1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:09,140 In this episode of American Greed, vanity and death in the cosmetic surgery 2 00:00:09,140 --> 00:00:13,440 underground. When you're a hustler, you know how to get money. You know what I'm 3 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:15,200 saying? And I know how to get money. 4 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:20,900 This hip -hop model, famous for her physical assets, works with a provider 5 00:00:20,900 --> 00:00:22,440 silicone butt injections. 6 00:00:23,100 --> 00:00:27,560 Together, Natasha Stewart and Tracy Ling Garner sell body enhancements to a 7 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:30,520 young woman for the ultimate price, her life. 8 00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:35,240 This was a very barbaric procedure that should have never been performed. 9 00:00:35,660 --> 00:00:41,080 And later, Chad Livdahl is a doctor who develops a Botox knockoff and 10 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:43,960 distributes it to more than 200 physicians nationwide. 11 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:48,340 He had it in the palm of his hand to be worth $500 million. 12 00:00:49,710 --> 00:00:55,350 But his get rich quick scheme collapses when four people nearly die of botulism 13 00:00:55,350 --> 00:01:00,410 poisoning. They're selling a toxin that could potentially hurt people, kill 14 00:01:00,410 --> 00:01:05,410 people, paralyze people. It was terrifying. I had botulism. In other 15 00:01:05,410 --> 00:01:06,410 dying. 16 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:35,500 It's March 16, 2012, when best friends Karima Gordon and Angeline Barber set 17 00:01:35,500 --> 00:01:37,260 on a road trip from Atlanta, Georgia. 18 00:01:38,260 --> 00:01:42,640 Both are aspiring models with dreams of making it in the hip -hop industry. 19 00:01:42,940 --> 00:01:47,160 They believe they found someone to help take their careers to the next level. 20 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:48,480 We were excited. 21 00:01:48,620 --> 00:01:52,240 I mean, we were in good spirit. You know, we finally thought that we had our 22 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:53,240 breakthrough. 23 00:01:56,750 --> 00:02:00,870 They're headed to Jackson, Mississippi, to meet a woman who's said to be a 24 00:02:00,870 --> 00:02:02,850 registered nurse. Her specialty? 25 00:02:03,350 --> 00:02:04,970 Illegal silicone injections. 26 00:02:06,010 --> 00:02:10,710 She'll enhance their curves, giving them bigger backsides that have become the 27 00:02:10,710 --> 00:02:13,270 industry norm in hip -hop videos and magazines. 28 00:02:14,050 --> 00:02:17,010 One of the magazines would be, like, straight stuntin' magazines. 29 00:02:17,590 --> 00:02:21,730 Like, it was pretty much great exposure as far as artists knowing who you are. 30 00:02:22,250 --> 00:02:24,050 And then you get featured for videos. 31 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:27,360 Our plan was to bring them to the industry together. 32 00:02:28,340 --> 00:02:32,080 What's up, what's up? Once again, it's your girl Pebbles DeMotto, your favorite 33 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:37,740 model, the biggest booty in hip -hop. An Internet celebrity nicknamed Pebbles 34 00:02:37,740 --> 00:02:42,220 DeMotto has even booked their appointment in Jackson for them. Like 35 00:02:42,220 --> 00:02:46,600 starting out at the bottom, Karima and Angeline can't afford a licensed plastic 36 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:50,320 surgeon, so they're taking a chance on backroom injections. 37 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:52,640 Well, we pretty much deal with it, too. 38 00:02:53,020 --> 00:02:57,140 follow the people who was already in the industry, who already had got the 39 00:02:57,140 --> 00:03:01,520 procedure done, what any other entertainment model was doing. 40 00:03:09,460 --> 00:03:14,600 Karima Gordon, at age 37, isn't someone you'd expect to get black market 41 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:15,600 cosmetic work. 42 00:03:15,900 --> 00:03:20,620 She's a former beauty queen who grew up on St. Croix in the Virgin Islands and 43 00:03:20,620 --> 00:03:22,160 who served in the U .S. Army. 44 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:28,740 She's also a mom who dotes on her 16 -year -old son and has a fun -loving 45 00:03:28,740 --> 00:03:30,300 that radiates confidence. 46 00:03:30,860 --> 00:03:34,980 She was the one that was always bouncing around, always happy. 47 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:39,940 She was the sibling that everyone enjoyed most. 48 00:03:40,700 --> 00:03:44,060 Everybody loved when Auntie Karima came around. 49 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:48,040 She's always been beautiful inside and out. 50 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:51,760 She was an artist. She was a model. 51 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:53,600 She was very athletic. 52 00:03:54,860 --> 00:03:59,300 As a teenager, Karima got her first taste of modeling when she joined her 53 00:03:59,300 --> 00:04:00,620 sister's talent agency. 54 00:04:01,820 --> 00:04:06,980 She was a natural, winning one trophy after another at competitions and 55 00:04:06,980 --> 00:04:12,640 shows. She loved coming out on the runway. She loved getting dressed up and 56 00:04:12,640 --> 00:04:15,440 doing these shows, and she was so good at it. 57 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:19,620 However, being a model in the islands, you can only go so far. 58 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:26,800 By the time that Karima moved to Atlanta in 2004, she was 29, and she thought 59 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:30,420 her window of opportunity for a modeling career in the U .S. had passed. 60 00:04:30,660 --> 00:04:35,260 But she seemed intent on pursuing her dream in one form or another. 61 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:40,320 She and I did discuss full -figured modeling, because at that point, full 62 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:41,940 -figured modeling was... 63 00:04:42,280 --> 00:04:46,640 becoming something that you were seeing more and more of. 64 00:04:47,380 --> 00:04:51,240 But she didn't tell us what her intentions were. 65 00:04:56,000 --> 00:05:00,120 By mid -afternoon, Karima and Angeline arrive in Jackson. 66 00:05:00,780 --> 00:05:05,800 They stop to transfer $200 to the go -between that facilitated their 67 00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:08,400 appointment, the model known as Pebbles. 68 00:05:09,020 --> 00:05:13,240 Pebbles then calls and gives them directions to the house where a so 69 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:14,800 Nurse Garner lives. 