Fake Israeli Prof Arrested in Krakow

A 46-year-old man disguised as a Hasidic Jew has been arrested in Krakow for using false documents to secure lecturing jobs at private universities around Poland.

Mariusz K. passed himself off as an Israeli scholar using fake identity papers, a dummy doctorate and other forged ‘official’ documents.

Warsaw prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for the phoney prof two years ago, after his employers discover the fraud, but he evaded police.

When Mariusz K. was arrested on October 16, he was dressed as a Hasidic Jew, with black clothes, a kippah, beard and side-locks and was enrolled as a student in the Jewish Studies department of the Jagiellonian University.

In 2010, Mariusz K. secured lecturing posts at private universities in Warsaw, Siedlce and Otwock, before disappearing. He is thought to have earned 100,000 zł from his fraud.

If convicted on indictments issued by Warsaw prosecutors, Mariusz K. could face eight years in prison.