AH Challenge: Put a professional con artist in high office

[Yellow Turban]

Joshua Collins is the obvious example - although it's hard to tell if he was incredibly naive and believed he was a serious politician, or if he was always intending to run off with the money.

Definitely felt like the former from what I'd seen of his online presence (really proud of twitter owns), also his thing being called the "Essential Workers Party" was such a specific snapshot of mid-2020.

 

[ShortsBelfast]

Eamonn de Valera? Fabricated family background, trousered the money raised to continue the armed struggle in the US and used it to set up a newspaper business.

 

[MAC161]

Yemelyan Pugachev, who claimed to be Catherine the Great's dead husband, Emperor Peter III? Not sure if this was a con so much as an attempt to give some form of legitimacy to Pugachev's leading the Cossacks in rebellion against Catherine's and Tsarist policies in general regarding serfdom, Cossack rights and Old Believers; still, a successful revolt might've at the least put "Peter III" at the head of an independent state in the Middle Volga region around Kazan

 

[Beata Beatrix]

Yemelyan Pugachev, who claimed to be Catherine the Great's dead husband, Emperor Peter III? Not sure if this was a con so much as an attempt to give some form of legitimacy to Pugachev's leading the Cossacks in rebellion against Catherine's and Tsarist policies in general regarding serfdom, Cossack rights and Old Believers; still, a successful revolt might've at the least put "Peter III" at the head of an independent state in the Middle Volga region around Kazan

Speaking of Peter III, another (not even especially serious, as far as I can tell) False Peter became Tsar of Montenegro in one of the strangest bits of history I know of.

 

[Makemakean]

Yemelyan Pugachev, who claimed to be Catherine the Great's dead husband, Emperor Peter III? Not sure if this was a con so much as an attempt to give some form of legitimacy to Pugachev's leading the Cossacks in rebellion against Catherine's and Tsarist policies in general regarding serfdom, Cossack rights and Old Believers; still, a successful revolt might've at the least put "Peter III" at the head of an independent state in the Middle Volga region around Kazan

Has there been any Russian ruler whose death wasn't accompanied by there being two or three peasant leaders gaining a following by claiming to be them?

We think Vladimir Putin is a terrible autocrat, you ain't seen nothing yet! False Putin I and False Putin II are going to bring back the Ochrana and the gulags!

 

[TR1996]

Yemelyan Pugachev, who claimed to be Catherine the Great's dead husband, Emperor Peter III? Not sure if this was a con so much as an attempt to give some form of legitimacy to Pugachev's leading the Cossacks in rebellion against Catherine's and Tsarist policies in general regarding serfdom, Cossack rights and Old Believers; still, a successful revolt might've at the least put "Peter III" at the head of an independent state in the Middle Volga region around Kazan

Speaking of Peter III, another (not even especially serious, as far as I can tell) False Peter became Tsar of Montenegro in one of the strangest bits of history I know of.

If we're talking Russian royal impostors surely False Dmitry I merits a mention, given he was 'successful' enough to be Tsar for a little while?

There's probably several royal impostors who you could contrive a way to get onto the throne, in the right circumstances.

 

[napoleon IV]

Speaking of Peter III, another (not even especially serious, as far as I can tell) False Peter became Tsar of Montenegro in one of the strangest bits of history I know of.

Peter III was a bizarrely popular choice for imposters. In addition to Pugachev and the Tsar of Montenegro the founder of the Skoptsy also claimed to be Peter III (although in the Skoptsy's version Peter was a castrate).

 

[Beata Beatrix]

Peter III was a bizarrely popular choice for imposters. In addition to Pugachev and the Tsar of Montenegro the founder of the Skoptsy also claimed to be Peter III (although in the Skoptsy's version Peter was a castrate).

I was actually reading just now about a fellow from the mid-17th century who was, of all things, a False Shuisky (a pretended son of the tsar, I believe).

Russia - especially the very strange 17th century Russia - might be your best bet for this.

 

[Francisco Cojuanco]

John H. Mitchell - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Most known for: Conning a his client out of his land (the lawsuit that resulted is more known for being the case that defined personal jurisdiction for decades) and a tendency to not be able to keep it in his own pants (and arguably pedophilia). Actually served as US Senator for Oregon on three nonconsecutive occasions, the last of which ended due to his involvement in the Oregon land fraud scandal.

So literally OTL.

 

[claybaskit]

Ferdinad Waldo demora
The great imposter there was a tony curtis
Film about him.