Leo Koretz
Leo Koretz | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 30, 1879 Rokycany, Bohemia |
| Died | January 8, 1925 (aged 45) Joliet, Illinois, United States |
| Resting place | Waldheim Cemetery Co., Forest Park, IL 41°51′30″N 87°49′09″W / 41.858375°N 87.819144°W |
| Alma mater | Chicago-Kent College of Law |
| Occupation(s) | Lawyer, stockbroker |
| Spouse |
Mae Isabel Mayer (m. 1906) |
| Children | 1 son, 1 daughter |
Leopold Koretz (1879–1925) was an American lawyer who ran an elaborate Ponzi scheme in Chicago, called the "Bayano oil fraud," which garnered an estimated $30 million (about $450 million today) from dozens of investors in Chicago. The scheme used fraudulent claims of oil interests in Panama in a criminal career that predated and outlasted his contemporary, Charles Ponzi. Koretz was so trusted and admired that after Ponzi's fraud was exposed in 1920, his investors nicknamed him "Our Ponzi," never suspecting they were being duped as well.