1 00:00:01,420 --> 00:00:05,640 In this episode of American Greed. I didn't know his real name. I didn't know 2 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:06,499 his real age. 3 00:00:06,500 --> 00:00:10,740 I didn't know whether or not anything that I had learned about him or thought 4 00:00:10,740 --> 00:00:12,540 knew was in any way true. 5 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:18,340 The perfect husband turns out to be an imposter. And if he wasn't Dr. 6 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:20,600 Gerald Barnes, who was he? 7 00:00:20,860 --> 00:00:23,540 And later, a businessman with a secret. 8 00:00:24,180 --> 00:00:26,160 He was leading these dual lives. 9 00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:28,520 A life built on lies and deception. 10 00:00:29,310 --> 00:00:34,350 He had absolutely no conscience. Taking from those who know him and those who 11 00:00:34,350 --> 00:00:37,350 don't, a serial bank robber in his own word. 12 00:00:37,670 --> 00:00:40,410 No big money, no alarms be calling if no one gets hurt. 13 00:00:53,490 --> 00:00:55,790 Okay, hold on, sweetie. We're going to get an x -ray, all right? 14 00:00:56,390 --> 00:00:57,390 You're right there. 15 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:02,680 In 1979, Rick D 'Alessandro works as a physician's assistant to Dr. Gerald 16 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:06,740 Barnes, the director of a medical facility in Orange County, California. 17 00:01:07,300 --> 00:01:13,380 He was a very likable little guy. Funny and entertaining and easy to talk to, 18 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:14,560 engaging guy. 19 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:20,380 On the morning of December 26th, 29 -year -old John McKenzie shows up for a 20 00:01:20,380 --> 00:01:21,259 visit with Dr. 21 00:01:21,260 --> 00:01:26,100 Barnes. He was losing weight and he was tired and, you know, thirsty. 22 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:28,400 You know, he just didn't look good. 23 00:01:29,020 --> 00:01:31,400 McKenzie has been feeling sick for several days. 24 00:01:32,180 --> 00:01:37,640 He had presented to Dr. Barnes with some dizziness, excessive thirst, excessive 25 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:43,500 urination, dry mouth, problems with equilibrium and balance. 26 00:01:44,180 --> 00:01:49,240 Dr. Barnes gives the patient a prescription for an antivertico drug and 27 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:52,280 him home, while routine blood tests are sent to the lab. 28 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:55,320 The next day, McKenzie's blood results come back. 29 00:01:55,850 --> 00:01:57,750 But Dr. Barnes has the day off. 30 00:01:58,110 --> 00:02:02,530 They brought me the chart when the results came back on Mr. McKenzie 31 00:02:02,530 --> 00:02:06,910 that he had a 1 ,200 blood sugar. 32 00:02:07,110 --> 00:02:11,650 Normal blood sugar is like 100, 80 to 100. And he had a 1 ,200. 33 00:02:12,570 --> 00:02:16,810 To D 'Alessandro, the patient is showing classic symptoms of an acute diabetic 34 00:02:16,810 --> 00:02:20,750 crisis. And John McKenzie's life could be in imminent danger. 35 00:02:21,770 --> 00:02:24,570 D 'Alessandro tries desperately to reach the patient. 36 00:02:25,330 --> 00:02:29,570 Nobody had heard from him nor seen him. His emergency contact numbers, his ex 37 00:02:29,570 --> 00:02:33,250 -wife and someone else that was on there had not heard from him or seen him. So 38 00:02:33,250 --> 00:02:34,670 I decided to call the police. 39 00:02:35,490 --> 00:02:39,270 Officers from the Garden Grove Police Department head to McKenzie's address 40 00:02:39,270 --> 00:02:40,270 break the door in. 41 00:02:40,810 --> 00:02:44,070 I found him dead in his kitchen laying on the floor with Dr. 42 00:02:44,570 --> 00:02:48,850 Barnes' prescription for the dizziness drug in his hand. 43 00:02:49,530 --> 00:02:51,730 And he had collapsed and went into a coma and died. 44 00:02:52,010 --> 00:02:53,970 The 29 -year -old is dead. 45 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:55,860 from uncontrolled diabetes. 46 00:02:56,500 --> 00:03:00,560 He should have been hospitalized or, you know, right there. He just, something 47 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:02,960 should have been done. But they sent him home. 48 00:03:03,300 --> 00:03:07,900 While McKenzie's family struggles with the senseless loss, Rick D 'Alessandro 49 00:03:07,900 --> 00:03:08,900 wants answers. 50 00:03:09,300 --> 00:03:13,580 How could any doctor miss such a common and easily diagnosed condition? 51 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:16,700 The physician's assistant decides to do some checking. 52 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:21,980 So calling the medical board up in Sacramento and having them. 53 00:03:22,570 --> 00:03:27,150 Facts down a picture and identification and information regarding Gerald Barnes. 54 00:03:27,370 --> 00:03:31,910 Well, the picture that comes down doesn't look anything like Barnes. And 55 00:03:31,910 --> 00:03:34,790 home address is like a street in Stockton. 56 00:03:35,550 --> 00:03:38,650 Stockton is 400 miles from the Orange County Clinic. 57 00:03:38,870 --> 00:03:41,610 And for Rick D 'Alessandro, the proof is shocking. 58 00:03:41,930 --> 00:03:43,930 He has been working with a fraud. 59 00:03:44,830 --> 00:03:49,010 This is a huge, huge issue. This guy had been there for a few years. 60 00:03:49,550 --> 00:03:53,290 had been elevated to a medical director and was seeing patients by the tune of 61 00:03:53,290 --> 00:03:56,110 like 30 or 40 every single day for years now. 62 00:03:57,050 --> 00:04:02,110 D 'Alessandro reports his findings to the police, and on August 8, 1980, the 63 00:04:02,110 --> 00:04:04,050 phony doctor is arrested for murder. 64 00:04:04,750 --> 00:04:09,430 Barnes begins working at that Pacific Southwest Medical Group in 78. 65 00:04:09,870 --> 00:04:14,810 Orange County Deputy D .A. James Enright and Investigator Eddie Banks are tasked 66 00:04:14,810 --> 00:04:17,209 with building a case against the imposter. 67 00:04:17,610 --> 00:04:21,089 Well, we knew right away we could get him on practicing medicine without a 68 00:04:21,089 --> 00:04:22,830 license. The big thing was to get him on the manslaughter. 69 00:04:23,810 --> 00:04:28,770 Because the practicing medicine without a license didn't have much teeth in it 70 00:04:28,770 --> 00:04:29,770 at all at that time. 71 00:04:29,870 --> 00:04:35,130 Their investigation reveals that the suspect is not really Gerald Barnes, but 72 00:04:35,130 --> 00:04:40,230 man named Gerald Barnbaum, a pharmacist from Chicago who got caught up in a 73 00:04:40,230 --> 00:04:42,170 Medicaid scam five years earlier. 74 00:04:42,670 --> 00:04:47,500 Though acquitted by a jury, Barnbaum's pharmacy license was revoked, and he 75 00:04:47,500 --> 00:04:49,220 decided to start over in California. 76 00:04:49,700 --> 00:04:53,500 He did background checks. The guy was a founder. The guy was an actor. 77 00:04:53,980 --> 00:04:58,120 Barnbaum has been a college thespian and was heavily involved in community 78 00:04:58,120 --> 00:04:59,120 theater. 79 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:05,900 Upon landing in Orange County in 1977, he created his own starring role as a 80 00:05:05,900 --> 00:05:08,520 doctor, even though he had no medical training. 