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The Fake Nobleman Who Scammed Millions in the Wild West

Khalid Elhassan November 19, 2024 12 min

Conman - James Reavis behind bars — James Reavis behind bars. Pinterest

2. The Net Closes in On a Conman

Part of the Peralta Grant forgery. Wikiwand

For years, an official named Royal Johnson had been investigating Reavis’ claim. In 1889, he released a devastating report that labeled it a fake. Despite his best efforts, Reavis had not been meticulous enough. His forged documents used printing styles different from those of the period they supposedly came from. Steel-nibbed pens – which did not come into use until the 1880s – were used for writing instead of quills. There were basic Spanish spelling and grammatical errors, unlikely to have been made by a Spanish official. Reavis tried to brazen it out, and even sued the US government for eleven million dollars. It did not work out.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.