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The most ingenious scam. The Greatest Scammers in Human History

Hello, today we will talk about the most famous scammers in the world who easily stole money from different countries, just out of nowhere.

One of the most known scammers in the world it is Victor Lusting. One day in 1925, he arrived in Paris and the United States of America, just like that in search of adventure. Quite by accident, he read in the local newspaper that the Eiffel Tower was falling apart and in need of repair. Having realized, Victor Lusting sent several letters to dealers of "vtorchermet" that the government of Paris wants to demolish the property of Paris and sell it for scrap on closed auction. Only one dealer “bought” this letter, so Victor sold him the “right” to demolish the tower, and he left for Vienna, then when Victor realized that the dealer had not announced the scam, Lusting came and again to him sold the tower. When the dealer realized that he was deceived, he told the police, then our hero went back to the United States. Exactly 10 years later he was imprisoned for counterfeiting money, and 12 years later he died in prison.

Arthur Ferguson

Another of the most famous scammers in the world is Arthur Ferguson, this is one of the greatest scammers in history, in his life he managed to sell The White house one banker for 2 million dollars, under the pretext that the government somehow needs to recoup its costs for it, he was also able to sell Buckingham Palace, Big Ben in the UK, as well as the Statue of Liberty. Of course, this man did time in prison for his illegal sales, and died in 1935 without a single cent in his pocket.

Frank William Abagnale

This man also entered the history of the most famous scammers in the world. He forged bank checks in the 60s, and with this check he managed to steal more than $ 5 million from banks. He managed to forge a diploma at Harvard University and get a job in the office of the Attorney General in the State of Lusiana, within 5 years he changed jobs, and in his entire life, more than 25 banks around the world suffered from him. Some contemporary theft films have been based in America.

Christopher Rokancourt

Christopher Rockancourt, posed as a member of the Rockefeller family, although he was not from a prosperous family, his father was an alcoholic, and his mother was a prostitute. He also posed as a personal friend of Bill Clinton. With the help of such transformations and scams, Christopher managed to steal more than $40 million. When he was tried, he confessed to all crimes. He also stole money from the American rich, posing as an influential person, for example, a film producer. He was tried and tried to catch him many times, and was caught only in 2002. And as I wrote above, he himself admitted in court about his scams.

The 2Spare website has compiled a list of the most famous and inventive scammers, rogues and impostors in the history of mankind.
It is headed by Count Victor Lustig, who forever inscribed his name in history as the man who sold the Eiffel Tower and deceived Al Capone himself.

1. Victor Lustig (1890-1947) - the man who sold the Eiffel Tower

Lustig is considered one of the most talented swindlers who ever lived. He endlessly invented scams, had 45 pseudonyms and was fluent in five languages. In the US alone, Lustig was arrested 50 times, but every time he was released for lack of evidence. Prior to World War I, Lustig specialized in organizing fraudulent lotteries on transatlantic cruises. In the 1920s, he moved to the United States, and in just a couple of years he deceived banks and individuals for tens of thousands of dollars.

Lustig's biggest scam was the sale of the Eiffel Tower. In May 1925, Lustig arrived in Paris in search of adventure. In one of the French newspapers, Lustig read that the famous tower was dilapidated and in need of repair. Lustig decided to take advantage of this. The fraudster wrote a fake credential in which he identified himself as deputy head of the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs, after which he sent official letters to six vtorchermet dealers.

Lustig invited businessmen to the expensive hotel where he was staying, and said that since the cost of the tower was unreasonably huge, the government decided to demolish it and sell it for scrap at a closed auction. Allegedly in order not to cause indignation of the public, who managed to fall in love with the tower, Lustig persuaded the businessmen to keep everything a secret. After some time, he sold the right to dispose of the tower to André Poisson and fled to Vienna with a suitcase of cash.

Poisson, not wanting to look like a fool, hid the fact of deception. Thanks to this, some time later, Lustig returned to Paris and sold the tower again according to the same scheme. However, this time he was not lucky, as the deceived businessman reported to the police. Lustig was forced to urgently flee to the United States.

In December 1935, Lustig was arrested and put on trial. He received 15 years in prison for counterfeiting dollars, as well as another 5 years for escaping from another prison a month before sentencing. He died of pneumonia in 1947 at famous prison Alcatraz near San Francisco.

2. Frank Abagnale - "Catch Me If You Can"

Frank William Abagnale Jr. (born April 27, 1948) at the age of 17 managed to become one of the most successful bank robbers in US history. This story took place in the 1960s. Using counterfeit bank checks, Abagnale stole about $5 million from banks. He also made countless flights around the world on forged documents.

Later, Frank successfully played the role of a pediatrician for 11 months in a hospital in Georgia, after which, forging a diploma Harvard University, got a job at the Louisiana attorney general's office.

For more than 5 years, Abagnale changed about 8 professions, he also continued to forge checks with enthusiasm and receive money - banks in 26 countries of the world suffered from the actions of a fraudster. The young man spent money on dinners in expensive restaurants, buying clothes of prestigious brands and dating girls. The story of Frank Abagnale was the basis for the film Catch Me If You Can, in which Leonardo DiCaprio played the witty swindler.

