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vanished and has not been in contact with any of his previous supporters, lending credence to the assertion that he never existed. Since Vicki has supposedly died, the truth or fiction of
Anthony and his story cannot be verified, leaving the story without resolution. Though the majority of people now believe that he never existed, there are still some people that believe that Anthony is/was real, and with the death of Vicki Johnson, their claims cannot be completely disproven.
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supposed adoptive mother's name. Even in a time before computers, it would have been impossible to adopt a child without creating a paper trail. Also, in his book
Anthony stated that his biological father was an ex-police officer in New York, and that he had been tried, convicted, and killed in prison. However, no record exists of a police officer with his supposed biological father's name, and the
311:
for patients no longer in his clinic, accepting payments before services had been provided or for services never received, billing for therapeutic services when no licensed therapist was on site, billing for more expensive therapy services than provided, and fabricating diagnosis. In 2009 Marc Allen
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Many sources found it medically implausible that
Anthony could be alive, given that he had supposedly been living with AIDS for over 19 years. Most long-term survivors are actually living with HIV but had not yet developed AIDS; furthermore, the medications that slow the progress of the disease were
284:
revealed new evidence that
Anthony was Vicki Johnson's fictional creation. The photo of "Anthony" that Vicki had sent to Anthony's supporters was revealed to be a childhood photo of a healthy adult man who was shocked to find his childhood photo being represented to people as that of Anthony Godby
326:
ABC subsequently ran an update to the story, which included a 147-page response from Vicki
Johnson's lawyer in response to ABC's questions. ABC also reported that Johnson and Zackheim have both died since their original 2007 story. Since the alleged death of Vicki Johnson, Anthony has seemingly
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has turned up still more evidence that
Anthony never existed. No birth records are available for Anthony and adoption is a time consuming and lengthy legal process. The state of New York has no record of a boy by that name or fitting that description having ever been adopted by anyone with his
169:
expert analyzed calls from "Anthony" and identified the voice to be that of Vicki
Johnson. As a result of these irregularities, Olbermann hired an investigator, who suggested that there was no Anthony and the story was fabricated.
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mother, Vicki
Johnson. Suspicion was raised when it was learned that no one other than Vicki Johnson had actually seen Anthony – not his agent, his editor, nor his publicist. Further concerns were raised when a
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requests. Lastly, no court records exist which list a couple with the names of
Anthony's supposed biological mother and father, who were supposedly tried and convicted of the crimes Anthony alleged in his book.
257:, in which the main character begins correspondence with an HIV-positive boy who is not what he seems. The book parallels Maupin's experience with Johnson. The story was also adapted for a 2002 episode of
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of rogue police officers trying to kill
Anthony was Vicki Johnson's justification for zealously preserving Anthony's privacy. However, no case matching that description could be found at any
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United States of America vs Marc Allen Zackheim, Case Number: 3:09-CR-00021(01)RM, The US Attorney Charges, March 2, 2009, Chief Judge US District Court Robert L. Miller, Jr.
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lists no inmate by that name having ever been incarcerated, let alone killed in prison. Were these things true, verification could easily be obtained by internet searches or
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courthouse. He was acquitted of one felony count of practicing medicine without a license and three misdemeanor counts of battery for inappropriately touching boys.
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Vicki Johnson, whose real name was Joanne Vicki Fraginals, had allegedly handed Anthony over to another caretaker in 1997 when she moved to Chicago and married
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101:. Subsequent investigations suggest that Johnson may have been the literary creation of Vicki Johnson, who purported to be Johnson's adoptive mother.
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Johnson; one childhood teacher of this man had been Vicki Johnson, who was said to have taken pictures of the children in her class.
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http://articles.southbendtribune.com/2009-11-21/news/26743885_1_medicaid-fraud-lake-forest-hospital-prison-for-health-care/
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childhood at the hands of his parents and their friends, his adoption by a new family, and his subsequent contraction of
628:"Heart attack claims Plymouth Psychologist Accused in Medicaid Fraud- Zackheim was ordered to prison for Medicaid fraud
160:, attempted to investigate the claims of the book and profile Anthony, they contacted the woman who claimed to be his
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http://articles.southbendtribune.com/2006-06-17/news/26952308_1_psychologist-practice-psychology-group-homes/
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365:- author of a memoir reporting his abuse as a child, events which were alleged to be invented or exaggerated
296:. In 2004, Zackheim was indicted for abusing child patients at a treatment center for troubled children in
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Zackheim was charged and sentenced to prison in federal court on felony charges for aiding and abetting
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With so many similarities between the purported life of Anthony and proven hoaxes such as that of
371:- author of a memoir reporting to be an abused teen hustler that turned out to be a literary hoax
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The book initially appeared as an autobiography, describing Johnson's survival of an
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347:- journalist awarded the Pulitzer Prize for an article later admitted to be false
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A second, lesser-known book was published under Johnson's name in 1994, entitled
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Three years later Zackheim was found in court again, confessing to accepting
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704:"Phantom Boy: Bogus Tale of 'AIDS' Child – From White Lie to H'wood Film"
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477:"Phantom Boy: Bogus Tale of 'AIDS' Child – From White Lie to H'wood Film"
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him, and that his police officer father was killed in prison. An alleged
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claimed that Anthony's biological parents were arrested and tried for
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not known at the time that Anthony's AIDS allegedly became severe.
