In 1854, Sir Roger Tichborne, heir to a wealthy English baronetcy, vanished at sea off the coast of South America. His grieving mother, Lady Tichborne, refused to accept his death and placed advertisements across the globe offering a massive reward for news of her son. Thousands of miles away in Wagga Wagga, Australia, a heavily indebted butcher named Arthur Orton saw his opportunity.
Posing as Roger, Orton wrote to Lady Tichborne. The real Roger Tichborne had been raised in Paris, spoke fluent French, possessed a slim build, and had distinct tattoos. Orton, by contrast, spoke no French, weighed over 300 pounds, possessed no tattoos, and was illiterate in fine culture.
Yet when they met in Paris in 1867, Lady Tichborne instantly recognized him as her son. Desperate for solace, she ignored every obvious discrepancy and granted him an allowance of 1,000 pounds a year. Orton's charade held until Lady Tichborne died in 1868, losing his main benefactor.
The remaining family sued, leading to one of the longest court cases in legal history. Orton was eventually convicted of perjury in 1874 and sentenced to 14 years in prison.