CLASSIC: Gregor MacGregor Invented a Country and Convinced People to Invest in It

Summary

Ridiculous History: CLASSIC Episode Summary Gregor MacGregor Invented a Country and Convinced People to Invest in It

Hosts: Ben Bowlin & Noel Brown
Release Date: April 8, 2025

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Introduction to Gregor MacGregor's Scheme

In this captivating episode of Ridiculous History, Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown unravel the extraordinary tale of Gregor MacGregor, a charismatic Scottish adventurer who audaciously invented an entire nation to swindle unsuspecting investors.

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Early Life and Military Ambitions [00:00 – 10:20]

• Ben: Opens with a playful discussion about the enticing yet absurd idea of starting one's own country ([00:00]).
• Noel: Jokes about having his face on currency, highlighting the whimsical nature of MacGregor's ambition ([00:04]).

Gregor MacGregor, hailing from the Scottish Highlands, embarked on a military career at a young age. His family’s wealth allowed him to purchase a commission in the British Army, fast-tracking his rise to lieutenant in just six months—a process that typically took years ([07:15]).

Notable Quote:
“A lot of palms being greased in this situation, aren't there, Ben? And I think we're already seeing some foreshadowing of our boy Gregor MacGregor's slippery nature.”
— Noel Brown ([10:31])

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Involvement in Latin American Revolutions [10:21 – 20:00]

MacGregor's military prowess led him to join the Venezuelan revolutionaries under Simon Bolivar. Initially celebrated as a war hero, he earned accolades like the insignia of the Order of the Libertadores and was promoted to brigadier general by age 30 ([15:53]).

However, despite his military achievements, MacGregor's personal ambitions overshadowed genuine loyalty. His eagerness for profit hinted at his underlying motives ([17:04]).

Notable Quote:
“Where's the next grift?”
— Ben Bowlin ([17:08])

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The Birth of Poyais: A Masterclass in Deception [20:01 – 35:00]

MacGregor's fascination with creating a utopian society culminated in the invention of Poyais—a fictional Central American country. By securing a land grant from the Mosquito King of the Mosquito Coast, he positioned himself as the sovereign prince of this nonexistent nation ([24:09]).

He authored a pamphlet titled "Sketch of the Mosquito Shore," masquerading as Captain Thomas Strangeways, which vividly described Poyais as a paradise rich in resources and opportunity ([28:06]).

Notable Quotes:
“If it's printed, it must be true.”
— Noel Brown ([31:57])

“One hard dollar.”
— Ben Bowlin ([33:20])

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Recruitment and the Tragic Voyage of Poyers [35:01 – 45:00]

Using persuasive tactics rooted in psychological principles like reciprocity and social validation, MacGregor attracted thousands of investors and settlers eager to partake in the promise of new beginnings. Ships like the Honduras Packet and Kinnersley Castle set sail with hundreds of hopeful individuals ([35:12]).

Upon arrival, the settlers faced stark reality: no fertile land, no infrastructure, and rampant disease. The promised paradise was a harsh, unforgiving jungle, leading to widespread suffering and death ([40:07]).

Notable Quote:
“They saw no farmland. They saw mile after mile of dense, nearly impenetrable jungle.”
— Ben Bowlin ([37:50])

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Unraveling the Fraud and MacGregor's Downfall [45:01 – 52:00]

As reports of the Poyais catastrophe reached Britain, suspicions arose about MacGregor's legitimacy. The British Royal Navy intercepted subsequent ships meant for Poyais, halting further losses ([44:22]).

Despite apprehensions, MacGregor managed to evade immediate retribution by relocating to France, where he briefly continued his deceptive practices before being arrested in London. However, his slippery nature allowed him to escape serious consequences and eventually secure a pension in Venezuela by reclaiming his military reputation ([47:36]).

Notable Quote:
“One of the greatest grifters ever lived and just an utter sleazeback.”
— Ben Bowlin ([50:26])

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Final Reflections and Lessons Learned [52:00 – End]

Ben and Noel reflect on MacGregor's relentless pursuit of deception, emphasizing the importance of skepticism and due diligence. MacGregor's tale serves as a timeless reminder of how charisma and elaborate storytelling can manipulate and exploit trust.

Notable Quote:
“You gotta admire the stones on this guy, though, man. I mean, good Lord, just to keep it rolling like this for so long.”
— Noel Brown ([50:35])

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Conclusion

This episode of Ridiculous History offers a thrilling exploration of Gregor MacGregor's audacious fraud, showcasing the lengths to which one individual can go in pursuit of personal gain. Through engaging storytelling and insightful analysis, Ben and Noel illuminate a remarkable chapter in history that underscores the enduring battle against deception and the allure of utopian dreams.

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Key Takeaways:

• Gregor MacGregor's Deception: Mastery in creating believable narratives and bogus documentation.
• Psychological Tactics: Effective use of reciprocity, social validation, and authority to persuade and manipulate.
• Impact on Settlers: Highlighting the human cost of such grandiose schemes.
• Historical Lessons: The importance of verifying information and maintaining skepticism to prevent exploitation.

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For more intriguing and bizarre historical tales, tune in to Ridiculous History on iHeartRadio.

Transcript

[Ben]

Hey, guys, have you ever wanted to start your own country?

[Noel]

Yeah, sure. The thought has crossed my mind. I just. If for no other reason than to have my face on some currency, to.

[Jonathan Strickland]

Be frank, I want to.

[Ben]

My dream would be able to buy.

[Jonathan Strickland]

All of the islands in the Pacific.

[Noel]

Ocean that the United States has basically.

[Jonathan Strickland]

Blown up with nukes.

[Ben]

Okay, that's a lot to unpack. All right, walk us through it. Start with Tuvalu. Make sure you get Vanuatu. Make sure you go through. Are you going to do Micronesia as a unit or are you going to move through all the archipelago?

[Noel]

We'll figure that out as we go.

[Ben]

We'll figure that out as we go. And that is a classic. Gregor McGregor real name. That's a. That's a classic line from him. Conor McGregor is different from Gregor McGregor.

[Noel]

That's right. Also known as his Serene Highness Gregor the first Sovereign prince of the state of Poyais. Poyais and its dependencies, as well as the Sakique of the Poer nation. This is about the time he visited London and made quite the impression.

[Ben]

Yeah, so much so that we made a T shirt specifically for this episode. There's only one problem when this guy visits London and sells so many people on his ideas. Turns out he made up the nation.