4. Ferdinand Demara - "The Great Pretender"

Ferdinand Waldo Demara (1921-1982), known by the nickname "The Great Imposter", during his life with great success played people of a large number of professions and occupations - from a monk and a surgeon to the head of a prison. In 1941, he went to serve in the US Army, where he began life for the first time under a new identity, calling himself the name of his friend. After that, Demara pretended to be other people many times. He didn't even finish high school, but each time forged documents on education to play another role.

During his fraudulent career, Demara has been a civil engineer, deputy sheriff, warden, psychiatrist, lawyer, child rights expert, Benedictine monk, editor, cancer specialist, surgeon, and teacher. Surprisingly, in no case did he seek great material gain, it seemed that Demar was only interested in social status. He died in 1982. A book has been written and a film made about the life of Ferdinand Demara.

5. David Hampton (1964-2003) - African-American swindler. He posed as the son of a black actor and director Sidney Poitier. At first, Hampton posed as David Poitier to dine at restaurants for free. Later, realizing that he was believed and that he could influence people, Hampton convinced many celebrities, including Melanie Griffith and Calvin Klein, to give him money or shelter.

To some people, Hampton told that he was a friend of their children, to others he lied that he missed the plane in Los Angeles and that his luggage left without him, to others he deceived that he was robbed.

In 1983, Hampton was arrested and charged with fraud. The court sentenced him to pay $4,490 in compensation to the victims. David Hampton died of AIDS in 2003.

6. Milli Vanilli - a duet that couldn't sing

In the 90s, a scandal erupted with the popular German duet Milli Vanilli - it turned out that the studio recordings sounded not by the duet members, but by other people. As a result, the duo was forced to return the Grammy award they received in 1990.

The duet Milli Vanilli was formed in the 1980s. The popularity of Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan began to grow rapidly, and already in 1990 they won the prestigious Grammy award.

The revelation scandal led to tragedy - in 1998, one of the duo's members, Rob Pilatus, died of a drug and alcohol overdose at the age of 32. Morvan tried unsuccessfully to pursue a career in music. In total, Milli Vanilli sold 8 million singles and 14 million records during the period of their popularity.

7. Cassie Chadwick - Andrew Carnegie's illegitimate daughter

Cassie Chadwick (1857-1907), née Elizabeth Bigley, was arrested for the first time in Ontario at the age of 22 for forging a bank check, but she was released because she feigned mental illness.

In 1882, Elizabeth married Wallace Springsteen, but her husband left her after 11 days, when he found out about her past. Then in Cleveland, the woman married Dr. Chadwick.

In 1897, Cassie orchestrated her most successful scam. She identified herself as the illegitimate daughter of Scottish steelworker Andrew Carnegie. Thanks to a counterfeit $2 million promissory note allegedly issued to her by her father, Cassie received loans from various banks totaling between $10 million and $20 million. In the end, the police asked Carnegie himself if he knew the swindler, and after his negative answer, Mrs. Chadwick was arrested.

Cassie Chadwick appeared in court on March 6, 1905. She was found guilty of 9 major frauds. Sentenced to ten years, Mrs. Chadwick died in prison two years later.

8. Mary Baker - Princess Caraboo

In 1817, a young woman appeared in Gloucestershire in exotic clothing with a turban on her head, who spoke an unknown language. locals many foreigners were asked to identify the language until a Portuguese sailor "translated" her story. Allegedly, the woman was the princess of Caraboo from the island in Indian Ocean.

As the stranger said, she was captured by pirates, the ship was wrecked, but she managed to escape. For the next ten weeks, the stranger was in the public eye. She dressed up in exotic clothes, climbed trees, sang strange words and even swam naked.

However, a certain Mrs. Neal soon identified "Princess Caraba". The island impostor turned out to be the daughter of a shoemaker named Mary Baker. As it turned out, working as a maid in the house of Mrs. Neal, Mary Baker entertained the children with the language she invented. Mary was forced to confess to the deception. At the end of her life, she was selling leeches at a hospital in England.

After taking the money and ordering the soldiers to remain in their places for half an hour, Voigt left for the station. On the train, he changed into civilian clothes and tried to escape. Voigt was eventually arrested and sentenced to four years in prison for his raid and theft of money. In 1908, he was released early on the personal order of the Kaiser of Germany.

10. George Psalmanazar - the first witness of the culture of the aborigines of the island of Formosa

George Psalmanazar (1679-1763) claimed to be the first Formosan to visit Europe. He appeared in Northern Europe around 1700. Although Psalmanazar was dressed in European clothes and looked like a European, he claimed to have come from the distant island of Formosa, where he had previously been captured by the natives. As proof, he spoke in detail about their traditions and culture.

Inspired by the success, Psalmanazar later published the book Historical and geographical description islands of Formosa". According to Psalmanazar, the men on the island go completely naked, and snakes are the favorite food of the islanders.

The Formosans allegedly preach polygamy, and the husband is given the right to eat his wives for infidelity.

Aborigines execute murderers by hanging them upside down. Every year, the islanders sacrifice 18,000 young men to the gods. The Formosans ride horses and camels. The book also described the alphabet of the islanders. The book was a great success, and Psalmanazar himself began to lecture on the history of the island. In 1706, Psalmanazar got bored with the game and confessed that he had simply fooled everyone.

