“Ray” stuck to his story for months and even attracted the attention of one couple who said he was their long lost son. But he was actually 21-year-old Robin van Helsum from Hengelo in the Netherlands, who was bored with his internship at a telecom company and reportedly confused about the direction his life was taking.
This finally emerged 10 months later after people in Holland recognized a picture of him circulated by the German police. Soon after that he was charged with fraud, with Berlin authorities saying they had spent €30,000 looking after him because they thought he was a minor.
“‘Forest Boy’ faces work after court fraud hearing“