Are these the 7 biggest scams in history?
We’ve seen some incredible stories of deception here at Crime+Investigation. Ponzi schemes, fake gold mines, corporate fraud on a massive scale…
Some of these cons were flashy. Others dragged on for years before anyone noticed. Here’s a look at some of the biggest scams in history.
1. Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme
Bernie Madoff operated one of the largest Ponzi schemes ever recorded - US$64.8 billion in total. For years, investors believed in the promise of secure, consistent returns.
The catch? He wasn’t actually investing anything. He paid early investors with money from new ones, keeping the cycle going as long as people kept buying in.
Then came 2008. The financial crisis hit, and investors wanted their money back. Madoff had nothing to give them. By the time authorities stepped in, almost $65 billion had disappeared.
2. The FTX crypto disaster
Sam Bankman-Fried, known as the Crypto King, dominated headlines in 2022. His crypto exchange, FTX, boasted celebrity endorsements, political support and a reputation for security. Investors trusted him. But they shouldn’t have.
Bankman-Fried had been moving customer funds into his own hedge fund investment company Alameda Research. He used capital to invest heavily in his own digital token, FTT.
FTX collapsed in November 2022. Billions vanished overnight and investors logged in to empty accounts.
Sam Bankman-Fried was described as being ‘the Bernie Madoff of crypto’ and earned the nickname Sam Banking-Fraud. Following a trial where he faced charges including money laundering and fraud, he was sentenced to 25 years in jail.
3. Belle Gibson – the influencer who faked cancer for profit
Belle Gibson built a wellness brand on deception. She told the world she had beaten terminal brain cancer through natural remedies and clean eating – no chemotherapy, no surgery, no doctors.
Her story spread fast, and she landed book deals, launched a bestselling wellness app and became a social media star. People with real illnesses trusted her advice and even abandoned medical treatment based on her claims.
There was just one problem. She never had cancer. Following the shocking revelation, she eventually admitted to having fabricated the whole story, but failed to apologise or express regret.
4. Charles Ponzi – the original conman
Charles Ponzi promised investors guaranteed profits from an International Reply Coupon (IRC) scheme. Basically a universal voucher accepted in multiple countries in exchange for local postage stamps.
The details were hazy, but the returns were impressive. People lined up to hand over their money.
What they didn’t realise? Ponzi wasn’t investing anything. He was just paying old investors with new investors’ cash. Over eight months in 1920 Ponzi received US$15 million from investors. That’s a huge US$235 million in today’s value.
The cycle worked – until it didn’t. The scam collapsed when authorities shut him down in 1920 but Ponzi’s name lives on.
5. The Enron energy scam
American energy giant Enron seemed untouchable for years. The company had wealth, influence and a stock price that wouldn’t stop climbing.
But none of it was real.
Executives had used fraudulent accounting practices to inflate profits and hide debt. Investors thought they were backing a financial powerhouse. They were actually funding a sinking ship.
In 2001, everything fell apart. The stock crashed. Employees lost their pensions, the company filed for bankruptcy worth US$63.4 billion and shareholders never saw their money again.
6. The Bre-X gold mine hoax
In 1997, a major Canadian mining company announced a gold discovery of historic proportions. Investors poured in, stocks soared and excitement spread. Everything looked promising.
One issue: there was no gold.
Bre-X had faked test results to push its value to more than US$6 billion. When geologists started asking questions, a key company executive fell out of a helicopter under mysterious circumstances. The scam unravelled soon after.
By the time it was over, US$4 billion had disappeared and the company was bankrupt. Sadly, some of the biggest losses were felt by Canadian public sector pension fund investments.
7. The Theranos medical mirage
Elizabeth Holmes made big promises. Her company, Theranos, claimed to have technology that could run hundreds of tests from just one drop of blood. Big names backed her, and American pharmacy giant Walgreens signed on.
The technology never worked.
For years, Holmes faked lab tests, misled investors, fooled regulators and even sent false results to real patients. The illusion held… until journalists started digging. Whistle-blowers exposed a culture built on secrecy and intimidation. The truth unravelled, Theranos collapsed and Elizabeth Holmes, once worth US$4.5 billion, landed in prison.
The bottom line? History repeats itself, and so do scams. Greed, deception and blind trust fuelled every scam on this list. Some collapsed fast, others ran for years, but the result stayed the same – vanished fortunes and shattered lives. Whether it’s an old-school Ponzi scheme or a modern crypto meltdown, the lesson stays clear: if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
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