Cops Nab Guy Who Posed as Uncle of Adam Lanza

Jonathan Lee Riches has history of weird cons
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 26, 2012 7:30 PM CST
Cops Nab Guy Who Posed as Uncle of Adam Lanza
Jonathan Lee Riches.   (YouTube)

Police have arrested a convicted felon who drove to Newtown, Conn., and fed false information to the press while posing as Adam Lanza's uncle, The Smoking Gun reports. Jonathan Lee Riches, 35, was on probation for conspiracy and wire fraud when he showed up in Newtown as "Jonathan Lanza" and told reporters that his "nephew" was taking the antipsychotic drug Fanapt to treat schizophrenia. Riches even fell to one knee and pretended to pray for Lanza's victims while photographers captured the moment.

But Riches is no stranger to weird cons. The Guinness World Record holder for "World's Most Litigious Man" has sued various celebrities under other people's names or an alias—including Kim Kardashian and Kanye West for alleged ties to al-Qaeda, and Justin Bieber for stealing Selena Gomez's credit card to buy a "penis enlargement." He was also behind a lawsuit under the name of Kevin Federline's brother claiming paternity of Britney Spears' first son. Police nabbed him last week for violating his 5-year federal probation, which barred him from leaving Pennsylvania's Eastern District without permission. (More Adam Lanza stories.)

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