The con artist who sold rich investors a fake country

I thought for sure this was going to be about cryptoland again.

My favorite con from the 19th century is the Spanish Prisoner which is now a staple of the modern Nigerian 419 scams:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Prisoner

https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes...