zlacker

Then it seems pure luck that some conniving sociopath at the top can lead a company to produce useful goods.

>>sydthr+(OP)
That's extremely subjective to your definition of useful. Investing in the best con artist isn't exactly a bad deal so long as you aren't the last mark.

>>hattma+r1
Depends on the nature of the con. Not everything's Ponzi. Some scams are advance fee, snake oil, getting the mark's payment details, identity theft, or something else that makes a loss for every mark.