They Tried To Rip People Off In The Most Bizarre Ways But Got Caught

#1 A Circus Painted Two Dogs And Tried To Pass Them Off As Pandas

They tried to fool the kids but their fake pandas were very odd looking. When patrons began demanding cute animals for the children in 2014, the circus in Brescia, Italy provided what they asked for. They painted black patches on the ears and backs of two white Chow Chow puppies to pass them off as pandas so that children could pose with them for pictures for a fee. The two puppies, a male, and female were discovered to be dogs when they began howling and whining. A patron called the police claiming the circus was trying to scam the public and they arrived and closed the show down. The dogs, imported from Hungary, are in good health. The owner of the circus was arrested and accused of animal abuse, Italian media reported.

#2 A Woman Tried To Pass Herself Off As A Boston Marathon Victim

Audrea Gause of Troy, New York submitted a claim to a charitable fund set up to aid victims of the Boston Marathon bombing and was awarded over $480,000. She had an elaborate scheme set up, including several pages of false medical records indicating she was treated at hospitals in Boston and in New York for a traumatic brain injury suffered in the bombings. She was arrested and plead guilty to the felony crime and was then sentenced to 3 years in federal prison. Her fraud was only uncovered when she tried to do the same thing with another organization that researched her claims and found she used the money received from "One Fund" non-profit to build a new home.

#3 China Tried Passing Off Footage From "Top Gun" As Its Air Force

Government owned and sponsored China Central Television tried to pass off scenes from the film "Top Gun" as it's own air force in January 2011 when they broadcast the footage stating it was that of a training exercise conducted the day before. It didn't take long for the internet to get involved. Right after the broadcast, someone shared that the plane in the footage being shot down by the J-10 was an American F-5. That happens to be the same as the plane flown by Tom Cruise in the movie. The Chinese government made announcements that the footage was real but the frames are identical to those of "Top Gun" when compared side by side.

#4 A Dog Breeder Tried To Pass Off Fluffed Up Ferrets As Expensive Pedigree Poodles

It sounds crazy, but it's true. A retired Argentinian man wanted some company and decided on a toy poodle for a pet. He purchased one at a local outdoor market for a low price that just could not be passed up. He later went back for a second puppy since they were so affordable and was surprised they had more for sale. When he took his two new pets to the veterinary clinic for an exam he was shocked to learn that his new companions were not dogs at all, they were ferrets. The ferrets had been given steroids to increase their size and had been groomed to make their coats resemble those of pedigree poodles. The man paid $75 for each dog but the going rate for pedigree poodles in the country is about $1,500.

#5 A Man Tried To Pass Off A Short Rib Recipe As A Car Inspection Sticker

Police in Salisbury, Massachusettes got the last laugh in March 2014, when they pulled a man over for a routine traffic stop. The 56-year-old Massachusetts motorist tried to pass off a clipping about a recipe for short ribs as his car inspection sticker. He told police he had been driving without a sticker for two years. He was charged with operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, forging/misuse of an RMV document, and failing to dim his headlights. The police department thought it was amusing and shared the story on their Twitter page.

#6 Dumb Criminal Tries Passing Off Ice Blocks As iPads At The Post Office

Nathan Cameron, a former doorman, went to his local post office in 2013 to mail a package he said was several iPads. The post office made sure to mark the box as 'Special Delivery' and insured it for $3,000. However, about an hour later the postal staff noticed the box was leaking. Upon inspection, it was revealed that the contents were not iPads, but instead several blocks of ice sealed in sandwich bags. When the dumb criminal later sent in a claim for undelivered and lost mail he was arrested. Unaware that the contents had melted and burst open before being shipped, he was charged with fraud. He told the jury he had "absolutely no idea" of the parcel's true contents, as he had posted it for a friend.

#7 A Zoo Tried Passing Off A Hairy Dog As A Lion

CNN reported that visitors to the zoo in Louhe, China were pretty shocked when they walked up to a cage marked "African Lion" and the animal inside barked. Instead of a lion, it was a Tibetan mastiff, a large, hirsute breed of dog. The 2013 reports also showed that other exhibits at the zoo were labeled with false markers. There was another breed of dog in the wolf cage and a white fox on display in the leopard enclosure.

#8 Twenty-Five Year Old Man Tried To Pass Himself Off As A High School Freshman

When 25-year-old Carl Walden walked into Dayton High School in Springfield and tried to pass himself off as an incoming freshman he immediately concerned school officials. He told the school administers his name was Jason Burns and said he was interested in enrolling at the school. The 6' 1", 265-pound man before them was clearly not a teenager, but to avoid any problems they handed him an enrollment packet and told him to have his parents fill them out. When he left the school he was picked up by the police who found out he also had outstanding warrants so he was arrested. Walden was charged with criminal trespassing, a fourth-degree felony, as well as disorderly conduct and harassment.

#9 A Man Tried To Pass Off Pop Tart Crumbs As Cocaine To An Undercover Cop

In September 2014, police in Halifax, North Carolina arrested 30-year-old Cameron Mitchell after he tried to sell a bag of crushed up Pop-Tarts that he was passing off as crack cocaine to an undercover narcotics officer. Authorities "field-tested" the powder and found no trace of drugs, but a lot of sugary goodness found in the popular breakfast pastry. Mitchell was arrested and jailed for fraud, and several drug-related charges.

#10 A Man Tried To Smuggle 32 Bears In His Car

In March 2014, Wu Meng was stopped by the border patrol in South West China with 22 baby bears in his back seat and 10 in the front seat of his car. When questioned on the passengers in his vehicle he told the police they were rare pedigree Akita dogs. Unfortunately for Meng, a vet was called in to examine the animals and was able to confirm they were indeed bears. At first, Meng said he must have been ripped off by the seller, but later confessed that he had been hired to smuggle the bears into China. Authorities believe the animals would have been used in Chinese medicine, where bear parts are in high demand.

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