81 00:05:09,130 --> 00:05:14,190 He called the medical board and asked the medical board for a duplicate copy 82 00:05:14,190 --> 00:05:19,650 his license, saying that he was Gerald Barnes, a physician in Stockton. The 83 00:05:19,650 --> 00:05:23,830 medical board then sent him a copy because he said he was opening up a 84 00:05:23,830 --> 00:05:29,750 Los Angeles, sent him a copy of the license without doing any other 85 00:05:29,750 --> 00:05:30,810 other than that. 86 00:05:31,770 --> 00:05:35,890 Now, the Orange County District Attorney's Office hopes to stop him 87 00:05:36,300 --> 00:05:39,820 Never mind he wasn't a doctor. There was a connection between what he should 88 00:05:39,820 --> 00:05:42,800 have done, what he didn't do, and the death of McKenzie. 89 00:05:43,580 --> 00:05:44,940 Ultimately, that's what we got to. 90 00:05:46,220 --> 00:05:52,020 On May 29, 1981, the con man pleads guilty in a plea bargain to the charges 91 00:05:52,020 --> 00:05:54,800 manslaughter and practicing medicine without a license. 92 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:58,140 He is sentenced to three years in prison. 93 00:05:58,860 --> 00:06:03,100 For the family of John McKenzie, the sentence does not seem to fit the crime. 94 00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:07,880 And the victim's four -year -old daughter, Jill, is left without a 95 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:12,360 He was a nice young man with a lot of life ahead of him. 96 00:06:12,580 --> 00:06:15,040 And he could have been who knows what he could have been. 97 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:20,540 And that's what's so sad, is that he and Jill had that taken away. 98 00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:27,800 And there is another victim still, the man whose good name was tainted by the 99 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:32,520 imposter. My wife tells me she was driving to a nearby town and she heard 100 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:34,160 radio that Dr. 101 00:06:34,380 --> 00:06:38,160 Gerald Barnes had been arrested and found guilty of manslaughter. 102 00:06:38,880 --> 00:06:43,660 The real Dr. Gerald Barnes is a well -respected orthopedic surgeon from 103 00:06:43,660 --> 00:06:47,760 California. He had no idea that his identity had been stolen. 104 00:06:48,860 --> 00:06:53,080 Well, first I was in shock. I didn't know that someone, you know, how could 105 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:57,240 someone do something like this? Then the more I thought about it, the madder I 106 00:06:57,240 --> 00:06:58,280 got, you know. 107 00:06:58,990 --> 00:07:02,570 But I was satisfied after I found out that he was incarcerated and this was 108 00:07:02,570 --> 00:07:03,570 going to be the end of the problem. 109 00:07:04,090 --> 00:07:06,570 The problem, however, is only beginning. 110 00:07:06,970 --> 00:07:12,590 After 18 months, the imposter doctor is released on good behavior and picks up 111 00:07:12,590 --> 00:07:14,610 right where he left off as Dr. 112 00:07:14,850 --> 00:07:15,850 Gerald Barnes. 113 00:07:15,970 --> 00:07:17,630 Until one day when Dr. 114 00:07:17,870 --> 00:07:22,850 Barnes comes face to face with the man who blew the whistle on his charade. He 115 00:07:22,850 --> 00:07:24,370 looks at me and he says, hi, Rick, how you doing? 116 00:07:24,730 --> 00:07:27,690 And I said, well, Gerald, I'm not doing too well because you're doing the same 117 00:07:27,690 --> 00:07:31,530 thing that you did back in the 70s. And he said, well, you know, this is all 118 00:07:31,530 --> 00:07:32,790 just a big mistake. 119 00:07:55,720 --> 00:08:00,660 In 1996, life is good for Lisa Roberts and her husband, Dr. Gerald Barnes. 120 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:03,720 The couple has been married just over a year. 121 00:08:04,100 --> 00:08:08,880 It was very romantic, and along with the courtship, there were, you know, 122 00:08:08,900 --> 00:08:13,440 flowers and evenings out for dinner or to events and concerts. 123 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:16,880 You know, charmed the girl right off her feet. 124 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:22,720 While Dr. Barnes earns a six -figure salary as medical director at a Los 125 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:26,070 clinic, Lisa makes plans for their future together. 126 00:08:26,450 --> 00:08:33,429 My expectations were that we would have children and at some point we would 127 00:08:33,429 --> 00:08:35,850 be able to save enough money to start his own practice. 128 00:08:36,210 --> 00:08:39,590 The doctor and his wife seem to have everything going for them. 129 00:08:39,809 --> 00:08:44,890 Until one day when Dr. Barnes runs into an old acquaintance at an industry 130 00:08:44,890 --> 00:08:45,890 Christmas party. 131 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:50,720 And I'm looking to see what's on his lapel because when you check into the 132 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:55,780 Christmas party, they gave you a little sticky tag that says, hi, I'm so -and 133 00:08:55,780 --> 00:08:56,439 -so, you know. 134 00:08:56,440 --> 00:08:58,740 And his said, hi, I'm Dr. Barnes. 135 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:03,860 Rick D 'Alessandro worked as a physician's assistant to the same Dr. 136 00:09:03,860 --> 00:09:04,860 years ago. 137 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:11,420 Problem is, Gerald Barnes is not really a doctor. He's an imposter who, in 1979, 138 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:14,300 was responsible for his patient's death. 139 00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:15,680 John McKenzie. 140 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:17,460 was 29 years old. 141 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:22,660 I wanted him off the street because this guy hurts people and, in fact, kills 142 00:09:22,660 --> 00:09:23,660 people. 143 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:28,820 The next day, D 'Alessandro drives to Los Angeles and a meeting with Dr. 144 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:30,340 supervisors at the clinic. 145 00:09:31,040 --> 00:09:36,120 He said, are you aware that this guy, Gerald Barnes, is a fraud? He's not 146 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:36,999 a doctor. 147 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:40,300 While they're talking, Gerald Barnes happens in. 148 00:09:40,660 --> 00:09:42,600 He looks at me and he says, hi, Rick, how you doing? 149 00:09:42,990 --> 00:09:45,930 And I said, well, Gerald, I'm not doing too well because you're doing the same 150 00:09:45,930 --> 00:09:49,790 thing that you did back in the 70s. And he said, well, you know, this is all 151 00:09:49,790 --> 00:09:50,970 just a big mistake. 152 00:09:51,330 --> 00:09:55,270 I can go home and get all the information I need to. And they said, 153 00:09:55,270 --> 00:09:58,730 know, this is a pretty serious thing, so we do need you to do that. So we need 154 00:09:58,730 --> 00:10:01,890 you to go home and get it. Well, he disappeared. They never saw him again. 155 00:10:02,990 --> 00:10:08,030 D 'Alessandro reports Barnes to the California Medical Board, who in turn 156 00:10:08,030 --> 00:10:09,030 it to the FBI. 157 00:10:09,610 --> 00:10:15,250 Agent Marie Konjowski learns that her suspect's given name is Gerald Barnbaum, 158 00:10:15,490 --> 00:10:19,910 and he has been using the stolen identity of the real Dr. Gerald Barnes 159 00:10:19,910 --> 00:10:20,910 two decades. 