Alicia Esteve Head: Difference between revisions

Alicia Esteve Head
Alicia Esteve Head
Born	July 31, 1973 (age 51); Barcelona, Spain
Nationality	Spanish
Other names	Tania Head
Occupation(s)	None; part-time student
Known for	Pretending to be a survivor of the September 11 attacks

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Alicia Esteve Head (/əsˈteɪbə/ əs-TAY-bə, Catalan pronunciation: [əˈlisiə əsˈteβə hɛt]; born July 31, 1973)^[1] is a Spanish businesswoman who claimed to be a survivor of the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, under the name Tania Head. She joined the World Trade Center Survivors' Network support group, later becoming its president. Her name was regularly mentioned in media reports of the attacks. In 2007, it was revealed Head's story was a hoax; she was not in New York City on September 11, 2001, but in reality was attending classes in her native city, Barcelona.

Background

Alicia Esteve Head was born on July 31, 1973, in Barcelona, Spain.^[2]^[3]^[4] Head came from a prominent Barcelona family that was involved in a 1992 financial scandal for which her father and brother served prison terms.^[5] She attended the University of Barcelona and worked for Hotel de la Villa Olímpica S.A., a Spanish hotel company.^[6] She later worked in Barcelona as a management secretary from 1998 to 2000 and was enrolled in a master's degree program at ESADE in 2001 when the September 11 attacks took place.^[5]^[7]

World Trade Center Survivors' Network

Head traveled to the U.S. for the first time in 2003. The following year, she joined the World Trade Center Survivors' Network after Gerry Bogacz, one of its founders, learned through word of mouth that a woman named "Tania Head" had developed an online support group for 9/11 survivors. After many months of email correspondence with Bogacz, she merged their groups.^[8] The network's purpose was to provide support for survivors of the attacks, as most public support was paid to a select group of victims, victims' families and first responders; the organization intended to bring together and support those who were also affected by the attacks, including civilians present at the World Trade Center as well as the personnel and volunteers involved in the extensive rescue and recovery efforts afterward.^[9] Head was never paid for these activities, nor for her involvement with the Survivors' Network, and in fact donated money to the group.^[10]

Head claimed to have been inside the South Tower (WTC 2) when United Airlines Flight 175 hit, crawling through smoke and flames on the 78th floor and sustaining severe burns to her arm. If true, this would have made her one of only nineteen people at or above the point of impact to have survived.^[8]^[11] Head claimed that her fiancé Dave was killed in the North Tower (WTC 1), though in later tellings of the story, she said that "Dave" was actually her husband.^[12] She also claimed that a dying man passed his wedding ring to her so it could be returned to his widow, and that she had been rescued by Welles Crowther, whose heroic actions on that day were widely reported in the media.^[8] Head was interviewed in the media, invited to speak at university conferences, and in 2005, was chosen to lead tours for the Tribute WTC Visitor Center, where she was photographed with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and former New York Governor George Pataki.^[7]

Head regularly recounted her claims to Ground Zero tour groups in vivid detail, saying, "I was there at the towers. I'm a survivor. I'm going to tell you about that."^[11] She was featured in retrospective 9/11 articles as a representative of the 20,000 surviving victims who escaped the damaged buildings.^[13] Richard Zimbler, her successor as president of the World Trade Center Survivors' Network, said, "There was no reason to doubt her story. She looked the part. She had a badly injured arm that appeared to have burn scars and her story was very, very realistic."^[5]

Claims disputed

In September 2007, The New York Times sought to verify key details of Head's story as part of an anniversary piece. Head claimed a degree from Harvard University and a graduate business degree from Stanford University, but those institutions had no record of her.^[8] She claimed she had been working at Merrill Lynch in the South Tower, but Merrill Lynch had no record of her employment,^[14] nor did Merrill Lynch have offices in the World Trade Center at the time of the attacks. Head backed out of three scheduled interviews, and later refused to speak to reporters at all. The Times then contacted other members of the Survivors’ Network, and raised questions about the veracity of Head's story. By the week of September 27, 2007, the Network voted to remove her as president and as a director of the group.^[8]

Among other questionable elements of Head's story was her engagement to a man nicknamed "Big Dave", who had perished in the opposite tower.^[15] The man's family claimed to have never heard of Tania Head (the man's surname was withheld in the article, to respect his family's privacy).

