Various inventors and charlatans - Hundreds of millions from investors over centuries
For centuries, inventors have claimed to create machines that produce more energy than they consume, violating the laws of thermodynamics. From Robert Fludd's water screw in 1618 to modern 'over-unity...
Read MoreVarious - Incaluclable
One of the oldest documented confidence tricks. The victim receives a letter from someone claiming to be a wealthy person (originally a Spaniard) imprisoned under a false identity. They need a small l...
Read MoreVarious 'Doctors' and showmen - Millions collectively
Traveling 'doctors' would arrive in town with elaborate wagons, entertain the crowd with music and magic, then sell 'miracle elixirs' that claimed to cure everything from cancer to impotence. These to...
Read MorePhilip Arnold and John Slack - $660,000 ($15+ million today)
Two prospectors, Arnold and Slack, walked into the Bank of California and deposited a bag of uncut diamonds. They claimed to have found a massive deposit but refused to reveal its location. They event...
Read MoreUnknown (Charles Dawson primary suspect) - Incaluclable (Reputational)
For 41 years, the scientific world believed 'Piltdown Man' was the fossilized skull of a missing link between apes and humans, found in a gravel pit in England. It perfectly fit the prevailing theory ...
Read MoreCharles Ponzi - $20 million
Charles Ponzi promised investors 50% returns in 45 days through arbitrage involving international postal reply coupons. The scheme was brilliant in its simplicity and timing. After WWI, America was ea...
Read MoreVictor Lustig - Millions in modern value
Victor Lustig's most famous scam occurred in 1925 Paris when he read about the Eiffel Tower's expensive maintenance. Posing as a government official, he invited scrap metal dealers to a confidential m...
Read MoreFrank Abagnale Jr. - $2.5+ million
As a teenager, Frank Abagnale successfully posed as an airline pilot, a pediatrician, a lawyer, and a college professor. He cashed over $2.5 million in fraudulent checks across 26 countries while stay...
Read MoreVarious criminal syndicates, corrupt officials - Billions annually
A massive, systematic theft of crude oil from Nigeria's pipelines and export terminals. Criminal syndicates tap into pipelines, often with the complicity of security forces and oil company employees. ...
Read MoreMossack Fonseca (Law Firm) - Trillions hidden
In 2016, an anonymous source leaked 11.5 million documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. The papers revealed how the firm helped world leaders, celebrities, and billionaires set up sec...
Read MoreVarious - Billions cumulatively
One of the oldest and most persistent internet scams, the 'Nigerian Prince' email involves a plea for help transferring a large sum of money out of a foreign country. The victim is promised a signific...
Read MoreBarry Minkow - $100+ million (market cap)
Barry Minkow started a carpet cleaning business from his garage as a teenager. To secure loans and go public, he invented a massive insurance restoration business that didn't exist. He created fake in...
Read MoreKenneth Lay, Jeffrey Skilling - $74 billion losses
Enron was once America's seventh-largest company. Behind the impressive facade, executives engaged in massive accounting fraud using special purpose entities and mark-to-market accounting to hide bill...
Read MoreJordan Belfort - $200+ million
Jordan Belfort's brokerage firm, Stratton Oakmont, operated as a 'boiler room,' where aggressive brokers used high-pressure sales tactics to push penny stocks onto unsophisticated investors. The firm ...
Read MoreOnline groups, influencers, organized rings - Billions collectively
Groups or individuals buy large positions in low-priced, thinly traded penny stocks. They then use social media, newsletters, and message boards to spread false or exaggerated positive information ('t...
Read MoreBernard Madoff - $65 billion
Bernard Madoff operated the largest Ponzi scheme in history from his Manhattan investment firm. For nearly two decades, he convinced thousands that he was generating consistent returns through sophist...
Read MoreMichael de Guzman, John Felderhof, others - $6+ billion (market cap)
A small Canadian mining company, Bre-X, claimed to have discovered the world's largest gold deposit in the jungles of Indonesia. Their stock soared from pennies to over $280 per share, creating a $6 b...
