Scott Rothstein was certainly a successful scammer, accruing over $1 billion in a Ponzi scheme that eventually got him caught. Ponzi schemes are essentially scams which trick innocent people into “investing” money which they will never see again, a process first used by Charles Ponzi in 1919. The process involves using new investors to pay off old ones, a cycle which will inevitably lead to some investors (the newest ones) holding nothing. However, no one could accuse him of trying to be stingy–he spread the money around once he got it. In fact, one might say his buying-spree looked a lot like the stimulus plan from earlier this year. Rothstein appears to have bought up an eighty-seven foot yacht, twenty luxury cars, shares of successful companies, and $12 million stashed away in Moroccan banks.

The feat rests of thievery, but it is nonetheless pretty impressive. This man stole a lot of money from a lot of people. This should serve as a lesson to investors, always check every investment out with a respected authority before signing any checks or contracts.