throughout history there have been some incredibly Brazen con artists who have managed to Swindle their victims out of vast sums of money in various schemes often motivated by greed these unscrupulous individuals have left a mark on history that will never be forgotten here we will explore the top 5 most Brazen con artists in history their tricks and the aftermath of their schemes from sophisticated Ponzi schemes to elaborate to elaborate confidence tricks these criminals have managed to fool even the most careful investors.
Frank Abagnale: Master Imposter
Abagnail was an American con artist check forger and imposter who and his teens gained Fame for posing as an airline pilot doctor and lawyer a bagnail successfully escaped from police custody twice and was eventually captured in France in 1969.
He served a brief period in prison before being released on the condition that he assists the FBI in catching other criminals a bagnil’s criminal career began when he was 16 years old he forged his father’s signature on a check and used the money to purchase a plane ticket to New York from there a bagnil assumed the identity of a Pan-American Airlines pilot and flew around the world for free a bagnail also pretended to be a doctor and a lawyer.
He was able to fool medical personnel by memorizing medical terminology and he was able to practice law by studying law books in the library he also posed as a college professor a priest and an FBI agent he was extradited to the United States and sentenced to 12 years in prison however he was released after only five years after he agreed to help the FBI in catching other criminals a bagnail story was made famous in the movie catch me if you can 2002 which starred Leonardo DiCaprio as a bagnail.
Fraudulent Indian Genius
Nat wariel was an Indian con artist who achieved notoriety for his ability to repeatedly cheat people out of their money he claimed to have legally sold the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort to foreign buyers he also claimed to have sold the Indian Parliament and the rashtrapati bhawan although he was never able to produce the money the story of not Wario is one of the most notorious examples of fraud in India born in 1924 in the Indian state of uttar Pradesh.
Nat wariel grew up in a poor family and was considered to be a genius he was able to learn English quickly and was able to deceive people by posing as a lawyer an officer of the Court a bankerand a high-ranking government official Nat wariel was eventually arrested and sentenced to jail for his crimes however he was able to escape several times and continued to commit fraud he was eventually arrested one last time in 1998 and died in jail in 2009.
Frederick Borden: Master Impersonator
Frederick Borden is an Infamous con artist who was impersonating missing persons since the mid-1990s he has been known to travel from country to Country and use a variety of aliases in order to gain access to families and resources Borden was born in France in 1974. he first started impersonating children in 1996 claiming to be a missing child from Spain he was eventually found out and sent back to his home country.
After this he started to find missing children from around the world and impersonate them he’s been known to impersonate a missing boy from Texas in 1998 and a missing boy from France in 1999. in 2008 Borden was caught in Spain trying to pass himself off as a missing child who had been missing for six years he was arrested and sentenced to six months in prison in the year since his arrest Borden has become a celebrity appearing in several documentaries including one by BBC he has also published a book no one else like me which tells the story.
Con Artist Extraordinaire
Anthony gignac was a con artist who is known for his elaborate cons and scams that targeted wealthy victims he was born in Bogota Colombia in 1975 and later moved to Miami gignac used his charm and good looks to gain the trust of his victims and then use their trust and money for his own personal gain gignac created a false identity for himself claiming.
He was a Saudi Prince and claiming he was from a royal family of Saudi Arabia he used this false identity to gain access to Luxurious Lifestyles expensive cars and high-end Social Circles he also used it to gain access to the bank accounts of his victims which he used to fund his lavish lifestyle gignack was eventually caught and sentenced to 18 years in prison for his scams he served 11 years of his sentence and was released in 2011. after his release gignac wrote a book about his experiences as a con artist and has been a regular speaker at various events warning people about the dangers of fraud.
Charles Ponzi: Master Con Artist
Charles Ponzi was an italian-born American con artist who is best known for his fraudulent scheme known as the Ponzi scheme he was born in Lugo Italy in 1882 and emigrated to the United States in 1903. he settled in Boston Massachusetts and held a variety of jobs before he became a cotton artist Ponzi began his criminal career in 1919 when he first advertised an investment opportunity he promised investors a 50 return in 45 days which was much higher than the 5 that Banks were offering at the time he offered to do this by trading International postal coupons in reality Ponzi was simply using money from new investors to pay off earlier investors.
A tactic known as a Ponzi scheme Ponzi scheme was exposed in 1920 when authorities determined that he was not actually trading International postal coupons instead he was using the money from new investors to pay off earlier investors rather than actually making any profits by the time the scheme was exposed Ponzi had taken an estimated 15 million dollars from thousands of investors Ponzi was arrested and eventually sentenced to five years of prison after his release he moved to Florida and continued to perpetrate various schemes in 1925 he was arrested again and sent back to prison after his release he moved to Brazil where he lived until his death in 1949. the Ponzi scheme is still used today although it is now known as a pyramid scheme.