The Capture of CharlesPonzi

 

The Capture of Charles Ponzi

As told to Boston Sunday Heraldreporter Lowell Ames Norris by the man in charge of the manhunt Police Inspector John F. Mitchell
Edited and additional material by GuyHadleigh

Charles Ponzi had escaped and was wanted by the police!

Back in 1919, everybody knew Charles Ponzi. His name was on the tongue of almost every man and woman in the United States. He had come to the USA to make money. He had peddled fruit, waited on tables, worked as a clerk - and, incidentally, which was not so widely known, had served time at Atlanta Federal Penitentiary for smuggling Chinamen no less!

Now he declared he had got hold of the “Big Idea,” and it was so vast and so audacious in conception that the financial world stood aghast. It seemed impossible - a mad figment of the imagination.

Having received a letter containing an International Reply Coupon (IRC - a voucher which can be for swapped another countries' priority airmail stamps), Ponzi immediately had the idea of making a profit by exchanging them for higher-priced stamps in other countries and then reselling them.

But this was not enough for Ponzi so he began advertising for investors promising them a return on their investment of 50% in just 45 days! He then paid them their promised profits using money from other investors – the “Ponzi Scheme” was born.

The news spread like wildfire.

Money poured in so fast that it had to be stored in waste baskets. Traffic on School Street was stopped for two days while investors, with fists full of money, fought to get into Ponzi’s office.

Police were called to keep the crowds in line.

By the mid-1920 it’s estimated...Read More