[Noel]

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[Ben]

Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio. Welcome to the show Ridiculous Historians. Have you ever heard of a barracuda, also known as a bilker, a bunco, a hustler, a swindler, a crook, or perhaps most familiar, a con man?

[Noel]

Barracuda.

[Ben]

I know. Isn't that cool?

[Noel]

One of those.

[Ben]

That is a synonym for a con artist.

[Noel]

I've never heard this before, Ben.

[Ben]

Well, neither have I, Noel. Have you, super producer Casey Pegram?

[Noel]

That is not a usage I'm familiar with.

[Ben]

Let's bring it back.

[Noel]

I think we should.

[Ben]

Welcome to the show. This is ridiculous History. And I've got to say, Noel, you know how sometimes I don't know if this happens to you. Sometimes when I'm doing research, I'll fall into a tangential rabbit hole.

[Noel]

Of course.

[Ben]

So in our time researching this episode, I fell into a rabbit hole of con artist culture and synonyms, clearly. And grifters. Oh, we should have said grifter. That's my favorite. And all the different slang terms attributed to this subculture, this industry and today's show does ultimately concern. What I have to say is an objectively impressive grift.

[Noel]

Yeah, an objectively impressive grift from an objectively detestable human person.

[Ben]

Oh yeah. Oh, terrible garbage train of a person for sure. And often described as an adventurer, which seems like a cool job title, but we'll find in his case is maybe a little more generous than he deserves. But Noel, could you introduce us to this fellow, Gregor McGregor?

[Noel]

Gregor McGregor. Sounds made up. But wait till you hear his other name. Yeah, he sort of. He once was a rosy cheeked young lad from the Scottish Highlands. He came from fighting stock, as this fantastic article from History Today by Victor Allen points out. You see, his grandfather was a well known Klansman. That's not a like a Ku. Ku Klux Klansman. A Klansman in the Scottish tradition whose name in Gaelic was Gregor the Beautiful. And he was a member of something called the Black Watch and also kind of became an important figure in a region called Inverdene. In breadalbane. And he became something called a laird, which I imagine to be a lord.

[Ben]

Right, right. And those terms are also not made up. We have to point out that this Gregor, the beautiful thing, was probably not meant sarcastically, like little Jon or something. No, he wasn't a super ugly dude.

[Noel]

No. I think he was probably a bit of a hunk, because his grandson Gregor, you know, in all the portraits that we've been able to find of him, a pretty dashing figure.

[Ben]

Real smoke show.

[Noel]

Absolutely. Welcome to the. Wow. Wow. Ben, you got some feels about Gregor.

[Ben]

Oh, no, I just wanted an excuse to use this wonderful phrase that John Oliver used recently.

[Noel]

Oh, what, a smoke show or a snack.

[Ben]

Absolute snack.

[Noel]

That's good.

[Ben]

Described it. And I thought, wow, a John Oliver. That's pretty racy for you.

[Noel]

Well, and I'll tell you one thing that's very snackable about him are his delicious mutton chops, because they are a thing of beauty, my friend. So he had a career, a military career? Pretty storied military career.

[Ben]

Sure.

[Noel]

Didn't he?

[Ben]

Yeah, yeah. He had years and years of service in the British Army. And let's. Let's talk a little bit about how he got wrapped up in all these military shenanigans and escapades. MacGregor, you see, joined the British army at 16, which was the. You have to be at least 16 to join the army at this time. He joined in April 1803. Oh, wait, we have to go back. Did we say when he was born? December 1786.

[Noel]

Crucial.

[Ben]

Yes, crucial deed. Crucial deed. Crucial deed. 24 December, in fact. Anyhow, fast forward. He's 16. April of 1803, he signs up for the British Army. His family had purchased a commission for him to serve as an ensign in the 57th West Middlesex Regiment of Foot.

[Noel]

What do you mean, purchased a commission for him? They, like, bought his way into a cushy military job.

[Ben]

Yeah. Bought his way to officer status. So it cost around £450. Interesting, because his family's pretty well off.

[Noel]

Sure, sure, sure.

[Ben]

He's got.

[Noel]

Yeah, he's a laird.

[Ben]

Yeah. He's got a landed grandfather. Right. So when he enters the military. Funny story, at the same time, something called the Napoleonic wars is occurring in Europe.

[Noel]

I feel as though we've heard of this before.

[Ben]

I think so. I think so. Longtime listeners may. May have a vague image of bunnies hopping into their heads.

[Noel]

Yeah. And steamy fanfic involving our boy Napoleon and Alexander the Tsar of Russia.

[Ben]

Yes. It was bizarre, to say the least.

[Noel]

It's worth it.

[Ben]

Thank you. I'll be here for the rest of the show.

[Noel]

Good. I need you. I need you, Ben. I need you.

[Ben]

Are you going to stay for the rest of the show, too?

[Noel]

We'll see.

[Ben]

Okay, great. We'll play it by ear. And that's what McGregor was doing.

[Noel]

Nice.

[Ben]

Thanks. So he does serve in the military, and at this time, he is actually doing the work. In February of 1804, less than a year into his training, he is promoted without purchasing a commission. So he earns the rank of lieutenant. And this is important because that kind of advancement usually takes much longer. Like three years.

[Noel]

Yeah. And what was he like in his 20s?

[Ben]

He would still not be 20. He would be around, like, maybe just about to turn 18.

[Noel]

This is in 1804. That's right.

[Ben]

And as he is serving the British army, he is still networking with people. He meets the daughter of a Royal Navy admiral named Maria Bowater, and she had a pretty hefty dowry.

[Noel]

Didn't he wife her up?

[Ben]

He did. He did. He wiped her up. He also bought the rank of captain for about £900. And he could have waited to get the promotion to earn it, but that would have taken seven years, and he was a man on a mission.

[Noel]

A lot of palms being greased in this situation, aren't there, Ben? And I think we're already seeing some foreshadowing of our boy Gregor McGregor's slippery nature.

[Ben]

That's right, Noel. And we see his extroverted nature go international pretty soon. When he is in his 20s, he doesn't just stay in Europe, you see, he is interested, intrigued by the colonial revolts against Spanish rule in Latin America, particularly Venezuela.

