this country needs. thank you for hanging out with us on this friday night. remember, you can catch the nightcap again on saturdays at 11:00 p.m. eastern right here on msnbc and this is your last chance to get to see me, rachel maddow and a whole lot more msnbc folks in person at msnbc live, democracy 2024. tickets are almost sold out for the september 7 event in brooklyn, new york. if you want to go, scan the qr code on your screen to grab those final tickets. but for now, i'm signing off, and i wish you a very, very good night. happy olympics watching this weekend. but for now, i'm signing off. from all of our colleagues across the networks of nbc news. thanks for staying up late. i'll see you at the end of monday. he would show up and have flowers, and decided to try a dating site. >> i did. >> what was his description? >> he was a military.

navy seal. he would show up and give me a card for no reason. >> my daughter said either he is the perfect guy or you will end up on dateline some day. >> i googled derrick alred and i saw all the mug shots. >> he had a fake badge on. >> every minute he is with you, he was stealing all of your money. the more we found out about him. it just seemed the more dangerous he became. >> he is starting to brandish a gun. >> i had my dogs leashed and m next to me. >> i had a little backpack for myself. the second i heard him snoring i jumped out of my bed. >> this guy needs to be stopped. >> we all banded together. he is not going to do this to another woman. >> reporter: it all came down to this moment. >> we had officers and agents

and vehicles, exit points. to clmake sure he doesn't escap >> reporter: finally he was in their sights. >> this guy need to be stopped. >> he was going state to state and not being held accountable. >> this is what he did for power. it was like a drug. >> reporter: he was good. really good. >> the biggest liar i ever met in my life. >> reporter: he didn't count on her. >> he had no 'tidea i'm not goi to stop. >> reporter: cindi pardini was a true success story. >> graduated with all men in a hard hat, in a gown. >> reporter: she went into technology working for start- ups that became multibillion dollar companies. >> i had purchased stock in the first company i worked for. by the time i left, i had a million dollars. >> how old were you then?

>> 30. >> reporter: by her early 40s she was looking to slow down. >> g i had taken a breather fro my tech career. i was traveling all around the world. i was traveling well over 100,000 miles a year. >> reporter: one day after posting something on facebook about her beloved football team, san francisco 49ers, a comment caught her attention. >> somebody had come onto my page and said go cowboys. and they are our arch rivals so that piqued my interest. >> reporter: that someone was a man named derek alldred. they had mutual friends on facebook. she scanned his linked in page and said he was a 42-year-old investment banker. >> so you are having this banter over arch rival football teams. >> reporter: she didn't hear iv from him several months. then in the fall of 2013, out of the blue, derek messaged her. >> he said i have been going through a terrible divorce and

i have been in maui decompressing. i just inherited several million dollar mpand i'm thinki about moving to san francisco. >> reporter: he wondered if he could stay in her guest bedroom while he looked at properties nearby. >> he said i don't want to city in any of the motels lining lombard street and i didn't want to stay downtown because that wouldn't give me the vibe of the marina. >> how did you feel? >> i didn't matter. i have friends staying with me and i do airbnb so i welcomed the company in my house. >> reporter: so derek flew from hawaii to san francisco and knocked on her door. >> he seemed really charming. he sat down and we started talking and so we kind of dug into his career. >> reporter: he had an impressive background. >> he said i'm building a ritz carlson in maui and i built the one in tahoe. >> reporter: after several days of house hunting derek went back to hawaii for business but found s a house in san francisc

he was interested in. >> he said do you mind if i come back while i work through this listing? >> reporter: when he returned? >> he was taking me to dinner almost every single night just to reimburse me. >> reporter: he even took cindi and her sister to a 49ers game and a weekend get away to the hotel he said he had built. the ritz carlton in tahoe. >> i ltwasn't pulling out my wallet for anything. my sister thought he was awesome. she said you should date him. >> reporter: then, he told her about an upcoming business trip to new york city and invited her as his guest on the luxury trip. >> he said i will stay at one of our ritz carltons and look to at other properties we are investing in. >> is this still friendship or are things progressing? >> i mean things are progressing but it is not a full blown dating relationship. you know. it was more still an open. >> let's see where this goes? >> yeah. >> you are not picking out wedding dresses. >> no.

not at all. >> reporter: as the car pulled up to take them to the airport, cindi got a call from priceline asking if she was traveling with derek alldred. >> they said we need to let you know it looks like he is using other people's credit cards. derek was in the room and grabbed the phone. >> he said why do you keep calling. somebody is using my name. this is not me. >> reporter: derek explained that priceline kept confusing him with another derek alldred living in the midwest. >> the town car is calling up asking us if we are ready to go. >> reporter: cindi wasn't sure what to believe so she threw caution to the wind and headed to new york. the first morning there, derek was up bright and early. >> he s got up. took a shower, put on a three piece suit. had full contracts in hand and

put them in his briefcase. >> reporter: after he was out the door, cindi was having trouble with her computer so she borrowed derek's. >> i wanted to just check mail and read the news online. i clicked on the mail and i see that it is all of these women's names. >> reporter: it looked to cindi like he had been messaging women he met online from various dating sites. one email in particular caught her eye. it was to a woman named wendy. >> it said hi wendy. i hope you enjoyed the weekend j in hawaii. i hope you got the flowers. and the earrings. and i can't wait to see you again. >> reporter: cindi concluded lying about what he was doing in hawaii. he had told her it was all business. she started wondering what else he could be lying about. she thought back to that call from priceline and checked her bank accounts. >> i noticed like in the last month that there was a $20,000

line of credit that had been pulled down into my checking account. >> reporter: the money was gone, and cindi was in a panic. she checked her america express platinum account and saw he had opened a card in his name in her line of credit and spent thousands of dollars. in fact, she discovered it was her money paying for their trip to new york. >> i was shaking. there are very few k.times in m life that i have been that shaken up. >> reporter: when derek returned later that day. >> did you confront him about the money? >> yes. and then at that point, that was that. >> ntreporter: he refused to discuss it further. >> and the last thing i remember is him walking out of the room with the silver briefcase. >> gone. >> gone. >> reporter: cindi was reeling. she couldn't think straight. she needed to get herself home so she could sort out this nightmare. >> it was so shocking that it was hard to kind of put one foot in front of the other.

>> reporter: the road ahead would be far from easy for cindi. she was in for the fight of her life. coming up, cindi couldn't possibly have known how long that journey would be. or how many women would join her on it. >> i literally went directly to facebook and i gave his name and i said if anybody knows of him, share this. >> reporter: share, they did. a slew of dark stories about what derek had done. >> i was stunned. i was shocked. i was disgusted. all of these crazy emotions. >> when dateline continues. cr. >> when dateline continues. with nurtec odt, i found relief. the only migraine medication that helps treat and prevent, all in one. to those with migraine, i see you. for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura and the preventive treatment of episodic migraine in adults. don't take if allergic to nurtec odt. allergic reactions can occur, even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. it's time we all shine. talk to a healthcare provider

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cindi pardini could feel the shock wearing off and cold reality setting in. she'd been swindled by a smooth-talking conman cindi pardini could feel the shock wearing off and cold reality setting in. she had been swindled by a smooth talking conman and needed to act convictly. >> i said i'm a victim of fraud

on facebook and i need help. i posted his linked in profile and posted his name and said if anyone knows of him, share this. >> reporter: when she started totaling up her losses to her horror, she realized derek had stolen much more than she thought. he tapped into her 401k, wells fargo accounts and credit card. >> how much did he end up stealing from you in the end? >> it was $250,000. that's like losing $10,000 a day. >> reporter: she tried to piece together how he had done it. he started, she thinks, by hacking into her gmail account. >> we didn't have the authentication we do now. he had been forwarding mail to his own mail and also playing a chess game with my mail so i wouldn't see deleted items. >> reporter: from there she says he changed her passwords and was able to raid her bank

accounts and rack up thousands of dollars on her credit card. she contacted her local san francisco police department. and filed a report. >> i actually got a female detective and she said honey, i really don't think i will be be able to get to this until 2015. and i'm like that's two years from now. >> you must have been so deflated. >> i wasn't being heard. >> reporter: so cindi became her own detective. he started by calling wendy. the woman she discovered derek had spent time with in hawaii. >> i wanted to warn her of what had happened to me. >> how did she react? >> she said i'm not seeing him. i broke up with him, you know, over a month ago. >> reporter: wendy said derek hadn't stolen any money from her. that's when the conversation turned awkward. cindi told wendy all the money derek had been using to romance her came from cindi's own credit card.

