What qualities are required to commit international scams? What needs to be done so that among the crooks you are recognized as great? And, finally, how to use the experience accumulated during a life of crime in order to become a millionaire at the end of your "career"? In the story about the famous swindlers - the scams of the most arrogant, most charming and most virtuoso adventurers of the recent past.
Eiffel Tower Seller
Victor Lustig, the son of the mayor of a small Bohemian town, was highly educated and had exquisite manners. After dropping out of his studies at the Sorbonne, Lustig began working in a casino, where he polished the lamps so that they reflected the cards of the players. All that remained was to come there as a guest and win peacefully. Then he "worked" as a sharper on transatlantic liners, and also portrayed a philanthropist organizing a charity lottery. But the sale of the Eiffel Tower made him famous.
In the spring of 1925, Victor saw a note in one of the French newspapers that the pride of the Champs Elysees had fallen into disrepair. This gave rise to the idea of another scam. Posing as a high-ranking official, Victor sent official letters to the heads of six metal processing firms, inviting them to a fashionable hotel for negotiations.
At the meeting, he said that the costs of maintaining the tower are enormous, so the government decided to dismantle it, selling it for scrap at an auction. The news, he warned, should be kept strictly secret so as not to cause unrest among the Parisians. André Poisson “won” the tender, who handed the adventurer a check for 500,000 francs. He went with him to Vienna. Poisson, having learned the truth, did not report to the police, so as not to become a laughing stock.
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After reaching the United States, Victor made a living selling money printing machines. True, they broke down in a day, having previously made the buyer happy with several real bills, prudently invested there by the seller.
But this is so, little things. He, who had a talent for drawing and who had previously thoroughly studied the issue, directed his main efforts to the production of counterfeit dollars, for which he was arrested. But a day later, having bribed the sheriff, he ran away. The sheriff was unlucky - the money he was flattered with was also a fake.
Formosa resident
In 1703, a character named George Salmanazar appeared in England, who introduced himself as a resident of the island of Formosa (the old name of Taiwan). Londoners, in those days not spoiled by knowledge of exotic countries, listened with enthusiasm to his stories.
Formosa, according to Shalmanazar, was full of miracles. For example, they ate snakes there. “Before being caught,” said George, “they pay special attention to making the snake non-venomous. For this purpose, they take a live snake and beat it with a stick until the snake becomes furious, for in this state all the poison contained in the body rushes to the head, which is then cut off."
He also claimed that on the island, men wear cloaks on their naked bodies, covering the causal places with plates of precious metal. They ride camels, have many wives (whom they can eat if they cheat), murderers hung upside down are used as targets, and the hearts of boys are sacrificed to the deity.
Inhabitants of Formosa (from the book of Shalmanazar).
Fashion for Formosa swept London. Shalmanazar was introduced to the bishop, Queen Anne was interested in him, the best families of the city invited guests to meet him. The "islander" was also involved in educational activities: a series of lectures was organized, Oxford was interested in translations into the Formosan language. Finally, Shalmanazar succumbed to the persuasion of fans and wrote a book of memoirs "Description of Formosa …" (the real name, in the fashion of the time, took up a whole paragraph).
There were, of course, awkward moments, but resourcefulness helped George out. So, to the question of a Jesuit priest, how can a white-skinned Asian native be, the "Formozian" explained that only commoners spend their days under the scorching sun, and prefers to know the coolness of underground dwellings. But inconsistencies accumulated, doubts grew, and one day the inventor got tired of balancing on the brink.
Spiritual procession in Taiwan according to the version of Salmanazar.
In an encyclopedic article on Formosa, Shalmanazar bluntly called his book "fake." Years of fantasies were good for George. After self-exposure, he learned Hebrew, eagerly wrote on biblical topics, and took part in the publication of books on geography.
He died in 1763, and a year later the autobiographical book "Memoirs of ****, known in society as George Salmanazar, the famous native of Formosa," was published, where he told the whole story of falsification. The only thing that the public did not recognize was the real name of the author.
Lawyer, deputy, publisher, actor and many others
If a casting was held for the position of a professional fraudster, Nikolai Maklakov would undoubtedly pass it: charm, education, good looks, artistry, and the ability to persuade. No wonder the Petersburg newspapers of the 1910s called him "an international swindler."
Perhaps the beginning of a stormy activity was laid by the existence of a namesake - a famous lawyer, and then a member of the State Duma Vasily Maklakov. It was a sin not to take advantage of such a coincidence.
Vasily Alekseevich Maklakov - Russian lawyer, politician, member of the State Duma.
