Charles Ponzi Wins Libel Damages

Before authorities exposed his fraud in 1920, Italian con artist Charles Ponzi, whose name later defined the Ponzi scheme, successfully sued a Boston newspaper for libel and won $500,000 in damages. The newspaper's financial writer had argued that Ponzi could not legally deliver such high returns in so little time. Because libel law then placed the burden of proof on the writer and publisher, the victory temporarily discouraged serious scrutiny of Ponzi's operation.

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