The most famous scammers not caught. The most famous scammers in the world

March 28th, 2018

No, we are not talking about Mavrodi, who recently died of a heart attack. Exorbitant greed and swindle have caused the bankruptcy of more than one financial company. Fraudsters do not get tired of deceiving honest and respectable citizens, some even manage to inflate the global financial establishment. True, in most cases, the result of scams always becomes a prison cell.

Let's recall the most high-profile scams in the world and remind: each of us can fall into a financial trap ...

In English-speaking countries, “business” is called business, and in French “business” is affaire. Initially, this concept meant in general any enterprise aimed at profit.

You can steal money, you can extort money, or you can make people carry it “on a silver platter” and thank you for agreeing to take it. Now this is "aerobatics". That is why novels are written and films are made about real swindlers.

In general, the line between honest business and fraud is very thin. That is why there is always an aura of romanticism around great businessmen and inveterate swindlers. And if you come across instances that combine both, then they are glorified not only in the circles of their business, but also receive worldwide fame. It is these people that will be discussed in our photo report, where we have collected the most famous financial scammers.

The official career of most of these people can cause the deepest respect: they can rightly be called outstanding top managers, whose art of management could be learned. That is why those around, up to the moment of their exposure, considered the reputation of these people to be crystal clear.

Their crimes included not paying taxes, manipulating financial records, and often confusing corporate funds with personal ones. Interestingly, most of the major financial crimes occurred in the United States - America once again proved its status as a country of great opportunities.

Bernard Madoff

Everyone knows the name of Bernard Madoff today, he is associated with the largest financial scandal. Forbes eloquently calls him the robber of the century. After all, none other than the former chairman of the board of directors of the Nasdaq stock exchange was engaged in financial scams.

Madoff Securities, founded about 40 years ago, has been bringing its clients a stable profit of 12-13% per annum for many years. But in the end, Madoff's company lost $50 billion. At the same time, regular audits of the company's financial activities by the Federal Securities Commission showed only minor violations.

Madoff's victims were many American and international funds and banks, including BNP Paribas, HSBC, Nomura Holdings, as well as wealthy Americans, including film director Steven Spielberg. This scam shocked Wall Street and led to real victims. A French investor who invested about $1.5 billion in Madoff's company committed suicide in his New York office.

Jerome Kerviel

The Société Générale bank trader has been trading without the agency of his superiors since 2005. During this time, according to the bank, he caused him damage in the amount of about $ 8 billion. Kerviel himself claimed that he began illegal trading in order to achieve good results, present them to his superiors and receive bonuses.

According to the bank, this citizen simply wanted to appropriate the money for himself. In total, the trader was charged with four articles, including breach of trust and fraud. Gerard Kerviel managed the amount of 50 billion euros. Naturally, this was all illegal.

Bernard Ebbers and Scott Sullivan, WorldCom

The biggest scam in US history was orchestrated by Bernard Ebbers, CEO of WorldCom (the second largest telephone network operator in the US), along with assistant Scott Sullivan. Ebbers directed all his forces to the extensive expansion of the business at any cost. In the early 1990s, his company made over 60 acquisitions. For example, in 1997, WorldCom acquired MCI for $40 billion, which was then three times the size of WorldCom itself.

In the late 1990s, Ebbers was ranked 376th on the list of the richest people on the planet, and his company was included in the list of the 500 largest companies in the United States. Ebbers led a lifestyle to match – he bought an 18-meter yacht for $20 million and Canada's largest ranch for $47 million.

Problems began only in 2000, when Ebbers also had personal debts, he began to sell property. The WorldCom Board of Directors, afraid that shareholders would not understand such behavior of the company's chief executive, gave Ebbers a loan of $375 million "for personal needs" at a meager percentage. Having stopped constant takeovers, WorldCom began to fall apart. Ebbers could not save the company, in 2002 he resigned, after which financial fraud in the amount of $ 11 billion began to emerge.

A little later, Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years in prison. To Sullivan, who completely surrendered his ideological inspirer, the court was more favorable: he received only 5 years in prison.

Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin

Bear Stearns hedge fund managers Cioffi and Tannin lied to investors about the current state of the fund, which heavily relied on mortgage-backed securities (far from the most reliable at the time). At the same time, people continued to invest in the fund, trusting the information that the Bear Stearns managers conveyed to the audience. Both managers were charged with conspiracy and fraud. The damage from their actions is estimated at $1.6 billion.

