Charles Ponzi, an Italian-born con artist, rose to fame in the 1920s with a money-making scheme promising 50% profit in 45 days or 100% in 90 days. He bought discounted postal reply coupons in Europe and redeemed them at face value in the US, but in reality, he paid earlier investors with later investors' funds. His scheme, now known as a "Ponzi scheme", collapsed after a year, costing investors $20 million.
Charles Ponzi the Documentary
Charles Ponzi, an Italian-born con artist, became notorious in the 1920s for his intricate investment fraud, which duped thousands of investors across the US and Canada.
