Con Men: Then & Now

Michaelyn NorcoPeriod 7

Con man- Someone who swindles another by the means of a confident trick.

Con men have been around for a long time. There were con men from before Mark Twain’s time, and are still around us today.

Con men

Con men have been around for a very long time.

Many con men have been around even before the 1800’s.

Even though some con men came before, there are many interesting con men of the 19th century.

Con men during the 1800’s

One con artist of the 19th century was Bertha Heyman.

Heyman stole money from a numerous amount of men.

Bertha Heyman

Bertha had a long list of criminal activity.

She had a typical scheme of pretending to be a wealthy woman who could not access her fortunes.

Bertha Heyman cont.

George C. Parker is another con artist of the 19th century.

Parker is one of the most audacious con men in American History.

George C. Parker

George was convicted of fraud three times.

His schemes included selling some of New York's finest landmarks.

Parker sold these landmarks to tourists.

George C. Parker cont.

The most popular land mark he sold was the Brooklyn Bridge.

He also sold other landmarks as well

George C. Parker

The King and the duke are con men in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”.

These con artists swindled many people out of their money.

They Scammed people in many different ways.

Con men in Huckleberry Finn

The king and duke performed one scheme that was very unique

They sold a teeth whitening toothpaste

The toothpaste ended up destroying teeth enamel.

Con men in Huckleberry Finn cont.

Another scheme the king and duke pulled was the “Royal Nonesuch” scheme.

They sold tickets to a show that ended up being a rip-off.

They swindled many people out of their money.

Con men in Huckleberry Finn cont.

The last scam the con artists performed was the scam on the Peter Wilks’s family.

Peter Wilks died a year prior

Con men in Huckleberry Finn cont.

Peter wished to see his two brothers before he passed away, but they have not arrived from England.

The king and duke pretended to be the brothers, and stole the money

Con men in Huckleberry Finn cont.

Con men still exist today.

Conmen can approach us in many different ways.

Con men can be from any where in the world.

Con men of the 20th century

One con man of the 20th century was Natwarlal.

He scammed many individuals out of a lot of money.

He is mostly known for selling the Taj Mahal over and over again.

Natwarlal

Taj Mahal

Natwarlal sold other places as well.

He is known as a legend even after his death.

Natwarlal cont.

Another Conman of the 20th century was Don Lapre.

Don ran a nationwide scheme

Some of his scams involved “Making money fast” schemes.

Don Lapre

Don sold worthless internet businesses

He is known to have scammed over 220,000 victims out of over 52 million dollars.

Don Lapre cont.

Map of Internet Scammers In the U.S.

California 15.8%New York 9.5%Florida 9.4%Texas 6.4%D.C. 5.2%Washington 3.9%Illinois 3.3%Georgia 3.1%New Jersey 2.8%Arizona 2.6%

The last conman is Franks Abagnale

Frank forged checks in all 50 states and 26 countries

He cashed phony checks totaling up to 2.5 million dollars.

Known as one of the world smartest con men.

Frank Abagnale

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5whIv9lCfZM

This YouTube video shows the world’s 5 most smartest con men, and explains what schemes they pulled off.

Youtube video: World’s 5 smartest Con men.

"Bertha Heyman." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Nov. 2013. Web. 08 Dec. 2013 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertha_Heyman>

"George C. Parker." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 July 2013. Web. 08 Dec. 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_C._Parker

"APAHuckFinn - HF Ch 17,18,19,20." APAHuckFinn - HF Ch 17,18,19,20. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2013. <http://apahuckfinn.wikispaces.com/HF+Ch+17,18,19,20>

Bibliography

"File: Bertha Heyman. Jpg." Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bertha_Heyman.jpg. N.p., 14 Aug. 2011. Web. 8 Dec. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bertha_Heyman.jpg>

"Google Images." Google Images. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2013. <http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://cdn.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/magic-elixir-05-2008.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.brownstoner.com/blog/2008/05/wanna-buy-a-bri/&h=240&w=154&sz=1&tbnid=RupqLWtJ5WOj7M:&tbnh=160&tbnw=102&zoom=1&usg=__0IJe_xHhFK0FqFVu3XXz5MNV_d0=&docid=ZMLdGZL0TAFmLM&itg=1&sa=X&ei=URWlUuGHLIrWkQf384CoCw&ved=0CKEBEPwdMBA>

Bibliography cont.

"Scams, Schemes & Shakedowns-Bertha Heyman." Opportunist Magazine -. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2013. <http://opportunistmagazine.com/scams-schemes-shakedowns-bertha-heyman-name/>

"Don Lapre." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Nov. 2013. Web. 08 Dec. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Lapre>

Bibliography cont.

Geobeats. "World's 5 Smartest Con Artists." YouTube. YouTube, 14 Sept. 2012. Web. 08 Dec. 2013.<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5whIv9lCfZM>

"Consumer Fraud ReportingCrime StatisticsReporting on the Latest Frauds, Scams, Fake Lotteries, Spams and Hoaxes." 2008 Internet Fraud, Scam and Crime Statistics. Consumerfraudreporting.org, 2008. Web. 08 Dec. 2013<http://www.consumerfraudreporting.org/internet_scam_statistics.htm>

Bibliography cont.

"Brooklyn Bridge At Night Wallpapers." HD Wallpapers Inn Full HD Wallpapers 1080p Top HD Wallpapers. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2013.http://www.hdwallpapersinn.com/brooklyn-bridge-at-night-wallpapers.html

"Taj Mahal." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Aug. 2013. Web. 08 Dec. 2013 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_Mahal>

Bibliography cont.