The Barcelona newspaper La Vanguardia ultimately revealed that Head had been in class at ESADE in Barcelona during the 9/11 attacks, where she had told her classmates that her scarred arm was the result of an automobile accident, or alternatively a horse riding accident, many years earlier.^[6] La Vanguardia reported that Head attended classes in the program until June 2002, and had told classmates she wanted to work in New York.

Aftermath

After Head's fraud was exposed, she declined all further interviews and abruptly left New York.^[10] In February 2008, an anonymous email was sent from a Spanish account to members of the World Trade Center Survivors Network, claiming that Head had died by suicide.^[16]^[17] This suicide claim turned out to be yet another lie. In 2012, a book and feature film documentary, both titled The Woman Who Wasn't There, told Head's story from inside the World Trade Center Survivors' Network, utilizing interviews with Head and members of the Network before and after her deception was revealed. Both the book and film noted that Head was seen with her mother in New York on September 14, 2011.^[18]

In July 2012, Head was fired from her position at Inter Partner Assistance, an insurance company in Barcelona, once her employers found out about her ruse in New York.^[19]

In 2021 she opened a renovation company in Barcelona.^{[dubious – discuss]}

References

^ ^a ^b Peirón, Francesc (April 16, 2012). "Un libro narra el engaño de una barcelonesa en el 11-S". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Archived from the original on September 30, 2013. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
^ "Tania Head, impostora del 11-S, despedida de su empresa en Barcelona". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 10 July 2012. Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
^ "La barcelonesa que surgió de los escombros del 11-S". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 5 September 2020. Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
^ Forn, Marta (29 September 2007). "La 'impostora' del 11-S es barcelonesa". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c Lara Bonilla (October 1, 2007). "Madrid newspaper reveals more details about Alicia Esteve Head: Suspected bogus 9/11 survivor from Barcelona". La Vanguardia (Spain). Archived from the original on 2013-08-01. Retrieved 2014-03-28 – via survivorguidelines.org.
^ ^a ^b "Alicia Esteve comenzó curso en Barcelona días después del 11-S". La Vanguardia. Archived from the original on January 6, 2013. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
^ ^a ^b "Alicia (Tania) Head, WTC Imposter?". Archived from the original on 2013-12-06. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e David W. Dunlap and Serge F. Kovalevski (September 27, 2007). "In a 9/11 Survival Tale, the Pieces Just Don't Fit". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2013-05-21. Retrieved September 27, 2007.
^ "World Trade Center Survivors' Network". July 7, 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-04-11. Retrieved 2018-07-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^ ^a ^b NPR Staff (March 26, 2012). "The Amazing, Untrue Story Of A Sept. 11 Survivor". NPR.org. Archived from the original on 2018-03-22. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
^ ^a ^b Michael Daly (September 7, 2006). "An Amazing Woman & Her Smile". New York Daily News. Retrieved September 27, 2007.^{[dead link‍]}
^ "Woman's 9/11 survival story questioned". China Daily via Associated Press. September 27, 2007. Archived from the original on 2014-03-15. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
^ "Tales Of The City, Revisited". Time. August 29, 2004. Archived from the original on 2012-03-31. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
^ "Paper finds big holes in woman's tales of surviving 9/11". USA Today. Archived from the original on April 30, 2008.
^ Cipolla, Wes (2021-09-13). "Schuylkill County native had connection to one of the biggest lies about 9/11". The Morning Call. Archived from the original on 2022-02-10. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
^ "The same old story". New Statesman. September 11, 2008. Archived from the original on 2009-07-10. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
^ Channel 4, The 9/11 Faker, broadcast September 11, 2008
^ Dunlap, David (March 14, 2012). "City Room; 9/11 Faker Is Spotted Briefly in New York". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2014-03-10. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
^ Forn, Marta (July 11, 2012). "Tania Head, impostora del 11-S, despedida de su empresa en Barcelona". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2013.

External links

The Amazing, Untrue Story of a Sept. 11 Survivor

[LV_book-1] Peirón, Francesc (April 16, 2012). "Un libro narra el engaño de una barcelonesa en el 11-S". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Archived from the original on September 30, 2013. Retrieved September 1, 2012.

