1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:05,740 In this episode of American Greed. Our mission is to lift the spirits and 2 00:00:05,740 --> 00:00:06,740 gladden the hearts. 3 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:12,040 Jim Reynolds and his family raised $187 million promising to help cancer 4 00:00:12,040 --> 00:00:15,420 victims. He's not a big fellow, but boy, he has a big heart. 5 00:00:15,660 --> 00:00:19,720 It's a pitch that pulls at the heartstrings, but it's all a lie. 6 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:24,720 A lot of good people gave a lot of good money for a lot of good reasons, and it 7 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:26,820 just went nowhere positive. 8 00:00:27,530 --> 00:00:32,090 The Reynolds family uses donated money to live the good life, and suffering 9 00:00:32,090 --> 00:00:34,950 victims seeking comfort get junk instead. 10 00:00:35,450 --> 00:00:40,290 We got a box, and it said Cancer Fund of America on it. But when we opened it 11 00:00:40,290 --> 00:00:41,910 up, we were all in shock. 12 00:00:42,370 --> 00:00:46,510 And later, all across the country, American girls are missing. 13 00:00:47,250 --> 00:00:48,250 Dolls, that is. 14 00:00:48,630 --> 00:00:52,390 And here it goes. The tag's off, and it's in the skirt, just like that. 15 00:00:52,610 --> 00:00:55,650 For one family, thievery is the tie that binds. 16 00:00:56,360 --> 00:01:00,520 What made the Bogdanoff such great thieves is that they work together as a 17 00:01:00,660 --> 00:01:05,099 The Bogdanoff family crisscrosses the country on a toy -stealing crime spree 18 00:01:05,099 --> 00:01:07,040 worth $7 .1 million. 19 00:01:07,500 --> 00:01:11,760 The Bogdanoffs literally could not walk into a store without snatching something 20 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:12,760 on the way out. 21 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:31,900 The workday is done. The kids are home from school. 22 00:01:32,220 --> 00:01:34,200 It's time to sit down for dinner. 23 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:36,620 Then the phone rings. 24 00:01:36,960 --> 00:01:40,800 Hi, how you doing? Who are you? It's the Cancer Fund of America. 25 00:01:41,370 --> 00:01:45,230 We're a 501c3 charity. We help cancer patients anywhere in the United States. 26 00:01:45,450 --> 00:01:49,270 Now, what does this do? We provide those medical supplies and items for men, 27 00:01:49,370 --> 00:01:51,390 women, and children with the fourth stage cancer. 28 00:01:51,650 --> 00:01:54,710 We're helping the patients with this one, the people that need the help the 29 00:01:54,710 --> 00:01:56,170 fighting the disease of cancer. 30 00:01:56,390 --> 00:01:59,330 And we just wanted to be sure if the cancer patients could count on your 31 00:01:59,330 --> 00:02:00,630 continued support. Would that be okay? 32 00:02:01,250 --> 00:02:06,610 According to the National Cancer Institute, nearly 1 .7 million Americans 33 00:02:06,610 --> 00:02:09,289 diagnosed with the dreaded disease each year. 34 00:02:09,660 --> 00:02:14,420 So when someone asks for a small donation to help cancer patients, it may 35 00:02:14,420 --> 00:02:16,380 like there's only one humane response. 36 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:18,800 Well, I'll go ahead and give $20. 37 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:20,900 Oh, great, ma 'am. Great. Thank you. 38 00:02:21,260 --> 00:02:26,620 When you hear the word cancer, it then shivers through your spine. 39 00:02:26,860 --> 00:02:30,620 And so when you hear of a charity that is... 40 00:02:30,990 --> 00:02:36,650 offering to provide some level of relief or assistance to either a family or a 41 00:02:36,650 --> 00:02:40,590 victim of cancer, you automatically, you know, want to help. 42 00:02:40,890 --> 00:02:46,590 We all know family members who have cancer or died of cancer, and we want to 43 00:02:46,590 --> 00:02:49,170 there when this catastrophe hits the family. 44 00:02:49,490 --> 00:02:53,530 It's out of this desire to help that one man has built a thriving family 45 00:02:53,530 --> 00:02:58,910 business. Our mission is to lift the spirits and gladden the heart of the 46 00:02:58,910 --> 00:03:02,540 because when cancer strikes, So devastating to the family. 47 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:08,260 Launched in the 1980s in Knoxville, Tennessee, the Cancer Fund of America is 48 00:03:08,260 --> 00:03:11,760 brainchild of a former Army medic named Jim Reynolds Sr. 49 00:03:12,420 --> 00:03:13,740 Oh, he was looked up to. 50 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:19,400 Marilyn Rasmussen lives in Knoxville, where she attends church with Reynolds. 51 00:03:20,380 --> 00:03:25,720 He was highly respected, at least in the church, because he had a charity. 52 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:29,820 After hearing about Reynolds' successful charity at church, 53 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:35,420 Rasmussen learns what they're really doing in 2002, when her father -in -law 54 00:03:35,420 --> 00:03:37,140 Eddie is diagnosed with cancer. 55 00:03:37,540 --> 00:03:43,060 We got a box in the mail out of Clear Blue Sky, and it said Cancer Fund of 56 00:03:43,060 --> 00:03:47,300 America on it. We didn't ask for it, but it cheered my father -in -law up when 57 00:03:47,300 --> 00:03:48,179 he saw the box. 58 00:03:48,180 --> 00:03:50,180 You know, he was real excited, and we were too. 59 00:03:51,220 --> 00:03:56,460 The box, and many like it, are paid for with donations brought in by an army of 60 00:03:56,460 --> 00:03:57,460 telemarketers. 61 00:03:58,250 --> 00:04:02,010 They called it sales. They didn't call it, you know, fundraising. They called 62 00:04:02,010 --> 00:04:07,830 sales. At a nondescript office in the Detroit suburbs, Ebony Squirewell first 63 00:04:07,830 --> 00:04:12,610 goes to work for a fundraising offshoot of the Cancer Fund of America in 2003. 64 00:04:13,650 --> 00:04:17,250 Some people will have to learn to be good at it, but I was good at it right 65 00:04:17,250 --> 00:04:18,250 away. 66 00:04:18,570 --> 00:04:23,030 Squirewell sees the opportunity as more than just a way to pay the bills. 67 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:27,760 It's a very sensitive topic when it comes to cancer because there are cancer 68 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:32,540 patients in my family. So I said, oh, okay, if it's to help cancer patients, 69 00:04:32,700 --> 00:04:33,700 I'll do it. 70 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:38,260 It's been years since she made calls she thought were helping, but the scripted 71 00:04:38,260 --> 00:04:41,360 pitch she gave is still seared in her mind. 72 00:04:41,620 --> 00:04:44,720 Hello, this is Ebony from the Cancer Fund of America Support Services. How 73 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:45,720 you today? 74 00:04:45,870 --> 00:04:48,910 He would say, fine. I said, well, great. We're calling really brief. We're 75 00:04:48,910 --> 00:04:51,790 continuing our cancer rate program where we're helping cancer patients with 76 00:04:51,790 --> 00:04:53,250 their medical supplies and hospice care. 77 00:04:53,790 --> 00:04:56,850 Anything we can do to help these cancer patients in their time of need, we just 78 00:04:56,850 --> 00:04:59,190 wanted to make sure we can get you out a pledge card and count on you for your 79 00:04:59,190 --> 00:05:00,470 support. Would that be okay? 80 00:05:01,030 --> 00:05:06,210 Over the years, Squirewell becomes an expert at bringing in cash for a cause 81 00:05:06,210 --> 00:05:07,159 believes in. 82 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:11,200 And while she has daily contact with the managers who run the call room, she 83 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:14,000 never actually meets the man behind the curtain. 