Pennsylvania high school honors student really a 23-year-old from Ukraine, police say

Some high school students can't wait to be done and count down the days until graduation, but Artur Samarin — aka Asher Potts — liked being a teenager so much he decided to do it all over again.

Police in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, say that Samarin came to the United States from Ukraine on a temporary visa, and after it expired, created a new identity. As Asher Potts, Samarin enrolled in Harrisburg High School in fall 2012, and threw himself into high school life: He was a member of the National Honor Society, worked at a food bank, and participated in the ROTC and Naval Sea Cadet programs. Police Sgt. Terry Wealand told The Associated Press that authorities received a tip two months ago that Asher Potts wasn't who he claimed to be, and they are investigating whether he had any help pulling off his ruse. "I would think there would have to be someone who knew," Wealand said. "And if there is, they are going to pay, too."

Wealand said that Samarin had a driver's license under his new identity, and lived with people he befriended. He was arrested Tuesday and charged with identity theft and tampering with public records, and remains in jail. Marcel McCaskill met Samarin during a math and science program at Penn State, and said that others in the program used to joke he was a Russian spy because of his accent, but "nothing was wrong with him from my perspective."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up