Is it illegal to attribute credentials to an author that doesn&#39;t exist?
<p>I've ghostwritten several smaller books and web articles and I've noticed that they will often be published under a made up author's name. </p>

<p>I know that a pseudonym isn't illegal, but these make-believe authors are often claimed to be medical professionals or to have years of experience in a relevant field to the subject. </p>

<p>It's got me wondering whether or not it is legal to do this. I would have thought saying you have a PhD in Psychology to sell books on depression would be illegal. But what about minor lies? What if I write a guidebook to NYC and claim the author was born in the city when he (or I) wasn't?</p>

<p>Claiming qualifications that you lack in order to drive up sales of publications probably would constitute a violation of the deceptive trade practices act of many states. I can see multiple sections of the Colorado version of this statute that would apply to the practices that you describe and many (but not all) states, including California, have similar statutes.</p>

<p>If someone got a bee in their bonnet about the practices of the people you ghostwrite for, they could be a in world of hurt.</p>

<p>These violations can be enforced by the attorney general's office or by private individuals if they are part of a significant class of consumers harmed by the practice (not necessarily in a class action lawsuit). Lawsuits can lead to injunctions, money damages, minimum statutory damages per violation, and attorneys' fees awards against the offender. Usually, there would not be criminal penalties. </p>

<p>For example, in Colorado, which isn't terribly remarkable but is probably more pro-consumer than many states, some of the things that are classified as deceptive trade practices under Colorado Revised Statutes § 6-1-105, as as follows (with selective omissions of cross-references):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>(1)   A person engages in a deceptive trade practice when, in the course
  of the person's business, vocation, or occupation, the person:</p>
  
  <p>(a)   Knowingly passes off goods, services, or property as those of
  another;</p>
  
  <p>(b)   Knowingly makes a false representation as to the source,
  sponsorship, approval, or certification of goods, services, or
  property;</p>
  
  <p>(c)   Knowingly makes a false representation as to affiliation,
  connection, or association with or certification by another;</p>
  
  <p>(d)   Uses deceptive representations or designations of geographic
  origin in connection with goods or services;</p>
  
  <p>(e)   Knowingly makes a false representation as to the characteristics,
  ingredients, uses, benefits, alterations, or quantities of goods,
  food, services, or property or a false representation as to the
  sponsorship, approval, status, affiliation, or connection of a person
  therewith;</p>
  
  <p>(f)   Represents that goods are original or new if he knows or should
  know that they are deteriorated, altered, reconditioned, reclaimed,
  used, or secondhand;</p>
  
  <p>(g)   Represents that goods, food, services, or property are of a
  particular standard, quality, or grade, or that goods are of a
  particular style or model, if he knows or should know that they are of
  another;</p>
  
  <p>(h)   Disparages the goods, services, property, or business of another
  by false or misleading representation of fact;</p>
  
  <p>(i)   Advertises goods, services, or property with intent not to sell
  them as advertised;</p>
  
  <p>(j)   Advertises goods or services with intent not to supply reasonably
  expectable public demand, unless the advertisement discloses a
  limitation of quantity;</p>
  
  <p>(k)   Advertises under the guise of obtaining sales personnel when in
  fact the purpose is to first sell a product or service to the sales
  personnel applicant;</p>
  
  <p>(l)   Makes false or misleading statements of fact concerning the price
  of goods, services, or property or the reasons for, existence of, or
  amounts of price reductions;</p>
  
  <p>(m)   Fails to deliver to the customer at the time of an installment
  sale of goods or services a written order, contract, or receipt
  setting forth the name and address of the seller, the name and address
  of the organization which he represents, and all of the terms and
  conditions of the sale, including a description of the goods or
  services, stated in readable, clear, and unambiguous language;</p>
  
  <p>(n)   Employs "bait and switch" advertising, which is advertising
  accompanied by an effort to sell goods, services, or property other
  than those advertised or on terms other than those advertised and
  which is also accompanied by one or more of the following practices:
  (I)   Refusal to show the goods or property advertised or to offer the
  services advertised; (II) Disparagement in any respect of the
  advertised goods, property, or services or the terms of sale;
  (III) Requiring tie-in sales or other undisclosed conditions to be met
  prior to selling the advertised goods, property, or services;
  (IV)  Refusal to take orders for the goods, property, or services
  advertised for delivery within a reasonable time; (V) Showing or
  demonstrating defective goods, property, or services which are
  unusable or impractical for the purposes set forth in the
  advertisement; (VI)   Accepting a deposit for the goods, property, or
  services and subsequently switching the purchase order to
  higher-priced goods, property, or services; or (VII)  Failure to make
  deliveries of the goods, property, or services within a reasonable
  time or to make a refund therefor;</p>
  
  <p>(o)   Knowingly fails to identify flood-damaged or water-damaged goods
  as to such damages;</p>
  
  <p>(p)   Solicits door-to-door as a seller, unless the seller, within
  thirty seconds after beginning the conversation, identifies himself or
  herself, whom he or she represents, and the purpose of the call;</p>
  
  <p>(q)   Contrives, prepares, sets up, operates, publicizes by means of
  advertisements, or promotes any pyramid promotional scheme;</p>
  