Introducing himself as a member of the State Duma, Nikolai visited the best houses in Paris and accepted contributions "for charity." Collected money for the publication of the "Encyclopedic Reference", at the same time taking on credit (and then lending to the pawnshop) "for the needs of the editorial office" typewriters, antique furniture and even 15 pairs of watches with silver chains from "Pavel Bure". I took a deposit from those wishing to work in the Russian trade office of grain export, but did not pay the cabby, whom he hired "for representativeness."
Once, being broke in Voronezh, Nikolai, posing as his namesake, got a job as a defender at the trial and won the case. Using a well-known name, he asked for a loan from his “colleagues” lawyers, and when Professor Maklakov, the father of Vasily Alekseevich, died, the “grief-stricken son” did not disdain financial assistance.
But one day in the Kharkiv hotel the Maklakovs collided nose to nose. The administrators only told the attorney who crossed the threshold that “his relative” lives in the most expensive room and refuses to pay the bill. Here Nicholas needed all the talents.
The trial of N. A. Maklakov. Illustration from the newspaper "Petersburg leaflet" of April 11, 1912.
The monologue was passionate: “How happy I am to finally see you! If you only knew what slander, what insinuations are spread about me! And my only fault is: why did I act as a defender in Voronezh, calling myself your name? The intensity of sincerity was such that Vasily Alekseevich not only believed, but also paid the debt.
Maklakov was sometimes engaged in honest work - for more than five years he played in theaters, having resounding success with the ladies. From time to time he got to the house of preliminary detention "Kresty", where he generously shared his legal knowledge and made useful contacts. They say that at the end of his "career" Nikolai wrote a book where he outlined all of his 217 fraudulent cases.
Forger from brush and paint
At the end of May 1945, when the Nazi-occupied Netherlands became free again, the artist Henrikus Antonius van Megeren was arrested. He was accused of plundering the national treasure: in 1943, he sold the painting Christ and the Judges by Jan Vermeer to the collection of Heinrich Goering himself (though through intermediaries).
Artist Henrikus Antonius van Megeren at the trial.
In addition, Megeren handed over to the Germans seven more works of the old masters, earning a fabulous sum - more than 8 million guilders. It was not hard to believe in this, because even before the war, the artist discovered and revealed to the world two more unknown works of the great Dutchman: "The Lady and the Cavalier at the Spinet" and "Christ in Emmaus". And now - the sale of the national property to the Germans. The charges presented, according to the laws of that time, assumed the most severe punishment.
Three months after his arrest, the painter could not stand it and made a sensational confession that all the paintings of the great masters sold by him were a fake, the author of which was himself. And he spoke about the process of creating and aging paintings. For example, how the craquelures were stained with ink to create the illusion of dust and dirt embedded in cracks. During a search of van Megeren's house, sketches of those same paintings were found.
Van Megeren paints "Jesus Among the Scribes" for a forensic experiment.
To be sure, they decided to conduct an investigative experiment. The painter, under supervision, had to create another "old masterpiece" in six weeks. This is how the painting "The Young Christ Preaching in the Temple" was born. Van Megeren was recognized as a forger and was sentenced in this capacity to only one year in prison.
The painter's dreams came true: the family was provided for, thanks to the process he became almost a national hero - still, he warmed up the Germans by millions. And his name remained in history with the addition of "great forger." True, he himself died of a heart attack after a month of imprisonment. But this did not prevent the artist's fame.
Burglar Consultant
A rare case of successful careers on both sides of the notorious line that criminals tend to cross. Fame came to Frank Abagnale early: he forged the first checks at the age of 16. And in the 1960s, he was already considered one of the most successful bank robbers in US history - his catch was about $ 2.5 million.
He was creative in taking money away. For example, he put sheets with his account number in a pile of blank forms in a bank, and the bank's clients transferred money to the wrong destination. Scams were periodically revealed, and then Frank hit the run. Freedom of movement has been aided by fake Pan American pilot IDs that allow them to fly and use hotels free of charge. In this role, he lasted two whole years.
In some other fantastic way, he managed to work for almost a year as a pediatrician in a Georgia hospital and even manage a department there. And "never been to law school," but forged a Harvard diploma, get a lawyer's license and conduct civil cases in the Louisiana state attorney's office for about a year.
Frank Abagnale takes part in an American TV show.
Moreover, he did it all being very young, although he looked older than his years. For example, a professor at Utah College, where he taught two full semesters as a Ph. D., Frank became at the age of 20.
In 1969 he was arrested. The audacious criminal was eager to get hold of 12 countries. Frank spent the first six months in a French prison, the second in a Swedish one. Italy was next in line, but then the States intervened, threatening a 12-year sentence. True, thanks to cooperation with the FBI, the case was limited to four years.
Frank Abagnale and Leonardo DiCaprio.
The multimillionaire Abagnale now owns a financial fraud protection consulting company and provides advice on security issues. He has published several books where he describes various ways of taking money. Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was made about Frank.