American Greed
Documentary series focusing on history's largest financial crimes ranging from Ponzi schemes, murder, card counting, generating fake currency and goods, extortion, online dating, identity theft, drug distribution, and insider trading.
Genre: Documentary, Crime
Cast:Stacy Keach , Scott Cohn , Kristin Reyer , Katharin 'Ladie K' Mraz , Bryan Burrough , Kevin Lingle , David Marchant , Bill Stoneking , Michael Shnayerson , Mary Thompson , Tommy Bartlett , Jay Washington , Lillian Lamour , Brian Brusokas , Keli Delane , Pete Berwick , Sean Keenehan , Lamont Metcalf
S1.E1 ∙ Hook, Line and Sucker/Maxfield Parish Art Heist
In this episode of American Greed, see the detailed profile of a successful con artist and the investors he left with empty bank accounts. Then go inside a $4 million dollar art heist of Maxfield Parrish masterpieces.
S1.E2 ∙ The Imposter: Dr. Barnes/Interstate Bank Mart Bandit
Investigators discover that a doctor named Gerald Barnes is a phony; meanwhile, a man responsible for 43 robberies is tracked down.
S1.E3 ∙ The Wheaton Bandit
It's a new crime wave: thieves committing identity theft to fund their raging meth addictions. Then, see how a serial bank robber, armed and dangerous, terrorizes the town of Wheaton, a quiet, affluent Chicago suburb.
S1.E4 ∙ Religious Prey: Baptist Foundation of Arizona: Medical Scams: Dr. Mikos
First case: The Baptist Foundation of Arizona invests and loses millions entrusted by churchgoers, and its mission ends in scandal. Then, learn how Dr. Mikos, a charming doctor with a lucrative practice, turns out to be a con artist defrauding Medicare.
S1.E5 ∙ Religious Prey; Greater Ministries International; It Takes a Thief
Church founder Gerald Payne called it "divine inspiration," a way for the faithful to reap what they sow. Instead, he built a $500 million pyramid scheme. Profiled in Case 2: By day, he's a property manager-by night, a daring cat burglar.
S2.E1 ∙ The Martin Frankel Case
The case of financier Martin Frankel is a profile of money laundering, prostitution, bizarre sex, drug abuse... and a con man who vanished with $200 million.
S2.E2 ∙ Hack Me if You Can; Goodfella Gone Bad
A hacker steals millions from the IRS over a four-year period before one of his buddies tips off the officials; a small-time mobster joins the federal witness protection program and then builds a huge mortgage fraud scheme from his new location.
S2.E3 ∙ Unsolved: $300 Million Art Heist; Preying On Faith
This "American Greed" follows the twists and turns of a famous unsolved art heist at Boston's Gardner Museum where thieves stole art valued at $300 million in less than 90 minutes.
S2.E4 ∙ Deadly Rx for Greed
See how Robert Courtney mixes a prescription of greed... diluting life-saving drugs and the hopes of cancer patients.
S2.E5 ∙ Inside the WorldCom Scam
American Greed investigates one of the most notorious cases of corporate fraud in US history: the rise and fraud of WorldCom.
S2.E6 ∙ The Rise and Fall of Cybernet
American Greed profiles one of the biggest scams of the 21st century.
S2.E7 ∙ Party's Over: Tyco's Kozlowski
Meet Dennis Kozlowski, the former CEO of TYCO and the man behind the biggest case of white collar theft in U.S. history.
S2.E8 ∙ When Greed and Giving Collide/Confessions of a Con Man
See how a supposed charity robbed unsuspecting patrons of millions of dollars.
S2.E10 ∙ Florida Rehab Went Wild
Kenny Chatman runs a string of corrupt drug rehab facilities, stealing millions by keeping insured addicts hooked on drugs.
S2.E15 ∙ Robbing Hollywood's A-List/Soaking the Rich at Auction
See how two young men take investors for a ride to the tune of more than $21 million.
S3.E3 ∙ Art Heist: Fine Arts Express; Medical Scams: Dr. Martinez
Co-workers steal more than $4 million in fine art; a doctor's fraud, amounting to millions of dollars, turns deadly.
S3.E4 ∙ Meth Identity Thieves/The Wheaton Bandit
STORY 1: Meth Identity Thieves and ID Theft -- A crime is committed by criminals who are high on illegal methamphetamine drugs. The victim's wallets are stolen. But the thief takes more than just money. The victim's identity is stolen, too. Identity thieves fueled by the illegal stimulants are running rampant across America's West. STORY 2: The Wheaton Bandit -- The Wheaton Bandit is an unidentified bank robber suspected to be responsible for as many as 16 armed robberies around Wheaton, Illinois from 2002 to 2006. He appeared to be 25 to 35 years old at the time of the robberies, always wore a hood or ski mask, and wore different clothing in each robbery. Instead of placing his finger on the gun trigger, he often kept his trigger finger along the side of the gun, a safety position that suggests firearms training. Outlines of his jackets suggest that he also wore a bulletproof vest.
S3.E5 ∙ Religious Prey: Baptist Foundation of Arizona: Medical Scams: Dr. Mikos
A charitable foundation run by the U.S.' largest Protestant denomination collapses in 1999 after years of hiding bad loans with new investors' money; the chief witness against a doctor accused of fraudulent billing is murdered days before his trial.
S3.E6 ∙ Diluted Trust: Robert Courtney
Robert Ray Courtney (born September 15, 1952) is an American former pharmacist from Kansas City, Missouri. In 2002, after initially being caught diluting several doses of chemotherapy drugs, he pleaded guilty to intentionally diluting 98,000 prescriptions involving multiple types of drugs, which were given to 4,200 patients, and was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison.
S3.E7 ∙ Worldcom/Joseph Medawar Television Scam
STORY 1: WorldCom -- The WorldCom scandal was a major accounting scandal that came to light in the summer of 2002 at WorldCom, the USA's second-largest long-distance telephone company at the time. From 1999 to 2002, senior executives at WorldCom led by founder and CEO Bernard Ebbers orchestrated a scheme to inflate earnings in order to maintain WorldCom's stock price. The fraud was uncovered in June 2002 when the company's internal audit unit, led by unit vice president Cynthia Cooper, discovered over $3.8 billion of fraudulent balance sheet entries. Eventually, WorldCom was forced to admit that it had overstated its assets by over $11 billion. At the time, it was the largest accounting fraud in American history. STORY 2: Joseph Medawar Television Scam -- Joseph Michel Medawar (born November 22, 1961 in Beirut, Lebanon) is a Lebanese American financial strategist and investment-banking counselor specializing in media, entertainment and related industries, film producer, and ex-convict. In 2006, he was sentenced to a year and a day in prison and was ordered to pay $2.6 million in restitution to the defrauded investors.
S3.E8 ∙ The Bonnie and Clyde of Mortgage Fraud
In a tell-all exclusive interview, Matt Cox and Rebecca Hauck explain how lust and greed are a hot combination for fraud.
S3.E9 ∙ Boy Band Bandit: Lou Pearlman's $500 Million Ponzi
A successful businesswoman is targeted by a serial grifter who poisons her for money.
S3.E10 ∙ Hazardous Healthcare
Hazardous Healthcare: A Wall Street Wonder Takes a Fall -- Richard Marin Scrushy (born August 1952) is an American businessman and convicted felon. He is the founder of HealthSouth Corporation, a global healthcare company based in Birmingham, Alabama. In 2004, following an investigation by the FBI, Scrushy was criminally charged by the U.S. SEC. He was charged with 36 of the original 85 counts but was acquitted of all charges on June 28, 2005, after a jury trial in Birmingham. Four months after his acquittal in Birmingham, on October 28, 2005, Scrushy was indicted by a federal grand jury in Montgomery, Alabama, along with former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman. The indictment included 30 counts of money laundering, extortion, obstruction of justice, racketeering, and bribery. Scrushy pleaded not guilty to all charges, but was convicted along with Siegelman in June 2006.
S3.E13 ∙ Skin Doctor Takes His Cut/Revolutionary Guru of Greed
Dermatologist Michael Rosin took his cut on dozens of mostly elderly patients, performing unnecessary and invasive skin cancer surgeries.
