10 Interesting Facts about Charles Ponzi & his Scheme

1) In 1903, Ponzi arrived in Boston with just $2.5, as he lost $197.50 of the $200 while gambling on the boat.

2) He was in jail twice, even before his Scheme got famous.

3) He got the idea for his scam from A special Postage Stamp called International Reply Coupon or IRC.

4) So many people wanted to invest in Ponzi that police had to Handle the Crowds.

5) Investors did actually make Money, at first. Ponzi gave them 50% interest in 90 days.

6) During its peak time, Ponzi was making $250k a day.

7) That time The Boston Post hailed him as a financial genius.

8) Also it's the same Boston Post that brought him down, and won a Pulitzer for it.

9) Though the scam named after him, but he wasn't the actual creator of it.

10) A woman named Sarah Howe, was the first practitioners of Ponzi scheme in the late 1870s.