The Ponzi Scheme Puzzle : A History and Analysis of Con Artists and Victims

Overview: Charles Ponzi perpetrated his infamous scheme almost a hundred years ago. But his method of using new investments to pay existing investors and finance a highflying lifestyle is alive and well: just as much money is lost in the United States today from Ponzi schemes as from shoplifting. Somehow, con artists are able to dazzle wealthy, educated individuals and sophisticated institutions and convince them to hand over huge sums of money. How? In The Ponzi Scheme Puzzle, renowned legal scholar Tamar Frankel explores these con artists' fascinating power of persuasion and deception, uncovering the subtle signals that mimic truth and honesty. After years of close study of hundreds of cases, Frankel explains the striking patterns that emerge and the common characteristics of the con artists and their victims. She offers clear yet comprehensive descriptions of the various designs of Ponzi schemers' attractive offers and flags the ways in which they mask their deception through specialized methods of advertising and selling. She then constructs lucid profiles of the con artists and their victims, exposing the core nature of the people at the heart of the schemes and showing how over time the lines between predator and prey are blurred. There are indeed many lessons to learn from these stories, and Frankel brings them to light through the insightful results of her research. She shows how peoples' attitudes are ambivalent and uncertain toward con artists, perhaps because their behavior is so seemingly honest, because they act like the social leaders with whom they are likely to mingle, or perhaps because their actions are thought to shake up a complacent society. Frankel concludes by offering a surprising solution on how to prevent charming, dangerous con artists from perpetuating the enduring, disastrous legacy of Charles Ponzi Crime Science, https://doi.org/10.1186/s40163-021-00163-8 Cryptocurrencies and future financial crime 1 Abstract 1 Background: 1 Methods: 1 Results: 1 Conclusions: 1 Background 1 A primer on cryptocurrencies 2 Research approach 3 Scoping review 3 Methods 3 Protocol 3 Eligibility criteria 3 Search strategy 4 Selection of sources of evidence 4 Data extraction process 4 Results 5 Study selection and characteristics 5 Types of fraud 5 Expert consensus exercise 9 Methods 9 Summary of findings 10 Problem planning exercise and analysis of issues 10 Problem analysis and evaluation 10 Final three questions about the future 11 Discussion 12 Cryptocurrency fraud as a cyber-enabled crime 12 Definitions in the literature 12 Development of academic research over time 13 Differences among sectors 13 Focus of research and expert consensus exercise and prioritising future research 14 Limitations and Outlook 14 Conclusions 15 Acknowledgements 31 References 31 Cryptocurrencies,Fraud,Ponzi Schemes,Bitcoin,Virtual Currency Preface Introduction Con artists at work Stories of Ponzi schemers Charles Ponzi Bernard Madoff Gregory Bell The basic design Selling the stories Con artists' behavior seems a "normal usual behavior" A profile of the con artists and their victims How does the public view the con artists and the victims?. An exploration of Ponzi schemers' fascinating power of persuasion and deception, the reasons for their success and longevity, and the character of their victims.