Taken from the all but forgotten pages of American history, Before Madoff brings alive the extraordinary rogues who perpetrated the most astonishing swindles, frauds and embezzlements of their day.In this first volume of Before Madoff, you will meet:-The clever young man from Baltimore who in 1890 singlehandedly swindles the U.S. Senate-The respected Vermont bank president who in 1834 was discovered to have stolen the pensions of the American Revolutionary War veterans-The crazed but brilliant Scottish aristocrat, who in 1730 was crowned “emperor “ of the Cherokee Indians while simultaneously defrauding the good citizens of colonial Charles Towne, South Carolina-The dynamic young politician from Ohio, rising star of the “Jacksonian” Democratic party, who in 1845 was found to have embezzled from the U.S. House of Representatives- The first American diplomat who, after being sent to France in 1776 by Benjamin Franklin, saved the American Revolution by shipping arms back to George Washington’s army, but was then summarily brought back home from as an accused embezzlerDrawing on comprehensive archival research, as detailed in the extensive bibliography, and filled with marvelous illustrations for these wonderful entertaining tales, Edson Black, a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Fraud Examiner, experienced investigator and lover of history, has constructed a stunning chronicle of fraudsters and their crimes, weaving these fascinating stories into the retelling of some of America’s most important historical events.