The Confidence Ledger

How history's great frauds were built and uncovered

Harriet Lowndes2 episodes2 min of audio77 playsEpisodic

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S1 · E2Jul 20, 20260:5250 plays Preview

The Match King: Ivar Kreuger's Paper Empire

Ivar Kreuger controlled most of the world's match production and lent money to governments, until the 1932 collapse revealed forged bonds and balance sheets that existed mainly in his head.

S1 · E1Jul 8, 20260:4927 plays Members

Ninety Days to Double Your Money: Charles Ponzi in Boston

The 1920 postal reply coupon scheme that gave the Ponzi scheme its name, how a Boston newspaper and a sceptical financial editor pulled it apart, and what the investors actually got back.

About the show

The Confidence Ledger is a narrated documentary series about fraud, from the match-king bond empires of the 1920s to the boiler rooms and Ponzi schemes of the modern era. Harriet Lowndes spent twelve years as a forensic accountant and still reads old court files for fun, so each episode follows the money rather than the melodrama. You get the setup, the moment someone first smelled something wrong, and the paperwork that finally brought it down. It is made for listeners who enjoy a good puzzle and want to understand how intelligent people get taken in, not for anyone hoping to admire the con artist. Episodes run about 35 minutes and arrive every other Tuesday, with a regular closing segment on the warning signs that still apply to a pension statement or a glossy investment pitch today.

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