70 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:23,100 As they pull up, they see a tall, large -framed woman in scrubs standing in the 71 00:05:23,100 --> 00:05:24,100 front door. 72 00:05:24,340 --> 00:05:26,900 Garner's appearance is imposing. 73 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:32,220 She's a very large person, 6 '3", 240 pounds. 74 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:37,360 According to Angeline, a closer look at Garner takes them by surprise. 75 00:05:38,140 --> 00:05:40,840 It's evident that Garner was once a man. 76 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:42,780 We wasn't informed. 77 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:46,380 I was thinking that we were meeting just a female. 78 00:05:47,740 --> 00:05:53,420 When Nurse Garner invites the men, she's all business and asks for $1 ,500 79 00:05:53,420 --> 00:05:56,460 apiece in cash to perform the injections. 80 00:05:57,020 --> 00:05:59,940 At that point, Angeline gets cold feet. 81 00:06:00,380 --> 00:06:03,780 I remember asking Kareem one day, you know, was she sure she wanted to go out 82 00:06:03,780 --> 00:06:04,780 there with this? 83 00:06:05,070 --> 00:06:09,610 Just the whole situation that was happening at a house in Jackson, that 84 00:06:09,610 --> 00:06:14,590 this large, imposing person, I think all of it just made her stop and think, you 85 00:06:14,590 --> 00:06:15,650 know, I don't want to do this. 86 00:06:17,210 --> 00:06:22,430 Angeline stays in the front parlor while Karima follows Garner to the back and 87 00:06:22,430 --> 00:06:25,310 disappears behind closed doors for the procedure. 88 00:06:33,930 --> 00:06:39,390 With celebrities like J -Lo, Nicki Minaj, and Kim Kardashian giving the 89 00:06:39,390 --> 00:06:44,550 a big cultural boost, butt enlargements are one of the fastest -growing cosmetic 90 00:06:44,550 --> 00:06:46,210 procedures in America today. 91 00:06:46,590 --> 00:06:51,650 Going under the knife isn't cheap, however, and can cost around $5 ,000 to 92 00:06:51,650 --> 00:06:57,130 ,000. Many opt for silicone injections instead, at a fraction of the price. 93 00:06:57,370 --> 00:07:01,510 But it's a procedure that no licensed physician will provide, and it's caused 94 00:07:01,510 --> 00:07:02,510 numerous deaths. 95 00:07:02,860 --> 00:07:08,780 and disfigurement. They just want the instant gratification they don't think 96 00:07:08,780 --> 00:07:10,900 about later down the line. 97 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:17,000 Years before bud enhancements went mainstream, Kimberly Smedley says that 98 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:21,740 performed thousands of illegal silicone injections from 2000 to 2011. 99 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:28,160 She claims that she made $1 .5 million and possibly much more. 100 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:30,040 My business was booming. 101 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:36,700 I was doing celebrities. I was doing nurses, strippers, working class women. 102 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:42,680 It all starts when she receives injections herself from a friend. He 103 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:47,960 18 shots of liquid silicone, nine in each buttock, just above the gluteus 104 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:53,420 muscle. It was excruciating. The first stick, oh my goodness. 105 00:07:53,660 --> 00:07:58,200 But all that was in my mind was it doesn't matter how bad it hurts. 106 00:07:58,590 --> 00:08:01,010 I know that I'm going to look good when it's over. 107 00:08:01,390 --> 00:08:06,050 That same friend teaches her the tricks of the trade, and she takes over his 108 00:08:06,050 --> 00:08:08,590 clientele when he dies in 2000. 109 00:08:08,990 --> 00:08:13,610 At first, she says that she charges her clients, primarily transgender people 110 00:08:13,610 --> 00:08:18,810 and strippers, $500 a session. She builds her business by word of mouth and 111 00:08:18,810 --> 00:08:20,910 the benefit of repeat customers. 112 00:08:21,390 --> 00:08:27,330 So the first time a person gets injected, gravity pulls everything down. 113 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:33,880 The next time you normally work on the middle and the top, I would say 98 % of 114 00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:35,840 my clients would come back. 115 00:08:37,299 --> 00:08:43,059 Smedley claims to use the highest grade of silicone, medical grade, unlike some 116 00:08:43,059 --> 00:08:47,360 of her competitors who inject their customers with liquid cement or tire 117 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:52,280 sealant. By 2007, women from all walks of life are requesting her services. 118 00:08:52,940 --> 00:08:56,820 Smedley now charges as much as $1 ,600 per session. 119 00:08:57,280 --> 00:08:58,660 and makes serious cash. 120 00:08:59,160 --> 00:09:02,820 You're doing 15, 20 clients a day. 121 00:09:03,620 --> 00:09:05,960 That's a substantial amount of money. 122 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:11,980 She upgrades her lifestyle, too, with vacations in the Caribbean and a lavish 123 00:09:11,980 --> 00:09:14,160 dream house in a posh suburb. 124 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:20,380 I made a lot of bad decisions, you know, a lot of luxury items, a half -million 125 00:09:20,380 --> 00:09:25,780 -dollar home, just doing a lot of things to help family members and friends, so. 126 00:09:26,410 --> 00:09:28,430 I did live a pretty good life. 127 00:09:28,650 --> 00:09:31,570 Good enough for federal authorities to take notice. 128 00:09:31,890 --> 00:09:36,970 In 2011, agents from the U .S. Food and Drug Administration arrest her for 129 00:09:36,970 --> 00:09:39,030 unlawful use of liquid silicone. 130 00:09:39,900 --> 00:09:43,900 She later accepts a plea deal and serves 17 months in federal prison. 131 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:50,140 Today, Smedley expresses regret about her role in this subculture. No matter 132 00:09:50,140 --> 00:09:54,560 she used medical -grade silicone or another substance, backroom injections 133 00:09:54,560 --> 00:09:56,000 any type can kill. 134 00:09:56,380 --> 00:10:03,380 If there is a woman that went through anything tragic behind what I did, then 135 00:10:03,380 --> 00:10:08,600 I'm willing to own up to it. You know, I accept responsibility for what I've 136 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:09,600 done. 137 00:10:12,750 --> 00:10:18,250 Next on American Greed, Kareemah Gordon's shortcut to a shapelier body 138 00:10:18,250 --> 00:10:23,310 horrifying turn. This was a willful disregard for human life. 139 00:10:23,750 --> 00:10:25,550 This was all about money. 140 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:46,580 In Jackson, Mississippi, best friends and aspiring models Karima Gordon and 141 00:10:46,580 --> 00:10:52,040 Angeline Barber are seeing a black market provider of silicone butt 142 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:57,980 But after meeting the so -called Nurse Garner, Angeline backs out. 143 00:11:00,180 --> 00:11:04,940 Karima goes ahead with the procedure and emerges from Garner's operating room 144 00:11:04,940 --> 00:11:07,200 almost two hours later. 