Fraud is the theft of someone else's property or the acquisition of the right to someone else's property by deceit or breach of trust. Fraud is usually a crime. The criminal law definition of fraud varies by country or jurisdiction.

In the cinema around swindlers and swindlers, a plot is often built. However, few people know what is around us, in real life, there are people whose "exploits" turned out to be even more defiant and daring. Most of the biggest swindles were eventually uncovered, but who knows if another genius swindler is working next to us right now? The techniques and methods of some of them have remained original, but someone managed to come up with something that is still used today. I would like to note that most of the twelve most legendary swindlers ended their lives not in wealth and glory, but vice versa.

Victor Lustig (1890-1947) was born in the Czech Republic and by the end of school he spoke five languages - Czech, French, English, Italian and German. Glory to this man was brought by the deal for the sale of the Eiffel Tower. It is Lustig who is considered by many to be one of the most talented swindlers who has ever lived in the world. Victor's brain constantly generated more and more new scams, the presence of 45 pseudonyms helped him to hide from justice. In the States alone, Lustig was arrested fifty times, but each time the police were forced to release him due to insufficient evidence. If before the First World War the swindler manifested himself mainly in organizing dishonest lotteries on long transatlantic cruises and in card games, then in 1920, Victor showed up in the United States, where it took him a couple of years to deceive several banks and individuals for tens of thousands of dollars. However, Lustig's most famous prank was the sale of the Eiffel Tower to him. The adventurer ended up in Paris in 1925, and it was there that he read in the newspaper about the dilapidation of the famous tower and that it needed repair. Lustig quickly figured out how to take advantage of this, he made himself a false credential, which certified him as Deputy Minister of Posts and Telegraphs. Victor then sent "official" letters on his behalf to six the largest representatives metal recycling companies. The meeting with the entrepreneurs took place in an expensive hotel, where the "government official" stayed. Lustig "secretly" told businessmen that the cost of the tower is unreasonably high, so the government organizes a closed auction to sell the Eiffel Tower for scrap metal. The total weight of the tower was 9 thousand tons, the starting "government" price was lower than the price of scrap metal, which naturally pleased the businessmen. And in order not to prematurely create public discontent, Lustig asked to keep this news secret. The right to dispose of the tower was bought by Andre Poisson for 50 thousand dollars, while Victor himself fled to Vienna with a suitcase of cash received. The entrepreneur was so afraid of looking like a fool that he hid the fact of fraud against him, although a team of installers honestly appeared on the specified day to demolish the tower. The fraudster was forced to flee to the United States, where he continued a series of frauds. Even Al Capone himself became one of Victor's clients! Lustig returns to Paris in the early 1930s and does the same trick again, this time the Eiffel Tower is sold for $75,000! It was not until December 1935 that Lustig was arrested and convicted. The total sentence for counterfeiting banknotes, as well as for escaping from prison, was 20 years. Victor Lustig ended his days in 1947 in the famous Alcatraz, a prison near San Francisco.

Frank Abagnale was born on April 27, 1948, at the age of 17 he managed to become one of the most successful bank robbers in American history. The young man began his career at the age of 16, his own father became his first victim. The young man managed to forge many bank checks, thanks to which he fraudulently received about five million dollars. Frank loved to travel, but he did not pay for air travel, preferring to use fake documents here too. Most often, Frank pretended to be a Pan American pilot; from the age of 16 to 18, he was able to fly over a million kilometers at the expense of a company that granted free flights to its pilots. From real action Frank refused to steer the ship, citing the alcohol content in his blood. For almost a year, Abagnale pretended to be a pediatrician in a Georgia hospital, and then, with the help of a fake diploma from Harvard University, he even managed to get a job in the office of the Louisiana Attorney General. For 5 years, the fraudster managed to be a specialist in 8 professions, while continuing to falsify checks with passion. As a result, banks in 26 countries around the world suffered from Frank's actions. Where did the young man spend a lot of money? This, of course, dates with girls, luxurious restaurants, prestigious clothes. At 21, the swindler was caught and went to prison, but soon the talented man left her and began to cooperate with the FBI. This story was later embodied in the cinema, where Leonardo DiCaprio played a talented and witty swindler in the film Catch Me If You Can. For a long time Abagnale couldn't find himself permanent job, since no one wanted to get involved with the former swindler, however, over time, he managed to organize his business on the basis of protecting banks from tricks like himself. Abagnale's fraud protection program is used by more than 14,000 companies, making its author a legal millionaire. Frank has a wife and three sons, one of whom works for the FBI, and agent Joe Shay, who chased a swindler in the 60s, became his best friend.

