Case File
Case 1: Loan Scam: Money for Nothing
- The Con Man
- Norman Schmidt called himself an investment manager. He started the Denver based Capital Holdings firm and solicited investors, offering the deal of a lifetime. He claimed to invest clients' money in bank debentures and offered amazing high rates of return.
- Rocky Mountain High Life
- Schmidt lived a life of luxury. He purchased the famed Redstone Castle outside of Aspen. In his spare time, he managed a NASCAR race team, owned eight racecars and stored his cash in some 60 bank accounts around the world. But Schmidt was funding his luxurious lifestyle with other people's money.
- The Scam
- For Schmidt, Capital Holdings paid off and by the fall of 2002 he was making more than $2 million a year. But a secretary in his office became suspicious and contacted the FBI. She believed Schmidt was stealing investor deposits.
Case 2: Hawaiian Punched: Fraud in Paradise
- The Mortgage Broker
- In 2006, James Lull was living the American dream in paradise. He was a mortgage broker on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai. Lull knew which of his clients had money to burn and began offering side deals to make quick cash. Investors were promised a huge rate of return in a short amount of time. But there were no real deals.
- The Collection
- The charismatic Lull lured in more than 50 investors and made millions from his scams. He used the money to fund his collections of jewels, rare coins, sports memorabilia and jewel-encrusted pool cues.
- The Scam
- Lull stole millions but showed no regrets. Dozens of investors lost their life savings. The FBI closed in and Lull agreed to accept responsibility, pleading guilty to wire fraud. But when its time for sentencing, James Lull was missing from the court.