Read MoreSergei Mavrodi - $1+ billion (estimated)
In the chaotic post-Soviet economy, Sergei Mavrodi created MMM, a company that promised returns of 1000% or more. It was a simple pyramid scheme advertised relentlessly on TV, using patriotic imagery ...
Read MoreJerome Jacobson and co-conspirators - $24+ million in stolen prizes
Jerome Jacobson was the head of security at Simon Marketing, the company that ran McDonald's Monopoly game. He stole all the winning game pieces for the major prizes ($1 million, cars, etc.) and distr...
Read MoreMultiple companies (VEFA, Gjallica, etc.) - $1.2+ billion
In the chaotic transition from communism, several companies promised Albanians absurd returns of up to 50% per month. Nearly every family invested their life savings. The government initially endorsed...
Read MoreRichard Scrushy - $2.7+ billion in fake earnings
HealthSouth, a massive healthcare rehabilitation company, systematically overstated its earnings to meet Wall Street expectations. At the direction of CEO Richard Scrushy, senior executives fabricated...
Read MoreBernard Ebbers - $11 billion in fraud
WorldCom, the USA's second-largest long-distance phone company, engaged in massive accounting fraud to maintain its stock price. CEO Bernard Ebbers pressured CFO Scott Sullivan to hide rising costs by...
Read MoreJohn Rigas & family - $2.3+ billion in hidden debt
The Rigas family, who founded and controlled Adelphia (the 5th largest cable company), treated the public company as their personal piggy bank. They hid billions in debt off the company's books, used ...
Read MoreLucky Thompson (Pseudonym) - $1+ million
A classic 'psychic' mail fraud where letters were sent to thousands of people claiming a psychic, 'Lucky Thompson,' could see a curse on their family. For a fee (starting at $50), she would remove the...
Read MoreVarious health fraud entrepreneurs - Hundreds of millions collectively
Companies sell ordinary water with pseudoscientific claims about special properties: 'structured water,' 'alkaline water,' 'oxygenated water,' or water with 'memory.' They use scientific-sounding jarg...
Read MoreCall centers in India, other countries - Hundreds of millions annually
Scammers call victims pretending to be from Microsoft or Windows support, claiming the victim's computer has a virus. They guide the victim through steps that appear to show problems (like viewing nor...
Read MoreWells Fargo & Co. - Millions in fake fees
To meet impossible sales quotas, Wells Fargo employees opened millions of checking, savings, and credit card accounts without customers' knowledge or consent. Customers were charged fraudulent fees on...
Read MoreElizabeth Holmes - $700+ million
Elizabeth Holmes founded Theranos at 19, claiming revolutionary blood testing technology requiring only a finger prick. She became Silicon Valley's darling, attracting nearly $1 billion in funding fro...
Read MoreMultiple major banks (Barclays, UBS, RBS, etc.) - Trillions in affected contracts
The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) is a benchmark interest rate that affects trillions in loans and derivatives worldwide. Traders at multiple banks colluded to manipulate this rate to benefit ...
Read MoreDr. Christopher Duntsch - Incaluclable (human cost)
Neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch practiced in Dallas where he maimed or killed nearly every patient he operated on. He severed nerves, left surgical sponges in patients, and operated on the wrong body...
Read MoreRick Singer, wealthy parents including celebrities - $25+ million in bribes
College consultant Rick Singer ran a massive scheme to get the children of wealthy families into elite universities through fraud. He had two methods: 1) bribing college coaches to designate students ...
Read MoreBruno Iksil and JPMorgan CIO office - $6.2 billion in losses
A trader in JPMorgan's London office, Bruno Iksil (nicknamed 'the London Whale'), amassed an enormous, complex position in credit derivatives that was so large it moved the market. As losses mounted, ...
Read MoreCobalt Gang (International cybercrime group) - $1.2+ billion
A highly sophisticated criminal group used the Carbanak malware to infiltrate over 100 banks in 40 countries. Instead of just stealing customer data, they studied the banks' internal operations for mo...
