1 00:00:04,010 --> 00:00:09,870 In this episode of American Greed, safe money specialist Paul Cruz promises big 2 00:00:09,870 --> 00:00:15,430 returns while stealing his client's life savings. He was arrogant, he was 3 00:00:15,430 --> 00:00:18,610 greedy, he was evil. Money starts flowing. 4 00:00:19,190 --> 00:00:23,890 400 ,000 in, 400 ,000 out. And Cruz lives large. 5 00:00:24,210 --> 00:00:29,550 He was dating an exotic dancer and actually was paying for breast 6 00:00:30,190 --> 00:00:32,009 Out of these people's hard -earned money. 7 00:00:32,210 --> 00:00:36,770 His assistant says he makes an indecent proposal to her teenage daughter. 8 00:00:37,110 --> 00:00:39,850 I'll buy you a BMW if you would show me your boobs. 9 00:00:40,150 --> 00:00:42,510 And she's left with only one choice. 10 00:00:42,850 --> 00:00:46,130 Taking his ass out. You want me to put that more mildly? 11 00:00:46,410 --> 00:00:47,570 I'd rather not. 12 00:00:47,910 --> 00:00:53,450 And even from jail, Cruz proves he's no average white -collar crook. I sometimes 13 00:00:53,450 --> 00:00:54,349 like to call it. 14 00:00:54,350 --> 00:00:59,130 my breaking bad case. It takes a really big leap for most people to go from 15 00:00:59,130 --> 00:01:01,850 financial crime to wanting to kill people. 16 00:01:02,110 --> 00:01:06,430 Hey, is there any problem with having these people grieving? 17 00:01:24,330 --> 00:01:30,170 A once successful financial pro named Paul Cruz sits locked up here at the 18 00:01:30,170 --> 00:01:33,270 County Correctional Facility outside Jacksonville, Florida. 19 00:01:33,790 --> 00:01:38,850 He's facing charges that with the help of his brother John, he's taken the life 20 00:01:38,850 --> 00:01:42,790 savings of former clients, friends, and even family members. 21 00:01:43,470 --> 00:01:48,470 Though Cruz has already signed a confession, he's now decided he's not 22 00:01:48,470 --> 00:01:49,690 down so easy. 23 00:01:50,090 --> 00:01:52,310 He went from zero to 60. 24 00:01:52,830 --> 00:01:55,170 And I think it showed his true colors. 25 00:01:55,450 --> 00:02:00,130 He did not want to be held responsible for what he had done. 26 00:02:00,490 --> 00:02:05,590 For weeks, Cruz has been angrily plotting revenge and meticulously 27 00:02:05,590 --> 00:02:07,630 murder of the woman who turned him in. 28 00:02:08,690 --> 00:02:12,430 Today, he's eager to hear the news that will mean his freedom. 29 00:02:13,010 --> 00:02:15,030 What's happening, man? Tell me the good news. 30 00:02:15,570 --> 00:02:17,770 Well, you sure you want to stop them, right? 31 00:02:18,030 --> 00:02:19,030 Yep. 32 00:02:19,470 --> 00:02:21,690 All right. Here's the news. Sit down. 33 00:02:22,300 --> 00:02:23,079 Yeah, I am. 34 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:24,039 All right. 35 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:27,380 Lisa's in the trunk of my car right now as I'm driving down the interstate, 36 00:02:27,500 --> 00:02:28,700 okay? Okay. 37 00:02:29,420 --> 00:02:30,600 What do you think of that, buddy? 38 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:32,000 I think that's awesome. 39 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:46,740 Paul Cruz has come a long way from his youth. 40 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:51,240 He's the son of a traveling pastor who built churches by hand. 41 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:58,280 To Cruz and his seven brothers and sisters, luxury was a stranger, hunger a 42 00:02:58,280 --> 00:02:59,280 constant companion. 43 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:05,240 Always we were cramped into one - and two -bedroom houses. 44 00:03:05,900 --> 00:03:08,920 At Christmastime, there was no money for gifts. 45 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:16,000 There seemed to be a virtue with my father and mother of being 46 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:21,500 poor. Dave Cruz says that his younger brother Paul doesn't buy into the virtue 47 00:03:21,500 --> 00:03:22,640 of being poor. 48 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:28,220 I think he was obsessed with fine things, even from the very beginning. 49 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:35,480 After studying theology in college, Paul works as a youth minister for a short 50 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:40,100 stretch. But the paper he likes isn't inscribed with the good word. 51 00:03:40,380 --> 00:03:43,000 It's the kind you fold up and put in your wallet. 52 00:03:44,990 --> 00:03:49,630 Eventually, Paul leaves the church. Dave says that he then works for the time as 53 00:03:49,630 --> 00:03:50,930 a developer in Nebraska. 54 00:03:51,470 --> 00:03:55,330 He uses his silver tongue to bring in investors. 55 00:03:55,850 --> 00:04:01,010 He was very convincing and could lure anybody in. 56 00:04:01,290 --> 00:04:06,470 Dave says his brother's construction deal goes bust, leaving investors 57 00:04:06,470 --> 00:04:07,950 angry and ripped off. 58 00:04:08,350 --> 00:04:11,950 The investors put contracts out on his life. 59 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:16,519 This one guy was so angry that he wanted to kill him. 60 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:25,260 Cruz heads west, and in the early 1980s, he joins his older brother John at a 61 00:04:25,260 --> 00:04:29,720 company selling mutual funds and insurance to military families. 62 00:04:30,340 --> 00:04:34,680 There, both brothers build trusting relationships with numerous clients. 63 00:04:35,420 --> 00:04:39,280 Court filings and co -workers reveal that Paul is successful. 64 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:43,540 And his brother Dave says that he gets used to living the good life. 65 00:04:43,900 --> 00:04:50,840 He was going to expensive ski resorts and drove the latest model Mercedes. 66 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:55,420 Usually it was over $100 ,000 cars that he was driving. 67 00:04:56,020 --> 00:04:59,540 But this first taste of real wealth won't last forever. 68 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:07,000 In 2001, after 20 years at the firm, Cruz is fired, cutting him off from the 69 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:08,780 luxuries he's grown to enjoy. 70 00:05:09,710 --> 00:05:15,830 He was really lost then and was selling shoes for a while, just enough money to 71 00:05:15,830 --> 00:05:16,830 exist. 72 00:05:17,890 --> 00:05:23,030 Cruz makes his way to Jacksonville, Florida, where he scrapes by for the 73 00:05:23,030 --> 00:05:25,690 few years working as a financial advisor. 74 00:05:26,470 --> 00:05:31,830 Among the clients he brings in is Darlene Mae Jones, a Cruz family friend. 75 00:05:32,410 --> 00:05:37,430 She and her then -husband first go to Paul for investment help in 2003. 