11. Even Uncle Sam Nearly Fell For Reavis’ Audacious Con
James Reavis did not plan to actually evict the occupants of his “barony”. His plan was to simply extort as much money as he could out of them in rent or quit claim fees, in order to support himself and his “noble” wife in a manner that befitted an aristocratic land magnate. Surprisingly, as it turned out, the large and wealthy landowners proved to be the easiest marks. From their perspective, it was cheaper and safer to simply pay the Baron of Arizona.
The alternative was to fight in court and run the risk of litigation that might end in the loss of their valuable properties. As seen above, Arizona’s biggest mining company, the Silver King Mine, paid him $25,000. He also got the Southern Pacific Railroad to cough up $50,000. Thousands of others paid smaller fees. Together, they added up to a nice bundle. At some point, even the US government fell for the con and considered paying Reavis millions of dollars to settle the claim. All in all, Reavis collected about $5,300,000 in cash and promissory notes – the equivalent of roughly $170 million today.
