1 00:00:02,350 --> 00:00:04,830 This is a CNBC original. 2 00:00:11,650 --> 00:00:17,790 In this episode of American Greed, he's young, self -assured, and loaded. 3 00:00:18,490 --> 00:00:23,470 The cars and the houses and the money, you know, he was living a pretty fast 4 00:00:23,470 --> 00:00:24,470 -paced life. 5 00:00:24,710 --> 00:00:29,950 Tony Elgindig claims to be a crusader fighting fraud on Wall Street. 6 00:00:30,570 --> 00:00:35,410 He wanted to be known as the greatest short seller of all time. He wanted that 7 00:00:35,410 --> 00:00:39,690 following. He had a persona that he cultivated, a bad guy going good. 8 00:00:40,410 --> 00:00:44,310 But this so -called good guy is running an insider trading scam. 9 00:00:45,170 --> 00:00:48,570 And his partner in crime is a crooked FBI agent. 10 00:00:49,250 --> 00:00:52,910 This wasn't a crusade for good. It was a crusade for evil. 11 00:01:07,530 --> 00:01:11,650 The rise and fall of Anthony L. Guindy begins in San Diego, California. 12 00:01:14,970 --> 00:01:20,850 In 1988, this Egyptian -American is a 20 -year -old college dropout selling 13 00:01:20,850 --> 00:01:21,850 sports cars. 14 00:01:23,210 --> 00:01:27,650 He likes the job and makes decent money pulling in a few grand a month. 15 00:01:29,010 --> 00:01:32,870 But one day, fate shows him another more appealing path. 16 00:01:33,890 --> 00:01:35,770 A stockbroker came in. 17 00:01:36,300 --> 00:01:40,100 Put this gorgeous young woman on his arm and was going to buy a Corvette. 18 00:01:40,960 --> 00:01:44,700 And this guy from the stock brokerage world claimed to be making $20 ,000 a 19 00:01:44,700 --> 00:01:48,140 month. And suddenly Tony thought, gee, why sell cars? 20 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:49,480 I should probably be selling stock. 21 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:56,060 After pounding the pavement for months, the dropout finds a brokerage house 22 00:01:56,060 --> 00:01:57,580 willing to take a chance on him. 23 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:03,340 It's a firm with a bit of a reputation called Blinder Robinson. 24 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:08,139 Some employees are seen here in this 1980s video. 25 00:02:09,259 --> 00:02:11,740 They became known as Blindem and Robbem. 26 00:02:12,340 --> 00:02:17,200 They made markets and basically promoted their own in -house stocks, and that's 27 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:19,460 pretty much all they wanted you to recommend to your customers. 28 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:26,260 It's a pump -and -dump operation, also known as a boiler room. 29 00:02:27,540 --> 00:02:32,000 Brokers make high -pressure sales pitches to investors, pumping up 30 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:33,000 stock. 31 00:02:33,740 --> 00:02:37,720 After the price soars, the brokers sell their shares. 32 00:02:39,060 --> 00:02:44,160 When the share price plummets, investors who hold on suffer huge losses. 33 00:02:45,640 --> 00:02:49,100 Linder Robinson is not the most credible way to launch a career. 34 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:52,980 But Tony Elgindi is hooked. 35 00:02:54,340 --> 00:02:58,620 He was sort of bitten by the stock bug, and he wanted to stay in the securities 36 00:02:58,620 --> 00:03:01,980 business. Got his securities licenses along the way. 37 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:08,360 But just months after he joins, Blinder Robinson's founder, Meyer Blinder, is 38 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:11,260 investigated for racketeering and securities fraud. 39 00:03:14,100 --> 00:03:17,700 He's eventually sent to prison, and the firm is liquidated. 40 00:03:19,060 --> 00:03:25,080 Al -Gindi finds a position at another firm, Armstrong McKinley, but trouble 41 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:26,080 follows. 42 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:32,760 Federal investigators suspect brokers at Armstrong of taking bribes, to promote 43 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:34,780 stock they wouldn't otherwise recommend. 44 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:41,500 Al -Gindi talked about it in a 1997 television interview. 45 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:48,020 Instead of recommending IBM Ford General Motors to their customer, now they have 46 00:03:48,020 --> 00:03:52,140 an extra payment, extra incentive, to recommend something they normally 47 00:03:52,140 --> 00:03:53,140 recommend. 48 00:03:53,660 --> 00:03:56,480 It's looking like Al -Gindi is 0 for 2. 49 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:02,520 Both firms he's worked for in his short career have been shut down by the feds. 50 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:07,460 He turns federal informant and avoids charges. 51 00:04:08,460 --> 00:04:14,120 He was apparently quite helpful to the feds, but it really was his first close, 52 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:18,459 I think, brush with the federal criminal justice system. 53 00:04:19,380 --> 00:04:22,820 He decides his pump and dump days are over. 54 00:04:23,850 --> 00:04:28,290 He said later that he sort of got sickened by that process where there 55 00:04:28,290 --> 00:04:32,070 many overvalued, overhyped, fraudulent stocks being sold. 56 00:04:33,990 --> 00:04:37,370 In 1995, El Guindy starts over. 57 00:04:38,370 --> 00:04:44,290 He opens up shop in Dallas, Texas and starts trading, but this time as a short 58 00:04:44,290 --> 00:04:45,290 seller. 59 00:04:46,330 --> 00:04:51,190 Rather than hoping the price of shares go up, short sellers bet on the price of 60 00:04:51,190 --> 00:04:52,190 stock to fall. 61 00:04:52,570 --> 00:04:55,250 And the bigger the drop, the more money they make. 62 00:04:56,430 --> 00:05:01,270 Al -Gindi is a new man now with a new career and a new mission. 63 00:05:02,350 --> 00:05:06,050 Al -Gindi wants to expose puffery, hype, and fraud. 64 00:05:06,350 --> 00:05:08,950 Or at least, that's what he starts out doing. 65 00:05:09,850 --> 00:05:15,670 He begins to post diatribes on trading websites like siliconinvestor .com, 66 00:05:15,890 --> 00:05:20,830 giving his opinions about which stocks are overvalued and why. 67 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:25,220 Tony was very good at doing reports. 68 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:30,720 Traders, including Jeff Mitchell, sit up and take notice. 