Was the hoax to make easy money believable?
Some armchair critics have called the plot ridiculous, but it isn't; it's very believable. Look no further than:
- Frederick Cook's fake 1908 conquest of Mount McKinley (now Denali) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Cook (scroll down to 'Summit of Denali')
- The Colorado "balloon boy" hoax in 2009 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balloon_boy_hoax
There are a gazillion other such hoaxes, albeit less well-known, usually because they were exposed early on.