American Greed

The heads of Wall Street's biggest investment banks were summoned to an evening meeting by the US Treasury Secretary, Hank Paulson, to discuss the plight of another - Lehman Brothers. After six months' turmoil in the world's financial markets, Lehman Brothers was on life support and the government was about to pull the plug. Lehman CEO, Dick Fuld, recently sidelined in a boardroom coup, spends the weekend desperately trying to resuscitate his beloved company through a merger with Bank of America or UK-based Barclays. But without the financial support of Paulson and Lehman's fiercest competitors, Fuld's empire - and with it, the stability of the world economy - teeters on the verge of extinction

American Greed’s Mob Money reveals the inner workings of the mob through the eyes of New Jersey’s DeCavalcante family. They were once seen as second-class mobsters living in the shadows of the bigger New York City families. But that changed in the late 1990’s when the feds busted all five New York families for racketeering. For the DeCavalcantes, the timing couldn’t have been better. Discover how the family matures, becomes success and eventually bows to its weakness and crumbles to its knees. Organized crime activities bring in a worldwide annual income of between $50 and $90 billion…that’s more money than any major legitimate national industry. From loan-sharking and labor racketeering to illegal gambling and murder for hire to its recent invasion into Wall Street - it’s all part of the life and death business of organized crime. The way the mob does business isn’t all that different than any other big corporation. There’s a corporate structure with investments and returns. Mob bosses take their business as serious as any CEO with one major exception - the way organized crime deals with the competition--making them some of the most violent criminals around. Nothing and no one stands in their way.

He was the mastermind of the biggest Ponzi scheme in American History. He stole millions…maybe billions of dollars from unsuspecting clients. Lives were shattered and fortunes ruined. After confessing to his crimes, Bernie Madoff received the maximum sentence: 150 years in prison.

Case 1: Hook, Line and Sucker Barry Hunt—a successful con artist who left a coast-to-coast trail of deception, deceit and empty bank accounts. A profile of Hunt’s crime and the investors who bought his story. Case 2: Maxfield Parish Art Heist A daring heist. Under the cover of darkness, a hole is expertly cut in the roof. An alarm goes haywire. Two paintings by famed American Artist Maxfield Parrish disappear into the night.

Case 1: The Imposter: Dr. Barnes For twenty years he was an imposter doctor! Dr. Gerald Barnes has a thriving practice specializing in "executive" medical exams. His salary is six-figures and life is good. But there's a problem: he's not the real Dr. Gerald Barnes. Case 2: Interstate Bank Mart Bandit He leaves no clues behind, only a trail of broken dreams and empty bank accounts. Forty-three robberies in 20 months. The M.O. is always the same. Police say it's the work of one man: "The Interstate Bank Mart Bandit!".

Case 1: Art Heist: Fine Arts Express A museum quality art collection worth more than $4 million dollars is stolen! Two men, who in a twist of fate, end up working at Fine Arts Express, together hatch a plan to steal the art… museum quality pieces by Picasso, Matisse, and Rothko. Case 2: Medical Scams: Dr. Martinez It sounds like a nightmare—long needles repeatedly jabbed to a patient’s back. But for Dr. Jorge Martinez, it's routine business. Expensive, painful and unnecessary shots are all part of a multi-million dollar billing scheme.

Financier Martin Frankel, a con-man who vanished with $200 million dollars! A story of money laundering, prostitution, bizarre sex and drug abuse.

When Greed and Giving Collide A major charity scam...John Bennett's "Foundation for New Era Philanthropy" stole millions of dollars from unsuspecting patrons. A story of deception, theft and "American Greed." Confessions of a Con Man Eric Stein, mastermind of one of the largest Ponzi schemes in Nevada history, cost his victims nearly $34 million dollars.

Unsolved: $300 Million Art Heist A dark night. A clever plan. $300 million in art is stolen from a Boston museum. Paintings by Rembrandt, Vermeer and Manuet disappear into the night! Preying on Faith He's a man of faith and his name is Abraham Kennard. But this pastor preys on his flock. Trusting Christians from small, struggling churches who are hoping to better their communities hand over their savings to this pastor. But instead, as many as 1600 churches nationwide are swindled out of $10 million.

An attractive, sinfully dishonest Tampa mortgage broker meets a single mom looking for love. Together they team up and make millions in the real estate market. In a tell-all exclusive interview, Matt Cox and Rebecca Hauck explain how lust and greed are a hot combination for fraud.

Lou Pearlman... the legendary manager of boy bands like *NSYNC and The Backstreet Boys... the king of an entertainment empire that crumbles. Pearlman lives a glamorous life of fame, fancy cars... and crime. He's the mastermind who scams $500 million from investors!

Richard Scrushy is the Superstar CEO of HealthSouth, a huge provider of outpatient rehab services. But, the billionaire falls from grace after federal prosecutors accuse him of masterminding a $2.7 billion dollar fraud!

