All language subtitles for American Greed s05e07 The Bling Ring The Fraudster

In this episode of American Greed,
they're called the bling ring, a fast

of celebrity wannabes.

Accused of robbing some of Hollywood's
hottest young stars of jewelry and other

items. And now they talk to American
Greed. Our culture in Hollywood is

extravagant. Some people might strive to
go to medical school. I guess in the L

.A. area, young people strive to have
Rolex watches.

But the bling ring steals more than
jewelry.

They weren't primarily motivated by
money. They were almost taking pieces of

fame. But first, Danny Pang is a high
-rolling financier with a devil -may

attitude.

I don't give a quote -unquote. He didn't
care.

Pang says he makes millions betting on
when people will die.

But Pang has a shady past, a gambling
habit.

and a murdered wife.

Danny Pang hasn't been able to stop
crime since his wife Janie was found

death in the couple's upscale home
Friday night.

Soon, this gambler's house of cards
collapses.

The whole thing was based on a false
underpinning, and it obviously came

crashing down.

September 11th, 2009.

An ambulance races to the posh Newport
Beach, California home of financier

Pang.

He was only 42 and relatively thin. You
had to kind of wonder what

was behind this.

Mr. Pang was under electronic monitoring
and they saw his bracelet when they

took him to the hospital, obviously.

Pang, who is on house arrest, is under
investigation by the feds, accused of

defrauding investors out of nearly a
billion dollars.

The embattled entrepreneur clings to
life overnight, and with his silence

more questions about his alleged dirty
dealing.

He left all these disturbing clues
through his whole life where people who

close to him felt they'd been deceived.

Danny Pang is born in Taipei, Taiwan, on
December 15, 1966.

His father, he told people, was some
kind of a trader.

His mother's family owned some kind of a
furniture manufacturing business, and

they were reasonably well off. He went
to a very prestigious middle school and

elementary school in Taiwan, and a large
part of the family moved to the U .S.

Pang's family settles in Las Vegas,
Nevada in the early 80s, where they own

operate two cheap motels on the edge of
the Strip.

One of them is called the Rummel, and
the family lived in the studio apartment

in the Rummel, and he lived there with
them, and he helped manage the motel,

he went to a high school in Las Vegas.

It's here, in Sin City, that Pang
develops a pension for gambling,

free time at the glitzy casinos on the
Strip.

You know, he liked to gamble, always had
a little bit of money that he was

throwing around, kind of a, you know, a
guy who just liked the high life and

didn't really study very hard.

After graduating from high school in
1984, Pang says he enrolls in the

University of Nevada, Reno, before
transferring to the University of

Irvine, where he says he also earns his
MBA.

People at Irvine said that he appeared
to be a wealthy guy, he drove a BMW.

thought he was just another flashy guy
who, you know, appeared to be a good

talker and successful person.

After school, Pang settles in Orange
County, where he bounces between stints

real estate and raising capital for high
-tech firms.

It's the fast life, Southern California,
real estate, gambling.

horse racing, and he was involved in all
those different segments.

He was kind of a promoter -type person,
doing different deals. He'd move from

one deal to the next.

In 2000, the 33 -year -old Pang
establishes Private Equity Management

PEM Group for short, with a few
partners, including Nasser Abubakari.

Jeff Benis is Abubakari's attorney.

The first focus of that business was
life settlement contracts, that is,

these insurance policies.

The PEM group offers people a way to
cash out a life insurance policy before

they die.

PEM offers a cash settlement in exchange
for the right to collect on the policy

later.

He would give them the money up front.

In return, he would hold the policy. So
when this person passed, he would get

the proceeds of that policy. So that was
how he was purportedly going to make

money.

Pang, a gambler since his teenage years,
is now literally betting on when people

will die.

And from his perspective, the sooner the
better.

But it's far from a safe bet.

Mr. Pang was not a professional in this
business. He really didn't know what he

was doing.

But Pang's partner, Nasser Abubakari,
has a background in insurance.

And together, they make an interesting
couple.

Nasser was kind of an operations person,
also a very conservative, straight guy.

Danny was the salesperson. He had the
relationships in Taiwan and other Asian

countries with the investors, or so he
said.

Pang uses his connections to court
Taiwanese banks to invest in Pem Group.

Danny was really good at this. I mean,
he dressed in $3 ,000 suits, and he took

the finest suite at the...

