The story of one of America's most notorious financial fraudsters, posing as the daughter and heiress of steel millionaire Andrew Carnegie.

In the 1890s, when the names of newly minted American millionaires were on the rumor mill, the star of con artist Cassie Chadwick also rose. She became famous for posing as the illegitimate daughter of famed steel industrialist Andrew Carnegie.

Elizabeth Bigley was born in 1857 in Ontario, Canada, to a family of poor farmers. Already in childhood, she differed from other children in that she liked to fantasize a lot.

At the age of 14, she traveled to the town of Woodstock, Ontario, where she opened a bank account with a dubious letter of inheritance from an alleged uncle from England.

She was arrested at the same time for signing false checks to vendors, but was released due to her young age and doubts about her mental health.

When she returned home to find out that her sister had married a carpenter from the United States, Elizabeth immediately took a train and traveled there.

In Cleveland, Ohio, after months of living in her sister's house, Bigley declared herself a wealthy widow and began receiving visitors as a clairvoyant.

At age 25, she married local doctor Wallace Springsteen without telling her relatives. When those came demanding repayment of debts, the angry spouse, having paid them off, filed for divorce.

At the age of 26, Bigley married local farmer John Scott, signing a prenuptial agreement with him. And then, after living together for 4 years, she filed for divorce and was awarded a tidy sum in court.

In 1889, Bigley was convicted of forgery and fraud and sentenced to 9 years in prison. But by 1893, she was out on parole and returned to Cleveland.

There she began posing as a noble widow named Cassie Hoover, and in 1897 she married a wealthy widower, Dr. Leroy Chadwick.

With his help, she became a fixture in the homes of the local wealthy. Cassie Chadwick liked to live large. To get money, she decided to become an impostor, pretending to be a rich heiress.

During a visit to New York, Cassie Chadwick asked one of her husband's acquaintances, attorney Dillon, to take her to Andrew Carnegie's house. She went inside and came out a short time later. In doing so, on purpose, she dropped a certain paper in front of the lawyer.

The lawyer picked it up and saw that it was a promissory note for $2 million dollars with Carnegie's signature on it. Chadwick told him that she was Carnegie's illegitimate daughter and asked him to keep the secret. She said that allegedly Carnegie was so wracked with guilt that he showered her with huge sums of money.

In addition, the fraudster claimed that in her house in Cleveland hidden bills for 7 million dollars, and that she should inherit 400 million dollars after the death of his father. Soon Cassie Chadwick's secret became known to many people in Ohio and banks began offering her their services.

Over the next eight years, she received huge loans that totaled between 10 and 20 million dollars. The criminal correctly calculated that no one would ask Carnegie himself about his illegitimate daughter for fear of discrediting him.

The swindler still forged securities in Carnegie's name more than once to prove her wealth. Bankers believed the loans would be repaid in full after the multimillionaire's death.

Chadwick lived large. She bought diamond jewelry, expensive clothes, and even a gold organ. Flatterers called her the Queen of Ohio.

She played her role as the heiress to millions of dollars in fortunes quite convincingly, and no one took any attempt to verify the veracity of her story.

Cassie Chadwick's fraud was uncovered by accident. One of the bankers who lent her a round sum, almost 200 thousand dollars, found out that the documents about the millions, which after the death of Carnegie should go to his daughter - a fake.

Soon it became known that the fraudster has accumulated debts for millions of dollars. Carnegie himself said that he did not even know Chadwick. The swindler fled to New York, where she tried to hide, but was arrested and taken back to Cleveland.

Dr. Leroy Chadwick, fleeing the scandal, filed for divorce and hastily left Cleveland. News of the impostor led to unfortunate consequences in Cleveland's financial community. For example, one bank that had loaned Mrs. Chadwick $800,000 went bankrupt.

Andrew Carnegie personally attended the trial, eager to see the woman who had successfully defrauded bankers by claiming to be the heiress to his fortune.

The trial itself was covered extensively by the press and made the fraudster a national celebrity. On March 10, 1905, the Cleveland court sentenced the fraudster to 14 years in prison and a fine of $70,000.

In early 1906, Chadwick was sent to the Ohio State Penitentiary. She arrived with several suitcases of belongings and even furniture.

In the fall of 1907, Cassie Chadwick suffered a heart attack, leaving her completely blind. And on her birthday, October 10, 1907, she died. She was only 50 years old.