After Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll, died in 1977, many people claimed to be related to him. Tabloids published stories with headlines like “I was Elvis’ love child!” Some of these claims were made by fans desperate to maintain some connection to the musical legend. Some of the claims were made by folks who just wanted a chance at publicity or money from Elvis’ estate.

Claiming a connection to Elvis Presley became so popular that Detroit-area disk jockey, Dick Purtan, began selling birth certificates for people who wanted to claim they were Elvis’ child. Around 2,000 people paid $2 apiece for these fraudulent birth certificates. (1) It’s funny how Elvis is still so popular after all these years. I bet those fake birth certificates are worth a lot more than $2 these days.

This …