Anthony Elgindy. He's young, self-assured... and loaded. He claims to be a crusader, fighting fraud on Wall Street. But, this so-called good guy is running an insider trading scam…and his partner is a crooked FBI agent.

American Greed profiles "The Mad Max of Wall Street!"

Elgindy begins his career at a brokerage house called Blinder Robinson. It's a pump and dump operation... also known as a boiler room. Brokers make high-pressure sales pitches to investors, pumping up worthless stock. After the price soars, the brokers sell their shares. When the price plummets, investors who hold on suffer huge losses.

Blinder Robinson is not the most credible way to launch a career... but Tony Elgindy is hooked.

Next, Elgindy works for another firm, Armstrong McKinley. But federal investigators shut it down after suspecting brokers are taking bribes to promote stock they wouldn't otherwise recommend. Elgindy is 0 for 2. He turns federal informant and avoids charges.

Anthony Elgindy becomes a new man... with a new career. He claims he's on a mission to expose over-hyped companies. He launches a subscription service, anthonypacific.com, and shares his expertise with the online investing community. Investors take notice. His brash, caustic comments can send a stock tumbling down.

Dan Cohen subscribed to Elgindy"s Anthony Pacific dotcom site. He paid $600 a month for access to Elgindy's tips and trades.

Cohen: "...one after another, after another was exposed as being a fraud, and eventually the prices went down. If you could hold a position and manage the risk, you'd make money. The culture of the site was truth and honesty."

Traders love him. Companies fear him. He's dubbed "The Mad Max of Wall Street" by Wired magazine and relishes his respected role as a supposed fraud fighter. He even posts online videos of his investigations.

Elgindy is raking in millions from subscriber fees and claims to be making $75,000 a month as a short seller.

Life couldn't be better. Elgindy lives in a upscale neighborhood north of San Diego and splurges on a fleet of high end luxury cars... many of them fire engine red. He even had a "zero bid" license plate on his Ferrari.

Elgindy continues fighting fraud and brags about initiating new federal investigations. In 2000, he forges an unusual relationship with FBI Agent Jeff Royer.  It's a relationship that changes the mission of AnthonyPacific.com – from being above board to breaking the law.

FBI Agent Royer funnels inside information to Elgindy.

Jeff Royer spoke to American Greed in a telephone interview. "I would go on the computers in the FBI, and I would search for that company. I would search for the President, Vice President, CEO, CFO, whatever. I would do a complete search and see if there was any SEC or FBI activity on this case."

Royer steals confidential information from FBI databases about ongoing federal investigations into companies. Elgindy posts the confidential information on his website and directs his subscribers to short sell the stock, which artificially deflates the price of stock. For a short seller, it’s a sure-fire way to profit.

Shortly after the devastating 9/11 attacks, the FBI investigates a tip that Elgindy – an Arab-American – may have known about the attacks and tried to profit from them.

But, instead of finding ties to terrorism, FBI agents uncover an insider-trading scheme involving one of their own.

Federal agents go undercover, posing as subscribers on AnthonyPacific.com.

John Nathanson was a former federal prosecutor on the case: "It's a one-way street. The government doesn't provide information to you. And that was clearly completely outside the mission of Mr. Royer, completely outside the mission of the F-B- I, and it was clear from that, that this wasn't a crusade for good. It was a crusade for evil."

The investigation is underway and soon Jeff Royer turns in his FBI badge. He heads for the sandy shores of San Diego where he goes to work for Elgindy full time. His girlfriend, then FBI Agent Lynn Wingate, continues to funnel insider information to keep the scam running.

Investigators are closing in on the operation. As the FBI uncovers the scheme and the scope of the probe expands, so does the urgency to stop Elgindy. Agents raid homes and offices and find more evidence to support their suspicions. Elgindy is leading a life of crime. His luxurious lifestyle is about to come to an end.

The scam is exposed – an estimated $1.5 million conspiracy -- and Anthony Elgindy and Jeff Royer are arrested.

On January 24th, 2005 a jury finds Jeff Royer guilty of securities fraud, racketeering conspiracy and obstruction of justice. Royer is currently serving a 6-year sentence.

Anthony Elgindy is convicted on charges of insider trading, racketeering and extortion. He's sentenced to 11 years in prison.

American Greed shares the story of Anthony Elgindy and how his quest for fame and fortune got in the way of his intent to expose crime. Some people will do anything for money.

» Visit the American Greed website for show times.