He had adopted the identity of a dead infant. He even set up a fake “office” to handle his real estate swindles. His knowledge of numbers helped him to do very well there. And most Fortune 500 co… Charlie Cotton. This is a list of notable individuals who exploited confidence tricks. He was also admitted into the Ivy Club. His exploits have passed into popular culture, giving rise to phrases such as “and if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you”, a popular way of expressing a belief that someone is gullible. What is known is that he spent a short amount of time at University in Rome and, after dropping out, caught a boat to Boston, USA where he arrived with $2.50 in his pocket. While Melville’s con artist may be criminally underread, Fitzgerald’s great fraud is one of the most famous characters in literary history. On August 21, 1911 Peruggia hid the Mona Lisa under his coat and simply walked out the door. Watch Frank Abagnale’s incredible story in the blockbuster hit Catch Me If You Can at Amazon.com! In 1934, Lustig was found guilty of counterfeiting. Meet James Townsend Saward, one of the real-life inspirations for Sir Arthur … One month later, he returned to Paris to try the whole scam again. As long as money kept flowing in, Ponzi would stay ahead of the eventual collapse. Fun facts: cast, trivia, popularity rankings, and more. He conned us all into thinking he was a successful businessman. Frank Abagnale is a former cheque con artist, forger and imposter who, for five years in... 9 Charles Ponzi [Born: 1882; Died: 1949]. Socially, he was generous and jovial. On June 23, 2005, after an eight month trial, Blackfriars Crown Court convicted Robert Hendy-Freegard for two counts of kidnapping, 10 of theft and 8 of deception. Dressed in a white lab coat or in … As he spoke to the growing crowd of curious onlookers, he would pull out his wallet and begin wrapping paper money ranging from one dollar up to one hundred dollars, around a select few of the bars. First, the FBI bugged the phone of the American psychologist’s parents. After a successful escape whilst travelling to the United States, he was finally given 12 years in Prison. “But I have found that this is the way it works. He realised that he could buy foreign coupons at massively devalued prices (because of price fixing after the war) and then resell them in the United States for a 400% profit. He also took naked pictures of her and threatened to give them to her husband if she would not cooperate. “And this is before he became president. Valfierno paid several men to steal the work of art from the Louvre, including museum employee Vincenzo Peruggia. One of the dealers, Andre Poisson was convinced that the tale was legitimate and he handed over the money. Having lied about his identity again, he was able to take a job as a security guard in one of Harvard’s on campus museums. He was eventually deported back to Italy and he died there in poverty in 1949. After moving to New York, Frank lived solely on the income of his fraudulent activities. Even the Amish have succumbed. Or he was a chemist par excellence, who had discovered how to copy dollar bills; promising to increase your fortune, he would multiply your bill’s then take the booty once the police arrived. On his death certificate a clerk wrote this for his occupation: ‘Apprentice salesman.’ When he sold Grant’s Tomb, he would often pose as the general’s grandson. Unfortunately it turned out that the owner of the bank was stealing money from newly opened savings accounts to pay the interest on the interest bearing accounts and to cover bad investments. He demanded that they cut off contact with family and friends, go through “loyalty tests” and live alone in poor conditions. A con man is someone who deceives you for their own ends, their own benefits! Eric Cartman. Joseph “Yellow Kid” Weil was one of the most famous con men in his era. Now read about history’s not so successful con men in Thick As Thieves : Hilarious Tales of Ridiculous Robbers, Bungling Burglars and Incompetent Conmen at Amazon.com! More often than not, victims bought several bars before the sale was completed. When Lustig read about this in a paper, he came up with his most brilliant idea. When he’s not doing research for new lists or collecting historical oddities, he can be found in the comments or on Facebook where he approves all friends requests! He would reveal his “role” as an undercover agent for MI5, Special Branch or Scotland Yard working against the IRA. Consequently he was charged with fraud in 1973 by the Swiss authorities. George had many different methods for making his sales. His next job was working in a bank in Canada that catered to Italian immigrants. Ever gotten one of those junk e-mails from a person