Thomas Knowles was born in 1782 in Hythe, Kent, and went on to work as a servant in London. He was declared insolvent in 1819 and 1825, before finally being admitted to debtors prison for several months in 1829. William Hole, who was also born in Hythe, in 1793, worked as an apprentice before moving to London to set up his own shop. Like Knowles, he also faced personal financial problems and was declared bankrupt in 1827. In 1836 the pair teamed up with two other bankrupts to form the Independent West Middlesex Fire and Life Assurance Company (IWM).
How did the scam work?
IWM offered annuities and life insurance at rates that were far more generous than the competition, supposedly backed up by 1m in capital. They claimed the Duke of Wel…
Read the full article at: https://moneyweek.com/investments/investment-strategy/602160/great-frauds-in-history-the-independent-west-middlesex-fire