What is the verb for earning money though bad ways or illegal? [duplicate]
How to say if a person earns lot of money especially in a bad ways or through illegal business. I want to know the verb of earning money through illegally and how can we call such a person.
- I do not know if there is a single verb to satisfy you, but there are several that are identified with the person's specific conduct.
These include embezzling, stealing, extorting, blackmailing, robbing, fencing, counterfeiting, loansharking, and the like.
- The noun that applies to all of these characters is "Crook".
scam(n/v)......is a sneaky or dishonest plan that's meant to con someone.
scamster(n).....: a person who deceives people to get their money.
A scam is basically a hoax dressed up to look like a real business plan, worthwhile invention, or investment idea. Scams are almost always designed to make money for their creators.
- You can also use the word as a verb: "His evil plan was to scam people into buying fake tickets to the baseball game."
(vocabulary.com)
I might talk of someone's ill-gotten gains. That is, incidentally, one of the few instances in Britain where we use gotten.
A good verb that comes to mind, apart from steal and embezzle, is
Swindle
Use deception to deprive (someone) of money or possessions:
a businessman swindled investors out of millions of pounds
1.1 Obtain (money) fraudulently:
he was said to have swindled £62.5 million from the state-owned cement industry
A person earning money through illegal businesses can be...
a racketeer ,
A person who engages in dishonest and fraudulent business dealings.
a fraudster,
A person who commits fraud, especially in business dealings.
or a con artist
A person who cheats or tricks others by persuading them to believe something that is not true:
among others.
(ODO)
I would suggest two possibilities. The person might be sharking
v.intr. To take advantage of others for personal gain, especially by fraud and trickery. [American Heritage Dictionary via the Free Dictionary]
or perhaps spivving, from spiv:-
n 1. Brit a person who makes a living by underhand dealings or swindling; black marketeer [Collins English Dictionary via the Free Dictionary]