Dennis Kozlowski and Mark Schwartz, Tyco Industrial

Dennis Kozlowski and Mark Schwartz, senior executives at Tyco Industrial in Bermuda. Under the leadership of these executives, the company made its largest acquisitions and became an international conglomerate. And Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski became famous as the absolute world champion in mergers and acquisitions - the corporation bought about 1,000 companies related to various sectors of the economy and increased its income 12 times.

Kozlowski and his partner got infamous thanks to the exorbitant spending of money. With the help of his former financial director Schwartz, Kozlowski spent about $ 600 million. Everyone envied the lifestyle of this couple. They knew how to really chic: parties on the islands, exclusive items made of precious metals and stones - an umbrella stand for $15,000, a shower curtain for $6,000, wardrobe hangers for $2,000. artists (one of them belongs to Monet).

The true state of affairs of Tyco Industrial became known only when the partners began to get rid of their own shares. Dennis Kozlowski and Mark Schwartz each received 25 years in prison.

Allen Stanford

Stanford is the founder of Stanford Financial Group and Antigua-based Stanford International Bank. Both institutions were almost infinitely trusted by investors. But a few years later, the company began to seriously interest the SEC, the FBI and the IRS.

In particular, it was interesting why Stanford promises investors such a high return on invested capital. The US Securities and Exchange Commission accused the founder of the company and several of its members of conducting fraudulent operations for $ 8 billion.

Geoffrey Skilling and Andrew Fastow, Enron

Enron began its activity with the production of energy resources, but then became engaged in trading: it provided energy raw materials on a long-term basis and at fixed prices to the largest US companies. In 15 years, Enron has become the seventh largest company in the United States. The value of its assets was $47.3 billion.

Financial difficulties began in 1997, when Enron acquired a loss-making company. Executives Jeffrey Skilling and his CFO Andrew Fastov decided to hide the unprofitability of the new asset. Fastov proposed a cunning plan, which consisted of creating front partnerships and companies (usually in offshore zones) that bought illiquid property from Enron along with debts, and paid off with Enron's own shares.

As a result, the corporation managed to hide debts for a long time, which reached $ 40 billion. But in 2001, after a public investigation, the corporation had to declare itself bankrupt, two days later, Enron's shares fell from $ 90 apiece to 42 cents.

The collapse of Enron led to unprecedented consequences. Investors have lost tens of billions of dollars, thousands of people have lost their jobs, and more than a billion in retirement savings have been burned.

Jeffrey Skilling ended up with 25 years in prison, and his assistant only 6 years: Fastov betrayed his partner and thereby saved himself.

Martin Grass, Rite Aid

Rite Aid CEO Martin Grass is notorious for handing over $1.6 billion in excess profits to the company in order to receive bonuses.

Grass, along with his accomplices, forged accounts payable data, took into account income from the sale of medicines that were not actually sold, and did not take into account losses from the theft of products. Subordinates who helped them cover their tracks were regularly paid large bonuses. As follows from the prosecution materials, Rite Aid executives also deceived the company's auditors. Grass made fictitious financial statements and misled investors.

As a result, Grass was accused of falsifying accounting documents, forging minutes of meetings of boards of directors, giving false testimony to the SEC (the Securities and Exchange Commission that regulates American business) and fabricating evidence. He was charged with 36 episodes of violating the law. Several other top managers of the company were convicted in the same case.

Samuel Waxel, ImClone Systems

Samuel Waxel is the founder and CEO of ImClone Systems, a biotechnology company. According to New York prosecutors, in December 2001, Waxel learned that his firm's already heavily marketed cancer drug, Ebitrux, would not be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

It was not difficult for him to predict how the stock market would react to this news. Waxel began to "merge" the securities of his own company, carefully encrypted and using his daughter's brokerage account. But the transactions were blocked by an investment bank. Had the deal been successful, the ImClone founder would have made $1 million.

The trial ended with the repentance of the accused. Waxel said that he was deeply upset by his actions, asked for forgiveness from all cancer patients and emphasized that his brainchild would undoubtedly help patients in the future. The court sentenced Waxel to the maximum term requested by the prosecution - more than 7 years in prison, a $3 million fine and $1.26 million in damages.

