Elizabeth Gregg (formerly Grzeszczyk) first appeared on Unsolved Mysteries in 1996. Now, over 20 years later, she continues to share her experience in the hopes of helping others.
\nIt started back in 1994, when Elizabeth met Jonathan Kern, a well-known Formula One race driver, in a hotel in Miami, Florida. Elizabeth knew something about car racing and was at first skeptical. She recalled how Kern eventually won her over:
\n\u201cAnd I asked a few more questions, and I said, \u2018Well, what did you do before you raced cars?\u2019 He said, \u2018I was a medical doctor.\u2019 And I said, \u2018That\u2019s right.\u2019 I knew some background. I said, \u2018Who did you race for?\u2019 And he told me Tiero, which I knew was a British team. And I thought, \u2018Wow, it really is you.\u2019\u201d
\nBut in reality, the man claiming to be Jonathan Palmer was actually Jonathan Kern, a con man. Eventually, Kern charmed his way into Elizabeth\u2019s Connecticut home. She still believed he was Jonathan Palmer, still believed he had put his career on hold to spend time with her. But Kern was apparently only interested in her money.
\nDuring his stay with Elizabeth, Kern made what he said were frequent business trips to Manhattan. He made the drive in a $125,000 Mercedes lent to him by a local dealer. He also carried Elizabeth\u2019s ATM card, just in case of an emergency. During one trip, he called to say his wallet had been stolen. Once again, Elizabeth put her own money at Kern\u2019s disposal.
\nEventually, Kern started spending more time in Manhattan than with Elizabeth, causing her to have a complete change of heart. When he left one day, Elizabeth began calling numbers from her phone bill, matching them with names Kern had mentioned. The answers came back the same: the caller was named Jonathan Lake, not Palmer. Elizabeth was crushed.
\nPolice said that Kern swindled some $15,000 from Elizabeth, forcing her into bankruptcy. There is still an active warrant for Kern, and should he return to the U.S. and be caught, he would be arrested. Today, Elizabeth continues to pursue the case with a Facebook page where she hopes others who may have had similar experiences can find comfort and share information.
\nWhen Kern was reached by email, he stated, \u201cI think Ms Grzeszczyk really needs to get a life. Her accusations are exaggerated and fictitious and my family, colleagues and I are fed up to the back teeth of this attention seeker \u2026.\u201d
\nRead more of Kern\u2019s comments and more about Elizabeth here: https:\/\/www.nhregister.com\/metro\/article\/Milford-woman-bilked-by-con-man-23-years-ago-12499529.php
\nUPDATE: Jonathan Kern passed away on March 12, 2025 in Lunay, France, where he had been living for the past ten years.
\nYou can watch the Unsolved Mysteries segment now streaming on Amazon Prime in\u00a0season nine with Robert Stack\u00a0and in\u00a0season one with Dennis Farina.\u00a0Also available on YouTube with\u00a0Dennis Farina.\u00a0Various seasons available now on\u00a0Hulu.
\nThe post The Case of Jonathan Kern: 23 years later appeared first on Unsolved Mysteries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Elizabeth Gregg (formerly Grzeszczyk) first appeared on Unsolved Mysteries in 1996. Now, over 20 years later, she continues to share … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-investigate-unsolved-mysteries"],"yoast_head":"\n