Editor’s note: All five men were convicted of fraud or related crimes, but some of the most famous stories told about them are popular legends rather than established facts.
Although the words swindler and con man don’t usually win much sympathy from the general public, the truth is that there are small-time crooks and there are con artists with class.
While some of these characters carefully worked out their plans to profit at other people’s expense, others simply had a talent, a mix of magic and psychology that allowed them to sell even the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Here are the people that CNBC’s show American Greed considers the legends of the con.
1. Charles Ponzi
Charles Ponzi came to the United States from Italy. In 1903, his talent and skill won him the trust of investors, to whom he promised very high returns through an investment fund. Ponzi consistently beat the market every two weeks, which drew in money from more investors. He offered returns of 50% in 45 days and 100% in 90 days.
It later emerged that the money did not come from returns on any investments, but entirely from the new money paid in by new investors. That is how the Ponzi scheme was born.
In 1920, Charles Ponzi was charged with 86 counts of fraud. He died in 1949, but, just like the great inventors, the name of his scam lives on and comes back every time a fraud is suspected.
2. Steven Jay Russell
Steven’s life was the subject of the film I Love You Phillip Morris, starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor. Steven and Phillip Morris met and fell in love in prison. Steven promised his partner an extravagant lifestyle, so he went to work as chief financial officer of an insurance company, a job he landed with a fake résumé.
Steven used his position to embezzle $800,000, and when he was found out he was sent back to prison. But his brilliance allowed him to walk free through a spectacular move: he had passed himself off as a judge. He was found out and arrested again, and later escaped on several more occasions.
Steven Jay Russell’s current sentence ends on July 12, 2140.
3. George C. Parker
George C. Parker gave rise to the famous saying “If you believe that, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.” According to The New York Times, Parker had a knack for persuading wealthy tourists to buy all kinds of attractions in the city.
Parker sold the Brooklyn Bridge twice a week for several years, and even sold the Statue of Liberty to a multimillionaire businessman, according to The Independent. A true sales artist, no doubt about it. He was sentenced to life in prison.
4. Marc Stuart Dreier
You have probably forgotten this man, because his starring role as a fraudster was stolen by Bernard Madoff, whose scam came to light five days after Dreier’s.
Marc Dreier‘s law firm had a client list that included the likes of Jon Bon Jovi and Jay Leno. In 2009, Dreier’s scheme fell apart when he was found guilty of defrauding investors of a total of $700 million. Thanks to the larger Madoff case, Dreier was sentenced to only 20 years in prison, while Madoff got 150 years.
5. Victor Lustig
Victor Lustig has been regarded as one of the greatest artists of deception, a figure worth celebrating within the select circle of “professional con men”.
His masterpiece was the sale of the Eiffel Tower in 1925. He spread the word that the Paris landmark was going to be dismantled and put various pieces of city property out to tender. André Poisson was the winning bidder for the Eiffel Tower, and when he discovered he had won nothing, he felt so humiliated that he did not report the con to the authorities.
Lustig left for the United States, where he was eventually arrested on counterfeiting charges. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in Alcatraz.
In 1992, he released a book with the 10 keys to being a good swindler.
See also: The traits that make you the victim of a scam
Featured image: US Goverment, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