69 00:05:31,940 --> 00:05:36,760 I invested in some stock, and Anthony comes along and says, your company is 70 00:05:36,760 --> 00:05:37,820 streaks on the toilet bowl. 71 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:42,280 Naturally, that gets you thinking, uh -oh, did I make a mistake here? 72 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:45,740 El Guindy's brash tone is entertaining. 73 00:05:46,780 --> 00:05:49,960 He becomes so popular, he starts his own thread. 74 00:05:50,430 --> 00:05:51,990 called Dear Anthony. 75 00:05:52,870 --> 00:05:56,930 Tony came on and he says, these companies I'm going to discuss are bad 76 00:05:56,930 --> 00:06:01,890 companies. I deal with overhyped, overvalued, fraudulent, promoted, 77 00:06:01,890 --> 00:06:05,910 suspect equities. And no one had really done that side of the market before. 78 00:06:06,770 --> 00:06:10,610 So right away, he offers something different that we hadn't seen on message 79 00:06:10,610 --> 00:06:16,630 boards. The ability to go online and rant and rave and educate and insult. 80 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:22,100 and also possibly make huge amounts of money doing it, was like a narcotic for 81 00:06:22,100 --> 00:06:24,840 Tony. It was just like the best thing in the world for him. 82 00:06:25,500 --> 00:06:28,220 But El Guindy's rants make him a target. 83 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:34,440 Short -selling, and especially the world of penny stocks, had always been sort 84 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:39,060 of the dark underbelly of Wall Street. It was a world where brokers looked like 85 00:06:39,060 --> 00:06:45,220 bouncers, where you had organized crime, shady dealings, all kinds of different 86 00:06:45,220 --> 00:06:46,360 things going on. 87 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:51,040 It was well far enough the lush Park Avenue offices of Wall Street. 88 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:57,080 In 1997, El -Gindi sits down with the primetime news program. 89 00:06:58,180 --> 00:07:02,260 He claims that his short selling has put him on a mob hit list. 90 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:08,260 I received a bullet in the mail. A bullet with my name on it. 300 -pound 91 00:07:08,260 --> 00:07:13,500 walking into an office, beating you up, making you do this, do this. It's 92 00:07:13,500 --> 00:07:15,040 happening. It's happening on Wall Street. 93 00:07:16,599 --> 00:07:17,980 That's not going to happen to me. 94 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:21,460 But Al Guindy's biggest threat isn't the mob. 95 00:07:21,780 --> 00:07:22,820 It's the FBI. 96 00:07:24,140 --> 00:07:29,120 When American greed returns, see how a do -gooder turns bad. 97 00:07:30,740 --> 00:07:33,960 There was always that risk, you know, you knew about Tony, that was he going 98 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:34,960 cross the line somehow? 99 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:53,640 In 1998, 31 -year -old Anthony Elgindi has made a name for himself as a short 100 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:55,260 seller with a mission. 101 00:07:56,680 --> 00:08:02,540 He claims to expose overhyped companies, and that's what he does, at least for 102 00:08:02,540 --> 00:08:03,540 now. 103 00:08:04,540 --> 00:08:08,040 He makes money betting that their stock prices will fall. 104 00:08:09,540 --> 00:08:13,340 Traders love Elgindi, but companies fear him. 105 00:08:14,700 --> 00:08:20,040 With just a few keystrokes, his brash, caustic comments can send a stock 106 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:21,060 tumbling down. 107 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:26,980 He was a kind of a boisterous character, very funny. It was kind of a show. It 108 00:08:26,980 --> 00:08:29,800 was entertaining just to be in the site. 109 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:35,200 There was a lot of entertainment value in addition to the information that was 110 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:36,200 coming through. 111 00:08:40,409 --> 00:08:46,770 High on his newfound fame, in 1999, El Guindy launches AnthonyPacific .com. 112 00:08:48,450 --> 00:08:53,870 Subscribers to the site pay $600 a month for access to El Guindy's tips and 113 00:08:53,870 --> 00:08:54,870 trades. 114 00:08:56,310 --> 00:08:59,150 Dan Cohen is one of El Guindy's subscribers. 115 00:09:00,310 --> 00:09:04,110 It wasn't just him. It was really the collective, you know, several hundred 116 00:09:04,110 --> 00:09:06,070 people sharing information and sharing their research. 117 00:09:06,780 --> 00:09:12,080 One after another after another was exposed as being a fraud, and eventually 118 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:15,320 prices went down. If you could hold the position and manage the risk, you'd make 119 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:20,820 money. The culture of the site was true and honest. 120 00:09:21,680 --> 00:09:25,220 Elkendy claims to be a former fraudster gone straight. 121 00:09:26,020 --> 00:09:30,700 He once worked for a notorious boiler room doing pump -and -dump schemes. 122 00:09:31,720 --> 00:09:36,680 Using the logic that it takes a thief to catch a thief, He says he's the perfect 123 00:09:36,680 --> 00:09:38,420 person to root out fraud. 124 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:43,620 Tony was able to sniff them out because he had seen a hundred of them before, 125 00:09:43,740 --> 00:09:46,980 and basically they all followed the same recipe. 126 00:09:48,360 --> 00:09:54,600 Al -Gindi relishes his role as a supposed fraud fighter, and he even 127 00:09:54,600 --> 00:09:56,700 online video of his investigations. 128 00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:05,540 In one, he exposes a company that claims to have developed a new technology, to 129 00:10:05,540 --> 00:10:07,120 remove sulfur from fuel. 130 00:10:08,540 --> 00:10:11,020 It sends out hyped -up press releases. 131 00:10:11,280 --> 00:10:16,060 Its share price soars from 25 cents to nearly $12. 132 00:10:18,220 --> 00:10:23,460 Al -Gindi tours the research and development lab and captures a less 133 00:10:23,460 --> 00:10:25,720 -sophisticated demonstration on tape. 134 00:10:35,050 --> 00:10:39,390 Just making fun of this device that had all these, like, foil and wires and all 135 00:10:39,390 --> 00:10:40,390 that sort of stuff. 136 00:10:40,410 --> 00:10:45,330 And I thought that was really sort of, in a way, funny, you know, or brave. 