145 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:09,980 She didn't look so good. She was already coughing. 146 00:11:11,050 --> 00:11:13,850 I remember her telling me that it's the worst pain she ever felt in her life. 147 00:11:15,330 --> 00:11:20,330 On their drive home to Atlanta, Angeline takes the wheel while Karima lies on 148 00:11:20,330 --> 00:11:21,169 the back seat. 149 00:11:21,170 --> 00:11:25,550 She's sweating, coughing violently, and growing sicker by the minute. 150 00:11:25,930 --> 00:11:28,790 I had to pull over on the side of the road multiple times. 151 00:11:29,310 --> 00:11:30,470 She had diarrhea. 152 00:11:30,690 --> 00:11:31,690 She was vomiting. 153 00:11:31,970 --> 00:11:33,370 We didn't know what to do. 154 00:11:34,110 --> 00:11:39,110 The women call Garner for advice, but she simply tells them to buy cough 155 00:11:39,110 --> 00:11:43,710 medicine. Then they phone and text their go -between, Pebbles DeMottle, who 156 00:11:43,710 --> 00:11:46,310 tries to reassure them that Karima will be fine. 157 00:11:47,150 --> 00:11:51,550 By the time I reached Alana, she wasn't feeling no better. She was feeling 158 00:11:51,550 --> 00:11:53,990 worse. And it got to the point where she couldn't breathe. 159 00:11:54,270 --> 00:11:55,270 She could hardly breathe. 160 00:11:56,010 --> 00:11:57,630 They contact Pebbles again. 161 00:11:57,990 --> 00:12:03,230 This time, she says, if they go to the ER, to tell doctors that Karima has 162 00:12:03,230 --> 00:12:04,990 asthma and nothing more. 163 00:12:05,570 --> 00:12:08,450 We was pretty much informed not to say anything about the procedure, what 164 00:12:08,450 --> 00:12:09,450 happened. 165 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:14,620 They follow her advice and keep the silicone injections a secret, even as 166 00:12:14,620 --> 00:12:17,700 doctors put Karima on an IV and give her oxygen. 167 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:23,620 Karima checks herself out of the hospital the following morning, only to 168 00:12:23,620 --> 00:12:25,700 again several hours later. 169 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:31,160 She called me and told me that she wasn't feeling too good, but everything 170 00:12:31,160 --> 00:12:32,079 be okay. 171 00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:35,720 Later on in the evening, I think it's the nurse that called us. 172 00:12:36,060 --> 00:12:37,720 It's your daughter, Karima Gordon. 173 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:40,840 Think you need to calm down because she's not doing too well. 174 00:12:42,060 --> 00:12:45,720 She was laying in the bed, and she was breathing heavily. 175 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:51,180 We just asked the doctor what was wrong, and it was at that point he told us 176 00:12:51,180 --> 00:12:55,600 that she had blood clots in her lungs, and she was really, really sick. 177 00:12:56,580 --> 00:12:59,940 By now, Karima has told doctors about her injections. 178 00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:04,700 They believe that the silicone migrated through her bloodstream to her lungs, 179 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:06,540 causing the embolisms. 180 00:13:07,230 --> 00:13:10,870 The doctor asked us if we knew what Karima did. 181 00:13:11,530 --> 00:13:16,370 I was very surprised. I couldn't see the reason why she would want to do 182 00:13:16,370 --> 00:13:17,370 something like that. 183 00:13:19,270 --> 00:13:22,650 Karima's condition rapidly declines over the next few days. 184 00:13:22,990 --> 00:13:27,050 She begins coughing up blood and can no longer breathe on her own. 185 00:13:27,810 --> 00:13:33,010 She was hooked up to all these machines, and I tried to talk to her. 186 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:45,400 But she was not responding at that point. 187 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:52,220 They told us to prepare ourselves for the worst because they were running out 188 00:13:52,220 --> 00:13:53,220 options. 189 00:13:54,060 --> 00:14:00,080 On the eighth day of her hospitalization, Karima's organs began 190 00:14:00,740 --> 00:14:02,740 I believe it was about midnight. 191 00:14:02,980 --> 00:14:05,680 The machines just started going crazy. 192 00:14:06,540 --> 00:14:10,160 I thought when she took her last breath, I was in the room. 193 00:14:10,680 --> 00:14:16,640 I called the nurse, and when she came in, they started to give her the things 194 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:19,500 revive her, and she never did. 195 00:14:19,780 --> 00:14:22,860 And then we just heard, you know, cold blew up. 196 00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:26,320 And we knew that that was it. 197 00:14:27,140 --> 00:14:28,300 And that was it. 198 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:32,760 She just couldn't hold on anymore. 199 00:14:39,180 --> 00:14:42,260 For Karima's family, the mystery remains. 200 00:14:42,820 --> 00:14:46,360 How did this happen? They don't have to look far for clues. 201 00:14:47,100 --> 00:14:52,260 On her cell phone, a record of calls and text messages between Karima and the 202 00:14:52,260 --> 00:14:57,200 two people responsible for her injections, one known as Nurse Garner, 203 00:14:57,200 --> 00:15:02,920 Pebbles. As I scrolled through her texts, I started to basically 204 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:06,560 relive what happened to her. 205 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:12,680 From the time she got the injection until she went to the hospital. 206 00:15:14,220 --> 00:15:19,440 Between the evidence on Karima's phone and a notebook in her car, they have 207 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:21,640 names, numbers, and Garner's home address. 208 00:15:22,580 --> 00:15:27,960 They also have an eyewitness, Karima's best friend, Angeline, who learns about 209 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:29,840 Karima's death the following day. 210 00:15:30,700 --> 00:15:34,860 It was definitely a shock because everything had just been like it 211 00:15:34,860 --> 00:15:35,739 fast. 212 00:15:35,740 --> 00:15:42,580 And it was just like, you know, a bit hurt and a bit lost that I had to take 213 00:15:42,580 --> 00:15:43,820 as well as her family. 214 00:15:45,620 --> 00:15:47,980 She was always a positive vibe in my life. 215 00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:50,800 I just miss my best friend. 216 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:59,220 Next on American Greed, they're partners in crime, but not for long. 217 00:15:59,540 --> 00:16:02,440 When you a hustler, you know how to get money. 