> I believe that New York attracts these people, from all over the country.

Not just from the country and not just to NY. From all over the world to wherever there is wealth. There was a famous case of the "Fake Rockefeller" where a german guy duped many into thinking he was a rockefeller.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Gerhartsreiter

And if you enjoy lying narcissists, you'll love the documentary "The Imposter". I don't want to spoil it so I won't go into details here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Imposter_(2012_film)

It's unbelievable the bald-faced lies that people can come up with. It's also unbelievable the lies people are willing to believe.