S3.E15 ∙ A Scam Exposed: Strippers and Insider Trading/Economan: Superthief
American Greed profiles one of the biggest insider trading rings in history.
S4.E1 ∙ An American Greed Special Presentation: Mob Money
The Rise and Fall of a real New Jersey Mob Family. The DeCavalcante Family.
S4.E2 ∙ The Black Widows
Con artists Helen Golay and Olga Rutterschmidt appear to be two grannies helping men who are down on their luck by offering food, shelter and clothing. They befriend, insure, then murder men for money, until their web of deceit unravels.
S4.E3 ∙ The Mad Max of Wall Street
Anthony Elgindy claims to be a former fraudster gone straight. A rogue FBI agent becomes Elgindy's partner in crime.
S4.E5 ∙ Crash & Burn: Marcus Schrenker
High-flying financier fakes death in a plane crash while under investigation for securities fraud.
S4.E6 ∙ Sholam Weiss
Sholam Weiss, a former Rabbi, is a bold and brazen dealmaker. He's a consultant to con men and the brains behind one of the largest insurance scams in history.
S4.E7 ∙ Funny Money
Six small time hustlers, including Albert Talton, have a simple plan: to make millions in counterfeit money.
S4.E8 ∙ Bextra / The Foreclosure Scammer
STORY 1: Pfizer designs Bextra, a painkiller, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) limits the use of Bextra. Pfizer, using shady and strong-arm tactics, distribute the pill outside of FDA regulations -- and the law. STORY 2. Jeanetta Standefor offers a way to help troubled homeowners, and make some extra money for herself on the side. In truth, she is just using new investor money to pay off older investors, and pocketing what's left for herself. A classic Ponzi scheme.
S4.E9 ∙ Credit Card Billing Scam/NFL Stars Ripped Off
Steven Warshak makes millions by selling an erectile dysfunction drug racking up illegal credit card charges on thousands of customers; and a financial advisor to pro sports stars multi-million dollar scam ends in his own death.
S4.E10 ∙ $200 Million Medical Settlement Scam
Money for victims stolen by lawyers who exploit the tragedy and pilfer their clients' money. How much they steal will shock you.
S4.E11 ∙ Dr. Stokes/C&D Distributors
Darlene and Charlene Shuler discover a loophole in the Department of Defense's automated payment system and steal millions from U.S. tax payers. Also on this episode of American Greed: Dr. Stokes is performing unnecessary surgeries and cutting corners.
S4.E12 ∙ Computer Hacker Masterminds
This installment outlines the dark web crimes of Max Ray Butler.
S5.E1 ∙ Bank Robbing Broker
Kevin Cohen is an attorney who says he can make dreams come true for couples desperate for children. He promises babies...for a hefty price. But unknown to his trusting clients, Cohen is exploiting their hopes and dreams.
S5.E2 ∙ Financial Guru Gone Bad
His pitch is irresistible: Troy Titus promises to make you rich. The self-proclaimed real estate guru travels the seminar circuit. Thousands attend his lectures, buy his DVDs and invest with the man who portrays himself as a moneymaking magician. It's true to an extent...Titus makes money disappear in a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme!
S5.E3 ∙ Fool's Gold
He's a philanthropist, a diplomat, and an international man of mystery. Dr. Henry Jones promises to get investors in on a secret gold deal. But Dr. Jones is leading a double life - a life unknown even to his partners in crime.
S5.E4 ∙ Hackers: Operation Get Rich or Die Tryin'
A mysterious ring of social outcasts. Albert Gonzalez leads a gang with an insatiable appetite for sex, drugs...and your encrypted information. They steal credit card numbers and make a fortune by selling them on the black market. But the multi-million dollar scam has deadly consequences.
S5.E5 ∙ A Most Generous Criminal
He's a trusted advisor. A philanthropist. Bob McLean runs a successful investment firm and donates millions to his favorite causes. But McLean has a dark, devastating secret.
S5.E6 ∙ $1.2 Billion Scam: Ft. Frauderdale
Scott Rothstein is a Ft. Lauderdale attorney making millions. He's the life of the party, a guy who wants the world to love him. But Rothstein is secretly a criminal mastermind.
S5.E7 ∙ The Bling Ring & Danny Pang
The Bling Ring - They're called The Bling Ring - a fast crowd of celebrity wannabes. This gang of teenagers robs celebrity homes. How far will they go to be like their favorite stars? The Fraudster, The Ex-Stripper and The Missing Millions - Danny Pang is a high-rolling financier who makes millions betting on when people will die. But Pang has a shady past, a gambling habit and a murdered wife.
S5.E8 ∙ Fraudster of the Opera & Frozen Assets - The Ice Capers
Fraudster of the Opera - Albert Vilar funds symphonies and operas around the world. But it's curtains for Vilar when he scams the mother of a Hollywood star. Frozen Assets: The Ice Capers - William "Boots" Del Biaggio III is a hockey team owner skating on thin ice. His insatiable desire to be a sports mogul drives him to commit a multimillion-dollar fraud.
S5.E9 ∙ Sholom Rubashkin
A slaughterhouse employs hundreds of workers in a small Iowa town. But there are whispers of threats, extortion and shocking child labor abuses. Sholom Rubashkin runs the family business. Is he a dutiful son or a corporate crook?
S5.E10 ∙ The Royal Scam: Kings of Counterfeit
A tough guy from Chicago's South Side finds his way off the streets and into a lucrative life in counterfeiting. Art Williams Jr. prints millions in fake dollars.
S5.E11 ∙ The Art of the Steal and the Folsom Felon
The Art of the Steal - Larry Salander is one of the biggest names in New York's art world. But collectors see red when he swipes more than $100 million from their pockets. The Folsom Felon - Stefan Wilson says his investment fund is a sure-fire winner. Investors even mortgage their homes to join his fund. But business with Wilson comes at a very high price.
S5.E12 ∙ Hedge Fund Imposter
Marc Dreier is a high-powered lawyer with celebrity clients. But Dreier is a conman and steals more than $700 million from hedge funds.
S5.E13 ∙ The Wizard of Sarasota
Arthur Nadel conjures a $330 million hedge fund. In the blink of an eye, he disappears and leaves clients without their life savings.
S5.E14 ∙ Nose No Bounds
Dr. Mark Weinberger-a self-proclaimed "nose doctor" - has it all and isn't afraid to flaunt it. But inside The Weinberger Sinus Clinic, all is not what it seems.
S6.E1 ∙ Kenneth Starr: Naked Greed: Celebrity Scam Artist
An accountant to stars mismanages clients' money, pockets millions and marries an exotic dancer. Series, Season Premiere.
S6.E2 ∙ Master of Deadly Deceit
Carlos Perez-Olivo is a successful lawyer with a silver tongue and solid gold taste. But when he's disbarred for fleecing desperate clients, he finds another way to make money...and proves how greed really is a deadly sin.
S6.E3 ∙ Nevin Shapiro: Major League Fraud
Nevin Shapiro, a former University of Miami Football booster, and a fixture on the Miami social scene, orchestrated a $900 million Ponzi scheme - and tried to bring the University football team down with him.
S6.E4 ∙ The Tran Organization
Van Thu Tran and her crime ring, The Tran Organization, steal millions during a cheating scheme at more than 20 casinos across North America.
S6.E5 ∙ Tom Petters
Minneapolis businessman Tom Petters buys big companies with other peoples money. He earns double-digit profits for investors, saves thousands of jobs, and makes himself rich in the process. The secret to his success? A 13-year Ponzi scheme.
S6.E7 ∙ Galleon Group
Sex, lies, and insider trading. Galleon Group co-founder Raj Rajaratnam turned his hedge fund into one of the most profitable in the world, managing more than $7 billion in assets - by creating one of the biggest insider trading schemes in U.S. history.
S6.E8 ∙ Fine Arts Treasure Gallery
Viewers across the country tune in to watch a live auction show that turns out to be nothing more than con artists selling fake art. They bilk buyers out of $20 million.
