Daily Blitz
The following is an excerpt from KELLI B. GRANT | November3, 2012 | Smartmoney.com |
As many Americans recover from the superstorm Sandy, which left more than 8 million without power and has caused an estimated $50 billion in damages so far, they now face another threat, say consumer advocates: storm-related ... Read More
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The following is an excerpt from Chuck Saletta | January 13, 2012 | DailyFinance.com |
Social Security's trust fund is in the process of collapsing because it will have insufficient funds available to pay promised benefits. Sound like a Ponzi scheme? That's what many prominent political and investing figures have called ... Read More
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Robert Hendy-Freegard (1971 - ) is a British bartender, car salesman, conman and impostor who masqueraded as an MI5 agent and fooled several people into going underground for fear of IRA assassination.
Hendy-Freegard met his victims in social situations or as customers in the pub or car dealership where he was ... Read More
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Christophe Thierry Rocancourt (1967 - ), also known as Christopher Rocancourt, is an impostor, confidence man and gentleman thief who scammed affluent people by masquerading as, among other things, a French member of the Rockefeller family.
He told Dateline NBC in a 2006 broadcast that his mother sometimes worked as a ... Read More
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Bon Levi, born Ronald Frederick in Western Australia in 1943, is a serial con man who has conned investors out of money on two continents. During his criminal career, he was given the nickname of "Ron the Con."
LAND OF OPPORTUNITY
After the collapse of Gold Camera, Levi left Australia and headed ... Read More
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King of the Banco Men
Charles P. Miller (1851-1881) was an American gambler, confidence man and swindler. He was popularly known as “King of the Banco Men,” a title he shared with fellow scammers Tom O’Brien and Joseph “Hungry Joe” Lewis.
Growing up during Reconstruction, Miller was said to be an unruly ... Read More
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Lou Blonger (1849–1924) was a Wild West saloonkeeper, gambling house owner, and mine speculator, but is best known as the kingpin of an extensive ring of confidence men that operated for more than 25 years in Denver, Colorado. His “Million-Dollar Bunco Ring” was brought to justice in a famous trial ... Read More
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Artur Virgílio Alves Reis (1898-1955) was a Portuguese criminal who in 1925 perpetrated one of the largest frauds in history, the “Portuguese Bank Note Crisis.”
The son of a financially troubled undertaker, Reis began studying engineering, but in 1916 decided to immigrate to Angola, which was then a Portuguese colony.
Reis forged ... Read More
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Joseph “Hungry Joe” Lewis (1850-1902) was an American criminal and swindler who was regarded as one of the most successful confidence and bunko men in the United States during the late 19th century. Over a period of 30 years, Lewis amassed a fortune almost solely through targeting wealthy bankers, merchants ... Read More
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Walter Edward Perry Scott (1872-1954), also known as Death Valley Scotty, was a performer, prospector and con man, who was made famous by his many scams involving gold mining and the iconic mansion in Death Valley, popularly known as Scotty’s Castle.
Scott was born in Cynthiana, Kentucky, and spent his early ... Read More
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Victor Lustig 1890–1947 was a con artist who undertook scams in various countries. Born in Hostinne, Austria-Hungary, Lustig began his criminal career by working scams on the ocean liners steaming between Paris and New York City.
One of Lustig’s trademark cons involved a “money-printing machine.” He would demonstrate the capability of ... Read More
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Jefferson Randolph “Soapy” Smith II (1860–1898) was an American con artist and gangster who had a major hand in the organized criminal operations in Denver, Colorado; Creede, Colorado; and Skagway, Alaska, from 1879 to 1898. He was killed in a famous Shootout on Juneau Wharf. He is perhaps the most ... Read More
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