American Greed

- Season 8

(2014)

Joe Caronna sells bogus annuities, leaving investors burned and his wife dead.

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.

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.

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 a wannabe 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.

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.

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.

Russell Wasendorf Sr., former CEO of Peregrine Financial Group, confessed to robbing customers of more than $200 million.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.