The Baron of Arizona: James Reavis and the 12-Million-Acre Forgery
James Reavis claimed 12 million acres in Arizona and New Mexico with forged Spanish land grants. Forensic document examiners exposed his fraud, leading to conviction.
Bart Baggett- Ask a Forensic Handwriting Expert
Articles by Bart Baggett.
Bart Baggett- Ask a Forensic Handwriting Expert
Articles by Bart Baggett.
Tag forensic document examiner
Robert Durst’s ‘Cadaver’ Note: The Handwriting That Ended Decades of Denial
Robert Durst’s handwritten ‘cadaver’ note, sent anonymously to police, became the evidence that helped convict him of murder after years of denial and speculation.
CBS Bush Memos: The Cost of Skipping Authentication
In 2004, CBS aired memos about President George W. Bush's National Guard service without forensic authentication. The controversy led to a major retraction and changed several careers.
Charles Manson’s Disputed Will: The Ongoing Battle Over His Estate
Charles Manson’s 2002 will, produced by a prison pen pal, has sparked years of legal battles over his estate. The authenticity of the will’s signature remains unresolved.
Martha Stewart, the @60 Worksheet, and the Ink That Didn’t Decide the Case
In Martha Stewart’s 2004 trial, ink analysis showed the “@60” note on a broker’s worksheet was written with a different pen. The jury acquitted on that charge.
Kerouac’s Mother’s Will Ruled a Forgery: The $20 Million Signature Dispute
In 2009, a judge ruled Jack Kerouac’s mother’s will a forgery after an expert found fifty differences in the signature. The $20 million estate’s future was left in limbo.
Denis Vrain-Lucas: The Man Who Forged History for the Académie des Sciences
Denis Vrain-Lucas sold thousands of forged letters, including some from Cleopatra written in modern French, to a respected scientist. The case still shapes how experts examine questioned documents today.
Anna Anderson: The Anastasia Impostor and the Handwriting That Fooled Experts
Anna Anderson convinced experts she was Anastasia using handwriting evidence, but decades later, DNA proved she was not the lost Romanov.
The Jack the Ripper Diary: When Handwriting Tells the Real Story
When a Victorian scrapbook surfaced claiming to be Jack the Ripper’s confession, handwriting analysis—not chemistry—revealed it didn’t match James Maybrick.
The Graceland Forgery: How Fake Documents Nearly Stole Elvis’s Home
In 2025, a forged loan scheme nearly auctioned off Elvis Presley’s Graceland. The plot unraveled when a notary’s affidavit exposed the fake documents.