76 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:42,080 When we first invested, we had, I think, about $28 ,000. 77 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:47,120 And within two years, we had about $46 ,000. 78 00:05:47,780 --> 00:05:52,480 At that point in time, we really felt like Paul had done what we wanted him to 79 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:54,480 do. And he was just there for us. 80 00:05:55,520 --> 00:06:01,920 Then, in 2010, Cruz sets up Yorkshire Financial Services, a company that will 81 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:03,720 his ticket back to the good life. 82 00:06:04,780 --> 00:06:10,050 Calling himself a safe money specialist, Cruz goes looking for clients. 83 00:06:10,950 --> 00:06:16,270 When Jones retires from her job as a general manager at Pizza Hut, she saved 84 00:06:16,270 --> 00:06:17,970 more than $100 ,000. 85 00:06:18,870 --> 00:06:21,410 Once again, Cruz says he can help. 86 00:06:22,150 --> 00:06:26,190 He convinces her to invest her money in the stock market through his new 87 00:06:26,190 --> 00:06:27,190 company. 88 00:06:27,530 --> 00:06:32,610 I had utmost confidence that it was going to be okay. 89 00:06:32,910 --> 00:06:37,650 I felt like, since I'd worked with Paul before, that he was honest with me. 90 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:42,960 and that he was going to do what was best for me and that my money would grow 91 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:45,220 and I would be well set for my future. 92 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:50,800 When Joan signs up, Cruz tells her that she's made the right decision by 93 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:53,720 investing with the company he just started. 94 00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:58,140 Dear Darlene, it is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the family of 95 00:06:58,140 --> 00:07:00,420 Yorkshire Financial Services Group, LLC. 96 00:07:01,280 --> 00:07:05,660 Yorkshire Financial Services has over 30 years of continuous operation, making 97 00:07:05,660 --> 00:07:08,680 us one of the oldest financial services in the United States. 98 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:14,220 Additionally, we have investors from all over the globe. Thank you for giving us 99 00:07:14,220 --> 00:07:18,180 your confidence. With warmest regards, Paul S. Cruz, President. 100 00:07:19,380 --> 00:07:23,420 Jones isn't the only one to hear Cruz's pitch about Yorkshire Financial. 101 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:28,960 He tells others that the company consists of a team of sophisticated 102 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:33,280 with the skills to beat the market. They thought the money would be traded in 103 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:37,600 stocks, bonds, and securities that would be relatively safe and appropriate for 104 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:38,600 a retirement investment. 105 00:07:39,120 --> 00:07:44,540 Cruz guarantees that investors' principle will remain safe and that 106 00:07:44,540 --> 00:07:47,360 range between a robust 10 and 15 percent. 107 00:07:47,700 --> 00:07:52,300 It's a comforting pitch tailored toward people who don't have extra money to 108 00:07:52,300 --> 00:07:53,300 throw around. 109 00:07:54,330 --> 00:07:59,430 People that worked hard their whole lives. Good people, good, honest 110 00:07:59,430 --> 00:08:00,430 individuals. 111 00:08:00,950 --> 00:08:02,390 Just trying to make it. 112 00:08:02,870 --> 00:08:04,550 And he just stole from them. 113 00:08:06,210 --> 00:08:11,710 Next on American Greed, Paul Cruz learns the hard way. Never cross an assistant 114 00:08:11,710 --> 00:08:13,570 who has the power to ruin you. 115 00:08:13,930 --> 00:08:18,230 He was going down one way or the other. If it wasn't going to be on finding out 116 00:08:18,230 --> 00:08:21,410 how he's spending this money, it was going to go a whole different route. 117 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:46,380 Paul Cruz runs Yorkshire Financial Services from his home office in a quiet 118 00:08:46,380 --> 00:08:48,880 suburban neighborhood in Jacksonville, Florida. 119 00:08:50,100 --> 00:08:54,660 Eventually, he invites a mother of six named Amy Weatherford to live with him 120 00:08:54,660 --> 00:09:00,020 here. Cruz knows her sister, and when he learns Weatherford has fallen on hard 121 00:09:00,020 --> 00:09:01,900 times, he makes her a deal. 122 00:09:02,220 --> 00:09:06,940 Paul was lonely, and he said, you know what, why don't you just move in my 123 00:09:06,940 --> 00:09:12,010 house? Rent free, buy some groceries, clean up, do a couple of personal 124 00:09:12,010 --> 00:09:18,410 for me. I really thought I was with a good Christian man as a friend, just 125 00:09:18,410 --> 00:09:20,810 helping me out, and I'm helping him out at the same time. 126 00:09:21,550 --> 00:09:24,810 Eventually, Weatherford and two of her children move in. 127 00:09:26,290 --> 00:09:31,590 She says that at first, she knows little about Cruz's business, beyond the fact 128 00:09:31,590 --> 00:09:33,550 that he's very disorganized. 129 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:37,180 But it's not hard to notice that he's burning through cash. 130 00:09:37,780 --> 00:09:41,440 It's like he would have money, big money, and then he'd be broke at the end 131 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:43,100 the month and, of course, borrow money off of me. 132 00:09:43,640 --> 00:09:47,020 That's not the only strange thing she sees at Cruz's home. 133 00:09:47,460 --> 00:09:51,000 I went into his bedroom because he had papers all over everything, and he was 134 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:52,180 signing their names. 135 00:09:52,560 --> 00:09:56,880 I said, what are you doing? And he goes, I'm signing the client's names. I said, 136 00:09:56,920 --> 00:09:58,140 you got a power of attorney for that? 137 00:09:58,680 --> 00:10:00,120 And he goes, of course I do. 138 00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:02,740 Weatherford keeps her mouth shut. 139 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:04,480 For now. 140 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:11,040 A few months after he begins bringing in investors, Paul's brother John joins 141 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:12,040 him at Yorkshire. 142 00:10:12,700 --> 00:10:18,120 A seasoned broker in the small town of Oak Harbor, Washington, John has long 143 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:20,420 -standing relationships with many clients. 144 00:10:20,760 --> 00:10:25,140 Some of these people come from the nearby naval base, and he set up their 145 00:10:25,140 --> 00:10:26,140 retirement accounts. 