Charles Ponzi was an Italian charlatan and con artist who operated in the United States and Canada. His aliases included Charles Ponci, Carlo, Benny Broncko and Charles P. Bianchi.
Ponzi in c. 1920
Ponzi in 1920, while still working as a businessman in his office in Boston
Even before his trial, Ponzi's name had begun to pass into the language as a fraudster. This ad dated 25 September 1920 for Washington Mutual Savings Bank in Seattle, declares, "Don't Be Ponzied".
A charlatan is a person practicing quackery or a similar confidence trick in order to obtain money, power, fame, or other advantages through pretense or deception. One example of a charlatan appears i
Charles Ponzi
…Charles Ponzi (; Italian: ; born Carlo Pietro Giovanni Guglielmo Tebaldo Ponzi; 3 March 1882 – 18 January 1949) was an Italian charlatan and con artist who operated in the United States and Canada. His aliases included Charles Ponci, Carlo, Benny Broncko and Charles P. Bianchi. Born in…
Pietro Longhi: The Charlatan, 1757
The Pardoner, from the Ellesmere Chaucer