[2] "Tania Head, impostora del 11-S, despedida de su empresa en Barcelona". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 10 July 2012. Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.

[3] "La barcelonesa que surgió de los escombros del 11-S". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 5 September 2020. Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.

[4] Forn, Marta (29 September 2007). "La 'impostora' del 11-S es barcelonesa". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.

[Lara_Bonilla-5] Lara Bonilla (October 1, 2007). "Madrid newspaper reveals more details about Alicia Esteve Head: Suspected bogus 9/11 survivor from Barcelona". La Vanguardia (Spain). Archived from the original on 2013-08-01. Retrieved 2014-03-28 – via survivorguidelines.org.

[lavanguardia-6] "Alicia Esteve comenzó curso en Barcelona días después del 11-S". La Vanguardia. Archived from the original on January 6, 2013. Retrieved May 23, 2013.

[Alicia_Tania_Head,_WTC_Imposter-7] "Alicia (Tania) Head, WTC Imposter?". Archived from the original on 2013-12-06. Retrieved 2014-03-28.

[NYT927-8] David W. Dunlap and Serge F. Kovalevski (September 27, 2007). "In a 9/11 Survival Tale, the Pieces Just Don't Fit". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2013-05-21. Retrieved September 27, 2007.

[World_Trade_Center_Survivor'_Network-9] "World Trade Center Survivors' Network". July 7, 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-04-11. Retrieved 2018-07-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

[NPR_Staff-10] NPR Staff (March 26, 2012). "The Amazing, Untrue Story Of A Sept. 11 Survivor". NPR.org. Archived from the original on 2018-03-22. Retrieved 2018-04-03.

[Daly-11] Michael Daly (September 7, 2006). "An Amazing Woman & Her Smile". New York Daily News. Retrieved September 27, 2007.^{[dead link‍]}

[yahoo-12] "Woman's 9/11 survival story questioned". China Daily via Associated Press. September 27, 2007. Archived from the original on 2014-03-15. Retrieved 2012-03-30.

[13] "Tales Of The City, Revisited". Time. August 29, 2004. Archived from the original on 2012-03-31. Retrieved 2012-03-30.

[usatoday-14] "Paper finds big holes in woman's tales of surviving 9/11". USA Today. Archived from the original on April 30, 2008.

[15] Cipolla, Wes (2021-09-13). "Schuylkill County native had connection to one of the biggest lies about 9/11". The Morning Call. Archived from the original on 2022-02-10. Retrieved 2022-02-10.

[16] "The same old story". New Statesman. September 11, 2008. Archived from the original on 2009-07-10. Retrieved September 13, 2009.

[17] Channel 4, The 9/11 Faker, broadcast September 11, 2008

[18] Dunlap, David (March 14, 2012). "City Room; 9/11 Faker Is Spotted Briefly in New York". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2014-03-10. Retrieved September 13, 2012.

[19] Forn, Marta (July 11, 2012). "Tania Head, impostora del 11-S, despedida de su empresa en Barcelona". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2013.

