Con Men: Then & Now

1. Con Men: Then & Now Michaelyn Norco Period 7

2. Con men • 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.

3. Con men during the 1800’s • 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.

4. Bertha Heyman • One con artist of the 19th century was Bertha Heyman. • Heymanstole money from a numerous amount of men.

5. Bertha Heyman cont. • 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.

6. George C. Parker • George C. Parker is another con artist of the 19th century. • Parker is one of the most audacious con men in American History.

7. George C. Parker cont. • George was convicted of fraud three times. • His schemes included selling some of New York's finest landmarks. • Parker sold these landmarks to tourists.

8. George C. Parker • The most popular land mark he sold was the Brooklyn Bridge. • He also sold other landmarks as well

9. Con men in Huckleberry Finn • 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.

10. Con men in Huckleberry Finn cont. • The king and duke performed one scheme that was very unique • They sold a teeth whitening toothpaste • The toothpaste ended up destroying teeth enamel.

11. 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.

12. Con men in Huckleberry Finn cont. • The last scam the con artists performed was the scam on the Peter Wilks’s family. • Peter Wilksdied a year prior

13. 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

14. Con men of the 20th century • Con men still exist today. • Conmen can approach us in many different ways. • Con men can be from any where in the world.

15. Natwarlal • 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.

16. Natwarlal cont. Taj Mahal • Natwarlal sold other places as well. • He is known as a legend even after his death.

17. Don Lapre • Another Conman of the 20th century was Don Lapre. • Don ran a nationwide scheme • Some of his scams involved “Making money fast” schemes.

18. Don Lapre cont. • Don sold worthless internet businesses • He is known to have scammed over 220,000 victims out of over 52 million dollars.

19. 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%

20. Frank Abagnale • 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.

21. Youtubevideo: World’s 5 smartest Con men. • 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.

22. Bibliography • "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>

23. Bibliography cont. • "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>

24. 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>

25. 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 ReportingCrimeStatisticsReporting 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>

26. 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>