S6.E9 ∙ Real Estate Home Wrecker
One of the nation's top homebuilders runs a multimillion-dollar scam that wreaks financial havoc on homebuyers, subcontractors, and banks. Nearly 300 homeowners face the threat of foreclosure.
S6.E10 ∙ Nicholas Cosmo: All Interest, No Return
He's dubbed Long Island, New York's "Mini-Madoff." Nicholas Cosmo promised huge returns on booming real estate opportunities. He brought white-collar crime to blue-collar Americans and scammed thousands of trusting investors.
S6.E12 ∙ Michael Lock
Michael Lock is a ruthless Milwaukee crime boss who bilks borrowers and lenders of $2 million, and leaves a murder trail along the way.
S6.E13 ∙ Shawn Merriman
Fund manager & investment adviser Shawn Merriman takes money from investors to fund a lavish lifestyle, including $4 million in fine art, antique cars, and sports memorabilia.
S6.E14 ∙ Crash for Cash
In the city of brotherly love, car wrecks piled up, and auto insurance policies were treated like ATM machines. American Greed takes you inside a Philadelphia car insurance fraud ring where everybody got a piece of the action.
S6.E15 ∙ Lee Farkas/Taylor Bean & Whitaker
Lee Farkas and co-conspirators at Taylor Bean & Whitaker misappropriate more than $2.9 billion in a fraud scheme that contributed to the failure of one of the largest U.S. banks in 2009.
S6.E16 ∙ Solomon Dwek
Solomon Dwek schemes to defraud financial institutions in a $50 million bank fraud scheme and goes on to become a government informant in a public- corruption and money-laundering sting that results in the arrest of dozens.
S6.E17 ∙ Allen Stanford: The Dark Knight
Allen Stanford orchestrates a 20-year investment fraud scheme in which he misappropriates $7 billion to finance his personal businesses and lifestyle.
S6.E18 ∙ The Wealth Builder Club
Fraudsters solicit more than $50 million, purportedly for participation in high-yield trading programs and venture capital investments, and use investors' funds to make lulling payments to other investors.
S7.E1 ∙ Shipwrecked!
From spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on clothes and cars to leaving thousand-dollar tips at bars, Michael Vorce is a twenty-something playboy living it up. By all appearances he makes millions selling and buying luxury yachts, which allows him to borrow millions from banks. But when the loans come due, questions float to the surface - where are all the yachts? And where is all the money?
S7.E2 ∙ The Prisoner of Wall Street
Perry Griggs runs an investment fraud claiming to sell coffee futures when all he did was keep investor money. While in prison for his conviction, he starts another scam where the victims are fellow prisoners and their families, many of whom took second mortgages on their homes to fund Griggs' fraud.
S7.E3 ∙ A & O Resource Management
A trio of Texas con men score $100 million, telling investors there's big money in the "life settlement" insurance. When the fraudsters fail to pay returns and keep the money for themselves, it all comes crashing down, leaving investors' finances in critical condition.
S7.E4 ∙ Deadly Payout
A trio of Texas conmen scores $100 million, telling investors there's big money in the "life settlement" insurance biz. They claim policy holders can cash out before they die and investors can double their money. When the fraudsters fail to pay returns and keep the money for themselves, it all comes crashing down, leaving investors' finances in critical condition.
S7.E5 ∙ Melissa King and Carl L. Estep
Melissa King is entrusted with overseeing union benefits and uses workers' retirement funds to cut herself checks. And smooth-talking ladies-man Carl Estep looks for love and money to fund his phony gold scheme.
S7.E6 ∙ One World and Juan Rodriguez
Jack Walsh and Charles Martin appear to be getting very rich running One World Capital's foreign currency trading brokerage until a routine audit reveals some "irregularities" in accounting. And one-man CPA firm Juan Carlos Rodriguez lures friends into an investment scheme that would cause financial ruin.
S7.E7 ∙ Dealing in Deceit
Samuel "Mouli" Cohen starts an internet music company and fraudulently takes in $31 million from celebrities, investors, and a charity dedicated to help the poor.
S7.E8 ∙ Trevor Cook
Investment fund manager Trevor Cook appears to be a local boy made good in Minneapolis, where investors think their money is going into securities, but they'll be shocked to see how Trevor and his boys blow their hard-earned savings... turning a historic mansion into a den of debauchery.
S7.E9 ∙ Brooklyn's Madoff; Corrupted Software
Brooklyn investment manager Philip Barry starts the longest-running Ponzi scheme in history. And Kevin Carney says his stock trading program delivers an incredible 20 percent return, but it turns out to be a $19 million scam.
S7.E10 ∙ Greedy, Groovy Guru; Doomsday Profit
New Age evangelist Lydia Cladek draws in two thousand victims, but the greedster doesn't have a prayer when the F.B.I. finds out about her scam. And Ronnie Gene Wilson tells his followers that the path to a secure future is paved with investment in precious metals.
S7.E11 ∙ The Lady Killer
A Florida man hits it big with a $13-million lottery jackpot and, when Dee Dee Moore offers to help manage his winnings, he ends up paying a deadly price.
S7.E12 ∙ Rapper$ Delight; The Grapes of Greed
Michael McCant is a former bank robber who says he's gone "legit" by promoting up-and-coming rap musicians, but his millions are coming from investors who've given McCant their entire nest eggs. And Mark Anderson owns a fine wine storage business in California, but when clients discover their wine is missing, Anderson tries to conceal his crime with gasoline and a blowtorch, destroying more than $200 million dollars' worth of wine.
S8.E1 ∙ Murder in Memphis
Joe Caronna sells bogus annuities, leaving investors burned and his wife dead.
S8.E2 ∙ Edward Okun
Commercial real estate investor Ed Okun is in love. At age 54, he finds himself drawn to a boat show model almost half his age and it seems he can't stop showering her with whatever her heart desires - jewels, cars, even a helicopter. To fund his love-induced multimillion dollar spending spree, Okun reaches into the accounts of clients who think he is protecting their money. But no, Ed Okun is taking their lifelong savings and pleasing his girlfriend.
S8.E3 ∙ The Cunning Cowgirl Crook; Dollars for Dumps
During the week, Rita Crundwell is a nine-to-five small town comptroller, but in her private time she builds an American quarter horse breeding program by siphoning more than $53 million from the town of Dixon, Illinois. And Staten Islander Joe Mazella says he can help friends and neighbors make money turning distressed properties into residential oases. But the $14 million he raises from police officers, fireman, and even the deaf community doesn't go into new buildings, it goes into Mazella's pocket.
S8.E4 ∙ $udden Death/Hip Hop Hustle
To the Houston community, J. David Salinas is a successful financial advisor, but when a loyal lieutenant betrays him, Salinas' world crumbles under the weight of a $39 million scam. And Eric "Chicago Blaxican" Jaglicic is an aspiring Chicago- area rapper with big dreams. But when his music ambitions stall, Jaglicic convinces a local businessman that he's got a new gig to collect $1.2 million from investors lured by promises of huge returns.
S8.E5 ∙ Make Me Rich or Die; Kids for Cash
For months a man known only as "The Bishop" has presented investment pros with a simple choice: make me rich or face my wrath. Can investigators find "The Bishop" before his get-rich scheme turns deadly? And thousands of kids in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania do time after juvenile court hearings that last just minutes. What they don't know is that two judges are getting rich off a secret deal to build the detention center where many of them are being sent.
S8.E6 ∙ Detroit's 'Crime Boss' Mayor
Is it possible to run a criminal empire out of City Hall? According to the feds, that's exactly what Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick does...extorting city contractors, abusing public funds, and turning the mayor's office into a cash- making machine.
S8.E7 ∙ The Falcon and the Con Man
Russell Wasendorf Sr., former CEO of Peregrine Financial Group, confessed to robbing customers of more than $200 million.
S8.E8 ∙ Extreme Home Ripoffs; Greedings from Florida
John and Daniel Sullivan rip off Chicago homeowners of millions in an elaborate home remodeling scheme, stealing equity out of homes after promising first-rate remodeling jobs. And Joseph Greenblatt tells Florida retirees that he owns fixer- uppers all around New York that they can invest in, with the promise of huge interest returns.