[Noel]

Venezuela. And he kind of joins forces or offers his services to, I guess, this guy Simon Bolivar. Bolivar. Bolivar, right. Who is like the head or the leader of the this kind of rebellion. His nickname was the Liberator. In fact, earned that nickname by liberating what is now the republics of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and Bolivia. Made them sovereign states and freed them from Spanish rule. And this is all in the midst of that hubbub there, right?

[Ben]

Yes. Yeah, absolutely.

[Noel]

So how does a. How does a young Scotsman throw his hat in the ring to. To a revolt like this? I guess they needed all the help they can get or what they need.

[Ben]

All the help we could get. Also, we should point out that In December of 1811, Maria McGregor had passed away. So he is now no longer a married man. When he arrives in Venezuela, it's not long after an earthquake has destroyed a Lot of the city. This is in April of 1812. Some of the country was under control of advancing royalist armies. The revolutionary government was starting to collapse on itself and break into different factions. MacGregor didn't want to talk about his titles. You know, in his European life, he wanted to seem pretty legit to the republicans. So he kept calling himself Sir Gregor. And then he started claiming he was a knight of the Portuguese Order of Christ. And then he offered his services to Venezuelan revolutionaries. The first one he offered his service to was a guy named Francisco de Miranda. And Francisco ended up being a pretty good person for MacGregor to know. We'll see throughout this that MacGregor uses people and throws them away. He had promoted MacGregor eventually to brigadier general in 1812.

[Noel]

But he also, this guy Miranda, was really fascinated by the idea of kind of having a new Incan empire in South America. Like, where the streets would be paved with gold and the trees would be overflowing with ripe fruit. And it would be just this like, kind of Shangri La or Eden type paradise. Right. And this was a notion that I think he started implanting in McGregor's head that will kind of come out in the story very, very soon.

[Ben]

Yeah, yeah. Good call. Good call. So eventually, things go wrong for Francisco de Miranda, who apparently had also, just a side note here, been knocking boots with Catherine the Great. Did you see that?

[Noel]

Just occasionally.

[Ben]

I think just occasionally. They didn't want to put a label on it.

[Noel]

No.

[Ben]

You know what I mean? They're very forward thinking.

[Noel]

It was complicated.

[Ben]

It was a time of revolution. So unfortunately, Francisco de Miranda had been captured by Spanish forces, and he had been shipped off to prison, where he spent four years chained to a wall. MacGregor, however, despite losing his patron at this point, or his main connection with the military structure, he continues on his journey and he makes a name for himself. People say, hey, have you guys seen how brave that guy is? Have you seen what a great leader he is? Or more likely, I held my hand in front of the mic like I'm whispering. I want everyone to know that I did that.

[Noel]

Even though you can't see it, you're still doing it.

[Ben]

I'm still doing it. I'm feeling this moment, Noel, because, yeah, they said he was courageous and they said he was a great leader.

[Noel]

Look at those chops. Look at those beautiful, gorgeous mutton chops.

[Ben]

Right? Or did he just make up stories wherein he looked courageous and looked like a good leader?

[Noel]

Yeah, but that's the thing, though. In and around this time, and it'll become even more apparent once our boy kind of makes the trip back to his home country. In London, things were not so good. People wanted heroes. They wanted to believe these kinds of stories. They wanted to look up to someone like this guy and be able to say, hey, look at that shining example of a man with those delightful mutton chops. I want to follow that guy.

[Ben]

That's really good context to put on this. And I think you're absolutely correct. People need a hero. Right. And whether he is a real hero or not, it's debatable. We'll leave that decision to you folks regardless. He rose from the position of staff Colonel to the General of Division in the army of Venezuela and New Granada when he was only 30 years old and he was kicking keisters and taking names. He fought in a ton of battles.

[Noel]

And still leagued up with this Venezuelan revolutionary.

[Ben]

Right, right, right. And he became known for these epic campaigns and his role in these pivotal, decisive battles attracts national attention. And Simone Bolivar, who we mentioned just a second ago, also comes in person to award McGregor these various accolades for his actions of wartime.

[Noel]

Yeah, like serious accolades. He was awarded the insignia of the Order of the Libertadores, which was the name of the militaristic group that Bolivar headed up. And MacGregor was more than ready and willing to capitalize on these accolades in order to earn some serious coin.

[Ben]

Yes. Yeah. He got married again to a relative of the supreme Commander Bolivar. And he also found that peace was sort of a letdown to him, you know?

[Noel]

Yeah. I mean, not only that, it's just like in peace there's. There's no money to be made and.

[Ben]

That'S what Hugh was after. Where's the next grift?

[Noel]

Yeah, exactly. I mean, because I don't know, it's weird. He's up to now. He does, he certainly is part of some, some conflicts that make him seem like you could view him as some kind of like military genius, you know, some kind of like war hero. But it does feel like he was rising in the ranks all the while sometimes using payoffs and sometimes, you know, throwing people under the bus and using people for their influence. But it all seemed pretty self serving. But I don't know, maybe that's just politics.

[Ben]

Yeah, yeah, maybe it is because he continued fighting his own kind of private war. And so after his time in Venezuela, where he finds peace anticlimactic and let's be honest, not all that profitable, he leads a series of independent military campaigns in The Caribbean and history.com has a great article on this by Evan Andrews, but I won't want to read the title yet because we don't want to spoil the story. He did something pretty interesting. He just arbitrarily would promote the people who worked for him, the different freebooters that he was hiring and mercenaries and like, oh, I like the cut of your jib. Your. You're a lieutenant now.

[Noel]

You're on my crew.

[Ben]

Right. And his big tent campaign in this period of his life was the brief capture of Florida's Amelia island from the Spanish. He also was not the most impressive military commander, at least by this point. He was known to immediately desert his army.

[Noel]

There you go. Here's some chinks in the armor. Ben.

[Ben]

Give it to me.

[Noel]

Because he cultivated this image of himself, and clearly that was more important than actually being, you know, a good guy or an effective leader.

[Ben]

Yeah, Yep, that's. That's the truth. That's what we were alluding to earlier when we talked about his courage and his leadership. It turns out that he, as long as everything was going fine for his army, he was completely on board and 100% down for the cause. However, if things appeared to go south, sideways or pear shaped, as they say in the uk, he would ghost. But he still kept his knack for self promotion and deception. So the accounts he would tell of various military conflicts differed from the accounts everybody else would tell. And he became known, at least in this area of the world. That's a very important detail. As a bit of a blustering braggart, but still a charmer. Just very self aggrandizing and a guy who thought he was the smartest person in the room and was convinced that he could sell anyone on anything.

