Carlo+Ponzi,+Truth+in+Advertising+(1920),+Ponzi+Scheme

Home 1920's Topics __1920’s Project Assignment__ Charles Ponzi and the Ponzi Scheme Researched by Elena M.
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__Task One---DESCRIBE YOUR TOPIC -Due Tuesday, February 7__ Each topic includes an association or movement and an individual. Please write __two__ extended power paragraphs that address the following prompt:**Explain the achievements associated with your topic. Who and what were altered? Describe why both were significant in the 1920s. Explain the relationship between the individua****l and the association or movement.** Charles Ponzi, an Italian immigrants was the creator of the Ponzi scheme for 8 months in 1920. The Ponzi scheme was an illegal plan that involved paying investors other investors money in a continued cycle. This was considered to be "the art of the hoax" because he had a continuous stream of money going through his cycle. He has gotten the idea because he had figured out that he could "cash [a postal reply coupon] for a 6 cent stamp, exchange rates meant it had only cost the... sender the equivalent of a penny" (Perry1 ). "Promising to double investors' money in 90 days, Ponzi convinced over 40,000 New Englanders to deposit more than $15 million in his Securities Exchange Company (SEC)." (Perry 1). He became so wealthy in so little time, that people began to become suspicious and checked his background and found that he has been fairly poor before his Securities Exchange Company. He came to America with only $2.50 in his pocket and was now a millionaire. This gave Charles some unwanted attention in the newspaper, shortly before his scheme collapsed. This scheme, according to Quinnipiac University was only "...the movement of money" but gained Ponzi the nickname of Get Rich Quick' Ponzi.
 * Support the ideas in each paragraph with evidence from a minimum of three  credible sources.
 * Select only signed  sources from the LC databases--each source must have a credible author.
 * Establish the credibility of the author the first time a source is referenced.
 * Credit sources with internal citations and in a Works Cited.
 * Insert the Works Cited after the Third Task.
 * Post the paragraphs to the wiki. Timely posting of completed tasks earn 10 points.

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px;">Charles Ponzi had come to America in 1903 with only $2.50 in his pocket and in 1920, within a few months he was a millionaire. He was the inventor of the term a Ponzi scheme, which is still used today.People today still refer money-making schemes as Ponzi schemes, because of the hoax Charles Ponzi was able to perform for 8 months in 1920.His scheme "involves promising investors large profits, but the promoter keeps their money instead of investing it and pays profits from money collected from new investors" (ABC-CLIO 1). He was able to convince thousands of people to invest their money in him. He then began to show his money, riding around in a blue limo and walking with a gold-tipped cane. After getting caught in 1920, Charles Ponzi served jail time and was later deported back to Italy in 1934.

<span style="background-color: #9008b6; color: #7dff00; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: left;">__Task Two-EVALUATE YOUR TOPICS INFLUENCE-Due Friday, February 10__ <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: left;">Please write two extended power paragraphs which each cite a minimum of three credible sources. Discuss the scope of influence of your topic on the 1920s. How extensive was the influence? Which part of society was influenced? Did the change endure or stimulate additional changes? What is the topic's legacy? What impact did the topic have in the Twenty-First century.

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px;">When Charles Ponzi began the Ponzi Scheme in 1920, he had no idea that people in 2012 would sometimes refer back to his scheme. Today, people still consider an illegal money-making scheme, a Ponzi scheme. In the 1920s however, people knew more than just his name, because according to Oxford University Reference, Charles Ponzi "defrauded investors of more than $10 million." (Smullen 1). Even if people hadn't lost money from him, they still knew about him from newspapers. Thousands of people lost money and people couldn't believe that he kept his hoax going for 8 months. A scheme this successful had come as a surprise and left many people shocked.

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px;">Although the Ponzi scheme has little effect on the 21st century as a whole, his hoax did create awareness of where to invest your money in 1920s. People weren't as trusting as they may have been after they found out about his hoax. Charles Ponzi's goal was to make a lot money in a short amount of time, which he did successfully until he was caught by the police, after fooling depositors according to Oxford Reference University. New Englanders who had invested in him, were effected because they lost their money that they has trusted with Charles Ponzi. However, Ponzis influence wasn't great because nobody successfully built up a scheme as massive as his own. His scheme are only referred to today and he's remembered today as the man who built up the massive money-scam.

