Famous Scammer Ponzi and  Scheme 

Charles Ponzi arrived in Boston in November 1903 on the S.S. Vancouver. In his autobiography, "The Rise of Mr. Ponzi," he claimed to have left Italy with $200 but arrived in America with much less. Ponzi stated that the $200 had dwindled down to $2.50 during the journey, with most of it being taken by a card sharp and the rest spent on tips and the bar. Over the next few years, Ponzi managed to learn English and took on various odd jobs.

In his autobiography, Ponzi described his experience, stating, "I tried my hand at everything, from being a grocery clerk to a road drummer, from a sewing machine repairman to an insurance salesman, from a factory worker to kitchen and dining room help. Some jobs didn't last long, while others lasted longer. I was often fired, and sometimes I quit on my own, either out of disgust or to avoid being fired." However, Ponzi failed to mention that some of his firings were due to theft and shortchanging customers.

After moving to several cities, including Pittsburgh, New York, New Haven, and Providence, Ponzi ended up in Montreal, Canada, where he worked as a bank teller. He lost this job when the bank went bankrupt. As was often the case with Ponzi, he turned to crime and was imprisoned in Quebec for forgery. After his release, he began assisting in smuggling Italian immigrants into the United States, which led to another two-year prison sentence in Atlanta after being caught.

Returning to Boston on Memorial Day weekend in 1917, Ponzi, now 35 years old, saw a young girl on a streetcar platform who captivated him. He later wrote, "One glance at her, at that picture of loveliness and kindness and clean vivacity! One look into her deep, dark, smiling eyes! At that pretty, round face, framed in a background of gorgeous curls!...I was no longer able to remove my eyes from her." Her name was Rose Gnecco, and they got married in February 1918. Ponzi worked various jobs, including at his father-in-law's grocery store, an import-export company, and his wife's family's fruit company, which failed shortly after.

Rose stood by Charles's side through both the difficult times and the rise to wealth, which included a 12-room mansion, servants, and a custom-built limousine. She remained with him even when his scheme failed and he was imprisoned for mail fraud, as well as during his two-year deportation. They eventually divorced in the mid-1930s.

In 1919, after having set himself up in a small export-import business, Ponzi received a letter from a Spanish company requesting an advertising catalog. Inside the envelope, he found an international coupon (IRC), a type of voucher accepted in various other countries in exchange for local postage stamps. Ponzi quickly realized the moneymaking potential of taking advantage of exchange-rate differences to buy IRCs in one country and redeem them in another.

In his own flowery prose, Ponzi described that moment: “The ‘racket’ of international reply coupons actually fell in my lap like a ripe apple. I did not have to shake the tree to get it. I just reached over, where it had fallen, and took it. It looked good. Luscious. I examined it for flaws. Found none. I had to bite. I wouldn’t have been human if I didn’t.”

At this point, Ponzi had discovered a practice known as arbitrage—the simultaneous purchase and sale of an asset in two different markets. Tiny differences in price allow for a modest profit. In this case, buying IRCs in Italy for one price and exchanging them for higher-priced postage stamps in the U.S. would create significant profit when done at scale. If Ponzi had stopped there, he likely would have been free and clear.

In 1920, Ponzi organized a company called Securities Exchange Co. in which he sold stock (promissory notes) advertising 50% interest after 90 days. The funds obtained from investors were supposed to be used to buy IRCs to redeem in the U.S. Instead, Ponzi used funds obtained from new investors to pay off old investors.

By way of explaining why he did this, Ponzi blamed the Universal Postal Union for suspending the sale of IRCs once it learned about his coupon redemption scheme. After attempting to get around the suspension, Ponzi shifted to his “Rob Peter to pay Paul” scheme. For a while, it worked. He raked in $15 million ($220 million in 2022 dollars) in the first eight months of 1920.

In July 1920, the Boston Post published a front-page article praising Ponzi and estimating his net worth at $8.5 million. Shortly after, the U.S. Post Office Department announced new conversion rates for international postal reply coupons, although they claimed it had no connection to Ponzi.

Investigations into Ponzi's activities made little progress until the Boston Post initiated its own investigation, which resulted in negative publicity and caused Ponzi to refuse new investments. This led to a panic among current investors, and Ponzi allegedly paid out over $1 million.

Further negative press from the Post ultimately sealed Ponzi's fate. He was eventually convicted of mail fraud on federal charges and served 3½ years in prison. After being released on parole, he faced state charges, jumped bail, was apprehended, and returned to prison. He was released in 1934 and deported to his native Italy, as he had never become a U.S. citizen. His activities in Italy and Brazil are not well-documented, but it is known that he passed away on January 18, 1949, in a charity hospital in Rio de Janeiro, leaving only $75 to cover his burial expenses.