137 00:10:46,910 --> 00:10:48,230 Life couldn't be better. 138 00:10:49,410 --> 00:10:50,410 He's a success. 139 00:10:50,930 --> 00:10:52,270 People respect him. 140 00:10:52,590 --> 00:10:57,830 And he's raking in more than $1 million from subscribers' fees and claims to be 141 00:10:57,830 --> 00:11:00,490 making $75 ,000 a month on trades. 142 00:11:03,020 --> 00:11:08,160 He lives in an upscale neighborhood north of San Diego and splurges on a 143 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:14,800 of high -end luxury cars decked out in personal flair, a zero -bid license 144 00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:20,440 plate. When a company goes to zero, when the bid's zero, it means that the stock 145 00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:25,020 is worthless. So that's how he was paid for the car, was by selling stock that 146 00:11:25,020 --> 00:11:26,020 were going to go to zero. 147 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:28,420 Tony had a Ferrari. 148 00:11:28,740 --> 00:11:32,500 He had several cars, all fire engine red. He loved red cars. 149 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:35,900 Lived the life of a pretty well -to -do guy. 150 00:11:36,300 --> 00:11:41,940 And he was only in his, what, early 30s? He needed to feed an image that he was 151 00:11:41,940 --> 00:11:44,600 this powerful guy making all this money. 152 00:11:45,260 --> 00:11:50,600 The cars and the houses and the money and the limo drivers, you know, he was 153 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:52,640 living a pretty fast -paced life. 154 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:56,440 The huge house and fast cars are nice. 155 00:11:57,070 --> 00:11:59,730 But what he craves is building the perfect image. 156 00:12:03,430 --> 00:12:06,090 El -Gindi claims to be a philanthropist. 157 00:12:06,630 --> 00:12:11,870 Welcome back to our coverage of the crisis in Kosovo. In 1999, he goes on 158 00:12:11,870 --> 00:12:16,690 to talk about his humanitarian efforts to help refugees from Kosovo. 159 00:12:18,130 --> 00:12:20,350 Mr. El -Gindi, let me start with you. 160 00:12:21,210 --> 00:12:26,330 And in true El -Gindi fashion, he braves the war -torn areas of Kosovo. 161 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:30,040 aiding refugees and helping some to the U .S. 162 00:12:30,580 --> 00:12:35,120 I was on vacation in Hawaii at the time, and I made a decision that I would fly 163 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:39,640 out there and postpone my own business concerns for a temporary period of time 164 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:42,920 to see what it is that I could do to help. 165 00:12:44,010 --> 00:12:48,910 He was always trying to help the little guy and do the right thing and be a good 166 00:12:48,910 --> 00:12:52,870 person. It was kind of within his character that it wouldn't be enough for 167 00:12:52,870 --> 00:12:57,010 to just write a check to the Red Cross, which is what an ordinary person would 168 00:12:57,010 --> 00:13:02,130 have done. He wanted to have the cash in his pocket and go to the refugee camp 169 00:13:02,130 --> 00:13:05,070 and hand the money to the needy people. 170 00:13:05,650 --> 00:13:12,250 Though he raises $48 ,000, questions arise about just how much goes to 171 00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:15,600 and just how much goes into El Gindi's pockets. 172 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:22,220 This is a message that Tony wrote about Kosovo. 173 00:13:22,840 --> 00:13:27,900 El Gindi attempts to justify his actions in a lengthy online post. 174 00:13:28,820 --> 00:13:33,900 He rambles on about how his small cash donations make a huge difference to the 175 00:13:33,900 --> 00:13:34,900 refugees. 176 00:13:35,900 --> 00:13:41,260 And in an effort to prove his goodwill, he includes dozens of letters from those 177 00:13:41,260 --> 00:13:42,260 he helped. 178 00:13:43,210 --> 00:13:45,270 But he grows tired of dodging accusations. 179 00:13:46,310 --> 00:13:51,490 He turns his attention to the website, entitypacific .com, where he's 180 00:13:51,490 --> 00:13:52,490 appreciated. 181 00:13:53,230 --> 00:13:57,490 And puts all of his energy into making it even bigger and better. 182 00:13:59,870 --> 00:14:01,350 Business thrives. 183 00:14:02,430 --> 00:14:07,310 In two years, he rakes in nearly $3 million in subscribers fees. 184 00:14:09,140 --> 00:14:13,820 Online, El -Gindi gloats about the rapport he's building with law 185 00:14:13,820 --> 00:14:18,960 agencies and boasts about initiating new federal investigations. 186 00:14:20,180 --> 00:14:24,700 In Tony's own mind, he was sort of a quasi -law enforcement official himself 187 00:14:24,700 --> 00:14:25,740 doing what he did. 188 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:29,660 So he liked talking to those kind of people and giving them information that, 189 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:32,320 you know, he thought they could use that would be helpful. 190 00:14:33,770 --> 00:14:39,510 In 2000, El Gendy meets a 37 -year -old FBI agent named Jeff Royer. 191 00:14:41,310 --> 00:14:45,450 Before long, El Gendy and Royer forge an unusual relationship. 192 00:14:47,470 --> 00:14:52,750 It's a relationship that changes the mission of Anthony Pacific from being 193 00:14:52,750 --> 00:14:54,630 board to breaking the law. 194 00:14:56,870 --> 00:15:02,290 On the clock, Royer investigates crimes on an Indian reservation in Gallup, New 195 00:15:02,290 --> 00:15:03,290 Mexico. 196 00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:08,260 But after hours, he works El Guindy's investigations. 197 00:15:09,220 --> 00:15:13,140 And what he's doing is highly unorthodox, if not illegal. 198 00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:18,620 El Guindy gives Royer the names of companies that he thinks might be 199 00:15:18,620 --> 00:15:19,620 perpetrating fraud. 200 00:15:21,340 --> 00:15:25,980 Royer runs the information through restricted, highly confidential FBI 201 00:15:25,980 --> 00:15:28,700 to see what the feds have on the company. 202 00:15:30,700 --> 00:15:33,940 Royer speaks to American Greed in a telephone interview. 