Ponzi

American  

[pon-zee] / ˈpɒn zi /

noun

1. a swindle in which a quick return, made up of money from new investors, on an initial investment lures the victim into much bigger risks.

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Etymology

Origin of Ponzi

After Charles Ponzi (died 1949), the organizer of such a scheme in the U.S., 1919–20

Example Sentences

Philip Wu, a Chicago-based enrolled agent with the IRS who prepares taxes for clients, tells of a client who was victimized by a Ponzi scheme and lost a bundle.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026

In February, five people in a cattle business were indicted for an alleged $220 million Ponzi scheme.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026

How do I know that my money is safe with my financial adviser and feel sure they are not running a Madoff-type Ponzi scheme?

From MarketWatch • Mar. 30, 2026

And Weizhen Tang, who calls himself a “Chinese Warren Buffett” in a LinkedIn profile, was convicted in 2013 of defrauding customers in a $50 million Ponzi scheme.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026

They had the essential feature of a Ponzi scheme: To maintain the fiction that they were profitable enterprises, they needed more and more capital to create more and more subprime loans.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis