Ten Famous and Most Brazen Con Artists in History

4. Arthur Furguson (Sold Landmarks in England and America)

In 1925, Victor Lustig sold the Eiffel Tower in France, the Scotsman Arthur Ferguson successfully sold Nelson's Column, Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace to American tourists visiting London. Then, he went to the US and sold the White House to a Texas rancher and the Statue of Liberty to an Australian.

In England, he explained that since the end of the First World War, the government was in dire need of new cash. As an American, he realized that not being so familiar with the ins and outs of how things work would be an easier sign.

Most of the victims were too embarrassed to tell the police, which allowed Arthur Ferguson to continue his deception. It was only when the Australian who wanted to buy the Statue of Liberty took too long to get funding and became suspicious of Ferguson's impatience that he was finally caught.

5. Mary Bateman’s Prophetic Chicken)

In 1806, Mary claimed that one of her chickens laid an egg with the words "Christ is coming" clearly visible on the shell. Especially for a woman who until then claimed fame had committed a series of ill-planned robberies in which she was arrested every time.

News soon spread and people went to his farm where they paid a penny to see the magic chicken and its eggs. He also offers people an official seal to ensure they make it to the right side of the Rapture, which appears to be just a piece of paper on which she wrote "JC."

A suspicious visitor soon realizes the deception when he exposes Bateman for using her simple chemistry and somewhat gruesome determination to work her magic. She would take the eggs and write her message on them with vinegar, which would weaken the hell enough to make the letters visible.