Berlin ( CNN ) -- The story of the so-called Forest Boy -- a riddle that has perplexed people in Germany and elsewhere for months -- is a lie , police in Germany said Friday . The 20-year-old hoaxer , who claimed he was 17 and lived in the German woods for five years , is actually from Hengelo , in the Netherlands . He never lived in the forest and made his way to Berlin some time last year , police said . He had been declared missing in September when he was 19 . But because he was an adult and could determine where he wanted to live , there was no further investigation by Dutch authorities , police in Germany said . Police say the man has admitted his story is a lie and confirmed his identity . He will have to leave a Berlin city youth home since he is not under age . The hoax ended after German police released a photograph of who they said was a 17-year-old known only as `` Ray '' who turned up at Berlin City Hall last year after claiming to have been living in the woods for five years . Police say that not long after the first pictures of the man were published , a female acquaintance recognized him and told a Dutch TV network . The network informed the Dutch police , who then notified authorities in Berlin . Ed Koch , a spokesman for the youth services office of Berlin 's Tempelhof-Schoeneberg district , where the young man has been staying in the youth home , told CNN he is very angry about the hoax . `` He received funds from us for seven months that could have gone to other people in need , '' he said . Koch says that the man will be given a notice to leave the youth home but will not be kicked out immediately . `` He will get some time to prepare . We might also just put him on a train to the Netherlands . We are not sure yet , '' he said . Koch confirmed that authorities are looking into legal action against the man for `` social fraud , '' for illegally getting housing and board for months , as well as a German language course , a cell phone , clothes and other items . The release of the photograph , along with details of his appearance and scant possessions at the time of his discovery , was part of an effort by German authorities to unravel the mysterious identity and family background of a young man who spoke English and a little German . According to authorities , he claimed to know only his name , his date of birth of June 20 , 1994 , and his parents ' first names . After months of investigation , German authorities said they were stumped . The man told authorities upon his discovery last September that he had been living in the woods with his father , Ryan , but decided to leave after his father died , investigators said . He could n't explain why his father died . Ray was unable to name or show the place he buried his father in the forest underneath stones , officials said , so investigators could n't find the body . `` They were hiking with the help of maps and a compass only and stayed in tents or caves overnight , '' Berlin authorities cited the boy as saying , in a statement released Tuesday . Ray provided police with `` some vague information '' about his mother , saying her name was Doreen , and he wore a gold-colored necklace around his neck that held a pendant with the letter `` D , '' police said . He claimed that his mother had died in a car accident when he was 12 years old , but he did n't remember the details of the accident , authorities said . He said he presumed the accident caused the scars on his face . After his father died last August , he said , he roamed north for five days until he arrived at Berlin City Hall and asked for help last September 5 , authorities said . He could n't `` specify anything about cities , countries or regions him and his father had traveled through , '' they said in a statement . A guardian was appointed , and German authorities tried to establish his identity through Interpol . `` The Youth Office and the Berlin Police have great doubts on the boy 's story . That is the reason why the Youth Office now decided to publish a photo of 'Ray ' and ask for your help , '' authorities had said in the statement . The story was compared to that of the `` Piano Man , '' who was found wandering near a beach on the isle of Sheppey , Kent , in southern England in 2005 . He was wearing a waterlogged dinner suit with all its labels cut out and a tie . It initially was reported that he stunned witnesses with a `` virtuoso performance '' on the piano . The man was identified as a 20-year-old German national from Bavaria after telling staff at a hospital that he had been attempting suicide when found by police , the Times of London reported in August 2005 . The man could not play the piano as well as initially reported , the newspaper said . The man , whom authorities did not identify because of confidentiality laws , flew back home to Germany , the Times said .
NEW : German authorities say they are angry , may sue the man for `` social fraud '' A female acquaintance saw the hoaxer 's photo and told Dutch TV who he was . Police say he 's from the Netherlands and never lived in the forest . German authorities had been trying to establish the man 's identity for months .