At the five -star hotels in Taipei, he
was sort of a guy who would try to

convince folks that he had some
substance and a track record.

Pang tells potential investors that he
has that MBA from University of

California, Irvine, and that he was once
a vice president at Morgan Stanley.

No one ever took the time to make a
simple inquiry into his background as to

whether he really had that kind of
experience, but it never came up as an

He also tells investors that Pem Group
is backed by the Irvine family, which

owned a large part of Orange County in
the 19th century.

Daddy found a member of the Irvine
family, whose name was Morton Irvine

to essentially serve as a front man for
Pem Group. And they claimed in documents

that he was the chairman of the holding
company, that the family had a big

shareholding in Pem Group.

Irvine, which has a large Taiwanese
population, has a certain cachet

And major Taiwanese banks like Standard
Chartered PLC, Huanan, and

Sinopac are impressed by Peng's
credentials and his connections.

They persuade 16 ,000 individual
investors to pour more than $800 million

Pem Group. People would wire $20, $30,
$50 million.

And Pem Group grew from having $20 or
$40 million of investment capital from a

Taiwanese bank or a consortium of banks.
Suddenly it had $500 million or $700

million.

And for the next few years, Pang spends
it like water.

He did get rich quick, very quickly.

He owned five cars, including very fancy
ones, and he lived in this gated

community in Newport Beach. He belonged
to this club. He was flying around in

jets, living the American dream.

But the successful image is propped up
with lies.

Next on American Greed, a reporter digs
into Pang's troubled past and discovers

his ex -wife has been murdered.

And later, police say Hollywood's A
-list is on the bling ring's hit list.

Man, I really like that stuff.

I like that gown. I like that purse. I
like that jewelry.

Orange County, California.

Million -dollar mansions and mega
-yachts dot the landscape along the

Ocean. In Irvine, financier and gambler
Danny Pang is building his empire on

other people's graves, buying their life
insurance policies, betting when

they'll die, then cashing out.

To the outside world, it appears that
Pem Group is on the up and up. But

the company, there's a big problem.

Life insurance is a bad bet.

The mathematical calculation they were
using was not correct because people are

living for a longer period of time,
which means the investor who buys that

insurance policy isn't realizing
anything in terms of a return until a

later date than was expected.

One man's longevity is another man's
shortfall, and Pang needs a cash

from some other source.

He started attracting new investors in
order to pay old investors because the

investments that his original investors
had been placed in were failing.

Pang's partner, Nasser Abubakari, grows
increasingly uncomfortable with Pang's

handling of the business.

This continuing out -of -control
spending on large and larger items,

parties, annual trips to Taiwan, taking
the whole business overseas to Europe

for some huge extravaganza, it was
spiraling then out of control from

perspective.

Tensions between the two reach a
breaking point in 2007, and Pang pushes

Bakari out of PEN Group.

Pem Group and Danny elected to then oust
him and essentially cut him off from

any income from Pem Group. That's what
created the explosion between them.

Abu Bakari vows revenge.

In a wrongful termination lawsuit, he
makes several claims.

He says that Pang lies about his past.

He has no MBA. He never went to UC
Irvine, as he claims.

And he never worked for Morgan Stanley.

I laughed when I first read the resume.

It was hilarious in the sense that he
would make up such a story.

He created it, and you tell a lie and
you believe it.

He believed it.

Abu Bakari also charges that Pem Group's
life settlement contracts are

flatlining. So rather than telling the
investors that things were not going so

well, they would essentially take new
money from new investors in order to pay

the first group of investors their money
back.

In other words...

Danny Pang is running a Ponzi scheme.

I don't think he really believed he was
stealing anybody's money. What he

believed was if there was a shortfall
during this first -time segment, in the

future, it'd be solved.

Last -ditch attempts to settle failed.

He wanted to control the show. If he did
not control the show, he would not play

the game.

But Abu Bakari still has one last card
to play.

Since Pang won't take him seriously, he
threatens to contact the Wall Street

Journal.

Jeff Benise recalls Pang's reaction.

I don't give a f***.

Quote, unquote, he didn't care.

Danny at that time had a huge ego.

You know, he felt that he was
untouchable.

He raised the specter of the Wall Street
Journal.

He didn't care, and Danny's not
responding to it.

Abu Bakari makes good on his threat and
calls writer Mark Maramont.

It's a call that would change Danny
Pang's life forever.