218 00:16:03,050 --> 00:16:05,930 Authorities plan to end their hustle for good. 219 00:16:19,450 --> 00:16:25,510 One day after 37 -year -old Karima Gordon's death, an autopsy reveals a 220 00:16:25,510 --> 00:16:27,870 amount of liquid silicone in her buttocks. 221 00:16:28,310 --> 00:16:32,290 Silicone that traveled through her bloodstream to her lungs, killing her. 222 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:36,480 There's so much silicone, in fact, that it takes the medical examiner by 223 00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:37,480 surprise. 224 00:16:37,980 --> 00:16:43,700 It just oozed out. It oozed out of the tables, on the floor, and they had to 225 00:16:43,700 --> 00:16:46,720 actually, you know, stop and clean it up. 226 00:16:47,620 --> 00:16:52,160 The Mississippi Attorney General's Office opens a murder investigation and 227 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:54,600 focuses on two alleged perpetrators. 228 00:16:55,420 --> 00:17:00,760 The first, Tracy Lynn Garner, a 52 -year -old Jackson resident with no prior 229 00:17:00,760 --> 00:17:01,760 criminal record. 230 00:17:02,170 --> 00:17:06,530 She's the one accused of giving Kareemah Gordon the fatal silicone injections. 231 00:17:07,250 --> 00:17:10,750 Tracy Lynn Garner to me is sort of a mystery. 232 00:17:11,270 --> 00:17:16,390 She was born Morris Garner. She had gender reassignment surgery. 233 00:17:16,849 --> 00:17:22,210 She worked for a time as a floral and interior decorator and apparently as a 234 00:17:22,210 --> 00:17:23,390 cook at a nursing home. 235 00:17:26,230 --> 00:17:27,970 34, 26, 48. 236 00:17:28,390 --> 00:17:31,050 Those are my inches of my ass. 237 00:17:31,500 --> 00:17:34,780 Their other suspect is anything but a mystery. 238 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:40,180 She's the 38 -year -old hip -hop model known as Pebbles, whose photos and 239 00:17:40,180 --> 00:17:41,640 are posted all over the Internet. 240 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:43,160 Her real name? 241 00:17:43,420 --> 00:17:44,560 Natasha Stewart. 242 00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:49,880 Assistant Attorney General Patrick Beasley works alongside state 243 00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:53,700 as they build cases against both Garner and Stewart. 244 00:17:54,700 --> 00:17:58,820 He discovers that Stewart's relationship with Karima Gordon dates back almost 245 00:17:58,820 --> 00:18:02,540 two years when Karima contacted her over the Internet. 246 00:18:03,020 --> 00:18:09,400 Karima basically reached out and asked her, who did your augmentation and how 247 00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:10,460 can I get this done? 248 00:18:11,280 --> 00:18:15,640 Natasha Stewart told her basically, well, I'll give you the answers to these 249 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:18,160 questions, but we'll have to do that face to face. 250 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:23,220 Well, you're a hustler. You know how to get money. And I get money. 251 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:25,880 a hundred different ways. 252 00:18:26,860 --> 00:18:33,180 So in February 2012, one month before her death, Karima travels to New York 253 00:18:33,180 --> 00:18:38,200 with her friend Angeline to meet Natasha Pebbles -Stewart at a club in Queens. 254 00:18:38,740 --> 00:18:44,240 We just pretty much tell her that we want to be aspiring models and give us 255 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:48,340 advice about breaking into the hip -hop industry because she did have experience 256 00:18:48,340 --> 00:18:49,340 in it. 257 00:18:49,470 --> 00:18:54,450 This time, Stewart reveals her go -to source for silicone injections, a 258 00:18:54,450 --> 00:18:58,370 purported nurse in Mississippi who did work on her several times. 259 00:18:58,730 --> 00:19:03,870 She means, of course, Tracy Lynn Garner, who, in fact, has no medical training. 260 00:19:04,170 --> 00:19:08,790 Stewart then offers to set up an appointment for them in exchange for a 261 00:19:08,790 --> 00:19:09,970 referral fee. 262 00:19:10,460 --> 00:19:15,760 They agreed, and they left the next day and went back to Georgia with the 263 00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:19,160 intention to meet Tracy Gardner and have these procedures done. 264 00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:27,360 Investigators corroborate that Stewart received $200 on the day of Karima's 265 00:19:27,360 --> 00:19:28,360 injections. 266 00:19:29,060 --> 00:19:34,760 They also confirm that Gardner deposited $1 ,500 into her bank account on that 267 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:38,640 same date, an amount equal to what she allegedly charged Karima. 268 00:19:39,130 --> 00:19:43,130 Everything that Angelina Barber said was verified through financial documents. 269 00:19:43,590 --> 00:19:45,570 I mean, the paper trail was there. 270 00:19:46,090 --> 00:19:51,990 On September 6, 2012, authorities arrest Tracy Lynn Garner at her home in 271 00:19:51,990 --> 00:19:57,070 Jackson. They charge her with depraved heart murder, which is similar to second 272 00:19:57,070 --> 00:19:59,050 -degree murder under Mississippi law. 273 00:19:59,450 --> 00:20:03,850 You're not necessarily meaning to kill anyone, but your actions had so much 274 00:20:03,850 --> 00:20:06,670 disregard for human life that they resulted in a death. 275 00:20:08,050 --> 00:20:13,710 Investigators execute a search warrant and discover more than 100 large 276 00:20:13,710 --> 00:20:15,410 inside Garner's house. 277 00:20:15,630 --> 00:20:18,350 Some are labeled for veterinary use only. 278 00:20:18,690 --> 00:20:23,950 They also find a gallon of industrial -grade silicone, the type sold at 279 00:20:23,950 --> 00:20:29,510 stores, super glue that Garner used to seal the injection sites in Karima's 280 00:20:29,510 --> 00:20:34,110 bottom, and a massage table where Garner allegedly performed the injections. 281 00:20:34,650 --> 00:20:38,950 I think a lot of people wondered, How many people came to Garner's house to 282 00:20:38,950 --> 00:20:39,950 these injections? 283 00:20:42,770 --> 00:20:47,970 When American Greed returns, authorities reach out to the public for help and 284 00:20:47,970 --> 00:20:51,210 link a second young woman's death to Tracy Lynn Garner. 285 00:20:51,550 --> 00:20:54,030 Tracy's always been upset about the situation. 286 00:20:54,390 --> 00:20:56,570 Whatever she did did not cause the death. 287 00:21:08,750 --> 00:21:11,350 Industry chick, come out and party with us. 288 00:21:11,550 --> 00:21:12,550 Pow. 289 00:21:13,150 --> 00:21:15,330 In January 2013, 290 00:21:16,030 --> 00:21:21,930 Natasha Stewart, a .k .a. Pebbles the Model, gains a whole new kind of 291 00:21:21,930 --> 00:21:25,650 after she's arrested and charged with depraved heart murder. 292 00:21:26,590 --> 00:21:31,310 Authorities say she exploited an aspiring model for money by referring 293 00:21:31,310 --> 00:21:35,150 Tracy Lynn Garner, a provider of illegal silicone injections. 