1. Charles Ponzi
Charles Ponzi is an Italian-born scammer who specialized in finance-related frauds. The term “Ponzi scheme” is coined from his illegal activities and today, it is used to describe any scam that requires victims to pay in advance for a fake investment plan. Ponzi promised his victims a whopping 50 percent profit in less than two months. In 1920, he managed to collect $420,000 or $4.6 million in 2008 terms. Ponzi spent his last years in poverty and died in a charity hospital.