>> he was sending her $200 bouquets of flowers sometimes twice a week. he bought her $3,000 earrings, spa treatments. he even during the month he was here, he had borrowed my car to supposedly go see his dog and he actually picked up wendy and her daughter and took them to a concert and dinner in my car with my money when they were visiting san francisco. >> how is she reacting to this when you are telling her hey, that was actually my money? >> she was like i'm so sorry. i knew something was off with him. that's why i broke it off. >> reporter: she continued posting about him and spoke to a newspaper. tips started coming in. one painted a picture of his childhood back in northern california. >> he was adopted. his father had a restaurant business. >> did derek have some kind of messed up childhood? >> no. he grew up near the oakland hills of berkeley. very wealthy area.

>> reporter: cindi got another tip about derek's past. a woman named vanessa said she dated him back in 1992 when she was a student at ucla. derek was in his early 20s and told her he was a med student. >> he was there walking through the hallways with his lab coat on and his name was embroidered. ucla research. >> reporter: she had no reason to doubt him. >> i would take him to the children's hospital where he was doing research for cystic fibrosis. and even the girls at the reception knew him. >> reporter: she fell hard. he was tall, handsome, and charming. she remembers the long road trips they took to visit his parents. she thought they were building a future together. >> he kind of created this dream you know. we fell in love and he said we would be married and he would be a doctor and we would have a family one day. that was the first time anyone had said that so me so i

believed him. why wouldn't i? >> reporter: but a year-and-a- half into their relationship, everything changed. >> one day, he says he has to go visit his parents out of the blue. gave me a kiss. and he's like i'll see you soon, babe, and i never heard from him again. >> reporter: vanessa says he had taken off with a sentimental gold bracelet and $2,000 of her money. she tried to get it all back. >> so i contacted his mom trying to get answers. she was always evasive about his where abouts. >> reporter: it wasn't until 25 years later when on a whim, she decided to google her old flame. >> there is a news article about him having swindled someone by the name of cindi pardini and i was like what? i couldn't believe it. >> reporter: she discovered her handsome med student was an imposter. derek alldred never even attended ucla. >> i was shocked, stunned,

disgusted. all of these crazy emotions so i immediately reached out to cindi. >> she was always there to be supportive of me. >> reporter: soon, cindi had established a small network of derek's victims. >> we had instant messenger, texts, emails. i would be like welcome to the club. you know. >> you don't want to be in this club, but welcome. >> i was still reeling from the fact we hadn't caught him yet. so i just said i know that this isn't going to help much right now and you are just probably as much in shock as i am. but i'm here to listen. >> reporter: after vanessa, four more women in california reached out to cindi. it was becoming clear to her that derek was moving from woman to woman deftly avoiding the law. >> you didn't realize the can of worms you were opening up.

>> no. and the more i found out, the more i was just off. that our justice system wasn't doing anything about it. another victim would pop up and i would call the police in my own city and say you need to charge him. just at least charge him. >> reporter: in the meantime, cindi had been texting derek demanding he give her money back. eventually, he said i will paypal whatever you think i owe you. of course the money never showed. so she gave him a warning. >> i said i'm going to be like a pitbull here. i'm going to keep going after it. you have no idea. i'm not going to stop. >> he said my wallet is in my luggage. is it okay if we just check in? >> reporter: derek gets more daring with a brazen con at a luxury hotel. >> he was having someone from a fictitious hospital in hawaii which was really derek sending

emails to the hotel. >> yes. >> to say he was good for the money? >> yes. >> reporter: when dateline continues. >> reporter: when dateline continues. what can you do with sensitive skin? ( ♪♪ ) cetaphil moisturizing lotion hydrates for a full 48 hours. because a lot can happen in 48 hours.

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cindi pardini still had hope that somehow she'd get her money back. she'd been pleading with her credit card company and bank >> reporter: cindi pardini still had hope somehow she would get her money back. she had been pleading with her credit company and bank asking them to help her. >> literally 9:00 to 5:00 on the phone with banks getting passed from one teller to another and having to rehash the story. >> reporter: so far, she was getting nowhere. it had been six months since she had last seen derek alldred and she had no idea where he was. >> i had hired a private investigator. we have to find this guy. >> reporter: the pi found him. derek was now dividing his time between hawaii and minnesota and engaged to a woman named kimberly. >> what did you learn about kimberly?

>> i knew she was a doctor. >> reporter: kimberly advertised her business online and cindi found the ad. she instantly sensed this was another victim. at the same time, someone else was on derek's trail. sergeant jason of the saint paul minnesota police department. he had gotten a call from the manager at the saint paul hotel. >> that's our finest hotel in saint paul catered to presidents. >> reporter: there was a problem with a guest. the man seen here in this security video. >> i believe hotels.com was the service that he had used to preregister the room. the credit card was eventually declined. >> reporter: he said he was a doctor and told them he would give them another credit card. but he claimed the airline had lost his luggage. >> and he said well my wallet is in my luggage. is it okay if we just check in? >> reporter: the clerk gave him a room. of course, the man checking in is dr. aldbridge was alldred. >> he said he would have

payment made through his office in hawaii. >> reporter: emails came in promising a third party payment form was on its way. chief of cardio vascular surgery. dr. reese assured payment for his stay. >> he always signed his emails mahalo. >> he was having someone from a fictitious hospital in hawaii which was really derek sending emails to the hotel? >> yes. >> to say he was good for the money? >> yes. >> reporter: the sergeant learned derek told the hotel manager it was a special weekend. he was in town to take his fiance kim, her daughter, and niece, to a bruno mars concert. >> he then said he was going crazy because he was in a single room. could he just get another room and the hotel desk manager felt sorry for him and said all right. we'll let you have this other room though i'm not supposed to. >> so the hotel was getting conned? >> yes. they got conned out of two rooms instead of just the one. and he took advantage of

charging all the meals he ate at the hotel and also used the mini bar out of both rooms and charged it to the room. >> reporter: the sergeant says derek alldred kept the con going three days. at one point, he and kim were seen in the business center. she briefly spoke to him, then walked away. he continue today talk to a hotel staff member. when it was time to pay the almost 1,900-dollar bill, derek pulled a vanishing act leaving kim and the girls high and dry. >> and he just disappeared into the wind. >> so it's like the dine and dash, the hotel version. >> yes. the expensive hotel version. >> reporter: when the sergeant went looking for him, he got a lucky break to say the least. derek was brazenly trying to pull the same scam at another hotel in the area. >> the general manager at the saint paul hotel is friends with the manager of the country inn. >> reporter: what derek didn't know is while he was trying to get a room, the two managers

were talk. >> and the guy said funny, my night manager said my guy is giving if same story. he is a doctor from hawaii. general manager from saint paul hotel said call the cops because he just duped us. >> what are the odds of these two managers talking? >> exactly. >> reporter: police arrested derek and brought him in for questioning. >> you're not a doctor? >> no. >> how are you purporting yourself to be one when you presented today the hotel. >> no. i didn't report myself to be one. no i didn't. >> looked me right in the eye and lied. >> did you feel like he was trying to con you? >> i did. i did. >> you don't know a james reese? dr. reese? >> no. >> chief of cardiovascular surgery? >> no. >> university of hawaii? >> no. >> why were they in contact, email with saint paul hotel saying that they would pay your bill? >> i don't know. maybe ask kim about that. kim's the doctor, not me.

