Britney Spears is not going to court — but she is the latest victim of an infamous hoaxer.
On Wednesday, Dec. 26, Us Weekly obtained papers reportedly filed by the singer's former brother-in-law, Christopher Federline, in which the plaintiff claimed that he, not Spears' ex-husband Kevin Federline, was the "true father" of the couple's oldest son, Sean Preston. But sources told Us the documents appear to have been doctored.
The story "does not make any sense," one insider said of the allegations against Spears, noting that the real Christopher is currently working in L.A., even though the papers were filed in Florida.
Added a second source: "Chris wouldn't resort to trying to get money like this. Even if it were true. He has a good job, despite the document that says he's unemployed."
Still, insiders told Us that the Federline family is "very concerned" about the case. "The signatures match so well," a source said, pointing out that the person who filed the papers knew details about Christopher's ex-girlfriend and work history. "The family is not done investigating!"
The Smoking Gun confirms that the papers are indeed fake — the work of a convicted felon, Jonathan Lee Riches, who was arrested recently on a federal probation violation charge.
In fact, Riches, 35, has a long history of using phony identities to concoct elaborate hoaxes — one of which involved the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn. On Sunday, Dec. 16, just two days after the tragedy, the recently released inmate drove to Connecticut and posed as "Jonathan Lanza," the uncle of school shooter Adam Lanza. He told journalists that his "nephew" had been taking Fanapt, an antipsychotic drug prescribed for schizophrenia.
The Smoking Gun says that Riches also reportedly filed "hundreds" of fake lawsuits from prison, many of which named famous athletes, politicians, and Hollywood stars as defendants. In one, TSG reports, he posed as the father of singer-actress Selena Gomez, and accused Justin Bieber of stealing his credit card and using it to pay for a "penis enlargement." Another case, filed by a "Jonathan Jolie," claimed that Brad Pitt, John Travolta, and others had assaulted him, among other things.