Nigel Potter, Wembley

Nigel Potter - head of the Wembley casino chain owned two of the largest gambling houses in Colorado and in Lincoln Park. In the latter, business was on the upswing, profits significantly exceeded income in Colorado, and Potter raised the issue of redistributing the company's cash, deciding that it was time for the Lincoln Park division to take over its assets and become the sole representative of the state's gambling business.

He wanted to get official permission to install 1,000 additional slot machines in Lincoln Park and thus solve the problem with competitors. He is accused of trying to bribe a government official in the amount of $4 million. I must say that the court was favorable to Potter and ruled: 3 years in prison.

Potter spent about a year and a half in the Pennsylvania state prison, then he was transferred to the Manhattan isolation ward, from which, a month and a half later, he was sent to the UK - first to prison, and then under house arrest.

We present to your attention a list of the most notorious scammers in history, who used the most sophisticated ways to get easy money.

CharlesPonzi- SchemePonzi

Charles Ponzi was a famous Italian criminal who created one of the most ingenious and original pyramid schemes, which was later named after him.

His business, called the Securities Exchange Company, arbitrated by issuing IOUs that promised to pay $1,500 for every $1,000 received in 90 days.

The pyramid collapsed in the summer of 1920. It all started with the fact that one of the depositors demanded 50% of the profit from the Ponzi company, as a result of which the funds of the fraudster in bank accounts were frozen. After the announcement of the suspension of deposits, panicked depositors rushed to withdraw their money.

As a result of revealing a debt in the amount of $7 million, Ponzi was detained. Charles Ponzi himself was sentenced to five years.

Kazutsugi Nami – Bankruptcy L&G

L&G, led by Kazutsugi Nami, was founded in 2000 and became famous for the most high-profile fraud case in the history of Japan. About 37 thousand people suffered from the activities of this company in the early 2000s, losing more than $1.4 billion.

Kazutsugi promised investors over 30% annual returns and invented his own digital currency called "Enten". The investigation began after the termination of payments on deposits, after which the company declared itself bankrupt. As a result of the investigation, in 2010, Kazutsugi Nami was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Frank Abingale - "Catch Me If You Can"

Surely, many have heard about the story of Frank Abingale, which formed the basis of the autobiography Catch Me If You Can, based on which the famous director Steven Spielberg shot the film of the same name with the participation of Leonardo DiCaprio.

Frank Abingale is known for his audacious crimes committed in the 1960s. At the age of 16, he began to forge checks and cash them all over America and beyond. Hiding from criminal prosecution, he demonstrated extraordinary abilities in disguise, posing as other people.

Abingale was sentenced to 12 years in prison. However, he served only part of his sentence, as the FBI involved him in cooperation in identifying fakes in circulation, as well as their manufacturers. He has been with the FBI for over 35 years.

Victor Lustig - The Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower... Twice

Victor Lustig spoke five languages ​​fluently, boasted a good education, and belonged to the upper strata of the bourgeoisie. The first source of income was gambling on transatlantic liners, as well as the sale of an apparatus ostensibly for the production of dollars. He then traveled to the US, where he perfected his fraudulent skills.

In 1925, Lustig managed to sell the Eiffel Tower to the Parisian junk dealer André Poisson. He convinced the unfortunate buyer that he was a government agent and the tower was being sold for scrap. Deceived Poisson hesitated to report this incident to the police, and Lustig tried the same trick again. But the new buyer went to the police and the scam was exposed.

Lustig was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Died of pneumonia in 1947.

Bernard Madoff - From Head of the Stock Exchange to Fraudsters

Bernard Madoff began very modestly. He founded his investment company in 1960 with $5,000 earned as a security guard and sprinkler installer.

Madoff led this Wall Street firm until the end of 2008. Then the financial crisis broke out, the situation on the market deteriorated noticeably, and clients began to actively dispose of their assets. During this period, the accusation was made of creating, perhaps, the largest financial pyramid in the history. In 2009, 70-year-old Madoff was sentenced to 150 years behind bars.

CharlesKeating- ScamwithbankLincoln Savings and Loan

Charles Keating was an excellent pilot, swimmer and successful real estate investor. Unable to resist the temptation of fraud, he scammed 23,000 investors out of $250 million. In 1984, Keating acquired Lincoln Savings and Loans, a small conservative mortgage bank in California.