203 00:15:35,920 --> 00:15:41,620 I would go on the computers in the FBI, and I would search for that company. I 204 00:15:41,620 --> 00:15:46,560 would search for the president, vice president, CEO, CFO, whatever. I would 205 00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:51,060 complete search and see if there was any SEC or FBI activity on this case. 206 00:15:51,800 --> 00:15:57,100 As an FBI agent, he had the sort of keys to the whole law enforcement library of 207 00:15:57,100 --> 00:15:59,360 what federal law enforcement was doing. 208 00:16:00,140 --> 00:16:03,500 It was everything from the write -ups of interviews with the witnesses, 209 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:08,740 descriptions of how investigations were being conducted, descriptions of 210 00:16:08,740 --> 00:16:11,420 sources, people that were providing information to the government. 211 00:16:12,180 --> 00:16:17,620 If he discovers inside information, he funnels the news to Al -Gindi. 212 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:24,480 The truth was that he was stealing information from the FBI, and they were 213 00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:28,840 that information to target specific companies for short -selling. 214 00:16:29,690 --> 00:16:31,690 stock price manipulation and extortion. 215 00:16:32,630 --> 00:16:38,730 In 2000, El -Gindi believes there's fraud taking place at Seaview, a company 216 00:16:38,730 --> 00:16:40,570 pitching underwater cameras. 217 00:16:42,030 --> 00:16:47,290 Royer taps into FBI databases and discovers an ongoing probe into the 218 00:16:47,290 --> 00:16:50,890 -based business for issuing deceptive press releases. 219 00:16:52,350 --> 00:16:54,710 He passes the tip to El -Gindi. 220 00:16:55,970 --> 00:16:59,610 Now, armed with information only investigators would know, 221 00:17:00,690 --> 00:17:06,210 El -Gindi shorts the stock and tells his Anthony Pacific subscribers to do the 222 00:17:06,210 --> 00:17:07,210 same. 223 00:17:07,930 --> 00:17:11,589 It was integral to the scheme that the site subscribers trade on the stock 224 00:17:11,589 --> 00:17:15,710 because this was a short -selling scheme. And the idea is that the short 225 00:17:15,710 --> 00:17:21,750 -selling combined with the eventual publication to the general public of 226 00:17:21,750 --> 00:17:24,430 negative information can push down the price of the stock. 227 00:17:25,859 --> 00:17:31,360 After El Guindy's attack, Seaview's stock plummets more than 70 % of its 228 00:17:31,360 --> 00:17:32,360 in 90 days. 229 00:17:34,740 --> 00:17:38,200 Eventually, the SEC files suit against the company. 230 00:17:39,780 --> 00:17:46,220 But not before El Guindy boasts about making out with $750 ,000 in a single 231 00:17:46,220 --> 00:17:47,220 trade. 232 00:17:48,500 --> 00:17:53,140 It's not pretty, it's not nice, and it's not legal. 233 00:17:55,860 --> 00:18:02,820 Next on American Greed, does El Gindi have the ultimate inside tip and profit 234 00:18:02,820 --> 00:18:03,900 a national tragedy? 235 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:07,680 There are disturbing new developments that a notorious traitor. 236 00:18:07,980 --> 00:18:10,460 This person may actually have known of the attack. 237 00:18:23,690 --> 00:18:28,950 By 2001, Anthony L. Gendy, a trader, is living the American dream. 238 00:18:30,370 --> 00:18:34,630 He's living a life of luxury and basking in Internet fame. 239 00:18:35,950 --> 00:18:37,690 But it's all about to end. 240 00:18:42,690 --> 00:18:48,650 On September 11th, the world is shocked by the devastating attacks that left 241 00:18:48,650 --> 00:18:50,510 nearly 3 ,000 people dead. 242 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:54,740 The markets go dark for more than a week. 243 00:18:57,320 --> 00:19:02,520 Its crews sift through the ashes of Ground Zero, hoping to identify the 244 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:03,520 of victims. 245 00:19:03,980 --> 00:19:06,880 The government follows every conceivable lead. 246 00:19:07,860 --> 00:19:13,200 The Department of Justice turns to Wall Street, looking for potential profiteers 247 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:14,860 of this merciless act. 248 00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:22,900 There was a task force that was put together after 9 -11 to investigate 249 00:19:22,900 --> 00:19:29,300 or not anybody had traded in advance of 9 -11 with potential knowledge of the 9 250 00:19:29,300 --> 00:19:30,300 -11 events. 251 00:19:31,280 --> 00:19:38,040 The FBI fields a number of tips, including one from a San Diego broker 252 00:19:38,040 --> 00:19:43,740 says his client, Anthony Elgendi, wanted to liquidate his accounts the day 253 00:19:43,740 --> 00:19:45,240 before the 9 -11 attacks. 254 00:19:47,850 --> 00:19:54,590 This broker contacted the FBI and had explained that this Egyptian stock 255 00:19:54,590 --> 00:19:59,830 had requested to liquidate these accounts and that the market was done. 256 00:20:00,090 --> 00:20:03,650 That's what triggered these events that brought us into the investigation. 257 00:20:04,970 --> 00:20:11,370 Dave Chaves is a supervisory special agent with the FBI and launches an 258 00:20:11,370 --> 00:20:13,290 investigation into El Gindi. 259 00:20:13,900 --> 00:20:19,360 We began by taking an aggressive look at his trading records, telephone records, 260 00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:22,520 wire transfers, monitoring internet traffic. 261 00:20:24,180 --> 00:20:30,440 Agents go undercover, posing as subscribers on anthonypacific .com. 262 00:20:31,340 --> 00:20:36,440 But instead of finding ties to terrorism, agents notice something else. 263 00:20:37,460 --> 00:20:41,320 El Guindy's reporting sensitive information on his website. 264 00:20:41,900 --> 00:20:44,480 that only FBI agents would know. 265 00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:51,600 We could start to see postings that a government official had reported that 266 00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:57,300 XYZ company or an individual, a principal or CEO of a company was in 267 00:20:57,300 --> 00:20:58,300 with the federal government. 268 00:20:58,540 --> 00:21:03,860 He would use that information knowing the direction of the case that the FBI 269 00:21:03,860 --> 00:21:04,860 involved in it. 270 00:21:06,380 --> 00:21:11,280 Jobs and his team follow a trail of phone records, e -mails, and wire 271 00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:19,420 And it leads them back to the FBI, to Jeff Royer, 272 00:21:19,460 --> 00:21:22,060 an agent in Gallup, New Mexico. 