<span style="background-color: #9008b6; color: #7dff00; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left;">Task ThreeJUDGE THE IMPACT OF THE INDIVIDUAL & ASSOCIATION---Due Feb. 15 <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: left;">Now that you have a basic understanding of your topic, and you know the scope of its influence, explain the forces that produced or created the topic. Additionally, what were the driving forces behind the society's reaction to your topic? Use the criteria described in the the Great Man Continuum to determine your topics long-run influence on society. Place your topic on the continuum and justify the reasons for your placement. Please confine your analysis to two extended power paragraphs with each citing a minimum of three credible sources.

====** Although Ponzi's hoax was huge in 1920, his money-making scheme has not really affected America today. On the Great Man Continuum, he would be placed in the middle of an event making hero and an eventful hero but more towards an eventful hero. This is because he is still remembered today because he was able to steal over $10 million from investors and so, money-making schemes are still referred to as Ponzi schemes. Also, nobody has had such a successful money-making hoax since 1920 and the idea of it happening isn't a threat anymore. Now in 2012, there is a ton more security than there used to be and the idea of doing what Charles Ponzi did in the 21st century is laughable. Nobody could carry out what he did for 8 months and if you tried the FBI would catch you on the first day. However, in 1920 nobody could do what he did and nobody could have tricked the system like Ponzi did. Since nobody has pulled a hoax that of Charles Ponzi in over 90 years, he isn't remembered as a man who altered our society today. He is remembered because he was the one who found the weakness in the system and with his company, was able to carry out his scheme.However his huge fame remained mostly in the 20s and so he is an eventful hero because of that. He is only referred to now whenever newspapers, magazines etc. talk about someone else's money hoax. **====

====** Charles Ponzi couldn't have gone 8 months with his scheme, if it weren't for his Securities Exchange Company (SEC). Here, he had people working for him and people bringing money in and paying other investors. He was able to have big investors with his company, so he was able to make more money. However, having such a big company hurt him because in "...late August, the scheme collapsed, leaving the SEC with debts of $7 million" (Perry 1). When the scheme collapsed, thousands of New Englanders had lost some if not all of their money. When Ponzis company could only pay off $4 million of the debt they owed, some people never saw their money again. The only justice they got was the fact that Charles Ponzi went to jail. This still left many people angry and people without money. **====

great men---event making hero-*eventful herosocial determinism

Perry, Joellen. "C. Ponzi and his schemes." //Ebsco host//. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Feb.

2012. <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost>.

ABC-CLIO. "Ponzi Scheme." //Pop Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas//. ABC-CLIO, n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2012. <http://popsulture.abc-clio.com/>.

EBSCOhost. "Ponzi, Charles." //EBSCOhost//. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2012. <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/>.

Hartley, Richard D., and Michael Shally-Jensen. "corporate crime." //American Government//. ABC-CLIO,2012. Web. 3 Feb. 2012.

"pyramiding" //The Handbook of International Financial Terms//. Peter Moles and Nicholas Terry. Oxford University Press 1997. //Oxford Reference Online//. Oxford University Press. Infohio - NOACSC. 8 February 2012 <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t181.e6178>

"Ponzi scheme" //A Dictionary of Finance and Banking//. Ed Jonathan Law and John Smullen. Oxford University Press, 2008. //Oxford Reference Online//. Oxford University Press. Infohio - NOACSC. 8 February 2012 <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t20.e2892>

"Ponzi scheme" //Brewer's Dictionary of Modern Phrase & Fable//. Edited by John Ayto and Ian Crofton. Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. Infohio - NOACSC. 8 February 2012 <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t339.e6353>

<span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left;"> <span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left;">Rubric for all three tasks:

<span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left;">Outstanding paragraphs include the following elements: <span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left;">✓ Accurate power paragraph format with each paragraph <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 19px;">citing evidence from three different sources. <span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left;">✓ Correct research components such as credibility statement, internal citations, <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 19px;">Works Cited entries <span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left;">✓ Thoughtful and thorough response to the each prompt <span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left;">✓ A variety of sentences with interesting, clear diction <span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left;">✓ Photos exemplifying the influence of the individual and association or movement <span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left;">✓ Place your topic on the Great Man Continuum; <span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left;">✓ Complete the criteria table to justify the reasons for your placement.