With the transition under the control of Keating, the bank began to conduct more risky transactions without warning customers about it. Binzes failed in 1989 and Keating was charged with fraud and sentenced to 4.5 years in prison. He died in 2014 at the age of 90.

Artur Virgilio Alves Reis – Crisis of the Bank of Portugal

Actions of the Portuguese swindler Artur Virgilio Alves Reis, who almost buried the economy of Portugal, were unprecedented. His massive fraudulent scheme involving the Bank of Portugal was so serious that many blamed it for the collapse of the Portuguese Republic in 1926.

Posing as a representative of the Bank of Portugal and armed with a forged contract, Reis convinced a London company to print his own banknotes for him as part of a secret project. Thus, the fraudster pumped £1,007,963 worth of counterfeit paper into the Portuguese economy and opened his own bank for money laundering.

In 1925, the 28-year-old Reis was arrested. In 1935 he was released from prison, and in 1945 he died in poverty.

There is nothing to love swindlers, but some of them reach such perfection and have such a sophisticated mind that you will inevitably admire. Outstanding swindlers are talented people with unconventional morals. Their stories are like adventure films.

If you can't find decent people, follow the swindler - he will lead you to them.

When meeting with swindlers, we are not delighted. Still, everyone can get into their networks, but it’s difficult to get out of the trap with honor. The swindlers are so clever and inventive in their evil deeds that, upon a distant examination, they arouse involuntary admiration.

The most dexterous with aspiration are told after many years, marveling at the subtlety and thoughtfulness of scams. We will tell you about ten famous scammers who entered the history of mankind.

10. George Psalmanazar

Its history dates back to the distant eighteenth century. The years of this man's life are 1679-1763. In 1700, Psalmanazar arrived in Northern Europe, and declared himself to be the first inhabitant of the island of Formosa to visit Europe. He was dressed like a European, and looked accordingly, but he said that the natives of Formosa captured him, spoke in great detail about their culture and customs.

The interest of Europeans in these depictions inspired Psalmanazar so much that he published a book on Formosa. Listeners and readers listened with open mouths to stories about how naked islanders eat their unfaithful wives, although they usually eat snakes, hang murderers upside down, and 18 thousand young men are sacrificed every year.

In his book, George Psalmanazar even cited the unique alphabet of the inhabitants of Formosa. His stories were so convincing that Psalmanazar was asked to lecture on the island. Soon the deceiver got bored with this story, and in 1706 he admitted that he invented everything.

9. Wilhelm Voigt

On October 16, 1906, the famous captain from Köpenick organized the capture of the city hall near Berlin. An unemployed shoemaker dressed up in a rented uniform of a Prussian army captain and elegantly robbed the municipal cash office of the city of Köpenick. Without much frills, he stopped four grenadiers and a sergeant in the street and ordered the burgomaster and treasurer to be arrested.

The order was carried out without hesitation, and the swindler had only to gut 4,000 marks and 70 pfennigs from the cash register. Neither the soldiers nor the burgomaster resisted Voigt's commands. Leaving the soldiers at the post for another half an hour, the swindler went to the station, boarded the train, changed clothes and was ready to disappear among the other passengers, but something went wrong, and he was still arrested. Voigt was sentenced to four years in prison, but served only two of them. In 1908, the Kaiser of Germany ordered the release of the swindler ahead of schedule.

8. Mary Baker

When in 1817 a young lady in exotic robes and a turban arrived in Gloucestershire, speaking in an incomprehensible language, the English tried to understand her by turning to foreigners for a translation. But no one could identify the unfamiliar language until a certain sailor recognized the outlandish speech and "translated" the chilling story. It turned out that the lady was a princess from the island of Karabu in the Indian Ocean, captured by pirates.

The pirate ship was wrecked, and she miraculously escaped. Finest hour "Princess" lasted only 10 weeks. During this time, she showed her acting skills, dressing up in incredible outfits, climbing trees, singing strange songs and swimming naked.

