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U.S. Arrests 23-Year-Old Ukrainian Who Posed As High School Teen


Ukrainian student Artur Samarin posed as a highschool student, using the name "Asher Potts."
Ukrainian student Artur Samarin posed as a highschool student, using the name "Asher Potts."

A 23-year-old Ukrainian is being held in custody in the United States after pretending for four years that he was a high school teenager.

Artur Samarin, who attended two years of college in Ukraine before traveling to the United States, overstayed his U.S. tourist visa in 2013.

But an American couple in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania helped him stay in the United States by obtaining a birth certificate and false social security number for him – using the name Asher Potts.

He became an honors student at Harrisburg High School and a student representative on the local school board.

He also participated in a school military program and was accepted to a prestigious flight school.

In fact, he so impressed community leaders that the mayor of Harrisburg in 2013 declared October 27 as "Asher Potts Day."

Samarin is now charged with identity theft and sexual assault after he confessed to having sex with an underage teenage girl.

Based on reporting by AP, CNN, and ABC-TV

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