160 00:10:21,670 --> 00:10:27,570 He had been convicted three times in the 80s for 161 00:10:27,570 --> 00:10:34,490 various state violations involving his portrayal of the real 162 00:10:34,490 --> 00:10:38,810 physician. Since 1981, the imposter has been in and out of prison. 163 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:40,840 serving a total of five years. 164 00:10:41,220 --> 00:10:44,820 While behind bars, he took medical correspondence courses. 165 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:49,020 And each time he stepped out of the prison gates, he stepped into his lab 166 00:10:49,020 --> 00:10:50,920 and resumed his life as a doctor. 167 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:56,440 Incredibly, the imposter has been hired over and over again by at least half a 168 00:10:56,440 --> 00:10:58,500 dozen medical companies in Southern California. 169 00:10:59,980 --> 00:11:04,740 Konjalski also learns that more than a hundred of the FBI's own agents are 170 00:11:04,740 --> 00:11:06,220 patients of the phony doctor. 171 00:11:06,700 --> 00:11:12,720 The FBI had a contract with that particular clinic to perform both 172 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:18,360 physicals for FBI agents as well as pre -employment exams that are required as 173 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:19,640 part of the application process. 174 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:25,800 When the so -called Dr. Gerald Barnes is taken into custody, his wife, Lisa 175 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:27,360 Roberts, is left in shock. 176 00:11:28,020 --> 00:11:30,800 I didn't know his real name. I didn't know his real age. 177 00:11:31,020 --> 00:11:35,540 I didn't know whether or not anything that I had learned about him or thought 178 00:11:35,540 --> 00:11:39,400 knew. wasn't any way true. And if he wasn't Dr. 179 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:44,780 Gerald Barnes, who was he? And who had I let share my life and my bed and my 180 00:11:44,780 --> 00:11:46,640 family? And who had I trusted? 181 00:11:47,560 --> 00:11:51,520 Robert says she couldn't have imagined that her husband wasn't really a doctor. 182 00:11:52,300 --> 00:11:55,580 Here I am. I'm married to a man who I believe to be a physician. 183 00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:59,860 Every day he goes out and he acts as a physician. He wears the physician's 184 00:12:00,460 --> 00:12:04,000 He works with patients. Other doctors think he's a doctor. Patients think he's 185 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:07,480 doctor. The FBI thought he was a doctor. So who am I to not think he was a 186 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:08,480 doctor? 187 00:12:08,660 --> 00:12:15,240 On October 10, 1996, Gerald Barnes, a .k .a. Gerald Barnbaum, stands 188 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:18,420 before a federal judge to face six charges of fraud. 189 00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:24,020 Today, the 62 -year -old appeared weak and had difficulty walking. He claims to 190 00:12:24,020 --> 00:12:26,540 suffer from diabetes and prostate cancer. 191 00:12:27,239 --> 00:12:31,460 Barnbaum pleads guilty in another plea bargain and is sentenced to 12 1⁄2 years 192 00:12:31,460 --> 00:12:32,460 in a federal prison. 193 00:12:32,740 --> 00:12:36,260 The real Dr. Barnes is there to see his imposter put away. 194 00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:40,840 He was crying about the fact that he was sick and he wouldn't be able to see his 195 00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:42,560 grandchildren and so forth and so on. 196 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:48,120 And that's when the judge said, I'm convinced that if I were to let you 197 00:12:48,220 --> 00:12:51,500 set you free, that you would 100 % chance that you would do this again. 198 00:12:51,700 --> 00:12:55,860 He was driven to do this as evidenced by the fact that... 199 00:12:56,080 --> 00:12:57,780 He wasn't afraid to go back to prison. 200 00:12:58,540 --> 00:13:03,920 He'd get out of prison, and almost immediately he would start practicing 201 00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:04,920 medicine again. 202 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:09,900 He collects money, he treats people, he hurts people, and the same thing 203 00:13:09,900 --> 00:13:15,220 happens. He's arrested again, and you see the headline. You never know what 204 00:13:15,220 --> 00:13:19,360 happens after that. And for the most part, it goes away. 205 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:24,540 Investigators hope this prison stretch will finally put an end to Barnbaum's 206 00:13:24,540 --> 00:13:25,540 counterfeit career. 207 00:13:25,940 --> 00:13:30,800 But this 63 -year -old con man seems to have a way of hoodwinking nearly 208 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:32,300 everyone he meets. 209 00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:37,220 I received a word from one of my colleagues here at the FBI and then soon 210 00:13:37,220 --> 00:13:42,840 thereafter got a call from the U .S. Marshal Service who'd been notified by 211 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:44,900 Bureau of Prisons of his escape. 212 00:14:02,570 --> 00:14:07,610 I had to prove that I was the good guy and he was the bad guy. Dr. Gerald 213 00:14:07,610 --> 00:14:08,990 is an orthopedic surgeon. 214 00:14:09,370 --> 00:14:12,830 He's been practicing in Stockton, California for 37 years. 215 00:14:13,210 --> 00:14:17,490 It almost gets to the point that you become calloused over this because it 216 00:14:17,490 --> 00:14:18,490 happens so often. 217 00:14:18,510 --> 00:14:23,330 For more than two decades, Dr. Barnes has been shadowed by an imposter, a man 218 00:14:23,330 --> 00:14:27,670 who stole his medical license, his credentials, and his good name. 219 00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:32,380 Then we got into all the problems with the stealing of my identity as far as 220 00:14:32,380 --> 00:14:38,620 opening accounts and buying two cars and my driver's license, which I've had to 221 00:14:38,620 --> 00:14:41,820 change over the years and so forth. So it's been a real headache. 222 00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:47,860 In 1996, the identity thief, whose real name is Gerald Barnbaum, receives his 223 00:14:47,860 --> 00:14:49,300 longest prison sentence to date, 224 00:14:50,020 --> 00:14:51,940 12 1⁄2 years in the federal pen. 225 00:14:52,460 --> 00:14:55,940 And the case of the phony doctor should finally be brought to a close. 226 00:14:56,680 --> 00:15:02,000 Four years later, Barnbaum is transferred to another prison. And once 227 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:03,660 pops up on the radar of the FBI. 228 00:15:04,140 --> 00:15:10,840 I learned that given that he had been categorized as a low security inmate, 229 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:17,620 that in transferring Mr. Barnbaum from one facility in California to 230 00:15:17,620 --> 00:15:24,540 another facility in another state, that he was given a bus ticket and allowed 231 00:15:24,540 --> 00:15:25,540 to travel. 232 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:27,040 on his own. 233 00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:32,640 Barnbaum is supposed to report to a prison in Illinois, but he never shows 234 00:15:33,100 --> 00:15:38,140 After a month of searching, U .S. Marshal Joseph Exner locates the 235 00:15:38,140 --> 00:15:39,140 North Hollywood clinic. 