P.T. Barnum never said, "there's a sucker born every minute," but the enduring success of Ponzi, pyramid, and similar schemes proves the point. Charles Dickens wrote about these ruses in "Little Dorrit" in 1857, and Bernie Madoff fleeced investors out of billions until 2008. We'll discuss various scams, including the Ladies Deposit, the Prosperity Club, the Kansas City Shuffle, multilevel marketing, and lotteries, some ongoing today. Notable Kansas schemes include 'Rajah' Porter's 1930s rabbit-raising con in Wichita and the Culture Farms grift in Lawrence, which promised profits from refrigerator cultures for cosmetics testing until the Kansas Securities Commissioner intervened.

An Osher membership fee of $25 is required to enroll in this class. If you have not paid your membership fee, please click on the blue link below under "course accessibility" to add the membership fee to your shopping cart. Then continue shopping to select your courses and/or events. If you have questions about whether or not you have paid your member fee, please call 785-864-6779.

Instructor Bio: Jerry Harper is a retired lawyer. He taught as an adjunct instructor at the KU Law School and taught western civilization in the KU humanities program. He has an ongoing interest in Kansas's more colorful characters.

Course Accessibility: Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend University of Kansas sponsored events. If you require reasonable accommodations in order to participate in an event, please email jayhawkglobal@ku.edu or call 785-864-6779 at least three weeks before the first day of the event.

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Course pre-requisites
(required) Osher Membership Fee

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