I used to work as a software developer for several years but then got burned out. The tech market turned to shit. I have a huge gap now, and had a hard time getting any interviews. I want to lie about working at some fake start-up to hide my gap. I have a "contact" who's willing to take calls/emails for employment verification for that made-up start-up if necessary. What do you guys think? Is this doable?

I am mostly concerned with employment verification that normally happens right before an offer. From my understanding most companies outsource this verification part to vendors like HireRight or Sterling. I have dealt with them in the past without any issues but I never had to lie before. I am not sure how deep they go checking. If all they do is simply call somebody to verify if somebody worked there, then I should be good. I already have my Work Number frozen.