In just eight months in 1920, Ponzi managed to accumulate an estimated $15 million ($220 million today) by convincing thousands of Boston residents that he could make them wealthy.

There are varying accounts of Ponzi's later years, but one of the most plausible suggests that he traveled from Italy to Brazil to oversee a fledgling airline that transported supplies to Italy during World War II. According to this account, when the United States joined the war, both it and the Brazilian government shut down the airline. Ponzi then worked as an English and French teacher and interpreter. He died nearly penniless on January 18, 1949, in a charity hospital in Brazil.

Operation Eoanthropus dawsoni

Charles Dawson, an amateur archaeologist, discovered the famous 'Piltdown Man'. This story shows that not all scams are motivated by money, as fame and professional credibility can be equally powerful motivators. Dawson, a lawyer and enthusiastic member of the amateur archaeological community in England, presented his finding to the Royal Geological Society of London on December 18, 1912. He claimed to have found fragments of a cranium and jawbone in a gravel pit in southeast England, which he believed belonged to a previously unknown species of extinct hominoid called Eoanthropus dawsoni.

The artifacts were examined by the palaeontology department of the British Museum and were accepted as evidence of the 'Missing Link' between man and ape. The archaeological establishment supported Dawson's claim, and Piltdown man became part of the scientific record. Dawson continued to discover more tools and artifacts that he believed were part of the same complex, and these discoveries were also accepted by the establishment. The recognition of Piltdown man hindered the acceptance of parallel discoveries in Africa, specifically those related to Homo Erectus.

However, in 1926, further investigation of the gravel pits revealed that the geology was not as ancient as previously thought. Ongoing archaeological research also uncovered more ancient hominoids, which isolated Piltdown man in the archaeological record. A detailed examination of the relics revealed that the jawbone and teeth belonged to an orangutan and a chimpanzee, which had been modified and aged with an iron sulphate acid solution. The teeth were also modified to resemble human wear.

Charles Dawson had already passed away by the time the truth about Piltdown man was discovered, sparing him from professional and personal ridicule. The question of who forged the relics remained a mystery for a long time, with several possible culprits suggested. In 2009, scientists at John Moores University in Liverpool conducted DNA sequencing, which confirmed that the teeth and jaw belonged to an orangutan, and the same orangutan at that.

Although it was always believed that someone other than Charles Dawson was responsible for the forgery, the weight of evidence now points to him. Dawson did not profit financially from the scam, but he enjoyed the confidence and company of the leading archaeologists in Britain for the rest of his life, which was his true motivation.

George C Parker Sold Brooklyn Bridge 

Selling the Eiffel Tower was definitely a notable achievement in the realm of con artists, but selling the Brooklyn Bridge twice a week for thirty years surpasses that in boldness.

In the 1880s, New York was a diverse hub of immigrants from around the world. Many arrived with little money, but some came with investment capital, hoping to achieve the American dream. A newcomer might see a 'For Sale' sign on the Brooklyn Bridge and be approached by a man named George C. Parker, who claimed to be the owner. Parker proposed building a toll booth on the bridge to make a fortune and offered the newcomer a job working there. The bridge was actually not for sale, but Parker would try to convince gullible immigrants to buy it and set up their own toll booth.

It is unknown how many times this scam actually worked, but according to the George C Parker myth, he sold the bridge twice a week for thirty years. Prices ranged from $50 to $50,000, depending on the victim. Once a deal was made, the victim would be taken to a professional-looking office, given fake paperwork, money would exchange hands, and Parker would disappear.

On slow days, Parker would sell other famous New York landmarks, including the original Madison Square Gardens, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Grant's Tomb, and the Statue of Liberty.

He successfully operated for over forty years until he was finally caught on December 17, 1928, and convicted of three counts of fraud. Parker was sentenced to life in Sing Sing Prison, where he died in 1936 after serving only eight years.

The man who deceived Goering

In 1939, as German forces conquered Europe, special units followed to plunder the continent's art treasures. Over the next four years, owners were threatened with death camps if they didn't sell, or watched helplessly as Old Masters were taken from their walls. Museums were emptied, with the best pieces collected for a new museum in Hitler's hometown of Linz, Austria.

The looting boosted the art market, with prices soaring for works highly valued in Germany. However, behind the frenzy was a master con man - Hans van Meegeren. He risked his life to deceive critics and revive his own failed painting career. His story angered dealers, moved Hermann Goering to tears, and nearly led van Meegeren to the gallows. Now, Hollywood is set to tell his tale, with Nicholas Hytner directing a movie about his life.

