Bilk is a transitive verb which means to cheat, to elude or to evade payment. It can also be used as a noun, where it means either a person who cheats or the cheat itself.
O.K., not the exact same thing. My stepfather isn’t crafty enough to bilk people out of $65 billion. He got away with only a little more than $4 million. But he used the same pickpocket routine as Madoff. (NY Times)
The incentives were more complex than to bilk shareholders by betting the ranch every time. (The Economist)
Huh? Oh right, bilk, got it. Sorry, I was distracted. It’s not every day I read “only” and “$4 million” in the same sentence. :-/