The $18,000 Fake Prize Fight That Landed a Butte Businessman in Jail
F.H. Pilling borrowed $18,000 from a friend to bet on a prize fight that never happened. The con artists vanished, and Pilling spent nearly a year behind bars before making bail.
Tacoma—After being in jail nearly a year, F. H. Pilling, the Butte business man who was the victim of a fake prize fight on the banks of the Duwamish river in August of last year, obtained his release Saturday by giving bail. Pilling, at request of three bunco men, borrowed $18,000 from J. R. Thompson, of Tacoma, a personal friend of his. He gave Thompson a check for the money, which was returned from Butte marked 'no funds.' The fake artists had already carried off the $18,000.
“He gave Thompson a check for the money, which was returned from Butte marked 'no funds.' The fake artists had already carried off the $18,000.”
The con is a classic: a sure thing that isn't. But the scale—$18,000 in 1909 would be over half a million dollars today—and the fact that the victim went to jail while the grifters walked free make this a cautionary tale about how fraud prosecutions can miss their mark. Modern wire fraud and crypto scams echo the same pattern of trust exploited.
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