S8.E9 ∙ Inside Trading Trio: Cocaine Cash Cleaner
Three friends rake in thousands, then millions, in an insider trading scheme that eludes authorities for almost 20 years. And Garry Souffrant's idyllic suburban life is exposed when authorities uncover his intricate scheme to provide homes for the dealers' drug money while he takes a big cut.
S8.E10 ∙ Lights! Camera! Fraud!
Mac Parker raises $28 million to produce a grassroots film he calls "The Birth of Innocence," but investors later learn that less than $1 million goes toward making the film. The rest goes to a spiritual guru named Lou Soteriou.
S8.E11 ∙ The Car Con
Brothers Darain and Cory Atkinson start US FIDELIS, a business selling vehicle service contracts. But when the cars break down, those warranties worthless while the brothers pocket millions and live it up.
S8.E12 ∙ A Wolf in Priest's Clothing
Martin Sigillito dons a robe and presides over his congregation as a bishop, but fails to mention that his other occupation is as a fraudster. He concocts a $50 million phony international real estate scheme and spends millions on his own lavish lifestyle.
S8.E13 ∙ The Home Invaders; Nashville's Predator
Geoff Goldman tells homeowners facing foreclosure that he can save their homes by purchasing their houses and then renting it back to them. He instead falsifies loan applications and ensures that dozens of homeowners never set foot in their homes again while raking in millions. And Aaron Vallett says he wants to own a one-stop financial shop in Nashville and runs a mutual fund that gets invested into his own lifestyle and image. He buys fast cars, a million dollar house, and pays to become the official investment advisor of the NHL's Nashville Predators.
S8.E14 ∙ Hail to the Thief
A former Army intelligence officer known as "Mr. X" steals millions through a fake veteran's charity and eludes authorities by using an array of false identities. Though he uses donor money to get close to President George W. Bush and conservative politicians, no one figures out who he is or where he came from until he makes one misstep.
S9.E1 ∙ A Con Man's Deadly Revenge
A coin collector and his brother start mail order coin businesses. They go bankrupt in 2008. After they're jailed, one plots murder of the judge and prosecutor.
S9.E2 ∙ The Playboy of Indiana
In the Midwest, the head of a firm that buys and sells companies does business from his 12,000-square-foot home with a Playboy model at his side, but his arrest exposes a $216 million Ponzi scheme that sets a record for the state of Indiana.
S9.E3 ∙ Ea$y Being Green; Stealing the Silver Metal
Con man Rodney Hailey runs a fake green energy business and collects millions by scamming major corporations. When this environmental entrepreneur litters the front of his suburban home with a fleet of luxury cars it exposes the dirty money he makes on clean green fuel. And, for nearly 30 years, notorious cat burglar Blane Nordahl steals sterling silver in America's most expensive zip codes. His crimes spark a nationwide man hunt for the man behind an estimated $15 million precious metal meltdown.
S9.E5 ∙ The Cash King
A visionary entrepreneur with a lavish lifestyle solicits investors for a fund dealing in everything from strip clubs and real estate to currency, diamonds and mind control technology, but it turns out to be a $19 million Ponzi scheme.
S9.E7 ∙ Charity Begins at Home
In less than four years Claudio Osorio steals more than $40 million from investors and the U.S. government. To draw big money and big names into his con, Osorio casts himself as a wealthy, brilliant international business tycoon. In fact, he is an international crook. His company Inno Vida's financial statements to the SEC in March list more than $35 million in cash. In fact, there is only $185,000 in company accounts. As investments pour in, so do lawsuits. In 2012 Osorio is indicted. He pleads guilty to wire fraud and money laundering, is sentenced to 12 and a half years, and ordered to pay back $24 million.
S9.E8 ∙ The Real Wolf of Wall Street
Stockbroker Jordan Belfort runs a sex, drugs and rock 'n roll brokerage firm. He pleads guilty to fraud and does jail time. After his release, Belfort gets a Hollywood makeover, but do his victims get justice?
S9.E11 ∙ 'Vintage' Wine Fraud
L.A. fine wine collector makes millions from auctioning off his prized wine. Crowds will pay anything for them. Some question their authenticity. Could these bottles be too good to be true?
S9.E13 ∙ The Lawyer Lies; Black Gold Bust
A personal injury attorney pockets the winnings of his desperate clients and uses the cash to fuel his own over-the-top lifestyle. And a Kentucky oil man's wild scheme comes undone after he makes an appearance on a reality TV show.
S9.E14 ∙ Friends Without Benefits
A conman profits by selling the insurance policies of terminally ill patients. When his scheme is uncovered, investors say their last goodbyes to over $800 million dollars.
S9.E15 ∙ The Spy Who Scammed Me
Kevin Halligen, a private security contractor is a James Bond wannabe who spins lies to desperate clients only to boost his ego and feed his greed.
S9.E16 ∙ The Sky's the Limit
A brash New York stock broker once known as the bad Boy of Wall Street gets sober and re-invents himself as an international power player. But has he really gone legit? Or is he addicted to greed?
S9.E95 ∙ AG 95 - The Romano Brothers
Add a plot
S9.E96 ∙ AG 96 - Tim Durham
A multi-million-dollar yacht, 80 sports cars, a Playboy-magazine-model girlfriend. Tim Durham is the picture of success as a fix-it and flip-it business king. But in the comfort of his 30,000 square foot home he's running a $200 million fraud.
S9.E98 ∙ AG 98 - Pamela Phillips
Rich husband, beautiful wife, perfect life. Pamela Phillips and Gary Triano are Tucson's golden couple. But their life unravels in a fury of greed and hate. When Gary ends up dead, all eyes are on Phillips. Could she kill for money?
S9.E99 ∙ AG 99 - James Duncan
No investment idea is too exotic for visionary entrepreneur James "The Cash King" Duncan. He sets his sights on strip clubs, real estate, Iraqi currency, diamonds, and even mind control technology. And his over the top lifestyle is a devious facade built with empty promises, costing investors millions.
S9.E100 ∙ AG 100 - Barry Minkow
I interviewed Barry Minkow in Lompoc Federal Prison October 1994. He was released that December and became my first speaker. Went back to prison. He's been released again.
S9.E103 ∙ AG 103: Kevin Trudeau and Remington Financial Group
Infomercial kingpin Kevin Trudeau is making millions but the government says he's selling lies and they'll do whatever they can to shut him down. And, Remington Financial Group's decades long 26 million-dollar advance fee scheme is about to be exposed by an unlikely group of victims.
S9.E104 ∙ AG 104: Steven Martinez and Michael Steven Banuelos
Ferrari Mike Banuelos takes musical artists' lives in the fast lane, but his promotions make his investors crash and burn. And Former IRS Agent Steven Martinez may seem like a normal accountant, but when he's caught in a $12 million fraud, he diverts taxpayer money to the ultimate crime - Murder.
S9.E106 ∙ AG 106 - David Brooks
Profiting millions from America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, David H Brooks lives the high life until evidence of his greed outshines his claims of patriotism.
S10.E1 ∙ Ray Nagin: New Orleans Shakedown
Ex-New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin exploits the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina by accepting bribes and corrupting the rebuilding efforts in the Big Easy. Nagin is accused of bilking the devastated city out of an estimated $500,000, taking expensive trips in private jets for him and his family, and orchestrating an exclusive granite contract for his son's company. He is convicted and is serving 10 years in federal prison.
S10.E2 ∙ The Surfer Slayer
Jason Derek Brown looks like a wealthy mellow "surfer dude," but he's allegedly a stone-cold killer who shoots a security guard five times in the head to steal $56,000 in cash. Authorities say Brown robs an armored car guard to fuel his corrupt playboy lifestyle. This serial con artist leads the FBI on a heart-pumping chase over several western states and lands on the FBI's Most Wanted list.
S10.E3 ∙ A Mother's Costly Revenge
When financial fraudster Paul Kruse propositions his assistant's teenage daughter, this angry mom gets revenge and him behind bars. But will this whistle blower survive Kruse's sinister murder-for-hire plot?