146 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:29,440 Now he has a new place where they should put their money. 147 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:30,940 Yorkshire Financial. 148 00:10:31,610 --> 00:10:36,510 Most of the investors were brought in by Jonathan, and Jonathan going back and 149 00:10:36,510 --> 00:10:40,870 recontacting his clients and telling them that his brother Paul had something 150 00:10:40,870 --> 00:10:43,550 new that was better with higher returns. 151 00:10:43,850 --> 00:10:45,070 It was guaranteed. 152 00:10:45,430 --> 00:10:50,390 You won't lose your money. And just really selling it as something that was 153 00:10:50,390 --> 00:10:51,570 and high return. 154 00:10:51,990 --> 00:10:57,810 In an email exchange, one investor pushes John, asking if this is truly a 155 00:10:57,810 --> 00:10:59,530 place to invest his life savings. 156 00:11:00,140 --> 00:11:04,060 Jonathan responds very quickly with, this is 100 % safe. You know, this is 157 00:11:04,060 --> 00:11:08,760 something I would put my own money in. I would never take your money and risk it 158 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:10,580 in that way because I know this is your retirement money. 159 00:11:12,140 --> 00:11:17,520 Paul Cruz does make two initial investments, but returns are nowhere 160 00:11:17,520 --> 00:11:18,900 % to 15 % he's promised. 161 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:23,380 After this, he makes no further efforts to invest his clients' savings. 162 00:11:24,220 --> 00:11:26,500 Yorkshire Financial is an illusion. 163 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:29,480 There were no traders. There was no staff. 164 00:11:29,740 --> 00:11:32,280 It wasn't trading in stocks or bonds. It was all lie. 165 00:11:33,380 --> 00:11:35,760 So where is investors' money going? 166 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:41,960 Prosecutors say that for his recruiting efforts, John receives $100 ,000. 167 00:11:42,780 --> 00:11:45,260 The rest of the money remains with Paul. 168 00:11:47,130 --> 00:11:52,070 Months after moving in with Cruz, Amy Weatherford notices he's kicked his 169 00:11:52,070 --> 00:11:53,850 spending into overdrive. 170 00:11:54,150 --> 00:11:56,310 He bought a Jaguar. He bought a Mercedes. 171 00:11:56,510 --> 00:12:03,190 He had his whole 1994 BMW revamped into gator colors, so it looked like a gator 172 00:12:03,190 --> 00:12:04,190 BMW. 173 00:12:04,650 --> 00:12:06,050 That was pretty cool, though. 174 00:12:06,990 --> 00:12:12,970 Nearly $300 ,000 comes out of Cruz's bank accounts as cash withdrawals. 175 00:12:13,210 --> 00:12:15,210 He starts dating a stripper. 176 00:12:15,850 --> 00:12:21,790 showering her with jewelry, clothes, trips, and a certain medical 177 00:12:22,270 --> 00:12:24,310 He bought her a boob job for five grand. 178 00:12:24,930 --> 00:12:30,650 We got a $5 ,000 bill that he paid out of these people's hard -earned money. 179 00:12:30,910 --> 00:12:33,690 I mean, I think that's pretty despicable. 180 00:12:34,890 --> 00:12:40,630 Cruz also spends hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy part of a stone 181 00:12:40,630 --> 00:12:41,630 in Jacksonville. 182 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:46,940 And he spends more than $100 ,000 turning this somewhat average home in a 183 00:12:46,940 --> 00:12:49,940 -class neighborhood into a middle -aged bachelor pad. 184 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:57,080 The centerpiece is the yard, which he tricks out with a $7 ,500 grill and a 185 00:12:57,080 --> 00:13:01,940 large fountain that Weatherford calls the ugliest thing I ever saw in my life. 186 00:13:02,820 --> 00:13:07,340 Though they don't know it, Cruz's hard -working investors are footing the bill. 187 00:13:08,140 --> 00:13:11,120 I mean, this was their nest egg to supplement their life. 188 00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:14,860 So he's actually looking people straight in the eyes and saying, I'm going to 189 00:13:14,860 --> 00:13:18,880 take care of your future. And he knows at the same time, in his heart of 190 00:13:19,020 --> 00:13:20,700 that he's stealing their future. 191 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:26,200 Oddly, it's not Cruz's wild spending that will be his undoing. 192 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:30,320 A few months after meeting him, Weatherford confronts Cruz. 193 00:13:30,680 --> 00:13:35,800 She says she's caught him sending inappropriate text messages to her 17 194 00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:36,800 -old daughter. 195 00:13:36,810 --> 00:13:40,050 I'll buy you a BMW if you would show me your boobs. 196 00:13:40,410 --> 00:13:41,990 You don't have to tell your mother. 197 00:13:42,470 --> 00:13:43,470 Stuff like that. 198 00:13:43,910 --> 00:13:46,370 I mean, lewd and lascivious in this county. 199 00:13:46,870 --> 00:13:51,970 I just, I was so mad at him, okay? Because this was my kid and we were 200 00:13:51,970 --> 00:13:54,710 to be friends. How dare you, right? I told him. 201 00:13:55,110 --> 00:13:58,990 They won't find your body parts if you ever make a pass at my kid again. How 202 00:13:58,990 --> 00:14:00,610 dare you? That's about the bottom line. 203 00:14:01,430 --> 00:14:05,670 When asked about this by American Greed, Cruz did not deny the story. 204 00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:11,660 After Weatherford first discovers the texts, she decides she wants revenge. 205 00:14:12,780 --> 00:14:17,100 She has an inkling that something is fishy at Yorkshire and feels there's 206 00:14:17,100 --> 00:14:18,100 one option. 207 00:14:18,540 --> 00:14:20,020 Taking his ass out. 208 00:14:20,780 --> 00:14:22,640 You want me to put that more mildly? 209 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:28,660 I'd rather not. He was going down one way or the other. If it wasn't going to 210 00:14:28,660 --> 00:14:32,380 on the paperwork and finding out how he's spending this money, it was going 211 00:14:32,380 --> 00:14:33,440 go a whole different route. 212 00:14:34,110 --> 00:14:36,610 It didn't matter, you know, but this guy was gone. 213 00:14:37,230 --> 00:14:40,130 To take him down, she needs more information. 214 00:14:40,770 --> 00:14:45,810 She knows Cruz needs help getting organized and goes to him with a 215 00:14:46,370 --> 00:14:50,610 I said, look, Paul, if you need to get these promissory notes out or whatever 216 00:14:50,610 --> 00:14:55,230 you need to get done, let me do it for you as a part -time job and we'll be 217 00:14:55,230 --> 00:14:55,889 to go. 218 00:14:55,890 --> 00:14:59,350 He was all for it. It was like he trusted me completely. 219 00:14:59,770 --> 00:15:00,770 What a fool. 220 00:15:01,710 --> 00:15:02,710 What a fool. 221 00:15:03,950 --> 00:15:08,810 Coming up on American Greed, Paul Cruz's plans turn deadly. 