84 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:17,680 Hello, I'm Jim Reynolds. I'm president for the Cancer Fund of America. 85 00:05:17,900 --> 00:05:21,120 This is our national headquarters here, and we'd like to welcome you. 86 00:05:21,340 --> 00:05:25,500 Before starting his charity, Reynolds worked at the well -known and unrelated 87 00:05:25,500 --> 00:05:29,620 American Cancer Society, which focuses on cancer research. 88 00:05:30,340 --> 00:05:35,320 When he sets out on his own, he creates a pitch meant to set his new charity 89 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:38,420 apart. Now, there's nothing wrong with research. 90 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:41,540 I hope they find a cure for cancer through research someday. 91 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:47,320 But there's so many organizations out there doing research that the few 92 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:50,860 we could put into research would be like a drop in the ocean. I think the Cancer 93 00:05:50,860 --> 00:05:57,320 Fund of America was smart, if you could use that phrase with this group, by 94 00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:02,120 saying to people, we're going to help people who have the disease right now. 95 00:06:02,750 --> 00:06:07,670 Art Taylor of the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance says 96 00:06:07,670 --> 00:06:09,190 value in differentiation. 97 00:06:09,830 --> 00:06:11,970 Yeah, there are others out there doing research. 98 00:06:12,350 --> 00:06:16,190 That's fine, but when will we ever find the cure for cancer? 99 00:06:16,970 --> 00:06:20,830 People need help today, and that's what we're going to do. We're going to help 100 00:06:20,830 --> 00:06:21,830 them right now. 101 00:06:21,870 --> 00:06:24,930 There's many people out there that research is just too late for. 102 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:27,260 We've got to do something to help. 103 00:06:27,620 --> 00:06:32,720 CFA and their callers give potential donors a laundry list of ways they're 104 00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:37,520 helping. You're going to provide them with transportation, pain medication, 105 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:38,520 know, medical supplies. 106 00:06:38,880 --> 00:06:42,580 These are all things that they represented Cancer Fund would provide. 107 00:06:42,900 --> 00:06:45,940 And they say it's all done on a massive scale. 108 00:06:46,890 --> 00:06:51,990 The Cancer Fund of America is the only national cancer charity that has 109 00:06:51,990 --> 00:06:56,870 commodities and financial aid to victims of cancer as its major priority. In 110 00:06:56,870 --> 00:07:02,770 this past year alone, CFA has tended to the needs of some 70 ,000 clients with 111 00:07:02,770 --> 00:07:05,930 items designed to lift their spirits and improve their lives. 112 00:07:06,150 --> 00:07:11,130 Helping out with pain meds, transportation, and hospice sounds like 113 00:07:11,130 --> 00:07:14,930 venture. Without your help, this warehouse could stand empty. 114 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:20,380 In this video, made for telemarketers like Ebony Squirewell, they make it 115 00:07:20,380 --> 00:07:22,120 that they can't do it alone. 116 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:27,760 And over 450 hospices with more than 5 ,000 patients would not have some of the 117 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:31,920 things necessary to ease the suffering and pain, as well as sustaining their 118 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:32,920 nutritional health. 119 00:07:32,940 --> 00:07:37,680 If this type of encouragement isn't enough, there are other ways to keep 120 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:38,740 fundraisers busy. 121 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:42,060 We were never allowed to accept no. 122 00:07:42,780 --> 00:07:47,800 Squire Wells says her job depended on hitting a quota, and persistence was 123 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:48,800 essential. 124 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:51,640 If they say no, then I'll give them a smaller amount. 125 00:07:51,860 --> 00:07:54,960 You know, I'll give them a smaller amount. They say no to 50, I'll say 25. 126 00:07:55,340 --> 00:07:57,220 They say no to 25, I'll say 15. 127 00:07:57,540 --> 00:08:01,280 They say no to 15, I'll say 10. You know, I'm going to make you say yeah, 128 00:08:01,380 --> 00:08:04,560 because, again, I'm not asking for anything today. 129 00:08:04,780 --> 00:08:08,780 I'm just asking to send a pledge card out to you and counting on you for your 130 00:08:08,780 --> 00:08:10,200 support. Is that okay? 131 00:08:10,730 --> 00:08:15,050 Provided with a list of rebuttal answers meant to turn a no into a yes, 132 00:08:15,330 --> 00:08:19,730 Squirewell says she could always count on getting a pledge from a certain 133 00:08:19,730 --> 00:08:21,750 target. Older people. 134 00:08:22,390 --> 00:08:28,130 And pretty much knew that the rebuttals would get the older people. 135 00:08:28,570 --> 00:08:34,669 The calls made by Squirewell and many, many other employees add up in a big, 136 00:08:34,669 --> 00:08:35,669 way. 137 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:41,500 Between 2008 and 2012, CFA and two other cancer charities run by the Reynolds 138 00:08:41,500 --> 00:08:44,460 family raised $187 million. 139 00:08:45,620 --> 00:08:47,880 But what are they actually doing? 140 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:54,320 In the fall of 2002, Marilyn Rasmussen's father -in -law, Eddie, opens the box 141 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:56,780 he got from CFA and finds out. 142 00:08:57,880 --> 00:09:01,040 There were a couple of bags of chips in there. 143 00:09:01,340 --> 00:09:05,360 There was a coloring book. There was little crayons. There was a baby doll. 144 00:09:05,860 --> 00:09:10,020 There was nothing there that he could use. 145 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:13,180 There was nothing there to give him comfort. 146 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:18,940 This is one of the items that was in the box that my husband's father received. 147 00:09:19,340 --> 00:09:23,400 It's the only thing that we saved because I like wild animals. I think 148 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:25,840 of funny because the bottom of it says storm brewing. 149 00:09:26,410 --> 00:09:29,730 But I have to ask you, what does this have to do with helping somebody with 150 00:09:29,730 --> 00:09:33,530 cancer? How is this supposed to give him comfort? 151 00:09:34,170 --> 00:09:40,250 I mean, it's pretty, and I love animals, but it didn't help my father -in -law 152 00:09:40,250 --> 00:09:44,330 any. It was just a bunch of things put together in a box. It looked like 153 00:09:44,330 --> 00:09:47,930 somebody went through their warehouse and just threw things in the box and 154 00:09:47,930 --> 00:09:49,830 just closed it up and shipped it out. 155 00:09:50,210 --> 00:09:53,350 And I was just, I was shocked. 