tonight on "nightline" -- online scammers, from weight loss to sleep to sex. millions of americans turn to online pharmacies for help. now a scam with thousands of victims, receiving calls from fake dea agents demanding cash to avoid jail time. "nightline" investigates. george zimmerman is officially charged with murder in the shooting death of 17-year-old trayvon martin. we bring you surprising new details about what happened that fateful night. and drop-dead healthy. from caveman workouts to juice fasting. this guy spent two years experimenting with hyper healthy living. so what worked? and what didn't? >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news with terry

moran, cynthia mcfadden, bill weir and tonight juju chang in new york city, this is "nightline," april 11, 1212. good evening. i'm juju chang. the next time you see spam e-mail ads for cheap viagra, discount ambien, it might be wise to think twice. not only are you possibly buying counterfeit drugs, you may be being scammed. it's a scam that ripped off thousands of americans and it all starts with one menacing call. here is dan harris with tonight's "nightline" investigates. >> reporter: it is a multibillion-dollar industry. america is a pill nation. for many of our most personal needs from sleep to sex. >> why let erectile disfunction get fwh your way ? >> reporter: from weight loss,

many of us turn to prescription drugs. for many of us too embarrassed to ask our doctor, there are scores of websites, and there is no subscription required. they're also inviting. but in some cases they could be a trap. a few clib clicks could lead t phone call like this. >> this is special agent david brown. we are going to bring you in in custody with criminal charges from buying drugs overseas. >> i don't know what games you are playing. if you don't call me back, you are going to jail. >> he was very calm, cool, but very intimidating. >> reporter: all of these people received the calls and thought they were going to jail. >> it's scary. violating. >> he new things about me. he had legitimate information on me. >> i was ready to call my wife and kids and say, i'll see y'all later. i'm obviously going to be gone

for a while. >> reporter: most of whom have ordered diet pills or something else on the web, the fake agents offer a lifeline. >> we can solve this problem. we can clear your name. told me i had three counts of felony charges against me. he said i could pay $1,500. >> you have five minutes to call me f. if not, it's off and you go to court. >> he offers you the money, that is a no-brainer. >> reporter: it is a lifeline that caroline from texas readily accepted after she received the call. we spoke to her husband, dan. >> there was a message saying, caroline, you need to contact me about your drug charges. >> he sounded legit? >> he sounded legit. >> reporter: carolyn went to this walmart and fired the fake agents the money they demanded. >> looks to me it was $1,950.

>> was that money that was difficult to come by? >> it depleted our savings account, let's put it that way. >> reporter: we went to d.a. headquarters in washington, d.c., where this scam has produced shock waves. it's a direct attack on your reputation. >> it's a direct attack on the agency as a whole. if someone is trying to elicit money from them for making the case go away, they are not someone who works for the drug enforcement administration. >> reporter: the dea says the scam is run out of the dominican republic. the caribbean island most americans know as a vacation paradise. the criminals often operate the very web sites that sell the illegal prescription drugs. after they've collected the users' personal information, they turn around and blakemail them. thousands of victims have called the dea hotline, many of them having paid the scammers. >> we think that several people have paid significant amounts of money to these scams. >> reporter: thousands of dollars? >> thousands of dollars.

>> reporter: so they're really being successfully extort here. >> that is correct. >> reporter: very often, after one payment, the scammers come back for more. carolyn was extremely so scared, she took an extreme measure -- she committed suicide. >> just laying on her back, with a bullet hole in her chest. >> reporter: you didn't see it coming? >> nope. >> reporter: do you blame these people who were calling her? >> yes. it killed her. >> reporter: they hounded her. they hounded her until she did this to herself? that is what you believe? >> yes. >> reporter: the dea has indicted 11 dominicans but no one has been arrested. meanwhile, the scam is escalating. just weeks ago, this man who did not want us to show his face, got this call -- >> what i'm going do is send out a search warrant for your wife,

your property and yourself. >> reporter: hours later, fake agents actually came to his home in suburban dallas. >> they pulled up in a black suv right there at the driveway, two white males got out, stood beside the truck. >> reporter: in the end he didn't fall for it, but he admits he came close. even though part of you suspects this is a scam, in the back of your mind you're thinking, my wife did order this drugs so this could be real. >> exactly. >> reporter: the 11 men indicted suspe suspects could face 20 years in prison. dan, who lost his wife, thinks they should get the death penalty. you know, our relationship is something that coming around once in a lifetime. and i hope they move fast and get these people so somebody else gets hurt. >> reporter: for "nightline" this is dan harris in joshua, texas. >> a true cautionary tale. thanks to dan harris.