222 00:15:09,050 --> 00:15:11,590 I sometimes like to call it my breaking bad faith. 223 00:15:11,810 --> 00:15:16,510 It takes a really big leap to go from financial crime to wanting to kill 224 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:39,080 After allegedly trying to seduce her teenage daughter, Paul Cruz agreed to 225 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:42,180 Amy Weatherford help him with his fraudulent company's books. 226 00:15:42,780 --> 00:15:45,940 He thinks she's there to help, but she's not. 227 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:51,220 Looking at Cruz's bank records for a single month, what she sees is shocking. 228 00:15:51,860 --> 00:15:54,820 $400 ,000 in, $400 ,000 out. 229 00:15:56,400 --> 00:15:57,880 How do you spend that in a month? 230 00:15:58,720 --> 00:15:59,800 I don't know. 231 00:16:00,270 --> 00:16:03,970 I don't know what he was spending it on. All I saw was cars, jewelry, trips. 232 00:16:04,310 --> 00:16:07,350 But she's doing more than just sneaking a glance. 233 00:16:07,910 --> 00:16:11,110 I copied everything because I knew something was wrong. 234 00:16:11,350 --> 00:16:13,730 How can he do this and I'm not seeing investment? 235 00:16:14,130 --> 00:16:18,470 There is nothing in any of the files for stocks, bonds, anything. 236 00:16:19,550 --> 00:16:21,110 So I emailed the FBI. 237 00:16:21,570 --> 00:16:24,670 And I swear to God, the very next day I got a call from Byron Thompson. 238 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:31,740 At the end of March 2011, Paul Cruz takes a trip to China, and Weatherford 239 00:16:31,740 --> 00:16:36,720 brings agent Byron Thompson this huge box of papers from Yorkshire Financial. 240 00:16:37,380 --> 00:16:41,360 It's not long before he realizes that Cruz's operation is a scam. 241 00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:46,660 What's not so clear to him is how and why Cruz turned bad. 242 00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:48,540 He's a confusing individual. 243 00:16:48,980 --> 00:16:53,020 I looked a lot at his background, and I learned about two different people. 244 00:16:53,630 --> 00:16:59,650 The early Paul Cruz was a licensed securities broker who legitimately 245 00:16:59,650 --> 00:17:00,650 people's money. 246 00:17:00,670 --> 00:17:06,190 And then at some point, not knowing how it happened, he came up with this scheme 247 00:17:06,190 --> 00:17:11,369 that to me was just so callous and brazen because he knew these people 248 00:17:11,369 --> 00:17:16,410 well. And he knew the money that he was taking from them was all they had and in 249 00:17:16,410 --> 00:17:18,430 some instances all they were ever going to have. 250 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:26,880 In July, Agent Thompson heads from Florida to Washington State, where John 251 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:29,560 has recruited the bulk of the scam's victims. 252 00:17:30,020 --> 00:17:34,160 When I went out to greet some of these people for the first time who were their 253 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:39,280 long -term friends, associates, and knew them well, some of them it was pretty 254 00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:42,440 difficult to convince that there was a scam at all. 255 00:17:42,700 --> 00:17:46,440 They thought their money was still safe, and they hadn't experienced a problem 256 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:47,440 out of it. 257 00:17:47,570 --> 00:17:51,510 Thompson says that for some, the conversations are difficult. 258 00:17:52,130 --> 00:17:56,710 Some people, you know, the light comes on and they realize, oh my goodness, you 259 00:17:56,710 --> 00:18:00,670 know, this person I've trusted for all these years that knew, you know, I'm not 260 00:18:00,670 --> 00:18:05,110 a wealthy person, this is my life savings, they've stolen our money. 261 00:18:05,710 --> 00:18:11,010 That fall, hoping they can stop the bleeding, the feds begin seizing Cruz's 262 00:18:11,010 --> 00:18:12,010 assets. 263 00:18:12,110 --> 00:18:16,590 Agent Thompson meets with Paul Cruz, but he says he won't talk. 264 00:18:18,060 --> 00:18:23,720 By the end of 2011, investor Darlene Jones has begun to notice that her safe 265 00:18:23,720 --> 00:18:26,220 investment might not be so safe. 266 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:28,920 She's having trouble getting money from Cruz. 267 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:33,100 Paul kept telling me, he said, you don't understand what's going on. 268 00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:35,320 That's all he would tell me. 269 00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:38,240 He said, there's some things going on and you don't understand. 270 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:42,380 And I said, no, Paul, I don't. I don't know what's going on. I said, am I going 271 00:18:42,380 --> 00:18:43,960 to get a check? He said, I'm not sure. 272 00:18:44,800 --> 00:18:46,160 We'll have to see what happens. 273 00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:52,520 What happens is that one month later, FBI agent Thompson's phone rings. 274 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:54,280 It's Paul Cruz. 275 00:18:55,040 --> 00:19:00,060 He called me and said that he was tired of fighting the case, that I knew he was 276 00:19:00,060 --> 00:19:04,060 guilty and he knew he was guilty, and he wanted to come in and just face what he 277 00:19:04,060 --> 00:19:04,899 had done. 278 00:19:04,900 --> 00:19:09,420 Two days later, Cruz comes to the federal building in Jacksonville where 279 00:19:09,420 --> 00:19:10,860 signs a written confession. 280 00:19:11,380 --> 00:19:15,680 A portion of that statement read, investors were not told the truth about 281 00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:20,290 investments. Sometimes I solicited investors, and sometimes they were 282 00:19:20,290 --> 00:19:21,910 by my brother, Jonathan Cruz. 283 00:19:22,450 --> 00:19:26,590 I am remorseful for what I've done. I've hurt a lot of people by stealing their 284 00:19:26,590 --> 00:19:27,590 retirement savings. 285 00:19:27,970 --> 00:19:32,570 It is my desire today to take full responsibility for what I've done. It 286 00:19:32,570 --> 00:19:36,650 like a Ponzi scheme, and I'm admitting I'm guilty because I am guilty. 287 00:19:36,870 --> 00:19:39,330 And it was signed, Paul S. Cruz. 288 00:19:40,410 --> 00:19:44,590 For Thompson, it feels like it's time to close the book on Cruz. 289 00:19:45,340 --> 00:19:47,120 I thought that was the end of the case. 290 00:19:47,620 --> 00:19:50,160 It just seemed like all of the fight had gone out of him. 291 00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:55,100 He wanted to admit what he had done wrong, and he told his attorney, in 292 00:19:55,100 --> 00:19:58,300 your advice, this is what I want to do. I want this case over with. I want to 293 00:19:58,300 --> 00:19:59,800 plead guilty because I am guilty. 