ead the following selection, taking note of the boldface words and their contexts. These words are among those you will be studying in Unit 3. As you complete the exercises in tis unit, ft may help to refer to the way the words are used below. harles Ponzi was not the first mmountebank who used a “Ponzi scheme’ to swindle investors out of money, and he wasn't the last. But his ‘success, though fleeting, was so great, that itis only natural that schemes of his sort have come to bear his name. Ponzi emigrated from Italy in 1902 to start a new life in Boston, at first working odd jobs separated by interstices of unemployment. Before long he'd landed a job as a restaurant dishwasher and quickly worked his way up to become a waiter—only to be fired for shortchanging customers and stealing. That sad anecdote epitomizes the macrocosm of Ponzi life: He may have been willing to work hard, but he wouldn't eondescend to ‘work honestly. He snatched at any chance for an easy fortune, his rapacity leading him from one half-baked scam to another, from one enclave of rogues to another, and from one prison to another. Along the way, the inveterate two-bit hustier ‘somehow managed to cozen thousands of unwary investors out of millions of dollars. But even his greatest success as a scamvartist quickly wound up in failure. It was postage stamps that made Ponzi an jeon and immortalized his name. In 1919, he bogan telling people that he'd found a way to pay for United States postage stamps overseas and sell thom for a prot in the U.S., taking advantage of curreney fluctuations ater World War | Ponzi trade in postage may have ‘sounded good in theory, but pragmatic Considerations made it impossible for the plan to yield big profits. if Ponzi knew that his story was full of holes, he dicin't show it Instead, he played the role of a virtuoso investor. Relying on his true forte, the con man made the most of his charisma, his knack for strall-talk, flattery, and persiflage, and his flair for stretching the truth. He convinced thousands of people to invest their money with him and promised he could double their money in ‘90 days. Ponzi wasn't the only person in ‘America who wanted to make a quick buck, and a plethora of investment money ‘came pouring in What attracted so many investors to Ponzi's scam is that it seemed to be paying off, because when early investors ‘wanted to cash out, Ponzi would simply give them money he had received from new investors. In truth, there was noFun on the Boston bank that held the mnoney invesed in Poni scheme Underiying investment, no genuine return Ponzi didn't bother to put his investors" Money into postage stamps or anything flse that might actually yiold a substantial ihe was just robbing Peter to pay Mul, wrile skimming a tidy sum for himse'f. When people saw the incredible fate of return that investors with Ponzi Weemed to achieve, more investors came funning. Monkey see, monkey do. ‘As Ponzi’s reputation grew, the futhorties became increasingly quizzical {about his apparent success. The Boston Post began to investigate, and when the newspaper spilled the beans, Ponzi's (Operation was shut down and its Mastermind was brought up on charges. Itmay have been therapeutic for his former investors to hear that he'd landed Penniless in jai, but io most of them Ponzi fate must have been an ancillary toncerr: Those who stayed with Ponzi tl the end ost mote than 70 cents on the dollar when the scam collapsed. Man Called Advertis: nC a oe Group. necewversHir 1S ASKED ‘As punishment for his crimes, Ponzi spent over ten years in prison. He was. deported in 1984 and died a lonely and destitute man. Few people today remember Charles Ponzi or the crimes that he committed a century ago, but his name lives on. At least that's something, Mr. Ponzi.