156 00:09:54,060 --> 00:09:58,720 Eddie Rasmussen dies a few months later, and his daughter -in -law says the 157 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:02,340 cancer fund's box felt like one last indignity. 158 00:10:02,680 --> 00:10:06,900 When he got that box, you know, he was in a lot of physical pain. He was 159 00:10:06,900 --> 00:10:10,260 suffering, and that really did not help him any. 160 00:10:11,060 --> 00:10:16,020 Next on American Greed, find out who's really cashing in at the Reynolds Family 161 00:10:16,020 --> 00:10:17,380 Cancer Charities. 162 00:10:17,580 --> 00:10:19,200 It makes you sick to your stomach. 163 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:21,460 It makes you actually sick. 164 00:10:31,910 --> 00:10:33,130 This is where it all begins. 165 00:10:33,330 --> 00:10:36,950 This is the back part of our building. We have a 10 ,000 square foot warehouse. 166 00:10:37,290 --> 00:10:38,249 Jim Reynolds Sr. 167 00:10:38,250 --> 00:10:41,390 brings in a fortune promising to help those in need. 168 00:10:41,750 --> 00:10:47,070 We begin to understand that no person is alone in our society as long as we care 169 00:10:47,070 --> 00:10:48,610 and are there to help. 170 00:10:48,830 --> 00:10:52,850 For years, donors are promised their money will be used to provide pain 171 00:10:52,850 --> 00:10:58,270 medications, to transport patients to chemo appointments, and to pay for 172 00:10:58,270 --> 00:11:00,710 care. You know, there were some things that you... 173 00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:05,060 had to say in the script. You know, you had to say that you were helping cancer 174 00:11:05,060 --> 00:11:07,500 patients with medical supplies and hospice care. 175 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:09,700 But there's a glaring problem. 176 00:11:10,220 --> 00:11:15,240 They did not purchase pain medication, they did not provide hospice care, and 177 00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:16,240 they did not provide transportation. 178 00:11:16,660 --> 00:11:19,660 None of the money went to those three programs because they simply didn't 179 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:25,260 Instead, patients get boxes, like the one received by Marilyn Rasmussen's 180 00:11:25,260 --> 00:11:26,249 -in -law. 181 00:11:26,250 --> 00:11:31,470 Some contain potentially useful items like instant breakfast, adult diapers, 182 00:11:31,470 --> 00:11:32,470 bed pads. 183 00:11:32,630 --> 00:11:37,450 Others contain curious odds and ends that are of no particular use to cancer 184 00:11:37,450 --> 00:11:42,570 patients. Things like sample -sized toiletries, over -the -counter 185 00:11:43,090 --> 00:11:49,890 toys, makeup, DVDs, and certain food items which Reynolds later tries hard 186 00:11:49,890 --> 00:11:50,890 to justify. 187 00:11:51,699 --> 00:11:56,060 Originally, a lot of the packs included little Debbie snack cakes, which I think 188 00:11:56,060 --> 00:11:58,720 he explained in a deposition made people happy. 189 00:11:59,180 --> 00:12:04,520 And at some point, they switched to providing moon pies, which he explained 190 00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:05,499 people happier. 191 00:12:05,500 --> 00:12:10,300 Moon pies aren't the only way Reynolds says his charity is making patients 192 00:12:10,300 --> 00:12:15,220 happy. Last year, we started a program just for children in addition to the 193 00:12:15,220 --> 00:12:18,600 regular programs that we have giving products out. We started writing checks. 194 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:25,100 And we've written, to date, 1 ,375 checks for a total of $95 ,000. 195 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:29,780 While it sounds good, the program delivers just a fraction of what's been 196 00:12:29,780 --> 00:12:34,940 promised. If you look at the actual records of that, the amount they 197 00:12:34,940 --> 00:12:38,340 was paltry. It was in the thousands of dollars, even though they were raising 198 00:12:38,340 --> 00:12:39,199 billions of dollars. 199 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:43,800 Less than 3 % actually went to cancer patients and victims. 200 00:12:44,460 --> 00:12:47,000 That's appalling. This would offend... 201 00:12:48,150 --> 00:12:51,870 even organized criminals and mobsters. 202 00:12:52,210 --> 00:12:54,750 So where, then, is the rest going? 203 00:12:54,990 --> 00:12:57,710 Most of it goes to shady telemarketing companies. 204 00:12:58,170 --> 00:13:02,630 Year after year, Reynolds and his family's charities sign contracts with 205 00:13:02,630 --> 00:13:07,730 fundraisers, allowing them to keep 80 to 95 percent of the money they bring in. 206 00:13:07,930 --> 00:13:14,490 A vast proportion of every dollar that a consumer gave for direct assistance. 207 00:13:15,930 --> 00:13:20,090 to cancer patients, their families, went into the pockets of the telefunders. 208 00:13:20,310 --> 00:13:25,130 Though these fees may seem criminally high, the Supreme Court has recognized 209 00:13:25,130 --> 00:13:28,110 charity fundraising as a form of free speech. 210 00:13:28,630 --> 00:13:33,570 Lawmakers can't limit what telemarketers charge or force them to disclose their 211 00:13:33,570 --> 00:13:34,570 take up front. 212 00:13:35,230 --> 00:13:39,530 Charities are free to spend as much money as they choose on fundraising. 213 00:13:39,830 --> 00:13:44,770 What they can't do is lie. If they lie, then they can be prosecuted for fraud. 214 00:13:45,340 --> 00:13:49,400 But most people don't ask the question. And the real question consumers should 215 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:52,160 be asking is how much of the money goes to the program. 216 00:13:52,460 --> 00:13:56,020 In other words, if you tell me you're raising money to give to cancer 217 00:13:56,180 --> 00:13:58,420 how much will cancer patients actually receive? 218 00:13:58,680 --> 00:14:03,700 After telemarketers take their huge cut, it's time for the Reynolds family to 219 00:14:03,700 --> 00:14:04,700 get what's left. 220 00:14:05,300 --> 00:14:10,800 Cancer Fund was really almost a full employment operation for James Reynolds 221 00:14:10,900 --> 00:14:11,900 and his family. 222 00:14:12,010 --> 00:14:17,270 As seen in this chart of intertwined relationships, CFA spins off two 223 00:14:17,270 --> 00:14:23,030 franchises, the Breast Cancer Society run by Reynolds' son and the Children's 224 00:14:23,030 --> 00:14:25,930 Cancer Fund of America run by senior's ex -wife. 225 00:14:26,190 --> 00:14:31,470 At all three charities, helping cancer patients takes a back seat to providing 226 00:14:31,470 --> 00:14:35,030 unnecessary jobs to unqualified family and friends. 227 00:14:35,710 --> 00:14:37,870 and paying them unjustifiable salaries. 228 00:14:38,250 --> 00:14:43,630 This self -dealing goes on for years, thanks to supposedly independent boards 229 00:14:43,630 --> 00:14:47,910 that are stacked with people whose main qualification is their lack of 230 00:14:47,910 --> 00:14:52,890 independence. The board members were acquaintances, friends, people that 231 00:14:52,890 --> 00:14:57,670 Reynolds Sr. put on the board, and they exercised no real meaningful oversight. 232 00:14:57,990 --> 00:15:00,370 You don't have anybody who's going to say... 233 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:03,800 Wait a minute, too much of the money is being paid for bonuses, for benefits, 234 00:15:03,980 --> 00:15:10,260 for cars, for credit cards, for tuition, for loans, when the only person who is 235 00:15:10,260 --> 00:15:13,320 responsible for that is the patriarch of the family. 