294 00:21:36,090 --> 00:21:41,170 This case came down to two people who planned, two people who plotted, and 295 00:21:41,170 --> 00:21:42,530 were all about making a profit. 296 00:21:43,950 --> 00:21:47,510 Investigators believe that Garner has performed the same injections on other 297 00:21:47,510 --> 00:21:52,210 women. So Attorney General Jim Hood makes a public plea for victims or their 298 00:21:52,210 --> 00:21:53,670 families to come forward. 299 00:21:54,130 --> 00:21:57,730 Maybe the procedure was done on other people and it didn't kill them, but I 300 00:21:57,730 --> 00:22:00,770 suspect that there were probably more here in the Jackson, Mississippi area. 301 00:22:01,900 --> 00:22:06,340 As a result, the family of a deceased Alabama woman contacts authorities. 302 00:22:06,820 --> 00:22:12,300 They say that 23 -year -old Marilyn Hale died of a pulmonary embolism after 303 00:22:12,300 --> 00:22:14,960 receiving butt injections from Garner in 2010. 304 00:22:16,120 --> 00:22:20,340 Hale's body is later exhumed and sent to a forensic pathologist. 305 00:22:20,760 --> 00:22:25,960 He concluded, to a degree of medical certainty, that these injections caused 306 00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:27,580 this young lady's death as well. 307 00:22:28,650 --> 00:22:32,710 It's enough for the Mississippi Attorney General's Office to file a second and 308 00:22:32,710 --> 00:22:36,550 separate set of murder charges against Tracy Lynn Garner. 309 00:22:37,010 --> 00:22:43,070 Garner maintains her innocence in both cases, and in August 2014, she stands 310 00:22:43,070 --> 00:22:45,170 trial for the murder of Karima Gordon. 311 00:22:45,550 --> 00:22:50,430 Her attorney doesn't dispute that she gave Karima silicone injections, but he 312 00:22:50,430 --> 00:22:53,430 argues that that act doesn't qualify as murder. 313 00:22:53,870 --> 00:23:00,360 The state's position was injecting somebody with silicone, was such a bad 314 00:23:00,360 --> 00:23:02,640 that you've got to expect death was resolved. 315 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:04,180 And I think they were wrong. 316 00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:08,900 Prime example was Pebbles. Pebbles, the model in this case, indicated she'd 317 00:23:08,900 --> 00:23:11,920 received 20 -some injections over the years. She didn't die. 318 00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:19,220 Would a reasonable person with no medical training believe that it is okay 319 00:23:19,220 --> 00:23:25,340 inject a foreign substance into the body of a human being and not appreciate the 320 00:23:25,340 --> 00:23:26,540 risk and the danger there? 321 00:23:27,820 --> 00:23:31,020 Jurors side with the state. Garner is found guilty. 322 00:23:31,340 --> 00:23:35,760 They convict her of depraved heart murder, and she's sentenced to the 323 00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:37,600 term, life in prison. 324 00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:39,420 She showed no remorse. 325 00:23:39,940 --> 00:23:44,440 She was not sorry. She didn't say she was. She never said she was. 326 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:52,340 At a separate trial, another jury convicts Garner's co -conspirator, 327 00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:55,940 Natasha Stewart, of a lesser charge, manslaughter. 328 00:23:56,730 --> 00:23:59,490 Her sentence, seven years behind bars. 329 00:24:00,390 --> 00:24:04,130 But odds are that's not the only price she'll have to pay. 330 00:24:04,530 --> 00:24:09,310 The free -floating silicone in her body can harden over time, causing nerve 331 00:24:09,310 --> 00:24:12,550 damage, infections, and even gangrene. 332 00:24:13,050 --> 00:24:17,830 The kind of toll that the silicone is going to take on her body is not, you 333 00:24:17,830 --> 00:24:19,690 know, a few years down the line. 334 00:24:19,990 --> 00:24:21,590 She's going to be sorry she did it. 335 00:24:22,570 --> 00:24:24,130 I just hope she learned a lesson. 336 00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:29,700 For Karima Gordon's family, her story isn't over. 337 00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:34,100 They've established a foundation in her name to educate women about the dangers 338 00:24:34,100 --> 00:24:36,060 of illegal silicone injections. 339 00:24:36,860 --> 00:24:40,060 We want to keep her memory alive in a positive way. 340 00:24:40,420 --> 00:24:47,200 As someone that always wanted to help people, we still think about her almost 341 00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:48,920 every day, just about every day. 342 00:24:50,100 --> 00:24:53,600 Karima was a loved person, and, you know, we miss her a lot. 343 00:24:55,550 --> 00:25:00,590 By us bringing this forward, I hope it'll, you know, open somebody's eyes 344 00:25:00,590 --> 00:25:01,590 try to do the same thing. 345 00:25:08,030 --> 00:25:12,770 Next on American Greed, Chad Livdahl is selling the proverbial fountain of youth 346 00:25:12,770 --> 00:25:13,770 at a discount. 347 00:25:14,210 --> 00:25:18,270 But authorities say his Botox knockoff is potentially lethal. 348 00:25:18,790 --> 00:25:22,710 When I opened my eyes, it was like I was on a ship that was going down. 349 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:26,220 I've never felt this big in my entire life. 350 00:25:27,900 --> 00:25:34,160 To find out more about the Karima Gordon Foundation, go to cnbcprime .com slash 351 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:36,360 American Greed. Feeling greedy? 352 00:25:36,700 --> 00:25:39,200 Want more than your share of behind -the -scenes dirt? 353 00:25:39,660 --> 00:25:42,360 Follow us at American Greed TV on Twitter. 354 00:25:42,940 --> 00:25:44,060 We'll be right back. 355 00:25:56,270 --> 00:26:00,930 There's trouble brewing for four South Florida residents, all fighting a 356 00:26:00,930 --> 00:26:03,510 mysterious illness the day after Thanksgiving. 357 00:26:03,890 --> 00:26:06,050 It's November 26, 2004. 358 00:26:07,410 --> 00:26:13,270 In Palm Beach Gardens, 52 -year -old chiropractor Dr. Eric Kaplan and his 359 00:26:13,270 --> 00:26:17,590 Bonnie feel like they've caught a severe flu that's growing stronger by the 360 00:26:17,590 --> 00:26:18,590 hour. 361 00:26:18,650 --> 00:26:23,270 That evening, Bonnie can barely move her arms or legs, or even breathe. 362 00:26:24,110 --> 00:26:25,270 It was like... 363 00:26:25,889 --> 00:26:30,350 You know, I knew I was dying. I did. I knew. I was dying. I couldn't catch a 364 00:26:30,350 --> 00:26:31,770 breath. I knew they had to do something. 365 00:26:32,610 --> 00:26:36,930 Their son rushes them to the ER, and that's when Bonnie goes into cardiac 366 00:26:36,930 --> 00:26:40,290 arrest, meaning they had to put the paddles on her to bring her back. 367 00:26:41,410 --> 00:26:44,890 They knew we were in trouble, and they didn't know what the cause was. 368 00:26:45,650 --> 00:26:46,650 I was scared. 