Tonight on American Greed the program examines how a Sacramento businessman scammed hundreds of millions but delivered nothing.
By promising to make medical gloves in a newly built US factory and create lots of well paid jobs, Deepal Wannakuwatte lured in over 200 investors.
They were duped as this fraudster setup fake partnerships and used expert manipulation.
One investor said: “He was a skilled manipulator and a gifted conman.”
Wannakuwatte was a seemingly upstanding businessman in the Sacramento community and former owner of a local professional tennis team.
He showed investors his personal and corporate tax returns, but these had been skewed with false and misleading information.
They were told his latex glove making companies had contracts worth millions, in reality the only one he did have was only worth $25,000 a year.
The lies were exposed when the FBI bust in and he was eventually given a 20 year sentence.
The judge said: “You embody true evil. … There is no amount of time I can sentence you to that would appease your victims.”
We daresay he became more closely acquainted with his products in prison than he’d like!
Each week Stacy Keach narrates the hour long show looks into some shocking cases of corporate fraud and other white collar crimes.
Throwing a spotlight on the sort of criminality that often takes a backseat to more lurid crimes, but nontheless has a huge impact on the country.
Watch American Greed tonight 10 PM on CNBC.