236 00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:19,000 Even in years when donations fall, the charities cut programs but raise 237 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:24,520 salaries. It makes me sick to know that many of these people were earning more 238 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:28,780 in salary than they were actually contributing to people with cancer. 239 00:15:29,290 --> 00:15:30,550 It makes you actually thick. 240 00:15:30,910 --> 00:15:36,190 With little to no oversight, money for cancer victims pays instead for company 241 00:15:36,190 --> 00:15:42,270 cars, college tuitions, gym memberships, jet ski outings, cruises, and trips to 242 00:15:42,270 --> 00:15:43,229 Disney World. 243 00:15:43,230 --> 00:15:48,630 Plus, fees for dating websites, tickets to concerts and sporting events, meals 244 00:15:48,630 --> 00:15:51,790 at Hooters, and purchases at Victoria's Secret. 245 00:15:52,530 --> 00:15:56,790 And Reynolds is free to enjoy it all in a half -million -dollar house 246 00:15:56,790 --> 00:15:58,430 overlooking a lake. 247 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:05,800 And what he built was an empire of family members, greed, and a culture 248 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:07,260 the exact opposite of charity. 249 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:12,580 This was an organization that was built just for their own personal benefit. 250 00:16:12,700 --> 00:16:14,100 This should have been shut down immediately. 251 00:16:14,900 --> 00:16:20,560 Up next on American Greed. Nobody had ever looked at all of these 252 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:21,560 together. 253 00:16:22,340 --> 00:16:26,940 Investigators look close at the Reynolds family cancer charities and uncover the 254 00:16:26,940 --> 00:16:30,360 deep web of connections that's allowed their deceit to continue. 255 00:16:30,580 --> 00:16:37,100 Every time somebody needed an executive level salary, they would start a new 256 00:16:37,100 --> 00:16:38,100 organization. 257 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:53,240 But sometimes when we have cash in our pocket, we don't use it for what we 258 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:56,840 should or what we need, but we'll use it for other things. 259 00:16:57,140 --> 00:17:01,920 Jim Reynolds and his charities bring in millions despite a sordid history that 260 00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:03,300 actually goes back decades. 261 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:07,140 What they're talking about is Cancer Fund of America. 262 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:12,420 News reports say he set up the Cancer Fund after being fired from a legitimate 263 00:17:12,420 --> 00:17:15,359 cancer organization for stealing a car. 264 00:17:16,079 --> 00:17:21,460 Soon after setting up his own so -called charity, Reynolds found himself in hot 265 00:17:21,460 --> 00:17:26,339 water. Connecticut and Pennsylvania have filed separate lawsuits against Cancer 266 00:17:26,339 --> 00:17:27,299 Fund of America. 267 00:17:27,300 --> 00:17:33,000 Both complaints allege that in 1990, Cancer Fund of America participated in a 268 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:35,960 scheme to donate near -worthless goods. 269 00:17:36,360 --> 00:17:42,280 Despite lawsuit after lawsuit after lawsuit, donors keep opening their 270 00:17:42,280 --> 00:17:43,460 for Reynolds Charities. 271 00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:49,700 The public isn't going to like this, but ultimately the burden is on each of us 272 00:17:49,700 --> 00:17:54,940 as donors to make sure that we're giving to legitimate charities. If donors had 273 00:17:54,940 --> 00:18:00,720 gone to our website and looked up the Cancer Fund of America, they would have 274 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:06,320 seen a report with a big red exclamation point warning them to avoid that 275 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:11,400 charity at all costs. And we look at areas such as how well a charity is 276 00:18:11,400 --> 00:18:16,300 governed. Though it's possible to ferret out bad charities by researching them 277 00:18:16,300 --> 00:18:22,320 on sites like Charity Navigator or the Better Business Bureau's Give .org, few 278 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:26,960 people take the time to do so. And for those who do check them out, Reynolds and 279 00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:31,360 Company takes steps to falsely make themselves look more efficient than they 280 00:18:31,360 --> 00:18:34,080 are. Remember that junk in a box? 281 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:39,760 They use their tax forms to report hugely inflated values for everything 282 00:18:39,760 --> 00:18:40,760 give away. 283 00:18:41,130 --> 00:18:46,910 What they would do is take a pill that in reality should be valued at two cents 284 00:18:46,910 --> 00:18:52,690 and value it on their book as being donated at a value of a dollar. 285 00:18:53,070 --> 00:18:58,510 It's an accounting trick, and it allows inefficient charities to make themselves 286 00:18:58,510 --> 00:18:59,830 look more efficient than they really are. 287 00:19:00,390 --> 00:19:04,730 This tricky accounting creates the illusion that more of their money is 288 00:19:04,730 --> 00:19:08,190 cancer patients than to themselves and their fundraisers. 289 00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:13,020 And hiding what they do is only part of what allows them to continue on. 290 00:19:13,360 --> 00:19:17,720 There's really not enough cops on the beat in this area. The charity's law 291 00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:20,240 enforcement regulatory community is pretty small. 292 00:19:20,460 --> 00:19:27,380 Most state charity regulators don't have the kind of resources that they need to 293 00:19:27,380 --> 00:19:31,520 look into every case. Many people expect that the IRS... 294 00:19:32,040 --> 00:19:35,860 is going to be the agency that will go after unscrupulous charities. 295 00:19:36,060 --> 00:19:41,320 But the IRS is not really set up to do lots and lots of audits of charities 296 00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:46,740 either. In this environment, a bad actor could simply pay a fine in one state 297 00:19:46,740 --> 00:19:49,320 and keep ripping off consumers elsewhere. 298 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:53,660 In the past, when there was this type of abusive practice, 299 00:19:54,540 --> 00:19:59,800 I believe that a state would almost pass the trash to the next state. An 300 00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:01,120 organization would be investigated. 301 00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:06,340 They would shut down and then go to another community and then take 302 00:20:06,340 --> 00:20:07,780 a whole different set of donors. 303 00:20:08,140 --> 00:20:09,140 Recently, 304 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:15,160 though, charity regulators have begun banding together to go after bad 305 00:20:15,160 --> 00:20:19,560 charities, hoping that a joint action will leave them no safe harbor. 306 00:20:20,060 --> 00:20:23,220 Nobody had ever looked at all of these organizations. 307 00:20:24,700 --> 00:20:30,520 Over lunch at a conference in 2010, Elizabeth Korsmo, an assistant attorney 308 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:36,100 general in New Mexico, and a colleague from Missouri discussed using this multi 309 00:20:36,100 --> 00:20:38,720 -state strategy against the Reynolds family. 