Charlatan

Pronunciation:
\ˈshär-lə-tən\

Definition:
1: quack
2: one making usually showy pretenses to knowledge or ability

Etymology:
Italian ciarlatano, alteration of cerretano, literally, inhabitant of Cerreto, from Cerreto, Italy

First Known Use: 1618

I love this word! The very idea that someone would practice trickery for monetary gain...wait...isn't that what politicians do? HA!
 
Famous charlatans:

• John R. Brinkley, the "goat-gland doctor" who implanted goat glands as a means of curing male impotence, helped pioneer both American and Mexican radio broadcasting, and twice ran unsuccessfully for governor of Kansas.
• Albert Abrams, the advocate of radionics and other similar electrical quackery who was active in the early twentieth century.
• Italian Alessandro Cagliostro (real name Giuseppe Balsamo) who claimed to be a count.
• The mystical Count of St. Germain.
• Charles Ponzi, for whom the "Ponzi scheme" is named, a scam that relies on a "pyramid" of "investors" who contribute money to a fraudulent programme.
• Bernard Madoff, an American stockbroker who ran the worlds largest Ponzi scheme, defrauding investors out of $18 billion.

Don't be a charlatan!