5 Con Artists Who Captivated Public Imagination With Their Wild Schemes

Catch Them if You Can

Despite the pain con artists inflict on their victims, they become fascinating figures for the general public. Movies are made about their lives, portraying them as one who swindles money from their victims using their smarts and appeal. Often, it becomes difficult for authorities to catch con artists because of the tools used in such crimes. These individuals use pure allure and confidence to complete their con art. The fact, that these people convince others to give up their wealth, makes them a permanent fixture in many individuals' imaginations. Here are five con artists who became a nightmare for detectives to catch, and made a permanent place in people's minds.

1. William Thompson

William Thompson was given the moniker "Confidence Man" because of the way he approached his victims, the New York Herald reported. On the streets of New York, he would go up to an individual and ask for an interview. His genteel appearance made people easily gel up with him, and give in to his demands. After some conversation, he would pose a question to them, "Have you confidence in me to trust me with your watch until tomorrow." Most people would give an affirmative answer, and give him their watch. He would then go out of the place with a smile on his face. Mr. Thomas McDonald was one of his victims who willingly gave up his $110 watch. McDonald, sometime after the crime saw Thompson on Liberty Street in 1849, and informed the police. Officials quickly arrested "Confidence Man" and took him into custody. Appeals were made to other victims to come forward and identify the perpetrator. According to a book published by Karen Halttunen, the man was later incarcerated. 

2. Frank Abagnale

Frank Abagnale from New York saw his story turn into a big-screen blockbuster, in the form of Catch Me If You Can, New York Post reported. The movie focused on his life from 16 to 21, when he bounced $2.5 million in bad checks. The con artist later joined hands with the FBI to catch other criminals. Abagnale assumed different professional identities between the mid-1960s and the early 1970s, PBS reported. The man was a pilot for Pan American Airlines, a doctor in Georgia, a lawyer for the attorney general’s office in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and a professor at Brigham Young University, all while being a teenager, chased around by the FBI. This is the story shared by the con man after he was released from prison and the movie.

3. Bernie Madoff

Bernie Madoff, for years, fooled his investors into thinking that his firm was giving them high returns when the reality was vastly different, The Guardian reported. Madoff was a trailblazer in the world of the stock exchange. He was largely responsible for popularising the practice of computerized trading. He established a trading firm in which he was paying returns to his old investors by getting funds from new investors. No securities were sold or brought to get the money that Madoff was distributing amongst his customers and profiting from, but no doubts were raised. He was able to dupe people like holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, director Steven Spielberg, actor Kevin Bacon, baseball legend Sandy Koufax, and businessman Fred Wilpon. The financial crisis of 2008, ruined this arrangement. Madoff had no money to keep flowing in the system. Understanding the ruse was up, he confessed everything to his sons, and his lawyer communicated with regulators, who alerted federal prosecutors and the FBI. Madoff was arrested and later sentenced to 150 years in prison. The man died in 2009 while incarcerated.

4. Sylvia Browne

Sylvia Browne was dubbed as "America’s most controversial psychic" and made her fortunes by allegedly manipulating grieving parents, ATI reported. She publically claimed that her psychic abilities started when she was a toddler. Browne at her peak was charging people $850 to ask questions over the phone. Her appearance on The Montel Williams Show, where she gave premonitions about missing children to their parents, skyrocketed her fame. In 1999, she told Opal Jo Jennings' parents that their child had been sold into slavery in Japan. She was later found buried in Texas. Forensic analysis revealed that the girl was killed the same day she was kidnapped from her grandparents' house. An exhaustive investigation of Browne's 115 public readings showed that 25 turned out to be completely wrong, while 90 remain unsolved. In 1992, the woman was indicted on several charges of investment fraud and grand theft. She was sentenced to 200 hours of community service. Browne died in 2013 at the age of 77.

5. Charles Ponzi

Charles Ponzi's actions gathered so much attention that the term 'Ponzi Scheme' was coined, NPR reported. The man cooked up a scheme in 1906 when he received a letter from Europe. He understood that International Reply Coupons from other countries could be redeemed at a higher price in the USA, the Smithsonian National Post Museum reported. He needed investors to facilitate this scheme. Some agreed and as promised got a 50% profit in 45 days. The business immediately flourished with more people joining hands. The postal inspectors were suspicious because worldwide International Reply Coupon sales were not nearly high enough to support this scheme. In reality, Ponzi was using the money given by new investors to pay off the old investors. Everything was going well until a newspaper published an article questioning the validity of the business. Authorities conducted an audit of his books, and Ponzi's pyramid scheme crashed. Several complaints were registered against him, and he was sentenced to five years in prison for mail fraud. For additional charges, he was sentenced to another seven to nine years. Ponzi was deported back to Italy in 1934.