- Radio prank tweaks global news media
- Morning radio show is all smiles
- Fake neighbor claimed Bieber's "eclectic" lifestyle is not right for their neighborhood
- Bieber's camp never commented on any rumored move
(CNN) -- It had all the elements of an irresistible story, but ultimately it was too good to be true.
A popular celebrity. Breathless media chronicling his every move. And an affluent Atlanta neighborhood up in arms over a possible new neighbor.
Well, two out of three ain't bad.
Amid rumors that pop star Justin Bieber was considering a move to Atlanta, the Regular Guys, a morning show on Atlanta radio station Rock 100.5, put together a fake neighborhood group and pulled the wool over the eyes of the world's news organizations.
They convinced the media that the newly formed Buckhead Neighborhood Coalition wanted no part of Bieber setting up his new digs in the midst of their old-money mansions.
Justin Bieber frequently takes time to bond with his dad, Jeremy Bieber, who hasn't been far away as his son has gotten into legal trouble. Here's who else is in Bieber's inner circle: 
Justin Bieber is rarely spotted without a crew of a few friends, which sometimes also includes his longtime manager, Scooter Braun (pictured left). Along with R&B singer Usher, right, Braun has served as something of a mentor and guide to Bieber as he's grown up in the spotlight. 
Bieber and his mother, Pattie Mallette, are widely known to have a close relationship, with Biebs never being shy about bringing mom to awards shows. Here, she joins him on stage as he accepts the 2012 American Music Award for Artist of the Year. 
Singer Khalil is a regular on Justin Bieber's Instagram account, but he's getting even more publicity now that he's been arrested along with the pop star on suspicion of DUI. Khalil, 19, released a single called "Stars" in June 2013. 
Even as he's become astronomically famous, Bieber hasn't lost touch with his Canadian childhood friends. Ryan Butler (pictured right in 2011) is a familiar face to Beliebers both on and off the red carpet, and he considers Bieber a brother. On Twitter, you'll often catch him offering Bieber supportive tweets like this one. 
While Lil Za is known to dabble in rapping with an aspiration to act, he's best known as the guy who tends to crash at Bieber's Calabasas pad and drive his cars. That's how Lil Za ended up getting arrested on January 15 -- he was a house guest when police raided Bieber's home as part of a felony vandalism investigation, and cops said they found Xanax and Ecstasy near the 20-year-old's bed. 
Ryan Good was the guy who was labeled as Bieber's "swagger coach" in 2009 and 2010, although he was also acting as a road manager. By 2011, Good gave up his position as a "swagger coach," but he and Bieber are still close. 
Bieber has been known to refer to blockbuster actor Will Smith as "Uncle Will," and the star's manager, Scooter Braun, explained in a 2013 interview with The Hollywood Reporter that Smith serves as another mentor for Bieber. Braun said Smith and Bieber have instituted a weekly call to help the teen star work through any issues. 
Given Bieber's closeness with Will Smith, it makes sense that he's also good friends with Will's son, Jaden. Occasionally misinformation has spread about what the 15-year-old gets into when he hangs out with his older pal; Jaden had to squash a rumor after Bieber's 19th birthday in 2013 that he'd gone clubbing with the star. 
With their shared love of cars, graffiti and body art, is it any wonder that Chris Brown and Justin Bieber have bonded? After Brown went to rehab for anger management issues, Bieber showed his support by tagging "Free Breezy" on a wall in Bogota, Colombia. 
Rapper Lil Twist is another member of Bieber's crew who has a weakness for luxury cars. The Young Money artist, who can also be found at times hanging out at Bieber's place or cruising in one of his cars, was arrested on suspicion of DUI in 2012. He was driving Bieber's chrome 2012 Fisker Karma. 
Drake, seen here with Bieber in 2011, is another star who's taken the young singer under his wing. According to Braun, Drake is one of the first people to rip into Bieber after spotting a tawdry headline about him in the news. "He'll text me, like, 'What the hell is going with this? I'm pissed. I'm calling him right now. I'm about to go in on him,' " Braun told THR in 2013. 
Selena Gomez is Bieber's ex-girlfriend, but she has a habit of popping up unexpectedly every now and then, making us think it's possible they might still be in contact. Bieber shared this cuddly photo on Instagram soon after the New Year. 
Justin Bieber's inner circle 
Justin Bieber had a rough 2013, and 2014 doesn't appear to be shaping up much better. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers searched an airplane -- thought to be the one pictured -- carrying Bieber and others on January 31, at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. Officers said they detected an odor of what seemed like marijuana after the plane landed, law enforcement sources told CNN. It's just the latest development in a series of troubles for the pop star. 
Bieber turned himself in at a Toronto police station on January 29, facing an assault charge stemming from an encounter with a limousine driver in December. 
On January 23, Bieber was arrested on suspicion of DUI and drag racing, according to police in Miami Beach, Florida. Bieber is seen here with model Chantel Jeffries the night before his arrest. 
On January 14, authorities swarmed Bieber's mansion in Calabasas, California, in connection with an investigation into a report of an egg-throwing incident at a neighbor's house. A friend of the singer's was arrested on a felony drug charge, and Bieber's phone was seized as part of the investigation. 
Right before 2014 kicked off, Bieber threatened to retire after a spate of bad publicity, including being accused of everything from speeding to spitting. The news made Beliebers very sad. 