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+{{short description|Spanish Impostor (born 1973)}}
-'''Tania Head''' was formerly the president of the [[World Trade Center Survivors' Network]]. She claimed to have been in the South Tower of the [[World Trade Center]] at the time of the [[September 11 attacks]] in 2001, and to have had a fiance or husband who was killed in the North Tower. A ''[[New York Times]]'' story in September 2007 threw her claims into doubt, prompting the Survivor's Network to dismiss her.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.survivorsnet.org/organization_announce.html |title=WTCS Executive Board announcement |accessdate=2007-09-26 |quote=Tania Head is no longer associated with the World Trade Center Survivors' Network. This change will have no impact on the WTCSN's mission or effectiveness. We are on track and moving forward to ensure that the people in our community get the services they need. Our organization was created so that those affected by the terrorist attacks could help each other through crisis and its aftermath. That mission, as well as the bond of fellowship we share with the other members of the 9/11 Community, remains unchanged. |publisher=[[World Trade Center Survivors' Network]] }}</ref>
+{{pp-pc1}}
+{{family name hatnote|Esteve|Head|lang=Spanish}}
+{{Infobox person
+| name               = Alicia Esteve Head
+| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|1973|7|31|mf=y|}}<ref name="LV book">{{cite news|last=Peirón|first=Francesc|title=Un libro narra el engaño de una barcelonesa en el 11-S|url=http://www.lavanguardia.com/libros/20120416/54284823455/libro-narra-engano-barcelonesa-11s.html|access-date=September 1, 2012|newspaper=La Vanguardia|date=April 16, 2012|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930044719/http://www.lavanguardia.com/libros/20120416/54284823455/libro-narra-engano-barcelonesa-11s.html|archive-date=September 30, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>
+| birth_place        = [[Barcelona]], [[Spanish State|Spain]]
+| nationality        = Spanish
+| occupation         = None; part-time student
+| years_active       =
+| boards             =
+| other_names        = Tania Head
+| spouse             =
+| children           =
+| known_for      = Pretending to be a survivor of the [[September 11 attacks]]
+| image              =
+}}
+'''Alicia Esteve Head''' ({{IPAc-en|ə|s|ˈ|t|eɪ|b|ə|}} {{respell|əs|TAY|bə}}, {{IPA|ca|əˈlisiə əsˈteβə hɛt}}; born July 31, 1973)<ref name="LV book"/> is a Spanish businesswoman who claimed to be a survivor of [[September 11 attacks|the attack]]s on the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] on September 11, 2001, under the name '''Tania Head'''. She joined the World Trade Center Survivors' Network [[support group]], later becoming its president. Her name was regularly mentioned in media reports of the attacks. In 2007, it was revealed Head's story was a [[hoax]]; she was not in [[New York City]] on September 11, 2001, but in reality was attending classes in her native city, [[Barcelona]].
-==Claims as 9/11 victim==
-Head claimed that she was on the 78th floor of the South Tower (WTC 2) when [[United Airlines Flight 175]] hit the floor where she stood. This would have made her one of only 19 people at or above the point of impact to have survived. <ref name="Daly"/><ref name="NYT927"/> She said that a man by the name of Dave, who perished in the North Tower (WTC 1), was her fiance or husband. <ref name="yahoo">{{cite news |url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070927/ap_on_re_us/sept11_story_questioned_1| title=Woman's 9/11 survival story questioned|publisher=[[Associated Press]] | quote=Tania Head has said that she was badly burned on the 78th floor of the south tower, that she was saved by a man who died trying to save others, and that a dying man handed her his inscribed wedding ring, which she later returned to his widow. She also said her husband, or fiance, died in the north tower. |date=[[September 27]] [[2007]]}}</ref> She also claimed to have been given a dying man's wedding ring and to have returned it to his widow, and to have been rescued herself by a deceased man known to have rescued others. <ref name="NYT927"/>
+==Background==
-Head regularly recounted her claims to [[Ground Zero]] tour groups in vivid detail, saying, "I was there at the towers. I'm a survivor. I'm going to tell you about that."<ref name="Daly">{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2006/09/07/2006-09-07_an_amazing_woman__her_smile.html|title=An Amazing Woman & Her Smile|author=Michael Daly|date=[[September 7]] [[2006]]|publisher=[[New York Daily News]]| quote=The Momentum of her memories sometimes causes Tania Head to tell a tour group about the horribly burned man who handed her his wedding ring as she escaped the south tower. On occasion, she also tells the visitors that her own husband perished in the north tower. She always begins by introducing herself to those who come for a first-person account of 9/11 from one of the 122 volunteer guides at the new Tribute WTC Visitor Center.. "My name is Tania and I'm going to be your tour guide today," she said the other afternoon. | accessdate=2007-09-27}}</ref>
