Charles Ponzi was an Italian fraudster who was known for his fraudulent money-making schemes. He had several aliases including Charles Ponci, Carlo, and Charles P. Bianchi. He was known for committing financial crimes as he conned people into giving him millions of dollars as “investment” and then paid them back with his future investors’ money. Thanks to the excellent initial returns that the investors received and his charismatic persona, he managed to pull off one of the greatest fraudulent financial schemes in history. He cashed on this scheme, which eventually became known as “The Ponzi Scheme” for about a year until it collapsed. The basic premise of his Ponzi scheme was "to rob Peter to pay Paul" and it cost his "investors" nearly $20 million. He faced various charges, including 86 counts of mail fraud. He pleaded guilty to mail fraud and was sentenced to five years in prison. Ponzi went on to write an autobiography which was titled “The Rise of Mr. Ponzi” in 1936. In this book, he talks about his life and also about his infamous scheme.
