Cassie Chadwick

Cassie L. Chadwick (October 10, 1857 - October 10, 1907) is the most famous name of a Canadian-born woman who defrauded Cleveland, Ohio banks by claiming to be an illegitimate daughter of Andrew Carnegie.

Chadwick was actually born Elizabeth Bigley October 10, 1857 in Eastwood, Ontario, Canada. Already at the age of 22 she was arrested in Woodstock, Ontario for forgery but released on grounds of insanity. In 1882 she married Wallace Springsteen in Cleveland, Ohio; her husband threw her out eleven days later when he found out about her past.

In 1886 she became a fortune-teller with the name Lydia Scott but changed that to more mystic Madame Lydia DeVere a year later. In 1889 she again resorted to forgery and was sentenced for 9.5 years in a state penitentiary in Toledo, Ohio; she was paroled four years later and returned to Cleveland where she took the name "Hoover" and apparently took to prostitution.

1897 she married doctor Leroy Chadwick who probably knew nothing about her past. She also began her largest con: During a visit to New York City, she asked her husband's lawyer acquaintance named Dillon to take her to the home of Andrew Carnegie. In reality, she just visited his housekeeper ostensibly trying to check credentials. When she came back, she dropped a paper. Dillon took it up and noticed it was a promissory note of $2 million with Carnegie's signature. When Dillon promised to keep her secret, she "revealed" that she was Carnegie's illegitimate daughter. Dillon arranged a safe deposit box for her.

This information leaked to the financial world and banks begun to offer their services. For the next eight years she used this fake background to obtain loans that eventually totaled to $10-20 million. She forged securities in Carnegie's name for further proof. Bankers assumed that Carnegie would vouch for any debts.

November 2, 1904 her scheme collapsed when the Boston bank of H. B. Newton sued her over a loan of $190,800. At the time she had accumulated debts equal to $5 million. When Andrew Carnegie was later asked about her, he denied ever knowing her.

Chadwick fled to New York but was soon arrested and taken back to Cleveland. On March 10, 1905 a Cleveland court sentenced her to 14 years in prison and fine of $70,000 for conspiracy against the government and Citizen's National Bank of Oberlin. She was sent to jail on January 1, 1906.

Cassie Chadwick died in jail in October 10, 1907.