Christopher Rokancourt, born in 1967, became famous as a fake Rockefeller. Scammer French descent was finally arrested in Canada in 2001 for committing a number of major frauds. Christopher claimed to be a representative of the Rockefeller family, besides, he - close friend Bill Clinton. The crook was assisted in his antics by his wife, former Playboy model Maria Pia Reyes. She was also charged with cheating and knowingly defrauding a Vancouver businessman at a ski resort in Whistler, where the wealthy from Europe and America congregate. The police believe that Christopher committed his first crime back in 1987, for three whole years the police tried to get any evidence against him, until in 1991 he was arrested on suspicion of robbing a jewelry store in Geneva. However, it was not possible to prove Rokancourt’s guilt, he was only expelled from the country, forbidding him to appear there until 2016. In the mid-90s, the swindler comes to the USA, where he rents a luxurious mansion in Beverly Hills and pretends to be the nephew of an Italian magnate. It is there that Christopher turns an affair, then marries Maria, who, by the way, was aware of his real passport data. Cheerful and cheerful men quickly gained confidence in rich and noble neighbors. Soon Christopher came to the conclusion that it was much more useful for him to be a relative of Rockefeller, especially his real name consonant with him. In the new image, Rokancourt develops a stormy activity - he moves around the city exclusively by helicopter, in extreme cases, in a limousine, posing as a financier, leads luxurious life. His friends are Mickey Rourke and Jean-Claude Van Damme, whom Rokancourt even promised $ 40 million to shoot a new film. However, the movie stars were just a cover for the activities of the fraudster, using his image, he took money from businessmen for investment. It turned out that Rokancourt's activities extended to Hong Kong and Zaire, only in one of the districts of Los Angeles the beau monde allocated almost a million to the fraudster, but the true extent of the scam remained unknown. In August 2000, the swindler was arrested, but after being released on bail, he went on the run and turned up in the same Whistler, where, together with his wife, he tried to deceive another simpleton. In 2002, Rokancourt was extradited to the United States, he admitted to the fact of scams for $ 40 million, theft, bribery and perjury.

Ferdinand Demara(1921-1982) became famous as the "Great impostor", because during his life he played a huge number of images of people of various professions, ranging from a monk and a surgeon to the head of a prison. For the first time, life under a new guise began for Demara in 1941, when, under the name of his friend, he enlisted in the US Army. However, there, failing to get the desired position, he faked suicide and began to play a new role, now a psychologist. Subsequently, he repeated a similar trick again and again. Not even finishing high school, Ferdinand often forged documents about his education in order to successfully play another role. Demara's list of fraudulent careers includes professions as varied as a psychiatrist, editor, benedictine monk, oncologist, civil engineer, deputy sheriff, teacher, surgeon, warden, lawyer, and even a Child Protection Services expert. The most interesting thing is that all these tricks did not pursue material gain, Demar was interested in the very fact of a new social status. Ferdinand's most notorious fraud was his service as a surgeon on a Canadian destroyer during the Korean War. There he was able to carry out several successful operations and even stop the epidemic. A laudatory publication about a capable doctor exposed him, as a real doctor with that name was found. However, the military did not sue Demara. Ferdinand sold his life story to Life magazine, after which it became more difficult for him to find a job. He received his first and only diploma of education in 1967. A film was made about the life of this outstanding person and a book was written. He died of cardiac arrest, in the status of a Baptist priest.

David Hampton (1964-2003) posed as the son of the black director and actor Sidney Poitier. In 1981, the future swindler came to New York. The first step of the newly-minted David Poitier was free lunches in restaurants. Then the swindler realized that his image was quite convincing, and he could, under the pretext of charity, receive money from famous people. So, Calvin Klein and Melanie Griffith were among the stars deceived by him. Soon, Hampton expanded the circle of his activities, the black swindler told some people that he was a friend of their children, he told someone the tear-jerking story of his own robbery, in his arsenal there was a story about missing a plane and lost luggage. Hampton was eventually arrested in 2003 on charges of fraud. The court sentenced him to pay compensation to the victims in the amount of $5,000. Refusing to pay this amount, David ended up in prison for 5 years. The fraudster died of AIDS in a shelter, before he even reached his 40th birthday. In 1990, based on the activities of Hampton, the film "Six Degrees of Separation" was filmed. After the success of the cinematic project, the former crook tried to threaten the director, demanding his share of the profits. As a result, David sued the filmmakers, demanding $ 100 million, but the court rejected these claims.

The duet Milli Vanilli today is not known for its hits, but for the fact that its members did not know how to sing at all. Scandal with the popular German group erupted in the 90s, it turned out that the voices on studio recordings belong to strangers, and not "singers". But in 1990, Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan even received a Grammy for their work! The duet itself was created back in the 80s, quickly gaining popularity. During their activity, the group managed to sell 8 million singles and 14 million records. The deception was revealed like this - in 1990, while singing in Connecticut "live" the song "Girl, you know it's true," the phonogram began to jam, constantly repeating the same phrase. The main responsibility for the deception lies with the group's producer, Frank Farian, who came up with a simple scheme, according to which the fake but charming duo only danced and opened their mouths on stage, while other people sang. As a result, the award was taken away, and 26 lawsuits were filed against the band and the recording studio. In order to somehow recover from the scandal, Farian in 1997 agreed to become the producer of the group again, in which the participants now sang with their own voices. However, Rob Pilatus by that time had already come to grips with drugs and alcohol, and on the day of the presentation of the new album, he was found dead in a hotel. Death was due to an overdose of pills and alcohol. Morvan tried to pursue a musical career, was a musician for hire, a DJ. However, he could not reach the previous heights, although in 2003 he released his own solo album"Revolution of love". The history of the Milli Vanilli group interested filmmakers, the Universal Pictures studio announced its readiness to make a film about it.