We got word that this fellow who was
running this purported $4 billion hedge

fund in Orange County did not have his
degrees, and it sort of seemed

intriguing.

Maramont digs into Pang's past and
discovers a shocking chapter.

He learns that in May 1993, Pang marries
29 -year -old Janie Buschlein, a

stripper who he had met at a club.

Danny Pang and Janie Pang had a very,
some would call it passionate, others

would call it tumultuous, call it what
you will. It was a marriage that brought

a lot of tension to itself.

The police are summoned to the Pang
House at least four times over the next

years for domestic disturbance
complaints.

And by 1997, divorce is imminent.

She was going to visit an attorney to
get a divorce. The fact that she had had

private investigator, that she knew he
was having an affair, or at least

suspected he was having an affair.

On May 29, 1997, the PI spots Danny Pang
holding hands with another woman.

The next day, as Janie Pang prepares to
meet with the investigator, a well

-dressed man with a pencil -thin
mustache and a briefcase rings the

He pulls a gun and pushes his way in,
chasing Janie Pang through the house.

He finally corners her inside a master
bedroom closet and fires a single round

at point -blank range.

It's the Pang's fourth wedding
anniversary.

If there's anybody knows anything about
this, please contact the police.

Days after the murder, police release a
sketch of the suspect, who they say

bears a striking resemblance to Hugh
McDonald, Danny Pang's former attorney.

At the same time, McDonald disappears
and stages his suicide on San

Golden Gate Bridge. But police become
suspicious when they can't find his

An arrest warrant has been issued for an
Orange County attorney, Hugh Randy

McDonald, at the time of the homicide.

He handled all the business affairs for
the victim's husband.

McDonald remains on the lam for four
years until 2001, when police finally

him down.

Michael Molfetta is McDonald's attorney.

My client has maintained his innocence
from the get -go.

He has always told me I did not do this.
I had no reason to do it, which is

true. He really didn't.

At trial, Molfetta argues that Danny
Pang was responsible for Janie Pang's

murder, that he was an abusive husband,
and that he hired a hitman to kill his

wife.

The question of whether or not I think
Danny Pang is guilty of the murder of

Janie Pang, I think he's complicit in
it.

I think at a minimum he knows way more
than he let on.

Danny Pang takes the fifth and doesn't
testify.

And on October 4, 2002, the jury returns
a 10 -2 not guilty verdict

and the case against McDonald is
dismissed.

To this day, who killed Janie Pang is an
unsolved mystery.

Murder is just one of many suspicious
things that Mark Merriman uncovers about

Pang's past.

When Merriman examines Pem Group's
investments, he discovers that Pang is

investors under false pretenses.

Turns out, Pem Group isn't backed by the
wealthy and influential Irvine family.

Pang has fabricated his entire past, and
he's using the Pem Group as his

personal piggy bank, taking out over
$100 million in salary, fees, and

There was all kinds of...

Loans, unauthorized loans or
undocumented loans going from the

to Danny personally, to companies that
he controlled.

Every time they'd place an investment,
Danny would pay himself and other

partners of Pem Group a pretty
substantial fee.

With those fees, Pem Group buys not one,
but three private jets.

Pang uses one of them to take his
employees to Las Vegas on a high -stakes

gambling trip.

And Merrimont knows he can't sit on this
story for long.

Eventually, as these little pieces
started coming into place, and it just

really intriguing.

I mean, it's just, who is this guy? How
did he raise this money? What was he

doing with the investments?

What did he tell the investors?

Was all this stuff that he looked like
he fabricated, did he really fabricate

it, and why?

When the Wall Street Journal publishes
the first of a series of articles about

Pang in April 2009, alarm bells sound at
the SEC and the heat comes down.

There was no way there was going to be a
front page article about an Irvine

company involved in a massive Ponzi
scheme where the SEC is not going to get

their car, come down here and shut them
down.

When American greed returns, with Pang's
web of lies exposed, will he

crack under the pressure?

In April 2009, the Wall Street Journal
blows the whistle on Irvine, California

-based financier Danny Pang.

Mark Merrimont's searing page one
article recounts Pang's shadowy past,

wife's murder, his false credentials,
and his alleged $800 million Ponzi

It was just a really, you know,
interesting, colorful guy who obviously

of intelligence and maybe brilliance in
financial matters.

He left all these disturbing clues
through his whole life where people who

close to him felt they'd been deceived.