[Noel]

Yeah, as we're gonna find out, he kind of could.

[Ben]

Yes. Should we just jump there?

[Noel]

Oh, we definitely should.

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[Ben]

Yes. Also known as the Mosquito Kingdom. Yeah, this is an important part here nowadays. It's the eastern coast of Nicaragua and Honduras. Just a little bit of southern Honduras shares this area. But the Mosquito coast was generally thought of as the domain of the mosquito or mosquito kingdom. And they had an interesting tension in this area between the British, the US and the countries of Nicaragua and Honduras.

[Noel]

Well, not to mention the Native American, the native people, the Mosquito Indians. Right.

[Ben]

Yeah. And we had a strange situation here because the Mosquito people had their own rulers or kings and they had a specific name, right?

[Noel]

Yeah, that's right, Ben. They had something of a king who was called the Cacique.

[Ben]

Yeah, A series of kings.

[Noel]

Yeah, series of kings. This is the Cacique king of the Mosquito Indians. And this individual made a bit of a devil's bargain with our boy MacGregor.

[Ben]

Yeah. And so for context, the Cacique, the kings of this area of the Moskio people, allowed foreigners to settle in their lands so long as their overall sovereignty was respected. And a lot of British merchants and Garifuna people from Honduras took advantage of this. And one of these kings, one of these caziques, makes a deal with Gregor McGregor for, I believe it was 30 miles of land.

[Noel]

That's right. And it was on what's known as the Poyas shore. And so with that land grant, that surely was on the up and up when he made this deal. Right. Surely all the T's were crossed and the I's were dotted.

[Ben]

Yeah. Convinced?

[Noel]

Uh huh. Yeah. So with this deal having been made, MacGregor makes his way back to England, to London in particular, making some pretty outrageous claims.

[Ben]

Right? Yeah. So after he makes this deal in 1820, he becomes a whole new Gregor MacGregor. He is the prince of Poyas. He's named his newfound dominion Poyas. And boy, is Poyas a great place. This is where we see the inspiration he received from Miranda's vision of a new Incan empire popping back up again. He described this place in very hyperbolic, fascinating, almost too good to be truish terms.

[Noel]

Yeah, like stuff like flowing with milk and honey, you know, fruit trees spilling with delicious ripe fruit, water so pure that it would quench any thirst, I think was one of them. Right, Ben?

[Ben]

And he claimed he was the cazique, or the king prince of this area. And that this was an obscure but prosperous nation. And not only was it a hidden gem across the sea, but it was an act now situation. Because you see, Londoners, you too can be part of the dream. The cazique of Poyas has come on a mission to solicit investments and to recruit potential settlers.

[Noel]

That's right. And there's a super cool excerpt from a book by Maria Konnikova that is on the BBC that talks about some of the psychological principles of persuasion that con men use. In particular that Gregor MacGregor used. Do you want to talk through some of those?

[Ben]

Sure. Let's round robin it. There are six. The first is reciprocity.

[Noel]

Reciprocity. I'll scratch your back, you scratch mine. Coming from McGregor. Hey, I'm giving you this chance of a lifetime. All you gotta do for me is give me all your money.

[Ben]

And then consistency of behavior, meaning that whether it is true or a lie, I am going to believe the same thing I did yesterday, Right?

[Noel]

That's right. Exactly. Then we have social validation, which is super important because it's basically like, if I'm saying to you, ben, Ben, you gotta do this, it's gonna make you a real, real, true Scotsman, a real, true man's man, a Robinson Caruso type, you know, going out and taming the wilds, and at the same time, it's gonna be awesome. So don't worry about it.

[Ben]

Yeah, and there's. There's a clever thing there, too, because the social validation there is. I have specifically chosen you to be part of this. Yes.

[Noel]

For your merits that are just on display, Ben.

[Ben]

Clearly. Yeah.

[Noel]

I want you to be New Utopia also.

[Ben]

This is just between us. I like you as a person. That's number four. You know, we're. We're friends, buddies. We're pals.

[Noel]

Yeah.

[Ben]

You know, you're. You're pal with the casique of Poya.

[Noel]

How cool is that? And here's a really important one. And you see, it's funny, you see a mix of these being used in everything from, like, offers on Facebook and things to, like, ticket sales. You notice how every time you see an ad for, like, concert tickets, they always say they're really going quick, going quick, get them. Now. You got to get them while they're hot because there's just not enough to go around because it's just such an amazing opportunity. And if you don't do it, somebody else will, so you better hop on it. And then finally, what do we have?

[Ben]

Yes, finally, authority. I know what I am talking about, says the grifter.

[Noel]

And not only that, this is my favorite part of this whole story. Actually. McGregor actually wrote a book.

[Ben]

Yes.

[Noel]

Under an assumed name called Sketch of the Mosquito Shore, including the Territory of Poyas. And it was written by a man.

[Ben]

By the name of Thomas Strangeways.

[Noel]

Thomas Strangeways. Captain Thomas Strangeways.

[Ben]

Yes. Pardon the hell out of me. Captain Thomas.

[Noel]

Exactly. But yeah, I mean, everything. All signs point to this was in fact McGregor. So he was, like, laying the. The groundwork for this grift. This is a long con man.

[Ben]

Yeah. And people did not have the same. I guess I don't want to say wherewithal, but they didn't have the same.

[Noel]

Resources, access to fact checking. Right.

[Ben]

That we have today to verify information so Thomas Strangeways. Excuse me again, Captain Thomas Strangeways just had a really interesting name. Sounded like a great, well traveled adventurer. And in very idyllic bucolic terms described this hitherto unknown nation of Poya.

[Noel]

Yeah, and he described it just as we described it, just as MacGregor described it as this place. Oh, gold just overflowing from the river. Everywhere, just everywhere lousy with gold. And here's the thing with that authority, point of persuasion, this makes it even better because he's saying, don't take my word for it. Check out this guy, Captain Strangeways. He's been there. He wrote a book about it. Who would write a book about it if it wasn't true?

[Ben]

Yeah, I was quite delighted to find that my tiny beautiful nation was the subject of a book. You seem well read. You've surely heard of the sketches, right?