>> it doesn't mention kim at all. >> was this just some elaborate ruse by your fiance kim? to try to get out of paying a hotel bill? and he said i don't know. >> like he was almost going to blame kim? >> blame kim. >> wow. >> reporter: but the sergeant knew kim was no con artist. she was the one being conned. >> he told her he was an investor and he had hundreds of thousands of dollars. >> reporter: in an interview with the sergeant, she told them derek alldred had all but destroyed your life. >> what all occurred and how it affected you and what your loss has been? >> my losses are my whole life. ruined all my credit and then he hid it from me. got into my email accounts, intercepted emails so i wouldn't know. he blocked calls from my parents. so that no parents could get in touch with me. >> so did you give him the card to use to pay for things? >> no. not my credit card.

what he did as i found, he stole it out of my purse, made a copy on his phone which i actually have and was using my credit card. >> reporter: he ruined her credit and put her in debt so deep she worried she would never recover. >> what was kim's demeanor like? >> broken. probably a really good work for it. very broken. hurt. >> reporter: while derek was not charged with stealing from kim, he was charged with one count of theft by swindle for scamming the hotel. for cindi, 2,000 miles away in san francisco, the arrest was welcome news. >> did you think finally maybe this is going to be it? this could be justice? >> yeah. i thought okay. we've got him. >> reporter: but, cindi knew how slippery derek could be. so she reached out to local law enforcement. >> i started getting involved with the minnesota police saying don't let him go. keep him until he is sentenced. >> reporter: the prosecutor agreed but the judge didn't

hold him. and as cindi feared, derek skipped bail. >> when you find that out, did you just want to scream? >> yeah. i mean, it was just so emotionally draining. >> reporter: as cindi saw it, in this game of cat and mouse, derek had just scored another point. but the game was far from over. and cindi was determined to win. >> i was on a mission. coming up. >> had she fallen for him? >> yes. >> what did he tell her? >> he was talking about marrying her. >> reporter: a new victim meets derek the attorney complete with office staff. >> he had a secretary? i would actually call the secretary and talk to somebody. >> reporter: and then, a big break could mean he is caught. >> so you know potentially exactly where he is going to be at an exact time? >> right. >> reporter: when dateline continues. >> reporter: when dae continues. okay. we're not gonna talk about traffic or weather. if anyone brings up lawn care, i will handle it. hosting can be extremely difficult for young homeowners turning into their parents. oh, are you done with this? i'll just take that.

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a news update. hawaiian electric and other codefendants have agreed to pay a $4 billion settlement for the maui wild fire. that falls short of the estimated $12 billion in damages but if the court approves it the electric company will avoid bankruptcy. and kamala harris secured enough delegates for the democratic nomination. she is conducting final interviews for her vice president this weekend. for now back to dateline. cindi pardini was angry. just then she thought derek alldred would pay for his crimes he had gotten away again. derek alldred was always one step ahead of the law. >> he was. >> reporter: like a blood hound, she had been tracking his movements for almost a year. >> is he haunting you throughout this? >> oh my gosh, i mean, he is always in my thoughts.

i would meet people and i would say how my name is cindi pardini, i'm a victim of fraud. it was in my dna. >> reporter: a warrant was out for his arrest for skipping bail on the hotel swindle but that didn't stop him from moving onto his next victim. in the fall of 2014, cindi heard about another woman who got tangled up in his web of deceit. >> you get a call from the mother of one of his victims. >> she said would you mind talking to my daughter. >> reporter: so cindi got on the phone with a woman named joanne. by cindi's count, she was victim number 10. joanne told her she met derek on match.com. he said he was a hot shot attorney with a firm with offices around the world. >> had she fallen for him? >> yes. he was talking about marrying her. >> reporter: joanne, a deeply religious woman also told cindi that derek would go to church with her each sunday and pray

before every meal though cindi had never seen this devout side of derek, she wasn't surprised. >> he asked a lot of questions and try to become what the other person is in need of. and what they are looking for in a partner. >> what was his name with her? >> derek alarad. he took her to an office. there was a placard on the door. >> reporter: this was joanne. >> he had a secretary. i would call the secretary and physically talk to somebody. now, i have no idea how that works. >> reporter: derek, the lawyer, had wined and dined joanne. even took her on a luxury trip to hawaii. >> i was on cloud nine. i really thought this was the guy. >> reporter: when she started poking around on social media, she stumbled on his real name and saw there was a warrant out

for his arrest. and just like cindi before her, a nagging feeling prompted her to check her finances. >> we did a credit check and that's when i found out that he had opened a credit card in my name and it was $14,000 charged to it. including the whole trip to hawaii. >> reporter: she broke it off. >> i was just devastated. >> reporter: and called the police. since there was a warrant out for derek's arrest, she was transferred to deputy sheriff paul mescon who was working as a fugitive investigator. she told him her story of betrayal. >> technically it didn't fit because it wasn't a crime of violence. >> why did you decide to take action and help? >> he was a parasite. there was this woman that completely victimized. this guy can't get away with this. now let's see what we can do. >> reporter: he thought to work. >> i researched and sure enough, saint paul had a case for the hotel. and started working on that

angle. >> reporter: the saint paul hotel swindle. joanne gave him one of derek's business card so the investigator paid a visit to the law office address. >> the office that he claimed said there was nobody there by that. it was a real address but he had never been there. >> and you called the number and a woman would answer right? >> right. >> ever found out who this woman was? >> no. >> reporter: mescon and his team brainstormed ways to catch derek and came up with a plan. he had originally told joanne to shut down the credit card derek had been using but now he had a different idea. >> let's activate it again and track it. >> see if he starts using the card? >> yeah. >> reporter: he convinced joanne to set the trap. she turned her card back on. >> and, does it work? >> they started getting information between the credit card companies, turns out he bought a train ticket on amtrak. >> so you know potentially exactly where he is going to be at an exact time?

>> right. >> reporter: the ticket was for the next day. the 6:30 a.m. train leaving out of union station in saint paul. it was dawn, november 7, 2014. this train platform was swarming with undercover u.s. marshals, sheriff deputies and police officers all waiting for derek alldred to board the train. would he finally be captured in. >> we were in our positions and ready and the train came. coming up, this is a long train. there are a lot of way to get on or off a train. >> yeah. i had everything covered. >> reporter: so why is he about to slip through their fingers yet again? >> this really came down to minutes. >> we were on a time crunch. >> reporter: when dateline continues. crunch. >> reporter: when dateline continues.

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use with caution in dogs with a as the amtrak train pulled. into st. paul station, all eyes were on the lookout for derek alldred. >> train pulled into saint paul station, all eyes were on the look out for derek alldred.

>> had everyone familiarized themselves with his photo? >> we briefed everything up. let everyone know here is the photo. here's the plan. >> reporter: plain clothed officers scanned each train car ready to pounce. >> and this is a long train. there are a lot of ways to get on or off a train. >> yeah. although we had everything covered. >> so you are looking and looking and looking. and? >> he wasn't there. >> reporter: derek was nowhere to be found. >> he evaded law enforcement again. >> yep. >> reporter: the investigator didn't know what happened. but was hopeful derek would use the stolen card again. for a few days he heard nothing. and then. >> we got a tip. he used the card. he was on a train headed west. okay. now let's work that angle. >> did you know where he is going? >> we eventually get information as we are making phone calls and interviewing people. looks like he is headed for portland. >> reporter: by the time he got the tip, derek was only a few

stops away from his final destination. >> so this really came down to minutes. >> yeah. we were on a time crunch. >> reporter: he contacted the u.s. marshals in portland and a team raced over to the station. arriving just as the train was pulling in. >> and he walked off the train and they walked up to him. derek, and took him into custody without incident. >> bingo. finally got him. >> yep. >> reporter: he was sent back to minnesota where he was charged with failure to appear and for that theft by swindle incident at the saint paul hotel. joanne was told he wasn't charged for using her credit card because there wasn't enough evidence to prove fraud. derek alldred was convicted and sentenced to 15 months. it wasn't nearly enough time. not the way cindi pardini saw it. but it was a start. >> i was happy at this point i was hopeful. >> reporter: hopeful that when he was released, she would get justice for herself in california. >> san francisco would finally wake up and extradite him.

so i spent that year saying what are we going to do? can you at least charge him? >> nothing. >> nothing is ever that easy. >> reporter: cindi got a tip that derek was free again. she had no illusions that he had somehow learned his lesson. she figured the short jail stay was just the price of doing business and it was only a matter of time before he pulled another con. sure enough. >> in august of 2016 i get a message he is back in action. >> and you are just like ugh. >> reporter: the message in her inbox was from a woman named missy brandt. a flight attendant from saint paul. she told cindi every disturbing detail. it started like so many others on a dating site. >> i was at a point where i figured i would like to meet somebody. >> reporter: she quickly found a match. someone named richie peterson. a former navy seal. >> he had just retired and he was very decorated.