236 00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:42,700 Myself, my partner in LAPD went inside the clinic. 237 00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:45,400 I called out for Gerald Barnbaum. 238 00:15:45,620 --> 00:15:48,440 He stepped out wearing a white coat, a stethoscope. 239 00:15:48,740 --> 00:15:50,260 He simply said, you guys are good. 240 00:15:50,720 --> 00:15:53,940 And then I turned him around, patted him down, and put the cuffs on. 241 00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:59,700 In May of 2004, Gerald Barnbaum pleads guilty to three additional counts of 242 00:15:59,700 --> 00:16:01,700 fraud and identity theft. 243 00:16:01,980 --> 00:16:06,180 A federal judge adds another 10 years to the imposter's 12 -and -a -half -year 244 00:16:06,180 --> 00:16:07,180 sentence. 245 00:16:07,220 --> 00:16:14,000 He had used the same false identity documents to portray himself as the real 246 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:15,620 Dr. Gerald Barnes. 247 00:16:16,430 --> 00:16:21,610 got a job at this clinic and was seeing a number of patients a day and once 248 00:16:21,610 --> 00:16:25,830 again prescribing controlled substances in violation of federal law. 249 00:16:26,710 --> 00:16:32,010 Barnbaum collected an estimated $100 ,000 a year during his counterfeit 250 00:16:32,010 --> 00:16:37,570 and built insurance companies and individuals out of more than $5 million 251 00:16:37,570 --> 00:16:38,910 fraudulent patient claims. 252 00:16:39,610 --> 00:16:44,050 The last company that hired the imposter, Executive Health Group, was 253 00:16:44,050 --> 00:16:45,050 hit the hardest. 254 00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:50,380 The last clinic at which he was employed here in Los Angeles had billed 255 00:16:50,380 --> 00:16:57,060 somewhere in the neighborhood of about $350 ,000 to their clients for 256 00:16:57,060 --> 00:17:01,180 services that had been provided by Mr. Barnbaum. 257 00:17:01,580 --> 00:17:06,260 In addition to repaying much of the fraudulent billing, Executive Health 258 00:17:06,260 --> 00:17:10,800 was slapped with a multimillion -dollar civil lawsuit brought on by nearly 500 259 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:13,260 former patients, including... 260 00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:16,839 Carl Janssen, an executive with Atlantic Richfield Corporation. 261 00:17:17,380 --> 00:17:22,560 I was on their executive payroll, and one of our benefits was an annual, they 262 00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:24,780 called it executive medical exam. 263 00:17:25,700 --> 00:17:29,380 Janssen had received a full workup by Dr. Barnes in 1996. 264 00:17:30,540 --> 00:17:37,240 We went through the routine medical exam, included all the questions, the 265 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:40,040 work, checking your vitals, all of those kinds of things. 266 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:44,580 He was very personable, appeared to be very professional about what he was 267 00:17:44,580 --> 00:17:48,800 doing. Part of the exam was a prostate exam, and he seemed to be very 268 00:17:48,800 --> 00:17:50,700 professional about all of that. 269 00:17:51,780 --> 00:17:56,580 Jansen had no idea anything was amiss until the next day when he saw his 270 00:17:56,580 --> 00:17:57,660 on the evening news. 271 00:17:58,320 --> 00:17:59,580 Out came... 272 00:17:59,960 --> 00:18:05,160 The good Dr. Barnes in handcuffs out of executive health, and I went, whoa, you 273 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:10,900 know, what in the world is going on? Today, Gerald Barnes, seen here in 1981, 274 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:15,740 was arraigned in federal court on charges of practicing medicine without a 275 00:18:15,740 --> 00:18:20,560 license. The businessman soon found out that he had been duped by an imposter. 276 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:25,380 I went into executive health fully trusting that they had a competent 277 00:18:25,380 --> 00:18:26,500 professional staff. 278 00:18:26,780 --> 00:18:28,140 I had no reason to think otherwise. 279 00:18:29,020 --> 00:18:33,020 I'm sure it was as big a surprise to them as it was to me. Now, you could 280 00:18:33,020 --> 00:18:38,380 that it's understandable that it was a surprise to me, and it shouldn't have 281 00:18:38,380 --> 00:18:39,580 been a surprise to them. 282 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:44,580 Diane Goldman represents Jansen and other plaintiffs in the civil suit. 283 00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:48,660 She believes that health care companies need to be held responsible for the 284 00:18:48,660 --> 00:18:49,660 people they hire. 285 00:18:50,200 --> 00:18:52,440 They definitely need to be more diligent. 286 00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:58,220 The evidence that was developed in the lawsuit showed that the... 287 00:18:58,490 --> 00:19:02,650 background information or background investigation that was supposed to be 288 00:19:02,650 --> 00:19:07,990 performed on this imposter doctor wasn't done. And had they done the bare 289 00:19:07,990 --> 00:19:13,610 minimum, they would have discovered his numerous felony convictions and the 290 00:19:13,610 --> 00:19:15,410 problems surrounding him. 291 00:19:15,650 --> 00:19:19,430 While Executive Health Group denies liability in the case, the lawsuit was 292 00:19:19,430 --> 00:19:23,430 settled for just over $9 million, and the company is now out of business. 293 00:19:23,990 --> 00:19:27,090 Money. Follow the money. It's always about money. 294 00:19:27,690 --> 00:19:32,770 For Lisa Roberts, who was once married to Gerald Baumbach, and now refers to 295 00:19:32,770 --> 00:19:35,090 phony husband as the never was. 296 00:19:36,050 --> 00:19:40,890 The ability for the con man to perpetrate his fraud over and over again 297 00:19:40,890 --> 00:19:41,890 down to one thing. 298 00:19:42,990 --> 00:19:45,590 Greed. It's always about money. 299 00:19:45,930 --> 00:19:51,250 It was about money for the never was. It was about money for his companies. It 300 00:19:51,250 --> 00:19:54,470 was about money for the people who he worked for before. 301 00:19:55,290 --> 00:19:58,410 that apparently knew that there was something wrong and had fired him for a 302 00:19:58,410 --> 00:20:02,050 variety of reasons, but said nothing to anyone. 303 00:20:02,650 --> 00:20:08,050 Gerald Baumbach is now 74 years old. He is serving his sentence at Wasika 304 00:20:08,050 --> 00:20:09,630 Federal Prison in Minnesota. 305 00:20:09,950 --> 00:20:13,270 His projected release date is in 2018. 306 00:20:14,210 --> 00:20:16,510 He's a very dangerous human being. 307 00:20:16,850 --> 00:20:18,530 His age won't make any difference. 308 00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:24,520 Now he can be almost semi -retired physician. And no doubt when he walks 309 00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:27,740 those doors, he will be a physician again. 310 00:20:31,140 --> 00:20:36,580 Next on American Greed, he hit 43 banks in six states. There was a demand note 311 00:20:36,580 --> 00:20:38,760 indicating I have a gun, be quiet. 312 00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:42,240 A serial bandit who can't be stopped. 313 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:45,320 They've done it this many times. Why would they stop? 314 00:20:45,580 --> 00:20:47,560 Deluding capture for nearly two years. 