These 10 Historic Con Artists Prove There is a Sucker Born Every Minute

Big Bertha Heyman and the Rabbi

Bertha Heyman was born in Prussia and first attracted the attention of the New York Police in the late 1870s. The moniker “Big Bertha” was applied to her by the newspapers of the day after some of her criminal exploits were made public. One paper described her as “…decidedly ugly and weighing 250 pounds.” By 1886 she was listed in a book by New York detective Thomas F. Byrnes called Professional Criminals of America, in which he referred to her as one of America’s smartest confident women.

Bertha used the scheme of posing as a wealthy woman temporarily having difficulty gaining access to her funds. In 1881, she was leaving court after being acquitted on a charge of theft when she was arrested by New York detectives and charged with scamming New York businessmen for just under $1,500. She was sentenced to two years in prison, while there she scammed another victim out of about $900. In 1883 she used forged securities to defraud a broker whom she had convinced she was worth over $8 million and for this offense she was sentenced to five years in prison. Upon release, she headed west.

Bertha next turned up in San Francisco in 1888, where she approached the rabbi of the Beth Israel Congregation as Bertha Stanley, and after explaining that she was a widow of some wealth, she asked for his help finding a suitable Jewish husband. She claimed her first husband, from whom she inherited her wealth, had been Christian. The rabbi introduced her to Abraham Gruhn, a successful San Francisco businessman who happened to be his brother-in-law. Gruhn was smitten and in a short time proposed marriage and the adoption of the young man accompanying Bertha, whom she had introduced as her stepson.

Bertha was quickly accepted by the Beth Israel Congregation, which led her to have credit extended to her from several businesses. She used the credit to expand her wardrobe and acquire several expensive jewels. After Bertha gave the Congregation a check for $1,000 she informed Gruhn that her stepson opposed their marriage. She suggested that Gruhn offer him a loan of $500 as a sign of friendship. Gruhn complied and Bertha and her stepson vanished with the jewels and other goods. When Bertha’s check to the congregation was returned for insufficient funds a visit to the San Francisco police led to the discovery that she was Bertha Heyman, from the description in Professional Criminals in America.

Bertha headed for Los Angeles after pawning the jewels. A warrant was soon out for her based on the San Francisco charges but she eluded police until finally being located and arrested in Texas. Returned for trial, she was acquitted, though her stepson was convicted of a minor charge. During her trial, she was contacted by an impresario who put her on the stage for a time, until she swindled him out of several thousand dollars. Big Bertha faded from the scene after her stage career faltered and where and when she died is disputed.