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Outlook: Secrets and Lies: Imposters

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Secrets and Lies from Outlook

07/04/2021 GMT

Secrets and Lies: Imposters

BBC World Service - Outlook, Secrets and Lies: Imposters

Milli Vanilli's Fab Morvan spills the beans on one of the biggest pop hoaxes of all time, and Rachel DeLoache Williams on her toxic friendship with 'fake heiress' Anna Sorokin.

This episode of our Secrets and Lies series is all about imposters. From the Outlook archive, we have two stories of lies so audacious that, when exposed, they caused shockwaves globally.

Fab Morvan became world famous with the 80s pop band Milli Vanilli. He and his bandmate Rob Pilatus notched up number one hits in Europe and America, and sold millions of albums. But they had a secret - and when that secret came out, it had a devastating effect.

Rachel DeLoache Williams ended up in the midst of a high-profile court case in the United States. It all centred on Anna Sorokin - someone she had considered to be a close friend but who she says conned her out of tens of thousands of dollars. Anna had tricked New York city’s elite into thinking she was a wealthy German heiress, when in fact she was a fraudster with no trust fund at all. Anna was found guilty on a number of charges including grand larceny and served nearly four years in prison. 

Do you have a fantastic story involving a secret or a lie? We'd love to hear about it. Record a short voice memo or write an e-mail and send it to us at outlook@bbc.com. If your story is about someone you know, just make sure they're ok with you telling us about it.

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