The Eponymous Mr. Ponzi
by Michael Durbin from Damn Interesting on (#4PEJT)
Nobody knows who did it first. Swindlers have been pulling off the scam for centuries, paying existing investors with the deposits of new ones to create the illusion of an incredibly profitable investment opportunity. Before 1920, it was known as robbing Peter to pay Paul" or the Peter-to-Paul scheme." For example, Sarah Howe, a fortune-teller [...]