>> your relationship progressed? >> yeah. right away. i walked in my house and there was four dozen roses. >> wow. romantic. >> yep. two days later four more redossen roses dozen roses for my daughters. then he bought a boat for us. >> he had it at the marina. >> he said it was for you? >> yeah. it was like a 31-foot craft? it slept all of us and had a kitchen, bathroom. >> he's not messing around. >> no, he's not. this is great. >> reporter: missy had now spent four months with her new dream man. >> and your daughters got along with him? >> yeah, they loved him. >> are you thinking he would be the one? >> i did tell my daughter when i was bringing her to school one day i would marry him. >> reporter: and yet, no matter what his new name or

occupation, derek couldn't help but be derek. missy said he started doing shady things that give her pause. >> he would go missing and i'm like why did he go mia when we are suppose today do something? suddenly there is zero communication. you are just gone. >> how does he explain that? >> there is always an excuse. almost made me feel bad. i would be really angry at the time. and then, he would have it all turned around and like he was really busy doing something. and then it was important. >> reporter: and when he was around, she said they were always taking trips with the er to deal with his old war injuries and a heart condition. or so he said. >> we spent a lot of time in the emergency room. they are giving him lots of drugs. >> reporter: it was after a legitimate trip to the er he had been in a motorcycle accident, curiosity got the better of missy. when he wasn't looking, she snooped. >> i said i'm going to look in that wallet. when i open up the wallet,

there's a minnesota state id in there that says derek alldred. >> he told you he is richie. >> yeah. >> is this a lightning bolt? >> that was the sign that clearly i needed but i don't say anything at the time. >> reporter: she waited until he went to run an errand. and then lit up his phone. >> i'm doing nothing else with you. and he's like i don't know what you are talking about. >> this is how you confronted him? >> yeah. via text. we are done. i have nothing else to do with you. derek alldred. >> reporter: first, she was devastated. then angry. then curious once again. because of what she had seen while she was snooping. >> when i found his wallet, i also found two credit cards. >> reporter: with a woman's name on them. linda. >> do you search linda? >> now my mission is to find linda. >> reporter: she didn't know it then, but missy had become a player in one of derek's most

outlandish cons yet. coming up. >> i said i know you will think i'm crazy. but i believe we are dating the same man. >> reporter: missy tracked down linda who is home alone with derek. >> so i'm like, we need to get him out of there. >> you are now helping her. >> i absolutely am. she is afraid. >> reporter: when dateline continues. afraid. >> reporter: when dateline continues. like i was losing interest in the things i love. then i found a chance to let in the lyte.” discover caplyta. unlike some medicines that only treat bipolar i, caplyta is proven to deliver significant symptom relief from both bipolar i & ii depression. and in clinical trials, movement disorders and weight gain were not common. caplyta can cause serious side effects. call your doctor about sudden mood changes, behaviors, or suicidal thoughts right away. anti-depressants may increase these risks in young adults. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. caplyta is not approved for dementia-related psychosis. report fever, confusion, or stiff muscles, which may be life threatening,

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claritin plus decongestant. missy brandt had no idea where her former boyfriend richie peterson, aka derek alldred, was, missy brandt had no idea where her former boyfriend richie peterson aka derek alldred was. only that he was out of her house and her life. or so she thought. >> the story is unbelievable. it's not a story. it is our lives. and it is unbelievable. but it's real. >> reporter: missy's twilight zone began when she spotted derek's real id in his wallet. googled his name. and discovered his history as a

con man. missy knew he had credit cards belonging to a linda. she looked her up online and realized linda lived nearby. >> i requested her friendship on facebook. and sent her a message. i said i know you will think i'm crazy. but i believe we are dating the same man. >> reporter: it took a few days but missy finally got a response from linda. who seemed in a panic. >> because he was in the house, and so i'm like, we need to figure out how to get him out of there. >> you are helping her? >> absolutely. i am. she's afraid. he comes upstairs and says i need to go to the hospital. i'm so in so much pain again. she says i will bring you. she brings him. and then immediately calls the police. >> reporter: hours later, when derek took an uber from the hospital back to linda's. >> he was getting out, the lights came on. >> reporter: police lights. derek was put in the back of a squad car and brought in for questioning. later while linda was being interviewed by investigators, a

package arrived at her house. it was addressed to derek from another woman. >> what's in the box? >> the box was chocolate and a bottle of whiskey, a card saying i hope you feel better. >> reporter: but it wasn't what was inside the box that piqued missy's interest. >> i'm like i need the return address. >> reporter: missy sensed this was a third victim in town. she drove to the woman's house to drop a bomb shell. >> i want her to know what's happening. and she wasn't home. so i just had a post-it note that said we are all seeing this guy. >> on the post-it? >> on the post-it. i'm dating him too. just call me. >> reporter: derek had conned not one, not two, but three women in the minneapolis area. all at the same time. >> he's a cruel casanova. >> he is. yeah. >> reporter: the woman who sent derek that package? she says he swindled her out of

$10,000 worth of jewelry. missy says he didn't take any of her money. but linda? >> how much money did linda lose? >> $385,000. >> that's a lot of money. >> in six months. >> he saw that vulnerability and went after it. >> reporter: this is linda speaking with nbc affiliate carol evan minneapolis. >> how could i be so dumb? i gave him access to steal my identity. he is a professional. he is very believable. >> reporter: reporter lauren. >> he cleaned out her 401k. her kid's college fund. her life savings gone. >> he really destroyed linda's life and her finances. she wound up sleeping on people's couches because she didn't have a home. >> a pretty dark place. when i found out who he was. when i found out that everything was just a lie.

>> reporter: linda was broke, homeless, and even in trouble with the law. remember the boat derek bought for himself and missy? >> he bought the boat with linda's money. >> yeah. and was paying like slip rent with checks from linda's checkbook. >> and they were bouncing because her money is disappearing. >> so they wanted to put linda in jail. pick her up and charge her for fraudulent checks. >> reporter: after all that, derek managed to get away. police released him fending further investigation. when cindi heard the news you could guess her reaction. >> i was losing it. it was now 2016. i'm three years into this and just getting tired of it. >> reporter: she had to wonder if derek had sweet talked his way out of custody. after all, women in businesses weren't his only targets. she had come to know just how devious he could be. >> he was dressing up as a

firefighter. in the mid 2000s. >> reporter: she is referring to an old case out of california. she stumbled across it hunting down derek. >> are you feeling like this guy is an even bigger con than i believed? >> yes. >> reporter: it was 2005. tom was a fire investigator in northern california. he sometimes handled calls about firefighters who had gotten into trouble. on that day, a local hospital said it was treating a firefighter named derek for an overdose. >> walked in. and he was in the hospital gown. i asked him if i could see his uniform. when i saw the uniform, i knew? ing was really wrong. he had a fake badge on. >> reporter: he could tell the uniform was take too. >> the investigator knew this man was a fraud and he was determined to find out why. >> we had searched his car, found prescription bottles. prescriptions not in his name. >> what did you think his motive was? >> i thought he was doing it

seeking drugs. >> reporter: derek was released from the hospital. but tom wasn't going to let this one go. >> you really investigated this guy. >> i did. he was impersonating a firefighter. it's an honorable occupation and this guy is seeing what he can get away with. >> reporter: how far was the irked investigator willing to go to capture the man he suspected was a scammer? turns out derek may have met his match. coming up. >> so i went in there really quick. and got him at gunpoint. arrested him. >> reporter: then derek lets his latest victim know he's got a gun. >> it's like a scary movie. >> it was very scary. >> when dateline continues. sc >> when dateline continues.