315 00:20:47,870 --> 00:20:49,610 And now, the hunt is on. 316 00:21:00,590 --> 00:21:01,590 Louisville, Kentucky. 317 00:21:01,770 --> 00:21:02,770 The River City. 318 00:21:03,530 --> 00:21:04,850 Gateway to the South. 319 00:21:06,230 --> 00:21:11,770 On November 11, 2002, the city falls prey to a bank robber who targets banks 320 00:21:11,770 --> 00:21:13,270 inside of grocery stores. 321 00:21:13,570 --> 00:21:17,170 He adds Louisville to an ever -growing list of cities he's targeted. 322 00:21:18,060 --> 00:21:21,460 His weapons, a simple disguise and a threatening note. 323 00:21:21,700 --> 00:21:23,900 His take today, $6 ,000. 324 00:21:25,960 --> 00:21:29,240 Louisville Metro Detective Larry Duncan draws the case. 325 00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:32,540 Duncan's been chasing robbers for the past 11 years. 326 00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:40,040 There was a demand note indicating this is a holdup, I have a gun, be calm, 327 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:44,080 both drawers, be quiet, go home alive. 328 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:47,400 The note is clean, no fingerprints. 329 00:21:48,300 --> 00:21:53,200 The robber is a white male who appears to be in his early to mid -40s. The 330 00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:56,000 teller describes him as wearing a mustache and a fishing hat. 331 00:21:56,420 --> 00:21:59,120 Larry Duncan believes this bandit has hit before. 332 00:21:59,820 --> 00:22:03,720 Over the past five months, there have been four similar bank holdups in the 333 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:08,280 Louisville metro area, including one two weeks earlier, just across the border 334 00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:09,280 in Indiana. 335 00:22:09,540 --> 00:22:14,000 The clothing worn during the Jeffersonville, Indiana robbery 336 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:16,860 of tan coveralls, a fishing -style hat. 337 00:22:17,210 --> 00:22:23,150 or a boonie hat, as did the robbery at the Winn -Dixie on November 11th. So 338 00:22:23,150 --> 00:22:27,050 it did for me clearly was indicate this was the same person that was responsible 339 00:22:27,050 --> 00:22:29,890 for now at least five bank robberies. 340 00:22:30,890 --> 00:22:33,510 870, I'm going to be out for about 20 minutes. 341 00:22:33,790 --> 00:22:39,790 115 miles northeast in Blue Ash, Ohio, Detective Joe Schlee is investigating a 342 00:22:39,790 --> 00:22:41,550 grocery store bank robbery of his own. 343 00:22:42,330 --> 00:22:46,650 Schlee notices a teletype fax from Detective Duncan about a series of 344 00:22:46,650 --> 00:22:48,410 bank robberies in Louisville, Kentucky. 345 00:22:48,670 --> 00:22:51,590 I did not know Larry Duncan prior to this case. 346 00:22:51,930 --> 00:22:58,750 He sent me a photo matrix of bank video shots that he 347 00:22:58,750 --> 00:23:05,610 had received, and we showed that matrix to Howard Teller, and he was definite 348 00:23:05,610 --> 00:23:07,710 that it was the same guy that hit her. 349 00:23:08,580 --> 00:23:13,340 Detective Duncan suspects the Blue Ash robber could be the same man linked to 350 00:23:13,340 --> 00:23:15,760 other grocery store robberies in four states. 351 00:23:16,220 --> 00:23:20,060 Duncan is searching the Internet for banks and markets near interstates when 352 00:23:20,060 --> 00:23:23,160 thought crosses his mind about the bandits' sophisticated methods. 353 00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:28,060 I think the guy I'm looking for is doing the exact same thing I'm doing. You 354 00:23:28,060 --> 00:23:32,560 could almost visualize the two of us doing the same thing with those 355 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:35,320 me in an attempt to locate where he was going to go next. 356 00:23:36,120 --> 00:23:38,580 and him an attempt to decide where he was going to go next. 357 00:23:39,660 --> 00:23:45,040 Larry Duncan examines a map in his office and sees a pattern unfolding 358 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:46,040 him. 359 00:23:46,940 --> 00:23:50,760 When you look at the relationship between Indianapolis, Indiana, 360 00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:55,260 Kentucky, and Cincinnati, Ohio, and the major interstates that are intersecting 361 00:23:55,260 --> 00:23:59,380 those three highways, and then run a parallel with that to the bankmark that 362 00:23:59,380 --> 00:24:03,260 he's hitting, he really had no other alternative other than to name the 363 00:24:03,260 --> 00:24:04,360 interstate Bankmark Bandit. 364 00:24:04,730 --> 00:24:10,950 The Interstate Bankmark Bandit, or IBM for short, lands squarely on the FBI's 365 00:24:10,950 --> 00:24:15,950 radar. My initial contact with the IBM Bandit case was a robbery that I had 366 00:24:15,950 --> 00:24:17,270 in Cincinnati, Ohio. 367 00:24:17,610 --> 00:24:20,630 We've hidden the agent's face at the FBI's request. 368 00:24:21,130 --> 00:24:25,070 When I came back from that robbery and I started having conversations with 369 00:24:25,070 --> 00:24:28,770 Detective Joe Schley, I found that he not only... 370 00:24:29,120 --> 00:24:33,640 had his bank robbery in Blue Ash, but also was working on other bank robberies 371 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:38,600 here in Cincinnati, trying to link them as well as bank robberies down in 372 00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:39,600 Louisville and Lexington. 373 00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:45,260 Duncan, Schlee, and Fryhofer team up to form the IBM task force. 374 00:24:45,760 --> 00:24:49,920 They suspect the bandit of at least 20 robberies, but are no closer to 375 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:50,920 identifying them. 376 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:56,400 Just before sunset on a Friday night, the task force catches an unexpected 377 00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:57,400 break. 378 00:24:57,770 --> 00:25:04,710 In June of 2003, a bank robbery occurred inside a Meijer 379 00:25:04,710 --> 00:25:06,670 in Lexington, Kentucky. 380 00:25:07,410 --> 00:25:09,770 It's IBM's 29th robbery. 381 00:25:09,990 --> 00:25:14,870 A surveillance camera at the Meijer grocery store captured this photo of 382 00:25:14,870 --> 00:25:21,690 getaway. You're actually able to see the IBM Bandit entering the backseat of the 383 00:25:21,690 --> 00:25:22,870 getaway vehicle. 384 00:25:23,580 --> 00:25:30,280 And clearly you're able to determine that it is a black, late 90s model, four 385 00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:33,120 -door, BMW, IL, I believe. 386 00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:36,760 Police learned something else from the images. 387 00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:38,820 IBM has an accomplice. 388 00:25:39,260 --> 00:25:45,240 In some of his demand notes, he would make reference that we are listening and 389 00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:50,180 we have a scanner. A lot of times that is a trick, but we had evidence 390 00:25:50,180 --> 00:25:51,840 suggesting that this was correct. 391 00:25:52,540 --> 00:25:55,820 And we were getting evidence that there was a white female sitting in a car 392 00:25:55,820 --> 00:25:57,820 outside that he was getting in. 393 00:25:58,940 --> 00:26:02,380 The task force develops a theory about the robber's home base. 394 00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:05,000 I think he started in Indianapolis. 