24 hours later, the SEC launches its
investigation into Pang.

SEC attorneys Paris Wynn and David Van
Havermaet allege that by falsifying his

resume, Pang violated the Investment
Advisors Act.

You're telling investors that, look,
based upon my background and my

you should hire me.

We would consider that a material fact.
You're telling people one thing that's

important in their decision -making
process when, in fact, there's no truth

your representation.

They also look into the Ponzi scheme
that Pang is accused of running, and

file a civil suit against him.

At the same time, the FBI begins its own
criminal investigation into Pang.

They allege that he is illegally
diverting more than $360 ,000 of

for his own personal use.

Pang steals the money and amounts just
under $10 ,000 to avoid federal

It's a crime the feds call structuring.

It's the most egregious structuring case
that I've certainly seen.

We normally see structuring, we see it
to the tune of, you know, five, six,

seven, eight transactions, and here you
had more than 50 transactions to the

tune of close to a half a million
dollars.

Within a week, the FBI arrests Pang for
the structuring offenses, and he's

placed on house arrest.

The feds buy themselves time to look
into the allegations that Pang defrauded

Taiwanese investors out of at least $800
million.

It's not a situation where you have
unsophisticated investors that are being

taken in by Mr. Pang. These were all big
Taiwanese banks that got taken in by

him and were convinced to invest their
money with him in what turned out to be

fraud.

But no one could imagine what Pang would
do next, an act so shocking it would

stop the investigation in its tracks.

September 11, 2009, just five months
into the investigation,

Pang's mother finds him in bed.

He's unresponsive.

A family friend calls 911, and he's
rushed to the hospital, where he's

pronounced dead the next day.

Pang, the man who once believed he was
invincible, has taken a cocktail of

prescription drugs.

More than five times the lethal dose is
found in his system.

It was strange. That was way out of
character for him.

He was not a guy who, you know, would
give up easily, typically. So a lot of

people just don't believe that he, you
know, could have or would have committed

suicide. For such a mysterious man,
paying suicide poses the ultimate

leaving everyone scratching their heads.

This FBI agent is working undercover and
asked that we protect his identity.

That was obviously a big shock to me.

I was preparing a case.

And we had a trial date set.

Once he's no longer living, there really
isn't a case against Danny Pang.

A month later, Pang's family releases a
statement.

Danny was a wonderful husband, loving
father, and honest businessman.

We remain steadfast in our belief that
Danny would have been vindicated if he

had been given that opportunity.

But the SEC continues with its civil
suit and will sue Pang's estate in an

effort to get restitution.

In all, Pang allegedly defrauded eight
banks and 35 individuals who had

$823 million with Pem Group.

Only a small fraction of that amount has
been recovered.

These were very sophisticated.

financial institutions that were
victimized by Mr. Pang.

And if they can become victims of a
fraud like this, it just goes to show

everybody needs to be careful with their
investments.

Still, questions about Pang's life and
death remain.

But for a man who gambled on other
people's fate, controlling his own

was his safest bet.

He's just this iconic type of figure in
America, the immigrant who...

Looks like he's making good, but in
fact, you know, the whole thing was

a false underpinning and it obviously
came crashing down.

Next on American Greed, the bling ring
breaks into the homes of some of

Hollywood's brightest stars.

They focus very much on the personality
of the star, almost as if they wanted

not just their fame, but almost to touch
the star themselves.

In the early morning hours of July 13,
2009, under the cover of darkness, four

people approach the Hollywood Hills home
of superstar Orlando Bloom.

Two vehicles arrive, and they park far,
far away from Mr. Bloom's property. And

then you see the people get out of their
car.

They slink past security cameras that
guard the modern black mansion.

Everybody's faces covered.

Everybody's in hoodies.

Police say the gang enters through an
unlocked door by the pool.

They ransack the house, grabbing pricey
Rolex watches, clothing, and art worth

nearly $500 ,000.

So much property was taken from Mr.
Blum.

Not just in a monetary stance, but just
valuable personal property that

irreplaceable, kind of mementos and what
have you.

One of those burglars is 18 -year -old
Alexis Nyer, a Valley girl.

who hangs out in Hollywood's Fast Lane.

I started going out to Hollywood when I
was about 17, and we kind of took it by

storm, I guess you could say. I mean, we
were friends with, like, everyone, and

we're having fun and being young and
looking for that adventure and that fun.