[suspenseful music playing] andrea canning: derek alldred tried to pass himself off as a firefighter when he showed up at a northern california hospital seeking treatment for an apparent drug overdose.

now, fire investigator tom oldag was in hot pursuit of the man derek alldred tried to ve pass himself off as a firefighter when he showed up to the house bill seeking treatment for an apparent drug overdose now, fire investigator , tom, was in hot pursuit of the man he believed was a fraud. testing of his theory that derek was after prescription drugs, drove around to visit hospitals, urgent care centers and marine specialist in four counties. >> was he conning doctors and the nurses? >> by about 20 different pharmacies and dozens of prescriptions. there were some times, one day he would go to five different pharmacies. >> in one day? >> yeah, he was real busy. >> reporter: he discovered that the firefighter had gotten every last pill for free by claiming he was injured on the job. >> he would go under their under a fake name and fake social security number and get his medications. >> reporter: he now believed he

could go after derek for fraud. >> his ex-wife, we were talking to her. she told us where he was at. >> reporter: the investigators spring into action and raced over to a nearby fast place. >> it was on a payphone right outside of mcdonald's. and we got him at gunpoint. arrested him. >> at gunpoint? >> yeah, i wanted him to know that it was real serious on my part and not to play. >> reporter: the investigator interrogated derek for more than two hours. he quickly admitted he had an issue with pain medication. >> i'm addicted to vicodin. >> and came clean about all of his name! >> obviously my name, is not already, aldrich. >> how do you spell that? aldritch. >> what you usually go by? >> actually derek.

>> but when the investigator asked him about getting drugs for free, well, the conman wasn't about to confess that. >> you going to a hospital, impersonating a firefighter, and then how would you use that ? how would a person do that? >> i don't know, to be honest with you. >> have you ever done that? >> specifically to get pills, no. >> this takes the term, liar, liar, pants on fire to a whole new level. >> exactly. >> about an hour into the interview, he left the room, he wanted derek to scoot stew for a bit, when he came back he tried a different approach. >> you shook his hand? >> it pumped him up. >> you are very good at what you do, when you go and get drugs you are very good. aren't you? aren't you very good? >> well, yeah. been doing it for a long time. >> i was shocked.

i was completely shocked at that answer. >> the new approach worked. derek opened up about his other fake identities. >> i represented myself as an executive, a firefighter, you name it. >> reporter: all of the social security numbers? >> just pull a number out of thin air. >> he would recall everything, without a piece of paper it was all in his head. >> smart. >> so, i knew he was very smart, incredibly smart. >> you think there was part of him that enjoyed the con? >> oh, i have no doubt. i believe that he was a narcissist and he very much-- he enjoys the challenge of seeing what he can get away with. later on he told me that i was the first guy to catch him in 19 years. >> are you just thinking i am dealing with a real character here? >> oh yeah. he is just crazy, i mean, if you could take his intelligence and put it to work, he would definitely be someone that would go places. but his job was a con. >> derek alldred took a plea deal including embezzlement,

burglary, and making false insurance claims. total, he swindled a firefighters workers comp fund for more than $200,000. alt pay for his medical care and perception drugs. and for those crimes? >> he got three years probation, a year, year and half in county jail. >> he was certain that derek would go straight after his time in lockup. >> he is a fraud and tigers to strain change their stripes. >> he was right, in the years we know he scammed a dozen women in more than five states, including cindi and those women in minnesota. he was free again and headed to sin city, only now he received in a rush and more desperate and he let it be known he was carrying a gun. coming up. a new victim caught in derek's web tries to escape. >> i had a little backpack for

myself and the second i heard him snoring i jumped out of my bed and i-- >> oh my gosh. >> ran down the stairs. >> when dateline continues. lin because a lot can happen in 48 hours. cetaphil. we do skin. you do you. (luke) this will be a gold mine of local intel. (marci) so, tell us about this corn festival.n 48 hours. (stylist) oooh you got your corn pudding... (marci) so...is it safe around here? (stylist) sometimes. [luke gasping] (marci) no eyebrows? (luke) think of how light it'll feel in the summer. we gotta run. eleven thousand more neighborhoods to go! (vo) ding dong! homes-dot-com. nexium 24hr prevents heartburn acid for twice as long as pepcid. get all-day and all-night heartburn acid prevention with just one pill a day.

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get the fastest connection to paris with xfinity. [suspenseful music playing] andrea canning: cindy pardini feared derek would never stop. so it was no surprise when, in late 2016, cindi pardini. derek would never stop, so it was no surprise that in late, 2016, he heard he con another

woman. victim number 16. >> he met a woman there, and he had stolen jewelry from her. so he got arrested there. and again, he didn't show up for her sentencing. >> so he got away again? >> yes. again. >> from what cindi had been hearing, derek seemed to be rushing through women and cons. >> they are in shorter periods of time. he's moving pretty fast through all of the. >> and the women in minnesota had told her something frightening. >> he is starting to brandish a gun. >> i still sometimes have a hard time, really wrapping my head around it. >> kelly patterson met derek just a few months after his escape from arizona. he had shown up in las vegas, calling himself rich taylor, former navy fighter pilot. >> seven rh deployments. >> that's a lot. >> that's a lot. >> kelly, a single mom of two girls recalls being swept off of her feet almost immediately. rich quickly move into her house, but her roses, a

mercedes and a membership to a swanky country club. >> he just called me at one day when i was at work and said hey, we are at red rock country club now. >> is that where oj place? >> you might. >> her new life seems perfect. >> when you are going to the club all the time for dinner and lunch and he was golfing there a lot. >> were you proud to show him off? >> i was. i had a group of friends from college and they came in and met him and, i mean, they just were like wow, we are so happy you met someone like this, you deserve it. >> but not everyone was smitten, where kelly envisioned the altar ahead, her teenager saw trouble. >> my oldest daughter, she said to me, either he is perfect guy, or you are going to end up on dateline someday. >> and here you are. >> right. >> rachel also flunked the meet the parents test when her father visited from ohio. >> i think immediately my dad just had that fatherly

instinct. >> instinct. same as your daughters. >> same as my daughters. >> kelly admits she also had some doubts about rich, but shoved them aside. her family, however, would not. back in ohio, her dad made some calls, while her sister scoured the internet. >> i was at work, my parents called me and they said, kelly, he is not who he says he is. my dad said, i am really worried, i don't know if he could be violent. >> how are you feeling when you are hearing this? >> sick to my stomach. >> i would be scared, >> i was scared and i had to go home and i had to pretend like every thing was okay. to try and get away from him. >> fortunately, her daughters were away at the time, staying with their dad, but that meant kelly had to face them at home, alone. she was especially frightened, because he once told hirsch he had a gun. >> he wouldn't leave my side, it was like he knew something was wrong. as much as i was trying to act,

like everything is okay, he sensed it. >> that is like in a really scary part of a movie. >> it was very scary. so i went to bed with him and waited for him to fall asleep and i had a little backpack for myself, and the second i hear him snoring i jumped out of my bed and i ran downstairs. >> and just when she thought she had escaped unnoticed-- >> i got in the car, as i was backing out, he was standing in the doorway. and i just peeled out of my neighborhood and drove directly to my girlfriend's house. >> did you see the look on his face? >> yeah, he looked angry and my phone started blowing up, and he did answer it, and he called and called and called. >> you got out just in the nick of time. >> just in time. >> eventually she realized just how lucky she was. which had only stolen her rent money. as for the mercedes? >> we walked off that lot with almost a $50,000 car and not a dime had been paid. that is how good he was.