up next, murder charges for the man who shot and killed 17-year-old trayvon martin. what today's developments reveal about what really happened the night he died. >> announcer: abc news "nightline" brought to you by td ameritra ameritrade. the earth's gravitational pull and hurtle us all into space. which would render retirement planning unnecessary. but say the sun rises on december 22nd, and you still need to retire. td ameritrade's investment consultants can help you build a plan that fits your life. we'll even throw in up to $600 when you open a new account or roll over an old 401(k). so who's in control now, mayans? when you open a new account or roll over an old 401(k). these three friends share a house. we swapped their ride for a focus. bad news for their imports. it's really cool looking. what about fuel-efficiency? amazing. i think it gets up to like 40 miles per gallon. kinda cool when the needle never moves. my turn. active park assist&

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>> announcer: "nightline "continues from new york city with juju chang. there's been a dramatic turn in a case that has created national backlash. tonight, george zimmerman, the self-appointed neighborhood watchman who shot and killed 17-year-old trayvon martin, facing an official murder charge. the arrest comes after weeks of public outcry and accusations of racism in the investigation. and abc's matt gutman tells us what tipped the scales of justice tonight. >> reporter: tonight, for the first time in 45 days, a brief

glimpse of george zimmerman being driven into the seminole county jail in sanford, florida, the same town where he shot and killed trayvon martin the chilly february night. >> it is the search for justice for trayvon that has brought us to this moment. >> reporter: the crystallization of six weeks of protests and speculation which captivated the nation and sparked a fire storm of controversy. >> trayvon martin was shot by a man on neighborhood crime watch. >> reporter: tonight this is the mug shot of zimmerman. he could face up to life in prison if convicted. >> today we filed an information charging george zimmerman with murder in the second degree. >> reporter: state prosecutor ange angela corey announced the

char charges. the confrontation played like a painful national sound track the past few weeks. >> this guy looks like he is up to no good or on drugs or something. >> reporter: in washington tonight, trayvon martin's parents getting what they've demanded since the shooting. >> just to know that the circumstances surrounding the case, just knowing that he is off the streets that he is in custody, the wheels are starting to turn in our favor. >> reporter: and in sanford, the announcement brought a brief moment of rapture at this church. zimmerman had been a ghost the past six weeks and 24 hours before he turned himself in, his attorneys who have been with him for weeks turned on him. >> he will not return our calls and we couldn't get ahold of him. >> reporter: today's charges follow weeks of mounting tension surrounding the case, whether it was a racially motivated killing, and whether george zimmerman who claimed self-defense should have faced

charges at all a. on february 26th, zimmerman called a nonemergency dispatch number about someone suspicious in the neighborhood. he followed him. >> this guy looks like he's up to no good. he looks like he's on drugs, up to something. he is walking around, about. >> is he white, black, hispanic? >> he looks black. >> reporter: some of the efrdz that the prosecutor likely focused on is in this exchange. >> are you following him? >> yeah. >> okay, we don't need to you do that. >> reporter: and at the same time trayvon martin's 16-year-old girlfriend was on the phone with him, later telling abc news -- >> he said this white dude was following him around. >> reporter: zimmerman continues to pursue. >> i said, run. >> reporter: but he didn't. and there are no eyewitnesses, no video. and an hour later, zimmerman taken into custody. and until he turned himself in, late today, his whereabouts were a mystery, as public pressure grew. zimmerman has retained a new

defense attorney and at the heart of the legal debate cob florida's controversial stand your ground laws which offers tremendous leeways for someone like zimmerman to use deadly force if he feel his life was threatened. >> this will be the trial of george zimmerman, but it will also put on trial the stand your ground law. it will be scrutinized. it will be evaluated. and it will be debated throughout this case. >> reporter: his brother told cnn's pie"piers morgan tonight". >> piers, obviously, auz a family we're devastated. obviously we are a strong family. >> reporter: he still has the support of his friend frank taffy. >> he's been a model citizen, a model neighbor. he doesn't have a track record of criminal history. he's a law-abiding citizen, and he will follow the law. >> reporter: he is unfazed by tonight's charge. >> i'm saddened by it. but i'm not shocked. we're going to have to wait for all the evidence to come out.