Cassie Chadwick (1857-1907), born Elizabeth Bigley, was famous for being the illegitimate daughter of Andrew Carnegie, a major steelworker. The girl was first arrested at the age of 22 for forging a bank check, but was quickly released thanks to a skillful simulation. mental disorder. In 1882, Elizabeth got married, but 11 days later her husband left her because he found out about her past. The next choice of the woman was Dr. Chadwick from Cleveland. By the time of her marriage, Elizabeth managed to visit a fortune teller and hostess brothel and also serve 4 years in prison. In front of Chadwick, the swindler portrayed a noble lady who did not even suspect that a brothel was located in her boarding house. Cassie's most successful scam came in 1897, when she introduced herself, as already mentioned, as Carnegie's daughter. To do this, Mrs. Chadwick asked a lawyer friend to take her to the Carnegie house, pretending to have been inside, she "accidentally" dropped a check with a promissory note at home, which was noticed by her companion. This news quickly spread around the local financial market, the woman, thanks to a counterfeit promissory note for $ 2 million issued to her by her "father", received loans from various banks. The total amount of damage was from 10 to 20 million dollars. As a result, the police became interested in a wealthy relative, who asked Carnegie if he knew anything about his "daughter"? After the industrialist's negative reply, the police quickly arrested Mrs. Chadwick. During the arrest, the fraudster herself was found wearing a belt stuffed with money worth over 100 thousand. On March 6, 1905, a trial took place over her, which proved her participation in 9 cases of fraud. Mr. Chadwick filed for divorce shortly before the process, while Andrew Carnegie himself was present at the hearing, wanting to look at the one who presented himself as his daughter. The woman was eventually sentenced to 10 years in prison, she brought several suitcases of things, carpets and furs to the cell, but after 2 years Elizabeth died in custody.

Mary Baker (1791-1865), known as Princess Caraboo, appeared in that status in Gloucestershire in 1817. The woman had a turban on her head, she herself was dressed in an exotic outfit, and no one could understand her speech, since she did not speak an unknown language. The stranger first lived with the magistrate, then in the hospital, where she refused any food, from there she again returned to the hospitable Mrs. Worrall. None of the foreigners could understand the outlandish language until one of the Portuguese sailors recognized the language. The story of the stranger said that she was the princess of Caraboo from an island in the Indian Ocean. The woman was captured by pirates, but their ship soon crashed, but she managed to escape. For the next two months, the princess was in the spotlight of everyone around, because she not only wore exotic clothes, but also climbed trees, sang strange songs and even swam naked. However, soon after the portrait appeared in the local newspaper, Princess Caraboo was identified by a certain Mrs. Neal, who recognized her as the daughter of a shoemaker named Mary Baker. Working as a maid, the girl dabbled in entertaining children with an invented language. As a result, Mary was forced to confess her deceit, as punishment the judge sent her to Philadelphia. There, the woman again tried to fool the residents with her story about the mysterious princess, but the townspeople were not so easily fooled. When Mary returned to England in 1821, she again tried to use her legend, but now no one believed her at all. For the rest of her life, the woman was selling leeches at one of the English hospitals, and her deceit served as the basis for the 1994 film Princess Caraboo.

Wilhelm Voigt (1849-1922) was a German shoemaker who became famous for his daring escapade as Captain Köpenick. The swindler was born in Tilza and already at the age of 14 he was convicted of petty theft for two weeks. This was the reason for the teenager's expulsion from school, he had to teach the craft of a shoemaker from his father. By 1891, Voigt had spent 25 of his 42 years behind bars for forgery. valuable papers and theft. After his release, he did not live long in Berlin, from where he was to be evicted in 1906 as unreliable. However, on October 16, 1906, the unemployed illegal immigrant Wilhelm bought a used uniform of a Prussian army captain in the Berlin suburb of Köpenick and organized the capture of the local town hall. That's how it was. Voigt, dressed in military uniform, went to the local barracks, where he ordered four grenadiers and a sergeant to follow him. The soldiers did not dare to disobey the officer. Voigt then ordered them to arrest the city burgomaster and treasurer, then he single-handedly seized the local town hall and confiscated the entire treasury. The fraudster told officials that he was arresting them for embezzlement of public funds, while the money itself was confiscated as evidence. Having ordered the soldiers to guard the detainees, Voigt left for the train station, where he changed clothes and tried to hide. However, after 10 days the swindler was caught and sentenced to 4 years in prison. The process received a lot of publicity, sympathy common people were on the side of Voigt, even the British amused themselves by what had happened, noting how much authority a man in uniform was for the Germans. In 1908, the story reached Kaiser Wilhelm II, amused him, and by his personal decree, the swindler was released. This story made Wilhelm very popular, he even gave autographs on behalf of Captain Koepenick. In 1909, his book about this amazing event was published, in 1910 the author even visited Canada with its presentation. Voigt retired as a wealthy man, living out his days in his own home in Luxembourg. Subsequently, this story served as the basis for several films and many plays, and on the steps of the city hall of Köpenick today flaunts bronze statue legendary captain.

