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The Big Con
In order to make up the money lost gambling and to pay off his debts,
Birchall concocted a fraudulent scheme. He took advantage of the
“Farm Pupil Industry”, a program that allowed a son of a wealthy
Englishman to invest in a farm in North America as a partner. Birchall
put out an ad for a farm pupil and received two responses, one from
a Douglas Pelly and another from Frederick C. Benwell.
Both men arrived in Buffalo, NY with their wives on February 16, 1890
under the impression that they would be investing in a wealthy horse
farm when in reality Birchall had no such plans. Unbeknownst to his
victims, Birchall planned on conning the men out of their money and
gambling it on the horse races, hoping to make a profit to cover his
financial losses. Unfortunately for all parties involved, this did not go
as planned.