Charles Ponzi: The Man Behind the Scheme

Charles Ponzi was an Italian swindler and con artist known for his infamous "Ponzi scheme." In the early 1900s, he promised investors incredibly high returns by exploiting a loophole involving international postal reply coupons. However, he was actually paying old investors with the money from new ones. Ponzi's scheme quickly grew and just as quickly collapsed, leaving thousands bankrupt and Ponzi himself imprisoned. His name has since become synonymous with fraudulent investment schemes.