 life. It seemed like his lies had finally caught up to him. In 1984, Super Password premiered on NBC. Everyone wanted to be a contestant on this show for the simple fact that they could be on TV and potentially earn tons of cash. That's exactly what one particular bearded contestant had in mind, too. In 1988, a man by the name of Patrick Quinn appeared on the show as a contestant, and he captivated audiences with his confidence and ability to answer anything that was thrown at him. But he was hiding a dangerous secret. Quinn was quite a charmer, which is why the host, studio audience, TV viewers, and even the other contestants connected with him right away. He was also pretty good at playing Super Password, too. So, what happened next wasn't really much of a surprise to anyone. Quinn had obviously watched the show since it started airing because he was a pro at winning the various challenges. In fact, he was so good that he made it to the final round. But getting the grand prize became the least of his worries. A fellow contestant started describing different words that began with a certain letter, and it was Quinn's job to figure out what they were. He only had a small amount of time to guess correctly, which he did. But would he be satisfied with the grand prize? As soon as the countdown ended, all sorts of whistles mixed with the sound of a cheering audience were heard. And viewers at home saw $55,000 flashed on the bottom of the screen. This was a pivotal point in Quinn's life, but it wasn't necessarily for the better. Quinn returned to the studio a month after the episode aired, albeit sooner than the producers expected. But he quickly explained to them that he had to arrive earlier, because he had been tasked to go on a government mission to Turkey and had to leave soon, and this baffled the show's producers. According to the show's host, once the episode wrapped up, Quinn had told him that he was in the CIA. And yet, the host had no idea whether Quinn's backstory was legit or a work of fiction. But something was definitely off about the contestant. Quinn alleged that he was once stationed in the North Pole so he and other CIA operatives could intercept Russian transmission for information that they could use. He also claimed he was happy to have earned himself a little extra money for himself. But his story came back to bite him a few weeks later. When Quinn returned to the NBC studios, he was floored when he knocked on the producer's door. When it opened completely, he had been expecting to see the studio's staff members, but there were others waiting for him and they were not happy. Inside the office were men in suits and they had guns and badges. The show's network executives glanced at Quinn and they saw fear in his eyes. It seemed that his story was nothing more than a con and the FBI wasn't about to let him go with a slap on the wrist. Quinn knew this day would come, which is why he had originally asked to get his prize money early. He was hoping that he could make a run for it all the way to Turkey, but the FBI agents had caught him and cuffed him. But how did they know he was the guy they had been looking for? Despite using an alias, a viewer from Alaska had been watching Quinn's super password episode, and they knew right away who he was and that he was wanted by the law. In fact, Quinn's name was actually Kerry D. Ketchum. Once the viewer noticed Ketchum on the TV screen, he called the cops. Then, authorities set up an operation that would allow them to catch their fugitive in the producer's office. But who was Ketchum and what had he done? Although he impersonated a CIA agent, he wasn't actually a part of the CIA. He used to be a deputy at the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department in Dayton, Ohio. Unfortunately for him, his life and law enforcement ended when he went on a crime spree that made him famous for all the wrong reasons. While Ketchum served as a deputy, he didn't hold on to his rank for very long because he was charged with theft. According to authorities, he stole $200,000 worth of military equipment and ended up behind bars for 18 months. But that wasn't the end of his crime spree. Ketchum was also indicted in Indiana for illegally acquiring a $15,000 bank loan to get a car and then forging $15,000 worth of checks. But these crimes were mild in comparison to something else he had done. Ketchum was once again caught and sent to prison for five years after filing a death benefits claim for his ex-wife with the Fireman's Fund American Life Insurance Company. The amount was for $100,000 and investigators had easily seen through his lies because of an obvious oversight. Ketchum had claimed that his ex-wife has been killed in a car accident. But the Air Force enlistee who was reportedly killed was very much alive and completely unaware that her ex-husband had filed a life insurance claim. But Ketchum still felt that people weren't seeing him for who he truly was. Ketchum felt people had misjudged him. Because I'm friendly and easy to get along with, people think I'm conning them, he was quoted saying, That's one of the reasons I went on the game show to use my own intellect for something other than bad. But US District Judge Matthew Byrne Jr. disagreed. The judge that presided over Ketchum's trial didn't buy his explanation and was quoted saying, You are a con man and you are also a thief. That's what I'm sentencing here, someone who uses his wits and his intelligence to become just a common thief. Prosecutors accused Ketchum of unleashing a virtual tornado of deception before he was taken into custody. And in addition to serving time, he also had to pay the insurance company for his attempt at fraud. But dismayed viewers still had one question on their minds. Did Patrick Quinn really exist or did he create an alias out of thin air? It turns out that there was a real Quinn out there somewhere. It was the name of Ketchum's old college professor, which he borrowed in order to win $55,000 on super password. The Los Angeles Times quoted Assistant US Attorney John F. Walsh III saying, He's used his engaging manner and his cleverness to flout systematically all the responsibility the law has placed on him. But what led him down this dark path?