Frederick Emerson Peters (September 28, 1885 – July 25, 1959) was an American

impostor An impostor (also spelled imposter) is a person who pretends to be somebody else, often through means of disguise. Their objective is usually to try to gain financial or social advantages through social engineering, but also often for purposes ...

who wrote bad

check Check or cheque, may refer to: Places * Check, Virginia Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Check'' (film), a 2021 Indian Telugu-language film * ''The Checks'' (episode), a 1996 TV episode of ''Seinfeld'' Games and sports * Check (chess), a thr ...

s masquerading as scholars and famous people. In an age before mass communication, few store owners bothered to ID check writers. He was born in

West Salem, Ohio West Salem is a village in Wayne County, Ohio. The population was 1,464 at the time of the 2010 census. West Salem is served by a branch of the Wayne County Public Library. The noted drag racing track Dragway 42 is located nearby. History Wes ...

Background

Peters began his career of passing phony checks around 1902 when he presented himself as Theodore Roosevelt II, the son of the US president. He used fraudulent checks for his purchases, writing them to round numbers just a couple of dollars above the price of the purchase. Many of the fooled businesses were still impressed and even framed the checks as mementos. Peters was eventually arrested in 1915 and sentenced to ten years in prison. He took charge of the

prison library A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correct ...

and used it to study various subjects to further his plans. When he was released he took a role of antique expert "R.A. Coleman" of the

American Peace Society The American Peace Society is a pacifist group founded upon the initiative of William Ladd, in New York City, May 8, 1828. It was formed by the merging of many state and local societies, from New York, Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, of ...

. He visited antique shops ostensibly to buy items for museum collections and again rounded off checks for his "commission". As "J.J. Morton", he bought books for universities. Over the following years he impersonated real people like

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

Booth Tarkington Newton Booth Tarkington (July 29, 1869 – May 19, 1946) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels '' The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1918) and '' Alice Adams'' (1921). He is one of only four novelists to win the Pulitz ...

and Gifford Pinchot II. He was also jailed many times, but always returned to his old activities later. Further research would be needed to clarify if he was the same Frederick Emerson Peters who on July 2, 1951 became the 22nd Ten Most Wanted Fugitive listed by the FBI, and who was then arrested by two FBI agents when they recognized him in a Washington, D.C. hotel lobby on January 15, 1952. When asked why he kept returning to crime, Peters gave a classic response: "It would require the rock-like will of the

Sphynx The Sphynx cat (pronounced , ) also known as the Canadian Sphynx, is a breed of cat known for its lack of fur. Hairlessness in cats is a naturally occurring genetic mutation, and the Sphynx was developed through selective breeding of these ani ...

to resist such temptation." When he was found dead in 1959, he had five checks on his pockets - all of them written for different names. Peters died on July 25, 1959 at a hotel in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

of a cerebral hemorrhage.

References

External links

Peters in the Identity Theft and ID Fraud profile
*Beverly Smith - ''Crook that Everyone Liked'' (''Saturday Evening Post'' December 12, 1959) {{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Frederick 1885 births 1959 deaths American fraudsters American people of Dutch descent Fugitives Impostors People from West Salem, Ohio