Crime Con

A riveting true story of an unsuspecting woman who creates an ingeniously clever white-collar scheme that manipulates the Federal banking system out of millions—who eventually loses everything that is most important to her. In Never Saw Me Coming, Tanya Smith shares her deeply personal and...

You’ve heard of the scheme. Now comes the man behind it. In Mitchell Zuckoff's exhilarating book, the first nonfiction account of Charles Ponzi, we meet the charismatic rogue who launched the most famous and extraordinary scam in the annals of American finance. It was a time when anything...

“A riotous journey into the heart of insanity also known as the State of Florida. Bravo!”—Gary Shteyngart, author of Lake Success Florida, circa 1980. Reed Crowe, the eponymous Florida Man, is a middle-aged beach bum, beleaguered and disenfranchised, living on ill-gotten gains deep in the...

1982: Oregon businessman Phil Champagne, age 52, dies in a tragic boating accident off Lopez Island. He is survived by one ex-wife, four adult children, an octogenarian mother, and two despondent brothers. Phil didn't know he was dead until he read it in the paper. All things considered, he took it rather well. So did Phil's brother, Mitch, the beneficiary of a 1.5 million dollar policy on Phil's life.

Detective Superintendent Roy Grace exposes the dark side of internet dating in the intriguing crime novel Dead at First Sight, by award winning author Peter James. A man waits at a London airport for the love of his life to arrive. Across the Atlantic, a retired cop waits in a bar in Florida’s...

As riveting as a World War II thriller, The Forger's Spell is the true story of Johannes Vermeer and the small-time Dutch painter who dared to impersonate him centuries later. For seven years a no-account painter named Han van Meegeren managed to pass off his paintings as those of one of the most beloved and admired artists who ever lived. As Edward Dolnick reveals, his true genius lay in psychological manipulation, and he came within inches of fooling the world. Instead, he landed in an Amsterdam court on trial for his life.

The first of a trilogy, this collection features 16 of the world's most outrageous scams and hoaxes. They all really happened and were taken from firsthand accounts, newspaper reports, or historical documents found in public libraries. They date as far back as the late 1800s, but most are more recent. However, you won't find any defrauded widows or orphans in these stories. The victims are institutions or corporations quite capable of defending themselves, and the crooks who match wits with them are just as savvy. You could almost call it a fair fight!

From the Scotiabank Giller Prize finalist, a gripping exploration of class, race, friendship, sexuality, what an author owes her subject and what it means to be a good person—all wrapped up in a riveting Canadian true crime story. Padma Viswanathan was staying on a houseboat on Vancouver...

Born into one of America's most illustrious trading families, Sam Israel was determined to strike out on his own. After apprenticing with one of the greatest traders of the 1980s, he founded his own fast-growing hedge fund, promising investors extraordinary returns. But it was all an elaborate charade.

In a “thriller with a sharp take on wealth and privilege” (People, Book of the Week), two best friends grift their way through the California elite—until one scam goes awry. “A propulsive, sun-drenched adventure with smart, sharp commentary on wealth and power.”—Grace D. Li, New York...

The six true-crime stories included in this collection are dark and chilling, and will leave you with a new understanding of just how fragile the human mind can be.

Sheila Davalloo was young, attractive, and successful. When she started a new job at a cutting-edge research lab in Stamford, Connecticut, she met the man of her dreams. Nelson Sessler had no idea how violently Sheila would react when he began seeing a co-worker, Anna Lisa Raymundo. Sheila eliminated her rival in a bloody knife attack - and then turned her rage on another victim she saw as an obstacle to her passions.

It began with the whispers. In the woods, in the park, and always at night. Then they came into town, down dark alleys, and in the shadows. Before long, the black-eyed children were moving closer, until finally there was a knock on the door. When the couple were found dead with their faces frozen in horror, the children were nowhere to be seen. Until it happened again. Join Detective Sarah Noble as she investigates another dark case in the town of Slayton.

Des menottes aux plateaux TV internationaux, l'histoire vraie d'un arnaqueur repenti devenu une référence du hacking éthique. Marwan Ouarab livre 14 récits plus incroyables les uns que les autres. Pendant des années, Marwan Ouarab a enchaîné les arnaques : l'escroc derrière l'e-mail sympathique, le bonimenteur prêt à vous faire mordre à l'hameçon, le hacker qui s'introduit dans votre téléphone, c'était lui. Fausses annonces sur Leboncoin , vente de billets de concert falsifiés, piratage d'ordinateurs, la panoplie était large.

In 1977, Vera 'Toddie' Hays and Florice 'Beezie' Bessire thought they were about to embark on the trip of a lifetime when Vera's nephew, Vern Todd, offered them a campervan to drive from Germany to India. Little did the women know that Vern and his accomplices would secretly pack two tonnes of hashish into the vehicle along the way. This shocking inside story chronicles Toddie and Beezie's wild ride across continents and oceans to our shores, their arrest by Australian Federal Bureau of Narcotics agents and all that the women faced in the aftermath.

In this meticulously researched classic of the JFK conspiracy genre that Library Journal calls "sensational", Mark North argues convincingly that President John F. Kennedy died as the result of a plot masterminded by Louisiana Mafia chieftain Carlos Marcello - and, more importantly, that FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover learned early on about the plan but did nothing to stop it. Hoover warned no one - not the Dallas police, not the Secret Service. His motives, North suggests, stemmed from a fervent hatred of Kennedy and fear that the President would eventually fire him.

175 countries, four billion dollars, one scam: the thrilling rise and fall of the biggest cryptocurrency con in history and the woman behind it all In 2016, on stage at Wembley Arena in front of thousands of adoring fans, Dr. Ruja Ignatova promised her followers a financial revolution. The...

In this true crime anthology, you’ll learn about some of the most shocking true crime cases that have happened in the last 40 years. You will find yourself thrust into a world that is often depraved but always intriguing and fascinating, leaving you wanting to learn more.

This is the enormously entertaining story of how a fraudulent surgeon made a fortune by inserting goats' testes into impotent American men. "Doctor" John Brinkley became a world renowned authority on sexual rejuvenation in the 1920s, with famous politicians and even royalty asking for his services.

In Los Angeles, a series of murders occurred during the summer of 1980 that left an indelible mark on countless individuals. This string of brutal and bloody crimes would make the already famous Sunset Boulevard aka the Sunset Strip infamous and a place forever synonymous with the word evil. This true story blends statements to law enforcement and trial testimony with personal accounts from those who experienced the events firsthand. The psychology behind these violent crimes is explored, along with a look at the psychological state and the possible motives of the individuals.