What was Charles Ponzi?
Leo Koretz:  The scheme used fraudulent claims of oil interests in Panama in a criminal career that predated his contemporary, Charles Ponzi. Charles Ponzi: Charles Ponzi, (born Carlo Pietro Giovanni Guglielmo Tebaldo Ponzi) (March 3, 1882 – January 18, 1949), was an Italian swindler and con artist in the U.S. and Canada.
an Italian swindler and con artist