>> she later returned it. at the country club he scammed- - >> i think at one point the bill was getting so high that the general manager called him and said, you know, we are going to need you to make a payment and it was around $20,000 and he's-- that is when everything started to go sideways for him. >> kelly would also learned that rich was derek alldred, a con man, not a navy man. >> and that was the thing that my dad was so adamant about. he was like, this jerk is walking around impersonating military. you know, not okay. >> military men and women do not like that. >> no. nobody likes that. my dad went to nci's and talked to an agent. >> the naval criminal investigative services? >> yes. yes. and he said he is impersonating a naval officer. >> her father was furious, but kelly was just ashamed. >> i was really, really upset

with myself. i blamed myself, i didn't trust myself anymore. it was such a bad decision. >> if anything helped it was this. she found out she was not alone. kelly was now part of a strange sisterhood. >> what would you call this club? >> like the courage club, it has taken a lot of courage for us to speak out about it, because this is not the kind of attention any of us welcomes. >> according to cindi, by 2017, derek, the lawyer, doctor, firefighter, professor, ceo, hotel developer, fighter pilot, navy s.e.a.l., had caught more than a dozen women in seven states. >> these are smart women. what happens is, he is a master manipulator. >> lauren, from kare 11 was now reporting instantly on these victims and their ability to pray other. >> there is a doctor, there's a

nurse, there's an engineer, a computer programmer. >> one woman was a nuclear physicist, but when they went to police, she says the women often felt they weren't hurt. >> what the women's a time and again is a feel they are treated like scorned women, like their complaints aren't taken seriously, and sometimes police departments just don't have the bandwidth to investigate these violent crimes, so he gets off with a slap on the wrist. >> derek alldred had tried his luck in vegas with nothing to show for it, and he was moving on, this time to texas and a showdown. coming up, derek strikes again, but his target turns the tables. >> i got my gun. i had my dogs least next to me. anybody who comes through that door, i am ready. >> when dateline continues. lin

[suspenseful music playing] andrea canning: after talking to kelly in vegas, things were pretty quiet for cindy pardini. derek alldred was in the wind. i knew that he had moved on, but i didn't know where. after talking to kelly in vegas, things were pretty quiet for cindi. there cauldron was in the wind. >> i knew he had moved on, but i didn't know where. >> even though kelly's that had alerted mabel investigators, nothing came of it. then, five months later, cindi's phone rang, it was a woman from dallas, another victim . >> she was very upset this had just happened to her. >> cindi listened to her story about duplicitous derek. he was still using the name, rich taylor and posing as a

navy vet. >> he had been dressing up in military uniform. >> the reserves with united dates navy and the department of defense. >> dori, an hr manager at a telecommuting tensions company had only dated richie for about six weeks. the tall man in uniform had quickly captured her heart. their first date though started at rocky. he took her to a texas rangers game. >> he went up to the will call and said colonel, somebody, i don't remember the name, left tickets for us here. >> there were no tickets. >> he started getting angry and he pulled out his ntis badge and said look, this is who i am, come on we need these tickets. he was a good 5-10 minutes at least it and finally they came up with some tickets. >> during the game, tori said richie's phone burst, an urgent call from the pentagon. he told her they were asking

for his expertise on north korea. >> the north korean crisis started during that time. there was a senate hearing committee that he was going to have to go down and present his opinion. >> are you thinking, wow, this guy is really high level. >> yes, i was impressed. >> later on she saw his uniforms, those metals, all kinds of military awards. >> did he ever wear his military uniform around you? >> he did put on his dress blues, when he was having several meetings out at the dfw airport. and i also have seen him in, like a flight jumpsuit that pilots where, he had the helmet, with the microphone on it. >> dori offered to drop them off at the airport for top secret missions, because his porsche had been in an accident, at least that is what he said. he even sent her pictures. he told her he was in the navy reserves, flying f 18th. >> and he would send me pictures that he had taken, when he was flying.

they were flying training missions. basically getting prepared for this attack that is pending, possibly with north korea. >> some of his grand stories did make her wonder, but-- >> i was falling for him. i thought he was when i had been looking go. so a lot of these little things that i just pushed down. >> you were ignoring your gut? >> yes, ignoring my god, absolutely. >> were you falling in love with rich? >> i think i was. >> did he express to you that he was falling for you? >> absolutely. i got, i love you, after it was about two weeks, three weeks. he was just telling me that, you know, i was it. i was everything he had been looking for. just absolutely treating me like a-- i mean, just made me feel really good about myself. >> like a princess? >> yeah. made me feel really good. >> but, she says richie the

romantic also had a dark side. >> you would just kick the wall, kick my bookcase, take something, flip the coffee table, but i always made excuses for it. >> the dramatic and came the day richie left behind an ipad he had borrowed from dorie. >> i pick it up, i flip it open, and everything is different on the front page. >> he has hijacked your ipad? >> what you find inside? >> i find him laying in a hospital bed, and a look closer in the name of the account is derek alldred. and i remember looking at it, thinking that is richie. >> a quick google search and the name derek alldred showed up, along with his decades long history of fraud and a stack of mugshots that could fill a photo album. dorie could barely breathe. >> i went upstairs and got my gun, and i sat on my couch and i was wide awake, i have my dogs least and next to me. just sitting there, ready. god forbid he comes through

that door, i am ready. >> derek never showed, so dorie left to her brother's ranch. >> and while i was out there, i started digging into my finances. >> dorie searched her accounts and there it was, derek had strained her checking account and charged thousands on one of her credit cards. >> in total, $19,800. the only thing i can put together is i went upstairs, you know, he snapped a picture of my checkbook, and then this extra credit card i had up there he took. >> she called the police. detective, kelly hunt, of the colony texas police department got the case. she knew derek alldred was bad news after running his name through a criminal database. >> that done some fraud and you could just see that this was just something he got away with, no real time in jail. >> detective hunt assured dorie she would make sure he wouldn't get away this time.

unlike many detectives before her, she understood this wasn't about scorned women out for revenge. >> i think it is probably a little more personal than other cases i would have, because you can see the trail that he left. of just destruction. >> and here is where dorie did something that would prove crucial to the case. >> we have got to stop him, we have got to do something different that hasn't worked before. >> after derek left, she collected a closet full of potential evidence. >> i had all kinds of uniforms, uniforms and badges, he had them all around my closet, way in the back of the closet. >> detective hunt was also interested in the credit card fraud aspect of the case. she knew it was something she could work with. she visited three local businesses, where derek had used dorie's card. >> and in all three cases his military uniform. i had one of the cashiers coming and did a lineup, picked him out immediately. so, that was, for me, an

airtight case, we could go ahead and get a warrant and get him into custody before he ran. >> but there was something else she needed to do. of all of the stuff you left behind that dorie's , one thing stood out. >> he also had a badge of the nci's, naval criminal investigations. it looks to me like a legitimate badge. >> so, she reached out to nci's and show that badge to a real agent. when he compared his to derek's he couldn't tell them apart. >> he took pictures of it and he says, i have to send this to my boss right away, because he will never believe this. >> derek is impersonating a federal officer? >> correct. >> which is an avenue that can be taken to maybe finally get him? >> yes. >> that gold badge was about to lead the u.s. navy into a con man's treasure trove and launch an investigation with teeth. coming up. a previous victim, willing to go undercover, could change everything. >> she is pretending that she is still in love with him, meanwhile, she is--

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i am richard lee with a new subject. the democratic national committee and president vice president,, layers security votes from democratic delegates become party's president the dnc will make the official announcement, monday. donald trump's federal election interference case is now back and judge tonya judkins course for months of being on hold supreme court considered to be claims of presidential immunity. judge chuck and must now apply to immunity ruling to the case to determine what remains of the prosecution. now, back to dateline. dorie had collected. they were astounded. the conference table was filled with counterfeit geneva nci's agents, mike and un jeremy, got a look at the military definitely three dorie had collected. they were started. >> it was filled with cards,

military uniforms little bit special agent that just might never seen anything like >> and it all belongs to one man, tori corcoran their cauldron. >> how seriously does the military take it, when someone is impersonating a military officer from a legal standpoint? >> from a legal staff it is free speech to where he military uniform out in public, but it is illegal if use that to gain something of value. >> it is called stolen valor command as far as the agent could tell, derek had used the military to live the highlight. >> he really went all out to 50% of a military officer? >> absolutely. >> purple heart, silverstar. >> absolutely. seal team one, underwater, demolition school, he displayed them all. >> so all of this year represent stolen valor? >> absolutely. >> and this was a big part of your case? >> this was this was definitely the to get in to start the case.