[Noel]

Here's a little, little snippet from the preface. Mosquito Shore, including the territory of Poyas. Being impressed with a thorough conviction of the immense benefit which not only the native tribes of Mosquito, but the neighboring countries in general must derive from the civilization and improvement of one of the fairest portions of the globe, has endeavored in the following sheets to attract the attention of enlightened Europeans to the subject by combining the knowledge of its history, natural productions, the best mode of culture and etc. Which he acquired during a portion of his life spent in that part of the world. This is.

[Ben]

Was that your Matt Berry?

[Noel]

I don't know. Kind of. It was. It was. It was. Yeah.

[Ben]

Yes.

[Noel]

No, but. So this is. This is so meta. Because this is McGregor, right? Writing a preface like, you know, himself.

[Ben]

Four strange ways.

[Noel]

Four strange ways. Who is also himself.

[Ben]

And it's long preference. We know that sounded like a long take, but that's just an excerpt.

[Noel]

It's just an excerpt, but the point is, from the start, it reads like a treatise for how awesome this place is. It's like a timeshare pamphlet or an.

[Ben]

Infomercial that purports to be a documentary. Right? And at this time, now that he's reinvented himself as the cazique, as his Highness Gregor, he is a fixture in London's high society. Wealthy aristocrats set him and his wife up in a country home. The lord mayor holds a banquet in his honor and people start to trust him because he's charming and he cites all his past military achievements and. You know what? I've gotta stop just for a second. Strangeways is just such a terrible, terrible name. It's like Timmy McRealname well, I mean.

[Noel]

Gregor McGregor's not great either. Yeah, but it's real.

[Ben]

Yeah, but that's the real one. That's just so weird.

[Noel]

I'm not making fun of Scottish names, I just think any name where like the first name and the last name are the same. Inherently absurd sounding to me, but that's just my opinion.

[Ben]

Yeah, yeah, there's, you know, Humbert Humbert, all that sort of stuff.

[Noel]

Exactly.

[Ben]

But even though he's Gregor McGregor. Excuse me, his Highness the Cazique Gregor, he is really and genuinely winning people over because he doesn't just come with great stories, he doesn't just come with a book that he didn't write. He also, you see, has tons and tons of official documents, all kinds of paperwork. He has a handwritten land grant from the Mosquito King, which is a great band name. He has a national flag. He has charts and maps showing the location and border of Poyas.

[Noel]

I think he even had some currency from the bank of Pollass.

[Ben]

Yes, he has currency. I think they call it, what, One hard note.

[Noel]

Oh. And it says at the bottom, by order of his Highness Gregor Kazik of Poyas.

[Ben]

Yes. And the problem with all this stuff.

[Noel]

Yeah, one hard dollar.

[Ben]

One hard dollar. Which is a weird phrase.

[Noel]

A little bit.

[Ben]

Yeah. But. But the problem with all of this documentation is that almost all of it is entirely fabricated by him. He has made up these dollars.

[Noel]

Ben, do you remember that crazy, fraudulent music festival called Fire Fest that happened.

[Ben]

Last year with Ja Rule? I think was the thing.

[Noel]

I think Ja Rule was involved. That's right. But basically what it was was this total bait and switch where they were selling these premium packages to, you know, rabid bougie concert goers.

[Ben]

Sure.

[Noel]

To go to this, like, private island where this concert was going to be held. And everyone showed up and they're supposed. They're expecting all these crazy accommodations and like, nothing. There was nothing. It was just trash. It was these like, crappy tents. There was just like, you know, sand.

[Ben]

No ways. Just.

[Noel]

Just totally filthy. And an absolute, you know, just complete grift. That's what the handful of hapless settlers who abandoned their homes for a better life under the benevolent hand of the Cazique of Poyas. That's what they found.

[Ben]

Well, yeah, it sounds crazy, but let's step back a little and see how it happened. Because he floats a 200,000 pound sterling poyas bond in the London money market and then he also starts selling land and titles. Two would be colonists and you could get a pretty good deal. For just 11 pounds, you could purchase 100 acres of poya farmland. And if you were a little more, well to do, you could buy a post as an officer in the military. The same way the cazique became.

[Noel]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, you know, pay it forward.

[Ben]

Pay it forward, you know, in the sleaziest way possible.

[Noel]

And how crazy that the value of those bonds you mentioned just ballooned over time.

[Ben]

Yeah, yep. And In September of 1822, a ship called the Honduras packet set sail from London with, as you said, a handful of people bound for Poya, probably with their land deeds clutched in their hands. And that first ship only took about what, several dozen people?

[Noel]

Yeah. And there's a second one called the Kinnersley Castle. And I believe between the 2 there was 250 folks. Folks in total. And they were just expecting paradise, you know, as well they should have given, you know, the salesmanship of our guy McGregor.

[Ben]

Yeah. So these people who are called Poyers, most of them invested their entire life savings in this journey, as you said, Noel. They sold their houses. Some had even converted all their cash to hard Poyas dollars.

[Noel]

Shaking my head, I feel bad for these hapless saps.

[Ben]

Yeah, it's terrible.

[Noel]

You know, at the same time, again though, things were not so hot in the, in the world at large. And certainly the kind of people that maybe would look at this as an opportunity to start again. You know, Scotland is pretty bleak, the weather's not great. It felt like maybe to some this was a way to break out of their kind of typical humdrum routine and start a new life for what seemed like a too good to pass up deal. Which is another part of manipulative techniques of grifters is the idea there's two notions. One is you're spurring somebody towards making a decision that you want them to make and also making sure that the decision seems like something that they. It would be too. It would be a fool to reject this offer because it's just like a no brainer, right?

[Ben]

Yeah. And it's also very helpful. You know, you've done well. When they feel as though it is their own idea. Hey, Kizik, you and I are friends, right? You know what? Poya sounds so good that I would like to go. Napoleon has just been defeated. The British economy is expanding and, you know, I'm in a good mood. I think it's a time to make a change. Right. And this works very well for the Kazik at first, but for these poor investors, the Poia, they were promised is not the poia they find when they land.

[Noel]

No, it was that fyre fest situation.

[Ben]

Right? Exactly. They see no farmland. They see mile after mile of dense nigh impenetrable jungle. And they are wondering where is all the crystal clear water? Where is all the abundant rich soil we were promised? Where the heck is this civilization you told us about?

[Noel]

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[Jonathan Strickland]

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[Noel]

Like making sure they've got the right gear for riding. Knee pads. Check. And helmets.

[Ben]

Done.