395 00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:09,580 He got some exposure, and he didn't like it, so he said, I'm going to go further 396 00:26:09,580 --> 00:26:14,660 away. And we could almost feel that we could travel with the IBM bandit down 397 00:26:14,660 --> 00:26:17,960 expressway that he was using as he was hitting each one of these and then 398 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:21,720 turning around again and heading back into what we assumed was his safe zone 399 00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:26,830 Indiana. Detective Duncan uses that theory to formulate a plan to catch IBM. 400 00:26:27,230 --> 00:26:29,830 He calls it Operation Intercept. 401 00:26:30,310 --> 00:26:35,330 Cops will monitor the interstates, hoping to capture IBM as he heads back 402 00:26:35,330 --> 00:26:36,330 to Indiana. 403 00:26:36,770 --> 00:26:41,670 Duncan selects five banks in the Louisville metro area that fit the 404 00:26:41,670 --> 00:26:47,750 .O. We would put undercover cars and undercover detectives as tellers inside 405 00:26:47,750 --> 00:26:50,450 these banks so that when he hit... 406 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:52,360 we would be right on top of him. 407 00:26:52,880 --> 00:26:57,120 Officers would then use police radios to coordinate IBM's capture. 408 00:26:57,880 --> 00:27:03,620 So the idea was to calmly state Operation Intercept and then set up and 409 00:27:03,620 --> 00:27:10,280 pulling over all the black four -door BMWs that were heading 410 00:27:10,280 --> 00:27:13,160 north toward Indianapolis. 411 00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:18,240 The city of Louisville puts its full force, about 1 ,200 officers, on 412 00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:19,400 operational alert. 413 00:27:20,430 --> 00:27:26,790 On September 6, 2003, with the trap set and baited, IBM robs a U .S. bank in 414 00:27:26,790 --> 00:27:29,290 Louisville just as the task force predicted. 415 00:27:29,630 --> 00:27:31,090 It's hit number 35. 416 00:27:31,770 --> 00:27:37,810 The sergeant that got on the radio almost shouted Operation Intercept. It 417 00:27:37,810 --> 00:27:41,010 quiet and discreet by any means. 418 00:27:41,370 --> 00:27:45,650 I'm kind of shaking my head and thinking to myself, Duncan, you're blowing it, 419 00:27:45,710 --> 00:27:47,070 you're blowing it, I know I'm blowing it. 420 00:27:47,340 --> 00:27:52,100 Because I felt without question that the interstate benchmark bandit was 421 00:27:52,100 --> 00:27:58,920 listening to every word over that radio and that it was slipping away from me. 422 00:27:59,960 --> 00:28:03,020 The bandit avoids the interstates and slips through the noose. 423 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:10,160 One week passes without even a fleeting glimpse of IBM or the black BMW. 424 00:28:10,820 --> 00:28:16,000 And finally, I call the commander of the operation and I say, well, we've blown 425 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:17,780 it. He's not hitting. 426 00:28:18,460 --> 00:28:22,520 And he said, are you asking me to call it off? And I was like, yeah, I'm asking 427 00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:23,520 to call it off. 428 00:28:23,620 --> 00:28:24,620 We've missed our chance. 429 00:28:25,220 --> 00:28:31,160 When we come back, Larry Duncan is left to wonder if and when we'll get another 430 00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:32,760 shot at the IBM Bandit. 431 00:28:34,020 --> 00:28:39,880 For more information and special web exclusives, log on to AmericanGreed 432 00:28:39,880 --> 00:28:40,880 .com. 433 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:57,520 16 months and 35 banks into the crime spree, IBM is still on the loose. 434 00:28:57,740 --> 00:28:58,780 His take so far? 435 00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:00,760 $136 ,000. 436 00:29:01,640 --> 00:29:04,140 And only two people know his true identity. 437 00:29:04,560 --> 00:29:07,420 One is the blonde female who drives the getaway car. 438 00:29:08,060 --> 00:29:13,000 The other is a 46 -year -old self -proclaimed entrepreneur with a shady 439 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:14,440 named David Branko. 440 00:29:14,740 --> 00:29:17,700 David Branko is the IBM bandit. 441 00:29:18,300 --> 00:29:23,520 The first time I met David, he was impeccably dressed. 442 00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:27,140 Phil Sperry runs a title company out of Bloomington, Indiana. 443 00:29:27,460 --> 00:29:32,080 He and his late wife, Bonnie, crossed paths with David Brankle in 1999. 444 00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:37,120 He always seemed to have the right response to any question. 445 00:29:37,520 --> 00:29:38,940 He was cool. 446 00:29:39,460 --> 00:29:40,840 He was very smooth. 447 00:29:42,300 --> 00:29:44,900 Brankle rents a small office in a building they own. 448 00:29:46,250 --> 00:29:51,550 This is the space that we rented to David Brankle. It was to be his 449 00:29:51,550 --> 00:29:55,770 where he was going to operate all of his business and his dealing with 450 00:29:55,770 --> 00:29:57,130 architecture and construction. 451 00:29:57,810 --> 00:30:00,370 And his company was called ACR. 452 00:30:00,990 --> 00:30:06,090 Now, I know the A was for architecture, and I know the C was for construction, 453 00:30:06,250 --> 00:30:09,130 and now I understand the R is for robbery. 454 00:30:10,490 --> 00:30:12,830 David Brankle approaches Bonnie with a proposition. 455 00:30:13,420 --> 00:30:17,780 that they create an interior design firm named Trade Secrets. 456 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:20,200 I think he saw her as a meal ticket. 457 00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:25,020 I think he thought that she was the kind of person who perhaps could be peeled 458 00:30:25,020 --> 00:30:31,900 off and attended to individually so that he would get access to 459 00:30:31,900 --> 00:30:34,240 the great fortune, whatever that is. 460 00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:39,440 Brankle uses the Sperry name to reach into the pockets of other Bloomington 461 00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:40,440 businesses. 462 00:30:42,660 --> 00:30:45,540 Sullivan's Clothing Store is a Bloomington institution. 463 00:30:46,300 --> 00:30:53,180 David went in and ran up a bill, I think it was about $1 ,700, and paid it off, 464 00:30:53,380 --> 00:31:00,140 no problem, and then said to Bobby, well, could I 465 00:31:00,140 --> 00:31:01,700 perhaps have a house account? 466 00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:07,500 And so Bobby said, sure, at which point I believe he ran up a little over $8 467 00:31:07,500 --> 00:31:08,960 ,000 worth. 468 00:31:09,370 --> 00:31:10,930 because he was a dapper dresser. 469 00:31:11,710 --> 00:31:14,450 And then that's when he didn't pay. 470 00:31:15,190 --> 00:31:19,630 As time goes on, David Brankle begins to wear out his welcome in Bloomington. 471 00:31:20,270 --> 00:31:24,350 Phil and Bonnie Sperry cut him off, both personally and professionally. 472 00:31:25,190 --> 00:31:32,170 I very much regret the damage done to our friends, and 473 00:31:32,170 --> 00:31:37,670 I really feel responsible for having caused that to happen, and I very much 474 00:31:37,670 --> 00:31:38,670 regret that. 475 00:31:39,500 --> 00:31:44,860 Brankle skips town with his wife and young son and drives southwest, landing 476 00:31:44,860 --> 00:31:46,040 Vincennes, Indiana. 