American Greed Episode 80: Rapper$ Delight/Grapes of Greed

Case File

Rapper$ Delight/Grapes of Greed

In the San Francisco Bay Area, Michael McCant is a former bank robber who says he's gone "legit," and is now making millions by promoting up-and-coming rap musicians. But these millions are coming from investors like Bernice Tingle who have given McCant their entire nest eggs.

The Grapes of Greed

Mark Anderson owns a fine wine storage business in Sausalito, California. But when clients discover their wine is missing, they accuse Anderson of theft. Anderson tries to conceal his crime with gasoline and a blowtorch, destroying more than $200 million dollars' worth of wine, and bringing scores of family-owned wineries to the brink of ruin.

FEATURED

  • Bernice Tingle lost her savings to a scam but that's not all. The IRS and California demanded she pay tax penalties accrued due to cashing out her IRA. Her situation isn't unique.

  • Preys on the weak

    Former convict turned music industry player solicits money from individual investors promising high returns. He hooks ‘em up by showing them $$ signs instead of warning signs.

  • Bernice Tingle

    Bernice Tingle liquidated her IRA to invest with Maurice Michael McCant for higher returns and better financial security. Instead, she lost her entire nest egg to McCant's scam. And that's not all she lost.

  • The San Francisco Police Department’s report of Maurice Michael McCant’s hold-up of an armored car.

  • Warning Signs

    Mark Anderson has a wine storage business in Sausalito, CA. His lavish lifestyle was almost too good to be true given the limitations of the not-so-lucrative business. Something was amiss.

  • The indictment filed against Mark Anderson from the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of California, detailing all 19 counts brought against Anderson.

  • Rebuilding a business from ashes

    Hear how Ted Hall and Long Meadow Ranch recovered from the devastating fire.

  • Who owns this collection of fine wine?

    ATF Special Agent Brian Parker tells American Greed about an "orphaned" stash of wine recovered during the fraud investigation into Mark Anderson. These fine Burgundies and Bordeaux are being aged not in a cellar, but in an ATF evidence vault.