Loosely based on the story of Frédéric Bourdin, a French serial impostor nicknamed "The Chameleon" by the press. In 1997 Bourdin claimed to be Nicholas Barclay, a Texas native that disappeared 3 years earlier. Although Bourdin had brown eyes and a French accent, he convinced the family he was their blue-eyed son, saying he had escaped from a child prostitution ring. Bourdin lived with the family for almost 5 months until March 6, 1998.
In late 1997 a local private investigator grew suspicious while working with a TV crew that had been filming the family. In February 1998 the FBI got a court order to take the young man's fingerprints and DNA, which later identified him as Bourdin. In September 1998, Bourdin pleaded guilty to passport fraud and perjury in a San Antonio federal court. He was imprisoned for six years.
The story of the Chameleon was covered in The Dollop. A weekly podcast hosted by Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds. Each week one topic from American history is discussed at length.