The club -hopping teen gets her good
looks from her mother, a former Playboy

playmate who now works as a masseuse.

With dreams of money and fame, the Nyers
family stars in E!'s reality show,

Pretty Wild.

We're a very different family. The way
that we live is very non -traditional.

My mom being an ex -playmate, me working
on modeling, and the fun, crazy stuff

that we were doing, they were like, why
wouldn't you have a reality show?

The show elevates Nyer's profile, and
she becomes a well -known fixture on L

.A.'s nightclub circuit.

Around this time, Nyer starts hanging
out with 18 -year -old Nick Prugo.

We had been working on the show around
the same time that I met Nick, and I

could kind of tell that he was getting
more friendly around that time period,

for sure.

Like Nyer's, Prugo also grows up in the
Valley.

Daniel Horowitz is Prugo's attorney.

Basically, Nick was a kind, gentle,
sweet young man. I don't think he's ever

a fight in his life.

He's artistic, but he's not that
academic, although he's very bright.

And he never felt that he fit in.

Prugo's family is also in the
entertainment industry, and his attorney

like Nyers, he too is obsessed with
fame.

sense of self -value was to be at clubs,
to have the right clothes, to be

accepted. All the things that we see and
criticize in the abstract, here is a

young man who accepted those values and
temporarily, almost like a shot of

drugs, it satisfied him short term.

In 2006, Prugo meets Rachel Lee at
Indian Hills High School, an alternative

school in the valley town of Agoura
Hills.

And all of a sudden he met Rachel.

And they clicked.

And he felt wanted, cared for, and
accepted for who he was.

The two bond over a mutual love of
fashion. And they soon become

constantly connecting via email and
text.

But police say their friendship soon
takes a darker turn.

In the time that they were in high
school, the two of them committed...

untold hundreds of crimes.

Frugo and Lee allegedly break into homes
and unlocked cars.

They grab thousands of dollars in cash,
which they blow on Rodeo Drive in

Beverly Hills.

Before long, other kids begin to take
notice.

As people saw the nice items they had,
as they bragged about what they were

doing, their circle widened and other
people wanted to participate.

Police say teenagers Courtney Ames,
Diana Tamayo, and 27 -year -old Roy

Jr. round out the gang that will later
be dubbed the Bling Ring.

Together, they are accused of hatching a
plan to get a piece of their favorite

celebrities.

Detective Brett Goodkin heads the case
for the Los Angeles Police Department.

It was kind of like a minor league.

system that they had going on. So by the
time that they really graduated into

targeting people of real substance and
wealth, they were really good at doing

burglaries.

Detective Goodkin says that each
burglary begins with Lee obsessively

the web or flipping through magazines to
scope out a star's wardrobe.

Man, I really like that stuff.

I like that gown. I like that purse. I
like that jewelry.

Then police say...

Brugo and Lee would log on to social
networking websites to monitor their

schedule. People know when you're doing
these huge events, and they know when

you're out on the red carpet or, you
know, what you're doing. And Twitter and

Facebook is definitely an enabler for
these people to get attached to your

or your lifestyle or what you're doing.

When a celebrity is out of town, it's
the perfect time to strike.

They're impulsive.

They're selfish.

Young people make mistakes, but they did
it more systematically.

They did it on a bigger scale than most.

Next on American Greed, police say the
bling ring goes on its first shopping

trip inside Paris Hilton's closet.

They went to the place like termites.

Southern California, the entertainment
capital of the world, home to

and celebutants alike.

It's here that a ring of teenage
burglars are accused of ripping off some

world's biggest stars, lifting their
clothes, jewelry, and accessories.

They weren't primarily motivated by
money.

They were almost taking pieces of the
fame of the people whose houses they

entered. It's not...

oh, wow, I really like that, I have to
have that.

In October 2008, the bling ring targets
hotel heiress Paris Hilton.

The reality TV star is as well known for
her chihuahuas as she is for her Jimmy

Choo shoes.

According to the L .A. County D .A.,
Nick Prugo cases Hilton's 7 ,000 -square

-foot Hollywood Hills home on the
Internet.

There was a site called
CelebrityAddressAerial .com, and

on the address to give you kind of an
aerial sense of the property, the

And once they would do that, then the
next stage was to go out and case their

target.

You look at these kids, they don't look
like hoodlums.