  <p>(r)   Advertises or otherwise represents that goods or services are
  guaranteed without clearly and conspicuously disclosing the nature and
  extent of the guarantee, any material conditions or limitations in the
  guarantee which are imposed by the guarantor, the manner in which the
  guarantor will perform, and the identity of such guarantor. Any
  representation that goods or services are "guaranteed for life" or
  have a "lifetime guarantee" shall contain, in addition to the other
  requirements of this paragraph (r), a conspicuous disclosure of the
  meaning of "life" or "lifetime" as used in such representation
  (whether that of the purchaser, the goods or services, or otherwise).
  Guarantees shall not be used which under normal conditions could not
  be practically fulfilled or which are for such a period of time or are
  otherwise of such a nature as to have the capacity and tendency of
  misleading purchasers or prospective purchasers into believing that
  the goods or services so guaranteed have a greater degree of
  serviceability, durability, or performance capability in actual use
  than is true in fact. The provisions of this paragraph (r) apply not
  only to guarantees but also to warranties, to disclaimer of
  warranties, to purported guarantees and warranties, and to any promise
  or representation in the nature of a guarantee or warranty; however,
  such provisions do not apply to any reference to a guarantee in a
  slogan or advertisement so long as there is no guarantee or warranty
  of specific merchandise or other property.</p>
  
  <p>(u)   Fails to disclose material information concerning goods, services,
  or property which information was known at the time of an
  advertisement or sale if such failure to disclose such information was
  intended to induce the consumer to enter into a transaction;</p>
  
  <p>(v)   Disburses funds in connection with a real estate transaction in
  violation of section 38-35-125(2), C.R.S.; . . . </p>
  
  <p>(y)   Fails, in connection with any solicitation, oral or written, to
  clearly and prominently disclose immediately adjacent to or after the
  description of any item or prize to be received by any person the
  actual retail value of each item or prize to be awarded. For the
  purposes of this paragraph (y), the actual retail value is the price
  at which substantial sales of the item were made in the person's trade
  area or in the trade area in which the item or prize is to be received
  within the last ninety days or, if no substantial sales were made, the
  actual cost of the item or prize to the person on whose behalf any
  contest or promotion is conducted; except that, whenever the actual
  cost of the item to the provider is less than fifteen dollars per
  item, a disclosure that "actual cost to the provider is less than
  fifteen dollars" may be made in lieu of disclosure of actual cost. The
  provisions of this paragraph (y) shall not apply to a promotion which
  is soliciting the sale of a newspaper, magazine, or periodical of
  general circulation, or to a promotion soliciting the sale of books,
  records, audio tapes, compact discs, or videos when the promoter
  allows the purchaser to review the merchandise without obligation for
  at least seven days and provides a full refund within thirty days
  after the receipt of the returned merchandise or when a membership
  club operation is in conformity with rules and regulations of the
  federal trade commission contained in 16 CFR 425.</p>
  
  <p>(z)   Refuses or fails to obtain all governmental licenses or permits
  required to perform the services or to sell the goods, food, services,
  or property as agreed to or contracted for with a consumer;</p>
  
  <p>(aa)  Fails, in connection with the issuing, making, providing,
  selling, or offering to sell of a motor vehicle service contract, to
  comply with the provisions of article 11 of title 42, C.R.S.;</p>
  
  <p>(cc)  Engages in any commercial telephone solicitation which
  constitutes an unlawful telemarketing practice as defined in section
  6-1-304; . . .</p>
  
  <p>(gg)  Fails to disclose or misrepresents to another person, a secured
  creditor, or an assignee by whom such person is retained to repossess
  personal property whether such person is bonded in accordance with
  section 4-9-629, C.R.S., or fails to file such bond with the attorney
  general; . . . </p>
  
  <p>(jj)  Represents to any person that such person has won or is eligible
  to win any award, prize, or thing of value as the result of a contest,
  promotion, sweepstakes, or drawing, or that such person will receive
  or is eligible to receive free goods, services, or property, unless,
  at the time of the representation, the person has the present ability
  to supply such award, prize, or thing of value; . . . </p>
  
  <p>(ll)  Knowingly makes a false representation as to the results of a
  radon test or the need for radon mitigation; . . .</p>
  
  <p>(ss)  Violates any provision of part 33 of article 32 of title 24,
  C.R.S., that applies to the installation of manufactured homes; . . .</p>
  
  <p>(hhh) Knowingly represents that hemp, hemp oil, or any derivative of a
  hemp plant constitutes retail marijuana or medical marijuana unless it
  fully satisfies the definition of such products pursuant to section
  12-43.4-103(15), C.R.S., or section 12-43.3-104(7), C.R.S. . . . </p>
  
  <p>(iii) Knowingly enters into, or attempts to enforce, an agreement
  regarding the recovery of an overbid on foreclosed property if the
  agreement concerns the recovery of funds in the possession of: (I)    A
  public trustee prior to transfer of the funds to the state treasurer
  under section 38-38-111 , C.R.S.; or (II) The state treasurer and does
  not meet the requirements for such an agreement as specified in
  section 38-13-128.5, C.R.S.</p>
  
  <p>(2)   Evidence that a person has engaged in a deceptive trade practice
  shall be prima facie evidence of intent to injure competitors and to
  destroy or substantially lessen competition.</p>
  
  <p>(3)   The deceptive trade practices listed in this section are in
  addition to and do not limit the types of unfair trade practices
  actionable at common law or under other statutes of this state.</p>
</blockquote>

fraud