A Harvard degree can get you far in life—even if you haven’t actually earned one. It’s a favorite trick of shady businessmen, society poseurs, and outright con artists: Just slip an invented degree onto your résumé, and—voilà!—watch the doors and wallets open. Inevitably, you’ll be caught, like everyone in this rogues’ gallery. So enjoy the ruse while it lasts, and, if anyone asks, remind him of your alma mater’s motto: Veritas!
Credits: Curtain: Siri Stafford; Salomon Melgen: Associated Press; Peter Gwinnell: Central News; Patrick Kinlin: Michael Peake/QMI Agency, Jamie Smith: Courtesy of MSNBC; Robin Givens: Getty Images; Frank Abagnale jr.: Getty Images; Elizabeth Albanese: Courtesy of Dallas Observer; Jordan Gann: Tampa Bay Times/Carrie Pratt; Simon Gann: Courtesy of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office