Ray William Johnson: True Story Podcast - He's Pretending to be a Teen // The Artur Samarin Scandal

Episode Date: June 3, 2026

Artur Samarin was a 23-year-old Ukrainian national who famously posed as a teenage honors student at Harrisburg High School in Pennsylvania to remain in the United States after his visa expired in 2012. Under the fabricated identity of "Asher Potts," he maintained a 4.1 GPA, joined the National Honor Society, and participated actively in the school’s ROTC program. He reportedly orchestrated the scam with his American host parents to gain legal status and pursue an education.

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So the story starts with this guy, Archer, and he's 19 when all this begins and he's living in Ukraine. And Archer, he's a college student. But here's the thing about him. He has dreams of working. for NASA one day, become an aerospace engineer. And he's willing to do almost anything to make sure he achieves that. And so one day in 2012, he finds out about an exchange program with the United States that allows foreign exchange students to get a temporary visa to work summer jobs in the U.S.

for about three months. And Arter is like, sweet, because he knows this could be a step towards his dream of becoming a NASA engineer. So he comes up with a plan. He's going to get the visa, work all through those three months, save money, and use it to enroll in a university in the U.S. So he applies to the program, and boom, he gets accepted. A few months later, Archer flies to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he's assigned to stay. And there, he gets a job at a local restaurant, and he starts saving as much money as he can.

He also starts researching American universities to see where he can eventually study. But here's the thing about American universities. Shit is expensive, like really expensive, way more than Archer could ever afford by just working a restaurant job for a few months. And this realization is devastating for him. And to make it worse, soon his three-month visa stay will be over and he'll have to return to Ukraine. But then he finally gets an opportunity. Around this time, he meets this couple, Stephanie and Michael. And Stephanie and Michael, they live in the same building as him, and so they meet and they hit it off, and over time, they all become pretty close.

So one day, Archer is hanging out with them, and he decides to open up to them. And he tells them how badly he wants to stay in the United States and one day work at NASA, but that he can't afford that, and in just a few weeks his visa is going to expire. And so, Stephanie and Michael hear all this, and they immediately see an opportunity to help him out, and maybe make a little money, during the process. And they come up with a plan to fake adopt him because parents who adopt can qualify for government benefits and tax credits and stuff like that. And so Stephanie and Michael discussed this plan with Arter and Archer's like, hell yeah. Now, the immediate problem they run into is Arter is 19 years old, which is too old to be adopted in the way that would make this scheme work. He would need to be under 18. So Stephanie and Michael are like, no big deal. We'll just

change your age. And they all agree that from here on out, Archer will pretend to be 14 years old. So he moves in with them and they get to work on this scheme. And they get fake documentation made, a baptismal certificate. And this baptismal certificate shows that Arter is only 14 and it gives him a fake name. Then they take that certificate and they enroll him in a local high school. So now Arter is officially a 14 year old freshman in an American high school. And he plays right along, like he dresses like the other students, he acts like them, he throws himself completely into this young teenage life. Now, the funny thing is, he suddenly kicks ass at high school.

Like he aces all his classes, he gets straight A's because he's already done this before. This is like a do-over for him. He also takes the time to volunteer in the community. He helps out at local food banks. He joins two cadet programs. he coaches a swimming team for younger kids, and during summers, he joins advanced science and math programs, sometimes working in the labs at the local university.

Bro is really trying to build up his resume, because, you know, he's hoping that that will eventually help him work for NASA. Now, while all this is going on, Stephanie and Michael submit to get their government money from all this. And sure enough, they get approved. And soon, those government checks start rolling in every month. Plus, they're now able to get food stamps and snap benefits. So this little scheme they got going on seems to be working out for all of them. And so years pass.

And it's now 2014. And Arter is a junior in high school. He's 22 years old pretending to be 17. And by now, all this hard work and extracurriculars are starting to pay off. People begin noticing him as a model student. and he starts winning academic awards and awards for his community service. Even local politicians praise him publicly and post about him online. At one point, the mayor of Harrisburg even declares an Asher Potts Day.

Asher Potts is the fake name that he's been using. But then, Arter starts getting gross because he meets another student in school. And they hit it off and they become friends and soon, Archer and this girl at his school are dating. Problem is, she's only 15. And he's really 22. And yes, they do have a physically intimate relationship. Now, this may look like Arter, Stephanie, and Michael all got what they wanted out of this.

Like they're getting paid. He's able to build his resume. But behind the scenes, they're actually not really getting along. Because remember, he's pretending to be their adopt. kid. So they all have to live together during all this. And Archer hates the way they treat him. They make him sleep on a little couch inside a walk-in closet. They also make him constantly do chores, like laundry and dishes and clean everything. And anytime he gets money for working an outside job, Stephanie and Michael take all of it that he earns and they spend it on themselves.

Also, Stephanie is taking classes at the local community college and she apparently forces Archer to do all her homework for her because, you know, he's a pretty smart guy and I guess she's not. And if he ever complains about any of this, they get all mad and they threaten to report him to immigration and have him deported. So he's kind of stuck in this situation. And another year and a half passes. So it's now 2016. And Arter is just a few months away from graduating with honors. He's already been accepted into college, a good college, one with an aerospace engineering program. But by this point, he is completely done living with Stephanie and Michael. He's tired of putting up with their shit.

He has had enough. So one day, he packs up his stuff, and he just runs away, and he moves in with a friend's family. Now, he's tried to run away a few times before, but he's always come back. But this time, he is not going back. And so weeks pass, and Archer still hasn't gone back to live with Stephanie and Michael. And so they get super pissed off, and they apparently start threatening him. Then one day, boom, some anonymous person contacts police and they report Archer for being an adult who is pretending to be a teenager in high school.

Maybe it was Stephanie and Michael who reported him. Maybe it was someone else, we don't actually know. Either way, police go to Archer's school and bang. They arrest him. Here's his mugshot. And while they're investigating him for that, police discover that he had relations with the girl who was 15 at the time, so he gets charged for that as well. Good. Now, of course, he ends up flipping on Stephanie and Michael and telling the police about their whole fraud scheme. And he eventually takes a plea deal and he gets sentenced from 11 and a half

to 23 months in prison. And after serving his sentence, he gets deported back to Ukraine. And as for Stephanie and Michael, bam, they both get arrested as well. And she gets sentenced to five months in prison for her role in the scheme, while Michael, he gets sentenced to two years of probation.