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How a millionaire bonanza farmer was swindled out of $25,000, then died on the Titanic
Chaffee and his son handed over $25,000 in cash after a swindler promised gold ingots and vanished with the money, police said.
- In October 1909, North Dakota bonanza farmer Herbert Fuller Chaffee lost $25,000 to a man claiming to own a gold mine in Mexico, falling victim to a 'gold brick' swindle in Minneapolis.
- Armstrong convinced Chaffee of the gold's value using a chemistry test, claiming two golden ingots worth $40,000 were held in trunks in Minneapolis to secure the farmer's funds.
- Seeking the swindler, the Chaffees offered rewards reaching $5,000 through the Burns National Detective Agency for information on Cornelius W. Caddagan, pursuing the man and his wife, Eudora, through legal channels.
- In May 1911, San Pedro Harbor authorities discovered a corpse 'heavily weighted with iron castings,' which Eudora identified as her husband, though police remained skeptical of the identity.
- Chaffee met his fate aboard the Titanic in 1912, leaving behind five children and a business worth millions, while historian D. Carter Kress later documented the swindle's enduring mystery.
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Leaning Left0Leaning Right9Center9Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Center, 50% Right
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources are Center, 50% of the sources lean Right
50% Right
C 50%
R 50%
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