Fraudsters come in many ways: it could be in the form of a Nigerian Prince soliciting for a few million to process his inheritance of a massive wealth or a charitable organization asking for donations that would save the world. There are stories of individuals who have conned people into believing things that are false throughout the history of humanity. For instance, Frank Abagnale Jr. was an imposter who had many believe he was a pilot, doctor, teacher, and attorney. Like Frank, Rafiel Torre got people to think highly of him as a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) black belter. His claims and lies catapulted him to fame but his desperation for a quick route to the good life would bring his undoing. We’ve told his tale with the quick facts below.
Facts That Are Known About Rafiel Torre
1. Rafiel Torre Isn’t His Real Name
The fake black belter lied about a lot of things. Based on our findings, his real name is Ralph Bartel. Why he settled for Rafiel Torre is best known to him but it wouldn’t be amiss to conclude that it was one of his many lies.
2. How He Deceived The Mixed Martial Arts Community
When Rafiel started bragging online that he is a ferocious fighter with an undefeated record of 14 – 0, it was difficult for anyone to tell he was lying through his teeth. Then, MMA was still vastly regarded as a dangerous sport and most of the fights were done underground.
As such, it was impossible to verify his claims and probably, no one even bothered to authenticate all the glories he accorded himself. After all, why would anyone say they are who they aren’t?
3. Rafiel Torre’s Rise to Fame
As no one discredited his story of being an undefeated black belt holder, Rafiel continued to gain more attention online and this motivated him to come up with stories that would back-up his lies. He also had a need to make people believe his life has been cool all along, so he began to tell false tales about how his father started training him in BJJ when he was a kid and how he served in Navy Seal.
At this point, Rafiel had accumulated a large number of followers on social media platforms and was a big deal among other martial artists. As a result of his influence, he got an invitation to take part in a grappling event of the ADCC, the Abu Dhabi Combat Club.
4. How Was He Exposed?
It is probable that Rafiel Torre got lost in his lies: he decided to honor the ADCC invitation and it marked the beginning of his undoing. While everyone was expecting him to put up a good fight, Beau Hershberger defeated him under a minute and as one would expect, this raised a lot of eyebrows and people began to question his claims.
5. The End of Rafiel Torre’s Web of Deceit
As common with fraudulent individuals, Rafiel has a big mouth. Given that, he was able to remain relevant after Hershberger humiliated him. Rafiel made a move to redeem his name but it brought an end to his web of deceit. The year was 2001 and reports had it that Torre would be fighting one of his former students named Ioka Tianuu to settle a score.
King of The Cage promotion hosted the event that saw Rafiel defeat Ioka. But then, it emerged that Rafiel had paid Ioka to lose the match. Thereafter, all of his claims were discredited and he disappeared from the limelight as quickly as he rose to fame.
See Also: Chinzo Machida, Biography, MMA Career, Height, Net Worth, Other Facts
6. Ralph Bartel Would Later Be Imprisoned for Murder
As stated earlier, Ralph Bartel has always wanted an easy way to the good life. This landed him in big trouble when he fell in love with Angelina Richards. As it happened, Angelina was married to Bryan Richards who had a life insurance policy that was worth a great deal. So, when Ralph and Angelina became lovers, they began to plot how to murder Bryan and claim the insurance money.
Bartel would approach Gerald Strebendt and offer him $10,000 to murder Bryan. When the retired professional mixed martial artist rejected the offer, Ralph killed Bryan himself and informed Gerald that he killed the man in self-defense. In a nutshell, Gerald reported to the police what had happened, Torre was arrested, convicted of murder and ultimately sentenced to life in prison.
Discussion about this post