[Noel]

See you dad.

[Jonathan Strickland]

New Instagram Teen Accounts Automatic protections for who can contact your teen and the.

[Noel]

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[Jonathan Strickland]

Void where prohibited by law 21 +.

[Noel]

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[Jonathan Strickland]

To Hard Rock Hotels and do your.

[Noel]

[e-mail] Here's a fantastic excerpt from an account of the time that was reprinted in the Guardian recently.

[Ben]

Yeah, this is from the Guardian archive was imprint 25-10-1823 by the time that a couple of settlers had made it.

[Noel]

Back, so here it goes. When the immigrants arrived at San Joseph, nothing could exceed their anguish on finding where they expected a fine, flourishing town with nearly 2,000 inhabitants, only two or three ruined huts, the Party exerted themselves vigorously, clearing away some stunted mahogany trees from about 600 yards of Sandy ground and erecting a number of little huts and tents with blankets to protect from the weather. Nearly all of their provisions, however, had been wet in landing, as they had been compelled to roll all their barrels for a considerable distance through salt water. The sun in the daytime was intolerably hot, and the nights were cold with heavy rain. So what ended up happening was a lot of people died. They got very sickened because the water was not that pure, clean drinking water that was described.

[Ben]

It was brackish and contaminated with animal waste as well. So in a very short amount of time, I think 20 people died, and everyone who didn't die got sick. And along comes the real cazique, the king of the Mosquito Indians. He visits them to see what's going on.

[Noel]

Yeah, who the heck are you guys?

[Ben]

Right? And we have an excerpt that explains this situation pretty well. Try to imagine the king's utter bafflement here. He afterwards sent a letter stating that he had made a grant of 30 miles of land on the Poyas shore to Sir Gregor MacGregor three years ago. But that quote, unquote, Sir Gregor having, until that time, neglected to take possession, he considered the grant as void, and that had he then known Sir Gregor as he did now, he would never have made the grant. He would oppose the settlement of anyone belonging to Sir Gregor within his territory and prescribed as the condition of their remaining in peace that they should abjure Sir Gregor and swear allegiance to him.

[Noel]

So, in other words, he became aware of what a bastard Gregor was. Yeah.

[Ben]

Utter bastard. And so at this stage, he also threatens some of these settlers. He says, and we'll paraphrase here, that he could call up 7,000 natives and cut off the entire settler community at one blow. But by this point, and by their own admission, the settlers felt themselves past fear. Death was killing everybody off just as surely as the Mosquito King was threatening to do.

[Noel]

Bad times, man. There's a really sad little account of a man who was a shoemaker who was declared to be the official shoemaker of the Princess of Poia, whoever that was.

[Ben]

Yeah.

[Noel]

And he apparently got so sick that he took his own life by shooting himself while laying dying in a hammock.

[Ben]

Yep. And six men tried to get to Honduras in a canoe. They ended up being castaways, but they were rescued by a guy named Mr. Bennett, who was a mahogany merchant and an overall standup dude. He learned of what was happening.

[Noel]

Thank God for Mr. Bennett.

[Ben]

Yeah. And he sent a ship to take as many settlers as he could to a hospital in Honduras and to fetch the rest of them on the second trip. However, at this point, the situation is still fraught with danger because we mentioned Honduras package. Right. That's the first ship with about 50 people. We mentioned Kennersley Castle. That's the second ship with about 200 people. There were two other ships on the way. There was the Albion, which was the third vessel to bring settlers. It was diverted to Belize after they discovered that the previous settlers had abandoned.

[Noel]

This is so fire fest, dude. This is like. I mean, this is literally what happened with Fyre Fest. People got trapped on the island. Yeah.

[Ben]

They couldn't fly out.

[Noel]

It must bougier version of this. But I wonder if Ja Rule or whoever the hell was responsible for that looked at this story as like an inspiration.

[Ben]

Yeah. And the. The other ship, the Skene, was sent bringing arms and supplies, also diverted to Belize. And there are also reports that five other vessels were on the way. But in a massive stroke of luck for these vessels, word reached Britain that Polla was entirely made up by that time. So the British Royal Navy intercepted these other five ships and turned them back. And again, this all happened because there was such a scarcity of information and it took forever to contact people, especially over those long distances. All in all, McGregor's swindle here raised £200,000. But Noel, what happened when people found out about this?

[Noel]

Well, they were justifiably enraged and they were thirsty for McGregor's blood. But by this point, he had already hightailed it out of the country and posted up in France, where I think he ran a few years more of other scams on the hapless Parisians. And by the way, if we're going to inflation calculator, that amount of money that he raised, it would be in the billions of dollars.

[Ben]

Oh yeah, if we count France. There's a great article from the Economist called the King of Conmen that does the math for us here. Over his lifetime, those bond market frauds in England and in France run to the tune of 1.3 million. And in today's terms, how much is that?

[Noel]

That would be £3.6 billion.

[Ben]

So that's even more dollars.

[Noel]

It's crazy. And, yeah, and so a big, I guess once he got to Paris too. I mean, I don't know, it must have been part of it from the start. But this idea of these gold mines, selling these parcels of land with the promise of these imaginary gold mines that people would just Be able to just stick their hands in the water and just get gold. Right on.

[Ben]

It's lousy with gold.

[Noel]

Lousy with gold. But for whatever reason, in this History Today article, they conjecture that maybe Paris was a little too. Too hot for McGregor and his crew. They came back to London and thank God there's a little comeuppance here. They were arrested on site and imprisoned in a prison called the Toth Hill Fields.

[Ben]

Yeah. We should note, though, that when he was in France, he was doing the exact same scheme. He didn't even change the name of the country. I think that's part of why he was so quickly caught, you know, and.

[Noel]

I think I may have spoke too soon, Ben. That comeuppance was maybe just the humiliation of being arrested. But as slippery a snake as this dude was, he was able to wriggle his way even out of this one.

[Ben]

Yes, that is true. He was in Tot Hillfield's Bridewell for about a week before he was released without a charge. And then immediately he starts a newer version of the Poia scheme. And this time he calls himself Kazik of the Republic of Poyas. He sets up a new office and doesn't claim any of the diplomatic status that he had done with the other office. And he starts acting through proxies. He gets another company to act as brokers.

[Noel]

Yeah. So he basically smartened up his grift a little bit.

[Ben]

Right.

[Noel]

And separated himself from it somewhat.

