Tags: Criminal.
Maria Branca dos Santos more commonly referred to as Dona Branca (1902 – 1992) was a Portuguese criminal known chiefly for maintaining a Ponzi scheme in Portugal between 1970 and 1984 that paid a ten percent monthly interest. During this time she became popularly known as The people’s banker. Dona Branca was arrested in 1984 and in 1988 she was sentenced to 10 years in prison.