S10.E4 ∙ Vanity and Greed: Deadly Beauty
"Nurse" Tracey Lynn Garner gives illegal silicone injections to enhance clients' curves. When one patient dies, she's charged with murder facing life in prison. And, four people become paralyzed after receiving knockoff Botox Cosmetic injections to treat wrinkles. The poisonous potion is sold as a cheaper alternative to pump up profits.
S10.E5 ∙ The Lawyer Lies; Black Gold Bust
An Indianapolis attorney diverts settlement money that is supposed to go to his clients into a lavish lifestyle filled with fancy cars and houses. A Kentucky oil scam falls apart.
S10.E6 ∙ The Bar Girls Scam
Beautiful women with looks that kill are controlled by Russian gangsters to seduce amorous men in nightclubs out of money and jewelry. It's a super expensive hangover.
S10.E7 ∙ Sick Profits/Hollywood Swinging
A clinic in Brooklyn pays kickbacks to "patients" for fake treatments and procedures, defrauding Medicare of $71M. And, Claiming to be the next Pixar, Gigapix lies to shareholders about $22.6M in raised funds.
S10.E10 ∙ Jersey Car Stealer/Facebook Face-Off
Luxury car salesman and reality TV star Bobby Khan is accused of pocketing car loans and selling cars that aren't his. And Paul Ceglia, who once hired Mark Zuckerberg, claims to own half of Facebook and says he has the contract to prove it. But is it legitimate?
S10.E11 ∙ Pain Killer Profits
Twin Brothers Chris and Jeffrey George make $40 million from the illicit sale of oxycodone and other drugs out of their South Florida pain clinics. When patients start dying, their pill mills get unwanted attention from the Feds.
S10.E13 ∙ The Bad Neighbors
A neighborhood ice cream parlor in West Roxbury, Mass., lands the Palladino family in fraud.
S10.E15 ∙ Medical Gloves with Holes
A California fraudster scams investors, stealing millions and falsely promising to build a factory in the USA to make medical gloves that will provide high-paying jobs.
S10.E16 ∙ Hack Me if You Can; Goodfella Gone Bad
Daniel Rigmaiden is a 28-year-old hacker who steals millions from the U.S. government. And, ex-Goodfella Dom Rabuffo enters witness protection only to start a new life of crime in mortgage fraud.
S10.E18 ∙ Blood Money/Chicago Jailbreak
A doctor bilks the government by treating healthy "cancer" patients/"The Second Hand Bandit" and his cellmate plan a daring escape from Chicago's Metropolitan Correctional Center.
S10.E19 ∙ Family Fortune Feud
A once-$100 million publishing fortune pits mother against son when he's accused of squandering millions on sex, diamonds, and fraud.
S10.E20 ∙ Silk Road: Digital Drug Dealers
The anonymous mastermind of the world's biggest online and underground drug bazaar calls himself the "Dread Pirate Roberts." But in unmasking this criminal, will federal agents find that some of their own have been corrupted by greed?
S10.E111 ∙ Ray Nagin: New Orleans Shakedown
Ex New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin exploits the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina by accepting bribes and corrupting the rebuilding efforts in the Big Easy. Nagin is accused of bilking the devastated city out of an estimated $500,000, taking expensive trips in private jets for him and his family, and orchestrating an exclusive granite contract.
S10.E114 ∙ Tracey Lynn Garner and Chad Livdahl
"Nurse" Tracey Lynn Garner gives illegal silicone injections to enhance clients' curves. When one patient dies, she's charged with murder facing life in prison. And, four people become paralyzed after receiving knockoff Botox Cosmetic injections to treat wrinkles. The poisonous potion is sold as a cheaper alternative to pump up profits.
S10.E115 ∙ Rachel, Porsha & Blancey Lee
Ralph Raines, Jr., the heir to an Oregon timber fortune, wanders into a psychic shop one day and meets a woman works her way into Raines' bank accounts and engineers the perfect Sweetheart Swindle with her family members as a supporting cast.
S10.E118 ∙ Captured Fugitives
David Kaup, Aubrey Lee Price, Neisha Jackson, Jack Utsick, and James Hammes appeared on "American Greed: The Fugitives," and afterwards, many people thought that they would never be seen again. But these five fugitives have been CAUGHT.
S10.E119 ∙ Doug and Brent Cassity
Using sexy saleswomen Doug Cassity sells bogus prearranged funeral contracts to the tune of $500 million and lives it up.
S10.E124 ∙ The Phantom Fraudster of Broadway
New York stockbroker Mark Hotton steals millions from investors and causes the Broadway revival of "Rebecca" to implode.
S10.E127 ∙ Seattle Roasted / The Stealing Socialite
With two yachts, his own private jet, and lakeside mega-mansion, Darren Berg scams some of Seattle's savviest investors. And, New York socialite Dina Wein Reis bilks companies out of millions in a grey market selling scheme.
S11.E1 ∙ Deadly Gold Digger
An attractive femme fatale enlists her ex-NFL linebacker boyfriend to sack her millionaire husband for good.
S11.E2 ∙ The Real "War Dogs"
America is fighting two wars and a Miami party boy steps into make a killing for himself. Efraim Diveroli, just 21 years old, a self proclaimed druggy, wins a nearly $300 million contract to supply ammo to Afghanistan. But the only way to score millions from the deal is to break the law. His story gets amped-up with fiction in the 2016 movie "War Dogs" but American Greed has the facts about what happens when war meets greed.
S11.E3 ∙ Badge of Dishonor
The shooting death of a small town cop makes national headlines, but the killing leads to other mysteries surrounding the officer.
S11.E4 ∙ Billionaire Boys Bust
A Michigan scammer makes millions with false claims of building a real estate empire.
S11.E5 ∙ Clean Teeth, Dirty Money/Comic Book Murder
A sex trafficking ring comprised of violent pimps who exploit women enlists a Chicago dentist to launder their money, and in upstate New York an elderly rural bachelor is robbed of his valuable vintage comic books collection.
S11.E6 ∙ Sticky Fingers; Life in the Fraud Lane
A trusted employee starts baking up his own profits at a famous fruitcake company in Texas. And, a self-proclaimed financial wiz funds a winning race team with money stolen from a church.
S11.E7 ∙ Making A Killing/Doctor Drug Dealer
Con man/motivational speaker Gary Shawkey needs cash for his wild scams and he's not afraid to murder to get it. Then, a Los Angeles pain clinic doctor makes millions writing illegal pain prescriptions and she doesn't care how many patients die while she does it.
S11.E8 ∙ Fouled out: Rumeal Robinson
A former champion basketball player's schemes land him in prison and his mother kicked out of her home.
S11.E9 ∙ Recipe For Murder
Successful businesswoman Linda Kincade is targeted by a serial grifter, Paul Curry, who poisons her for money. Ironically, Linda thinks she has finally found the love of her life, but it turns out that Paul may actually be the end of it.
S11.E10 ∙ Jersey Car Stealer Dealer/Facebook Face-Off
Luxury car salesman and reality TV star Bobby Khan is accused of pocketing car loans and selling cars that aren't his. And Paul Ceglia, who once hired Mark Zuckerberg, claims to own half of Facebook and says he has the contract to prove it. But is it legitimate?
S11.E11 ∙ From Peanuts to Sick Millions
CEO Stewart Parnell knowingly ships peanut products tainted with salmonella - that kill nine and sickens thousands.
S11.E12 ∙ A Glamorous Showbiz Lie
Troy Stratos lives the glamorous life by convincing people that he is a movie producer and money management professional while collecting $40 million dollars to promote his own image. He even stole from his childhood friend Nicole Murphy, who is the ex-wife of Eddie Murphy.
S11.E13 ∙ Deadly Black Gold Riches
James Henrikson schemes to strike it rich in the North Dakota oil fields and he lets no one get in his way.
S11.E14 ∙ Art Schlichter: All American Fraud
Former OSU quarterback Art Schlichter was once a living legend at Ohio State University. Art Schlichter throws it all away when he sinks into a gambling addiction, becoming a fast-talking con artist whose only game is looking for the next score. He cons both friends and acquaintances to feed his gambling habit.
S11.E15 ∙ Red Carpet Rip-Off
Musician Donald "Ski" Johnson uses his Jazz for Life foundation to make empty promises that leave generous donors feeling scammed when his bogus trips to the Grammy Awards turn into red carpet nightmares.
