via BuzzFeed.com
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The Fake Illness, Get Money
In a recent example of the “feign illness, get money” gambit, Lori Stilley, a woman from New Jersey, pretended to have stage IV bladder cancer for almost two years. She even lied to her children about it. In the process, she raked in thousands in donations from friends and family for treatment. She even wrote an e-book about her struggles.
The Tower of Lies
Victor Lustig (1890 – 1947) was a famous con man (who even conned Al Capone out of some money), but his most famous grift was “selling” the Eiffel Tower for scrap metal. When he read about the condition of the Tower at the time in the newspaper, he sent letters to a bunch of metal dealers posing as a Government official looking to sell the tower for scrap. Then he took a train to Vienna with a suitcase full of cash.
The City of Lies
George Parker (1870 – 1936) kind of out-did Lustig, even though he came first. He “sold” a variety of New York City landmarks to unsuspecting tourists, including the original Madison Square Garden, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Grant’s Tomb, the Statue of Liberty, and most famously, The Brooklyn Bridge, which he sold twice a week for years.
The Entire Country Of Lies
This might be the greatest one of all time. Scottish soldier and adventurer Gregor MacGregor not only has a hilarious name, but a hilarious story. After fighting for South American independence, he returned to England, pretending to be cazique of “Poyais,” a totally made-up Island nation off the coast of Honduras. He even created a guidebook detailing the landscape and abundant natural resources. He collected money from over 250 would-be colonists, and by the time his investors reached the patch of water where their island should have been, he was already rounding up more money from potential colonists in France. Damn.
But really? If you thought you could buy the Statue of Liberty or a bridge from a guy, should you have that money to begin with? 😉
Hahaha^
often really smart people have little common sense.
great share, Chess.
:)))
There’s that quote “The rich are different from the rest of us. How? They have money.” If brains or common sense came with money, we would never have had to suffer through 2008.
Wow, that Poyais scam. That was really evil.
Some of these schemes are hilarious. Thanks, Chess. A great history lesson too.
This has to be on the list:
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/01/05/rex-murphy-al-gore-friend-of-the-petro-state/
thats awesome
Good ones.
When I was dating my soon-to-be wife, she told me she owned property in Florida that would eventually be developed. Having heard about the many land scams, I asked a friend living in Florida about her developer. His reply: “Well, at least I never heard they sold the same lot to three different people like the developer across the street.”