The Badger Game: A Con Game Directed Against Males

Wikipedia: The badger game is an extortion scheme, often perpetrated on married men, in which the victim or "mark" is tricked into a compromising position to make him vulnerable to blackmail.

There are two competing explanations for the origin of the term badger game. One explanation is that the term originated in the practice of badger baiting. Another says that it derives its name from the state of Wisconsin (the Badger State), where the con allegedly either originated or was popularized.

This con has been around since at least the early 19th century. There are several variations of the con; in the most typical form an attractive woman approaches a man, preferably a lonely, married man of some financial means from out of town, and entices him to a private place with the intent of maneuvering him into a compromising position, usually involving some sort of sexual act. Afterward an accomplice presents the victim with photographs, video, or similar evidence, and threatens to expose him unless blackmail money is paid.

The woman may also claim that the sexual encounter was non-consensual and threaten the victim with a rape charge. It can also involve such things as the threat of a sexual harassment charge which may endanger the victim's career.

In the days before photography or video, the accomplice would usually burst into the room during the act, claiming to be the woman's husband, father, older brother, etc., and demand justice. The con was particularly effective in the 19th and earlier 20th century when the social repercussions of adultery were much greater. A famous person known to have been victimized by the scheme was Alexander Hamilton, whose adulterous affair with Maria Reynolds was used by her husband to extort money and information from him.

Variants of the con involve luring the mark with homosexual acts, underage girls, child pornography, bizarre sexual fetishes, or other activities deemed to have a particular social stigma.

Another form involves accusations of professional misconduct. In an example of this form of the con, a "sick" woman would visit a physician, describing symptoms that required her to disrobe for the examination, require the doctor to examine the genitals, or ensure similar scrutiny from the doctor. During the examination an "outraged husband" or "outraged father" would enter the room and accuse the doctor of deviant misconduct. The "sick" woman, who is of course part of the con, takes the side of her accomplice and threatens the doctor with criminal charges or a lawsuit. This form of the badger game was first widely publicized in an article in the August 25, 1930 edition of Time magazine.

Non-sexual versions of this con also exist, particularly among ethnic or religious groups with strong social taboos; for example coercing a Mormon to gamble or drink alcohol.

The badger game has been featured as a plot device in numerous books, movies and television shows.

[Wikipedia pull article: link]

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SEE also: an excellent very brief illustrated article on The Badger Game on The National Night Stick

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CHECKLIST

1673 – Mary Carleton (AKA Mary Moder, “The German Princess”) – Germany & England

1878 – Sophie Lyons – Boston, Massachussets, USA

1885 – Name Unknown – Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

1886 – Ollie P. Ellis (“The California Dutchess,” "Chicago Daisy") – USA

1888 – Jessie Smith – St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

1889 – Ella Hammond & Addie Stanton – New York, New York, USA

1889 – Minnie Grant – New York, New York, USA

1891 – Annie Davis & Alice Oates – New York, New York, USA
1892 – Netta Heiland & Bridgett Reilly – New York, New York, USA
1892 – Lillie King – Memphis, Tennessee, USA

1893 – “Catherine Hartingdon” – Hackensack, New Jersey, USA

1894 – Minnie Johnson – Washington, D. C., USA

1896 – Fayne Moore – England, France, USA

1897 – Kitty Wells – Chicago, Illinois, USA

1900 – Nell Nicholson – Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA

1901 – Rosalind Ella Hewett – Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

1902 – Theresa Ray –  Boston, Massachusetts, USA

1903 – Mrs. Barber – Montreal, Quebec, Canada

1904 – Elizabeth Brown & Sophia Dunn – New Haven, Connecticut, USA

1905 – Jennie Oienski – Cleveland, Ohio, USA

1906 – Bessie Phillips, alias Taylor – Washington, D. C., USA

1907 – May Churchill, “Chicago May” – USA, England, France
1908 – Mrs. Anderson – New York, New York, USA

1909 – Mabel Mitchell – Hendersonville, South Carolina, USA

1910 – Florence Knott (“Flossie Bennett”) – Washington, D. C., USA

1910 – Florence Burns Wildrick – New York, New York, USA

1910s – Buda Godman – Chicago, Il. & New York, N. Y., USA

1911 – May Richards Barr – Seattle, Washington, USA

1911 – Florence Bennett Knott – Washington, D. C., USA

1911 – Mrs. Almer Sturtevant (“Josephine Joy”) – Jersey City, New Jersey, USA

1912 – Emma Jefferson – Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

1913 – Vera Scott – Los Angeles, California, USA

1914 – May Dugas – International

1915 – Marian Scholz & Harriet Elms – Los Angeles, California, USA

1916 – Mabel Carter, alias Grace Wonder – Washington, D. C., USA

1916 – Helen Evers – Chicago, Illinois, USA

1916 – Dottie Coots & Lillian Peterson – Seattle, Washington, USA

1918 – Margaret Hirsch – Atlanta, Georgia, USA

1919 – Betty Inch – New York, New York, USA

1919 – Mrs. Larkin – Dallas Township, Pennsylvania, USA

1920 – Marie “Boots” Rogers (Treadway) – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1923 – Christina Magruder – New York, New York, USA

1924 – Mrs. Abraham Levy, alias Rose Pelrose – Boston, Massachusetts, USA

1924 – Trans-Atlantic Badger Game – International

1924 – Hilda Devins – Hagerstown, Pennsylvania, USA

1930 – Badger Game Network – Mason City, Iowa

1931 – Gloria Garcia – Madison, Wisconsin, USA

1932 – Ruth Mary Noary – Providence, Rhode Island, USA

1934 – Mary Coats – Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

1935 – Broadway shakedown rackets – New York, New York, USA

1938 – Evelyn Frechette – USA

1939 – Rosalie James – San Francisco, California, USA

1951 – Jean Lee – Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

 

OTHER CONS

1902 – Grace Mordaunt, alias Grace Dunning – New York, New York, USA

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Here is an explanation of the Badger Game from 1911

~ The Badger Game. ~

The so-called “badger game" is usually operated by a man and a woman. The woman lures a victim, a man who had money, to a room. Here the woman attempts to compromise the victim. At a crucial moment she signals to her male accomplice, who is stationed outside the room. The latter rushes in, plays the part of an outraged husband or brother, and threatens to kill the victim, or else turn him over to the police. A compromise is suggested; the victim is usually only too glad to pay a few hundred or even a few thousand dollars to escape.

The most notorious case of this kind was that worked by Fay Moore and her husband Martin Malon, a rich New York hotel owner, was the victim. He paid $7,500 in cash to escape from Fay Moore's room. Later he complained to the police and Moore was sentenced to a long term in Sing Sing although his wife escaped punishment.

The crime is called the "badger game" because in England it is the custom to hunt the badger, an animal, with trained dogs, thus giving the badger no chance to escape with its life.

[“Alleged Badger Girl,” The Seattle Star (Wa.), Jun. 21, 1911, p. 1]

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[1362-1/24/19; 1791-2/6/21]
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