Hans van Meegeren was born in 1889 in Deventer, a Dutch town located about 50 miles away from Amsterdam. As a child, he had a strong passion for art, but his authoritarian father forced him to give up his sketches and instead study architecture in Delft. However, van Meegeren defied his father's wishes and pursued a career as an artist using brushes and pencils. He eventually obtained a degree from The Hague's art academy, where he gained recognition as a promising talent.

Despite achieving success with sell-out shows in 1916 and 1922, van Meegeren's career came to an abrupt end shortly after it began. By his early thirties, his destructive traits started to emerge, negatively impacting his health and reputation. Despite being married with two children, he was known for his promiscuity. Even though he was praised by art critic CH de Boer for his precise and traditional style, van Meegeren responded by seducing de Boer's wife, actress Jo Oerlemans, who later became his second wife.

After van Meegeren's talents were recognized, the critics quickly abandoned him in favor of the new abstract style. This caused his confidence to waver, leading him to turn to alcohol and morphine addiction. Eventually, his vengeful nature emerged, and he began forging art with his friend, Theo van Wijngaarden, an art restorer. Initially, they were successful, but their forgery of a "Frans Hals" painting was exposed as a fake by the connoisseur Abraham Bredius. Bredius noticed technical errors in the painting and discovered that the forgers had used paints and nails that were not available during the supposed Old Master's time. Van Meegeren ended his partnership with van Wijngaarden and left Holland, determined to never repeat his mistakes.

Van Meegeren settled in Roquebrune on the Cote d'Azur, where he pretended to paint portraits of local society figures while secretly working on his next forgeries. He brought genuine 17th-century canvases with him to use as a base for his deceitful creations. He also purchased books about Johannes Vermeer, who was an ideal target for forgery due to the limited number of his known works and the mystery surrounding a decade of his career. Experts, including Bredius, had long speculated about the paintings Vermeer could have produced during this "missing" period.

Van Meegeren put great thought and effort into his forgeries. He had been taught as a child to grind his colors using the same methods as the Masters, and he even baked his canvases to create the appearance of centuries-old cracking. However, the heat caused the paints to dull, so he needed a chemical to give his paintings the desired character. He eventually settled on a combination of formaldehyde and phenol, which hardened quickly while retaining its luster. He added a touch of lilac oil for shine and incorporated Indian ink to imitate the dust of ages.

In 1937, still bitter about the rejection of his fake "Frans Hals," van Meegeren presented his first forged "Vermeer," titled "Supper at Emmaus," to Bredius, who was now elderly and nearly blind. Bredius, convinced by the forgery, declared it a masterpiece by Johannes Vermeer and advocated for its return to the Netherlands. The painting was purchased for a significant sum and displayed in Rotterdam's Boijmans Museum, attracting large crowds.

The fraud remained undetected until another unknown "Vermeer," titled "Christ with the Adulteress," was found among Goering's possessions in a salt mine in Alt Aussee, Austria. This mine housed the largest collection of Nazi-looted art. The Netherlands' Field Security Service investigated and discovered that Goering had exchanged 200 paintings for the forgery, including another van Meegeren "Vermeer." Ironically, Goering valued the forgery above all his other acquired artworks, whether legally or illegally obtained.

In May 1945, van Meegeren faced further scrutiny at his door. Unable to explain the origin of the masterpiece in his possession, he was charged with collaboration. Fearing a death sentence, he made a bold move - confessing to being a forger and claiming he should be hailed as a hero for deceiving the Germans.

Goering, who had been tricked by van Meegeren, learned of the deception while awaiting trial in Nuremberg. Witnesses described him as looking shocked, as if realizing for the first time the evil in the world.

The American media praised van Meegeren's cunning. In January 1947, journalist Irving Wallace wrote a book titled "The Man Who Cheated Hermann Goering" detailing van Meegeren's exploits. However, it was later revealed that van Meegeren was not as virtuous as portrayed. In the 1930s, he had written racist articles attacking art dealers who had hindered his career. But the faker still had to escape the death penalty. To prove his claim, van Meegeren was put in a room with six witnesses where, in little over a month, he knocked out another "original" Vermeer called Young Christ. The work was never completed, however. The charge of collaboration was dropped, but another of forgery substituted. Van Meegeren refused to age and bake his painting, in the hope that this might get him off the hook entirely. It was not to be. A commission of inquiry under Belgian art expert Dr PB Coremanns, and including specialists from the British Museum and London's National Gallery, examined works that van Meegeren had owned up to and those found at his home in southern France. They were, it concluded, indeed fakes. At his trial in October 1947, van Meegeren sat cowed as he was sentenced to a year in prison for forgery. Around him hung his new Old Masters. Even though his paintings had sold for the 1945 equivalent of more than $20m, he insisted that he was not motivated by money: "I did it only from a desire to paint." In the event, van Meegeren never served a day of his jail term. Admitted to an Amsterdam clinic, suffering from the effects of his long-time morphine and alcohol addictions, he died on December 30, 1947.