294 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:05,100 But the odyssey of Paul Cruz is far from over. 295 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:11,100 Shortly after Cruz confesses to FBI agents in Florida, his brother John is 296 00:20:11,100 --> 00:20:13,160 behind bars in Washington State. 297 00:20:15,180 --> 00:20:19,820 But his situation has nothing to do with preying on financial victims. 298 00:20:21,120 --> 00:20:26,740 He's been arrested at this gas station picnic table trying to meet a girl who 299 00:20:26,740 --> 00:20:29,020 thinks is just 13 years old. 300 00:20:29,300 --> 00:20:34,400 Jonathan Cruz had been arrested in connection with a catch -a -predator 301 00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:38,520 investigation by the local authorities there in Washington State. 302 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:43,000 He had gone to have sex with a minor child. 303 00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:47,500 In fact, his criminal history had shown that that wasn't the first time. 304 00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:53,640 Court records say that John Cruz has an extensive history of sexual deviance 305 00:20:53,640 --> 00:20:58,880 dating back years, and the judge sentences him to serve at least four 306 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:00,740 ten months in state prison. 307 00:21:01,220 --> 00:21:06,560 Then in March 2012, a grand jury in Florida looking at the Yorkshire case 308 00:21:06,560 --> 00:21:12,400 indicts both Cruz brothers on one charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. 309 00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:18,960 A few months later, John is brought to the East Coast and locked up in the same 310 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:20,060 facility as Paul. 311 00:21:20,980 --> 00:21:26,240 Apparently, this, coupled with his sex crime arrest, is too much for John to 312 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:29,460 handle. He ended up hanging himself. 313 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:33,340 He didn't leave a note. He left no reason why. 314 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:38,060 But I think we can just put things together. He was 65. 315 00:21:38,820 --> 00:21:41,300 He had had a troubled past with children. 316 00:21:41,930 --> 00:21:45,650 And then he's looking at probably somewhere around close to 10 years on a 317 00:21:45,650 --> 00:21:46,589 federal charge. 318 00:21:46,590 --> 00:21:50,450 And he just apparently could not live with himself and took his own life. 319 00:21:52,910 --> 00:21:57,610 Paul Cruz has already confessed to running the Yorkshire investment scheme 320 00:21:57,610 --> 00:22:02,990 got his brother in trouble with the feds. But after John's suicide, he's 321 00:22:02,990 --> 00:22:03,990 blaming himself. 322 00:22:04,270 --> 00:22:10,050 He didn't take any responsibility whatsoever for getting his brother 323 00:22:10,700 --> 00:22:14,160 in his plan to defraud his friends and family. 324 00:22:14,460 --> 00:22:16,460 He put it on somebody else. 325 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:24,400 Next on American Greed, Paul Cruz devises a murderous plan to get out of 326 00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:26,120 and get revenge. 327 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:31,780 Hey, is there any problem with having these people cremated? 328 00:22:43,630 --> 00:22:46,230 It's just days after his brother's suicide. 329 00:22:46,590 --> 00:22:53,190 And on July 31, 2012, authorities move Paul Cruz to the Baker County Detention 330 00:22:53,190 --> 00:22:58,810 Center. Inside, he shares a cell with a man named Dre, who was locked up facing 331 00:22:58,810 --> 00:23:00,130 federal drug charges. 332 00:23:00,950 --> 00:23:04,850 Dre seems like a guy who knows how to make bad things happen. 333 00:23:05,130 --> 00:23:09,590 And Cruz asks him for the name of someone who can do a couple of jobs. 334 00:23:10,150 --> 00:23:11,170 Paul Cruz. 335 00:23:11,840 --> 00:23:13,400 trusted his cellmate. 336 00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:20,020 It may be because he thought that the cellmate had what we call street cred 337 00:23:20,020 --> 00:23:26,220 that he believed that he, the cellmate, could help him out and get him somebody 338 00:23:26,220 --> 00:23:27,260 that was an enforcer. 339 00:23:27,700 --> 00:23:33,920 Dre is more than happy to help Cruz find an enforcer. And on September 4th, he 340 00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:38,000 places a call to a man on the outside named John O 'Leary. 341 00:23:41,360 --> 00:23:44,220 Hello? Hello, this is a free call from... Dre. 342 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:48,320 An inmate at... Baker County Detention Center. 343 00:23:49,360 --> 00:23:54,900 Once he's got John on the line, Dre hands the phone to Cruz, who isn't 344 00:23:54,900 --> 00:23:56,080 get right down to business. 345 00:23:57,140 --> 00:23:58,099 Hey, John. 346 00:23:58,100 --> 00:23:59,100 Hey, what's up, man? 347 00:23:59,580 --> 00:24:06,340 Uh, hey, I'm, um, a friend of Dre's, and I asked him to, 348 00:24:06,360 --> 00:24:09,540 you know, give me a couple enforcers and do a couple jobs. 349 00:24:10,670 --> 00:24:13,590 Okay. And so he gave me you. 350 00:24:14,430 --> 00:24:20,150 Okay. And so I'm going to court tomorrow. 351 00:24:20,790 --> 00:24:25,790 And Amy Weatherford is the star witness to the case. 352 00:24:26,450 --> 00:24:31,430 And if there's no Amy Weatherford, there's no case. 353 00:24:32,050 --> 00:24:33,170 I understand. 354 00:24:33,970 --> 00:24:37,770 It's hard not to understand the meaning of this call. 355 00:24:38,430 --> 00:24:42,590 Cruz thinks that making Amy Weatherford disappear will make the case against Tim 356 00:24:42,590 --> 00:24:43,670 disappear as well. 357 00:24:44,350 --> 00:24:47,730 It turns out Cruz is hardly stopping here. 358 00:24:48,130 --> 00:24:55,010 He went from zero to 60, and I think it showed his true colors. He did not 359 00:24:55,010 --> 00:24:58,530 want to be held responsible for what he had done. 360 00:24:59,490 --> 00:25:05,030 Cruz takes meticulous notes on how he wants his murderous plans carried out. 361 00:25:05,330 --> 00:25:10,550 And when he talked to John a week later, His list of people to kill has grown. 362 00:25:11,350 --> 00:25:12,229 Still in? 363 00:25:12,230 --> 00:25:17,090 Yeah. I've got three jobs that's worth a hundred grand to you, man. 364 00:25:17,750 --> 00:25:19,750 I'm on, man. This is game on, buddy. 365 00:25:19,950 --> 00:25:22,190 Okay. I mean, it's on like Donkey Kong, so. 366 00:25:22,390 --> 00:25:23,249 All right. 