S11.E16 ∙ Wine, Women and Fraud
John Fox, the owner of Premier Cru, a luxurious Berkeley, California wine consignment business, steals millions of dollars from wealthy wine collectors by luring his customers into attractive "pre-arrival" offers on rare collectible wine that is never delivered to his clients. He spends his clients' money on personal pleasures including expensive cars and online escort services until his Ponzi scheme breaks down. The ironic twist is that he himself falls prey to a scheme also.
S11.E17 ∙ Seattle Roasted/The Stealing Socialite
With two yachts, his own private jet, and a lakeside mega-mansion, Darren Berg scams some of Seattle's savviest investors. And, New York socialite Dina Wein Reis bilks companies out of millions in a grey market selling scheme.
S11.E18 ∙ Fraud Collectors
Bill Mastro builds a multi-million dollar sports memorabilia empire by defrauding clients through the use of "shill bidding" and selling off fake items.
S11.E19 ∙ Lesson in Greed/Soldier Scam
Story 1. A school supply vendor, millionaire businessman Norman H. Shy, steals almost three million dollars from struggling Detroit public schools by enlisting shady school officials. Story 2. Heartless crooks who are romance scammers use photos of real military men to lure women into sending love and money.
S11.E20 ∙ Top Gun of Fraud
Mark Avery burns though $52 million from a foundation he's trusted to protect. He buys fighter jets and a fleet of WWII bombers to feed his fantasy of running "black ops" for the CIA.
S11.E22 ∙ Hard-Rocking Fraudster; Refi's in Ruin
CNBC explores the various ways people have taken it upon themselves to become rich, including a number of tales involving art theft, con men, identity thieves and other scammers who turned the American Dream into more of a nightmare.
S12.E1 ∙ The Most Hated Man in America?
Martin Shkreli jacks the price of a life-saving drug 5000%, but it's his shady accounting and internet trolling that lands the 'Pharma Bro' in hot water.
S12.E2 ∙ Deadly Opioids, Dirty Doctors
John Kapoor, who oversaw a criminal conspiracy that involved bribing a network of doctors to peddle highly addictive and deadly opioids for purposes for which they were never intended, was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison. The drug, Subsys, was a fentanyl-laced prescription medication which helped fuel America's opioid crisis.
S12.E3 ∙ Murderous Plot meets Reality TV
When a sexy Florida former escort, Dalia Dippolito, plots to take her husband's money and his life, her lover tips off the police and her deadly plan gets caught on tape. At trial, she says she was only acting, not plotting.
S12.E4 ∙ The Polka King Con
Jan Lewan is a flashy showman, but when his finances hit a sour note, he rips off adoring fans with false promises of big investment returns. When Hollywood calls, can he stage a comeback?
S12.E5 ∙ Stolen Valor Scam
Among the most egregious cases in recent years involved former Idaho National Guard Lt. Darryl Wright, who admitted in 2016 to scamming state and federal governments out of more than $700,000 in benefits - not to mention a Purple Heart - by lying about injuries he claimed to have suffered while serving in Iraq.
S12.E6 ∙ Conn's Job
How does superstar disability lawyer Eric C. Conn offer guaranteed client wins? He cheats, scoring a massive Social Security fraud, then vanishes.
S12.E7 ∙ Blood Relatives; End of Life Scam
1. Blood Relatives: Teenager Alan Hruby loves the thrill of shopping for expensive things. But who pays the price? He swindles his grandmother for money but when his parents find out about his lies, his family faces a horrifying fate. 2. End of Life Scam: Seth Gillman owns a large hospice company offering compassionate care to patients but he is using patients to prop up a $20-million dollar phony billing scam.
S12.E8 ∙ Dangerous Luxury
Vitaly Borker scores $18 million selling designer knockoff eyewear as genuine from his website in Brooklyn. When customers complain, instead of getting refunds, many are threatened with violence, even murder.
S12.E9 ∙ Billion Dollar Fraud Goes Viral
Carlos Wanzeler and James Merrill promise enormous financial returns on a "work from home" plot selling phone service, and entice nearly one million people in a $1.7 billion Internet scam.
S12.E10 ∙ Florida Rehab Gone Wild
Kenny Chatman runs a string of corrupt drug rehab facilities, stealing millions by keeping insured addicts hooked on drugs.
S12.E11 ∙ Operation Crook, Line and Stinker
Rafael Astacio was a former detective with the New York City Police Department. Between 2010 and 2012, Rafael Astacio was a member of a burglary crew that committed approximately three dozen commercial burglaries and ten residential burglaries in the Eastern District of New York stealing approximately $8,000,000 in cash and property. Astacio personally participated in six of the commercial burglaries and five residential burglaries stealing more than $5.3 million in cash and property. The crew used traditional burglary tools, such as blow torches, crowbars, wire cutters, and sledge hammers, as well as cell phone jammers, police scanners, and an automobile tracking device to commit these crimes. Astacio also used his position with the NYPD to locate potential burglary targets' home addresses. "For years, Astacio and his crew invaded Long Island homes and businesses and stole money and property. By victimizing the very same people he took an oath to serve and protect, the defendant compounded his criminal acts," stated United States Attorney Capers.
S12.E12 ∙ Artistic License to Steal
A wannabe art dealer sells fake works by American masters of Abstract Expressionism in an $80 million scam, fooling rich collectors and pocketing millions.
S12.E13 ∙ The Fake Housewife of Orange County
In sunny Laguna Beach social climber Elizabeth Mulder finances her plastic surgery, Arabian horses, and ocean-view real estate worth millions by swindling her best friends.
S12.E14 ∙ Online Dating Trap
Daylon Pierce is a ladies' man who claims to be a licensed stockbroker, wooing unsuspecting women through Internet dating sites. But when they hand over millions of dollars to this "investment expert," he robs them blind, parties his way through their money and breaks their hearts.
S12.E15 ∙ An Ungodly Scammer
Ephren Taylor moves his way through the Bible belt promoting his new book on his "building wealth" tour. He was on 20/20 and the Today show. He visited Churches and offered them great investments.
S12.E16 ∙ Just a Dollar and a Scheme/Lousy Landlord
An Iowa man rigs a $16.5 million lottery jackpot, triggering the biggest lotto scam in American history. Then, notorious NYC landlord Steven Croman finds a new home for a year, jail.
S12.E17 ∙ Something's Fishy: The Codfather
Carlos Rafael makes millions as the owner of one of the largest commercial fishing businesses on the East Coast but his big mouth gets him hooked in an undercover IRS sting with agents posing as Russian mobsters.
S12.E18 ∙ Scams on Film/God and Gold
John Rogers criminally builds one of the most impressive photo archives in the world. When his partner rats him out, victims find out they've been burned. Then, Larry Bates may preach about salvation through precious metals in the coming financial apocalypse, but in the end, his clients are investing in "fool's gold."
S12.E19 ∙ Baby-Faced Drug Lords
Florida teens cash in on the opioid explosion then expand their operation, putting their lives in danger.
S12.E20 ∙ From Bar Bouncer to Millionaire Fraudster
Bars, strip clubs and nightlife venues shell out millions to an insurance company, Indemnity Insurance Corp., founded by Jeffrey B. Cohen, a former bouncer. However, federal agents say the company isn't what it appears to be, and they make stunning discoveries, including a $25,000 sniper rifle.
S13.E1 ∙ The College Admissions Scandal
College admissions consultant Rick Singer awaits sentencing for his role as mastermind of the $25 million 'Varsity Blues' scandal which included coaches and others which were insiders.
S13.E2 ∙ The Fyre Festival
Disgraced Fyre Festival founder Billy McFarland uses fraud to launch his brand and a luxury music festival in the Bahamas.
S13.E3 ∙ Paul Manafort
From luxury properties to an ostrich coat, the hard charging political insider uses his influence to fuel a multimillion-dollar mortgage and tax fraud.