An enigmatic hedge fund manager desperate to succeed... and the scam that bilked investors out of $300 million! Sam Israel lived through the most decadent era in human history. His hunger for fame and fortune... his greed, ultimately leads to a bridge and a suicide note. This is the strange story of a con artist who fell for the ultimate con himself!

A story of deception. They appear to be two “grannies” helping men who are down on their luck - offering food, shelter and clothing. But Helen Golay and her friend Olga Rutterschmidt are ruthless con artists. Their tragic web of deceit is about to unravel. This is the true tale of women who murder for money. The story of The Black Widows…only on American Greed!

Raffaello Follieri is young, handsome and at the top of his game. He makes millions with a successful real estate business. He hobnobs with world leaders. And, he’s found love with a Hollywood A-Lister, Anne Hathaway. But Follieri is about to see his American dream fall apart... when his fraud is exposed.

Stephen Trantel is a husband, a father…and a bank robber. He was once a broker making hundreds of thousands of dollars in the Manhattan trading pits. Unemployed, Trantel embarks on a new career…. one of crime. His life - and the lives of those who love him - are changed forever.

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!

He’s a philanthropist, diplomat and 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. American Greed profiles the golden allure of an elusive conman and a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme!

Kenneth Ira Starr is a money manager. He courts celebrity clients…Sylvester Stallone, Uma Thurman and Wesley Snipes. But Starr doesn’t stop there. He steals $30 million to buy his way onto Hollywood’s A-list and live a life of luxury … all in the name of love. American Greed has the story of the money manager, the stripper and a multi-million dollar ponzi scheme.

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. American Greed profiles the story of murder for money.

Nevin Shapiro is the conman at the center of a college football scandal. He kicked off the controversy with stunning stories of gifts to players and allegations of broken NCAA rules. Who is this man who jeopardized the future of the University of Miami’s football team and how did he steal the millions that made it all possible? American Greed profiles a case of major league fraud!

Michael Vorce spends lavishly on clothes and cars and leaves thousand-dollar tips at bars.

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 wife finds out her insurance agent husband Joe Caronna has been stealing money from their friends by selling bogus annuities.

Middle-aged commercial real estate investor Ed Okun is in love with a boat show model almost half his age. He showers her with jewels, cars, even a helicopter. To fund his hormone-induced multimillion dollar spending spree, Okun steals client money to live large and impress his new bride.

(1) A small-town comptroller steals $53 million to fund a horse-breeding empire. (2) A crooked real estate developer lures victims to his phony residential oasis.

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.

A multimillion-dollar yacht, 80 sports cars, a Playboy centerfold girlfriend. Tim Durham is the picture of success as a fix -it-and-flip-it business king. But he’s actually running a $200 million fraud from the comfort of his 12,000 square-foot home.

(1) Con man Rodney Hailey runs a fake green energy business and collects millions by scamming major corporations. A fleet of luxury cars that litters the front of his home draws suspicion and leads authorities to the dirty money he makes on clean fuel. (2) Cat burglar Blane Nordahl targets the homes of wealthy individuals across the East Coast, showing an exclusive interest in hallmarked antique silver.

Disgraced former mayor exploits the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina to pocket bribes and live large.

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.

When fraudster Paul Kruse propositions his assistant's teenage daughter, the angry mom gets him behind bars

Sexy femme fatale Nanette Johnston Packard has a way of getting men to do what she wants. She even places a personal ad looking for rich men saying, "If you take care of me, I’ll take care of you."

Miami party boys turned arms dealers bid on government contracts worth millions to fight the war on terror.

Police Lt. Joe Gliniewicz’s shooting death in the woods in Fox Lake, IL, sparks a massive manhunt to find his killers.

Businessman Martin Shkreli raises the price of a life-saving drug 5,000 percent, but it's his shady accounting and Internet trolling that lands the "Pharma Bro" in hot water.

Two doctors illegally prescribe opioids while destroying lives and pocketing millions.

When a sexy Florida former escort plots to take her husband's money and his life, her lover tips off the police and her deadly plan gets caught on tape.

College admissions coach Rick Singer accepts money from parents to have their kids admitted to elite colleges.

Disgraced Fyre Festival founder Billy McFarland uses fraud to launch his brand and a luxury music festival in the Bahamas.

From luxury properties to an ostrich coat, the hard charging political insider uses his influence to fuel a multimillion-dollar mortgage and tax fraud.

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.

Keith Raniere is a god-like figure in his mysterious organization NXIVM. Using his powers of persuasion along with classic multilevel marketing techniques, he amasses thousands of followers.

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.

Joel Greenberg is a privileged millennial from a rich Florida family who one day decides to run for Seminole County Tax Collector and wins; once in office, he embarks on a breathtaking series of crimes, ranging from fraud to sex trafficking.

Theranos, now back in the news with the blockbuster trial of founder and former CEO Elizabeth Holmes. 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 Holmes and her top deputy, Sunny Balwani.

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.