Intersting story of a very successful con man. Well researched and fairly comprehensive. The only thing I wished for was more insight into what Leo really thought as he went through the whole process. Reminiscent of music man, at times ( )

An account of a truly audacious financial swindle of the 1920s, the Bayano oil/timber Ponzi-type scheme orchestrated by Leo Koretz. In fact, the author makes the well-taken point that but for an accident of history, we might be referring to Koretz Schemes instead of Ponzi Schemes, since the Chicago-based Koretz's run as a swindler covered much more in time, and in losses, than the Boston-based Ponzi did. There's also an interesting sidelight, in that the man that prosecuted Koretz had once worked in the same firm with him, and had his own ethical issues. Very fluently written, and with a number of interesting illustrations (including, I was happy to see, one editorial cartoon, by Ted Brown of the Chicago Daily News). An interesting read alongside "City of Scoundrels," which covers some of the same ground. ( )

Number one on Hadassah magazine’s list of non-fiction and an Amazon “Best Book”, Jobb has written a “rollicking story of greed, financial corruption, dirty politics, over-the-top and under –the-radar deceit, illicit sex, and a brilliant and wildly charming con man who kept a Ponzi scheme alive perhaps for longer than anyone in history”. Set in Chicago at the dawn of the Roaring Twenties, it was a time of unregulated madness. Speakeasies thrived, gang war shootings announced Al Capone’s rise to underworld domination, Chicago’s corrupt political leaders fraternized with gangsters, and the frenzy of stock market gambling was rampant. Enter Leo Koretz who enticed hundreds of people to invest as much as $30 million in phantom timberland and nonexistent oil wells in Panama. When Leo’s scheme finally collapsed in 1923, he vanished. An international manhunt, led by Chicago’s state attorney, found Leo living a life of luxury in Nova Scotia under the assumed identity of a book dealer and literary critic.
Empire of Deception is not only an incredibly rich and detailed account of a man and an era, it is a fascinating look at the methods of swindlers throughout history. Leo Koretz was the Bernie Madoff of his day. Jobb shows us that the dream of easy wealth is a timeless commodity.

Leo Koretz was a Chicago crook who fits snugly among the ranks of Charles Ponzi and Bernie Madoff with the inauspicious status of coming first. Like his fellow fraudsters, he even lied to friends and family in a scheme that robbed Peter to pay Paul in an elaborate pyramid structure.

He began to commit fraud by selling mortgages to properties that did not actually exist. Then he moved on to selling bogus rice stocks. His big take, though, was selling fake stock in a timber venture in Panama. As if this was not enough, he claimed to have struck oil along the Bayano River. With this lie, he had more people begging to invest than ever.

In true low-life fashion, he did not just target the rich. He also allowed his own friends and family to invest in these fake stocks. He saw the writing on the wall after several years of perpetuating this swindle. After cashing in everything he could (as well as stealing some jewelry), he fled Chicago to New York where he bought a book store and changed his name. Eventually, he moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia where he purchased a huge house, throwing lavish parties.

He was finally found out when a tailor found his real name stitched into a piece of clothing. The police moved in and captured him. Evading punishment until the end, it is claimed that he killed himself in prison by eating an entire box of chocolates while being sick with diabetes. He only served 34 days of his sentence.