American Greed
American documentary television series that focuses on high-profile cases of Ponzi schemes, embezzlement, and other white-collar crimes. It features interviews with police investigators, fraud victims, and sometimes fraudsters. The show covers stories behind corporate and white-collar crimes including financial scandals, investment frauds, identity theft, insurance fraud, money laundering, political corruption, and more.
The story of Samuel Israel III, a hedge fund manager who ran the Bayou Investments hedge fund. After the fund collapsed due to poor management and it becoming a Ponzi scheme, Samuel Israel III attempted to fake his own suicide by jumping off a bridge and leaving a suicide note in an effort to avoid prosecution for his financial crimes. This episode delves into his rise and fall, highlighting how his greed led to ruin and the strange ultimate con of trying to fake his death
An Italian real estate developer and con artist who gained fame partly through his high-profile romance with Hollywood starlet Anne Hathaway. Follieri scammed investors by claiming to have a special connection to the Pope and by misappropriating investor funds in a multi-million dollar real estate fraud. His glamorous image as a millionaire playboy was shattered when his large-scale scam was exposed, revealing his true identity as a con man
Anthony Elgindy, a young, self-assured financier who presents himself as a crusader fighting fraud on Wall Street. However, beneath this facade, Elgindy is running an insider trading scam. He collaborates with a crooked FBI agent to make millions of dollars through illicit trading practices. The episode explores his double life and the consequences of his greed and corruption within the financial industry
Marcus Schrenker, a Wall Street money manager and stunt pilot who made millions but was accused by clients of being a con man. While under investigation for securities fraud, Schrenker faked his death by staging a plane crash, causing the public and authorities to wonder if he was really dead or alive. The episode explores his rise, fall, and the dramatic events surrounding his attempted escape from the law
Sholam Weiss, a former rabbi turned bold and brazen dealmaker who orchestrated one of the largest insurance scams in history. Weiss led a massive scheme involving the collapse of the National Heritage Life Insurance Company, siphoning off $450 million and causing what was considered the largest insurance company failure due to criminal acts. He was sentenced to 845 years in prison, one of the longest sentences ever for white-collar crime in the U.S., but fled the country during jury deliberations. Weiss was eventually extradited back to the U.S. His sentence was commuted by President Donald Trump in 2021. The episode details his rise, fraud, and the dramatic legal aftermath
Six small-time hustlers, including Albert Talton, who have a simple plan to make millions by producing and distributing counterfeit money. The episode details their scheme and how they tried to capitalize on the illegal manufacture of fake currency to get rich quickly
The first story explores Pfizer's marketing of Bextra, a painkiller that faced strict FDA limitations due to safety concerns. Pfizer used aggressive and illegal tactics to promote the drug outside FDA guidelines. The second story follows Jeanetta Standefor, who posed as a helper to troubled homeowners but was actually running a foreclosure scam, exploiting vulnerable homeowners for her own financial gain. This episode highlights both pharmaceutical fraud and real estate foreclosure scams
The first covers Steven Warshak, who made millions selling Enzyte, a product marketed to enhance men's sexual performance, but he was illegally charging thousands of customers' credit cards. The second story focuses on Kirk Wright, a hedge fund superstar and investment manager who targeted tough clients, including NFL football players, and stole their money in a multi-million dollar scam. The episode explores the downfall of both con artists .
A massive fraud where three Kentucky lawyers exploited victims of the weight-loss drug Fen-Phen. These lawyers sued the drug's maker and secured a large class-action settlement for victims who suffered from serious health issues due to Fen-Phen. However, instead of helping their clients, the lawyers stole approximately $200 million of the settlement money for their own lavish lifestyles, duping the very people they were supposed to represent. The episode exposes the greed and betrayal involved in this legal scam
The Kentucky Fen-Phen attorneys involved in the $200 million settlement scam were William J. Gallion, Shirley A. Cunningham Jr., and Melbourne Mills Jr. These lawyers were convicted of wire fraud and conspiracy for hoarding about $94 million from their clients in a class-action settlement against the maker of the diet drug Fen-Phen. They deliberately withheld from their clients the total settlement amount, misled plaintiffs to accept low settlements, and transferred millions from the settlement escrow accounts into their personal and business accounts. The lawyers also threatened clients with fines for disclosing settlement details. They placed some of the money into a trust fund that they themselves managed, rather than paying out the full amounts to the plaintiffs as entitled.