James Hogue claimed to be many things. A high school student, an orphan, a ranch-hand, a carpenter, a ski instructor, a ski stuntman, a bioengineer, an ivy leaguer. He has lived a lifetime of deception using false credentials to earn a spot in the 1993 graduating class at Princeton University. Strange Country cohosts Beth and Kelly talk adults passing as teenagers and how sometimes it works and sometimes It’s Never Been Kissed.

Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands

Cite your sources: 

Auslander, Jason. “Famed Con Man Who Lived in Ajax Shack Arrested Again in Aspen.” AspenTimes.com, AspenTimes.com, 13 Jan. 2021, https://www.aspentimes.com/news/famed-con-man-who-lived-in-ajax-shack-arrested-again-in-aspen/.

Barron, James, and M. A. Farber. “Tracing a Devious Path to the Ivy League.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 4 Mar. 1991, https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/04/nyregion/tracing-a-devious-path-to-the-ivy-league.html?pagewanted=print.

"Convicted con man indicted in Harvard gem thefts." UPI Archive: Domestic News, 3 June 1993. Gale OneFile: News, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A441979438/STND?u=nysl_sc_flls&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=d05b8acc. Accessed 26 Sept. 2021.

LeDuc, D. (1992, Feb 11). PRINCETON IMPOSTOR'S NEXT TERM IS JAIL: STILL DRESSING THE PART, JAMES HOGUE PLEADED GUILTY TO THEFT BY DECEPTION. Philadelphia Inquirer Retrieved from https://login.ezproxy.oswego.edu/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.oswego.edu/newspapers/princeton-impostors-next-term-is-jail/docview/1837932535/se-2?accountid=13025

Lofholm, Nancy. “The Con Artist next Door.” The Denver Post, The Denver Post, 21 Mar. 2017, https://www.denverpost.com/2006/03/25/the-con-artist-next-door/.

“Nationally Known Con Man Gets Prison Time for Illegal Aspen Shack.” The Denver Post, The Denver Post, 21 Mar. 2017, https://www.denverpost.com/2017/03/21/james-hogue-illegal-aspen-shack/.

"Phony Student Arrested Again at Princeton." New York Times, 25 Feb. 1996. Gale OneFile: News, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A150542901/STND?u=nysl_sc_flls&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=a3b4dab8. Accessed 26 Sept. 2021.

Rowley, H. (2006, Feb 06). Colorado con man nabbed at foothills mall: James arthur hogue, 46, is the primary suspect in 18 colorado thefts. police arrested him saturday at foothills mall. Tucson Citizen Retrieved from https://login.ezproxy.oswego.edu/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.oswego.edu/newspapers/colorado-con-man-nabbed-at-foothills-mall/docview/237160310/se-2?accountid=13025

Samuels, David, et al. “The Many Lives of a Princeton Impostor.” The New Yorker, 20 Aug. 2001, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2001/09/03/the-runner.

Samuels, David. The Runner: a True Account of the Amazing Lies and Fantastical Adventures of the Ivy League Impostor James Hogue. Counterpoint, 2008.

Steade, Susan. “Palo Alto High School Con Man James Hogue: His Bizarre Tale Continues.” The Mercury News, The Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2017, https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/02/09/palo-alto-high-school-con-man-james-hogue-his-bizarre-tale-continues/.