The following is an adapted version of an article originally published in Hungarian in Magyar Krónika.

America—the new world, the land of opportunity, the land of the free. In the 19th and 20th centuries, hundreds of thousands of Hungarians left their former lives behind to cross the Atlantic and try their luck Far Far Away, that is, ‘Beyond the Óperencia’, as Hungarian fairy tales go. In its series, Magyar Krónika looks at the meeting points of America and Hungary through the Hungarian diaspora living in the US. This part will be about a recidivist conman, George Robert Gabor, who has been deported from the country several times and even sentenced to prison.

In previous articles in our series (here and here), we have already dealt with a Hungarian, or rather, a Hungarian-considered immigrant, who did not exactly give our country a good reputation overseas. Peter Heinrich lied about his origin—known as Béla Estván—in order to make it easier for him to establish himself in the United States. In addition, in the columns of the Magyar Krónika magazine, there are other articles written about American Hungarians who seduced young girls, killed people for a few dollars, fell victim to murder, were forced into prostitution, and had tragic fates.

Following this less than cheerful pattern—while promising that more light-hearted cases will also be reported in the future—in this article, we tell the story of a young man who pretended to be a baron. The South Bend News-Times of 25 June 1931 reported that 25-year-old George Robert Gabor played the role of Baron Von Krupp for five years, deceiving several members of the American upper class.

The man himself admitted that he had arrived in the United States in 1921, attended evening classes at Columbia University, and then studied law at Harvard. Once, at a party, Von Krupp appeared as Baron Krupp to prove to his friends that American society was gullible. The act was so convincing that he decided not to stop it. He played the role of the baron, who had come overseas to study industry, so effectively that he even received a car from Henry Ford to drive across the country. In addition, he was hosted and entertained by rubber manufacturers in Akron, Ohio, and wealthy families in Denver, as he testified in court.

‘George Robert Gabor played the role of Baron Von Krupp for five years, deceiving several members of the American upper class’

The New York Times, 27 January 1928 and 23 June 1931, provides more details about Gabor’s story. He was first reported in 1926 for using false checks to pay for Baron Von Krupp. He was imprisoned in New Mexico and released under unknown circumstances. He was arrested again that year, spent nine months behind bars, and then had to leave the country. In 1928 he returned using false documents but was caught, given a five-year suspended sentence, and deported. This still did not discourage him, and he re-entered the country shortly thereafter and continued his frauds. He posed as an assistant attorney general of the United States, for which he was eventually convicted, spent a year and a half in a California prison, and was then taken to court to discuss his 1928 suspended sentence. In court, Gabor represented himself and told almost boastful stories, including one about being hosted by future President Herbert Hoover and his wife at their Palo Alto home during the 1928 campaign.

The articles published in The New York Times reveal that the man said he had started his dubious activities out of revenge for being illegally and forcibly deported from the country in 1926 for a forged check. At the time, he admitted to being the fiancé of Eleanor du Pont, but the member of the famous industrialist family denied having anything to do with the man.

The story is contradictory in several places, and in the version described above, we have already tried to summarize information from several sources as much as possible. In addition, the articles published in the columns of the South Bend News-Times and The New York Times also show minor differences. The latter seems to be more thorough, especially the 1931 article, since by then the press had a greater insight into Gabor’s career.

Returning to the trial, Gabor was eventually sentenced to two years in prison, as The Washington Times reported in its 30 June 1931 issue. However, readers would be greatly mistaken if they thought that the man had withdrawn after that. The Washington Times also reported on 11 April 1935 that Gabor had posed as an attaché at the American embassy in Tokyo, which was how he obtained money. For that, he was sentenced to one and a half years in prison.

According to reports, the Hungarian imposter did not hide his crimes during the trials—sometimes he even compiled a list of his hustles, of which he was presumably proud. One of the prosecutors in the case explained that he thought ‘something was wrong with the man’, since most of his actions were clearly lies.

This article is based on sources from South Bend News-Times, The New York Times, and The Washington Times.

Read the previous parts of the series below:

Click here to read the original article.