310 00:20:39,060 --> 00:20:43,620 They made the recommendation that they thought this organization was somewhat 311 00:20:43,620 --> 00:20:50,500 suspicious. And literally that is how this probe began. It was two government 312 00:20:50,500 --> 00:20:55,500 professionals being concerned and began to move forward. And it became one of 313 00:20:55,500 --> 00:20:58,260 the largest actions in the history of this country. 314 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:02,020 I believe it was on the Cancer Fund website. They had a listing of their 315 00:21:02,020 --> 00:21:07,440 employees. Working with investigator Elena Goodman, CORSMO helps establish 316 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:11,720 deep web of connections between the Cancer Fund of America and other 317 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:12,780 Family Charities. 318 00:21:13,450 --> 00:21:20,070 Once those relationships were revealed, then we could see how, instead of just 319 00:21:20,070 --> 00:21:26,470 one charity that had poor fundraising costs and poor program expenses, 320 00:21:26,790 --> 00:21:31,510 we could see how this was an intentional setup that had expanded. 321 00:21:32,390 --> 00:21:39,090 Every time somebody needed an executive -level salary, they would start a new 322 00:21:39,090 --> 00:21:40,090 organization. 323 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:44,960 As their knowledge of the charities grows, all 50 states and the District of 324 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:49,380 Columbia join together with the Federal Trade Commission in a joint effort to 325 00:21:49,380 --> 00:21:51,680 shut down Reynolds' cancerous effort. 326 00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:53,620 And the news begins to spread. 327 00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:58,880 The names sound charitable, but a lawsuit filed by the FTC in all 50 328 00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:04,440 calls these charities shams. Next on American Greed, after decades of 329 00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:06,660 the public, Reynolds faces justice. 330 00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:12,120 And then, a different kind of thieving family, pursued by a dogged detective in 331 00:22:12,120 --> 00:22:14,300 the case of the missing... dolls? 332 00:22:15,060 --> 00:22:18,460 See, I never thought that I'd be talking to American Greed. 333 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:21,540 over hundreds of missing American Groval products. 334 00:22:31,580 --> 00:22:37,840 In May 2015, charity regulators from every corner of the country filed a 335 00:22:37,840 --> 00:22:42,120 complaint in Arizona, which eventually leads to the shuttering of the Reynolds 336 00:22:42,120 --> 00:22:43,120 family charities. 337 00:22:43,580 --> 00:22:45,700 This is an historic moment. 338 00:22:46,250 --> 00:22:50,030 the first time the federal government and all of the state charity regulators 339 00:22:50,030 --> 00:22:54,350 have joined together to present a united front against charity fraud. 340 00:22:54,930 --> 00:23:00,070 Reynolds is banned from ever running a charity again and is slapped with a $75 341 00:23:00,070 --> 00:23:01,310 million judgment. 342 00:23:02,250 --> 00:23:07,210 He's forced to sell off what's left of the charity and hand over his pontoon 343 00:23:07,210 --> 00:23:10,290 boat, two guns, and a collection of beer signs. 344 00:23:11,230 --> 00:23:16,190 But he'll only have to pay up if he reenters the charity business or if he's 345 00:23:16,190 --> 00:23:17,590 found to have hidden his assets. 346 00:23:18,290 --> 00:23:22,550 Reynolds did not respond to repeated requests from American Greed for 347 00:23:23,130 --> 00:23:29,590 But in court documents, he remains unrepentant and summarizes his decades 348 00:23:29,590 --> 00:23:34,830 with a Mormon hymn that reads, Have I done any good in the world today? Have I 349 00:23:34,830 --> 00:23:35,970 helped anyone in need? 350 00:23:36,290 --> 00:23:41,810 Have I cheered up the sad, made someone feel glad? If not, I have failed indeed. 351 00:23:43,090 --> 00:23:47,730 Neither Reynolds nor any family member has faced criminal prosecution for the 352 00:23:47,730 --> 00:23:50,970 scam that brought in $187 million. 353 00:23:52,410 --> 00:23:58,050 You can commit petty crimes in America and go to jail, and yet this Mr. 354 00:23:58,270 --> 00:24:03,950 Reynolds can create a license to steal from any good American, and he won't see 355 00:24:03,950 --> 00:24:07,450 the inside of a jail cell, and there's something wrong with that type of 356 00:24:15,699 --> 00:24:22,420 In 2013, at a Barnes and Noble in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 45 American 357 00:24:22,420 --> 00:24:25,620 dolls worth more than $1 ,000 have gone missing. 358 00:24:25,900 --> 00:24:31,460 The next day, a few hours down the road in Alpharetta, Georgia, 64 more of the 359 00:24:31,460 --> 00:24:34,700 dolls, each costing $24, disappeared. 360 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:40,820 It's quite unusual to have that much product come missing in such a short 361 00:24:40,820 --> 00:24:41,820 window. 362 00:24:41,960 --> 00:24:47,140 When thieves strike, it's time for Barnes and Noble investigator Glenn 363 00:24:47,140 --> 00:24:48,059 step in. 364 00:24:48,060 --> 00:24:53,480 It was absolutely unique in my career to have something materialize so quickly. 365 00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:58,240 So the stores were able to quickly assemble images of who they really 366 00:24:58,240 --> 00:24:59,240 was responsible. 367 00:24:59,860 --> 00:25:03,140 Entering right now is the first unidentified male. 368 00:25:03,610 --> 00:25:08,230 The investigation begins with a look at store surveillance video that captures 369 00:25:08,230 --> 00:25:12,690 the comings and goings of all honest customers and would -be thieves. 370 00:25:13,210 --> 00:25:14,550 And I'll pause the video here. 371 00:25:14,750 --> 00:25:16,570 I want to point out her skirt. 372 00:25:17,310 --> 00:25:23,910 This is a pleated skirt. You can see that it's clearly flat on the front and 373 00:25:23,910 --> 00:25:25,730 flows freely as she's walking. 374 00:25:26,070 --> 00:25:29,290 To the untrained eye, a skirt is just a skirt. 375 00:25:29,710 --> 00:25:34,550 But to store Detective Glenn Justice, it could be a shoplifter's shopping bag. 376 00:25:35,110 --> 00:25:40,590 She will be followed by a female, blonde hair, pulled back, blue jeans in her 377 00:25:40,590 --> 00:25:46,790 30s. Okay, and here they are exiting. I want to point out the skirt. 378 00:25:47,370 --> 00:25:50,610 It's no longer hugging her body. 379 00:25:51,090 --> 00:25:56,730 It's actually protruding. The reason for that is it's concealed underneath of 380 00:25:56,730 --> 00:25:57,730 that in a pouch. 381 00:25:58,220 --> 00:26:01,260 or every single American Girl doll that was in the store at the time. 382 00:26:01,620 --> 00:26:05,760 All right, so this is the very next day in Alpharetta, Georgia, right, a suburb 383 00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:11,820 of greater Atlanta, Georgia. And in the store comes the same female, same skirt, 384 00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:17,580 followed by the male right behind that, just the same female, hair pulled back, 385 00:26:17,700 --> 00:26:19,900 blonde, blue jeans, entering the store. 