claiming to be a Nigerian … This time it was reported to the police but Lustig managed to escape. Once he had settled in to life on the outside, he discovered postal reply coupons through a letter that was sent to him from abroad. Before the heist took place, Valfierno commissioned French art restorer and forger Yves Chaudron to make six copies of the Mona Lisa. By the time the banks realised what had happened, Frank had taken $40,000 and run. Frank William Abagnale Jr. (/ ˈ æ b ə ɡ n eɪ l /; born April 27, 1948) is an American security consultant known for his career as a When he realised he had been conned, he was too embarrassed to tell the police and Lustig escaped with the money. Over the course of his career he is believed to have stolen over 8 million dollars. This means that the life sentence is revoked but he will still serve nine years for the other offences. Ponzi plead guilty of mail fraud and was sent to prison. Many people paid him enormous amounts of money (usually over $30,000) for the device. Hogue claimed in his application materials that he had slept outside in the Grand Canyon, raising sheep and reading philosophers. He currently runs Abagnale and Associates, a financial fraud consultancy company and is a multi-millionaire. On March 12, 2007 Hogue pleaded guilty to a single felony count of theft of more than $15,000 in exchange for a prison sentence not to exceed 10 years, and prosecutors’ agreement to drop other theft and habitual criminal charges. Jefferson would open his “tripe and keister” (display case on a tripod) on a busy street corner. So, that's the most important thing. Inevitably people were starting to demand their money. He produced impressive forged documents to prove that he was the legal owner of whatever property he was selling. This is the man who sold the Eiffel tower. Reed Waddell. He also used phony oil deals, women, fixed races, and an endless list of other tricks to steal from an increasingly gullible public. His first con was to show people a device that could print $100 bills. After his third conviction on December 17th, 1928 he was sentenced to a life term at Sing Sing Prison. When people learn — as I doubt they will — that they can’t get something for nothing, crime will diminish and we shall live in greater harmony.”. This was a form of arbitrage and it was legal. He started his own company, the Securities Exchange Company, to promote the scheme. This page was last edited on 5 March 2021, at 18:22. Then he started thinking really big (© H. Armstrong Roberts/CORBIS) Through the masterful art of manipulation and sleight-of-hand, the cakes of soap wrapped with money were hidden and replaced with packages holding no cash. Ponzi, an Italian immigrant to the United States became one of … Somerville police seized Hogue in his home and charged him with grand larceny to the tune of $50,000. The average person, in my estimation, is ninety-nine per cent animal and one per cent human. He worked as a medical supervisor for 11 months without detection. He deferred admission for one year because he had been convicted of the theft of bicycle frames in Utah. He denied all charges and claimed they were part of a conspiracy against him and continued this story in the subsequent trial. Frank Abagnale: Well, first of all, I tell them that the most important thing that they have to do is educate their employees, and the most important job they have is protecting the information that's been entrusted to them by their clients. He seduced five women, claiming that he wanted to marry them. Shortly after, federal agents raided his office and shut it down. I tell a lot of young people that if the FBI is going to hire you tomorrow they're going to go to your Facebook page. When Cornfeld visited Geneva, Swiss authorities arrested him. On September 6, 2005 he was given a life sentence. He was born in Bohemia but later moved to Paris where he was able to con people on his frequent journeys between Paris and New York. Cockney Wanker. People soon began to become suspicious and the press were starting to publish negative articles about him. Cindy Cunningham. “Successful con men are treated with considerable respect in the South. Find out today's birthdays and discover who shares your birthday. Cornfeld himself became known for conspicuous consumption with lavish parties. In the past, con men were able to charm people one-on-one with a nice attire, great vocabulary and a likable personality. Frank Abagnale He is an American security consultant known for his history as a former confidence trickster, check forger, and impostor between the ages of 15 and 21. In 1988 Hogue enrolled at Princeton University using the alias Alexi Indris Santana, a self-taught orphan from Utah. More than once police had to remove