>> the crucial pieces of evidence in this case are going to be audiotapes, the 911 call, others calling 911. what did george zimmerman say? what was heard in the background? >> reporter: zimmerman will be arraigned tomorrow afternoon, but whatever happens to him in court, his name and face will be eternally linked to the 17-year-old he shot and killed that night. for "nightline," i'm matt guttman in sanford, florida. >> our thanks to matt guttman for following every twist in this case. just ahead -- from getting primal to going vegan, this guy tried everything to get hyperhealthy. and we tell you what he discovered. what's with you?

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well, it's the ultimate body rehab project, taking every single piece of advice doctors give about staying healthy and then actually doing them, literally, all of them at the same time. one health nut spent two years living this week and john berman met up with him for some heavy lifting, caveman style. >> one, two, three! >> reporter: this guy throwing rocks with me? he might just be the single healthiest person on earth. sure, he may not look like much, but, seriously, it's not just the boulder tossing.

it's the log carrying, finger stretching, bathroom squatting -- >> believe is t or not, there's healthy way to go to the bathroom. >> reporter: -- there's ear petting and dirngdoo blowing. he followed doctors' advice to get healthy. all of it. >> i had a huge stomach. i looked like a snake that swallowed a goat. sugar, salt and fat were my main three food groups. so i really wanted to -- i needed to do a big revamp. >> reporter: that revamp lasted two years. every diet, every workout, every self-improvement trick and technique under the sun. ♪ happy birthday to you >> you've got to met meditate, pet dogs, prepare food, eat

food. he wrote about it in this book, which he wrote while walking on his treadmill. >> i did it while i was on here. more research shows how bad sitting is for you. it's really, really bad. >> reporter: spend a day with him and you learn he is a walking encyclopedia full of health. from skin care -- >> you have to fill a shot glass full of sunscreen and use that. >> reporter: to plant care to water care. >> holding a cold bottle will keep your core temperature lower. you can increase your endurance during a workout. the study just came out. i think it was from stanford. >> reporter: you're a machine. >> i know. my wife would like to turn me off a lot. >> he kind of would like to look over my shoulder when i was eating, you know, white bread

and assay, enjoy your empty calories. >> reporter: mostly his family got with the program, no shortage of fruits and vegetables at this table. over the two years, a.j. developed definite opinions about what works. he likes the boulder tossing, log carrying and sprinting of the so-called caveman workout. why exactly are we doing this, sprinting? >> cavemen, the idea is they didn't do a lot of leisurely jogging. they did a lot of sprinting, away from the tigers. >> reporter: he likes eating healthy, fish vegetables and eggs. he likes to concentrate on what to eat but how. >> you want to eat slowly because you'll eat less. and we eat way too much. there's actually a very passionate movement on the internet called chewism. they say you should chew as much as 50 times.

and that is a pain, not as much as some things. >> well, i tried colonics and juice fasts and i was not a fan of either one. and luckily the science is not there. >> reporter: at the end of two years he managed to lose 17 pounds. his body fat dropped from 17% to 7%. he says he is now bursting with energy and feels great. >> i fedoing the asian squat. >> reporter: he's backed off some of the dozens and dozens of health rituals. he says there's just not enough hours in the day to be that healthy. >> being too obsessed with health is not very healthy. >> reporter: so everything in moderation. even the boulder tossing. one, two, three. i'm john berman for "nightline" in new york. >> our thanks to john berman. thank you for watching abc news. we hope you check in for "good monk america." as ayou know, they're working while you're sleeping and we're always online at abc