Randy Treadwell, the son of a preacher, leaves the righteous path - claiming he's a financial wizard, but all he does is take investor money for himself and his crew. He uses his Southern charm to bilk believers out of nearly $65 million. He calls his scams legitimate sounding names like "Learn Waterhouse" and "The Wealth Builders Club" in which Treadwell promises huge returns for short-term investments. But when clients can't withdraw their money, complaints to law enforcement pile up.
Perry Griggs ran an investment fraud claiming to sell coffee futures, when all he did was keep investor money. He was convicted of securities fraud and sentenced to eight years in federal prison.
A trio of Texas con men scores $100 million, telling investors there's big money in the "life settlement" insurance biz. When the fraudsters fail to pay returns and keep the money for themselves, it all comes crashing down.
With a 30 year career in real estate, many thought broker Doug Vaughan was a man to be trusted. His charisma helped make him a fortune in New Mexico real estate. But it was all lies.
The Sandhogs Local 147, a New York City construction union, whose workers build tunnels and underground passageways, entrusts Melissa King for overseeing union benefits to ensure their retirements. Instead, King uses the workers funds to cut herself checks to the tune of $42 million.
In Chicago, Jack Walsh and Charles Martin appear to be getting very rich running a foreign currency trading brokerage. But is the money really coming from savvy trades? In 2007, a routine audit reveals some "irregularities" in One World's accounting.
San Francisco entrepreneur 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. He claims they will make a fortune when his company is sold to Microsoft. But there is no deal.
Trevor Cook appears to be a local boy made good in Minneapolis, where he runs an investment fund called the Oxford Group. Along with three cohorts, Cook solicits an amazing $190 million dollars from 700 U.S. investors, many of whom heard his message through a talk radio star.
Philip Barry runs his scam from Bay Ridge, a solid working-class neighborhood where families go back generations. Through local connections, Barry pulls more than 800 investors into a $40 million scheme offering "guaranteed returns" on investments.
A New Age evangelist becomes a greedy, groovy, guru telling Florida investors that positive thinking can lead to positive returns in her auto financing business. But this false prophet is returning nothing but false profits in her $113 million scam. She draws in some 2000 victims but when the F.B.I. finds out about Cladek's scam, this greedster doesn't have a prayer. And, civilization is on the verge of collapse, Ronnie Gene Wilson tells his followers, and the only path to a secure future is paved with investment in precious metals. But for a guy who predicts the imminent demise of the dollar, this South Carolinian certainly seems greedy for greenbacks. He takes in $93 million. Over time, investors realize that Wilson isn't investing their money in metal, but using it to build a luxurious doomsday bunker complete with an organic farm.
A Florida man hits it big when he takes home almost $13 million in a Florida lottery jackpot. Instead of living large, Abraham Shakespeare gives away most of his money to people in his community. So when Dee Dee Moore offers to help manage his winnings, it's a welcome relief for Shakespeare. But what seems like a helping hand turns out to be a hand helping herself and Shakespeare ends up paying a deadly price.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, Michael McCant is a former bank robber who says he's gone "legit," and is now making millions by promoting up-and-coming rap musicians. But these millions are coming from investors like Bernice Tingle who have given McCant their entire nest eggs. Mark Anderson owns a fine wine storage business in Sausalito, California. But when clients discover their wine is missing, they accuse Anderson of theft. Anderson tries to conceal his crime with gasoline and a blowtorch, destroying more than $200 million dollars' worth of wine, and bringing scores of family-owned wineries to the brink of ruin.