>> the agent quickly learned there was so much more. >> mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, possession of a firearm, wire fraud, access device fraud, there's a whole slew of-- >> social security fraud. he is collecting social security disability. derek is not blind. >> but building a federal case takes time and that is one thing they didn't have. >> we needed to catch them as soon as possible, because he was going to run. >> lover on the land. >> he has a history of running, why stop now? >> so the agent had an idea. >> >> just so i could get him into custody. >> hunt got the warrant. now they needed to find derek. not surprisingly, city got involved, you still keeping track of derek's whereabouts, and thought you might know where he was. her information came from a new member of the club, a woman, named tracy.

>> which i reached out to cindi, she says, well there's another girl in texas as well. >> he had been dating tracy at the same time as dorie, which explained all of those charges on her credit card. >> he was basically whining and dining on my dime. airbnb is pretty much every weekend, fancy dinners, fancy, you know, lake houses a rented. >> based on what cindi learned from tracy, she thought it was possible derek was still in dallas. agent michael elkheir tracked down trees, hoping she was still in contact with derek. she wasn't. >> she told him she got into a fight earlier, prior to knowing all of this. >> the agent asked her to patch things up so she could find out where he was. >> she did exactly what we asked her to do, to text, to apologize. >> she is essentially acting at this point? >> correct. >> pretending she is still in love with him. everything is fine. >> meanwhile, she's -- >> she is setting him up. >> derek took the bait and told her he was in the hospital, having a heart procedure.

she offered to pick him up the next day. >> and the plan was to arrest him in front of the hospital? >> yes. >> all of the details had been worked out. they were ready to make the arrest, but then, after seeing a local police alert online, not knowing a sting was in the works, dallas tv station, morning joe wfaa run a story warning the public and you are just like why? why now? >> based on what we knew about derek at the time and how sad he was, we were concerned he was going to see that and he would be gone. >> he could run? >> he could run. >> the agents decided to go ahead with the sting anyway. >> the adrenaline was pumping, we were keeping our eyes out, hoping to spot him and hoping everything went smoothly. >> and cis enlisted the help of local law enforcement. 10 officers and agents have the hospital covered. >> we had officers just walking around the hospital is normal patrons and we had officers and agents all around the hospital in vehicles, just staged locations, exit points, entry points, to make sure we cover

our bases with derek so he doesn't escape. >> did you feel like this was your moment, we are going to finally catch derek alldred? >> i felt like, if we didn't catch you know we weren't sure if we were ever going to catch up. >> the pickup time was fast approaching, derek sent a text to tracy. >> there was a problem. >> the best laid plans don't always work the way they are supposed to? >> they don't. coming up. tracy has bad news for law enforcement. >> is she frantic? >> she was a little frantic, but i think we were more concerned with losing him. >> and then, derek finally in custody, claiming he is the victim of a scorned woman. >> i mean, she was bitter and she was upset and hurt. probably a little scornful or whatever you want to call it. >> when dateline continues. lin

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i think it's a greandrea canning: the navy's sting operation in fort worth was in trouble. police were supposed to arrest derek as he left this medical center. the navy sting operation in fort worth was in trouble. police were supposed to arrest derek as he left this medical center. tracy, working with investigators, had just gotten a text from him. >> so, in the last minute she calls me and says at the heart hospital he's not a fort worth and he's waiting for him there. >> is she frantic? >> she was little frantic, but i think we were more concerned with losing him. accountable scramble to get into position in the new location? >> we just get in our cars, some of us already in and we start heading in this direction. >> the agents have to wonder if derek had to that local news report, gotten >> and changed his plans at the

last minute, when they pulled up to the second hospital, the agents see him there either. >> just start walking around this hospital, trying to find him in the valley, any of the lobbies anywhere were we can get eyes on him. >> so, the new medical center is growing with local law enforcement and federal law enforcement trying to find their cauldron? >> and that, there he was. he was sitting in a lounge in an expensive looking suit and tie, looking back he said derek, he said yes, >> this life oxycontin his way out of every tribe, this time was acting like an obedient puppy. >> i was more shocked at the fact that he wasn't questioning what was going on and what is this all about. it was on was like he was at peace with it. >> so, tracy said we have got it. we have got him. >> tracy was at the hospital witnessed the arrest. she was on the phone, getting cindi a play-by-play. >> and i said send me the pictures now, and so she hung up and she took pictures of him in a suit, with his hands

behind his back. >> handcuffs >> in handcuffs >> could you believe it? >> i couldn't believe it, i was so happy >> tell me a little bit about why you may think you are here today. >> within minutes, their cauldron had gone from a hospital and to a police department interview room >> there was a warrant out for my arrest and i saw that 7:00 news this morning. >> so, he had seen that news report and was dodging the law, when agents nabbed him, but now he wanted them to know something, he was the victim here, angry exes, like linda, for minnesota. >> with the south miami she was bitter, she was upset and her probably little scornful and whatever you want to call it. >> but the agents weren't interested in his sob stories, they had something else in mind. >> we want to ask you about your service in the military. have you ever been in law enforcement before?

>> no. >> fire? >> no. >> the only thing he is actually really told the truth about was that he wasn't a military, i would. >> and yet the agents had security video of derek walking around in an airport, posing as a fighter pilot. >> one of the things he did as he would tell one victim that he was deploying for the weekend and she would drop them off at dfw on a friday night at one terminal and then he would walk to a different terminal and have another victim and he would tell her that he just got back. >> so, they put the question to him. >> you wear uniforms of military personnel? >> no, i don't. >> never? >> i have in the past, but i-- >> in the past, last week or -- >> not last week, last month, last year. >> except they had a photo that said otherwise, dorie snapped it, days earlier, when derek wasn't looking. >> in full naval uniform on his cell phone, not paying attention, she's a photo. >> but when they showed him the roof, he tried to tonight.

>> i never wore this in public anywhere. that is-- i don't even know how that was taken, that is crazy. >> so when you think that was? >> i'm-- i'm not quite sure. >> the normal response would be, that is me, i don't know how you would have gotten those photos. >> so, you caught him in a lie immediately? >> absolutely. >> in fact, they had a lot more images, derek would stress and blues, white jumpsuits, none of which is a crime exactly, but-- >> have you heard of the term stolen valor? >> i have, up until recently i had. wearing military uniforms and flashing badges to get things for free is a crime >> have you ever had any military ids in your possession or anything like that? >> military ids? no. >> so, i think, counterfeit, anything like that? etc.? >> i can tell you without a shadow of a doubt you know, i've never gone out in public

and you know, gotten free stuff for free drinks are re-dinners for >> tickets to baseball games. >> tickets to baseball games thing. never. >> once again, they had evidence. >> we have got credentials here at this navy-- >> okay. >> you know what i'm talking about right? okay, this is a common access card. >> by them off of ebay. >> is that where you got this from? >> that's right i got that, yeah. >> and what were you going to do with us here? >> i think i haven't done anything with them. >> but remember when derek dorie to see the texas rangers on their first date? cameras were recording more than just the game. >> the rangers ticket, we were able to pull some footage and clearly you are showing an idea and insisting they are military and gaining something which is the equivalent of stolen valor. >> i didn't-- i never-- >> oh yes he did.

according to stadium security officers they recall the larger than life man, who with his and cis badge. >> i showed him a picture of derek and they said absolutely, he was a great guy we had a tour of the city. >> the real agent at the fake one in a corner, but derek, who could talk himself out of a tight spot, was going to give it one more try, not only with them-- >> are you ready to do this? we are recording. >> also with us. coming up-- >> what did you do that? >> our cnbc confront the conmen. >> what you say to all of these women who say that you have destroyed their lives? >> i was a horrible boyfriend, destroying someone's life, i think that is a bit exaggerated. >> and then, the hardest thing about being his victim. >> you get really emotional talking about that. >> that part bothers me. >> when dateline continues. and tough to keep wo

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use with caution in dogs with a history of these disorders. all of this-- andrea canning (voiceover): ncis agents elkheir and houck were losing patience with derek alldred. they'd been interviewing him for more than an hour and cis agents, losing patience with their cauldron. they had been interviewing him with more than an hour, and getting nowhere. >> i think of the last 20 minutes you have liked to our face about 50 times. like you have been lying to all of these people. >> i told you the truth.