367 00:25:23,250 --> 00:25:28,170 Cruz wants John to kill Weatherford and two former business associates. 368 00:25:28,450 --> 00:25:34,010 He claims they stole money from him. Now Cruz says he wants his money back and 369 00:25:34,010 --> 00:25:35,230 his associates dead. 370 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:38,200 Now, let me ask you this. You want it all freaked out with the same light? 371 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:39,600 Yep. Okay. 372 00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:40,840 You sure now? 373 00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:42,180 Yep. I'm positive. 374 00:25:42,560 --> 00:25:44,380 Once we get the green light, it's on. 375 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:45,680 Yep. Okay. 376 00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:48,860 What's the time frame you're looking at? 377 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:51,560 As soon as we can move on it. 378 00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:58,720 John and Paul decide to talk in code, calling each murder digging a hole. 379 00:25:59,580 --> 00:26:01,440 But Cruz makes one thing clear. 380 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:03,700 It's all about Amy Weatherford. 381 00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:06,000 Hole number one. 382 00:26:06,980 --> 00:26:13,940 The thing that I've got to express, we've got to concentrate 110 % on 383 00:26:13,940 --> 00:26:14,940 the first hole. 384 00:26:15,780 --> 00:26:17,880 Yeah, okay, that's no problem. 385 00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:23,780 If I can't get my ass out of jail, you know, I can't accomplish anything. 386 00:26:26,620 --> 00:26:33,010 Days later, John sends this man, his co -worker, a tough guy named Richie, to 387 00:26:33,010 --> 00:26:34,070 actually meet with Cruz. 388 00:26:35,170 --> 00:26:40,590 When they talk on the jail's video phone system, Cruz details what he wants done 389 00:26:40,590 --> 00:26:44,370 with Amy Weatherford in order to guarantee his release. 390 00:27:48,620 --> 00:27:53,320 To Mark Devereaux, an assistant U .S. attorney working the case, Cruz's 391 00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:54,980 intentions are clear. 392 00:27:55,300 --> 00:28:02,140 He wanted to have her murdered, tortured, leave a note with her, a 393 00:28:02,140 --> 00:28:05,620 note making her sign a document saying that she's the one that came up with the 394 00:28:05,620 --> 00:28:09,120 plan, that she's the one that stole the money, putting all the blame on her. 395 00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:15,320 Before his visitor leaves, Cruz says that if this plan doesn't work, he's got 396 00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:17,840 backup that's sure to win him his freedom. 397 00:28:38,700 --> 00:28:39,700 It sounds like it will. 398 00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:46,560 Since his brother's death, Cruz has morphed from a white -collar schemer to 399 00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:51,800 man who wants to kill a key witness, two business associates, and the prosecutor 400 00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:55,260 in his case. But there's a problem with Cruz's plan. 401 00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:58,740 Hitmen cost money, and he has none. 402 00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:02,000 Well, what does a schemester do? 403 00:29:02,420 --> 00:29:03,780 He uses another scam. 404 00:29:04,410 --> 00:29:08,810 At the very time he's trying to get the hitman to get out of some lies because 405 00:29:08,810 --> 00:29:15,050 he had stolen money from his friends and family and clients, he ends up lying to 406 00:29:15,050 --> 00:29:16,050 the hitman. 407 00:29:16,550 --> 00:29:21,210 In this document, Cruz writes down the big dollar figures that each of his 408 00:29:21,210 --> 00:29:22,490 victims can pony up. 409 00:29:22,850 --> 00:29:27,730 Before digging each hole, he wants John to take them to their banks and have 410 00:29:27,730 --> 00:29:29,130 them withdraw this money. 411 00:29:29,930 --> 00:29:34,090 As payment, John is to keep a portion and pass the rest on to Cruz. 412 00:29:34,970 --> 00:29:38,110 Of course, hitmen don't work on consignment. 413 00:29:38,670 --> 00:29:40,270 They want a down payment. 414 00:29:40,590 --> 00:29:46,170 So Cruz calls his brother Dave to tell him about his plans and make a request. 415 00:29:46,650 --> 00:29:51,910 He was under the illusion that I owed him $10 ,000. 416 00:29:52,410 --> 00:29:58,930 And I was supposed to come down there and make contact with the killers. 417 00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:06,160 and pay him. But Dave doesn't have $10 ,000 just sitting around. 418 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:11,260 And even if he did, he wouldn't use it to help his brother with his get -out 419 00:30:11,260 --> 00:30:12,260 -jail scheme. 420 00:30:12,540 --> 00:30:18,940 I told him, I said, this is insane for you to think that you're going to get by 421 00:30:18,940 --> 00:30:19,960 with any of this. 422 00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:23,400 Paul does not take his brother's denial well. 423 00:30:24,060 --> 00:30:26,700 As I recall, he just hung up. 424 00:30:37,900 --> 00:30:40,520 And I never heard from him again. 425 00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:46,580 Cruz desperately needs Dave's money to get his operation going. 426 00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:53,220 And when he talks to hitman John, he has an idea of how to get it. I know he's 427 00:30:53,220 --> 00:30:54,220 got the money. 428 00:30:54,620 --> 00:30:58,860 Okay. And the only way that I think that you're going to be able to get the 429 00:30:58,860 --> 00:31:01,940 money... is if you have to kill them. 430 00:31:04,340 --> 00:31:06,380 Really? You may have to get to that point. 431 00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:08,940 Okay. And you're good with that? 432 00:31:09,340 --> 00:31:10,340 I'm good with that. 433 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:12,780 It's not up to me. 434 00:31:13,820 --> 00:31:14,820 No, I understand. 435 00:31:16,080 --> 00:31:17,080 Here's the thing. 436 00:31:17,340 --> 00:31:21,520 After we hung up, we called you right back. 437 00:31:21,820 --> 00:31:22,820 Okay. 438 00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:27,060 And you brought us, look, I don't have 10 ,000. If you guys want to come up and 439 00:31:27,060 --> 00:31:33,760 beat me and kill me, you can... I guess we'll find 440 00:31:33,760 --> 00:31:34,760 out, huh? 441 00:31:36,980 --> 00:31:42,320 Next on American Greed, prosecutors find something belonging to Cruz that's 442 00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:44,980 unlike anything they've ever seen before. 