386 00:26:20,620 --> 00:26:26,200 Justice has spotted the same trio entering the victimized stores 224 miles 387 00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:27,200 apart. 388 00:26:27,550 --> 00:26:31,090 There's no doubt in my mind at that time that these are the same three 389 00:26:31,090 --> 00:26:36,070 individuals that hit Tennessee, which is a consistent behavior with a 390 00:26:36,070 --> 00:26:41,110 professional shoplifter. I realized that all I had was images of three people, 391 00:26:41,150 --> 00:26:47,070 and it was my job to leverage that into what their identities were. 392 00:26:47,750 --> 00:26:51,910 There used to be a time when detectives would hit local pawn shops to see if 393 00:26:51,910 --> 00:26:54,690 anyone had come in trying to unload stolen goods. 394 00:26:55,360 --> 00:26:57,380 Now they start somewhere else. 395 00:26:57,680 --> 00:27:03,440 The online marketplaces, i .e. Amazon, eBay, and a plethora of others, have 396 00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:09,120 given the ability to quickly lift and sell large quantities of stolen product. 397 00:27:10,140 --> 00:27:12,860 However, that is a double -edged sword. 398 00:27:13,080 --> 00:27:18,220 All of the listings and sales of that product can be researched quite quickly 399 00:27:18,220 --> 00:27:20,560 and efficiently to ferret out this type of activity. 400 00:27:21,310 --> 00:27:25,950 Using special software, it's possible to find missing items if you know what to 401 00:27:25,950 --> 00:27:26,869 look for. 402 00:27:26,870 --> 00:27:32,790 In this case, American Girl minis sold in mass quantities at prices that are 403 00:27:32,790 --> 00:27:33,790 below retail. 404 00:27:34,290 --> 00:27:39,870 I conducted a search, and it returned two accounts and two accounts only. In 405 00:27:39,870 --> 00:27:44,290 less than seven minutes, I knew who my culprits were. 406 00:27:45,030 --> 00:27:50,150 Working with eBay, he learns the suspect accounts are from the Chicago area. 407 00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:56,820 One belongs to a 71 -year -old man who Justice suspects may be the fence, that 408 00:27:56,820 --> 00:27:59,880 is, the person buying and selling products for the thieves. 409 00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:05,620 The other account leads to a husband and wife named Bronco and Layla Bogdanoff, 410 00:28:05,640 --> 00:28:07,280 as well as their daughter Julia. 411 00:28:08,060 --> 00:28:12,820 A Google search turns up criminal histories and mugshots, and when he 412 00:28:12,820 --> 00:28:17,400 them to the people caught on camera, Justice knows he's on to his thieves. 413 00:28:18,120 --> 00:28:23,920 Being able to pull that ghost out of thin air and put an identity with them, 414 00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:26,020 is, it's intoxicating. 415 00:28:26,380 --> 00:28:30,720 And when the final numbers come in, Justice sees that along with their 416 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:36,160 the Bogdanoffs have stolen an astounding $7 .1 million worth of merchandise. 417 00:28:37,060 --> 00:28:39,420 $7 million was quite a surprise. 418 00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:44,960 As a matter of fact, to date, that's probably the very largest, most 419 00:28:46,070 --> 00:28:47,990 case that I have been involved with. 420 00:28:48,410 --> 00:28:53,170 Next on American Greed, the products they target may be small, but the family 421 00:28:53,170 --> 00:28:55,910 business has the Bogdanoffs living large. 422 00:28:56,410 --> 00:29:01,810 And the type of living they were able to sustain by chronic theft, yeah, it was 423 00:29:01,810 --> 00:29:06,830 disturbing. Could you spot the Bogdanoffs in action? Take a closer look 424 00:29:06,830 --> 00:29:09,830 thievery at AmericanGreed .CNBC .com. 425 00:29:11,890 --> 00:29:13,950 Want inside information from the show? 426 00:29:15,040 --> 00:29:16,340 Join the Greed social network. 427 00:29:16,660 --> 00:29:20,160 Like us on American Greed's Facebook page. We'll be right back. 428 00:29:26,900 --> 00:29:31,700 Making off with millions, the Bogdanoff family is part of a big problem that 429 00:29:31,700 --> 00:29:36,400 CNBC retail reporter Courtney Reagan says is only getting bigger. 430 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:42,620 The National Retail Federation estimates that $45 billion in losses occur in 431 00:29:42,620 --> 00:29:47,060 retail due to shrinkage. Shrinkage being the retail industry term for inventory 432 00:29:47,060 --> 00:29:52,420 loss, which comes from theft by either consumers or employees or goods that are 433 00:29:52,420 --> 00:29:57,260 otherwise damaged or unsellable. When an item disappears off the shelf, who 434 00:29:57,260 --> 00:29:59,060 ultimately pays the price? 435 00:29:59,560 --> 00:30:04,020 When you're thinking about the prices that shoppers pay at stores, if you see 436 00:30:04,020 --> 00:30:08,760 store or a retailer that has a high amount of shrinkage or theft, that means 437 00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:12,280 that is not a profit, it's a loss. And in order to make up for that loss, 438 00:30:12,540 --> 00:30:17,440 they're going to have to increase the prices, which ultimately means that 439 00:30:17,440 --> 00:30:21,420 shoppers can end up paying more to make up for the dishonesty. 440 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:26,740 With thievery on the rise, the Bogdanoffs are some of the best in the 441 00:30:27,100 --> 00:30:30,180 It seemed like theft was a way of life for the Bogdanoffs. 442 00:30:30,420 --> 00:30:35,660 According to former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti, there's a secret to 443 00:30:35,660 --> 00:30:36,660 their success. 444 00:30:36,820 --> 00:30:41,020 What made the Bogdanoffs such great thieves is that they worked together as 445 00:30:41,020 --> 00:30:44,020 team. I mean, this is a family that had been working together for years. 446 00:30:44,220 --> 00:30:49,880 You had the father, Bronco Bogdanoff, who would remove, you know, difficult to 447 00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:51,840 remove security wrappings off of. 448 00:30:52,429 --> 00:30:57,910 You had the mother, Layla Bogdanoff, who would be able to secrete items in her 449 00:30:57,910 --> 00:31:02,730 skirt, hide things in a way that would be difficult for store personnel to find 450 00:31:02,730 --> 00:31:04,490 and make them hesitant to search. 451 00:31:04,930 --> 00:31:08,410 And then, of course, you had the daughter, Julia Bogdanoff, who would 452 00:31:08,410 --> 00:31:13,090 them as a lookout, looking to see if store employees were paying attention, 453 00:31:13,090 --> 00:31:17,210 if they were, to quickly interfere with them so that the other two could make a 454 00:31:17,210 --> 00:31:20,880 getaway. Here's another example of the bug on us. You're going to see here the 455 00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:22,360 EAS, the security activation. 456 00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:27,360 The daughter's role running interference can be seen very clearly in this video. 457 00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:32,500 Julia's role, again, is to intercept any employee that would try to follow and 458 00:31:32,500 --> 00:31:33,800 stop her mother and father. 459 00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:38,440 Here you see the employees responding to the activation of the security device. 460 00:31:39,380 --> 00:31:44,540 She's engaging them in conversation to try to give mom and dad time to get in 461 00:31:44,540 --> 00:31:45,820 their vehicle and flee. 462 00:31:46,330 --> 00:31:49,670 So this is just a great illustration of how they operate. 