Frederick Emerson Peters
Encyclopedia
Frederick Emerson Peters (1885–1959) was an American
impostor
who wrote bad check
s masquerading as scholars and famous people. In an age before mass communication, few store owners bothered to ID check writers.
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 and used it to study various subjects to further his future plans.
When he was released he took a role of antique expert "R.A. Coleman" of the American Peace Society
. 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 Delano Roosevelt, Booth Tarkington
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 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.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
impostor
Impostor
An impostor or imposter is a person who pretends to be somebody else, often to try to gain financial or social advantages through social engineering, but just as often for purposes of espionage or law enforcement....
who wrote bad check
Cheque
A cheque is a document/instrument See the negotiable cow—itself a fictional story—for discussions of cheques written on unusual surfaces. that orders a payment of money from a bank account...
s masquerading as scholars and famous people. In an age before mass communication, few store owners bothered to ID check writers.
Peters began his career of passing phony checks around 1902 when he presented himself as Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.
Theodore D. Roosevelt, Jr. , was an American political and business leader, a Medal of Honor recipient who fought in both of the 20th century's world wars. He was the eldest son of President Theodore Roosevelt from his second wife Edith 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 and used it to study various subjects to further his future plans.
When he was released he took a role of antique expert "R.A. Coleman" of the American Peace Society
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 which the oldest, the New York Peace Society, dated...
. 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 Delano Roosevelt, Booth Tarkington
Booth Tarkington
Booth Tarkington was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning novels The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams...
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
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives by year, 1951
In 1951, the United States FBI, under Director J. Edgar Hoover, continued for a second year to maintain a public list of the people it regarded as the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives....
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 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.