The man with no name: How a US con artist stole homes and identities for decades

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For over thirty years, the man known by dozens of aliases—Elvis Teller, Marco Ferrari, Carl Avinger among them—drifted through America’s justice system without ever revealing who he truly was. His record stretched from New York to Oklahoma, a trail of stolen identities, fake deeds, and fraud. When Queens prosecutors charged him in 2023 with stealing homes through falsified property transfers, it looked like another routine real-estate scam. Then came the twist: the real Carl Avinger called from Tennessee to say his name had been stolen, the New York Times reported.

The identity theft that unravelled the case

Prosecutors quickly confirmed the caller was genuine. The man they had charged had taken Avinger’s identity 22 years earlier after meeting his half-brother, Dwayne, in prison. The theft began in grief—their mother had just died—and ended with a stranger stealing Carl’s wallet, containing his driver’s license and Social Security card. That moment set off a chain of crimes stretching over decades, each one tied to a name that wasn’t his.

From minor crimes to major scams

His criminal record began in 1992 when, under the alias Elvis Teller, he was arrested six times in one year. Over the next decade, he rotated through names and offenses: reckless endangerment as Bobby Jackson, grand larceny as Marco Ferrari, attempted murder as John Stamp. Even when caught, he’d cycle through arrests, parole violations, and fresh deceptions. In 2006, posing as Carl E. Avinger, he was stopped in Oklahoma with 51 pounds of marijuana. Convicted under yet another alias, he served three years—then resurfaced in New York, where his frauds grew bolder.

A real-estate empire built on forgeries

By 2023, prosecutors say he had teamed up with Autumn Valeri, a Long Island real estate executive known for closing big-ticket deals. Together, they identified vacant properties, forged ownership documents, and filed fake deeds transferring those homes to shell companies they controlled. They even impersonated notaries to legitimize the paperwork. Their downfall came when they targeted an 83-year-old family home in Kew Gardens Hills, selling it for $600,000 before the owners discovered the theft. The victims’ family heirlooms—ball gowns, war letters, a handcrafted organ—were lost forever.

The unmasking of “Carl Avinger”

As investigators traced the fraud, the real Carl Avinger stumbled upon news stories describing “himself” being arrested for deed theft. He recognized the photo instantly—it was the same man who had once stolen his identity. Queens prosecutors re-opened their files, confirming the impersonation. The accused, still using the Avinger name, was re-arrested and faced 47 counts, including grand larceny and conspiracy. His partner, Valeri, lost her real-estate license and was sentenced to five years’ probation.

A mystery that endures

Even after conviction, his real name remains uncertain. In court, his lawyer said he was “Craig Taylor,” son of a woman named Margaret Curtis. When investigators tracked her down in Texas,

she said her name was now Margaret Forbes—and that her son’s name was actually Angelo Alexander Forbes, born in Nassau, Bahamas, in 1976. Prosecutors have not confirmed that claim. The man refuses to admit anything, telling authorities nothing about his past or identity.

Sentenced as “John Doe”

In October 2025, he appeared in Queens Supreme Court to plead guilty to multiple counts of grand larceny and identity theft. He faces up to nine years in prison. Sitting behind him, his former partner Valeri watched silently. The man smiled, fist-bumped his attorney, and walked out in handcuffs—still refusing to reveal who he really is.

He will be sentenced on November 13 under the only name the justice system has left for him: John Doe.