Someone's probably told you that you bear an uncanny resemblance to "that guy that was on Empire." You know the one. But for these enterprising scammers, they took their resemblance to various celebrities to the limit and committed an array of nasty crimes. Whatever the reason, these celebrity impersonators prove that your average Elvis impersonator isn't always innocent.
People Who Impersonated Celebrities to Commit Crimes,
Woman Impersonates Anna Wintour to Fleece Man Out of Money, Time
You don't have to look like a celebrity to pull off the scam of a lifetime. That's what impersonator Emma Charlton figured out. Posing as Vanity Fair editor Anna Wintour, who you may recognize from The Devil Wears Prada, Charlton tricked a man named Neil Lupton into falling in love, marrying her, and fleeced him out of cash. It wasn't the first time she had pulled similar scams. As it turned out, Charlton had a long history of impersonating other people and fleecing men along.
Michael Jackson Impersonator Becomes Smooth Criminal
It may not surprise you that being a celebrity impersonator isn't always the most lucrative job you can land. Amar Clement made a living from impersonating Thriller-era Michael Jackson. But when he realized he wasn't making as much cash as he would've liked, Clement decided to move into a new career - bank fraud. The Jackson impersonator laundered money directly from customers' accounts, buying used cars with the ill-begotten cash until he was caught. Not exactly a "Smooth Criminal" by any account.
No One's Arms Were "Wide Open" for This Creed Guitarist Impersonator
Kevin Eckenrod might be one of the only people glad Creed exists. He's made a living impersonating Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti, using his vague resemblance (despite being 11 years older) to a third-tier grunge band's guitarist to trick girls into dates, bars into giving him free drinks, and other perks.
A Michael Jackson Impersonator Lured and Molested Children
The year was 1994. We all remember how Michael Jackson was accused of molesting children. But someone tied to MJ was actually arrested for abusing children. Michael Johnson, a Jackson impersonator, was the leader of a youth gang and would molest and force sex on teenage boys in order to initiate them into the gang. Johnson was later arrested but most of his victims refused to testify, claiming they loved the MJ impersonator.
The Bob Marley Impersonator Who Slaughtered His Wife
Unlike the real Bob Marley, this impersonator wasn't so mellow. Melvyn Edwards was a professional Bob Marley impersonator. But he snapped one day after his wife, who was divorcing him, kicked him out of her house. Edwards raped and murdered her and was subsequently arrested. Everything was not "All Right" in this case.
Man Pretends to Be Multiple Motown Singers in Order to Win Sympathy, Free Meals
You might not know many Motown singers by name. But one man plagued on peoples' love of Motown by pretending to be multiple singers, including Lamont Dozier (who you might know as the guy who wrote "Baby I Need Your Loving"). Alan Young would use his skills as an impersonator to win free hotel rooms, food, and sympathy. Plus, Young developed a habit of faking a heart attack every time someone caught him in his lies, making this impersonator a real character.
Elvis Impersonator Tries to Commit Biological Terrorism
When an Elvis impersonator fakes an act of biological terrorism anywhere else in the country, it's a headline. When it happens in Florida, it's just another Tuesday. Elvis impersonator Michael Conley was on the run from the cops from a previous warrant. 64-years-old, the impersonator holed up in a motel in Fort Pierce, Florida, claiming he had a "biological weapon" and threatened to unleash it on whoever had the misfortune of entering the motel. Authorities burst into the motel, arrested Conley, and later discovered that the supposed "biological weapon" was simply a vial of salt.
Impersonator Pretends to Be Toni Braxton at a Concert
So you want to throw a Toni Braxton concert but you can't get ahold of Toni Braxton? So what do you do? You could do what one concert promoter did and try to pass off a celebrity impersonator as the real deal. Impersonator Trina Johnson-Finn was hired to perform at a concert but what she didn't know was that she had been billed as the real Toni Braxton. She was thrown into jail but unlike some of the other people on this list, at least Johnson-Finn was innocent.
Man Pretends He's BMW CEO, Writes Articles for Slate
Why do people impersonate celebrities? The world may never know. Ravi Desai, an aspiring journalist, was notorious for faking his identity on numerous occasions. In one particularly infamous incident, Desai pretended to be the CEO of BMW, writing a series of journal entries for Slate magazine. Slate later realized Desai was a fraud and retracted the articles.
Man Lured Teenaged Girls By Pretending to Be Justin Bieber
Whether you hate him or love him, there's no denying that Justin Bieber is extraordinarily popular with teenage girls. 34-year-old Lee Moir took advantage of Bieber's popularity with naive teenage girls and pretended to be the then-teenage pop star online, demanding the girls send him money and explicit videos of themselves. If the girls refused to send him money, the false Bieber threatened to post their videos online. He was later implicated in a sting operation.