Billionaire Branson Reveals 2 Crazy Scams—and 1 Worked

Billionaire Richard Branson thinks one conman, apparently a master impersonator, is getting rich off his name. 

In a blog post, the Virgin Group founder reveals two scams in the last year, one of which worked and netted the con artist $2 million. "This story sounds like it has come straight out of a John le Carré book or a James Bond film, but it is sadly all true," he writes. 

The details:

  • Big payday: In the scam that worked, Branson writes that somebody called up a rich associate pretending to be Branson himself and asked for an emergency loan of $2 million. The associate "incredibly graciously" agreed, and the money is now gone. The trick? The conman took advantage of the news that Branson was stuck on his private island in the wake of Hurricane Irma, and claimed to be unable to reach his bank.

Read the full story on Newser.com

More From Newser

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content