George Psalmanazar(1679-1763) declared himself the first witness to the culture of the natives of the island of Formosa. Allegedly, it was he who became the first inhabitant of this exotic place to visit Europe. Formosa means "beautiful island" in Portuguese and is the largest island in Taiwan's group of islands. Psalmanazar was born in France, into a Catholic family, and his real name remained unknown. The young man did not finish his graduation at the Jesuit school, because he got bored there. So George set off on a journey through Europe, pretending to be a soldier, then an Irish pilgrim. In 1700, Psalmanazar appeared in northern Europe with stories of his exotic origins. European clothing and appearance he explained by the fact that Jesuit monks had kidnapped him from his homeland and brought him to France in order to force him to accept Catholicism. As proof of his legend, Psalmanazar spoke about the details of the life of the natives, about their sun worship, about their own calendar. At the same time, the swindler met Holland and converted to Christianity, having received his name at baptism, with which he became known. In 1703, George ends up in London, where he becomes famous, mainly for his strange habits. So, he slept right on the chair, and ate the meat raw, flavoring it only with spices. In 1704, even a book was published under his authorship "Historical and geographical description of the island of Formosa, belonging to the Emperor of Japan." In it, Psalmanazar said that on the island men go completely naked, covering intimate parts golden plate. The natives feed on snakes, which are hunted with sticks. Polygamy is accepted on the island, while the husband can eat his wife for infidelity. In the book, which was very popular, even the alphabet of the islanders was described. The book was published in three languages, and Psalmanazar soon began lecturing on the history of the island. Even a thorough interrogation of George in the Royal Society did not reveal a lie. But no one believed the Jesuit missionary monks who really visited Formosa, since they enjoyed a bad reputation in England. This continued until 1706, when Psalmanazar declared that he was tired of pretending, and his whole story was one grandiose hoax. The swindler spent the rest of his life in translations Christian literature and writing his own memoirs, which were published after his death.

Joseph Weil (1875-1976) was one of the most famous swindlers 20th century, he even bore the nickname King of the Swindlers. Even in his youth, he began the path to "glory", fooling blind farmers, selling them wonderful glasses in a gold frame. The simpletons thought that they were cashing in on the young man, buying an excellent thing for only 3-4 dollars, although it actually cost 15 cents. Joseph's most famous prank was the deception with a fake bank. The scammer heard that the Munsi National Merchant Bank was moving to a new location. The empty house was rented and a fictitious bank was set up in it to make a single transaction. Wale hired a whole group of small-time con artists who pretended to be ordinary bank residents. There were queues at the cash registers, operators worked with money, the doors were guarded, clerks were constantly scurrying back and forth with papers. Wayne's assistant, meanwhile, processed a local millionaire, who was informed that the owner of the bank was ready to sell land for a quarter of their price. But since the deal is extremely secret, you should pay in cash. The client, who believed in the legend, brought with him a suitcase with half a million dollars. A luxury car picked him up from the station and brought him to the bank, where life was literally seething. We had to wait for a meeting with the owner for about an hour, all this time the work of a successful establishment was played out in front of the client, the clerks kept talking on the phone that it was necessary to strengthen the security, but there was nowhere to put the money. A sluggish and tired banker met the buyer, clearly not wanting to make a deal. However, he soon allowed himself to be persuaded and sold the land for 400 thousand. The happy buyer was glad that he saved as much as 100 thousand, the scammers would obviously try to take everything. Among the well-known victims of Wale was Benito Mussolini himself, to whom Joseph came under the guise of a mining engineer and sold the right to develop deposits in Colorado. When the intelligence agencies discovered the deception, Wale managed to escape with two million dollars. The money from the fraudster did not stay for a long time - after all, he led rich life and loved women. In addition, every time he went to prison, the swindler gave all his property to his brother, the bailiff. Joseph Weil's life was rich in adventure, and he himself lived 101 years!

Carlo Ponzi (1882-1949) became famous as the creator of his own fraud scheme, which is often associated with financial pyramids that appeared in abundance in our country at the end of the last century. Arriving in America in 1896, by 1920 Carlo had become a celebrity on both sides of the Atlantic. Initially, the young man did not have a penny in his pocket, he changed many specialties until he became a clerk in a Canadian bank in 1908. There he lured clients with high interest, paying them from the following deposits. The bank, of course, soon burst, Ponzi served two years in prison. Then again, fraud with forgery of documents, again a prison ... But having married by the age of 35, Carlo acquired useful connections in emigrant circles and some kind of small start-up capital. Here he found the next field for action. At that time, there was a Postal Agreement, which meant the exchange of postal coupons for stamps in 60 countries at a single rate. However, the crisis and World War led to a difference in exchange rates, so the coupon could be bought in Europe for a cent, and sold in the States for 6. On December 26, 1919, Ponzi registered his SEC company, which had branches in the USA and Europe and redeemed IOUs with a yield of 50%, and then 100% within 90 days. It was explained to the curious that the company was engaged in super-profitable postal operations, which ones were a secret. The opening of the company caused a real boom, its offices were literally littered with dollars, up to a million were received per day. Has been applied interesting scheme- there were many cash desks for investing money, but for issuing - only a couple, queues were constantly crowding around them, and on the way back there was an opportunity to invest money again. The checks of the authorities did not bring any result, moreover, when the company was temporarily closed and panic began, Ponzi paid everything to the cent, being known as a hero who suffered from the authorities. However, this served as the snowflake that starts the avalanche. Ponzi became interesting to journalists who unearthed his past and prison sentences. On August 13, 2009, Carlo was arrested. It turned out that 40 million depositors became victims of the scam, the total amount of lost deposits was 15 million. Many court hearings led to the bankruptcy of several more companies and banks. Ponzi himself served 11 months, moved to Florida, where he served three more years for land fraud. Then there was Italy, where the Duce soon refused his services. Mussolini sent Carlo to Brazil, but even there the company under his leadership was waiting for bankruptcy. Ponzi died in poverty in Rio de Janeiro, and swindlers liked his scheme so much that it is still used under one form or another.

