Business Description
At the height of her success, contemporary sources considered her the wealthiest woman in Bavaria, although she maintained the persona of a pious Christian woman who helped the poor. Brought to trial in 1872, she was convicted of bad accounting and mishandling customers' money, since Ponzi schemes were not yet illegal, and sentenced to three years in prison. In her later years, Spitzeder performed as a folk singer, living off friends and benefactors, but never completely left her criminal life, resulting in further trials and periods of incarceration.
