Interruption
Asher couldn't stop staring at the pretty blonde girl in his maths class. She was so distracting, he decided to write her a note. She opened the note that said " I like you. Wanna meet up after class?" and made eye contact with Asher who winked.
She was so startled as she had a crush on Asher too. She started to write back her sweaty handed reply and was cut short by a shocking scene. The classroom door burst open and two police officers marched in, brandishing their badges. "Asher Potts, you're under arrest, come with us immediately" they said as they cuffed him and dragged him out in front of the stunned class.
Straight-A Student
Asher was a small town, straight-A student with big aspirations of going to college to be an engineer. He was even a member of the National Honour Society and was well on his way to being accepted into a top college.
At least on paper, this was who Asher was. In reality, Asher was living a complete lie. Who was the real Asher?
Communism
Asher Potts, born Artur Samarin, was a nineteen year old Ukrainian man who was born in the city of Nova Kakhovka. He was an exceptionally bright student who had aspirations for himself that he could never realistically achieve in a country still recovering from Communism.
Artur knew the future he pictured for himself he would never be able to achieve in his home country. That's why he decided to do what he did. He never imagined how many people he would hurt along the way.
Exchange Program
Artur had his sights set on America for his new life. He would sorely miss his mother Monica but it was what he needed to do to get to where he wanted to be in life.
He decided to apply for an exchange program that would allow him to live and work in the USA temporarily. Temporarily was never Artur's plan, however. He would do anything and go through anyone to get what he wanted.
Coming To America
Artur arrived in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 2012 and secured himself a job working in a kitchen. It paid significantly more than he would have been paid for the same job back home.
However, despite having more money than he had ever had in his life, when Artur realized just how much college tuition costs in America he was shocked. He couldn't even save for it if he tried. That's when Artur met two people that would change his life forever.
Opportunist
Ever the opportunist, Artur befriended an older childless couple. Their names were Stephayne and Michael Potts and after meeting them a few times, Artur revealed his story and his future plans to them.
The couple instantly warmed to Artur and after hearing his misfortunate story, they decided to make him an offer he simply couldn't refuse. Inevitably, it would end up backfiring on all of them in the worst way possible.
Offer Of A Lifetime
The couple had always longed for a child of their own but were never able to have one. When Artur came into their lives he filled a void that had long been empty for them.
With Artur's visa about to run out, they offered to adopt him as their son. Despite being over the legal age of adoption, they wrote that he was fourteen on the adoption papers. His name was changed to Asher Potts. In order for everything to look above board, they had to do something that would prove to be a disaster for all of them.
Harrisburg High
Asher had to enroll in Harrisburg High where he was a straight-A student. He did summer math and science classes and was a prominent member of the school student board. While his Ukrainian accent did raise some eyebrows, he just told people he was adopted from a Russian-Jewish background.
Asher was very popular in school and had many friends. Worryingly, he was also very popular with the girls in his classes who had no idea what age he really was. Asher was about to get exactly what was coming to him for what he decided to do.
The Day Of Reckoning
Asher had been coasting through high school, with the above-average intelligence, confidence, and height of a man who was well over the legal age to drink. His confidence had started to gather a few looks from girls and there was one in particular who had caught Asher's eye.
Her name was Stacy and he decided to reach out to her in the form of a note. Just as he had sent his note asking her to hang out, the door of the classroom burst open. The jig was up. But what was Asher due to be charged for?
Accessories To Fraud
As it turned out, the Potts had begun to become abusive towards Asher and he had tried to disconnect himself from them. In an act of revenge, they had contacted the immigration services who had arrested Asher in the middle of class.
However, they hadn't realized it would backfire on them too and they would be brought up on charges of being accessories to fraud. This was only the tip of the iceberg of Asher or Artur's crimes, however.
Guilty
Artur was found guilty of falsely receiving a state-funded education, outstaying his visa by several years and document fraud. On top of this, a fifteen year old girl in his school made damning allegations against the then twenty two year old man.
Artur was going to pay for all the crimes he had committed and all of the people he had manipulated and lied to.
Deported
In the end, Artur only ended up serving a year in prison before being deported back to Ukraine. His big dreams for himself had backfired in the worst way possible.
Turns out the American dream is not nearly as attainable as generations of immigrants have been fooled into believing it is. Artur learned that the hard way.