Lustig ( also translated as Lustig, Lastig) is considered one of the most talented swindlers who ever lived. He endlessly invented scams, had 45 pseudonyms and was fluent in five languages. In the US alone, Lustig was arrested 50 times, but every time he was released for lack of evidence. Prior to World War I, Lustig specialized in organizing fraudulent lotteries on transatlantic cruises. In the 1920s, he moved to the United States, and in just a couple of years he deceived banks and individuals for tens of thousands of dollars.

Read more about Lusting read "The Eiffel Tower for scrap" (In a new window)

2. Frank Abagnale - "Catch Me If You Can"

Frank William Abagnale Jr. (born April 27, 1948) at the age of 17 managed to become one of the most successful bank robbers in US history. This story took place in the 1960s. Using counterfeit bank checks, Abagnale stole about five million dollars from banks. He also made countless flights around the world on forged documents.

Later, Frank successfully played the role of a pediatrician for 11 months in a hospital in Georgia, after which, by forging a Harvard University degree, he got a job in the office of the Louisiana Attorney General.

3. Christopher Rockancourt - Fake Rockefeller

In 2001, Canadian police arrested a French-born swindler who pulled off a series of grand scams. Christopher Rockancourt, who was born in 1967, claimed to be a personal friend of Bill Clinton and a member of the Rockefeller family.

Rocancourt was arrested along with his wife, former Playboy model Maria Pia Reyes. The woman was accused of cheating and knowingly deceiving a Vancouver businessman for selfish purposes at a prestigious ski resort located in Whistler, a favorite vacation spot for wealthy tourists from Europe and the United States.

According to police, Rokancourt fled to Canada after he was arrested in East Hampton, New York in August 2000. Then he was accused of skillfully misleading dozens of wealthy Americans and defrauding them of almost $1 million.

When the fraud in the US was discovered, the swindler had to urgently flee to Canada. Hotel staff in Whistler told the police that Rokancourt was a famous race car driver. international class, who, in order to avoid the annoying attention of fans, is forced to live under an assumed name. One of the victims deceived by him stated that the swindler also posed as an influential financier. It is known that to other people he presented himself as a boxing champion, he also portrayed a film producer. For some time the impostor was friends with Mickey Rourke.

In March 2002, Rokancourt was extradited to the United States. He pleaded guilty to 3 of 11 counts, including theft, smuggling, bribery and perjury. He admitted that he swindled wealthy citizens out of $40 million.

4. Ferdinand Demara - "The Great Pretender"

Ferdinand Waldo Demara (1921-1982), known by the nickname "The Great Imposter", during his life with great success played people of a large number of professions and occupations - from a monk and a surgeon to the head of a prison. In 1941, he went to serve in the US Army, where he began life for the first time under a new identity, calling himself the name of his friend. After that, Demara pretended to be other people many times. He did not even finish high school, but each time he forged documents about education in order to play another role.

5. David Hampton (1964-2003)

African American scammer. He posed as the son of a black actor and director Sidney Poitier. At first, Hampton posed as David Poitier to dine at restaurants for free. Later, realizing that he was believed and that he could influence people, Hampton convinced many celebrities, including Melanie Griffith and Calvin Klein, to give him money or shelter.

In 1983, Hampton was arrested and charged with fraud. The court sentenced him to pay $4,490 in compensation to the victims. David Hampton died of AIDS in 2003.

6. Milli Vanilli - a duet that couldn't sing

The duet Milli Vanilli was formed in the 1980s. The popularity of Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan began to grow rapidly, and already in 1990 they won the prestigious Grammy award.

7. Cassie Chadwick - Andrew Carnegie's illegitimate daughter

Cassie Chadwick (1857-1907), born Elizabeth Bigley, was arrested for the first time in Ontario at the age of 22 for forging a bank check, but she was released because she feigned mental illness.

In 1882, Elizabeth married Wallace Springsteen, but her husband left her after 11 days, when he found out about her past. Then in Cleveland, the woman married Dr. Chadwick.

Cassie Chadwick appeared in court on March 6, 1905. She was found guilty of 9 major frauds. Sentenced to ten years, Mrs. Chadwick died in prison two years later.

8. Mary Baker - Princess Caraboo

In 1817, a young woman appeared in Gloucestershire in exotic clothing with a turban on her head, who spoke an unknown language. Locals approached many foreigners to identify the language until a Portuguese sailor "translated" her story. Allegedly, the woman was Princess Caraboo from an island in the Indian Ocean.

9. Wilhelm Voigt - Captain of Köpenick

Wilhelm Voigt (1849-1922) was a German shoemaker who pretended to be a Prussian captain. On October 16, 1906, in the southeastern suburb of Berlin, Köpenicke, the unemployed Wilhelm Voigt rented a Prussian captain's uniform in the city of Potsdam and organized the capture of the town hall.