So it would make sense if you're a
normal guy and you're watering your lawn

you see these kids coming out of
someone's garage.

Hey, what are you kids doing? And you
probably wouldn't think twice about it.

According to police, Prugo and Rachel
Lee are confident they'll pull this off.

By the time they went into the burglary
at Ms. Hilton's house, they had done

untold amount of residential burglary,
so it wasn't the first time at the

They didn't have that kind of
nervousness that maybe would have gotten

caught.

They reportedly find a key beneath
Hilton's doormat, unlock the door, And

waltzed right in.

They just went into Paris Hilton's house
and said, hey, let's see what it's like

to hang out in Paris's bedroom and try
on her jacket.

And then maybe it became, let's take the
jacket.

They went through the place like
termites and took what they want and

and, you know, partied. And I'm sure
just reveled in the fact that they were

a famous person's home.

Hilton doesn't notice anything missing.

And police say the bling ring returns
nearly ten times over the next several

weeks. And then they kept coming back.
And as they came back, they didn't just

come back with two of them. They would
bring friends with them.

One of those friends is 27 -year -old
Roy Lopez Jr.

According to the L .A. County D .A.,
Lopez would commit the last burglary

steal whatever he can, then fence the
goods.

The whole plan was to take it out of the
hands of these amateurs and put it in

the hands of the professionals.

On December 19th, Lopez allegedly breaks
into Hilton's house.

According to police, he doesn't do as
much recon as Prugo and Lee, and he

runs into the socialite during the
heist.

But he manages to steal away just as
she's arriving home.

And this time, police say Hilton notices
that much of her jewelry collection is

missing. You know, when you go into
somebody's house and take $2 million

of jewels, they notice.

But the bling ring is just getting
started.

The L .A. County District Attorney says
that Prugo and Lee then target MTV

reality star Audrina Patridge, who, like
Hilton...

has her picture plastered all over
celebrity websites.

Ms. Patrick came home one night and
instantly realized that she had been

burglarized. That is them running
through this courtyard with gobs of bags

whatnot that they've stolen.

And they leave carrying bunches of stuff
that they didn't have in their hands

when they got there.

In July 2009, the L .A. County D .A.
says Prugo and Lee set their sights on

actor Orlando Bloom.

best known for his role in The Pirates
of the Caribbean.

Before they hit Bloom's house, the pair
reportedly picked up two more

accomplices, including Pretty Wild Star
18 -year -old Alexis Nyers.

Surveillance video shows what happens
next.

It's the middle of night, and then they
walk up the hill towards Mr. Bloom's

driveway, and...

And then something funny happens. They
turn around and they walk backwards,

the old monkeys television show, right?

Police say they enter the house through
an unlocked door and begin grabbing

whatever they can.

They took artwork, they took jewelry.

Mr. Bloom had a wonderful, very, very
expensive and rare collection of watches

and a lot of his personal clothing.

Pretty much anything you could think of
that one would take out of a home, they

took.

Police allege two of the burglars are
caught on tape carrying big plastic bags

to their car.

The surveillance video clearly shows two
of the four going in and coming out

multiple times. And every time they come
out, they're so laden down with stuff.

that at one point, one or both stumble
and fall. It's kind of like a cartoon,

because they're walking down the steep
hill, and they're just loaded with

Some time later, Frugo allegedly decides
to unload some of Bloom's property.

They had so much stuff that they had
taken, they certainly weren't going to

throw it out.

And someone's probably going to notice
if they're wearing a Rolex watch, so

maybe they should try to sell that.

After the Bloom heist, prosecutors say
the bling ring continues its spree.

But Fugo's beginning to have second
thoughts.

He fears that sooner or later someone
will recognize the gang on surveillance

footage.

He's right.

We instantly started getting phone
calls. I know who those two people are.

When American Greed returns, police say
the bling ring goes after one of their

biggest targets yet, actress Lindsay
Lohan.

But will this hit be their last?

By August 2009, the bling ring has
allegedly stolen more than $2 million

of designer clothes and precious jewels
from some of the world's brightest

stars.

And in some cases, the alleged crimes
were caught on tape.

And these mysterious burglars are
becoming celebrities themselves, leading

newscasts nationwide.

Until now, Nick Krugo and Rachel Lee,
the alleged original bling ring members,

have managed to stay under the radar.

Initially, the police didn't know what
was going on. They hadn't even connected

any of these celebrity burglaries
together.