477 00:31:46,780 --> 00:31:48,900 There, he finds his next mark. 478 00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:52,260 Alan Logan is well -known in Vincennes. 479 00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:57,420 He and his wife Becky own one of the town's favorite family businesses, 480 00:31:57,420 --> 00:31:58,720 Wet Pets and More. 481 00:32:02,280 --> 00:32:05,860 The Logans are looking to expand their pet store concept into a family 482 00:32:05,860 --> 00:32:09,240 entertainment complex they call Logan's Great Escape. 483 00:32:09,640 --> 00:32:15,260 We met David. Our first impression was legitimate businessman. 484 00:32:15,780 --> 00:32:18,320 We needed our developer, you know, and here he was. 485 00:32:18,540 --> 00:32:21,420 Actually, Becky and I thought, when we were going home that night talking, we 486 00:32:21,420 --> 00:32:23,900 said maybe this was God's gift to us. 487 00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:29,460 Branko sells himself as a consultant with the Vanguard Capital Marketing 488 00:32:29,460 --> 00:32:31,460 and says he is based in Chicago. 489 00:32:32,010 --> 00:32:37,650 He had Vanguard Capital marketing material spread out on the table, nice 490 00:32:37,650 --> 00:32:41,670 of all their jobs they completed, and the contract on how much it was going to 491 00:32:41,670 --> 00:32:47,130 cost to hire them, and timetables and all that, and it looked legit. 492 00:32:48,330 --> 00:32:49,330 But it isn't. 493 00:32:49,750 --> 00:32:55,830 Brankle tells them he needs a retainer of $3 ,500 to start, as well as $500 per 494 00:32:55,830 --> 00:32:57,710 month over the course of the project. 495 00:32:58,050 --> 00:33:01,250 Then Brankle turns to an old con man's ploy. 496 00:33:01,640 --> 00:33:04,120 He was getting ready to go out of town on another project, and he needed to 497 00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:05,120 ASAP. 498 00:33:05,700 --> 00:33:09,480 And the following morning, I come down here right and early and wrote a big 499 00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:10,480 check for him. 500 00:33:11,560 --> 00:33:16,300 The beginning of each month, David Brankle comes to collect his check, 501 00:33:16,300 --> 00:33:17,860 with his son at his side. 502 00:33:18,520 --> 00:33:22,780 And a lot of times he'd bring Michael in, and Michael would have the bill in 503 00:33:22,780 --> 00:33:24,380 hand and give it to me. 504 00:33:26,380 --> 00:33:27,380 Sad. 505 00:33:27,950 --> 00:33:31,450 To everyone around him, David Brankle is the epitome of a successful 506 00:33:31,450 --> 00:33:34,750 businessman. But he's living multiple lives. 507 00:33:36,070 --> 00:33:41,030 Sunday through Wednesday, Brankle lives in this rented house in Vincennes with 508 00:33:41,030 --> 00:33:42,030 his wife and son. 509 00:33:42,290 --> 00:33:46,890 Thursday through Saturday, he travels back to Bloomington to a girlfriend 510 00:33:46,890 --> 00:33:50,290 Donna Hewins and his life as a serial bankrupt. 511 00:33:51,210 --> 00:33:55,710 He said that they were watching a movie about a bank robber. 512 00:33:56,240 --> 00:34:00,080 He said, what would you think of me if I told you this is what I do for a 513 00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:04,000 living? And she reportedly said, I would still love you. 514 00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:08,679 Andrew Wolfson is a reporter for the Louisville Courier -Journal. 515 00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:12,840 And then gradually she became increasingly involved. 516 00:34:13,580 --> 00:34:18,560 She would start driving the getaway car. She would join him on encasing the 517 00:34:18,560 --> 00:34:23,420 banks. Donna met David at a topless bar in Bloomington where she worked as a 518 00:34:23,420 --> 00:34:29,380 waitress. They dated, grew close, and Donna became Bonnie to David Brankle's 519 00:34:29,380 --> 00:34:36,219 plight. By the time I met him, he was a very self -pitying character who blamed 520 00:34:36,219 --> 00:34:40,320 everything on everyone else, including and mostly his mother. 521 00:34:40,560 --> 00:34:44,560 He was hoping he could become the most successful bank robber of all time 522 00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:47,199 because his mother had always said he couldn't mow the lawn right. 523 00:34:48,460 --> 00:34:52,120 David Brankle, it turns out, is very good at one thing in his life. 524 00:34:52,679 --> 00:34:55,280 taking advantage of everyone and everything around him. 525 00:34:55,860 --> 00:35:01,800 I would not only say he was a narcissist. I would say he's a sociopath 526 00:35:01,800 --> 00:35:04,420 sense that he had absolutely no conscience. 527 00:35:05,680 --> 00:35:07,800 You can ask anybody in this town that shops with me. 528 00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:12,200 I'd give you my shirt off my back if I could help you out. And they'll tell you 529 00:35:12,200 --> 00:35:12,979 I would. 530 00:35:12,980 --> 00:35:14,860 But I couldn't do that now. 531 00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:17,120 And that hurts. 532 00:35:18,200 --> 00:35:23,100 David Brankle's success as the IBM bandit has been a perfect mix of luck, 533 00:35:23,100 --> 00:35:24,100 and planning. 534 00:35:24,760 --> 00:35:29,720 But as 2003 draws to a close, one mistake is about to change everything. 535 00:35:30,340 --> 00:35:32,660 If he was going to come up with a gun, I wanted to have mine out first. 536 00:35:47,740 --> 00:35:49,120 December of 2003. 537 00:35:49,740 --> 00:35:53,600 In the nearly four months since the IBM bandit escaped Operation Intercept, 538 00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:58,560 David Brankle and Donna Hewins have been very busy, committing another eight 539 00:35:58,560 --> 00:36:00,580 robberies, bringing the total to 43. 540 00:36:01,100 --> 00:36:05,060 Four more months of payments have cost the Logans an additional $2 ,000. 541 00:36:05,900 --> 00:36:11,100 On December 29th, David Brankle is visiting Bloomington once again, and his 542 00:36:11,100 --> 00:36:16,660 changes. On Highway 45, Brankle nearly strikes a vehicle driven by Bloomington 543 00:36:16,660 --> 00:36:18,500 police detective Kevin Hill. 544 00:36:18,830 --> 00:36:24,310 I noticed in my rearview mirror a black BMW coming at a high rate of speed, and 545 00:36:24,310 --> 00:36:28,170 he basically cut myself and the other vehicle off, sending us into oncoming 546 00:36:28,170 --> 00:36:31,870 traffic, almost causing an accident, and he lost control of his vehicle, and 547 00:36:31,870 --> 00:36:34,030 that's where I pulled him over about a quarter mile down the road. 548 00:36:35,470 --> 00:36:38,130 Detective Hill calls in the driver's information. 549 00:36:38,810 --> 00:36:42,350 Well, the driver's license wasn't coming back, but the plate came back stolen. 550 00:36:43,390 --> 00:36:46,370 Hill moves in to remove the driver from the car. 551 00:36:48,230 --> 00:36:51,810 for him to show me his hands, and he gave me his left hand, but he wouldn't 552 00:36:51,810 --> 00:36:54,830 me the right one. He had it down below his right leg. 553 00:36:55,050 --> 00:36:58,110 And so I kept telling him to bring his hand up, and he wouldn't do it, so I 554 00:36:58,110 --> 00:37:00,970 pulled my gun out and pointed it at him and told him to let me see his hands, 555 00:37:01,010 --> 00:37:02,010 and they better come up empty. 