+Alicia Esteve Head was born on July 31, 1973, in [[Barcelona]], [[Spain]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Tania Head, impostora del 11-S, despedida de su empresa en Barcelona |url=https://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/20120711/54323550906/tania-head-impostora-11-s-despedida-empresa-barcelona.html |website=La Vanguardia |access-date=19 September 2021 |language=es |date=10 July 2012 |archive-date=20 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920211911/https://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/20120711/54323550906/tania-head-impostora-11-s-despedida-empresa-barcelona.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=La barcelonesa que surgió de los escombros del 11-S |url=https://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/20200905/483292412177/11s-atentados-superviviente-tania-head.html |access-date=19 September 2021 |work=La Vanguardia |date=5 September 2020 |language=es |archive-date=20 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920211804/https://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/20200905/483292412177/11s-atentados-superviviente-tania-head.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Forn |first1=Marta |title=La 'impostora' del 11-S es barcelonesa |url=https://www.lavanguardia.com/internacional/20070929/53397918438/la-impostora-del-11-s-es-barcelonesa.html |access-date=19 September 2021 |work=La Vanguardia |date=29 September 2007 |language=es |archive-date=20 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920212400/https://www.lavanguardia.com/internacional/20070929/53397918438/la-impostora-del-11-s-es-barcelonesa.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Head came from a prominent Barcelona family that was involved in a 1992 financial scandal for which her father and brother served prison terms.<ref name="Lara Bonilla">{{cite web|url=http://www.survivorguidelines.org/articles/taniaheadenglish.html|title=Madrid newspaper reveals more details about Alicia Esteve Head: Suspected bogus 9/11 survivor from Barcelona|author=Lara Bonilla|date=October 1, 2007 |via=survivorguidelines.org |publisher=La Vanguardia (Spain)|access-date=2014-03-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130801044802/http://www.survivorguidelines.org/articles/taniaheadenglish.html|archive-date=2013-08-01|url-status=live}}</ref> She attended the [[University of Barcelona]] and worked for Hotel de la Villa Olímpica S.A., a Spanish hotel company.<ref name="lavanguardia"/> She later worked in Barcelona as a management secretary from 1998 to 2000 and was enrolled in a [[master's degree]] program at [[ESADE]] in 2001 when the [[September 11 attacks]] took place.<ref name="Lara Bonilla"/><ref name="Alicia Tania Head, WTC Imposter">{{Cite web |url=http://www.survivorguidelines.org/articles/taniahead.html |title=Alicia (Tania) Head, WTC Imposter? |access-date=2014-03-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206215929/http://survivorguidelines.org/articles/taniahead.html |archive-date=2013-12-06 |url-status=live }}</ref>
+==World Trade Center Survivors' Network==
-==Volunteer work as representative victim==
+Head traveled to the [[United States|U.S.]] for the first time in 2003. The following year, she joined the World Trade Center Survivors' Network after Gerry Bogacz, one of its founders, learned through word of mouth that a woman named "Tania Head" had developed an online [[support group]] for 9/11 survivors. After many months of email correspondence with Bogacz, she merged their groups.<ref name="NYT927">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/27/nyregion/27survivor.html?ei=5087&em=&en=620a38f8cc36fbd0&ex=1191038400&pagewanted=all|title=In a 9/11 Survival Tale, the Pieces Just Don't Fit|author=David W. Dunlap and Serge F. Kovalevski|date=September 27, 2007|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=September 27, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521045329/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/27/nyregion/27survivor.html?ei=5087&em=&en=620a38f8cc36fbd0&ex=1191038400&pagewanted=all|archive-date=2013-05-21|url-status=live}}</ref> The network's purpose was to provide support for survivors of the attacks, as most public support was paid to a select group of victims, victims' families and [[first responder]]s; the organization intended to bring together and support those who were also affected by the attacks, including civilians present at the [[World Trade Center (1973-2001)|World Trade Center]] as well as the personnel and volunteers involved in the extensive rescue and recovery efforts afterward.<ref name="World Trade Center Survivor' Network">{{cite web|url=http://www.survivorsnet.org/|title=World Trade Center Survivors' Network|date=July 7, 2018|access-date=2018-07-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180411145116/http://www.survivorsnet.org/|archive-date=2018-04-11|url-status=usurped}}</ref> Head was never paid for these activities, nor for her involvement with the Survivors' Network, and in fact donated money to the group.<ref name="NPR Staff">{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2012/04/14/149399210/the-amazing-untrue-story-of-a-sept-11-survivor|title=The Amazing, Untrue Story Of A Sept. 11 Survivor|author=NPR Staff|date=March 26, 2012|publisher=NPR.org|access-date=2018-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322210551/https://www.npr.org/2012/04/14/149399210/the-amazing-untrue-story-of-a-sept-11-survivor|archive-date=2018-03-22|url-status=live}}</ref>
-Head led tours for the Tribute W.T.C. Visitor Center for visitors including New York City Mayor [[Michael Bloomberg]], former Mayor [[Rudy Giuliani]], and former New York Governor [[George Pataki]]. She also made many speeches at colleges and with support groups, recounting her story as a victim of the 9/11 attacks.