S13.E4 ∙ Prophets of Greed
Leaders of a breakaway polygamous Mormon sect, Lyle Jeffs and Seth Jeffs of the 'Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' (FLDS), admitted to orchestrating what authorities have called the nation's largest scheme to defraud the federal food benefits program. They rose to power after the cult founder, their brother Warren Jeffs, was imprisoned due to sex crimes.
S13.E5 ∙ Black Market Dirty Gold
Three Miami salesmen have gold fever, as they import billions of dollars worth of the precious metal from South America. But their business plan falls apart when authorities learn the gold has connections to drug cartels and organized crime. Renowned private investigator David Bolton of South Florida-based Bolton Investigations Inc., whose professional achievements include handling the largest gold heist in Florida history, was quoted extensively throughout the program about the illegal gold mining trade, its ties to drug cartels and organized crime, and its alarming impact in the United States and South America. "Miami's biggest import and export for years was gold," said Bolton. "I am one of the few private investigators who has handled significant crimes involving the theft of gold and other precious metals. Throughout my career, I have worked closely with many of the major players in the industry as a consultant." Prosecutors said Miami received about 90 percent of the black market gold imported from Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. Bolton said the enormous social costs of the operation extended well beyond the culprits' financial crimes. "They've used child labor in Peru and Colombia, they've been poisoning the environment, they've been deforesting the Amazon," he told "American Greed." Bolton added the workers were exposed to harsh work conditions that included exposure to deadly levels of mercury with more than 200 tons of the chemical element dumped in the heart of the Amazon.
S13.E6 ∙ The House Flipping Reality Star Fraudster
Scott Menaged is a trash-talking reality TV house flipper buying up hundreds of foreclosures in Phoenix. But when his moneylender discovers that Menaged is a fraud, the consequences are deadly.
S13.E7 ∙ The Fake Prince's Royal Scam
An outlandish con artist poses as a Saudi royal to cheat investors out of millions by promising them access to Arabian oil stock. From his penthouse on Miami's exclusive Fisher Island, phony sultan "Khalid Bin Al-Saud," lures victims with dreams of untold riches.
S13.E8 ∙ Diagnosis: Temptress Health Scam
Entrepreneur Keisha Williams cheats investors out of millions of dollars with a medical money-making technology that never materializes.
S13.E9 ∙ The Fast and the Fraudulent
Payday loan scam mastermind Scott Tucker swindles millions of cash-strapped borrowers with his convenient online loan business and uses the profits to fuel his race car team dreams. But when he steers investors into his predatory scheme, he speeds head on into trouble.
S13.E10 ∙ Painful Greed Turns Deadly
Pharmacist Barry Cadden chooses profits over safety while running a drug compounding lab where mold and bacteria thrive, harming almost 800 patients and leading to more than 100 deaths.
S13.E11 ∙ Starstruck Studio Swindle
Carissa Carpenter is an aspiring Hollywood mogul whose latest plan is to construct a major movie studio in Northern California. But federal authorities say this is only a sequel, as she uses investor money to bankroll her big-budget lifestyle for nearly two decades in different cities around the country.
S13.E12 ∙ The Luxury Curse Scam
From penthouse apartments to a $10 million stadium luxury box, New York financial adviser Dawn Bennett orchestrates a $20 million scheme and conjures spells to silence investigators.
S13.E13 ∙ Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino
Reality star Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino flaunts washboard abs and a party boy image, but when it comes to paying his taxes, he'd rather play than pay.
S13.E14 ∙ Fake Heiress Cons High Society
An artsy German heiress Anna Delvey makes a splash in Downtown New York's social scene, but she's really a Russian-born con artist who's trying to swindle $23 million from banks while dodging unpaid bills.
S13.E15 ∙ All-Star Sports Scam
Peggy Fulford, a sweet-talking beauty, steals millions of dollars from professional athletes.
S13.E16 ∙ Judgment of Terror
When a judge in Texas is shot four times, a tip leads investigators to Chimene Onyeri, an aspiring Houston rap artist facing prison after his crooked card skimming plots are exposed.
S14.E1 ∙ The Trials of Michael Avenatti
Michael Avenatti makes a splash as the litigator representing porn star Stormy Daniels in her dispute with Donald Trump...but it's soon revealed that he has legal troubles of his own brewing.
S14.E2 ∙ Nightmare at NXIVM
Using powers of persuasion, along with classic multilevel marketing techniques; amassing thousands of followers -- many of them rich and famous -- and hundreds of millions of dollars in contributions.
S14.E3 ∙ The Real Dr. Death
In Dallas, a delusional, debt-ridden, and allegedly drug-dabbling spine surgeon maims and even kills patients in one botched surgery after another. It falls to two colleagues to step in where others won't and bring him down.
S14.E4 ∙ The Fall of an Opiod Mogul
As the opioid epidemic destroys the lives of millions of Americans, billionaire drug mogul John Kapoor looks to cash in.
S14.E5 ∙ A Family Vanishes
When all four members of the McStay family seemingly vanish into thin air -- here one day, gone the next -- a years-long quest for answers begins. Then a biker in the Mojave Desert finds their bodies in shallow graves... and a close friend of the family falls under suspicion.
S14.E6 ∙ Social Media Scam Artists
Crowdfunded charities are a modern way to raise funds for a good cause, but do we know where the money really goes? Social media scammers prey on the kindness of strangers, using tragic or heart-warming stories to hook their victims...then empty their wallets.
S14.E7 ∙ Inside El Chapo's Empire
Few are familiar with the betrayal that helped land Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera, billionaire drug lord and for years the world's most wanted man in prison.
S14.E8 ∙ The 'Con' in Congress
California Congressman Duncan Hunter and his wife, Margaret, looked like the perfect political power couple but instead of serving the public these partners in life conspired to help themselves to hundreds of thousands in campaign dollars.
S14.E9 ∙ Confessions of a Scam Artist
T.R. Wright -- the architect of what's been called the wildest insurance fraud scheme Texas has ever seen -- shares his almost-too-crazy-to-be-true-story with American Greed.
S14.E10 ∙ The Imposter
Ed Shin is an entrepreneur, churchgoer, family man: the very picture of success. But when his business partner suddenly vanishes, a private eye uncovers his horrifying past.
S14.E11 ∙ Burned by Greed
How does multibillion-dollar company Pacific Gas and Electric comes to repeatedly kill its customers? By putting profits over safety, critics allege.
S14.E12 ∙ A Father's Fraud
Karl Karlsen is a hardworking man with what seems to be a terrible streak of bad luck, as his wife and son both die in accidents nearly 20 years apart; Karl has a secret: their suspicious deaths have been keeping his bank account full.
S15.E0 ∙ James McGill
This mock episode released on April fools day looks at the events surrounding the fictional Saul Goodman character as seen in Breaking Bad (2008) and Better Call Saul (2015).
S15.E1 ∙ The Life & Crimes of Joel Greenberg
Joel Greenberg is a privileged millennial from a rich Florida family who runs for Seminole County Tax Collector - and wins. Once in office, he embarks on a breathtaking series of crimes.
S15.E2 ∙ Theranos CEO on Trial
Former employees, whistleblowers, and even a family friend-turned-foe provide new insights into the company's leadership and the mysterious long-term relationship between Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and her top deputy, Sunny Balwani.
S15.E3 ∙ How WeWork Went Wild
Inside the rise and near-collapse of WeWork, the startup co-founded by its former CEO, Adam Neumann, who mesmerizes venture capitalists with grandiose promises, even though WeWork turns out to be a traditional real estate leasing business.
S15.E4 ∙ Boeing's Deadly Design
When two brand-new Boeing 737 Max jets fall out of the sky five months apart - killing a total of 346 people - investigators quickly home in on a mysterious software program known as MCAS.
S15.E5 ∙ The Biggest Theft of All Time?
Jho Low is accused of being one of the biggest thieves the world has ever seen; authorities say he's the mastermind of an international scheme to steal over $4 billion from the government of Malaysia.
S15.E6 ∙ The Kingpin Next Door
The story of a suburban Eagle Scout turned Dark Web drug lord; Aaron Shamo launches a new type of American drug ring, recruiting other Utah millennials to help him manufacture deadly counterfeit opioids and sell them online.
