On this episode of Our American Stories, in the early 1900s, Charles Ponzi arrived in the United States chasing opportunity but struggling to find steady work. After years of false starts, he began promoting an investment idea that promised unusually high returns in a short amount of time. But the model depended on a steady stream of new money, and once that slowed, the foundation began to crack.

Jonathan Small of the Write About Now podcast shares the story of how Ponzi built his operation, how it ultimately collapsed, and how it paved the way for later figures like Bernard Madoff to carry on similar schemes.

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