+Head claimed to have been inside the South Tower (WTC 2) when [[United Airlines Flight 175]] hit, crawling through smoke and flames on the 78th floor and sustaining severe burns to her arm. If true, this would have made her one of only nineteen people at or above the point of impact to have survived.<ref name="NYT927"/><ref name="Daly"/> Head claimed that her fiancé Dave was killed in the North Tower (WTC 1), though in later tellings of the story, she said that "Dave" was actually her husband.<ref name="yahoo">{{cite news|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-09/28/content_6142004.htm|title=Woman's 9/11 survival story questioned|publisher=China Daily via [[Associated Press]]|date=September 27, 2007|access-date=2012-03-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140315055408/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-09/28/content_6142004.htm|archive-date=2014-03-15|url-status=live}}</ref> She also claimed that a dying man passed his wedding ring to her so it could be returned to his widow, and that she had been rescued by [[Welles Crowther]], whose heroic actions on that day were widely reported in the media.<ref name="NYT927"/> Head was interviewed in the media, invited to speak at university conferences, and in 2005, was chosen to lead tours for the Tribute WTC Visitor Center, where she was photographed with [[New York City]] [[Mayor of New York City|Mayor]] [[Michael Bloomberg]], former Mayor [[Rudy Giuliani]], and former [[New York (state)|New York]] [[Governor of New York|Governor]] [[George Pataki]].<ref name="Alicia Tania Head, WTC Imposter"/>
-Head indicated that these activities were unpaid volunteer efforts on her part. She was presented in retrospective articles on the World Trade Center aspect of 9/11 as representative of all of the 20,000 surviving New York victims who escaped the damaged buildings. <ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Tales Of The City, Revisited |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040906-689463,00.html |quote=Still, psychologists say the most overexposed - and under recognized - victims may be the nearly 20,000 New Yorkers who walked, ran and crawled through smoke, fire and body parts to escape the buildings. "People cannot understand. We saw things," says Tania Head, who was injured while evacuating. "We had to make life-or-death decisions. The higher the floor, the more lonely you were. I can't get rid of my fear that it's going to happen again." |publisher=[[Time (magazine)]] |date=[[August 29]], [[2004]] }}</ref>
+Head regularly recounted her claims to [[Ground Zero]] tour groups in vivid detail, saying, "I was there at the towers. I'm a survivor. I'm going to tell you about that."<ref name="Daly">{{cite news|url=http://articles.nydailynews.com/2006-09-07/news/18343599_1_sky-lobby-tower-body-parts|title=An Amazing Woman & Her Smile|author=Michael Daly|date=September 7, 2006|work=[[New York Daily News]]| access-date=September 27, 2007}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> She was featured in retrospective 9/11 articles as a representative of the 20,000 surviving victims who escaped the damaged buildings.<ref>{{cite news|title=Tales Of The City, Revisited|url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,694956,00.html|publisher=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=August 29, 2004|access-date=2012-03-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331013316/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,694956,00.html|archive-date=2012-03-31|url-status=dead}}</ref> Richard Zimbler, her successor as president of the World Trade Center Survivors' Network, said, "There was no reason to doubt her story. She looked the part. She had a badly injured arm that appeared to have burn scars and her story was very, very realistic."<ref name="Lara Bonilla"/>
 ==Claims disputed==
+In September 2007, ''[[The New York Times]]'' sought to verify key details of Head's story as part of an anniversary piece. Head claimed a degree from [[Harvard University]] and a graduate business degree from [[Stanford University]], but those institutions had no record of her.<ref name="NYT927"/> She claimed she had been working at [[Merrill Lynch]] in the South Tower, but Merrill Lynch had no record of her employment,<ref name="usatoday">{{cite news|title=Paper finds big holes in woman's tales of surviving 9/11 |url=http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2007/09/paper-finds-big.html |publisher=[[USA Today]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080430161357/http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2007/09/paper-finds-big.html |archive-date=April 30, 2008 }}</ref> nor did Merrill Lynch have offices in the World Trade Center at the time of the attacks. Head backed out of three scheduled interviews, and later refused to speak to reporters at all. The ''Times'' then contacted other members of the Survivors’ Network, and raised questions about the veracity of Head's story.  By the week of September 27, 2007, the Network voted to remove her as president and as a director of the group.<ref name="NYT927"/>
-In late September 2007 [[The New York Times]] was unable to verify key details of her story, one of which, her engagement to a man named "Dave", was contradicted by family and friends, whose identities are being withheld to protect their privacy. Additionally, Janice Cilento, a social worker who is on the board of the Survivors' Network and close to Head, said she had made changes to her account of events in recent weeks. Head also claimed a degree from [[Harvard University]] and a graduate business degree from [[Stanford University]], which the institutions deny.<ref name="NYT927">{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/27/nyregion/27survivor.html?em&ex=1191038400&en=620a38f8cc36fbd0&ei=5087%0A|title=In a 9/11 Survival Tale, the Pieces Just Don't Fit|author=David W. Dunlap and Serge F. Kovalevski|date=[[September 27]] [[2007]]|publisher=[[The New York Times]]| quote=Tania Head's story, as shared over the years with reporters, students, friends and hundreds of visitors to ground zero, was a remarkable account of both life and death. | accessdate=2007-09-27}}</ref>