naive buyers from the bridge as they tried to erect toll barriers. The Criminal Barrister. Piling ordinary soap cakes onto the keister top, he would describe their wonders. Lustig took the dealers in a limousine to tour the tower. One con man has come forward to explain how swindlers will be the ones to take the most advantage of Obama's new JOBS act. When he moved to the US, he first worked as a social worker but became a mutual fund salesman in the 1950s. He began working at a restaurant but was soon fired for playing tricks with the bills and shortchanging customers. She had to change her name and tell the deed poll officer it was because she was sexually abused as a child. It is probably that he lost tens of millions of dollars. After one escape he was returned to jail to complete his sentence. He spent the last eight years of his life behind bars. Her mother told Hendy-Freegard she would hand over £10,000 but only in person. While it seems implausible, at the time the tower was built it was meant to be temporary and this happened just 18 years after the original date for removal of the tower. For every dollar he took in, he went more deeply into debt. When he was nearly caught leaving a plane, he changed his masquerade to that of a Doctor. Famous Birthdays A suspicious local reporter exposed him. tags: con, truth. Eduardo de Valfierno, who referred to himself as Marqués (marquis), was an Argentine con man who allegedly masterminded the theft of the Mona Lisa. He would win them over, ask for money and make them do his bidding. Soapy Smith (born Jefferson Randolph Smith) was an American con artist and gangster who had a major hand in the organized criminal operations of Denver, Colorado, Creede, Colorado, and Skagway, Alaska from 1879 to 1898. On May 16, 1993 Hogue made headlines again through his association with Harvard University. Eventually Peruggia was caught trying to sell the painting and it was returned to the Louvre in 1913. Children of Lieutenant Schmidt. Midway through the sale, Smith would announce that the hundred-dollar bill still remained in the pile, unpurchased. Other public landmarks he sold included the original Madison Square Garden, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Grant’s Tomb, and the Statue of Liberty. This performance had the desired effect of enticing the sale of the packages. His first experience of fraud was as a youth when he used his father’s Mobil card to buy car parts that he would then sell back to the gas station for a lower price. After forging government credentials, he invited six scrap metal dealers to a secret meeting in a hotel. He then finished each bar by wrapping plain paper around it to hide the money. He returned to Beverly Hills, living less ostentatiously than in his previous years. Frank Abagnale is world-famous for pretending to be other people. Hendy-Freegard also seduced a newly married personal assistant who was taking care of his children. The bank owner eventually fled to Mexico and left Ponzi without a job. Perhaps one of the most famous con men in the modern age is Frank Abagnale, who had his life turned into a Hollywood movie, Catch Me If You Can.Abagnale was a master forger and impostor, who conned his way through more than two million dollars worth of checks, and pretended to be a doctor, a lawyer, a teacher, and an airline pilot during … Ponzi, an Italian immigrant to the United States became one of the most famous con men in American history. The forgeries were then shipped to various parts of the world, readying them for the buyers he had lined up. Robert Hendy-Freegard is a British barman, car salesman, conman and impostor who masqueraded as an MI5 agent and fooled several people to go underground for fear of IRA assassination. He was born in Turkey. He plead guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in Alcatraz. Although the headquarters were offcially in Geneva, the main operational offices of IOS were in Ferney-Voltaire, France, a short drive from the Swiss border to Geneva—this was simply a means of avoiding the problems of obtaining Swiss work-permits for the many employees. “He is the greatest con man in American history,” Brooks said. His early life is not entirely known as he was prone to fabricate stories about it. He was able to abuse the professional courtesy of other airlines to provide free transport for competing airline pilots if they had to move to another city at short notice. In recent history there have been a number of con men who have really stood out for either the wealth they amassed, or the ease with which they tricked people. He mixed the money-wrapped packages in with wrapped bars containing no money. He then sold the soap to the crowd for a dollar a cake. Ponzi began canvasses friends and acquaintances