Great Pirate in America

Jean Lafitte was a leader of pirates and privateers who operated in the Gulf of Mexico from 1810 to 1820. He played a crucial role in the war of 1812 and the battle of New Orleans in 1815, assisting General Andrew Jackson in defeating the British. Lafitte received a pardon from the U.S. President for his contributions to the war efforts, but he soon returned to piracy. He caused trouble for Spanish and U.S. shipping from his base in Galveston, Texas. Lafitte eventually evaded U.S. authorities and sailed away to an unknown fate. His story inspired many writers, including Lord Byron. Not much is known about Lafitte's early life, but he likely went to sea and engaged in smuggling activities with his brother Pierre in New Orleans. Lafitte established his base at Barataria Bay, which was difficult for authorities to search but close enough to New Orleans for trade. He organized a group of smugglers, pirates, and privateers, capturing merchant ships and selling the goods to Louisiana merchants and slave traders. Lafitte commanded a fleet of ships and was known for his social skills. He was arrested and put on trial in 1812 but escaped and remained at large. Lafitte's activities were overlooked by authorities due to their focus on the war of 1812.

The Magician 

Think for yourself and decide who he was: a conman and a charlatan.

Count Alessandro Cagliostro, an Italian occultist and alchemist, was known as one of the most famous magicians of his time. A friend and successor of Comte de Saint Germaine, he was a prominent figure in the royal courts of Europe, where he practiced various occult arts such as magic, psychic healing, alchemy, and scrying. He has been both praised as a genuine Adept and criticized as a fraud.

Born Giuseppe Balsamo in 1743 in Palermo, Italy, to a poor Sicilian family, Cagliostro showed an early talent for fortune-telling. At the age of 23, he traveled to Malta to seek fame and fortune. There, he was initiated into the Order of the Knights of Malta and delved into the study of alchemy, the kabbalah, and the occult.

Taking on the name Count Alessandro Cagliostro, he later joined the Freemasons in England, who greatly influenced his metaphysical beliefs. Throughout his adult life, Cagliostro moved among the royalty of Europe, England, and Russia.In Rome, he met and married Lorenza Feliciani, who became his partner in various occult ventures. According to lore, they practiced crystal gazing, healing by a laying on of hands, conjuring spirits, and predicting winning lottery numbers. They also sold magic potions, the elixir of life, and the philosopher’s stone. They held seances, transmuted metals, practiced necromancy—Moses was among the spirits of the dead invoked—and cast out Demons, and hypnotized people. Cagliostro gained a reputation for accurate fortunetelling, which led to a new name: “The Divine Cagliostro.” He also went by the title Marquis di Pellegrini.

His rituals were vibrant, theatrical, and infused with a blend of various traditions including alchemy, Masonic rites, the Egyptian Cult of the Dead, the kabbalah, Roman magic, and the Greek Eleusinian mystery cult. Due to his success, Cagliostro fell out of favor with the medical community and the Catholic Church. In 1875, he and his wife became victims of a notorious fraud known as the "Queen's Necklace Affair."

The countess de Lamotte orchestrated the scheme, swindling 1.6 million francs by claiming to purchase a diamond necklace for Marie Antoinette. She accused Cagliostro and his wife of stealing the necklace. As a result, Cagliostro and Lorenza were imprisoned and put on trial for the fraud. Cagliostro managed to secure his and his wife's freedom by recounting an extraordinary tale of his life. He claimed to have been raised in Medina, Arabia, by a man named Althotas, who imparted occult knowledge to him.

Cagliostro attributed his wealth to the Cherif of Mecca, who mysteriously opened bank accounts for him wherever he went. He denied being a 300-year-old Rosicrucian and stated that he had predicted the countess de Lamotte's treacherous nature. After their release, Cagliostro and Lorenza traveled to England, where he prophesied the French Revolution. However, a London newspaper exposed Cagliostro's true personal history, tarnishing his once-glowing reputation.

Feeling humiliated, Cagliostro and his wife sought refuge in Rome, where he attempted to establish an "Egyptian Freemasonry" order. The church, however, had him arrested and imprisoned in Castel San Angelo for 18 months. He was then brought before the Inquisition and found guilty of "impiety, heresy, and crimes against the church." On April 7, 1791, he was sentenced to death. Lorenza received a life sentence in a convent in Rome and is believed to have died in 1794. Pope Pius VI commuted Cagliostro's sentence to life imprisonment.

He was transferred to San Leo, where he spent four years in solitary confinement in an underground cell. Shortly after being moved to an above-ground cell, he died, supposedly from apoplexy, on March 6, 1795. Rumors of his survival and miraculous escape persisted for years in Europe, Russia, and America.