273 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:29,820 It was extremely unusual for someone that works in Gallup, New Mexico, who 274 00:21:29,820 --> 00:21:34,360 crimes on American Indian reservations, to have... 275 00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:39,320 queried nearly 3 ,000 companies when he has no business doing so. 276 00:21:39,580 --> 00:21:45,640 That immediately gave us pause and concern for what Mr. Royer was doing. 277 00:21:47,420 --> 00:21:53,600 Not knowing the full scope of Royer's relationship with the Internet trader, 278 00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:56,340 FBI interviews the New Mexico -based agent. 279 00:21:58,120 --> 00:22:01,060 Royer speaks with American Greed by phone. 280 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:09,300 They wanted to know what files I had looked at. They wanted to know what my 281 00:22:09,300 --> 00:22:14,260 relationship with Tony Algindi was, how exactly the information was flowing, the 282 00:22:14,260 --> 00:22:15,940 computer checks, telephone calls. 283 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:17,160 They ask it all. 284 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:22,140 Royer maintains he's done nothing wrong. 285 00:22:23,060 --> 00:22:27,000 He says he's sharing information because he's working a source. 286 00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:29,920 But the government sees it differently. 287 00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:32,480 It's a one -way street. 288 00:22:33,100 --> 00:22:35,260 You provide information to the government. The government doesn't 289 00:22:35,260 --> 00:22:36,260 information to you. 290 00:22:36,700 --> 00:22:42,200 And that was clearly completely outside the mission of Mr. Royer, completely 291 00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:48,100 outside the mission of the FBI. And it was clear from that that this wasn't a 292 00:22:48,100 --> 00:22:50,580 crusade for good. It was a crusade for evil. 293 00:22:52,300 --> 00:22:54,700 To Royer, the writing is on the wall. 294 00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:57,340 His FBI days are over. 295 00:22:59,220 --> 00:23:06,160 One week after the interview with the feds, He turns in his badge and packs 296 00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:11,960 bags for the sandy shores of San Diego where he goes to work for El Gendy full 297 00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:12,960 time. 298 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:18,260 But as the FBI learned, the job offer was part of the plan all along. 299 00:23:21,120 --> 00:23:26,360 El Gendy has promised Royer a job and a portion of his trading profits in 300 00:23:26,360 --> 00:23:29,640 exchange for access to his FBI files. 301 00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:37,640 I think El -Gindi always used Royer for the information flow from the FBI. 302 00:23:38,060 --> 00:23:43,540 He actually postponed his hire date on several occasions so that he could 303 00:23:43,540 --> 00:23:44,780 continue to get that information. 304 00:23:45,540 --> 00:23:49,620 It was only when we started to speak to Royer that he decided he was going to 305 00:23:49,620 --> 00:23:53,600 resign now instead of face the inquiry that was about to take place. 306 00:23:54,860 --> 00:24:01,000 To the FBI, it appears that Agent Royer is leaking confidential FBI information 307 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:03,860 on white -collar crime to El Guindi. 308 00:24:05,120 --> 00:24:10,340 Royer would identify companies that were under investigation in the FBI, convey 309 00:24:10,340 --> 00:24:11,640 that to Mr. El Guindi. 310 00:24:12,100 --> 00:24:13,900 Mr. El Guindi would take a position. 311 00:24:14,220 --> 00:24:16,220 His site members would take a position. 312 00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:19,780 And then that information would be broadcast throughout the Internet. 313 00:24:20,750 --> 00:24:24,590 collectively to create this negative sentiment towards these stocks. 314 00:24:25,070 --> 00:24:29,890 And even though Royers left the FBI, he keeps the scam running. 315 00:24:30,750 --> 00:24:36,690 He has a mole on the inside, his girlfriend, FBI agent Lynn Wingate. 316 00:24:36,890 --> 00:24:41,430 The petite blonde takes over where Royer left off and keeps the information 317 00:24:41,430 --> 00:24:43,410 flowing and the scam running. 318 00:24:45,490 --> 00:24:49,790 Chaves is stunned to learn of a second agent on the take. 319 00:24:50,730 --> 00:24:57,650 We were a little blown away with that because now the case is kind of 320 00:24:57,650 --> 00:25:00,690 creating a larger circle. 321 00:25:01,290 --> 00:25:05,450 We didn't know how extensive this was. It was bad enough one of our own was 322 00:25:05,450 --> 00:25:09,170 involved, but now we have a second agent that could be involved. 323 00:25:10,970 --> 00:25:15,930 The FBI estimates that with the information Royer and Wingate have 324 00:25:16,230 --> 00:25:18,870 El Guindy has pocketed more than $3 million. 325 00:25:20,360 --> 00:25:24,340 He's cashing in and boosting his Internet status. 326 00:25:25,220 --> 00:25:29,600 Making himself look good was very important to him because it enabled him 327 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:33,720 manipulate his site members into trading at his instruction and gave him 328 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:38,540 increased visibility and increased seeming importance with respect to the 329 00:25:38,540 --> 00:25:39,540 markets. 330 00:25:40,820 --> 00:25:46,920 And, never one to let any opportunity slip by, he's found another way to use 331 00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:47,920 insider knowledge. 332 00:25:48,860 --> 00:25:49,860 Blackmail. 333 00:25:52,170 --> 00:25:57,790 In one instance, Royer feeds Al -Gindi information that the CEO of Nuclear 334 00:25:57,790 --> 00:26:01,350 Solutions, Paul Brown, has a criminal record. 335 00:26:02,450 --> 00:26:04,150 It's like a pot of gold. 336 00:26:04,530 --> 00:26:10,890 By law, CEOs of publicly traded companies must disclose their criminal 337 00:26:11,470 --> 00:26:17,470 Al -Gindi broadcasts the information, shorts the Nuclear Solutions stock, and 338 00:26:17,470 --> 00:26:20,250 tells his website subscribers to do the same. 339 00:26:21,610 --> 00:26:24,610 And then through a series of threatening telephone calls and contacts, 340 00:26:24,850 --> 00:26:26,090 essentially Mr. 341 00:26:26,290 --> 00:26:31,150 Brown was given the proposition that either he, you know, makes Mr. El -Gindi 342 00:26:31,150 --> 00:26:37,150 away by providing him free stock or very low -cost stock, or 343 00:26:37,150 --> 00:26:39,730 he will see his company destroyed. 