S15.E7 ∙ The Polygamist and the Bio Fuel Baron
CEO Jacob Kingston appears to be a rising star in Utah's fledgling biofuel industry, until a member of a secretive polygamist group called The Order reveals that Kingston is committing a 1.1 billion dollar fraud.
S15.E8 ∙ Chasing Tesla
Serial entrepreneur Trevor Milton founds the electric vehicle company Nikola, which suggests it will be the next Tesla, but for long-haul trucks.
S15.E9 ∙ COVID Cons
While an estimated $100 to $400 billion dollars in COVID-19 federal relief funds are stolen by scammers and criminals, one seasoned California family of fraudsters easily grabs millions of dollars that Americans desperately need. Richard Ayvazyan, along with his wife Marietta Terabelian and other family members were convicted of stealing up to $350 million dollars in federal COVID-19 relief loans. The family members bought luxury cars, multi-million dollar mansions, jewelry, gold coins, watches, vacations and more with their ill-gotten gains. They obtained bank loans in other peoples' names that they never intended to pay back. Three of them ended up on the FBI's 'Most Wanted' list. Those three (Richard Ayvazyan, his wife Marietta Terabelian and his sister-in-law Tamara Dadyan) had cut off their ankle monitor bracelets and abandoned their also-guilty children and fled to the mountains of Montenegro, a country in the Balkans in Southeastern Europe. The three fugitives were tracked down by law enforcement and apprehended. In the end, the criminals were caught. Richard Ayvazyan, age 43, was sentenced to serve 17 years in prison. His wife, Marietta Terabelian, age 37, was sentenced to six years in prison. His brother, Artur Ayvazyan, age 41, was sentenced to five years in prison. Manuk Grigoryan, age 28, was sentenced to six years in prison. Edvard Paronyan, age 41, was sentenced to 30 months in prison. Vahe Dadyan, age 42, was sentenced to 12 months in prison. Arman Hayrapetyan, age 39, was ordered to serve 10 months of probation. Richard Ayvazyan's sister-in-law, Tamara Dadyan, age 42, was sentenced to 10 years plus 10 months in prison.
S15.E10 ∙ The Accused Crypto Couple
In February 2022, the Justice Department announced charges against Heather Rhiannon Morgan and her husband Ilya Lichtenstein for their alleged roles in the conspiracy to launder $4.5 billion in stolen Bitcoin cryptocurrency. Heather Morgan was as also known as 'Razzlekhan', a fledgling rap artist.
S15.E11 ∙ Financial Infidelity
Purported entrepreneur Antonio Mariot Wilson changes his name, pitch, and act to play a series of roles, and the inveterate huckster fleeces unsuspecting investors for decades, including television star Jenifer Lewis. In this installment, Jenifer Lewis opens up about her relationship with Antonio Wilson and how it went from a storybook romance to a nightmare. In the end, Antonio Mariot Wilson, aka 'Brice Carrington' and 'Dr. Tony Mariot', age 58, was sentenced in March 2021 to 8 years in federal prison for deceiving women he met online and elsewhere into investing hundreds of thousands of dollars into his sham companies, and then spending their money on himself. From May 2015 to October 2018, Wilson defrauded four women with whom he had engaged in romantic relationships, including actress Jenifer Lewis, whose credits include the television series 'Black-ish'. Wilson falsely told his victims that he was a Navy SEAL, a graduate of Oxford University, and an Oxford professor. He conveniently 'forgot' to tell the victims that he had previously pleaded guilty in federal court in Oakland, California to carrying out a similar fraud scheme, and had served a four-year term in federal prison after pleading guilty in 2009.
S15.E12 ∙ The Spy Who Conned Me
This installment discusses Garrison Courtney, who infiltrated Washington DC's intelligence circles. In doing so, he collected $4.5 million dollars with his tall tales of running a top-secret national security operation for the CIA, the Central Intelligence Agency. Now age 44, when Courtney's lies unraveled after four years of fraud, he was apprehended and was sentenced in October 2020 in federal court in Alexandria, VA to seven years in prison.
S15.E13 ∙ Million Dollar Prison Kickback
Chris Epps charms his way up the ladder, from prison guard to the top post of Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner. Once in office, he and his businessman buddy, Cecil McCrory, set up shop, siphoning kickbacks and bribes.
S15.E14 ∙ California Schemin'
In sun-drenched San Diego, entrepreneur and real estate developer Gina Champion-Cain lures in investors with a glamorous, beach and fun image with promises of sky-high returns on short-term liquor license loans.
S15.E15 ∙ Streaming and Scheming
Zachary Horwitz has dreams of making it big in Hollywood. While his onscreen career never quite flourishes, Horwitz acts his way into raising more than $600 million for an investment opportunity that is completely bogus.
S15.E16 ∙ The Decline of a Dynasty
American Greed Murdaugh Saga, Part 1: Alex Murdaugh, a well-respected lawyer from a prominent family is accused of stealing millions of dollars from the suffering clients who turn to him for his legal knowledge, compassion and help. This brazen act of fraud results in the decline of a dynasty. This installment discusses details about the deaths and multiple legal cases surrounding South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh, who was accused of killing his wife and son in June 2021. The sprawling investigation into the prominent and powerful Murdaugh family uncovers years of unchecked power and privilege that has allegedly resulted in years of fraud, conspiracy, corruption and murder.
S15.E17 ∙ A Legacy of Fraud
American Greed Murdaugh Saga, Part 2: Alex Murdaugh, a well-respected lawyer from a prominent family is accused of stealing millions of dollars from the suffering clients who turn to him for his legal knowledge, compassion and help. This brazen act of fraud results in the decline of a dynasty. This installment discusses details about the deaths and multiple legal cases surrounding South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh, who was accused of killing his wife and son in June 2021. The sprawling investigation into the prominent and powerful Murdaugh family uncovers years of unchecked power and privilege that has allegedly resulted in years of fraud, conspiracy, corruption and murder.
S15.E18 ∙ The Busted Mogul
Former Buddhist monk Lobsang Dargey escapes from Tibet, makes his way to the America, marries into a sports superstar's family, and builds a real estate empire. But his success is built at the expense of would-be Chinese immigrants.
S15.E19 ∙ Follow the Juul Money
When an epidemic of teenage nicotine addiction breaks out across the country, some people ask whether Juul's founders who produce electronic cigarettes are intent on saving lives or targeting the next generation with hopes they will become addicted.
S15.E20 ∙ VIP Schemers
Convicted fraudster and identity thief Tracii Show Hutsona is once again up on federal charges after a high-profile client discovers more than 1 million missing from her bank accounts.
S15.E21 ∙ Preaching Pyramid Schemes
Reality TV couple Marlon Moore, also known as DJ ASAP, and his wife, LaShonda Moore are accused of exploiting vulnerable people during the COVID-19 pandemic and convincing thousands of their fans to invest in their illegal pyramid scheme. Regulators claim the Moores have "blessed" themselves to the tune of millions of dollars.
S15.E22 ∙ Drunk with Power
With his long white beard, ponytail and ubiquitous advertising, a former police officer who is now an attorney, James Morris Balagia of Manor, Texas, is also known as the 'D.W.I. Dude'. He is well-known in Texas as a flamboyant defense lawyer who can get 'drunk driving' defendants out of a jam. His advertising slogan was, 'Busted? Call the Dude!'. However, he pocketed money that he told drug dealers would be used to bribe officials, prosecutors said. In the end, when Jamie Balagia, now age 65, got convicted for his crimes in May 2021, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
S15.E23 ∙ Fame, Fortune & Fraud
Jason Van Eman is a B-list actor from Oklahoma who seeks fame and fortune as a Hollywood, CA producer. He hatches a $68 million scheme involving bank and wire fraud, spanning 8 years. He was convicted and sentenced to 21 years in prison.
S15.E24 ∙ Lawyers, Lies, and a Housewife
Personal injury attorney Tom Girardi posits himself as a champion for the little guy, but jilted clients cry foul when they discover him cheating them out of millions of dollars in settlement money as Girardi's wife flaunts her wealth on reality television. Girardi was the subject of 205 attorney ethics complaints between 1982 and June 2022 when he was disbarred in California.