556 00:37:02,210 --> 00:37:05,950 And he looked up at me, and he said, we're okay, and he dropped the car in 557 00:37:05,950 --> 00:37:06,950 drive, and he took off. 558 00:37:08,870 --> 00:37:11,930 The pursuit reaches speeds in excess of 100 miles an hour. 559 00:37:13,210 --> 00:37:16,470 They're running people off the road. He's disregarding stop signs, driving 560 00:37:16,470 --> 00:37:17,470 through intersections. 561 00:37:18,190 --> 00:37:21,930 The BMW sedan leaves Detective Hill's Ford Taurus in the dust. 562 00:37:22,710 --> 00:37:25,010 David Brankle escapes the police yet again. 563 00:37:25,390 --> 00:37:28,490 But this time, he leaves a vital clue in their hands. 564 00:37:28,730 --> 00:37:30,570 An Indiana driver's license. 565 00:37:32,450 --> 00:37:36,590 Just across the Wabash River from Illinois sits Vincennes, Indiana. 566 00:37:37,210 --> 00:37:42,290 Vincennes is Indiana's first city. It is about to become David Brankle's last. 567 00:37:43,670 --> 00:37:47,630 This is the house at 1919 Hickory that David Brankle lived at. 568 00:37:48,030 --> 00:37:52,930 When the state police were looking for the stolen plate, Trooper Trotter 569 00:37:52,930 --> 00:37:57,810 and saw the garage door was open and saw the vehicle on the plate. 570 00:37:58,470 --> 00:38:02,970 Shortly after that, David Brankle came out and got in his car. 571 00:38:04,010 --> 00:38:07,590 Brankle leads the Indiana State Police on a chase through the streets of 572 00:38:07,590 --> 00:38:12,430 Vincennes. As I was listening to the pursuit, I was coming down College, and 573 00:38:12,430 --> 00:38:17,050 heard John Trotter say that he was out on foot. 574 00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:22,520 Brankle had abandoned his child in the car, and so Trooper Trotter was staying 575 00:38:22,520 --> 00:38:24,280 with the child at that time with the car. 576 00:38:26,120 --> 00:38:29,600 Brankle runs, trying to lose Sergeant Winkler in the maze of apartment 577 00:38:29,600 --> 00:38:30,600 buildings. 578 00:38:31,280 --> 00:38:34,740 As he was coming up to one of the apartment complexes, he tripped on the 579 00:38:34,740 --> 00:38:35,740 and fell down. 580 00:38:36,740 --> 00:38:39,220 The sergeant moves quickly to handcuff his suspect. 581 00:38:39,760 --> 00:38:42,420 As he does, a small knife lands in the grass. 582 00:38:43,210 --> 00:38:46,790 And he kept telling me that, you know, it just fell out of his pocket. He 583 00:38:46,790 --> 00:38:48,370 going to stab me or anything with it. 584 00:38:48,830 --> 00:38:52,790 And I handcuffed him and put him in the car and took him to jail. 585 00:38:54,310 --> 00:38:57,170 David Brankle is booked into the Knox County Jail. 586 00:38:57,510 --> 00:39:00,650 The BMW is inventoried by the Indiana State Police. 587 00:39:01,130 --> 00:39:05,690 In the trunk, they find suitcases filled with the tools of a successful bank 588 00:39:05,690 --> 00:39:06,690 robber on the move. 589 00:39:07,210 --> 00:39:09,490 He told me who he was, the IBM bandit. 590 00:39:10,090 --> 00:39:14,670 And they said, well, you call the Louisville Metro Police and Cincinnati 591 00:39:14,830 --> 00:39:16,770 They'll know who I am. They'll want to talk to me. 592 00:39:18,290 --> 00:39:21,310 Larry Duncan is busy working at his desk when the phone rings. 593 00:39:22,030 --> 00:39:24,050 I received a call in the robbery office. 594 00:39:25,070 --> 00:39:28,970 Detective Duncan, I have a fellow that you'll know down here. 595 00:39:29,450 --> 00:39:32,070 He says he's the IBM bandit. 596 00:39:32,370 --> 00:39:37,310 And I said, what's he look like? And he said, hey, Larry, this is your guy. 597 00:39:38,670 --> 00:39:42,750 Sergeant Greg Winkler runs the list of evidence pulled from Brankle's car. 598 00:39:43,690 --> 00:39:45,690 Notes on banks in several states. 599 00:39:46,750 --> 00:39:49,870 Baseball caps and disguises seen in bank surveillance video. 600 00:39:50,990 --> 00:39:53,150 Nine millimeter handgun and ammunition. 601 00:39:54,310 --> 00:39:58,650 After we hung up the phone, I called Joe and says, y 'all got to get down here. 602 00:39:58,750 --> 00:40:01,730 Get a hold of CJ and get down here as quick as you can. 603 00:40:02,370 --> 00:40:06,330 The three investigators rushed to Vincennes and their first meeting with 604 00:40:06,330 --> 00:40:13,220 bandit. When I extended my hand to him to shake his hand, he moved 605 00:40:13,220 --> 00:40:15,660 forward toward me as if he was going to hug me. 606 00:40:16,140 --> 00:40:21,800 It kind of broke the ice for all of us because I realized at that moment we 607 00:40:21,800 --> 00:40:25,400 going to talk and we would probably be there for a long, long, long time. 608 00:40:26,160 --> 00:40:30,180 David Brankle speaks to investigators for nearly six hours that first night. 609 00:40:30,680 --> 00:40:33,920 American Greed has obtained audio from that interrogation. 610 00:40:34,580 --> 00:40:36,740 Brankle begins with his first robbery. 611 00:40:50,359 --> 00:40:55,700 He tells investigators about Donna's involvement in the robberies. 612 00:40:55,920 --> 00:40:59,580 Donna got involved in this because she loves me. 613 00:41:00,300 --> 00:41:06,680 She drove or rode with me and acted as a secretary or listened to. 614 00:41:23,320 --> 00:41:28,040 He explains the motivation for his crimes, that he and his wife were 615 00:41:28,040 --> 00:41:30,900 estranged. He believed he would lose his son. 616 00:41:49,480 --> 00:41:52,080 David Branko tells investigators everything. 617 00:41:53,360 --> 00:41:57,700 Branko is charged in federal court with 43 counts of unarmed bank robbery. 618 00:41:58,540 --> 00:42:04,180 Facing more than 180 years in federal prison, Branko cuts a deal and receives 619 00:42:04,180 --> 00:42:05,460 years behind bars. 620 00:42:06,140 --> 00:42:10,480 Donna Hewins pleads guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit unarmed bank 621 00:42:10,480 --> 00:42:14,480 robbery and receives house arrest and five years probation for her crime. 622 00:42:15,040 --> 00:42:20,660 David Brankle is also ordered to pay more than $175 ,000 in restitution for 623 00:42:20,660 --> 00:42:25,740 crimes. Not a dime of that money makes its way back to Phil Sperry or Alan and 624 00:42:25,740 --> 00:42:30,500 Becky Logan, since David Brankle is not charged with any crimes relating to his 625 00:42:30,500 --> 00:42:31,500 dealings with them. 626 00:42:31,700 --> 00:42:38,040 He had no remorse towards the Sperrys, and he claims that he did legitimate 627 00:42:38,040 --> 00:42:40,400 for the Logans and that he didn't rip them off. 628 00:42:40,900 --> 00:42:43,700 Now, David Brankle is a con. 629 00:42:44,190 --> 00:42:45,109 man. 630 00:42:45,110 --> 00:42:51,630 But if that man had used his intelligence and all the good things 631 00:42:51,630 --> 00:42:55,590 do good instead of using it to do bad and do evil, he could have accomplished 632 00:42:55,590 --> 00:42:56,970 great things in his life. 633 00:42:57,390 --> 00:43:00,790 Just the kind of fellow that a lot of times would rather lie to you than tell 634 00:43:00,790 --> 00:43:03,810 the truth, even though it didn't make any sense. And we'll tell you 635 00:43:03,930 --> 00:43:08,670 David, why did you do that? And as he told Andy Wilson, that's just David. 636 00:43:09,390 --> 00:43:11,730 In an upcoming episode of American Greed. 637 00:43:12,010 --> 00:43:14,590 It's one of the largest art thefts in the United States. 638 00:43:14,910 --> 00:43:16,710 There was wall -to -wall artwork. 639 00:43:16,950 --> 00:43:19,310 130 pieces of fine art vanished. 640 00:43:19,730 --> 00:43:20,730 Picasso print. 641 00:43:20,810 --> 00:43:25,410 This is the golden egg. You won't believe the characters behind the heist. 642 00:43:25,410 --> 00:43:29,510 know, we'll either be princes or prisoners if this thing goes wrong.