344 00:26:41,070 --> 00:26:46,990 Desperate to get El -Gindi off his back, the CEO agrees to give him 350 ,000 345 00:26:46,990 --> 00:26:48,610 shares in exchange. 346 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:50,840 for dropping the virtual attack. 347 00:26:51,980 --> 00:26:58,540 The CEO essentially gave in to the extortion demands, gave a block of stock 348 00:26:58,540 --> 00:27:03,500 El Gindi, and El Gindi then shared the block of stock with the other 349 00:27:03,500 --> 00:27:04,840 who had also short -sold. 350 00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:11,820 As the FBI uncovers the El Gindi scheme and the scope of the conspiracy grows, 351 00:27:12,260 --> 00:27:14,940 so does the urgency to stop El Gindi. 352 00:27:16,620 --> 00:27:22,410 During the course of its investigation, The FBI learns El -Gindi has wired $350 353 00:27:22,410 --> 00:27:25,310 ,000 to a bank in Lebanon. 354 00:27:27,070 --> 00:27:32,210 He had transferred money to Lebanon. He'd bought an apartment in Lebanon. 355 00:27:32,210 --> 00:27:36,630 opened a securities account where his address was listed as being in Lebanon. 356 00:27:38,870 --> 00:27:41,090 The pressure mounts for investigators. 357 00:27:41,670 --> 00:27:44,890 They fear El -Gindi may be preparing to run. 358 00:27:45,830 --> 00:27:47,630 And the bureau has a leak. 359 00:27:48,810 --> 00:27:50,890 FBI agent Lynn Wingate. 360 00:27:51,910 --> 00:27:56,410 She apparently had gone on the computer like in May and saw that I was actually 361 00:27:56,410 --> 00:27:57,530 being a target of investigation. 362 00:27:57,890 --> 00:28:02,710 That's when she called me, told me that I should distance myself from Tony. 363 00:28:02,810 --> 00:28:06,170 That's all she told me. And she would prefer if I came home and just got away 364 00:28:06,170 --> 00:28:07,170 from him. 365 00:28:08,730 --> 00:28:14,930 Up next on American Greed, Al Guindy takes on a new identity and makes a 366 00:28:14,930 --> 00:28:15,930 for it. 367 00:28:16,300 --> 00:28:21,620 He was stopped by TSA, questioned him, and he proceeded to tell a string of 368 00:28:21,620 --> 00:28:22,620 lies. 369 00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:40,420 For more than six months, the FBI has been watching short -seller Anthony L. 370 00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:43,560 Gindy and former FBI agent Jeff Royer. 371 00:28:45,550 --> 00:28:50,610 The two are working together to steal confidential information from FBI files. 372 00:28:51,890 --> 00:28:57,070 They are using that information to cash in with an insider trading scam. 373 00:28:57,790 --> 00:29:03,930 El Gendy, once a car salesman, now has his own Hummers, Ferraris, and a 374 00:29:05,310 --> 00:29:08,050 But his run is about to come to an end. 375 00:29:10,190 --> 00:29:14,250 The FBI knows he's stealing information and trading on it. 376 00:29:16,379 --> 00:29:18,380 Agents make their move to bring him down. 377 00:29:20,880 --> 00:29:26,140 On May 22, 2002, Elgindi is arrested at his office near San Diego. 378 00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:31,500 Jeff Royer is arrested at a friend's office. 379 00:29:33,340 --> 00:29:38,200 I was down talking on the phone, looking out, saw my friends, the SWAT team, 380 00:29:38,300 --> 00:29:42,300 enter like a side of another building or run up the alleyway. I said, it's kind 381 00:29:42,300 --> 00:29:42,999 of cool. 382 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:44,760 Our SWAT team's here doing something. 383 00:29:45,340 --> 00:29:48,780 at a place next door, and next thing you know, they're right in front of us, and 384 00:29:48,780 --> 00:29:50,360 I'm in cuffs. 385 00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:57,620 Investigators raid the homes and offices and find more evidence to support their 386 00:29:57,620 --> 00:29:58,620 suspicions. 387 00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:05,120 We found hundreds of documents from our database, sensitive, top secret, secret 388 00:30:05,120 --> 00:30:10,500 classifications, information that in the wrong hands could be damaging to the 389 00:30:10,500 --> 00:30:11,500 FBI. 390 00:30:11,760 --> 00:30:17,040 We found a number of criminal checks on various presidents of companies, CEOs, 391 00:30:17,340 --> 00:30:18,340 and other executives. 392 00:30:19,220 --> 00:30:25,440 El -Gindi and Royer, along with Royer's girlfriend, FBI agent Lynn Wingate, are 393 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:30,180 charged with insider trading, racketeering, and obstruction of 394 00:30:31,300 --> 00:30:35,840 For El -Gindi, an Arab -American, the timing couldn't be worse. 395 00:30:38,990 --> 00:30:42,610 The country is still reeling from the 9 -11 attacks. 396 00:30:44,870 --> 00:30:50,450 One of the prosecutors raises the information in which he alleges that 397 00:30:50,450 --> 00:30:56,710 Aljindi had pre -knowledge of 9 -11. And not only didn't he report it, he tried 398 00:30:56,710 --> 00:30:57,710 to profit from it. 399 00:30:59,070 --> 00:31:02,050 The news causes a media storm. 400 00:31:02,850 --> 00:31:05,770 There are disturbing new developments for the notorious trader. 401 00:31:06,460 --> 00:31:08,640 This person may actually have known of the attack. 402 00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:18,600 It was hard to imagine in early 2002 to say anything worse about somebody in the 403 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:23,000 United States than that they may have known in advance about the 9 -11 attacks 404 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:27,100 and that their only reaction was to try to profit from it in the stock market. 405 00:31:28,260 --> 00:31:30,720 Eventually, the firestorm calms down. 406 00:31:32,220 --> 00:31:35,520 Al -Gindi is not charged with profiting from 9 -11. 407 00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:41,380 And his attorney vehemently denies he knew anything about the attacks. 408 00:31:41,940 --> 00:31:43,600 It is racial profiling. 409 00:31:44,140 --> 00:31:49,080 Anyone that's from the Middle East now is, you know, the government suddenly is 410 00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:49,919 looking at them. 411 00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:53,600 It was just common knowledge that the market was falling. The funds weren't 412 00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:55,680 liquidated until September 18th. 413 00:31:56,680 --> 00:31:59,720 El -Gindi posts bail of $2 .5 million. 