+Among other questionable elements of Head's story was her engagement to a man nicknamed "Big Dave", who had perished in the opposite tower.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Schuylkill County native had connection to one of the biggest lies about 9/11|url=https://www.mcall.com/news/pennsylvania/mc-nws-pa-september-11-survivor-lies-20210913-jqxtwtlkvze55g244gsi5zzzwu-story.html|last=Cipolla|first=Wes|date=2021-09-13|work=[[The Morning Call]]|access-date=2022-02-10|archive-date=2022-02-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210060430/https://www.mcall.com/news/pennsylvania/mc-nws-pa-september-11-survivor-lies-20210913-jqxtwtlkvze55g244gsi5zzzwu-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The man's family claimed to have never heard of Tania Head (the man's surname was withheld in the article, to respect his family's privacy).
-The company where she said she worked at the [[World Trade Center]], [[Merrill Lynch]], said it has no record of her being employed there. <ref name="usatoday">{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Paper finds big holes in woman's tales of surviving 9/11 |url=http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2007/09/paper-finds-big.html |quote=She has a compelling story. Is it true? The New York Times reports today that "no part of her story, it turns out, has been verified." The company she says she worked for on 9/11 says it never heard of her. The same goes for the family of her "fiance" or "husband," according to the paper. |publisher=[[USA Today]]}}</ref>
+The Barcelona newspaper ''[[La Vanguardia]]'' ultimately revealed that Head had been in class at ESADE in Barcelona during the 9/11 attacks, where she had told her classmates that her scarred arm was the result of an automobile accident, or alternatively a horse riding accident, many years earlier.<ref name="lavanguardia">{{cite news |url=http://www.lavanguardia.es/lv24h/20071002/53398509981.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130106132054/http://www.lavanguardia.es/lv24h/20071002/53398509981.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 6, 2013 |publisher=[[La Vanguardia]] |title=Alicia Esteve comenzó curso en Barcelona días después del 11-S |access-date=May 23, 2013}}</ref>  ''La Vanguardia'' reported that Head attended classes in the program until June 2002, and had told classmates she wanted to work in New York.
+==Aftermath==
+After Head's fraud was exposed, she declined all further interviews and abruptly left New York.<ref name="NPR Staff"/> In February 2008, an anonymous email was sent from a Spanish account to members of the World Trade Center Survivors Network, claiming that Head had died by [[suicide]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/television/2008/09/head-story-september-edge |title=The same old story |access-date=September 13, 2009 |publisher=[[New Statesman]] |date=September 11, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090710174916/http://www.newstatesman.com/television/2008/09/head-story-september-edge |archive-date=2009-07-10 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[[Channel 4]], ''The 9/11 Faker'', broadcast September 11, 2008</ref> This suicide claim turned out to be yet another lie. In 2012, a book and feature film documentary, both titled ''The Woman Who Wasn't There'', told Head's story from inside the World Trade Center Survivors' Network, utilizing interviews with Head and members of the Network before and after her deception was revealed. Both the book and film noted that Head was seen with her mother in New York on September 14, 2011.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dunlap|first=David|title=City Room; 9/11 Faker Is Spotted Briefly in New York|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE5DD133BF937A25750C0A9649D8B63|access-date=September 13, 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140310173702/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE5DD133BF937A25750C0A9649D8B63|archive-date=2014-03-10|url-status=live}}</ref>
+In July 2012, Head was fired from her position at Inter Partner Assistance, an [[insurance company]] in Barcelona, once her employers found out about her ruse in New York.<ref>{{cite news|last=Forn|first=Marta|title=Tania Head, impostora del 11-S, despedida de su empresa en Barcelona|url=http://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/20120711/54323550906/tania-head-impostora-11-s-despedida-empresa-barcelona.html|language=es|access-date=January 7, 2013|newspaper=La Vanguardia|date=July 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928004043/http://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/20120711/54323550906/tania-head-impostora-11-s-despedida-empresa-barcelona.html|archive-date=September 28, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>
+In 2021 she opened a renovation company in Barcelona.{{dubious|date=December 2024}}
 ==References==
-{{reflist|2}}
+{{Reflist}}
+==External links==
-{{DEFAULTSORT:Head, Tania}}
+* [https://www.npr.org/2012/04/14/149399210/the-amazing-untrue-story-of-a-sept-11-survivor The Amazing, Untrue Story of a Sept. 11 Survivor]
-[[Category:Hoaxes]]
+{{September 11 attacks}}
+{{DEFAULTSORT:Head, Alicia Esteve}}
 [[Category:Impostors]]
 [[Category:Living people]]
-[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
+[[Category:1973 births]]
+[[Category:People associated with the September 11 attacks]]
+[[Category:Hoaxes in the United States]]
-[[de:Tania Head]]
-[[es:Tania Head]]
+[[Category:Hoaxes in Spain]]
+[[Category:2001 hoaxes]]
+[[Category:People from Catalonia]]
+[[Category:People from Barcelona]]
+[[Category:University of Barcelona alumni]]
+[[Category:ESADE alumni]]
+[[Category:21st-century Spanish people]]
+[[Category:21st-century Spanish women]]

