Counterfeit: The Murder of Viola Drath

Washington, D.C. has a long history of frauds and fantasists, people who showed up out of nowhere claiming to be somebody important, somebody rich, somebody royal. And people believed them—let them into the inner circle, invested money with them, gave them a seat at the table—only to find out later that they’d been had. That’s bad enough when all you lose is money, or a little bit of your pride. Far worse when your heart is involved. This is the bizarre story of Viola Drath, one of D.C.’s most respected players, a brilliant woman who was ahead of her time. Not the sort of woman you’d expect to fall victim to a breathtaking fraud. But as we’ve seen before on True Crime Campfire, even the smartest people can be taken in by clever acting and relentless charm.

Join us for this true story, recently made into the movie "Georgetown" with Annette Bening, Vanessa Redgrave and Christoph Waltz.

Sources: NY Times, Franklin Foer. The Worst Marriage in Georgetown. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/08/magazine/albrecht-muth-and-viola-drath-georgetowns-worst-marriage.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viola_Herms_Drath Investigation Discovery's "Deadline Crime with Tamron Hall," Episode "The House on Q Street"

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