414 00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:02,080 He's free for now. 415 00:32:03,650 --> 00:32:06,070 He's looking at up to 20 years in prison. 416 00:32:13,230 --> 00:32:19,790 Prosecutors are preparing to take their case to trial when El Guindy makes a 417 00:32:19,790 --> 00:32:20,790 break for it. 418 00:32:21,930 --> 00:32:25,990 I got a call from the FBI telling me that he'd been arrested by state 419 00:32:25,990 --> 00:32:28,090 authorities or local authorities in Long Island. 420 00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:33,040 Airport authorities stop the embattled short -seller as he attempts to pass 421 00:32:33,040 --> 00:32:35,580 through security using a fake ID. 422 00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:43,200 He was going through and his ticket had this other name, Manny Velasco, and he 423 00:32:43,200 --> 00:32:47,200 presented his ID, which I believe was a Montana identification. 424 00:32:49,240 --> 00:32:53,220 He might have made it as Manny, but he's forgotten something. 425 00:32:55,850 --> 00:32:58,090 He's just come from a visit with his lawyer. 426 00:32:59,290 --> 00:33:04,230 He has a visitor pass with his real name, Tony Elgindi, on it. 427 00:33:05,190 --> 00:33:08,170 The TSA agent notices the discrepancy. 428 00:33:09,690 --> 00:33:15,750 Mr. Elgindi tried to deceive the officer by telling her that, in fact, Elgindi 429 00:33:15,750 --> 00:33:17,130 was the person he was visiting. 430 00:33:17,350 --> 00:33:20,890 And he provided a false story saying that he was a jeweler. 431 00:33:22,060 --> 00:33:25,720 They search his belongings and come across his real ID. 432 00:33:27,740 --> 00:33:31,960 The officer pulled out his driver's license from California that had Mr. 433 00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:37,340 Aljindi's name on it and said to Mr. Aljindi, you know, Manny, you want to 434 00:33:37,340 --> 00:33:38,259 us who you are? 435 00:33:38,260 --> 00:33:42,280 And at that point, Mr. Aljindi sort of dropped his head and eventually admitted 436 00:33:42,280 --> 00:33:44,360 that he was not Manny Velasco. 437 00:33:46,370 --> 00:33:52,870 Authorities also discover El Guindy's traveling with $30 ,000 in jewels, $25 438 00:33:52,870 --> 00:33:56,770 ,000 in cash, and dozens of blank checks. 439 00:34:00,810 --> 00:34:07,310 In a Brooklyn courtroom on November 1, 2004, opening arguments begin in the 440 00:34:07,310 --> 00:34:11,409 insider trading trial of Anthony El Guindy and Jeff Royer. 441 00:34:14,870 --> 00:34:20,909 Prosecutors allege that El Guindy used his Anthony Pacific site, or AP, to get 442 00:34:20,909 --> 00:34:25,550 his followers to do his bidding, much like a criminal gang leader. 443 00:34:28,150 --> 00:34:32,170 The AP site was the engine of the conspiracy. 444 00:34:32,510 --> 00:34:34,730 It was the enterprise of the conspiracy. 445 00:34:35,190 --> 00:34:40,650 And site members, wittingly or not, were participants in the conspiracy. 446 00:34:42,190 --> 00:34:46,130 Trading on FBI secrets was only the first part of the scam. 447 00:34:47,790 --> 00:34:52,270 Al -Gindi made his trades much more lucrative by getting his legions of 448 00:34:52,270 --> 00:34:54,830 followers to short a stock, too. 449 00:34:55,830 --> 00:35:01,130 Through his website, he was driving down prices, manipulating the market. 450 00:35:02,540 --> 00:35:07,500 This particular conduct was coordinated in a way that was meant both to take 451 00:35:07,500 --> 00:35:11,380 advantage of the information to target the companies, but also to take 452 00:35:11,380 --> 00:35:15,560 of the way of releasing this information and coordinated trading in a way that 453 00:35:15,560 --> 00:35:19,100 it could put maximum pressure on thinly traded stocks. 454 00:35:20,700 --> 00:35:25,400 Dan Cohen, an El Guindy supporter, is prepared to take the stand. 455 00:35:27,460 --> 00:35:29,200 Until he gets cold feet. 456 00:35:30,160 --> 00:35:34,400 An article in the Wall Street Journal quoted the prosecutor saying that any 457 00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:40,900 members of Tony's site that testified at the trial from the U .S. government's 458 00:35:40,900 --> 00:35:43,060 perspective would be self -incriminating themselves. 459 00:35:44,020 --> 00:35:49,920 The case turns to the defense. Former FBI agent Jeff Royer takes the stand. 460 00:35:51,120 --> 00:35:55,820 He says his motivation for sharing FBI secrets with El Guindy was pure. 461 00:35:57,670 --> 00:36:02,190 He was trying to help the FBI on its own criminal case. 462 00:36:03,390 --> 00:36:08,290 I thought my job as an FBI agent was to get as much information as I could to 463 00:36:08,290 --> 00:36:12,410 shut these companies down and to stop the stock fraud. I don't know why that's 464 00:36:12,410 --> 00:36:16,570 so hard for people to understand, and the government just wasn't buying it. I 465 00:36:16,570 --> 00:36:19,910 didn't make a single penny on it. I never asked him for a penny. There 466 00:36:19,910 --> 00:36:21,890 really any financial quid pro quo. 467 00:36:23,600 --> 00:36:28,400 The defense team also points out that the majority of companies that El Gendy 468 00:36:28,400 --> 00:36:33,620 publicly attacked with highly confidential information are in fact 469 00:36:33,620 --> 00:36:34,620 fraud. 470 00:36:35,160 --> 00:36:39,520 In other words, Anthony El Gendy was simply doing what he claimed to do, 471 00:36:39,760 --> 00:36:43,260 exposing shady companies and shorting their stock. 472 00:36:45,100 --> 00:36:47,320 The government isn't buying it. 473 00:36:48,780 --> 00:36:53,490 Whether the companies were fraudulent or not, El -Gindi still tried to 474 00:36:53,490 --> 00:36:54,830 manipulate the market. 475 00:36:55,770 --> 00:37:01,670 He used that privilege access to take advantage of his position to sell. 476 00:37:01,970 --> 00:37:05,510 And, of course, for each sale, there's a buyer on the other side who's now got a 477 00:37:05,510 --> 00:37:08,770 stock that you know is a scam and you're laughing all the way to the bank. So, 478 00:37:08,870 --> 00:37:12,230 yeah, some of the information that was right, much of it was right. Much of 479 00:37:12,230 --> 00:37:15,670 these companies were scams, but Mr. El -Gindi had no right to take advantage of 480 00:37:15,670 --> 00:37:19,770 his personal FBI agent to get that information and disadvantage the other 481 00:37:19,770 --> 00:37:20,770 participants. 