v t e September 11 attacks
Timeline	Planning September 11, 2001 World Trade Center collapse 7 World Trade Center collapse Remainder of September October Post-October
Victims	Casualties List A–G H–N O–Z
Hijacked airliners	American Airlines Flight 11 United Airlines Flight 175 American Airlines Flight 77 United Airlines Flight 93 Suspected hijackings Korean Air Flight 085 Delta Air Lines Flight 1989
Crash sites	World Trade Center site The Pentagon Stonycreek / Shanksville, Pennsylvania
Aftermath	Immediate repercussions artwork destroyed buildings destroyed closings and cancellations detentions Communication Post-9/11 economy local health airport security Reactions conspiracy theories Rudy Giuliani Unsuccessful terrorist plots
Response	U.S. government response U.S. military response War on terror Afghanistan North-West Pakistan Rescue and recovery effort maritime response Financial assistance Operation SUPPORT Operation Yellow Ribbon Memorials and services 9/11 Memorial and Museum Flight 93 National Memorial Pentagon Memorial Victims of Terrorist Attack on the Pentagon Memorial World Trade Center Health Program Killing of Osama bin Laden Killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri
Perpetrators	Responsibility Al-Qaeda Osama bin Laden Alleged Saudi role Motives Hijackers 20th hijacker Hamburg cell Trials
Inquiries	U.S. congressional inquiry the 28 pages September 11 intelligence before the attacks August 2001 CIA warning Phoenix Memo 9/11 Commission Commission Report criticism NIST investigation PENTTBOM ThinThread
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Miscellaneous	Edna Cintrón War games Patriot Day The Falling Man Impending Death Dust Lady Raising the Flag at Ground Zero View from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on Manhattan, 9/11 Blind Tourist Guy hoax Iraq War Twin Towers II Disappearance of Sneha Anne Philip Disappearance of Michele Anne Harris Murder of Balbir Singh Sodhi Killing of Henryk Siwiak Mark Anthony Stroman Larme Price Rudi Dekkers Alicia Esteve Head Jersey Girls Emma E. Booker Elementary School Media documentation
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