Last week, I looked at Conrad Black's claims that there was a growing army of support for him and at a suspicious-looking and totally-over-the-top website backing the disgraced media mogul, even raising funds to help him through his fraud trial starting next week.

Black and other defendants have been charged with wrongly enriching themselves with millions of dollars in non-competition payments through the sale of properties of his publishing empire Hollinger to third parties and companies they controlled. Black, 62, faces 101 years in prison if convicted on all 14 counts and all sentences run back to back.

Turns out that the website was a hoax created by the Canadian satirical mag Frank.

Mark Fitzgerald at Editor& Publisher explains how it happened.

The great part about the story is that Lord Black of Crossharbour fell for it. The guy even invited the alleged supporters over to his place for drinks. He was also taken in by their tongue in cheek suggestion that they would start wearing black ribbons to pledge their support for him.

"I am again flattered by such a thing. I will give you all CONRAD WILL WIN shirts when you are here." he told them, reports the Toronto Star.

Still, he might have been preoccupied.

It hasn't been a great week for Black with US District Judge Amy J. St. Eve giving prosecutors approval to put Black's co-conspirators on the witness stand to spill the beans. Full details in BusinessWeek.