazingly intelligent pretender."

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Barry Bremen was a novelty goods salesman, but between 1979 to 1986 he was known in the sports world as The Great Imposter. He posed as a player and umpire in the MLB, a player in the NBA, a PGA golfer, and even Dallas Cowboys cheerleader -- among others. He also accepted an Emmy award meant for Hill Street Blues actress, Betty Thomas.

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