443 00:31:45,660 --> 00:31:49,560 Not in a trial. I don't even think in a horror movie. This just shows a window 444 00:31:49,560 --> 00:31:51,720 into his mind and what he was thinking about. 445 00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:54,580 He was going to stop at nothing to try to get away with this crime. 446 00:31:55,390 --> 00:32:00,710 Listen to more of Paul Cruz's conversations with hitman John at 447 00:32:00,710 --> 00:32:02,750 .CNBCPrime .com. 448 00:32:03,550 --> 00:32:04,550 Feeling greedy? 449 00:32:04,750 --> 00:32:07,430 Want more than your share of behind -the -scenes dirt? 450 00:32:08,270 --> 00:32:10,850 Follow us at AmericanGreedTV on Twitter. 451 00:32:11,270 --> 00:32:12,370 We'll be right back. 452 00:32:26,890 --> 00:32:32,490 For weeks, confessed con artist Paul Cruz has been talking to a hitman. He 453 00:32:32,490 --> 00:32:36,410 to take out Amy Weatherford, the whistleblower who brought down his scam. 454 00:32:37,350 --> 00:32:42,570 On September 27, 2012, Cruz gets the call he's been waiting for. 455 00:32:43,130 --> 00:32:44,130 John. 456 00:32:44,650 --> 00:32:45,650 What's up, man? 457 00:32:45,910 --> 00:32:47,970 What's happening, man? Tell me the good news. 458 00:32:48,710 --> 00:32:51,330 Well, you sure you want us to stop them, right? 459 00:32:51,710 --> 00:32:52,710 Yep. 460 00:32:53,010 --> 00:32:55,310 All right. Here's the news. You sitting down? 461 00:32:55,630 --> 00:32:56,630 Yeah, I am. 462 00:32:57,160 --> 00:32:58,059 All right. 463 00:32:58,060 --> 00:33:01,440 Lisa's in the trunk of my car right now as I'm driving down the interstate, 464 00:33:01,560 --> 00:33:02,740 okay? Okay. 465 00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:04,620 What do you think of that, buddy? 466 00:33:04,840 --> 00:33:06,040 I think that's awesome. 467 00:33:07,160 --> 00:33:11,940 In the excitement of the moment, John O 'Leary misspeaks, calling Amy 468 00:33:11,940 --> 00:33:13,080 Weatherford Lisa. 469 00:33:13,420 --> 00:33:14,700 But the message is clear. 470 00:33:15,420 --> 00:33:20,100 Cruz thinks Weatherford is about to die, and now he wants the confession that 471 00:33:20,100 --> 00:33:21,100 will set him free. 472 00:33:21,620 --> 00:33:24,700 Sit tight. Richie's right now. We'll get the information. 473 00:33:25,280 --> 00:33:26,280 Okay. 474 00:33:26,570 --> 00:33:28,030 All right. So we'll have it. 475 00:33:28,870 --> 00:33:31,250 So we'll finish your off. 476 00:33:31,550 --> 00:33:33,830 You want to make it look like a suicide, you said, right? 477 00:33:34,390 --> 00:33:39,430 Yep. Right. And then we'll whack her and cremate her. You want her cremated, 478 00:33:39,430 --> 00:33:41,270 right? Yep. I want her cremated, yeah. 479 00:33:42,110 --> 00:33:43,210 No problem, man. It's done. 480 00:33:44,030 --> 00:33:48,030 Well, hopefully, Dan, we'll get all this money. Hopefully you'll be out soon, 481 00:33:48,090 --> 00:33:49,090 brother. It'll be party time. 482 00:33:49,290 --> 00:33:51,030 Yeah. I'm ready for it. 483 00:33:52,670 --> 00:33:54,370 Where do you want to go for our first meal? 484 00:33:56,299 --> 00:34:00,340 Down to probably the Capitol Grill. 485 00:34:02,820 --> 00:34:04,560 Cruz has big plans. 486 00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:09,880 But before he's eating a steak at a fancy restaurant, he has one more thing 487 00:34:09,880 --> 00:34:11,760 his hitmen to tell Weatherford. 488 00:34:12,100 --> 00:34:17,719 Let her know that she's dying because I'm avenging my brother's suicide. 489 00:34:18,739 --> 00:34:20,340 Okay. I understand. 490 00:34:20,739 --> 00:34:23,880 I'll stick the muzzle in her throat and I'll tell her that, okay? All right. 491 00:34:24,489 --> 00:34:26,010 Let's see, buddy. Peace. 492 00:34:26,489 --> 00:34:27,489 Yep. 493 00:34:29,989 --> 00:34:32,670 Cruz believes his freedom is within sight. 494 00:34:33,030 --> 00:34:37,469 In the hours after the call, he sits down and pens a letter to his brother 495 00:34:39,469 --> 00:34:44,170 In it, he writes that Amy Weatherford has confessed to stealing his investors' 496 00:34:44,389 --> 00:34:48,210 money. She's admitted that she was the one who put the scam together. 497 00:34:48,860 --> 00:34:53,840 And that she couldn't handle all the lies anymore and decided to kill 498 00:34:54,600 --> 00:34:58,640 Paul is clearly giddy about the fact that he now thinks that Amy 499 00:34:58,640 --> 00:35:03,140 dead. Paul's going to get away with murder of her. He's also going to get 500 00:35:03,140 --> 00:35:04,460 with the entire Ponzi scheme. 501 00:35:04,900 --> 00:35:07,740 And he's going to get away with it in front of the eyes of his family, too, 502 00:35:07,780 --> 00:35:12,180 because Amy Weatherford, in Paul's mind, caused the death of his brother. 503 00:35:12,680 --> 00:35:16,780 In Cruz's cold -blooded mind, it all seems to make sense. 504 00:35:17,440 --> 00:35:20,340 But there are a few hitches in this plan. 505 00:35:20,900 --> 00:35:23,360 Amy Weatherford isn't really dead. 506 00:35:23,800 --> 00:35:27,160 His cellmate, Gray, isn't really his friend. 507 00:35:27,500 --> 00:35:30,660 And John O 'Leary isn't really a hitman. 508 00:35:31,120 --> 00:35:36,840 Mr. Cruz thought my name was John O 'Leary, but in fact my name is John 509 00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:41,120 special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and 510 00:35:42,830 --> 00:35:48,670 At this point, the only hitman Cruz has actually seen is Richie, a .k .a. 511 00:35:49,050 --> 00:35:50,910 ATF agent Rick Samples. 512 00:35:51,830 --> 00:35:57,570 And the day after the last phone call, ATF agent John Leahy comes to the jail 513 00:35:57,570 --> 00:36:00,730 introduce himself and let Cruz in on the secret. 514 00:36:01,750 --> 00:36:06,930 Leahy says he senses no remorse from the man whose voice he now knows all too 515 00:36:06,930 --> 00:36:11,350 well. I mean, I never saw him face to face to the day in the cell, but... 516 00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:12,640 Just the way he laughed. 517 00:36:13,600 --> 00:36:16,500 He gives that laugh. It's like, man, it's like the devil laughing. 518 00:36:18,200 --> 00:36:22,020 After he's caught, guards move Cruz to solitary confinement. 519 00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:28,820 When they do, they search his belongings and find a document he's written, a 520 00:36:28,820 --> 00:36:31,700 sick recipe for how to get Weatherford to confess. 521 00:36:32,300 --> 00:36:37,840 Mr. Cruz wanted Amy Weatherford tortured and then killed. And he actually wrote 522 00:36:37,840 --> 00:36:38,840 out a list. 523 00:36:39,070 --> 00:36:41,550 of step -by -step how the hitman should do it. 524 00:36:41,990 --> 00:36:43,890 The first step is knock on the door. 525 00:36:44,290 --> 00:36:46,750 When she opens it, hit her. 526 00:36:46,990 --> 00:36:47,990 Knock her unconscious. 