But in the midst of success, Mrs. Neal appeared, who ruined the fairy tale by recognizing the princess. The impostor Mary Baker was the daughter of a shoemaker and worked as a maid for Mrs. Neal. Under the yoke of evidence, Mary confessed to the deception, and returned to the sinful earth. Selling leeches in the hospital, she must have been reminiscing about the best weeks of her life.

7. Cassie Chadwick

Her maiden name was Elizabeth Bigley. This woman was a born swindler. She was first arrested at the age of 22, caught on a fake check, but was soon released, believing in simulated madness. After Elizabeth became the wife of Wallace Springsteen, but the marriage was annulled after 11 days, when the dark past of the young wife surfaced. The next "victim" was Dr. Chadwick.

Mrs. Chadwick pulled off her most successful business by identifying herself as the illegitimate daughter of steelworker Andrew Carnegie. Cassie received bank loans from $10,000,000 to $20,000,000 on a $2,000,000 counterfeit bill issued to her by her “father.” When the police finally decided to ask Carnegie if he had a daughter, Cassie, Mrs. Chadwick was arrested. The trial took place on March 6, 1905 and found the swindler guilty of nine frauds. Of the ten years awarded by the court, Mrs. Chadwick served two and died in captivity.

6 Milli Vanilli

The Milli Vanilli project in the late 80s belonged to the famous German author and producer Frank Farian. It was he who organized the super-popular Boney M. In 1987, Farian recorded material for the Milli Vanilli project with very good musicians. But when it came time to make commercials on television, it turned out that forty-year-old performers did not quite meet the expectations of young people.

Therefore, handsome dancers Fabrice Morvan and Robert Pilatus were hired for filming. When the producer arrived at the studio on the day of the shoot, he was surprised to find Rob and Fab "singing". Farian did not dare to reveal the deception when the group became very popular and took the top lines of the music charts. The scandal broke out in the nineties, the duo was forced to return the Grammys, and the fate of Rob and Fab was not the best.

5. David Hampton

African American David Hampton was called the son of director and actor Sidney Poitier. Hampton started by posing as David Poitier in restaurants to avoid paying the bill. Having got a taste, the fraudster grew bolder and abused the trust of many Hollywood stars, finding shelter and financial assistance with them.

Among those who believed David Hampton are Calvin Klein and Melanie Griffith. Hampton talked about friendship with the children of the stars, complained that he was late for the plane, talked about the robbery - they believed him. In 1983, luck turned away from Hampton - he was arrested and sentenced to pay monetary compensation - $ 4490. David Hampton died in 2003 from AIDS.

4. Fernand Demara

Professional impostor Fernand Demara tried on the roles of a civil engineer, deputy sheriff, warden, doctor of psychology, lawyer, advocate for children's rights, Benedictine monk, editor, oncologist, surgeon and teacher.

Demara was only interested in social status, the material gain from scams faded into the background. Fernand was an excellent excellent employee, who was appreciated by employers for his diligence and excellent memory. The swindler really memorized everything once heard or read, and skillfully applied his knowledge in fraud.

His most famous outing is that of Joseph Kyre, a surgeon on a Royal Canadian Navy destroyer during the Korean War of 1950-1953. Fernand managed to operate on several wounded and with the help of penicillin stop the epidemic. One of his operations was reported in the newspapers, and the mother of the real Joseph Kaira reported the impostor to the authorities.

When the news reached Korea, the destroyer's captain refused to believe that Fernand was not a doctor, and Demara returned to the United States without any negative consequences. He even made some money by selling the story to Life magazine. True, dubious fame did not allow the swindler to linger for a long time at one place of work, he even took to drink.

After some time, forging a diploma, Demara got a job in a Texas prison, but one of the prisoners recognized him from a photograph from Life magazine. Demara lost this job as well. Living under assumed names was becoming increasingly difficult. In 1960, when the story was forgotten, he starred in an episode in a horror film, playing a surgeon. The role failed.

In 1967, Ferdinand Demar received the only real certificate of education - a diploma from Bible College in Portland. Until the end of his days he served as a Baptist minister. The great impostor died in 1982. A book was written about the life of this man and a film was made.

3. Christopher Rockancourt

Christopher Rockancourt is the son of a prostitute and an alcoholic who gave the child to an orphanage at the age of five. This French swindler went down in history as a fake Rockefeller. In 2001, he was arrested in Canada along with his wife, Maria Pia Reyes, a former Playboy model. Christopher Rockancourt was born in 1967. He presented himself as a personal friend of President Clinton and a member of the Rockefeller clan.