Read MoreVarious cybercrime groups (REvil, DarkSide, etc.) - Billions+ in ransom payments
Cybercriminals use malware to encrypt victims' files and demand ransom payments (usually in cryptocurrency) for the decryption key. The attacks have evolved from targeting individuals to crippling hos...
Read MoreDr. Ruja Ignatova - $4+ billion
Dr. Ruja Ignatova launched OneCoin in 2014 claiming it would become 'the Bitcoin killer.' She convinced millions worldwide to invest through multi-level marketing. Members attended lavish events wher...
Read MoreMartin Shkreli - N/A (Reputational)
As CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, Martin Shkreli acquired the rights to Daraprim, a life-saving anti-parasitic drug that had been on the market for decades. He immediately raised the price from $13.50...
Read MoreMarkus Braun - $2+ billion
Wirecard was a German payment processor and financial services provider that was once a darling of the fintech world, valued at over $28 billion. The company claimed vast revenues from obscure third-p...
Read MoreLazarus Group (North Korean state-sponsored hackers) - $81 million (stolen), $1 billion (attempted)
In one of the most audacious cyberheists in history, hackers infiltrated the Bangladesh Bank's systems and gained access to its SWIFT credentials. They issued 35 fraudulent orders to transfer nearly $...
Read MoreSatish Kumbhani - $2+ billion
BitConnect promised up to 40% monthly returns through its cryptocurrency lending platform and trading bot. Users would buy Bitcoin, convert it to BCC token, then lend to the platform. Promoters held ...
Read MoreGerald Cotten - $190+ million (Crypto)
QuadrigaCX was Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchange. Its founder and CEO, Gerald Cotten, was the only person with the passwords to the exchange's 'cold wallets' holding customer funds. In December...
Read MoreBilly McFarland - $26+ million
Billed as a luxury music festival on a private island in the Bahamas, Fyre Festival was promoted by influencers like Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid. Attendees paid thousands for VIP packages promising...
Read MoreSimon Leviev (Shimon Hayut) - $10+ million
Using the dating app Tinder, Simon Leviev posed as the son of a billionaire diamond magnate. He wooed women with a lavish lifestyle of private jets, luxury hotels, and expensive gifts. After gaining t...
Read MoreInternet hoax, amplified by media and panic - Mass social panic
A viral internet hoax claimed that a grotesque sculpture called 'Momo' was appearing in children's YouTube videos, challenging them to perform dangerous tasks including self-harm. Despite no verified ...
Read MoreSam Bankman-Fried - $8+ billion
Sam Bankman-Fried founded FTX cryptocurrency exchange in 2019. Within three years, FTX became the world's second-largest crypto exchange, valued at $32 billion. SBF became a billionaire celebrity. Be...
Read MoreBilly McFarland - $1+ million
While out on bail for the Fyre Festival fraud, Billy McFarland launched a new scheme. He sold fake VIP passes to exclusive events like the Met Gala, Coachella, and the Burning Man festival. He fabrica...
Read MoreClark Stanley - Unknown
Clark Stanley, the 'Rattlesnake King,' sold 'Stanley's Snake Oil' as a cure-all for everything from back pain to rheumatism. He was a master showman who would 'slay' a rattlesnake in front of crowds a...
Read MoreSoapy Smith - Thousands (worth millions today)
Jefferson 'Soapy' Smith was a legendary con man in the Wild West. His 'Mirage Bar' was a classic short-change scam. A prospector would buy a cheap beer with a gold nugget. The bartender would distract...
Read MoreStudents, test center administrators - Thousands per test
A persistent black market where students pay to have someone else take the SAT or ACT for them, or pay test center administrators to alter scores. The schemes often involve fake IDs, compromised test ...
Read MoreAspiring authors and publishers - Varies (thousands per victim)
A modern variation of vanity publishing where 'publishers' or 'agents' target aspiring authors, offering book deals but requiring the author to pay thousands upfront for editing, marketing, or 'guaran...
Read MoreTeams of street con artists - Thousands per victim
A team of two or three con artists works together. One 'finds' a wallet or envelope full of cash in front of the victim. Another con artist appears and suggests they split the money. The first con art...
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