369 00:26:48,110 --> 00:26:51,950 Doctors place Bonnie on life support, and they do the same for Eric. 370 00:26:52,310 --> 00:26:56,240 After he suffers respiratory failure, and then muscle paralysis. 371 00:26:56,780 --> 00:27:01,580 We were both in the same situation, and that was extremely frightening because 372 00:27:01,580 --> 00:27:03,420 we always have taken care of each other. 373 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:07,640 The Kaplans aren't the only ones in jeopardy. 374 00:27:08,100 --> 00:27:12,760 Alma Jane Hall, a 34 -year -old massage therapist from Fort Lauderdale, 375 00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:16,860 developed similar symptoms while spending the holiday in New Jersey. 376 00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:23,320 By the time she reaches an ER, she's largely paralyzed and can't talk or even 377 00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:28,710 blink. She remains mentally alert, however, and is perfectly aware of 378 00:27:28,710 --> 00:27:30,030 that's happening around her. 379 00:27:30,290 --> 00:27:31,290 It was terrifying. 380 00:27:31,810 --> 00:27:36,990 I felt like I was screaming and yelling for anybody to hear me because I was 381 00:27:36,990 --> 00:27:40,950 thinking in paragraph form. I'm thinking, oh, my God, I've got to please 382 00:27:40,950 --> 00:27:44,370 touch with my family. Please do. These are all these things I'm trying to. 383 00:27:45,190 --> 00:27:50,170 And yet no one heard me. No one heard me screaming. 384 00:27:51,850 --> 00:27:53,170 The next day, Dr. 385 00:27:53,430 --> 00:27:58,270 Bach McComb, Hall's colleague and one -time boyfriend, checks himself into the 386 00:27:58,270 --> 00:27:59,430 same New Jersey hospital. 387 00:28:00,090 --> 00:28:04,170 He'd brought Hall with him from Florida to spend Thanksgiving with his family. 388 00:28:04,690 --> 00:28:09,510 Now McComb is asking medical staff to intubate him so that he can be put on a 389 00:28:09,510 --> 00:28:10,510 ventilator, too. 390 00:28:10,810 --> 00:28:14,350 Within like 24, 48 hours, they were completely paralyzed. 391 00:28:14,890 --> 00:28:18,150 And doctors weren't sure what they were dealing with. 392 00:28:18,780 --> 00:28:21,620 They were just trying to keep them on ventilators and keep them alive. 393 00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:28,240 From the Kaplans to Alma Jane Hall to Bach -McComb, all four patients exhibit 394 00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:33,580 textbook signs of botulism, a rare and potentially fatal illness caused by a 395 00:28:33,580 --> 00:28:35,060 nerve -disrupting toxin. 396 00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:40,960 That toxin, botulinum, is one of the deadliest on Earth. It also happens to 397 00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:45,140 the main ingredient in Botox, a popular anti -wrinkle treatment. 398 00:28:46,010 --> 00:28:50,750 Botulinum toxin works cosmetically to reduce the wrinkles because it causes a 399 00:28:50,750 --> 00:28:51,990 paralysis of the muscles. 400 00:28:52,590 --> 00:28:57,930 At higher doses, it works throughout the body. It defeats all the muscles. 401 00:28:59,710 --> 00:29:04,750 As state health officials learn, all four patients were allegedly injected 402 00:29:04,750 --> 00:29:07,830 Botox at the same Florida clinic earlier that week. 403 00:29:08,510 --> 00:29:13,690 In fact, both Hall and McComb work at the clinic, formerly located at this 404 00:29:13,690 --> 00:29:14,830 Oakland park site. 405 00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:20,440 Among its services, the Advanced Integrated Medical Center offers 406 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:21,960 anti -aging procedures. 407 00:29:22,880 --> 00:29:26,100 Botox plays right into the South Florida landscape. 408 00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:27,700 It's about youth. 409 00:29:27,900 --> 00:29:28,980 It's about wealth. 410 00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:30,620 It's a status symbol. 411 00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:37,300 Botox cosmetic hit the U .S. market in 2002 and became an overnight sensation 412 00:29:37,300 --> 00:29:38,940 with millions of Americans. 413 00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:44,860 But this product, FDA -approved and patented by Allergan, has never been 414 00:29:44,860 --> 00:29:46,460 to a case of botulism before. 415 00:29:49,840 --> 00:29:54,900 Blood samples from all four patients turn up lethal doses of botulinum toxin, 416 00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:57,420 and federal investigators jump in. 417 00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:02,300 Is this a bad batch of Botox? Is this a counterfeit? We have a public health 418 00:30:02,300 --> 00:30:03,300 risk here. 419 00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:08,660 FDA Special Agent David Bourne, with the Office of Criminal Investigations, 420 00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:13,280 launches a coordinated effort to track down the source of the poisonings. 421 00:30:13,740 --> 00:30:18,580 First, his team focuses on the Oakland Park Clinic where the injections took 422 00:30:18,580 --> 00:30:21,220 place and serves a search warrant there. 423 00:30:21,540 --> 00:30:26,760 They make a key discovery, purchasing records, which reveal that the clinic 424 00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:31,580 been buying a Botox knockoff from a company called Toxin Research 425 00:30:32,100 --> 00:30:33,420 or TRI. 426 00:30:33,980 --> 00:30:38,480 And that, of course, was a concern to us because they are not an approved 427 00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:40,360 provider of botulinum toxin. 428 00:30:41,639 --> 00:30:47,220 TRI, based in Tucson, Arizona, advertises its product as a cheaper 429 00:30:47,220 --> 00:30:49,280 to Allergan's Botox. 430 00:30:49,780 --> 00:30:51,340 TRI was very aggressive. 431 00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:56,860 They looked at the South Florida market and they blanketed dermatologists and 432 00:30:56,860 --> 00:30:58,680 plastic surgeons with their material. 433 00:30:59,760 --> 00:31:02,320 Authorities also find documents that link Dr. 434 00:31:02,580 --> 00:31:07,060 Bach -McComb, an employee at the clinic, and one of the botulism victims. 435 00:31:07,660 --> 00:31:08,660 to TRI. 436 00:31:08,800 --> 00:31:14,100 McComb had worked as a presenter at one of many medical seminars that TRI hosted 437 00:31:14,100 --> 00:31:15,180 across the country. 438 00:31:15,500 --> 00:31:20,060 They were inviting in practitioners and instructing them on how to use their 439 00:31:20,060 --> 00:31:21,340 botulinum toxin product. 440 00:31:22,300 --> 00:31:27,140 From there, investigators turned their sights on TRI, which is owned and 441 00:31:27,140 --> 00:31:32,520 operated by a pair of naturopathic doctors, Chad Lifdahl and Zahra Karim. 442 00:31:33,460 --> 00:31:36,500 Agents raid its Tucson headquarters a few days later. 