Rockancourt fled to Canada after being arrested in the United States in August 2000 on charges of defrauding dozens of wealthy Americans and extorting nearly $1,000,000. The swindler appeared in the media under the name of Christopher Rockefeller.

Hotel employees who testified said that Rokancourt presented himself as a famous race car driver, tired of excessive attention from fans, and therefore living under an assumed name. Other victims of the swindler testified that they considered him an influential financier, a champion boxer, and a film producer. For a while, the impostor was a friend of Mickey Rourke. Rokancourt was extradited to American justice in March 2002. He admitted to three of the eleven counts. The total "catch" of Rokancourt is $40,000,000.

2. Frank Abagnale

The young swindler began by stealing $3,400 from his own dad at the age of 17. Young Abagnale bought a car and asked his father for a Mobil credit card. With this credit card, he bought engines, wheels, batteries, and sold them for cash. He spent money on girls.

Creditors demanded that Abagnale Sr. repay the debt - and the scam was revealed. The father forgave the "tomboy", but his mother took him to a Catholic school for delinquents for 4 months. True, the Catholics did not have the expected impact on the young fiend, and Frank did not even think of embarking on the path of correction. Here is one of Frank Abagnale's tricks. He printed his account number on blank slips at the bank and slipped them into a pile of deposit stubs. Bank customers filled out Frank's forms and transferred money to his account. Abagnale's profit from this scam was more than $40,000, and then the bank became alert.

But it was too late - the trace of the rogue caught a cold. For two years, Frank Abagnale flew around the world for free, posing as Frank William, a Pan American pilot. A fake ID and a pilot's uniform were long enough attributes of a swindler, but one day he almost got arrested at the New Orleans airport.

Then Frank decided to introduce himself as a pediatrician. He was so persuasive that his housemate, a real doctor, offered Abagnale a job as head of pediatrics.

Frank Abagnale looked older than his years, and at 19, having forged a Harvard diploma and passed aptitude tests, he went to work in the Louisiana prosecutor's office. True, the first two attempts to pass the exams were unsuccessful, but having understood what questions are usually asked, Frank successfully passed this test.

Abagnale was chased by policemen from 26 countries and in 1969 he was finally arrested in France. He spent six months in a French prison, then was transferred to a Swedish prison, also for six months. The next was to be a prison in the United States, but the sentence was 12 years, and this did not suit Frank at all. He escaped from the plane by opening the grate under the toilet. The plans were to escape Brazil, but the policeman prevented.

In the end, everything turned out fine - the multimillionaire Frank Abagnale owns his own company, Abagnale and Associates. The company is engaged in consulting on protection against financial fraud. Abagnale is married and has three sons. About the life of Frank Abagnale, Steven Spielberg directed the film Catch Me If You Can. The former swindler writes books warning us against the intrigues of scammers.

1. Victor Lustig

The count who sold the Eiffel Tower rightfully tops the list of brilliant swindlers (see ""). Victor Lustig was born in the Czech Republic, and his gift manifested itself quite early and in all its brilliance. At the age of twenty, Lustig built a printing press for money.

Demonstrating his creation to the client, the inventor lamented that the machine was slow - only one hundred dollar bill for 6 hours of work. $100 in those days was a lot of money, and the client was willing to wait. Having counted out $30,000 to Lustig, the happy owner of the printing press enjoyed the expectation of wealth for 12 hours. But having received his two hundred-dollar bills, he was surprised at the third blank sheet, and the fourth, and the fifth ... Lustig was already far away by this time.

In the spring of 1925 Victor Lustig arrived in Paris. He read in a French newspaper that he needed serious repairs. The ingenious swindler could not but take advantage of his chance. Having drawn up his credentials for the Deputy Minister of Communications, he sent letters to vtorchermet dealers. Victor Lustig rented a room in an expensive hotel and invited businessmen there.

During the "meeting", he said that the maintenance and repair of the tower is too large, so the French government wants to demolish it and sell it for scrap at a closed auction. Lustig asked potential buyers not to disclose this secret, which could outrage the French public.