for money – promising them a 50% return or a doubling of their money in 90 days. Capone, so impressed by Lustig’s honesty gave him $5,000 for his effort. He escaped from his prison by masquerading as an undercover officer of the Bureau of Prisons. Born into a well-off family in Springfield, Illinois, Reed “Kid” Waddell didn’t seem like … One of his most famous tricks was to print his own account number on fake bank deposit slips so that when clients of the bank deposited money, it would actually go in to his account. It was assured that the only money “won” went to members of what became known as the “Soap Gang.” Soapy was eventually shot to death by a group he swindled in a card game. Richard Cole (EastEnders) John Constantine. Learn about Con Man: discover its cast ranked by popularity, see when it premiered, view trivia, and more. He suffered a stroke and died of a cerebral aneurysm on 27th February 1995 in London, England. On April 25, 2007, the BBC reported that Robert Hendy-Freegard had appealed against his kidnapping convictions and won. His favorite object for sale was the Brooklyn Bridge, which he sold twice a week for years. In 1986 Hogue enrolled in a Palo Alto High School as Jay Mitchell Huntsman, a 16-year-old orphan from Nevada. He then would auction off the remaining soap bars to the highest bidders. Her loyalty tests included sleeping in Heathrow airport and on park benches for several nights and pretending to be a Jehovah’s Witness so that his bosses in MI5 would let them marry. He was popular among guards and fellow inmates who enjoyed hearing of his exploits. After writing a fraudulent cheque and spending a number of years in prison, Ponzi determined to become wealthy at any cost. These guys were good. Three-card Monte In this famous street con, a con artist has a table with three cards in front of her. A shill planted in the crowd would buy a bar, tear it open it, and loudly proclaim that he had won some money, waving it around for all to see. Victor Lustig, a German con artist, designed and sold a "money box" which he claimed could print $100 bills using blank sheets of paper. Ian Mitchell: Posed as an heir of a wealthy Jamaican family and defrauded investors of hundreds of thousands of dollars. At other times he worked as a lawyer and a teacher. The word of this great investment quickly spread and before long Ponzi was living in a luxurious mansion. Unfortunately, a lot of people are not trained by their companies, and so they fall for phishing scams, or the… He is perhaps the most famous “sure-thing” bunko man of the old west. Famous con man Frank Abagnale provides advice to hackers. Born in Bohemia, Lustig moved to Paris … Con men may serve jail time if caught. He was bringing in cash at a fantastic rate, but the simplest financial analysis showed that he wasn’t making money, he was losing it rapidly. Wrote an autobiography and also had a biography written about him which discusses prison conditions and various other socio-economic conditions in the later 19th century. Salinger in Accord On Impersonation Suit", "Malaysia's 1 Trillion Ringgit Government Debt Explained", "Madoff Confessed $50 Billion Fraud Before FBI Arrest", "Rapist in Sex Scam Case Sentenced to Life in Prison", "Con man scammed investors over $100K at swanky Manhattan parties", https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/newyork/press-releases/2013/canadian-citizen-sentenced-in-manhattan-federal-court-to-20-years-in-prison-in-connection-with-7-million-advance-fee-fraud-scheme, Criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_con_artists&oldid=1010482534, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia pending changes protected pages, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Gilbert Chikli (1966): Impersonated French foreign defence minister, Anthony Lasarevitsch (1985): Impersonated French foreign defence minister. 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Frank Abagnale is a former cheque con artist, forger and imposter who, for five years in the 1960s, passed bad cheques worth more than $2.5 million in 26 countries. For two years, Abagnale travelled around the world free by masquerading as a Pan Am pilot. Victor Lustig was renowned as the Man who Sold the Eiffel Tower. He convinced his marks that they could make a fortune by controlling access to the roadway. He stored the money in a vault and returned it two months later, stating that the deal had fallen through. But the one per cent that is human causes all our woes. But we do know for certain that the world’s most flamboyant con man died at 8:30pm on March 11, 1947. He developed an obsession for health foods and vitamins, renounced red meat and seldom drank alcohol. 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