443 00:31:36,940 --> 00:31:40,540 and uncover evidence of a wide -ranging criminal enterprise. 444 00:31:41,180 --> 00:31:45,220 The review of the sales records is what really concerned us. There were hundreds 445 00:31:45,220 --> 00:31:50,260 of doctors who had ordered product from TRI, hundreds of doctors that were 446 00:31:50,260 --> 00:31:54,180 administering an unapproved botulinum toxin to patients. 447 00:31:55,780 --> 00:32:01,580 Hoping to cash in on the Botox boom, Libdahl and Karim hatch a bold money 448 00:32:01,580 --> 00:32:02,780 -making scheme in 2003. 449 00:32:03,920 --> 00:32:10,000 That year alone, Allergan sells more than $560 million worth of Botox in the 450 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:15,360 .S. Livdahl finds a supplier of botulinum toxin, so he and Kareem begin 451 00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:17,380 a black market alternative to physicians. 452 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:24,320 For every 500 -unit vial of botulinum toxin, TRI charges $1 ,250. 453 00:32:25,540 --> 00:32:28,040 Allergan's Botox costs twice that much. 454 00:32:28,460 --> 00:32:29,460 The hook? 455 00:32:29,620 --> 00:32:31,440 Doctors pocket the difference. 456 00:32:32,140 --> 00:32:37,240 order a cheaper product from TRI, continue to charge the higher market 457 00:32:37,240 --> 00:32:39,460 Allegan's Botox, and make a profit. 458 00:32:39,980 --> 00:32:45,380 They convinced more than 200 physicians to buy in, physicians who'd inject their 459 00:32:45,380 --> 00:32:50,440 patients with an unapproved, possibly lethal substance and keep them in the 460 00:32:50,440 --> 00:32:51,219 about it. 461 00:32:51,220 --> 00:32:52,360 Doctors take an oath. 462 00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:59,240 Unfortunately, there was a number of doctors in this case who put profit 463 00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:00,240 that oath. 464 00:33:01,020 --> 00:33:06,980 Livdahl and Karim rake in approximately $1 .7 million in just 18 months. 465 00:33:07,840 --> 00:33:09,340 Authorities fear the worst. 466 00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:15,040 The TRI's product caused the botulism poisonings, and even more people will 467 00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:16,040 sick. 468 00:33:17,040 --> 00:33:20,600 Meanwhile, the four victims continue fighting for their lives. 469 00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:26,920 They received more than 2 ,800 times the lethal dose of botulinum toxin, and 470 00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:30,360 doctors have no prognosis whether they'll survive or not. 471 00:33:33,610 --> 00:33:39,350 Next on American Greed, the inside dirt on how Chad Livdahl plans to outmaneuver 472 00:33:39,350 --> 00:33:41,530 the feds and reap a fortune. 473 00:33:41,770 --> 00:33:48,630 And yeah, it was jaw -dropping. The profit margin had to be $485 per 474 00:33:48,630 --> 00:33:49,630 bottle. 475 00:34:02,830 --> 00:34:07,770 It's December and several days have passed since Alma Jane Hall came down 476 00:34:07,770 --> 00:34:11,670 paralyzing botulism that's trapped her in her own body. 477 00:34:12,670 --> 00:34:16,929 She's fully conscious but can't walk, talk, swallow, or even blink. 478 00:34:18,110 --> 00:34:22,469 The only thing that she can move is her big toe, which her sister discovers. 479 00:34:22,909 --> 00:34:27,350 I remember her putting her hands on my feet and she goes, Alma, I'm here. 480 00:34:27,909 --> 00:34:30,690 And I remember taking every... 481 00:34:31,260 --> 00:34:36,500 bit of energy, every ounce of, you know, pressing my feet up against her hand. 482 00:34:36,620 --> 00:34:38,239 And she goes, oh, my God. 483 00:34:39,520 --> 00:34:40,820 She goes, can you hear me? 484 00:34:41,139 --> 00:34:43,639 And then I touched her again. 485 00:34:44,679 --> 00:34:49,739 This video, shot at a later date, shows how Hall devised a means to communicate 486 00:34:49,739 --> 00:34:51,000 with medical staff. 487 00:34:51,639 --> 00:34:52,639 A through L. 488 00:34:52,980 --> 00:34:58,640 A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H. 489 00:34:59,470 --> 00:35:00,710 H, is that correct? 490 00:35:01,150 --> 00:35:02,150 I have. 491 00:35:02,310 --> 00:35:03,710 Are you trying to say I have? 492 00:35:04,770 --> 00:35:09,790 At this point, no one knows how long it will take for the toxin to leave Hall's 493 00:35:09,790 --> 00:35:11,430 body, possibly months. 494 00:35:12,270 --> 00:35:16,950 The same goes for the other three victims, Eric and Bonnie Kaplan and Dr. 495 00:35:16,950 --> 00:35:19,030 -McComb. Your face is frozen. 496 00:35:19,450 --> 00:35:20,750 Your eyes are frozen. 497 00:35:21,230 --> 00:35:26,250 So they got me a back scratcher with a little thing on the end of it. And I 498 00:35:26,250 --> 00:35:27,990 would do it like this and... 499 00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:31,560 opened my eye with this back scratcher. 500 00:35:32,700 --> 00:35:36,620 The doctor yelled at me. He goes, you're going to scratch your cornea. Stop it. 501 00:35:37,340 --> 00:35:38,980 But I needed to see. 502 00:35:39,880 --> 00:35:44,480 I needed to. You know, my sons I needed to see. I needed to see my husband. 503 00:35:45,400 --> 00:35:49,080 But I couldn't because he was paralyzed in the room next to me. 504 00:35:52,080 --> 00:35:56,520 Authorities believe that a black market supplier of counterfeit Botox is to 505 00:35:56,520 --> 00:35:57,740 blame for the poisonings. 506 00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:03,680 They've raided that company, Toxin Research International, or TRI, and 507 00:36:03,680 --> 00:36:08,960 more than 100 vials of botulinum toxin labeled for research purposes only. 508 00:36:09,820 --> 00:36:14,660 Investigators learned that TRI's president, Chad Libdahl, obtained the 509 00:36:14,700 --> 00:36:20,080 approximately 3 ,000 vials of it, from a California research facility called 510 00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:21,640 List Laboratories. 511 00:36:22,240 --> 00:36:27,240 What was so delighting to Chad was that he could go to List. 512 00:36:27,840 --> 00:36:32,840 And just start ordering it from them. As long as they had some excuse of doing 513 00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:35,760 some research or whatever, they're fine. Oh, sure, how much would you like? 514 00:36:36,740 --> 00:36:41,480 According to Dr. Stephen Seldon, who knew Chad Livdahl and almost went into 515 00:36:41,480 --> 00:36:46,860 business with him, Livdahl discovers that List Labs manufactures all types of 516 00:36:46,860 --> 00:36:51,200 toxins, from anthrax to cholera to botulinum, for research studies. 517 00:36:51,680 --> 00:36:54,140 So Livdahl contacts List directly. 518 00:36:54,710 --> 00:37:00,130 and learns that he can buy botulinum toxin from them for less than $10 a 519 00:37:00,210 --> 00:37:05,610 He said, Steve, you won't believe how inexpensive this stuff is to make. 520 00:37:06,510 --> 00:37:11,730 Allergan would sell a 100 -unit vial to me, the doctor, for $500. 