American Greed

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American Greed
American greed title card.jpg
GenreDocumentary
Narrated byStacy Keach
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons14
No. of episodes188 (& 3 specials) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Sharon Barrett
  • Charles Schaffer
  • Mike West
  • Robin Feinberg
  • Luke Baier
ProducerMike West
Production locationsChicago, Illinois
Running time42–44 minutes
Production companies
  • Kurtis Productions
Release
Original networkCNBC
Original releaseJune 21, 2007 (2007-06-21) –
present
External links
Website

American Greed (also known as American Greed: Scams, Scoundrels and Scandals and as American Greed: Scams, Schemes and Broken Dreams) is an American documentary television series on CNBC.[1][2] The series focuses on cases of Ponzi schemes, embezzlement and other white collar crimes and features interviews with police investigators, fraud victims and sometimes fraudsters.

It was initially created by Mark Hoffman, the President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Directors of CNBC, and it is produced by Bill Kurtis's Kurtis Productions. The program is narrated by Stacy Keach Jr.,[3] who was recruited because Kurtis himself was unavailable for that purpose. It premiered on June 21, 2007.[4]

Subjects[]

The business-reality program focuses on the stories behind high-profile corporate and white-collar crimes, betrayals, and scams in American history, including the financial scandals involving WorldCom,[5] HealthSouth,[6] Tyco International,[7] and CyberNET.[8] Besides these high-profile cases, stories have featured lower-profile financial crimes that have affected individual investors and smaller companies, including various Ponzi schemes, real estate and other investment frauds, bank robbery, identity theft, medical fraud, embezzlement, insurance fraud, murder-for-hire, art theft, credit card fraud, money laundering, and crimes committed by elected officials.[1]

In addition, there have been three American Greed special presentations: American Greed Special: Bernie Madoff Behind Bars;[9] American Greed: Special Presentation: 9/11 Fraud – "A Contractor Capitalizes on Disaster";[10] and Mob Money: An American Greed Special Presentation.[11]

Episodes[]

Main article: List of American Greed episodes

Companion series[]

American Greed has had at least three companion programs, all of which have also been narrated by Stacy Keach Jr.

In August 2012, CNBC aired the series American Greed: The Fugitives, which focused on active cases of alleged white-collar crime. The show documented stories of suspects who were still at large and had continued to evade authorities.[12] It lasted 2 seasons, covering 13 cases of financial crimes.[13] After the November 14, 2013, airing of American Greed: The Fugitives #12, viewer tips led to the successful November 26, 2013, arrest of FBI Most Wanted fugitive David Kaup, who had been a fugitive since December 17, 2012, when he failed to appear for sentencing in Los Angeles.[14][15]

In early 2019, CNBC aired another companion series, American Greed: Deadly Rich, which focused on high-profile murder cases involving the wealthy.

On July 15, 2020, it was announced that another companion series titled American Greed: Biggest Cons would premiere on July 20, 2020.[16] When American Greed: Biggest Cons did so premiere, it updated some of the stories the main program had previously featured, such as its profiles of Madoff and Martin Shkreli and its study of William "Rick" Singer's college-admission scheme.

Criticisms[]

Critics[specify] argue American Greed has overstated the role of government investigators in uncovering frauds, noting that many frauds were discovered only after a number of people had already been victimized; e.g., the largest fraud, Bernie Madoff's $65 billion Ponzi scheme, ended only after he confessed. In civil fraud claims, courts require that the fraud be pleaded with specificity and the proponent provide documentation corroborating the claim. In the Madoff case, an early administrative complaint was dismissed for lack of evidence, with the claim of a Ponzi scheme deemed speculative and unsubstantiated using essentially the same standard federal courts employ in evaluating civil fraud claims.[citation needed]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Goldman, Beth (June 11, 2007). "CNBC's "American Greed: Scams, Scoundrels and Scandals" To Premiere on Thursday, June 21st". CNBC.
  2. ^ "American Greed". CNBC. February 3, 2012.
  3. ^ "Bill Kurtis: 'For us, greed has been good'".
  4. ^ https://www.moviefone.com/tv/american-greed/178448/season-11/[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ Keach, Stacy. "American Greed: Inside the WorldCom Scam | DHS: Department of Hollywood Scams". cnbc.com.
  6. ^ Keach, Stacy. "American Greed: A Wall Street Wonder Takes a Fall". cnbc.com.
  7. ^ Keach, Stacy. "American Greed: Party's Over: Tyco's Kozlowski". cnbc.com.
  8. ^ Keach, Stacy. "American Greed: Fraud in Cyberspace". cnbc.com.
  9. ^ Keach, Stacy. "American Greed Special: Bernie Madoff Behind Bars". cnbc.com.
  10. ^ "American Greed: Special Presentation: 9/11 Fraud – 'A Contractor Capitalizes on Disaster'". cnbc.com. August 31, 2016.
  11. ^ "Mob Money: An American Greed Special Presentation" – via imdb.com.
  12. ^ "The Power of 'Greed'". HuffPost. August 13, 2012.
  13. ^ "American Greed: The Fugitives: Seasons". cnbc.com.
  14. ^ CNBC, Celia Watson Seupel, Special to (December 4, 2013). "A capture after 'American Greed: The Fugitives' profile". CNBC.
  15. ^ "Fugitive Who Failed to Appear for Sentencing for Carrying Out a Multi-Million-Dollar Scheme That Defrauded Homeowners Arrested in Las Vegas". FBI.
  16. ^ "CNBC's "American Greed: Biggest Cons" Premieres Monday July 20th at 10PM ET/PT". The Futon Critic. July 15, 2020.

Other sources

  • Matulich, Serge; Currie, David (June 2008). "Richard Scrushy: The Rise and fall of the King of Health Care". Handbook of Frauds, Scams, and Swindles: Failures of Ethics in Leadership (Illustrated ed.). CRC Press. pp. 315–351. ISBN 978-1-4200-7285-3. OCLC 214285931. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
  • Jennings, Marianne (August 2006). "Innovation Like No Other". The Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse (annotated ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 214–216. ISBN 0-312-35430-4. OCLC 63297926.
  • Markham, Jerry (December 2005). "Full Disclosure Fails". A Financial History of Modern U.S. Corporate Scandals: From Enron to Reform (illustrated ed.). Armonk, N.Y: M.E. Sharpe. pp. 360–364. ISBN 0-7656-1583-5. OCLC 58536658.

1. Fed.R. Civ. Pro 9.

2. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009).

External links[]

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