It's Los Angeles. It's a big city.
There's a lot of burglaries.

But with each heist, they press their
luck. And police allege Lee, an aspiring

fashionista, is desperate to get him to
start at Lindsay Lohan's closet.

Lee had the taste for these material
trappings of celebrity.

The dresses, the bling.

the accoutrement they didn't seem to
realize that what they were doing was

the night of august 23rd frugo lee and
diana

tamayo allegedly use a screwdriver to
pry open a window at lohan's rented

hollywood hills bungalow it wasn't like
an oceans 11 caper you know they're not

paragliding you know from the hollywood
sign on the roof and then using C4 to

blow holes through the ceilings. It's
common stuff.

They make off with $128 ,000 in goods.

But Prugo's worst fears are about to
come true.

When Ms. Lohan got home and found her
window pried open and all her things

missing, she realized that she'd been
burglarized.

Three days after the break -in, Lohan
and the LAPD released the surveillance

footage of the burglary to TMZ .com.

As soon as we...

aired the images, we instantly started
getting phone calls. And it wasn't, hey,

those kids look familiar. It was
essentially the same call, but different

people. I know who those two people are.
That's Rachel Lee, and that's Nick

Prugo.

Around this time, a CNN employee and a
friend claimed to overhear Prugo and Lee

at a party bragging about the heists.

They went to the head of security at
CNN.

a former police officer who then tipped
the LAPD.

The whole thing just unravels. They have
names they can check on the Internet,

who's friends with whom, do those match
-ups to the videotape evidence, and then

they're off and running.

When he's arrested on September 17th,
police say Pugo literally wears his

on his sleeve.

His mugshot shows him in Orlando Bloom's
black -and -white striped shirt.

He initially refuses to talk, but three
weeks later, police say he comes clean.

Nick wanted to talk about crime, and he
wanted to tell me about crimes that we

knew about and some crimes that maybe we
didn't know about.

And we met Nick and his attorney at the
office, and then we started getting a

real account of what's really been going
on.

According to police, Prugo also fingers
the other members of the Bling Ring.

Police move fast, serving search
warrants on Rachel Lee, Alexis Nyers,

Tamayo, Courtney Ames, and Roy Lopez Jr.

And when they arrive at Nyers' house,
reality and reality television collide.

The celebrity -obsessed teen is set to
film a scene for her reality show,

Wild. At like 8 o 'clock, the camera
crew is just getting there and they're

setting up.

All of a sudden, there's like a knock on
the door, and it was nothing that I was

expecting because I didn't really fully
grasp what was going on.

Nyers is arrested and posts bail.

She's free while her attorneys work to
strike a deal.

I'm here to be your lawyer, so as far as
I'm concerned, you're grounded.

We would tell Alexis, you can't go out,
don't talk to the press, no parties, no

clubs, and like as soon as we... would
hang up the phone, TMZ or somebody would

have her talking or clubbing.

Nyers pleads no contest for her role in
the bloom burglary, the only crime she's

charged with.

And on June 24, 2010, the reality star
reports to an L .A. County women's jail

to begin serving her 180 -day sentence.

Are you nervous at all, scared?

We're in a jail.

This just happened to be a case where
reality collided with reality.

And it just helped feed the media
circus.

Ironically, Nyers does her time
alongside bling ring victim Lindsay

serving time for a drug -related
offense.

Nyers is released after serving only 30
days.

Looking back on it, the Pretty Wild Star
says it was a case of being at the

wrong place at the wrong time.

I accept responsibility for what
happened because...

If I hadn't trusted Nick, if I hadn't
been so naive, and if I hadn't been out

drinking, I wouldn't have gotten myself
into this situation.

So just to say this is about the Paris
Hilton thing, leave it in open air.

Krugo, Lee, Ames, Tamayo, and Lopez
plead not guilty to their charges in

2010.

They are awaiting trial.

I hope that Nick Krugo will have been
given a sentence that allows him to do

jail time.

to pay his debt to society for what he's
done. I hope he can begin his new life

and have a rich and fulfilling life.

This is kind of a classic thing in crime
where success actually can breed your

downfall.

Hollywood lifts people up as much as it
quickly discards them. And it's a pretty

hard lesson that for all the celebrity
worship and the whole Hollywood

limelight, that that limelight...

as it were, can be turned off very
quickly.