463 00:31:50,030 --> 00:31:55,890 The Bogdanoff success starts before they go into a store with research on 464 00:31:55,890 --> 00:31:56,970 consumer demand. 465 00:31:57,450 --> 00:31:59,750 They chose their product brilliantly. 466 00:32:00,010 --> 00:32:06,690 All of the product that they would target was brand new, in demand, 467 00:32:07,170 --> 00:32:08,750 easily monetized. 468 00:32:08,950 --> 00:32:10,510 The Bogdanoffs were smart enough. 469 00:32:10,880 --> 00:32:15,560 to locate the highest value items they could think of that were small and could 470 00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:18,640 fit inside a skirt. So they would go after Lego sets. 471 00:32:19,080 --> 00:32:24,040 Not the $10 Lego sets or $20 Lego sets that you buy for your little kid to play 472 00:32:24,040 --> 00:32:28,560 with, but expensive Lego sets that were collector's items that would retail for 473 00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:29,760 several hundred dollars each. 474 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:35,000 Their thievery from stores including Barnes and Noble and Toys R Us makes them 475 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:37,920 millions, and the Bogdanoffs live the good life. 476 00:32:38,560 --> 00:32:43,860 It's hard to believe that stealing toys and electronics could get you a $1 .3 477 00:32:43,860 --> 00:32:49,160 million house in a rich Chicago suburb. That's exactly what happened for Bronco 478 00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:52,440 and Layla Boganoff. They lived in a luxurious home. 479 00:32:52,660 --> 00:32:55,620 They had many cars, some of them luxury cars. 480 00:32:55,820 --> 00:32:59,520 They lived a very good quality of life without appearing to be working 481 00:32:59,520 --> 00:33:01,260 legitimately at all. 482 00:33:01,710 --> 00:33:06,650 In December, Glenn Justice travels to Chicago and confronts the man he 483 00:33:06,650 --> 00:33:08,450 is the Bogdanoff's fence. 484 00:33:09,090 --> 00:33:13,250 The fence listened, and after about a minute and a half, interrupted me and 485 00:33:13,250 --> 00:33:16,090 said, Mr. Justice, I think I know where this conversation's going. 486 00:33:16,830 --> 00:33:18,870 I'm not stealing any of this product. 487 00:33:19,370 --> 00:33:22,510 I'm getting it from a specific individual. 488 00:33:23,050 --> 00:33:28,270 Justice goes with the 71 -year -old gift shop owner to his home and follows him 489 00:33:28,270 --> 00:33:29,270 into his garage. 490 00:33:33,160 --> 00:33:37,240 And I truly wasn't prepared for what I was going to see. 491 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:44,440 It was laid out like a good stock room. Three of the four walls had shelves with 492 00:33:44,440 --> 00:33:50,300 product neatly stacked by category and type. And in front of me on the shelves 493 00:33:50,300 --> 00:33:56,340 were hundreds of my Missing American Girl doll product right in front of me. 494 00:33:56,980 --> 00:33:59,560 Do I have your permission to record this conversation? 495 00:33:59,840 --> 00:34:00,840 Yes, you do. 496 00:34:00,910 --> 00:34:06,610 The man agrees to tape a recorded statement and tells Justice all about 497 00:34:06,610 --> 00:34:11,130 who's been selling him goods for years, a business associate he knows not as 498 00:34:11,130 --> 00:34:12,790 Bronco, but Franco. 499 00:34:14,270 --> 00:34:19,710 Unlike most multimillion -dollar crime partnerships, however, theirs starts 500 00:34:19,710 --> 00:34:21,690 tiny, plush collectibles. 501 00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:23,980 How did you meet him initially? 502 00:34:24,520 --> 00:34:28,040 He approached me in my gift shop with Beanie Babies to sell. 503 00:34:28,260 --> 00:34:32,840 From that initial meeting over Beanie Babies, a relationship flourishes. 504 00:34:33,300 --> 00:34:36,460 Can you describe some of the product that you've bought from him over the 505 00:34:36,500 --> 00:34:43,060 please? Baby monitors, baby carriers, toys such as Surveys, 506 00:34:43,179 --> 00:34:49,659 American Girl Mini Dolls, VTech electronic toys, NanoBlock, 507 00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:51,820 Lego Movie House. 508 00:34:52,480 --> 00:34:57,880 Over a decade, he's turned Franco's Goods into a thriving business on eBay. 509 00:34:58,720 --> 00:35:03,220 What would you estimate the yearly income, gross income, to be over the 510 00:35:03,220 --> 00:35:04,220 several years? 511 00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:06,980 The last couple of years, it's been about $200 ,000. 512 00:35:07,380 --> 00:35:12,240 Can you estimate how many items you have sold on your account over the course of 513 00:35:12,240 --> 00:35:13,240 its history? 514 00:35:13,680 --> 00:35:15,320 At least 100 ,000. 515 00:35:15,760 --> 00:35:20,580 What percentage of products sold on your eBay account was supplied by Franco in 516 00:35:20,580 --> 00:35:21,558 your estimation? 517 00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:27,700 90 to 95%. The tape in hand, Justice can feel the case of the missing dolls 518 00:35:27,700 --> 00:35:28,700 coming together. 519 00:35:28,780 --> 00:35:31,800 But first, he needs to shut down his thieves. 520 00:35:32,760 --> 00:35:38,500 Literally, while I am speaking with the fence in his garage with all of the 521 00:35:38,500 --> 00:35:40,380 product that's stolen. 522 00:35:41,440 --> 00:35:45,440 The Bogdanovs are in southern Florida, near the Fort Lauderdale area, stealing 523 00:35:45,440 --> 00:35:46,440 from my stores. 524 00:35:46,620 --> 00:35:52,040 Next on American Greed, the feds join the hunt for the Bogdanovs, and Justice 525 00:35:52,040 --> 00:35:55,120 gets his first clear look at their thievery in action. 526 00:35:55,380 --> 00:35:59,100 So here we go. Pay attention. It happens quickly. And here it goes. The tag's 527 00:35:59,100 --> 00:36:01,360 off, and it's in the skirt, just like that. 528 00:36:12,300 --> 00:36:14,020 In January 2014, 529 00:36:14,940 --> 00:36:19,420 Glenn Justice brings the Bogdanoff case to Chicago to present it to the U .S. 530 00:36:19,420 --> 00:36:23,580 Secret Service and Renato Mariotti, then a federal white -collar crime 531 00:36:23,580 --> 00:36:28,380 prosecutor. When I was assigned the investigation of the Bogdanoffs, I was 532 00:36:28,380 --> 00:36:32,300 investigating what I thought were some extremely important financial crime 533 00:36:32,300 --> 00:36:38,100 cases. And I was looking at this case and I was thinking to myself, they want 534 00:36:38,100 --> 00:36:39,100 to investigate. 535 00:36:39,640 --> 00:36:42,100 A group of people who are stealing toys. 536 00:36:42,520 --> 00:36:44,360 It just didn't make sense to me at all. 537 00:36:44,740 --> 00:36:49,560 After I talked to Glenn Justice, I realized that these people were stealing 538 00:36:49,560 --> 00:36:51,260 scale that was hard to imagine. 539 00:36:52,060 --> 00:36:55,040 Millions of dollars worth of toys on the tracks were being stolen. 540 00:36:56,060 --> 00:36:59,760 Mariotti decides that it's no longer time for slaps on the wrist. 541 00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:03,780 He wants to charge this band of shoplifters with a federal crime. 542 00:37:04,600 --> 00:37:09,960 To do so, he treats the investigation like a drug case, obtaining a warrant to 543 00:37:09,960 --> 00:37:14,880 track Bronco's cell phone, hoping to catch the family in the act of 544 00:37:14,880 --> 00:37:17,020 stolen goods across state lines. 