482 00:37:21,800 --> 00:37:28,640 Next on American Greed, the Internet stockbroker makes a final trade, 483 00:37:28,640 --> 00:37:30,700 life of luxury for one behind bars. 484 00:37:44,740 --> 00:37:49,560 After three long months of trial, the fate of Anthony Elgindi, the notorious 485 00:37:49,560 --> 00:37:52,510 short -seller, lies in the hands of a jury. 486 00:37:52,890 --> 00:37:56,770 We're just learning that Dow Jones reports a verdict has been reached in 487 00:37:56,770 --> 00:37:58,630 criminal trial of Anthony El -Gindi. 488 00:38:00,490 --> 00:38:07,150 On January 24, 2005, the jury finds El -Gindi guilty on charges of insider 489 00:38:07,150 --> 00:38:09,470 trading, racketeering, and extortion. 490 00:38:09,830 --> 00:38:15,010 His FBI sidekick, Jeff Royer, is also convicted on securities fraud, 491 00:38:15,270 --> 00:38:18,790 racketeering conspiracy, and obstruction of justice charges. 492 00:38:20,160 --> 00:38:25,560 American Greed speaks exclusively to Royer from federal prison by telephone. 493 00:38:27,120 --> 00:38:31,260 I think the story that they were trying to tell and the reaction was getting 494 00:38:31,260 --> 00:38:34,600 from the juries that they were buying the government's side to it. It didn't 495 00:38:34,600 --> 00:38:36,960 surprise me, the verdict, when they read it. 496 00:38:37,480 --> 00:38:40,660 Obviously crushing because I knew what it was going to mean. 497 00:38:42,280 --> 00:38:46,980 It means time behind bars for both Royer and El Gendy. 498 00:38:47,790 --> 00:38:51,990 In June 2006, El -Gindi makes his final appearance in a Brooklyn federal 499 00:38:51,990 --> 00:38:52,990 courtroom. 500 00:38:53,190 --> 00:38:57,670 He makes a plea for leniency and seems to do more harm than good. 501 00:38:58,070 --> 00:39:03,370 To the very end, Mr. El -Gindi, who went on for an hour talking about himself, 502 00:39:03,750 --> 00:39:10,310 his ego got the better of him, as I think it did throughout the time that he 503 00:39:10,310 --> 00:39:15,230 involved in the securities industry, his narcissism, his ego, his desire to be 504 00:39:15,230 --> 00:39:16,230 front and center. 505 00:39:16,800 --> 00:39:21,840 to inflate himself at the expense of others, was communicated through the 506 00:39:21,840 --> 00:39:25,040 and through sentencing to the judge, and he gave him a sentence that indicated 507 00:39:25,040 --> 00:39:26,040 that. 508 00:39:26,160 --> 00:39:30,220 El -Gindi is sentenced to 11 years behind bars. 509 00:39:31,400 --> 00:39:37,220 The judge afterwards called Mr. El -Gindi a master manipulator. He said 510 00:39:37,220 --> 00:39:43,760 all of the years that he's been a judge or a lawyer, Mr. El -Gindi was perhaps 511 00:39:43,760 --> 00:39:46,260 the most manipulative person that he'd... Run across. 512 00:39:47,240 --> 00:39:54,160 After taking home $364 ,000 from insider trades, El Guindi must pay back $1 513 00:39:54,160 --> 00:39:57,680 .5 million for his role as leader of the conspiracy. 514 00:39:58,080 --> 00:40:02,480 He must forfeit his possessions, including his glamorous home. 515 00:40:03,660 --> 00:40:08,600 Prison officials denied a request from American Greed to interview El Guindi. 516 00:40:09,580 --> 00:40:15,620 El Guindi's co -conspirator, rogue FBI agent Jeff Royer, is convicted of 517 00:40:15,620 --> 00:40:19,860 stealing confidential FBI information, and gets six years in prison. 518 00:40:21,920 --> 00:40:25,700 It seems his only regret is not taking a plea. 519 00:40:27,280 --> 00:40:30,340 I had no idea that the sentencing would be that rough. 520 00:40:30,700 --> 00:40:34,100 I was thinking, you know, because I was offered a three -year plea. If I would 521 00:40:34,100 --> 00:40:40,780 have taken a plea early on, offered three years, and I had no clue I was 522 00:40:40,780 --> 00:40:41,780 to get six years. 523 00:40:43,500 --> 00:40:48,900 In all, six others are charged in the conspiracy and plead guilty, including 524 00:40:48,900 --> 00:40:50,360 agent Lynn Wingate. 525 00:40:51,240 --> 00:40:56,340 The federal agents and prosecutors who worked the case are saddened that Royer, 526 00:40:56,460 --> 00:40:58,160 one of their own, was corrupted. 527 00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:03,900 The conduct of this one agent tarnishes the badge of the FBI. 528 00:41:05,140 --> 00:41:11,420 We don't find people like this. They find us. And although this is very 529 00:41:12,080 --> 00:41:13,700 hiring process here in the Bureau. 530 00:41:14,140 --> 00:41:18,660 No matter where you are, in corporate America or elsewhere, every once in a 531 00:41:18,660 --> 00:41:22,000 while, you're going to have somebody that comes in that doesn't have the 532 00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:23,000 intentions. 533 00:41:23,880 --> 00:41:29,460 But they say, ultimately, the case reassures them that the system works. 534 00:41:29,980 --> 00:41:35,680 This scam may have gone on for some time. It was destined for failure, 535 00:41:35,680 --> 00:41:40,800 ultimately, because at some point, when you use FBI resources, 536 00:41:41,670 --> 00:41:45,630 The FBI is going to catch on. He used SEC resources. The SEC is going to catch 537 00:41:45,630 --> 00:41:49,710 on. So to some extent it was doomed by failure, but 9 -11 certainly accelerated 538 00:41:49,710 --> 00:41:50,710 that process. 539 00:41:50,950 --> 00:41:54,590 It just goes to show that the FBI is not going to tolerate that kind of behavior 540 00:41:54,590 --> 00:41:55,590 within its ranks. 541 00:41:56,110 --> 00:42:00,270 It was an extraordinary investigation in the amount of resources and the 542 00:42:00,270 --> 00:42:03,370 personal and professional dedication of all the agents involved. 543 00:42:03,710 --> 00:42:07,770 It was really a shining example of how a law enforcement agency addresses a 544 00:42:07,770 --> 00:42:08,770 problem from within. 545 00:42:09,480 --> 00:42:15,260 It's El Gindi's insatiable desire for more that leads to his own undoing. 546 00:42:16,060 --> 00:42:20,560 El Gindi used his intelligence in the wrong way. 547 00:42:21,240 --> 00:42:28,020 I think he could have been a very productive person, a very accomplished 548 00:42:28,240 --> 00:42:34,280 if he had his values where they should be. If you're out there doing wrong, 549 00:42:34,640 --> 00:42:37,020 there's going to be some event that's triggered. 550 00:42:38,320 --> 00:42:40,960 That's going to have the FBI looking into you. 551 00:42:41,980 --> 00:42:47,440 For whatever reason, the way this world works, that seems to catch up with you 552 00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:50,640 almost every time. That greed will catch up with you.