The series that examines the dark side of the American dream is back for another season on Wednesday, January 30th at 9PM & 12AM ET. CNBC's unprecedented original primetime series, "American Greed," focuses on how greed change's people's lives and proves people will do anything for money.

The season premiere of "American Greed" exposes the story of Martin Frankel, a self-taught stockbroker and con man who refers to himself as a "financial genius." Money laundering, prostitution and drug abuse, Frankel's crimes left a trail of financial fraud, empty bank accounts...and death.

Frankel began his con by luring innocent investors into fraudulent schemes and promising big returns. But in reality, he pockets their money and never invests a dime. Ultimately, Frankel swindles investors out of more than $200 million dollars by buying distressed insurance companies in the South and looting their reserves. When Frankel left his hometown of Toledo, OH for a mansion in Greenwich, CT, he began working on a new project, "building the perfect harem." By the late 90s, Frankel not only had more than a dozen women living in his mansion, but discovers his insurance scam has been exposed when regulators in Mississippi start asking questions. Realizing he'll face arrest, Frankel flees to Europe and instructs his "harem" to shred and burn all of his documents. Everything burned except a incriminating "To Do List," that included "Launder Money."

The FBI followed Frankel's trail and after four months he was extradited to the U.S. and charged with 24 counts of fraud and racketeering. Frankel plead guilty in 2002 and is now serving a 16-year sentence in federal prison. It took a worldwide manhunt to track him down and CNBC's "American Greed" has the story of his crimes and the agents who brought him to justice.

The series is narrated by actor Stacy Keach and produced exclusively for CNBC, America’s Business Channel, by Kurtis Productions.

CNBC’s “American Greed: Scams, Scoundrels and Scandals” begins airing it’s second exciting season on January 30th. The series features ten new programs airing Wednesdays at 9p | 12a ET. Previews and highlights from each program are available at americangreed.cnbc.com