Between 2018 and 2024, Tiron Alexander, a 35 -year -old American, managed to defraud 120 interior and international flights by posing as a crew member. A high -flying lie … if you can say.
An imposture that will have lasted six years
His ploy was well prowled: usurping the identity of a steward thanks to false information transmitted to a reservation system reserved for air staff, before blending into the plane with his alleged colleagues. To blur the tracks, he claimed to work for seven different airlines, each time providing a false badge number, a false job date and an invented employer. In total, more than thirty fictitious identities fueled his illusion. But the fall is today brutal: on June 10, the impostor was found guilty of electronic fraud and illegal intrusion in a secure area. The 30 -year -old could receive up to 30 years in prison. A story that strongly recalls the film Catch me if you canwhere Leonardo DiCaprio embodies a charismatic impostor, capable of convincing that he is a pilot, lawyer or doctor.
A profile as fascinating as they
But what kind of personality is capable of setting up such an elaborate scam and maintaining it for six years? For clinical psychologist Johanna Rozenblum, this type of profile is as rare as it is intriguing.
“”We must recognize this: they are brilliant people, with great intellectual and adaptation capacities. But they believe so much in their own scenario that they end up convincing those around them … and sometimes themselves.“”
According to the expert, these high -level impostors often have a flaw in identity construction.
“”They invent skills, functions, and adopt a role like a second skin. It is both the sign of a genius of adaptation and that of a deep inner vacuum. “
In these chronic fraudsters, there would also be a form of revenge on life. “”We should see a little what the past of this person looks like. But these super-frauders do not have a clear moral moral course, they transgress rules and laws without guilt, as if they wanted to prove something to the world.“”
This behavior can sometimes be akin to personality disorders, such as that of the highly functional mythomaniac, even certain narcissistic features: the need to shine, to deceive, to manipulate – without necessarily wanting to harm.
A faulty system … but a certain charm
What also strikes in the Alexander case is the ease with which he bypassed controls. None of the badge numbers he used was checked for six years. A security vacuum that the American National Transport Agency now intends to fill. But if Tiron Alexander is today behind bars, his audacity fascinates as much as she questions. How much can you deceive a system… and yourself?