545 00:37:18,400 --> 00:37:21,880 Suddenly the phone was on the move. They were traveling out of state, and they 546 00:37:21,880 --> 00:37:27,480 ended up going to Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, through Mississippi. They 547 00:37:27,480 --> 00:37:32,180 over the place, stealing as they went. As the Bogdanoffs head south, They have 548 00:37:32,180 --> 00:37:34,280 no idea they're under surveillance. 549 00:37:34,880 --> 00:37:38,620 They watched them go into an Apple store and come out. They watched them go into 550 00:37:38,620 --> 00:37:42,260 a Starbucks, come out. They watched them go into Toys R Us, come out. 551 00:37:42,520 --> 00:37:45,940 And what we found out afterwards when we talked to people for each of those 552 00:37:45,940 --> 00:37:50,340 stores is that literally there were thefts at every single store. When they 553 00:37:50,340 --> 00:37:54,700 to Starbucks, they stole 10 bags of coffee. When they went to the FedEx 554 00:37:54,800 --> 00:37:55,960 they stole packing supplies. 555 00:37:56,600 --> 00:38:00,620 The Bogdanoffs literally could not walk into a store without snatching something 556 00:38:00,620 --> 00:38:05,480 on the way out. Julia, Layla, settling in. They're looking for product that 557 00:38:05,480 --> 00:38:06,339 want to target. 558 00:38:06,340 --> 00:38:11,060 When the Bogdanoffs enter a Toys R Us in Houston, investigators have Glenn 559 00:38:11,060 --> 00:38:16,100 Justice contact the company, whose employees follow their every move on 560 00:38:16,520 --> 00:38:22,140 And this video will illustrate exactly how the Bogdanoffs operate. 561 00:38:22,640 --> 00:38:26,800 When they first go in, the Bogdanoffs wander the aisles until they find the 562 00:38:26,800 --> 00:38:28,100 product they've come to collect. 563 00:38:28,740 --> 00:38:35,380 This time, it's Lego Mindstorm blocks, which have a retail value of $350 per 564 00:38:35,380 --> 00:38:39,100 set. Ultimately, they are going to go over to where the Lego Mindstorm product 565 00:38:39,100 --> 00:38:43,380 is. Bingo, there you go. There's selection of one Lego Mindstorm. 566 00:38:44,380 --> 00:38:49,140 Selection of number two. You can clearly see that's what it is in the cart. And 567 00:38:49,140 --> 00:38:52,930 then Layla is going to grab another piece of... merchandise and place it on 568 00:38:52,930 --> 00:38:57,290 so that store employees won't see that mine storm being pushed throughout the 569 00:38:57,290 --> 00:39:02,570 store. Having found the goods, Bronco is on the move, looking for the perfect 570 00:39:02,570 --> 00:39:03,950 spot in which to work. 571 00:39:04,410 --> 00:39:10,350 What you're seeing now is Bronco and Layla trying to find an aisle way where 572 00:39:10,350 --> 00:39:14,730 they're comfortable to remove the security devices and conceal it. Right 573 00:39:14,890 --> 00:39:20,130 you see that? He's actually looking at the camera. He was physically looking to 574 00:39:20,130 --> 00:39:23,370 see Is there a camera there? Is it watching me? 575 00:39:24,050 --> 00:39:27,370 And, hey, this might not be a good idea. Let's go to another aisleway. 576 00:39:27,730 --> 00:39:31,290 Once they've found the right place, everyone gets to work. 577 00:39:31,710 --> 00:39:36,030 You're going to see Bronco wrestling with something on the box. Well, that's 578 00:39:36,030 --> 00:39:37,030 something on the box. 579 00:39:37,150 --> 00:39:38,250 It's a security device. 580 00:39:38,490 --> 00:39:43,510 Layla and Julia block the ends of the aisle so no one happens to walk by and 581 00:39:43,510 --> 00:39:44,750 what Bronco's up to. 582 00:39:44,990 --> 00:39:49,290 And he's going to try to loosen it enough, and then once it's removed, 583 00:39:49,290 --> 00:39:54,010 hand that to Layla. And here it goes. The tag's off, and it's in the skirt. 584 00:39:54,730 --> 00:39:55,730 Just like that. 585 00:39:56,790 --> 00:39:58,050 You see her fluffer skirt? 586 00:39:58,390 --> 00:39:59,850 That big box is gone. 587 00:40:00,170 --> 00:40:01,650 Now we're going to do it again. 588 00:40:02,030 --> 00:40:03,350 She's going to grab it. 589 00:40:03,900 --> 00:40:07,520 And go in this side of her skirt. So here we go. Pay attention. Happens 590 00:40:07,720 --> 00:40:08,720 Right -hand side of the skirt. 591 00:40:09,820 --> 00:40:10,820 Look around. 592 00:40:11,660 --> 00:40:12,660 Into the slit. 593 00:40:13,280 --> 00:40:14,280 In the pouch. 594 00:40:14,820 --> 00:40:20,500 Gone. So if you can imagine this several times a day, right? Do this. Take as 595 00:40:20,500 --> 00:40:21,860 many as they can. Leave. 596 00:40:22,140 --> 00:40:25,680 Go to the next store. Do the same thing until the sun goes down. 597 00:40:26,700 --> 00:40:30,480 Investigators watch and wait while the stolen goods are moved across state 598 00:40:30,480 --> 00:40:31,480 back to Illinois. 599 00:40:32,840 --> 00:40:37,980 When Bronco calls the feds to unload the hot items, feds move in to make 600 00:40:37,980 --> 00:40:38,980 arrests. 601 00:40:39,600 --> 00:40:43,560 Investigators say Bronco Bogdanoff and his family were able to live in this 602 00:40:43,560 --> 00:40:47,740 fabulous Northbrook mansion because they were highly efficient criminals, 603 00:40:48,060 --> 00:40:51,560 specializing in shoplifting at stores across America. 604 00:40:51,780 --> 00:40:56,480 When federal agents searched the Bogdanoff mansion, They found a treasure 605 00:40:56,480 --> 00:40:57,279 of merchandise. 606 00:40:57,280 --> 00:41:03,880 Everything from the baby monitors and toys to cutlery, various clothing items, 607 00:41:03,940 --> 00:41:07,300 all sorts of stuff that you might imagine at a department store, but it 608 00:41:07,300 --> 00:41:08,520 right in the Bogdanoff's house. 609 00:41:08,860 --> 00:41:10,880 We had caught them red -handed. 610 00:41:11,240 --> 00:41:17,380 In November 2015, the Bogdanoffs all plead guilty to charges of conspiracy 611 00:41:17,380 --> 00:41:19,700 interstate transportation of stolen goods. 612 00:41:20,650 --> 00:41:25,370 During her court appearances, Layla seems less than contrite, blaming the 613 00:41:25,370 --> 00:41:28,890 thievery on her Roma or gypsy upbringing. 614 00:41:29,430 --> 00:41:35,270 Layla Bogdanoff's attorney argued on multiple occasions that Layla was born 615 00:41:35,270 --> 00:41:41,850 a culture, a Roma culture, in which she was taught that stealing was something 616 00:41:41,850 --> 00:41:45,850 that was okay to do. It was actually a God -given right that she had. 617 00:41:46,130 --> 00:41:50,740 No one buys it. No matter what your background is, you have to follow the 618 00:41:50,980 --> 00:41:55,440 And no matter who told you, God or your mother or father, stealing from other 619 00:41:55,440 --> 00:42:00,240 people is just never the right thing to do. In 2016, a federal judge in Chicago 620 00:42:00,240 --> 00:42:05,240 sentenced his husband and wife, Bronco and Layla Bogdanoff, to four years and 621 00:42:05,240 --> 00:42:06,580 three years, respectively. 622 00:42:07,200 --> 00:42:10,320 Their daughter, Julia, gets just over a year. 623 00:42:11,140 --> 00:42:16,660 Even with this gang of thieves behind bars, shoplifting remains a multi 624 00:42:16,660 --> 00:42:17,660 dollar problem. 625 00:42:17,700 --> 00:42:21,120 And one day, The Bogdanoffs will walk free. 626 00:42:21,360 --> 00:42:25,660 I hope that a stay in federal prison convinces the Bogdanoffs that they need 627 00:42:25,660 --> 00:42:26,660 change their life. 628 00:42:26,960 --> 00:42:31,560 But unfortunately, based on the information I have, it appears that 629 00:42:31,560 --> 00:42:33,060 only job that they've ever known.