[Ben]

Right. And. And he started selling other versions of this. By the time it hit 1828, he was selling certificates entitling holders to land in Poyas proper at five shillings per acre. Yeah. He goes on publishing these various documents. Paper is power at this time.

[Noel]

Oh, yeah.

[Ben]

So he publishes.

[Noel]

If it's printed, it must be true.

[Ben]

Right. Why would you go to the trouble? He publishes a constitution for a smaller republic public headed by himself as president. He eventually, despite all his efforts, has a bit of a come to Jesus moment, as they would call it in the American South. And he understands that the Poia grift is finally done.

[Noel]

It's run its course.

[Ben]

Everybody knows. Yes, everybody knows.

[Noel]

Yeah. Because he's burned through all his money at this point. He's got no friends left to speak of. And so he goes back to the last place where he felt beloved, which was old Venezuela, where he still had some connects. He didn't screw anybody over there. Exactly right. That I can think of. So he went back and actually petitioned the government to give him citizenship and restore his military rank. So he ended his life living in Venezuela as a general and got a government pension.

[Ben]

Yeah. Back pay as well. And pension. And that's primarily because the defense minister had served alongside MacGregor in an expedition in 1860 and said, you know what? This guy is a war hero. And this worked. The part of today's Honduras that was called Poya remains undeveloped. Today there are no villages, no abundant farmland, no gold mines that anyone knows about. But MacGregor himself, Old Gregor MacGregor, passed away a free man on December 4, 1845. One of the greatest grifters ever lived and just an utter sleazeback.

[Noel]

You gotta admire the stones on this guy, though, man. I mean, good Lord, just to keep it rolling like this for so long.

[Ben]

Yeah. But hopefully a lesson to be learned. And we hope that you enjoyed this episode as well. Thanks so much for giving us a listen.

[Noel]

Yeah. Enjoyed. That's another one of these. Where. Where. Yes, it's ridiculous, but, God, this guy put some people through the ringer. But I. I enjoyed learning about it.

[Ben]

Yeah.

[Noel]

Yeah.

[Ben]

Well, tell us what you think. And, man, no.

[Noel]

Really annoying.

[Jonathan Strickland]

It's time, gentlemen.

[Ben]

Jonathan Strickland, the quister.

[Noel]

Speaking of time. Yeah, it's been a nice little stretch of time since we've had. Since you've darkened our studio door.

[Ben]

Operative word being a nice stretch.

[Jonathan Strickland]

You know, I heard so many complaints about my absence that I could not allow it to continue one breath longer. And so the most cringeworthy segment in all of podcasting has returned.

[Ben]

I'm certainly cringing you're also on a T shirt. I am. This has gone too far.

[Jonathan Strickland]

Some might say it's a top seller.

[Ben]

So this is. This is our non consensually recurring segment wherein you, the quizter, also known as.

[Noel]

Jonathan Strickland, just kind of materializes. Yeah.

[Jonathan Strickland]

As is my want.

[Ben]

Right. When we think we're going to end the show to test our knowledge of historical fact and fiction. How does this work?

[Jonathan Strickland]

I present to you a scenario, and I give you three minutes to determine whether said scenario in fact and represents fact or I made it up.

[Noel]

Cease.

[Jonathan Strickland]

And I could have made up a significant fact within the story and the rest of it be mostly true. And it's still fake.

[Noel]

Cease.

[Ben]

Oh, wow.

[Jonathan Strickland]

Right. So you asked me this every time, so I thought I would just get in front of it this time.

[Ben]

There we go.

[Jonathan Strickland]

Yeah, because it's like, you forget how this game works every time I come.

[Noel]

In here, so it's not for our benefit, man. It's for the new listeners who just hear this weirdo popping up out of nowhere, and they want to know what gives.

[Jonathan Strickland]

I'm just, just making sure because every time Ben says it, it's like he legitimately doesn't remember.

[Ben]

Yeah, I've got.

[Jonathan Strickland]

I'm a little concerned.

[Ben]

I've got a pretty good acting range or some emergent issues.

[Noel]

Ben's like the memento guy.

[Jonathan Strickland]

So if it's either all true or. Or it's fake. So I give you the scenario and then I come up with some sort of arbitrary rule for you to follow if you want to ask me a question, which I now realize I did not think about before I came in here today. So we're going to say, if you wish to ask a question once the time has started, you will preface that question with Alonsi. You'll understand why in a moment. I will know, read to you the scenario and then at the conclusion, we will start the clock. Alright, here we are. On August 21, 1911, one of the greatest art heists in history took place. A man who styled himself the Marquis Edoardo di Valfierno calmly walked into the Louvre in Paris, France. He waited until no one was paying attention. He lifted Leonardo da Vinci Mona Lisa off the wall, slid it under his coat and calmly walked out of the building. He had already sold the Mona Lisa to an interested buyer. Actually, he had sold it to six different interested buyers because he had no intention of parting with the real painting, you see, but rather had six forgeries made. It was the perfect crime. The people purchasing the stolen painting would surely not say anything about it and they'd have no way of knowing about each other. An accomplice named Vincenzo Peruggia was caught supposedly with one of the forgeries. According to this, Marquis Peruggia would be tried for the theft and sentenced to serve out a jail sentence. The copy the forgery, according to Valfierno, would go to the Louvre, where it hangs. Still, Valfierno told his story to journalist Carl Decker of the Saturday Evening Post. Years later, the whereabouts of the original Mona Lisa, according to Valfierno, are still unknown. Begin the time.

[Ben]

Okay, first off, there's a lot of according too going on in here. So that guy could be lying, but the story about the lie could be true.

[Noel]

Yeah, it's a good point, Ben. I don't know. Do you think it's just to throw us off?

[Ben]

I don't know. In the past, the longer ones have been false, but I messed up on that point because I mentioned it in front of Jonathan Strickland, AKA the Quizzter.

[Noel]

And he made a face.

[Ben]

Yeah, he made a. I'll remember that face.

[Noel]

A bit of a smirk.

[Ben]

Alonsi.

[Jonathan Strickland]

Yes, Monsieur Boland.

[Ben]

Does. Does anybody else corroborate this story told to the journalist, or is it just the one guy?

[Jonathan Strickland]

Oh, no, there have been several corroborations.

[Ben]

Okay. Several credible corroborations.

[Jonathan Strickland]

Are you asking me to levy judgment upon those who corroborate the story?