The right to dispose of the Eiffel Tower was bought by Andre Poisson, and the “deputy minister” fled to Vienna with a suitcase of money. Realizing that he had been deceived, Poisson chose not to demonstrate his stupidity and kept silent about the scam. And Lustig, after waiting some time, returned and sold the tower again. The next buyer was not so proud and went to the police. Lustig urgently fled to the United States. He was arrested only in 1934 for. He escaped again, but was arrested 27 days later and imprisoned for 20 years. He sat in Alcatraz until 1947 and died in prison from pneumonia.

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 that 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 showed himself mainly in organizing dishonest lotteries on long transatlantic cruises and in card games, then in 1920 Victor showed up in the USA, 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 fake credential, which certified him as Deputy Minister of Posts and Telegraphs. Victor then sent "official" letters on his behalf to the six largest representatives of 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 indicated 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 the company, which granted the right to free flights to its pilots. From real actions to manage the ship, Frank refused, referring to the content of alcohol in the 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 could not find a permanent job for himself, since no one wanted to get involved with a former crook, but 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. The French-born swindler was finally arrested in Canada in 2001 for a number of major scams. Christopher claimed to be a representative of the Rockefeller family, and besides, he is a close friend of 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, forbidden to appear there until 2016. In the mid-90s, a swindler swims up to the USA, where he rents a luxurious mansion in Beverly Hills and pretends to be the nephew of an Italian tycoon. 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 would be much more useful for him to be a relative of Rockefeller, especially since his real name is consonant with him. In the new image, Rokancourt develops a stormy activity - he moves around the city exclusively by helicopter, in extreme cases, by limousine, posing as a financier, leading a luxurious life. Mickey Rourke and Jean-Claude Van Damme become his friends, to 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 fraud 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 friar, oncologist, civil engineer, deputy sheriff, teacher, surgeon, warden, attorney, 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 crook realized that his image is quite convincing, and he can receive money from famous people under the pretext of charity. 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. A scandal with a popular German band 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 had already become intimately acquainted with drugs and alcohol by that time, 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 he released his solo album "Revolution of Love" in 2003. 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 of a 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 fortuneteller and the mistress of a brothel, and also served 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 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 great publicity, the sympathies of the common people were on the side of Voigt, even the British amused themselves by what had happened, noting how great 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 today a bronze statue of the legendary captain flaunts on the steps of the Köpenick City Hall.

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. He explained European clothes and appearance by the fact that Jesuit monks abducted 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 their intimate places with a 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 translating Christian literature and writing his own memoirs, which were published after his death.

Joseph Weil (1875-1976) was one of the most notorious swindlers of the 20th century, he even went by 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 swindler did not stay for a long time - after all, he led a 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 scheme of fraud, which is often associated with financial pyramid schemes 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 the 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. December 26, 1919 Ponzi registers his company SEC, which had branches in the US 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. An interesting scheme was applied - there were many cash desks for investing money, but only a couple for issuing money, queues constantly crowded 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 terms. 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.

From the point of view of the Criminal Code, a scam is a crime and entails punishment. However, this does not stop those who want to profit at someone else's expense, and they invent combinations that amaze even law enforcement officers with their audacity. About what the largest frauds of the last century went down in history thanks to a brilliant idea and filigree execution, we will tell in our article.

What tricks do scammers use?

Fraud is interpreted as a crime consisting in taking possession of another's property by deceit. As a result, the victim herself transfers the money or the rights to own their property to the attacker.

No one likes to know swindlers unless he himself is a swindler. J. J. Rousseau

It sounds dry, but in fact, any scam is a talented deception, based on the ability to manipulate human consciousness. Examples of the most common frauds are playing thimbles, cheating in cards, taking a loan with forged documents, financial pyramids, and phishing.

Most often, swindlers use standard psychological tricks, masterfully beating them:

• offer favorable conditions for earning income. This principle formed the basis of the well-known financial pyramids;

• exert psychological pressure, forcing the victim to quickly make rash decisions. An example of such fooling can be calls to close relatives when it is proposed to rescue a son/brother/husband from the police by transferring a certain amount of money to a courier or transferring them to a bank card;

• impersonate well-known persons who enjoy authority and credibility. Such people are given money without fear by the victims. For example, Victor Lusting, posing as a representative of the municipality, managed to "sell" the Eiffel Tower.

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