521 00:37:12,290 --> 00:37:19,130 The profit margin had to be $485 per bottle. 522 00:37:20,460 --> 00:37:24,880 Liv Dahl, who has a background in chemistry, also claims that he has a 523 00:37:24,880 --> 00:37:29,560 for an improved version of Botox, one that lasts longer after being 524 00:37:29,560 --> 00:37:34,900 reconstituted. And Chad, his business model was, I'm going to come in and once 525 00:37:34,900 --> 00:37:39,260 get my FDA approval, I'm going to price it at 80 % of Valergan's cost. 526 00:37:39,660 --> 00:37:43,800 He had it in the palm of his hand to be worth $500 million. 527 00:37:45,160 --> 00:37:51,100 But Libdahl and his partner Zahra Karim never seek out FDA approval. The 528 00:37:51,100 --> 00:37:54,440 application process itself can cost millions of dollars. 529 00:37:54,780 --> 00:38:00,780 Instead, they try to evade the law by having List Labs custom make thousands 530 00:38:00,780 --> 00:38:05,080 vials of botulinum toxin according to their improved recipe. 531 00:38:05,340 --> 00:38:11,160 Because List manufactures toxins for research, not human consumption, it's 532 00:38:11,160 --> 00:38:12,440 regulated by the FDA. 533 00:38:13,180 --> 00:38:17,300 Libdown Cream thought they were going to outsmart the FDA. They wanted to cut 534 00:38:17,300 --> 00:38:22,940 corners only for the purpose of profiting and for their own human 535 00:38:22,940 --> 00:38:23,980 experimentation. 536 00:38:25,580 --> 00:38:30,200 Authorities halt TRI's operation by filing an emergency restraining order 537 00:38:30,200 --> 00:38:31,200 against the company. 538 00:38:31,400 --> 00:38:36,760 In the meantime, they determine that TRI's product did not actually cause the 539 00:38:36,760 --> 00:38:38,020 botulism poisonings. 540 00:38:38,620 --> 00:38:42,740 Another culprit at the Florida clinic where the poisonings took place is to 541 00:38:42,740 --> 00:38:43,740 blame. 542 00:38:43,800 --> 00:38:48,920 A medical assistant reveals that he went straight to TRI's supplier, List Labs, 543 00:38:49,360 --> 00:38:52,800 and purchased a vial of raw botulinum toxin from them. 544 00:38:53,020 --> 00:38:58,240 He says that he did so at the behest of Dr. Bach McComb, who allegedly wanted to 545 00:38:58,240 --> 00:39:00,360 cut out the middleman, TRI. 546 00:39:01,100 --> 00:39:05,600 McComb then injected himself and the other victims with the contents of that 547 00:39:05,600 --> 00:39:06,600 vial. 548 00:39:06,740 --> 00:39:07,840 Bach McComb? 549 00:39:08,380 --> 00:39:11,280 tried to formulate his own version of Botox. 550 00:39:11,520 --> 00:39:14,040 He miscalculated the formula. 551 00:39:14,280 --> 00:39:17,260 He gave them pure poison. 552 00:39:17,600 --> 00:39:23,560 As a trained health care provider, he should know that he's playing Russian 553 00:39:23,560 --> 00:39:25,080 roulette, and in this case, he lost. 554 00:39:26,200 --> 00:39:31,880 In fact, the dose that McComb gave himself, Alma Jane Hall, and the Kaplans 555 00:39:31,880 --> 00:39:35,560 200 times more powerful than Allergan's Botox. 556 00:39:36,590 --> 00:39:40,570 For his part, McComb says that what happened was an accident, but he 557 00:39:40,570 --> 00:39:45,430 emphatically denies ordering or mixing the vial from List Labs himself. 558 00:39:46,050 --> 00:39:50,690 He agreed to speak with American Greed on the condition that we conceal his 559 00:39:50,690 --> 00:39:52,930 appearance. I did not do this. 560 00:39:53,330 --> 00:39:58,310 There was no real evidence. It was basically based upon one individual that 561 00:39:58,310 --> 00:39:59,450 him that I knew what was going on. 562 00:39:59,830 --> 00:40:03,890 If I was responsible for doing it, there would be a paper trail of I paid for 563 00:40:03,890 --> 00:40:05,530 it, an authorized payment, and that didn't exist. 564 00:40:06,370 --> 00:40:12,350 However, McComb doesn't deny promoting TRI's counterfeit Botox or using it on 565 00:40:12,350 --> 00:40:13,590 his friends and colleagues. 566 00:40:14,110 --> 00:40:18,510 We've got regulations in place so that the medicines that we use are safe and 567 00:40:18,510 --> 00:40:19,770 effective for people to take. 568 00:40:20,170 --> 00:40:24,410 Unless they're dealing with some rapscallion like a Bach -McComb, they're 569 00:40:24,410 --> 00:40:26,010 going to end up paralyzed in a hospital. 570 00:40:26,930 --> 00:40:31,170 By the time McComb's released from the hospital in February 2005, 571 00:40:32,040 --> 00:40:36,160 federal authorities are ready to throw the book at him, Chad Libdahl, and Zahra 572 00:40:36,160 --> 00:40:42,520 Karim. Agents arrest all three on charges of conspiracy to defraud the U 573 00:40:42,520 --> 00:40:45,900 misbranding a drug, and engaging in mail -and -wire fraud. 574 00:40:46,560 --> 00:40:51,620 Each of them agrees to a plea deal, and Libdahl is sentenced to nine years in 575 00:40:51,620 --> 00:40:56,120 prison, Karim almost six years, and McComb three years. 576 00:40:57,420 --> 00:41:02,300 As for List Labs, no charges are ever filed against the toxin manufacturer. 577 00:41:02,880 --> 00:41:07,900 List denies having any knowledge of what Libdahl, Kareem, or McComb were doing 578 00:41:07,900 --> 00:41:08,900 with their toxins. 579 00:41:09,120 --> 00:41:13,580 But authorities find their screening process to be completely lacking. 580 00:41:14,100 --> 00:41:19,360 Investigators cold -called List and found that there was absolutely no 581 00:41:19,360 --> 00:41:22,900 of who they were or what they wanted to use the substance for. 582 00:41:23,400 --> 00:41:28,160 They were easily able to obtain some of the most poisonous substances on Earth 583 00:41:28,160 --> 00:41:30,020 simply by picking up a telephone. 584 00:41:32,060 --> 00:41:35,080 For the victims, it's a long road to recovery. 585 00:41:36,160 --> 00:41:40,960 The captains spend more than 11 weeks in the hospital and rehab overcoming the 586 00:41:40,960 --> 00:41:46,160 odds and learning how to walk, talk, and breathe on their own all over again. 587 00:41:47,020 --> 00:41:52,140 For Alma Jane Hall, recovery takes about 28 weeks, but she's still fighting 588 00:41:52,140 --> 00:41:54,560 residual effects more than a decade later. 589 00:41:55,120 --> 00:41:58,740 I realize how lucky I am and how far I've come. 590 00:41:59,140 --> 00:42:05,040 There's been so many hurdles, but I'm working through them, and it's a 591 00:42:05,040 --> 00:42:06,860 battle every day. 592 00:42:08,540 --> 00:42:10,440 The fallout doesn't end there. 593 00:42:11,080 --> 00:42:16,460 Authorities convicted another 29 doctors who used TRI's product on unsuspecting 594 00:42:16,460 --> 00:42:20,180 patients on charges of fraud or misbranding a drug. 595 00:42:20,520 --> 00:42:24,940 They're selling a toxin that could potentially hurt people, kill people, 596 00:42:25,060 --> 00:42:26,060 paralyze people. 597 00:42:26,920 --> 00:42:29,820 They set all that aside. We're going to sell this. We're going to make money. 598 00:42:29,880 --> 00:42:30,880 That's all we care about. 599 00:42:31,440 --> 00:42:34,720 It was pure, selfish greed.