While on tour in early November, Bieber yet again made headlines, this time with some sex-related scandal. The New York Post's Page Six alleged that Bieber had been spotted exiting a brothel while in Brazil. Then, a YouTube video sparked gossip that he'd done something less than innocent with the young woman featured in the clip. Bieber's camp has had no response on the chatter. 
Was he saving his energy for his fans, or just courting more controversy? In October, the day after a concert in Beijing, Bieber was snapped letting his bodyguards carry him up the stairs at the Great Wall of China. 
A leaked video in July seemed to show Bieber relieving himself in a janitor's mop bucket and then spraying a photo of Bill Clinton with what appeared to be a cleaner fluid while saying, "F*** Bill Clinton." Bieber later apologized to the former president, but personalities like Anthony Bourdain and Mario Batali had a field day. 
In June, another chapter was added to Bieber's history book of driving drama. The singer was reportedly involved in a Los Angeles accident involving a pedestrian. 
As Bieber accepted the Milestone Award at the Billboard Music Awards in May, "very loud boos" competed with "very loud cheers," the magazine reported. 
Earlier in May, a fan rushed Bieber on stage and attempted to grab him during a concert in the United Arab Emirates. Also that month, a safe in a stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, was raided after a Bieber performance. 
In April, Bieber visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam -- and was promptly criticized for saying that he hoped the teen, who died in a Nazi concentration camp in 1945, would have been a "Belieber." Visitors to the Anne Frank Facebook page had plenty to say. "Glad he went, but, the last sentence is VERY self serving. he missed the lessons of Anne totally," wrote one observer. 
Bieber lost his pet monkey, Mally, when the capuchin was taken by custom officials in Germany at the end of March. Mally is shown here in the quarantine station at the Munich-Riem animal shelter in Munich. 
Unfortunately for Bieber, his 19th birthday in March was kind of a downer. After being snubbed by the Grammys, Bieber headed for London to celebrate his big day. But it ended up being what he tweeted was his "worst birthday." Not only was he ragged on by actress Olivia Wilde for going shirtless in the city, he also had a bit of beef with a "weak a** club." 
Bieber ticked off his fans in March after he showed up a reported two hours late to a concert at London's O2 Arena. He disputed that in a tweet, however, saying he was only 40 minutes behind schedule. 
Bieber later wound up sick in a London hospital. Being a lusted-after star, it's not surprising that he tried to show how "well" he felt by posting a shirtless photo of himself online. 
Bieber and photographers, we've learned by now, don't mix. As he exited the hospital at the end of his turbulent week, the singer got into a shouting match with a paparazzo in London, telling the photographer that he'd "f*** him up." 
After he was ragged on by Wilde for going topless in London, Bieber strolled through a Polish airport terminal sans shirt on March 25. 
At the end of January 2013, a Twitpic appearing to show the singer touching a female fan's chest went viral. Both the "Belieber" and Bieber's rep denied he was touching her breast. 
In January 2013, Bieber was photographed holding what TMZ identified as marijuana. He poked fun of the incident when he hosted "Saturday Night Live" in February. "I also heard he got busted for smoking weed and he's really sorry about it and that people make mistakes and that he's never going to do it again," Bieber said while playing a character during a skit with Vanessa Bayer. 
On New Year's Day in 2013, a photographer was killed crossing the street after taking pictures of Bieber's Ferrari. Bieber, who wasn't present at the scene, said in a statement: "While I was not present nor directly involved with this tragic accident, my thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim." 
Justin Bieber's troubled timeline "The Buckhead Neighborhood Coalition is an organization put together by 'the Regular Guys Show,' " host Larry Wachs admitted Monday after the show's cast completed its "protest" in front of an on-the-market mansion.
The Regular Guys' Tim Andrews played the role of Harold White, becoming the face of the fictitious protest, doing interviews with CNN, the BBC and a host of other news outlets.
"@theregularguys show got 33 international media outlets including TMZ to generate 45,000 plus news stories," Wachs claimed on air.
Andrews, as White, claimed to be a retiree and long-time resident in his interview with CNN.
"We're concerned he'll bring the wrong type of element into a quiet, residential area," he said over the weekend. "It is our position that a person with his means could certainly find a neighborhood more suited to his eclectic lifestyle."
The ploy also included a fake wife he said started a Facebook page to organize the protest.
It warned that "Justin Bieber's relocation to Atlanta can be nothing but bad for our children, as well as the community. Some can't even let their children play in the driveway without fear; he has raced vehicles under the influence, before. What's to say he won't do it again?"
After the mock disgust, the Regular Guys were all smiles on Monday.
"That's a big win," Wachs said of the prank. "That's a huge win."
They marveled at how eager news organizations were to report the story, missing the potential warning signs of new Twitter and Facebook accounts.
"And the great thing was, only one outlet kind of thought it was a troll, and that was Creative Loafing," Wachs said.
As the prank swirled, no one in Bieber's camp commented on the rumored move, which began with a TMZ report. Still, the very idea of Bieber deciding to make the Georgia capital another home was too good to ignore.
There had been numerous Bieber sightings across the Atlanta area: skating rinks, a fast-food restaurant and a nightclub.
Add to that, Bieber has had several encounters with law enforcement authorities in recent months. He was recently arrested in Toronto, accused of assaulting his limousine driver in December.
He also faces charges of drunken driving, resisting arrest and driving on an expired license after being stopped by police in Miami Beach, Florida, last month.
The Los Angeles County district attorney is considering whether to charge Bieber with felony vandalism in the alleged egging of a neighbor's house on January 9.
CNN's Susanna Capelouto and Janet DiGiacomo contributed to this report.
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