Voigt ordered four unfamiliar grenadiers and a sergeant, accidentally stopped on the street, to arrest the mayor of Köpenick and the treasurer, after which, without any resistance, he single-handedly captured the local town hall, and then confiscated city treasury- 4000 marks and 70 pfennigs. Moreover, both the soldiers and the burgomaster himself carried out all his orders unquestioningly.

10. George Psalmanazar - the first witness of the culture of the aborigines of the island of Formosa

George Psalmanazar (1679-1763) claimed to be the first Formosan to visit Europe. It appeared in Northern Europe around 1700. Although Psalmanazar was dressed in European clothes and looked like a European, he claimed to have come from the distant island of Formosa, where he had previously been captured by the natives. As proof, he spoke in detail about their traditions and culture.

Inspired by the success, Psalmanazar later published the book Historical and Geographical Description of the Island of Formosa. According to Psalmanazar, the men on the island go completely naked, and snakes are the favorite food of the islanders.

The Formosans allegedly preach polygamy, and the husband is given the right to eat his wives for infidelity.

In the course of development, mankind has often encountered people whose desire to get rich quickly intersected with the ability to break existing laws with impunity. Of course, not all of them succeeded in this activity and many were caught in the "hot". However, who managed to create very beautiful schemes and amazing scams. This does not cancel their criminal plans, but it makes us pay more attention to their biographies. The world's largest scams have always been very interesting material for research, because often the intention of the scammers was visible from the very beginning, but they still succeeded in this field. By the way, in last years there were also many swindlers, whose actions can be regarded as the world's largest scams. However, let's start with others, less.

Selling the Eiffel Tower

Imagine a man who managed not only to sell the Eiffel Tower, but also to do it twice. This is Viktor Lustig. In fact, he was a native of America, knew many languages and had 45 different pseudonyms during his activities. The largest scams in the world were replenished with one more item with his help. This man sold the Eiffel Tower, but the gullible buyer did not go to the police. For obvious reasons - he was simply ashamed that he had decided on such a deal at all.

However, Lustig sold it again to another buyer. For the second time, the deal did not bring the expected success and Lustig was forced to urgently move to the United States. By the way, in a new place, he took up counterfeiting activities, for which he was arrested. After receiving a 20-year sentence, Lustig died in Alcatraz prison in 1947 from pneumonia.

Retail architectural monuments

Another representative of the list "The biggest scams in the world" can be called Arthur Ferguson. He specialized in selling various English attractions to tourists. It is difficult to understand what motivated tourists when they agreed to buy Big Ben at a price of 1,000 pounds or a statue of Nelson in Trafalgar Square for 6,000 pounds. However, they bought and Ferguson continued his activities in this field.

In 1925 he moved to America, where he continued his biography with the same projects. For example, he sold the White House, the residence of the President of the United States in Washington, to a ranch farmer. By the way, the amount was almost astronomical at that time 100,000 dollars.

Over time, luck turned away from him and he, while trying to sell the Statue of Liberty, was arrested. Why this particular tourist did not believe his right to sell, while the rest believed unconditionally, is unclear.

Swindler with royal requests

For about two months, the shoemaker's daughter successfully pretended to be the princess of the state of Caribou, who was captured by pirates and she escaped only after a shipwreck. The British, for whom the origin is very important, surrounded the girl with attention and care, accepted in high society and contributed to her popularity as much as possible. Separately, it should be noted that the girl spoke a very strange language, which served as confirmation of her words.

But the deception could not last long and after a few months she was identified as the shoemaker's daughter. And the incomprehensible language spoken by the “Princess Caribou” turned out to be just a fictional set of words and sounds, his girlfriend came up with while playing with children.

Pilot, translator, lawyer

Frank Abagnale can be considered one of the outstanding swindlers of the past. This man successfully posed as a representative of various popular professions. However, most often he presented himself as a pilot, as this made it possible to fly for free. PanAmerican suffered a very large loss from his activities, because he flew more than a million miles with overnight stays in various hotels. At the same time, he never once sat, motivating this with a recent drink.

Of course, he was subsequently arrested and sentenced to imprisonment, but after his release he advised various intelligence agencies on document fraud. His biography formed the basis of the film Catch Me If You Can.

The Great Swindler - Frank Abagnale

Pyramid of three letters

IN modern Russia there were also organizations and people who could "The biggest scams in the world" and in the first place - this is MMM JSC. The organization appeared during the formation of the capitalist system in the country and immediately became the subject of discussion for many people. The idea was that the company returned the invested funds in a few weeks with very high percentages.

In the face of massive advertising support, many people rushed to acquire shares in the new company and even managed to receive serious dividends. However, after a short time, news about the collapse of the enterprise swept across Russia. It turned out that the so-called dividends were paid to people from new financial receipts and there was no turnover of funds with a profit. There were a lot of deceived investors, so today almost any financial pyramid is called "MMM".

Video about the biggest scams in the world

As you can see, even today there are projects that can replenish the world's largest scams with new positions. Therefore, be extremely careful when choosing partners for business, objects for investment. As experience shows, the first sign of future fraud is very favorable conditions, while the ways and methods of making a profit are not disclosed.

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