New Delhi: There is nothing to glorify about the works of con artists. They deceive people and scam them for their own benefit. But there is something fascinating about their lives and works which have enthralled people over the years. Not to mention the fact that the most famous con artists have found a permanent place in the popular narrative owing to their shrewdness and cunningness. In this article, we will take a look at some of the most notorious con artists in history.
Six most notorious con artists in history
1. Charles Ponzi
Very few can beat the legacy of Charles Ponzi. He was an Italian charlatan and con artist who operated mostly in the US and Canada. He was infamous for his money-making scheme where he promised his clients that they would receive a 50 per cent profit within 45 days or a full 100 per cent profit within 90 days. How? He told his clients that they could buy discounted postal reply coupons in other countries and redeem them in the US at face value as arbitrage. But in reality, he was paying earlier investors with the money of later investors. It became his trademark mode of operation, so much so that now many financial scam is known as the ‘Ponzi scheme’.
2. Natwarlal
Born as Mithilesh Kumar Srivastava in Bihar, Natwarlal became the most famous con artist in India. The notorious con artists had escaped prison 10 times. Famously or infamously, Natwarlal did the baffling thing of selling the Taj Mahal disguised as a government official. And he did that not once or twice, but thrice. There are some accounts which state that Natwarlal, at the age of 84, orchestrated his final escape. He disappeared from a wheelchair while being transported from prison to a hospital, and was never caught again.
3. Amy Bock
Amy Bock is one of the most successful con artists in the history of New Zealand. Among his many famous scams, there is one where she posed at the age of 49 as Percy Redwood, a wealthy sheep farmer. Why? She wanted to woo Agnes Ottaway, a woman who belonged to a wealthy family. To convince the family of Agnes, she invented a rich mother for Percy Redwood. They got married but within a few days, the detectives arrested Bock for fraud. In court, she pleaded guilty and became the first woman in the country who was classified as a habitual criminal.
4. Mary Carleton
Mary Carleton was a daring con artist in the 17th century. She used to pose as a German princess and seduce men to rob them. In 1660, she was charged with remarrying despite her first husband being alive. Her cultivated mannerisms convinced the elite people of her authenticity as a German princess. Her crimes finally caught up with her and Carleton was hanged at the age of 30.
5. Dr. Sebi
The real name of Dr. Sebi was Alfredo Bowman. He became famous as an herbalist healer whose philosophy of medicine was outlandish. According to reports, his client list included the likes of Michael Jackson, John Travolta and Teddy Pendergrass. He designed a product named Cell Food which he claimed could detoxify the body and elevate its alkalinity. Also, he claimed, without any proof, that his remedies could cure people of several diseases, including cancer, AIDS, and lupus.
6. Gregor MacGregor
Gregor MacGregor was a Scottish soldier and trickster whose scam was fascinating. From 1821 to 1837, he tried to draw British and French investors to settle in ‘Poyais’. It was nothing but a fictional Central American territory which, he claimed to rule as ‘Cazique’. He was reportedly successful as hundreds of people invested their savings in the Poyaisian government bonds and land certificates, Moreover, around 250 people emigrated to the imaginary country only to find an untouched jungle and most of the emigrators died. The Poyais scheme is regarded as one of the most brazen confidence tricks ever.
Con artists deceive people and scam them for their own benefit. But there is something fascinating about their lives and works which have enthralled people over the years. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