>> they have had enough of derek's deceit. >> we wanted to make it very clear that we weren't going away, we weren't going to give up on this case. >> their tone changed as fast as one of his identities. >> you just say-- >> i didn't do it, that didn't happen. >> it is clear, why would all of these people say this, and then there is evidence of it happening, then there is videos and pictures of you doing it. >> what was your impression of derek throughout this interrogation? >> i thought he was a sociopath, but he was particular, smart, coherent. >> could you see firsthand how he was able to console many people? >> absolutely. his absolute confidence in everything that he said and did . it is believable. >> the agents continue to question. they knew derek had borrowed dorie's gun, and since he is a convicted felon, that is illegal. >> were you carrying a firearm? >> no. >> were you driving around in a car?

>> i don't believe so. >> he actually asked us to get him a nitro pill from his back, because he was having heartburn . >> from the stuff you took out of my pocket there is a-- my mentos bottle-- i have my-- in there. tenant have it? >> a nitro in there? >> we looked at each other is this guy seriously trying to convince us to give him a pill out of a mentos bottle? >> they sent start to the hospital as a precaution. when cindi and her team got an update from the agents, they were in a panic. they were worried derek had just pulled federal agents. >> all of us were like, oh no, here we go, they are going to let him go to the hospital and he is going to flee from the hospital. >> and i assured them that he was under guard 24 hours a day and brought him to the jail. they took him into the hospital and found nothing, of course. later that night my phone started blowing up and i

started receiving text messages, oh, thank you for what you did, you know, he took me for this. >> cindi's network was in order over drug, the scores of women started sharing their stories with agent elkheir, finally someone was listening, and the agents got just what they need from cindi's courage club. >> how helpful were the women in holding your case? >> they were the case. >> they were the case. >> so, without them? >> there was none. >> now it was up to federal prosecutor, william tatum, to get justice for those victims. but after a first look at the evidence for stolen valor, he was concerned. >> stolen valor, unfortunately, has very little penalty. >> and adding the money derek stole from dorie's credit card wouldn't make much of a difference, but because the charges were federal, when he came across the stories of all of the other women whose accounts have been drained, he had an idea. >> what we needed to do is get cindi's loss amount in there. get all of those in their, because then we were looking at

a loss amount over 1 million. >> that would carry a much harsher sentence. >> how much do you think he stole in total? >> it is in the millions, and that is just for the people we know about. >> the prosecutor tacked on gun possession, but still wasn't sure that was enough. so, he took a closer look at derek's fake uniforms and idols and he couldn't believe his luck. dorie had kept the packaging. important, because now he had proof that derek can use the mail to buy his imposter kit. >> so, once we had all of these packages, then we knew we had mail fraud. >> that was your smoking gun, really, dorie saving these packages. >> now the prosecutor had what he needed. the offered derek a deal. >> we offered him the option of mail fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft, so 24 years total is what he would be looking at >> 24 years behind bars, would he take it? so far, his strategy, when speaking to investigators was,

to deny, deny, deny. we wondered what he would say to us. he agreed to a phone interview. >> we have spoken to a number of women who say that you did steal money from them, and in fact, you stole money from them to use that money to wine and dine other women. >> what i would say is that, these women-- a lot of them, not all of them, a lot of them are twisting and manipulating facts. >> they would say the exact opposite, that you are the one who is twisting and manipulating back. >> i-- i-- i-- i know this, because i have seen some of their statements. >> did you steal from these women? >> no. >> these women are just broken from their interaction with you. that is what they told us. >> i really don't know how to respond to that, because in the short term of knowing some of these women, and how we interacted, i just don't see how that is possible. >> i think they would say that that was a clueless statement. >> they might.

they very well might. >> what you say to all of these women, who say that you destroyed their lives? >> i am not trying to justify my behavior. my behavior was-- i was a horrible boyfriend, absolutely horrible, destroying someone's life, i think is a bit exaggerated. >> when i pressed him about his fake identities, that he didn't deny. >> you have been accused as posing as an attorney, a doctor, a firefighter, an executive, a veteran and there is more. how did you keep it all straight? >> it is impossible to keep straight, particularly when i was running from the courts or, you know, running from the united states marshals, i mean, it-- it was-- it was tough to keep track of who i was saying, you know, where i was what i was doing and who i was. it is overwhelming. >> my husband was a fighter pilot, an f-18 fighter pilot, you purported to be one, members of the military, obviously don't look kindly on

people posing as military officers. >> i think that is kind of a cheap shot question. >> but it is a big part of your case, stolen valor. >> right. but i mean, it is not a big part of the case, because it is actually more-- >> but it opened the door, really, to the federal authorities going after you. >> right. >> why did you pose as all of these different occupations? and professions? >> i can't give you-- there is no specific reason why. there's really not. >> and yet, he made a deal. >> it took a while, but he finally accepted? >> yes, he did accept it and he did eventually lee. >> but there is no guarantee a judge would accept that deal, so the prosecutor asked derek's victims to tell their stories in court. >> we were going to make the argument to the judge that all of this conduct throughout the entire united states should all count in this case in sherman, texas.

>> eight of derek's victims arrived in court, including vanessa, missy, dorie, and of course, cindi. who had fought so hard to see this day. >> you are the first to give your victim impact statement, and it was very powerful, you said a dark journey that will throw you into the spells of depression, rage and loneliness. it will unravel your deepest insecurities, leaving you with a lingering emptiness that haunts your every breath. >> that is about right. >> that is intense. >> it was, it was a very lonely time for me. >> the judge listened to every word from every woman and when it was dorie's turn, she spoke of how derek had forever stolen her ability to trust. >> he took a piece of you? >> yeah. i was very trusting, loving, i-- you have my trust until you show me otherwise. i am the other way now. i don't trust anybody. >> you got really emotional talking about that. >> that part bothers me. >> then, derek alldred faced

the judge and try to pull off one last con. >> he got there and said i did meet third anybody, i didn't steal from anyone, these were all just relationships. he kind of tried to turn on the- - look at me, poor derek alldred i'm about to go to prison and i haven't really done anything. >> but the judge hasn't fallen for it, not even slightly. he told derek the madness had to stop. >> he said something to the effect of, if i could give you a life sentence i would. >> on august 22nd, 2018, the judge gave derek alldred, the maximum, 24 years, and ordered him to pay more than a quarter million dollars in restitution. we asked him about that. the phone interview was from a federal prison in sheridan, oregon. >> the judge threw the book at you, suggesting that he believed these women. >> yes. and that is a shame. >> what is it like for you, facing all of those women in court? >> to see some of them, it was- - it was surreal.

>> did you look at derek in the courtroom? >> yeah, i looked, but he didn't look back. there was no reaction to what any of us were saying. >> many believed derek alldred has cindi pardini to thank for his time behind bars. >> cindi was the one to bring them altogether. she is the hero. >> i walk forward every single day and every day that i walk forward i am walking further away from this situation. >> does it also give you comfort in knowing that the prison that derek alldred is and is no four seasons? >> exactly. he's just my first love. hello, i am craig : melvin,h and this is dateline. you have one that got away?