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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: con man

con man stories: 12 news summaries

 US Cops Nab 
 International 
 Chameleon 
 Conman 

Smooth-talking Colombian scammed luxury hotels in many countries

Sep 30, 09 6:14 AM CDT
(Newser) - A Colombian fraudster wanted in seven countries has been arrested after entering the US from Canada on a phony passport. Juan Carlos Guzman-Betancourt, known to have at least 10 aliases, made his living scamming luxury hotels, often pretending to be a guest who had forgotten the combination to his safe... More »

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theft • Colombia • hotel • arrest • con man

UPDATED

 Madoff Moved 
 to NC Prison 

With transfer, con man begins his 150-year sentence

Jul 13, 09 2:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - Bernard Madoff was transferred today from Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center to a prison in Butner, NC, to serve out his 150-year sentence, sources tell CNBC. Madoff’s attorney had requested that the 71-year-old convicted Ponzi schemer do his time at Otisville in upstate New York. The prison system tries... More »

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fraud • prison • New York • finance • Ponzi scheme • con man • Bernard Madoff • prison sentence

 Madoff Won't Appeal 

Conman resigned to life in prison

Jul 9, 09 2:59 PM CDT
(Newser) - Bernie Madoff will do his time, his lawyer said today. The 71-year-old con man sentenced to 150 years in prison on a slew of fraud charges related to his massive Ponzi scheme won’t file an appeal, Bloomberg reports. “In terms of the appeal, done, over,” Madoff’s... More »

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fraud • prison • crime • appeal • federal prison • Ponzi scheme • con man • Bernard Madoff • Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities • prison sentence

 Top Traits That Mean 
 You're a Sucker 

Researchers find a fifth of people are most likely to be fooled by fraudsters

May 19, 09 1:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - British researchers have identified several traits that make a person more likely to be sucked in by a scam, the Daily Telegraph reports. The country's fraud watchdog warns that while nobody is immune to being conned, the following traits make around a fifth of the population most vulnerable:
  • An
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
online fraud • fraud • scam • con man

'Rockefeller' Fights False Name Charges

Con man just gave
cops name he'd used for 15 years: defense

Mar 2, 09 3:13 PM CST
(Newser) - The con man who went by “Clark Rockefeller” attempted today to dismiss charges he gave police a fake name when arrested last year, the Boston Globe reports. Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter told police arresting him for absconding with his 7-year-old daughter that he was Clark Rockefeller—as he had told... More »

MORE ABOUT:
fraud • Massachusetts • name • false statement • name change • Clark Rockefeller • Reigh Boss • con man

(Newser) - The bizarre case of “Clark Rockefeller,” nee Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, may soon come to a close, the Boston Globe reports. The conman, awaiting trial for kidnapping, fraud, and assault, has been offered a deal consisting of 5 years' jail time and 15 years' probation. He must decide... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Boston • kidnapping • trial • guilty plea • Clark Rockefeller • con man • Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter

 Carrey Gambles on 
 Gay Jailbird Role 

Ventures outside comedy, like I Love You Phillip Morris, haven't been big at box office

Jan 21, 09 11:35 AM CST
(Newser) - Jim Carrey is getting rave reviews for his new film, I Love You Phillip Morris, but the story of a cop-turned-con man who repeatedly breaks out of jail to be with his former cellmate is a gamble for the actor, Reuters reports. “I don’t think it’s a... More »

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homophobia • prison • escape • Sundance Film Festival • Ewan McGregor • Jim Carrey • gays • con man • I Love You Phillip Morris

Hathaway's Ex 'Deteriorates'
in Prison

Con man Follieri can't handle 'filthy, smelly' conditions, bad food

Nov 13, 08 9:27 AM CST
(Newser) - Moving from his $37,500-a-month Trump Tower apartment into a windowless dorm room shared with 120 other inmates has not been good for Raffaello Follieri’s health, the New York Post reports. The convicted con man’s lawyer told a judge that Anne Hathaway’s ex has blood in his... More »

MORE ABOUT:
prison • Italy • Vatican • celebrity • Anne Hathaway • Raffaello Follieri • con man

GLOSSIES

How 'Vati-Con' Follieri
Fooled the World

Hathaway's boy toy lived large on Other People's Money

Sep 8, 08 9:02 AM CDT
(Newser) - Raffaello Follieri has been sensationalized as some new kind of con man, but Anne Hathaway’s ex is actually an old archetype, Michael Shnayerson writes in Vanity Fair. Like the heroes of 19th-century social novels, Follieri is a young man from the provinces who conquered the world, got the girl—... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Anne Hathaway • Raffaello Follieri • con man

'Rockefeller' Admits to California Alias

Lawyer says suspect used fake name to break into acting

Aug 12, 08 1:06 PM CDT
(Newser) - Mystery man Clark Rockefeller's attorney says his client can now remember living as Christopher Chichester in Los Angeles, the Boston Herald reports. Rockefeller—identified by prosecutors as a German national named Christian Gerhartsreiter—can recall living with a couple who subsequently vanished but insists he had nothing to do with... More »

MORE ABOUT:
kidnapping • Clark Rockefeller • alias • con man • Christopher Chichester

 'Rockefeller'
 Linked to
 Missing Couple

Calif. officials to question him about vanished newlyweds

Aug 11, 08 6:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - Accused kidnapper Clark Rockefeller is a German national wanted for questioning in a Los Angeles double-murder case, California authorities said today. The statement marked the first by officials that German Christian Gerhartsreiter used the Rockefeller name in Boston and Christopher Chichester when living with a couple that later disappeared in... More »

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kidnapping • murder • Los Angeles • Clark Rockefeller • con man • Christopher Chichester • Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter

'Rockefeller' Prints Linked to Calif. Murder Case

Kidnapper dad's connection to decade-old incident unclear, but adds to mystery

Aug 5, 08 1:35 PM CDT
(Newser) - Fingerprints taken from kidnapper dad Clark Rockefeller reveal a connection to a decade-old California murder case, the Boston Globe reports. Prints taken after his arrest Saturday in Baltimore match those on a driver’s license application under another alias—which in turn is on a list of those wanted in... More »

MORE ABOUT:
California • crime • kidnapping • identity theft • imposter • Clark Rockefeller • Reigh Boss • con man

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