As immoral and malicious as some con artists may be, we can’t help but find them completely fascinating. Their genius and sometimes crazy cons have ruined institutions and questioned how we see human morality. There is no question that these men and women leave chaos wherever they go, but they also leave us with unbelievable stories. They could be cheating casinos in one of the biggest poker scandals in history or inventing and selling a fake country. We’ve compiled a list of the most famous con men and women. And we’ve recommended some online slots with odds so good it’s like daylight robbery. 

The most famous con artists in history

Sure, the men and women on our list mostly used their genius and cunning for evil or harm. But that doesn’t mean you can’t learn a thing or two from them. Here are the biggest con men in history and how the law eventually caught up with them.  

William Thompson

William Thompson easily tops our list since he inspired the term con man or “confidence man.” During the late 1840s, Thompson approached random strangers on the streets of New York and asked them if they had enough confidence in him to lend him their watch for a day. Many did and various valuable possessions were handed over to Thompson, which he never returned. People were disarmed by his friendly face and genteel-like appearance. 

Thompson was caught and arrested in 1849 when a victim recognized him and notified the police. The New York Herald dubbed him the “confidence man.”

George C. Parker

Many con artists have tried to sell national landmarks to gullible investors and George C. Parker was no different. Parker repeatedly sold the Brooklyn Bridge to people so they could set up toll booths and monetize their “investment.” The Irish con even ran scams selling other New York City landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Madison Square Garden and even Ulysses Grant’s tomb.

Parker successfully sold Brooklyn Bridge 4,160 times between 1883 and 1928. He was caught many times during his career and managed to escape most times. His life of crime ended when he was finally sentenced to life in Sing Sing prison in 1928. He’s still considered one of the most successful con artists in American history. 

Charles Ponzi

Did you know the Ponzi scheme was named after a person? In the early 1900s, Charles Ponzi came up with the idea to sell postal coupons from weak economies to countries with stronger economies. He pitched the idea to potential investors and promised to double their money in 45 days. His idea never made a profit, but he still brought in new investors and used their money to pay off his initial investors. This gave him credibility and he generated around $15 million within eight months. 

Ponzi was caught in 1920 after being investigated by the Boston Post and postal and legal authorities. He was convicted of mail fraud and spent the next 15 years in and out of jail. 

Frank Abagnale

Frank Abagnale’s story was so wild it inspired the movie Catch Me If You Can starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks. Abagnale started conning as a child, and his most notable crimes are cashing fraudulent checks and famously pretending to be a pilot to travel around the world. Abagnale even impersonated a town doctor in Georgia and managed to cash in an incredible $2.5 million in bad checks while he was on the run. Abagnale was later caught in France in 1970. He was arrested for forgery and sentenced to 12 years in federal prison. 

Natwarlal

Natwarlal was an Indian con man who sold the Taj Mahal, the Red Fort and the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Natwarlal started his career forging cheques but later moved on to larger crimes like conning shop owners, banks, jewelers and foreigners out of a fortune. The Robin Hood-like figure’s crimes were never violent and he mostly targeted the rich. 

Natwarlal’s knack for escaping prisons set him apart from his fellow con artists. He escaped nine out of the 10 times he was arrested. He also escaped his last arrest in 1996 even though he was a wheel-chair bound 84-year-old.

Bernie Madoff

Charles Ponzi may have birthed the Ponzi scheme, but Bernie Madoff took it to a whole new level. Madoff ran the biggest Ponzi scheme in history and is believed to have generated $64.8 billion from investors. The New Yorker started a penny stock brokerage in 1960 that became a rapidly growing investment advisory firm. Even though many were suspicious of his business claims since the late 90s, Madoff wasn’t caught until 2008. He was arrested in December 2008 and his investment company, Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities, collapsed soon after. He received a 150-year sentence. 

Elizabeth Holmes

Elizabeth Holmes is a Silicon Valley magnate and Stanford dropout who founded the infamous Theranos health tech company. Her company claimed to use advanced blood analysis technology to revolutionize the health scene. She founded the company in 2003 and by 2015 Holmes was the youngest and richest self-made billionaire in the world. Theranos was valued at $9 billion. 

After convincing investors and the public for years, investigations revealed that Holmes had been misleading the public about her blood testing technology with false and exaggerated claims. Her company sank because of the fraud and Holmes is currently awaiting sentencing. She could face up to 20 years in jail.  

Gregor MacGregor

MacGregor was a Scottish soldier and adventurer who created a fake South American country and sold it to investors in London. MacGregor called himself the prince of the island kingdom of Poyais. He convinced people the island was rich and fertile with a thriving harbor. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. 

His con was an intricate one. MacGregor had to produce fake currency, maps, land grants and documents to add credibility to his claims. Many investors invested large sums in Poyais and some decided to relocate to the utopian island. When the settlers arrived, they discovered desolate wilderness and many died from various diseases. The bleak consequences of his scam didn’t dissuade MacGregor. He orchestrated smaller Poyais schemes in London for another decade. 

MacGregor was tried in 1826 but he was never arrested. In 1838, he moved to Venezuela where he was welcomed back as a hero because of his time defending the nation during the war. If creating and documenting a fake country doesn’t make you one of the greatest con artists ever, we don’t know what will. 

Unleash your inner “confidence man” with the best online slots

The world’s greatest con men might not be the best people, but they can teach us a lot about strategy and taking advantage of opportunities. The following slots have such high returns to players they should be illegal. 

• White Rabbit (Big Time Gaming) – This Megaways slot pays up to 13,000x your bet and has an impressive RTP of 97.7%. The Alice in Wonderland-inspired slot features expanding wilds and free spins. 
• Blood Suckers (NetEnt) – This was one of the most played slots of 2022 with immersive graphics, a fun bonus game and an unbelievable RTP of 98%.  
• Starmania (NextGen) – This fun space-themed slot features scatters, free spins and an impressive RTP of 97.86%. 
• Jimi Hendrix (NetEnt) – This hit title is a casino favorite. The slot was inspired by the legendary guitarist and it honors him with a killer soundtrack. Jimi Hendrix offers an RTP of 96.9%.

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