The Biggest Ponzi Scheme in History

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In 2008, Bernie Madoff was arrested for defrauding investors out of an estimated $17 to $20 billion. A few years ago, a woman named Johanna Garcia started a company that promised investors a 10% return on their money in a year. This also turned out to be a Ponzi scheme. Before her arrest, she described herself as mother Teresa because of how many small businesses she had helped.

In the late 1870s, a woman named Sarah Howe started a bank just for single women called the Ladies’ Deposit Company. She asked new customers to tell their friends about the bank rather than advertising in newspapers, and she promised she could almost double their money.

Today, the story of the woman running a Ponzi scheme before Charles Ponzi was even born.

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Artwork by Julienne Alexander.

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