Empire of Deception

February 15, 2015
The granddaddy of all con men, Leo Koretz (1881-1925), gives Jobb (Journalism/Univ. of King's Coll., Halifax; The Cajuns: A People's Story of Exile and Triumph, 2005) the opportunity to exhibit his impressive research and storytelling skills.The original Ponzi scheme lasted less than a year, but Koretz had already laid the groundwork for the greatest fraud ever. Bored with his life as a lawyer, he discovered an easy way to make money from people who already had plenty, but selling false mortgages to acquaintances didn't begin to support his extravagant lifestyle. Eventually, a merchant named David Nieto drew Koretz in, claiming to have acreage in the Bayano Valley in Panama that had a limitless supply of timber. After investing $1,000, Koretz convinced friends to add another $9,000. When he went to Panama to inspect the land, he knew he'd been played for a sucker. He may have lost money, but it showed him the means to get others to invest in his "big idea" to profit from "timberland" in Panama. Throughout his fraudulent "career," he was clever in choosing investors, never asking outright for money. Instead, he hinted at the great wealth he was making, and he flaunted it, insisting he was fully backed. Nothing drives up demand like short supply, and the wealthy friends he lavishly entertained were begging to give him money. As often as not, he turned them down, but they invariably came back with still larger checks. Koretz used the new income to pay out dividends to the investors, many of whom were his own extended family. In a stroke of evil genius, he convinced most of them to reinvest the dividends, most never taking a dime of profit. The author keeps readers on edge following the scam's collapse and the worldwide manhunt, as they wait to see if Koretz might just get away with it. A highly readable, entertaining story offering a solid education for anyone lacking scruples and wanting to make money. Surely Bernie Madoff studied Koretz's methods.

March 15, 2015
Dubbed the super-Ponzi by a Chicago newspaper in 1923, fraudster Leo Koretz spread his faux investment scheme over 20 years, selling bogus stock to family, friends, and those who begged to get in on the sure thing of his oil fields in Panama and other dubious moneymakers. Genial, humorous, and well-liked by the ladies (unbeknownst to his dedicated wife), Koretz doled out monthly dividends, keeping everyone wealthy and happy, until the whole thing collapsed, as such pyramid schemes must. Jobb's hearty, detailed retelling of this con man extraordinaire is a laugh-out-loud page-turner, full of gullibility and twists and turns (Zane Grey makes an appearance, as does Clarence Darrow) and serves almost as much as a you-were-there history of the making of Chicago's big-shouldered outlook as it does a replaying of Koretz's long-term scam. Staunchly leading the Koretz manhunt was Koretz's former law-firm mate, Cook County state's attorney Robert Fighting Bob Crowe. Peppered with contemporaneous photos depicting the key players and the swanky places, phony stock certificates, newspaper headlines, and even a wanted posted, Empire of Deception is a jaw-dropping, rollicking good read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

Starred review from March 15, 2015

Before Bernie Madoff, before even Charles Ponzi, there was Leo Koretz. In 1920s Chicago, the unsuccessful lawyer began his foray into crime by selling fake mortgages, using the money from new investors to pay the dividends to previous buyers. He dabbled in land speculation of all kinds, but his real fortune came when he "struck oil" on land in Panama. Jobb (journalism, Univ. of King's Coll., Canada; The Cajuns) details how Koretz was a master of reverse psychology; he would leak the news of his great investment and make his "marks" beg to be allowed to invest. Then he foolishly allowed some of his investors to examine the oil fields for themselves. By the time they understood the deception, Koretz had disappeared without a trace. He hid in Nova Scotia, living an outrageous lifestyle, until by a fluke he was recognized and brought back to Chicago to meet his fate. The swindler died in prison soon after, but his techniques live on in today's headlines as the attraction of getting something for nothing has never died. VERDICT This lively, entertaining, and depressingly relevant history of a man and his con reads like a novel and will be enjoyed by fans of popular history as well as true crime.--Deirdre Bray Root, MidPointe Lib. Syst., OH

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.