[Noel]

That does seem like a stretch, Ben.

[Jonathan Strickland]

To answer your question.

[Ben]

Uh huh.

[Noel]

The.

[Jonathan Strickland]

The one account of this. Full account of this is in a 1936 Saturday Evening Post article.

[Noel]

I seem to recall the Perugio.

[Jonathan Strickland]

I apologize, a 1932.

[Noel]

The name as being an art. Like a high art thief or some. Like there was a movie or something about it. But I'm wondering if there was some detail that was incorrect.

[Ben]

Right.

[Noel]

That renders the whole thing.

[Ben]

I. Ah. Alonsi.

[Jonathan Strickland]

What is Monsieur Ballet.

[Ben]

What is the name of the. The thief again?

[Jonathan Strickland]

It would be Marquis Eduardo de Valhierno.

[Noel]

Who was Perugio?

[Jonathan Strickland]

Perugio was an accomplice. Vincenzo Peruggio.

[Noel]

Okay. That's the name that.

[Ben]

That rings a bell.

[Noel]

Rings a bell.

[Ben]

You want to go for true?

[Noel]

I'm gonna go for true.

[Ben]

All right, let's lock it in. Three, two.

[Jonathan Strickland]

I feel so guilty. This one's a tricky one, but no, it's false. It's actually false. You see, you were onto something, Monsieur Bohlin. You see, this story was in fact told in the Saturday evening post in 1932. But Karl Decker was a notorious fibber.

[Ben]

Oh, man.

[Jonathan Strickland]

Notorious. And there is absolutely no proof that this ever exists. None of these supposed six forgeries have ever surfaced.

[Ben]

Huh?

[Jonathan Strickland]

The examination of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre has shown that it is in fact the original Mona Lisa. In 1911, the Mona Lisa was not even a famous painting outside of France. No one knew about it.

[Noel]

Yeah, but Perugia did steal the Mona Lisa.

[Jonathan Strickland]

Did steal the Mona Lisa in 1911 with two Italian accomplices. They spent the night in a janitorial broom closet. Woke up in the next morning, and then, well, didn't even wake up. They stayed awake the whole time. Snuck out the next morning with the Mona Lisa. Perugia kept it, was afraid to try and even fence it for almost two years. Finally get tried to do it in Florence. And the art dealer in Florence said, hang on.

[Ben]

Oh, wow.

[Jonathan Strickland]

Alerted the authorities. Peruggia was in fact arrested and tried for the crime and sentenced to jail. You know how long his sentence was for stealing the Mona Lisa, one of the most famous paintings in all the.

[Ben]

World more than a year.

[Jonathan Strickland]

Eight months.

[Ben]

Eight months, that's all.

[Jonathan Strickland]

Eight months was all. The Mona Lisa was not very famous in 1911. And also there was another event that ended up superseding eclipsing, you might say this story. And that little event was the Great War, right. Broke out in Europe. And that no one really cared about an art thief at that point. But yes, this. So the story was published. Carl Decker did write an article that made these claims saying that he had met this marquis, Eduardo valFierno back in 1914. But there is no proof that such a man ever existed, no proof that any forgeries were ever made. And in fact there are many parts of his story, Decker's story, that resemble an earlier story that was published in 1910 about another self styled nobleman, Count Dalby, who was known to sell forgeries to American millionaires.

[Ben]

You know what though? Okay, first off, thank you. That is an excellent explanation. But I am going to argue that this is a draw due to the complicated and unexplored territory that this question represents.

[Jonathan Strickland]

It's funny because I'm the one who's in charge of the game. I say I win. Besides which, you said the last time that it was an easy one one. So now on, they're going to be really hard.

[Noel]

That was me. Sorry guys. You know what though? I've kind of. You've worn me down to the point where I just can't even get upset about this anymore. And I, I'm fine with just. I'm a glutton for punishment. Let's keep, let's keep this rolling. Let's do it again.

[Jonathan Strickland]

We'll make it fair. Next time I make one up, I will make one up. I will not take some other famous fraud and then present it as if it were true. Because you may remember. Oh, I hear, remember hearing that story.

[Noel]

But that's right. That's right.

[Jonathan Strickland]

Story.

[Noel]

Trixie.

[Jonathan Strickland]

Trixie Devil. I'll be more honest in my dishonesty.

[Ben]

Great. Well, you're a clever antagonist for sure. And this would usually be a great Casey on the case moment. But he will have to recuse himself because he is actually friends with all of us and may have a difficult time being impartial. However, we do want to thank you for coming on this show and helping us and our fellow ridiculous historians learn a little bit more about Art heist.

[Noel]

And I hope this year length of this one made up for the last two shorties that we put out.

[Ben]

Oh, there we go. That's a good way to look at it. You're nailing these ones.

[Jonathan Strickland]

What I lack in quality, I make up for in quantity.

[Noel]

Indeed.

[Ben]

So we want to thank everybody, of course. Thank you, Jonathan Strickland, AKA the Quizzter. Thanks to Christopher Haciotes, our research associate for today's episode.

[Noel]

Thanks to super producer Casey Pegram, Alex Williams, who composed our theme, Jonathan, I can take him or leave him. And thanks to you, Ben.

[Ben]

Hey, thanks to you.

[Noel]

Big thanks to you.

[Ben]

Thank Merci beaucoup.

[Noel]

Oh man, Zalon Z. Delrianne. Whatever. And thanks to you folks. Listening Public for listening.

[Ben]

Yeah. Find us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. You can join our community page, which we're big fans of ridiculous historians. Jonathan drops by there as well on occasion. If you want to learn more about Jonathan when he is not in his alter ego, you can find him on tech stuff and several other shows. Isn't that correct?

[Jonathan Strickland]

Tech stuff is primary show and I've got other ones coming up soon and. Whoa, you're trying to trick me, Bowen. We're still arch nemeses.

[Ben]

Yeah.

[Noel]

Yes.

[Jonathan Strickland]

Thank you for the shout out.

[Ben]

Oh yeah, of course. And. And that's it. No. Do you want to go out and grift some people, like in a harmless fun way?

[Noel]

Well, like steal candies from some babies or something?

[Ben]

Yeah. Do some Dennis the Menace type grifting victimless crimes?

[Noel]

Yes, sure. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

[Ben]

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[Noel]

More of what's Yours the Chase Mobile app is available for select mobile devices.

[Ben]

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