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New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision
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Heartbreaking Hoax - 2006-08-04 Countdown with Keith Olbermann
517:"Serial thriller: Armistead Maupin returns to serialize again"
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Residence at the corner of Summit Avenue and 11th Street in
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story to have been the apartment where Vicki Johnson lived.
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341:- documentary film about a deceptive online relationship
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Plymouth psychologist pleads guilty to Medicaid fraud"
203:, the prevailing belief is that Anthony never existed.
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is the subject and supposed author of the 1993 memoir
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Snopes.com on Kaycee Nicole and Anthony Godby Johnson
140:. The arrow points to the windows indicated by the
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A Rock and a Hard Place: One Boy's Triumphant Story
83:All verifiable evidence suggests that Anthony is a
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A Rock and a Hard Place: One Boy's Triumphant Story
150:When several magazines and journalists, including
323:in November 2009 before his sentence was served.
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442:
677:Anthony Godby Johnson, The Invisible Boy Part I
122:Love Letters to Hawaii from Aboard the A-Train
515:David Valdes Greenwood (October 5–12, 2000).
451:"Olbermann gets scammed, but he is not alone"
597:"Zackheim dies after suffering heart attack"
555:" Psychologist relieved following acquittal"
751:Fictional characters from New York (state)
468:
448:
292:, a child psychologist and owner of the
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701:
474:
420:"Hawaiian Collection Acquisitions List"
235:, later defending the book's veracity.
756:Literary characters introduced in 1993
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665:. November 26, 2001 (pp. 86–89)
430:from the original on January 4, 2015
449:Olbermann, Keith (August 4, 2006).
400:from the original on August 6, 2022
231:wrote a foreword for an edition of
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761:Fictional characters with HIV/AIDS
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787:
776:Nonexistent people used in hoaxes
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300:; his trial began in 2006 at the
294:Associates of Clinical Psychology
253:, a novel subsequently made into
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260:Law & Order: Criminal Intent
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702:Stewart, Sara (July 30, 2006).
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475:Stewart, Sara (July 30, 2006).
708:New York Post (online edition)
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481:New York Post (online edition)
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648:. July 21, 2006. Page 2 of 3.
642:Believing in Tony's Existence
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269:amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
661:Tad Friend, "Virtual Love",
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502:"FACT CHECK: Kaycee Nicole"
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34:1977 (age 46–47)
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638:"Not Believing in 'Tony'"
551:February 14, 2016, at the
217:Freedom of Information Act
602:January 29, 2010, at the
274:On January 12, 2007, the
206:Further investigation by
87:created by Vicki Johnson.
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390:"Anthony Godby Johnson"
356:A Million Little Pieces
245:A Rock and a Hard Place
233:A Rock and a Hard Place
174:A Rock and a Hard Place
624:June 12, 2015, at the
583:March 9, 2009, at the
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138:Union City, New Jersey
457:on September 28, 2007
424:University of Hawaiʻi
278:newsmagazine program
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95:Anthony Godby Johnson
25:Anthony Godby Johnson
681:Everything Armistead
521:The Portland Phoenix
609:; November 21, 2009
319:Zackheim died of a
58:Supposed author of
16:Fictional character
771:Literary forgeries
746:Fictional adoptees
683:blog, 2006-08-03.
250:The Night Listener
243:for an edition of
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766:Fictional writers
714:on March 12, 2016
694:Keith Olbermann,
504:. April 30, 2002.
314:health care fraud
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71:(adoptive mother)
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726:The Ghost Writer
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453:. Archived from
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353:- author of
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363:Dave Pelzer
345:Janet Cooke
39:Nationality
735:Categories
718:2006-08-07
461:2006-08-08
376:References
351:James Frey
263:entitled "
208:snopes.com
182:conspiracy
47:Occupation
574:wbst.com
486:August 7,
434:August 6,
404:August 6,
224:Aftermath
66:Relatives
646:ABC News
622:Archived
600:Archived
581:Archived
549:Archived
531:June 27,
428:Archived
398:Archived
369:JT LeRoy
331:See also
309:Medicaid
188:agency.
162:adoptive
153:Newsweek
115:HIV/AIDS
42:American
679:on the
656:Sources
338:Catfish
298:Indiana
178:abusing
111:abusive
255:a film
50:Writer
281:20/20
265:Faith
241:blurb
143:20/20
77:Notes
533:2006
488:2006
436:2022
406:2022
199:and
156:and
85:hoax
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