527 00:36:48,750 --> 00:36:50,170 Step three, strip her. 528 00:36:50,430 --> 00:36:53,450 Step four, sit her up in a chair with arms. 529 00:36:54,070 --> 00:36:59,270 Step five, duct tape her legs and arms to the chair and put tape over her 530 00:36:59,870 --> 00:37:03,110 Step six, put a hood over her head. 531 00:37:03,930 --> 00:37:07,050 Step seven, shove a curling iron 532 00:37:08,010 --> 00:37:09,010 Up inside her. 533 00:37:09,630 --> 00:37:14,570 Former Justice Department attorney Ryan Rolfson says that in all his years as a 534 00:37:14,570 --> 00:37:18,330 federal prosecutor, he's never seen something like this before. 535 00:37:18,870 --> 00:37:21,410 Not in a trial. I don't even think in a horror movie. 536 00:37:23,050 --> 00:37:27,310 This just shows a window into his mind and what he was thinking about. And 537 00:37:27,310 --> 00:37:31,090 really, he was going to stop at nothing to try to get away with this crime. 538 00:37:32,450 --> 00:37:35,770 And even after learning the truth about hitman John. 539 00:37:36,360 --> 00:37:39,040 Cruz isn't about to stop scheming. 540 00:37:39,600 --> 00:37:43,660 Authorities have not yet told him that his cellmate, Dre, was the one who set 541 00:37:43,660 --> 00:37:49,520 him up. And Cruz attempts to slip him notes, warning him that now they are 542 00:37:49,520 --> 00:37:50,640 in grave danger. 543 00:37:51,280 --> 00:37:52,660 Let me put this straight. 544 00:37:52,980 --> 00:37:55,280 John O 'Leary is an ATF agent. 545 00:37:55,660 --> 00:37:57,640 He duped you and me. 546 00:37:57,860 --> 00:38:04,620 He needs to go before he can testify against us, or we will be in prison for 547 00:38:04,620 --> 00:38:05,620 rest of our lives. 548 00:38:06,230 --> 00:38:07,410 You need to get his ass. 549 00:38:08,450 --> 00:38:10,030 Period. End of story. 550 00:38:10,570 --> 00:38:17,530 These notes are intercepted. So he was actually willing to kill Amy 551 00:38:17,630 --> 00:38:24,010 two business associates, a federal prosecutor, his own brother, and then 552 00:38:24,010 --> 00:38:29,710 he learned that Special Agent Leahy wasn't the hitman, he wanted to have 553 00:38:29,710 --> 00:38:31,150 Agent Leahy murdered. 554 00:38:31,410 --> 00:38:32,830 So now it's thick. 555 00:38:33,540 --> 00:38:34,620 And that's the mentality. 556 00:38:34,820 --> 00:38:37,420 Every time he gets caught, every time he gets caught with committing another 557 00:38:37,420 --> 00:38:41,660 crime, instead of taking responsibility for it or saying, okay, you win, he 558 00:38:41,660 --> 00:38:45,580 keeps trying to cover it up. He keeps trying to commit more crimes. It just 559 00:38:45,580 --> 00:38:49,740 further down into that hole of greed and crime that he just doesn't seem to be 560 00:38:49,740 --> 00:38:50,740 able to come out of. 561 00:38:52,500 --> 00:38:56,140 Next on American Greed, it's the hour of reckoning. 562 00:38:56,650 --> 00:39:01,230 And Paul Cruz is still looking for a way out. He thought of himself as an 563 00:39:01,230 --> 00:39:04,390 amazing salesman, so he kept trying to sell and sell and sell. 564 00:39:24,460 --> 00:39:30,320 One month after his murder -for -hire plot falls apart, Paul Cruz is indicted 565 00:39:30,320 --> 00:39:32,760 new charges related to these failed efforts. 566 00:39:33,560 --> 00:39:36,840 He goes on trial in February 2013. 567 00:39:37,700 --> 00:39:42,480 Darlene Jones is one of the many victims present to testify against a once 568 00:39:42,480 --> 00:39:45,000 -trusted financial advisor and friend. 569 00:39:45,640 --> 00:39:48,300 In the courtroom, Paul could not even look at me. 570 00:39:48,700 --> 00:39:52,020 He held his head down the whole time I was there. 571 00:39:52,710 --> 00:39:55,190 and would not even look up at all. 572 00:39:55,910 --> 00:40:02,510 Also there to testify are three people Cruz wanted dead, ATF agent John Leahy, 573 00:40:02,630 --> 00:40:05,710 Amy Weatherford, and his own brother Dave. 574 00:40:06,430 --> 00:40:13,430 I didn't feel angry, but I was willing to cooperate fully because I 575 00:40:13,430 --> 00:40:16,850 thought he was truly a danger to society. 576 00:40:18,370 --> 00:40:21,630 If he could kill a brother for nothing. 577 00:40:22,400 --> 00:40:25,320 I think that he deserves to be where he is. 578 00:40:29,460 --> 00:40:35,340 There to present the case are prosecutors Ryan Rolfson and one more of 579 00:40:35,340 --> 00:40:37,720 intended victims, Mark Devereaux. 580 00:40:38,800 --> 00:40:44,320 A jury takes less than two hours to find Cruz guilty on multiple charges of mail 581 00:40:44,320 --> 00:40:48,420 -and -wire fraud, conspiracy, and attempting to kill a witness. 582 00:40:49,800 --> 00:40:54,050 But even after the verdict is read, He's still looking for a way out. 583 00:40:55,010 --> 00:40:59,870 When he returns to court for sentencing months later, he presents the judge with 584 00:40:59,870 --> 00:41:01,030 an audacious plan. 585 00:41:01,710 --> 00:41:07,190 He asked the judge to release him from custody so that he could start working 586 00:41:07,190 --> 00:41:11,710 again and trying to pay back some of the money he had taken from the victims. Of 587 00:41:11,710 --> 00:41:13,150 course, the judge did not go for that. 588 00:41:13,630 --> 00:41:17,390 Instead, he sentences Paul Cruz to 30 years in prison. 589 00:41:17,590 --> 00:41:21,390 It seems all his murderous plotting has backfired. 590 00:41:21,850 --> 00:41:26,390 Had he been convicted at trial of only the financial fraud scheme, you know, 591 00:41:26,390 --> 00:41:30,070 jail sentence would have likely been a minimum security assignment for a few 592 00:41:30,070 --> 00:41:34,470 years. He then just went for broke and tried to get away with all of it. 593 00:41:36,550 --> 00:41:42,450 In the scam he ran, Paul Cruz was no Bernie Madoff. He didn't steal billions. 594 00:41:42,910 --> 00:41:48,310 But to victims like Darlene Jones, the money he stole was all the money they 595 00:41:48,310 --> 00:41:50,550 had. I've already lost my home. 596 00:41:51,130 --> 00:41:56,450 I had to file bankruptcy, and I'm not going to be able to enjoy the things 597 00:41:56,450 --> 00:41:57,950 I thought I was going to be able to enjoy. 598 00:41:58,570 --> 00:42:01,710 At this point, there's not that much money. 599 00:42:04,470 --> 00:42:09,850 To those who stopped Cruz's scheme, there is a small upside in knowing that 600 00:42:09,850 --> 00:42:12,270 prevented him from ensnaring even more victims. 601 00:42:13,570 --> 00:42:19,270 Cruz's downfall is due in no small part to one woman, his former assistant, Amy 602 00:42:19,270 --> 00:42:22,980 Weatherford. She seems glad to have helped out. 603 00:42:23,480 --> 00:42:25,960 That man got exactly what he deserved. 604 00:42:26,880 --> 00:42:31,920 And I've never had the chance to send him a card in prison to say, Ha ha, I 605 00:42:31,920 --> 00:42:32,940 you I'd get your ass. 606 00:42:34,060 --> 00:42:35,060 Gotcha.