This Faker Fit Right In With the Trump Administration

State Dept. official Mina Chang claimed to be a Harvard "alumna," among other lies.


Mina Chang's laughably fake 'Time' cover
From NBC News: A senior Trump administration official has embellished her résumé with misleading claims about her professional background -- even creating a fake Time magazine cover with her face on it -- raising questions about her qualifications to hold a top position at the State Department."

An NBC News investigation found that Mina Chang, the deputy assistant secretary in the State Department's Bureau of Conflict and Stability Operations, has inflated her educational achievements -- like claiming, falsely, to be a Harvard grad -- and exaggerated the scope of her nonprofit's work.

More here: Senior Trump official embellished résumé, had face on fake Time cover

Meet the white guy submitting poetry as "Yi-Fen Chou"

The poetry of "Yi-Fen Chou," aka Michael Derrick Hudson, is featured in 'The Best American Poetry 2015.'



Readers of the newly published edition of The Best American Poetry 2015, a prestigious annual poetry anthology, have come across a very peculiar entry regarding the "nom de plume" of one its contributors. It turns out that "Yi-Fen Chou" is the pen name of a white dude named Michael Derrick Hudson. The fuck?

Folks, if there is such a thing as employing yellowface in poetry, this has to be it. Hudson claims that he regularly submits his poetry under the name "Yi-Fen" after being rejected "a multitude of times" under his real name. The strategy has apparently turned out to be "quite successful" for him.

His explanation:

This is not Steve Aoki. Everybody just thinks he is.

What happens when an Asian dude with long hair and a beard walks around a music festival.



What happens when an Asian dude rocking some long hair, a beard and sunglasses walks around a music festival? He gets mistaken for Steve Aoki. A lot.

Jarrad Seng is a photographer who works in the music industry. He is Asian and rocks long hair, and thus has been mistaken for popular electronic musician Steve Aoki on a regular basis for the past five years. On the street, at festivals, in bars, etc. So he affixed a beard to his face and brought a camera along to see what happened while he walked around the Australian music festival Stereosonic, where Aoki was headlining.

This funny video chronicles one man's three-hour walk ... as fake Steve Aoki:

Mom who faked son's cancer sentenced to probation, jail time

Sandy Nguyen convinced her 6-year-old son that he was suffering from leukemia.



Remember the Colorado mother who faked her son's cancer to collect thousands of dollars in donations? On Tuesday, she was sentenced to five years probation and 90 days in jail with work release.

Probation, jail time for mom who faked son's cancer

Sandy Nguyen convinced her 6-year-old son that he was suffering from leukemia, faking his cancer for over a year and scamming his school into raising more than $25,000 in community donations for his treatment. In September, she pleaded guilty to one count of charitable fraud and one count of child abuse.

Perhaps worst of all, the kid wasn't just playing along -- his mom had convinced him that he had leukemia, and he truly believed he was dying. Nguyen shaved his head every day, and the boy apparently thought he was getting chemotherapy while he slept at night.

Wine counterfeiter sentenced to ten years in prison

Fraudster Rudy Kurniawan made millions on fake vintage bottles of wine



Asians behaving badly... wine counterfeiter edition! Last week in New York, the wine collecting world's most infamous con man was sentenced to ten years in prison after getting caught pulling a multimillion dollar scam.

Counterfeit Fine-Wine Dealer Sentenced to 10 Years

37-year-old Rudy Kurniawan, once a prolific wine collector, was convicted last December on two counts of mail fraud after selling more than $20 million of counterfeit rare vintages to wealthy wine enthusiasts. In addition to prison time, he was ordered to forfeit $20 million and to pay more than $28 million in restitution to his victims.

Colorado mom accused of faking son's cancer for donations

Sandy Thi Nguyen received $25,000 in community donations



Asians behaving badly... fake kid cancer scam edition! In Colorado, a woman has been arrested for perpetrating a hoax that her 6-year-old son had cancer and accepting thousands in community donations.

Arapahoe County mother accused of faking 6-year-old son's cancer, accepting thousands in donations

According to the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office, Sandy Thi Nguyen accepted $25,000 in donations after convincing her child, other family members, and the community at large that her young son was suffering from leukemia. She was arrested on charges of theft and criminal impersonation to gain benefit.

The community began raising money for the boy last fall -- charity walks and everything -- because hell, who's not going to give money to the kid with cancer? They raised thousands of dollars in donations for the Nguyen family... who apparently used the funds for a trip to Disneyland, among other things.

The sheriff's office launched an investigation last month when the Department of Human Services received information that the boy may not actually have cancer.

Man arrested for impersonating Indianapolis police officer

Asians behaving badly... serial police impersonator edition!

Last week in Indianapolis, a man was arrested for impersonating a cop -- in a full police uniform complete with two guns -- during the funeral procession for a fallen police officer: Police arrest impersonator during officer funeral procession.

38-year-old Minh V. Nguyen was arrested just before the procession and services for Officer Rod Bradway, who was killed in the line of duty earlier this month. Nguyen was seen at the Northwest District Headquarters wearing a police-type uniform and photographing the funeral events. An IMPD officer recognized Nguyen as a person he had warned several times before about impersonating a police officer.

And Nguyen apparently takes his cop cosplay seriously. His faux police getup included a fake badge, patches identifying himself as an officer, two firearms, a radio with shoulder microphone, two sets of handcuffs and a stun gun. Police -- real police -- also found a a rifle and a stash of other stolen IMPD items in his car.

Will the real Psy please stand up?

All Asians look the same... fake Korean pop star edition! Will the real Psy please stand up? This week at Cannes Film Festival, the guy behind the global megahit "Gangnam Style," became the toast of the town, partying down, collecting free swag and chumming it up with fellow celebs. Except this wasn't Psy. It was a Psy impostor, who apparently had the festival fooled: Cannes falls for the fake Psy.

crazy wine fraud story to be adapted into movie

Interesting. A few months back, I read a fascinating story about Rudy Karniawan, a mysterious figure who worked his way into the elite world rare collectible wine and pulled one of the biggest wine scams in history.

Now it looks like they're turning the story of the real-life wine caper, based on the Vanity Fair article, into a feature film.

Level One's Bill Todman Jr, Edward Milstein To Make Film About Wine Fraud Who Sold Bogus Bottles To Milstein.