the time, e-mails saying you have won the lottery. you are going to make a bundle on a business deal. you just inherited a fortune. >> your inheritance is to be released. >> they claim they want to give you money, but they are really out to steal it. >> make them think about it. we are at war. >> for years now, "dateline" has been tracking down internet thieves oversea gls did you or did you not lie? >> i lied to you. >> this time we take our cameras on the hunt for scammers here at home. nice to see you. come up.

we will play their games, uncover their tricks. >> guys show up with a crate of money. >> exactly. >> it is all dyed black. >> it's all dyed black. >> and turn the tables to scam the scammer. >> mr. grant, there's something you need to know. i'm chris hansen with "dateline" nbc. >> tonight "dateline" goes undercover as we "follow the money." good evening. welcome to "dateline." i'm chris hansen. the crime we're going to tell you about tonight is all too common. too big for local police, too small, it seemed, for federal authorities, but when "dateline's" hidden cameras got involved we uncovered a multimillion-dollar conspiracy and prompted federal indictments against an international crime ring. a sophisticated scam that preys on people who say to themselves i'd never fall for that. they come from internet boiler rooms overseas.

promising big money. >> $850,000. >> 1 million united states dollars. >> $1.7 million. >> but to get it, some people wind up paying a fortune. tonight our story starts in connecticut where many woman got one of those e-mails. we've agreed only the use her first name, charene. >> when i receive tre e-mdi the man claimed to be based in nigeria. >> and before she realized it she was caught in a sophisticated scheme that stole her life savings but she felt so foolish she was reluctant to tell anyone. >> i was taking money out of my ira. >> how hard was it to go to police. >> i'm proud of her to come forward. i don't know if i would be able to come forward and face family

and friends to say i fell for this. >> reporter: gary of the fairfield, connecticut police said when his department got the case he could hardly believe it. >> here's an educated woman with an affluent family and she is taken by these guys. >> we are haul vulnerable when it comes to hoax. >> scams can fool people you would think would be too smart to be taken in but sergeant perez says that's because the thieves are surprisingly sophisticate canned and their scams may not be obvious at the start. >> most of the victims are well educated. we're talking about professors, doctors. it runs the gamut. >> how do they fall for these scams? >> these scammers, these cybercriminals are extremely intelligent in psychological warfare. oen if times they will not ask for money right away. they are going to play the game and psychologically stroke her for as much as they can before

they start the attack. >> like an on-line sexual predator looms a potential target. >> i like to say attack because that's truly what it is. >> how does the scam work? for charene it involves phony documents. starting with an e-mail from a lawyer overseas barrister davis about a tragic accident. >> unfortunately they all lost their lives and he tells her that he's the attorney for this family who had a horrific accident and they left behind a vast fortune of 15 million dollars. >> why would anyone believe that? to begin with the lawyer sends this real looking newspaper clipping about the accident. and the people have the same last name as shireen. >> that would lead anyone to believe perhaps i have a relative out there who i might not know who may have a fortune that really, truly belongs to me. >> and there's more than the newspaper, there's also a death certificate.

>> it's a very real looking death certificate. >> may i see it? >> sure. >> how believable are these documents? >> these are very believable. >> reporter: and shireen says there is something that's made the barrister ooig's story believable them fortune was from oil. >> he said he had a client who died and he work dmd the shove ron company who worked in nigeria. >> that made sense to her because there were engineers in her family and she was born in bangladesh and lived in the united states for most of her life and she knew she had relatives all over the world, including some that worked in the oil industry. so you had a number of engineers in your family? >> yes. >> and your thought process was maybe one of my relatives had been working over there unbeknownest to me. >> the scam promises a fortune but forces you to pay big fees to claim it. in order to get you hooked, the scammers start small.

>> tell me about the first fee. >> he said he needed, i believe the first one is $250. >> $250. >> yes. >> did you think it's worth it? let's just see where with it goes. >> that's exactly what i was thinking. >> first a lawyer's fee and then a court fee and now some bank fees. >> you, as the beneficiary will need to send the sum of $2,150 for the office duty stamp. >> the fees are designed, little by little, to lure people in. >> she's completely invested now in to this process. she can't just turn away and walk away because now she loses the money. so in a way they now have her on the hook. >> and boy did they. >> from ubs warberg, attention, beneficiary. >> to convince shiren it was official, they sent her official looking e-mails not just from the lawyer but from bank and government officials and there was more. they were with sending her these

forms, in color with seals and official looking stamps. all telling the same story about her multimillion-dollar inheritance. >> i started to believe in him. >> here we have a document a very real looking document, that's basically fund release order. it's got a stamp of approval. it's got her name on it. >> it is customized for shiren. >> absolutely. it lists her as the beneficiary. these are convincing documents. operations department, lagos, nigeria, march 7th, 2008 and it lays out this $15 million transfer. >> of course she's elated because she's well on her way to get her fortune. and of course she's invested in it already she has to continue. >> by now shireen has not only

spent money but made a trip to london to meet face to face with people she thought were bankers handling her inheritance. she gave them $10,000 hoping it was the final fee and before long an e-mail from the bank with good news. >> dear madam your total sum of $15 million is expected to be in your account today. >> at this point congratulatory letters are coming in. everyone's signing off. everything appears to be going the way it should be. >> she's so close she can see, smell, and taste the money in her account. >> the scammers manage to get shireen to be emotionally invested here. >> right. they are pulling the puppet strings. >> suddenly a problem, the bank says the money transfer can't go through. >> dear madam, our transfer of $15 million, reflected back to our account. >> the bank says the fund frozen until shireen provides official documents.

>> there's a thing called an inheritance tax clearance certificate. and a clean bill of record. >> and guess what, they are going to call a bundle. crooks are moving in for the big score. >> these two items, of course, aren't going to cost a few thousand. it comes to a total of $165,000. >> $165,000. >> just to reach ouft and grab the money because it's right there. >> little by little, 300, 500, 1700, 15,000, 25,000 and this is the big score. >> this is it. >> in the end, shireen lost her life savings, $200,000 and chances are she will never get a dime of it back, but believe it or not, the scam canners still think they have got shireen on the hook for even more. what they don't know is she's agreed to let "dateline" step in. >> nice to see you.

>> and try to turn the tables. we start by setting a trap of our own. >> i need to do a face-to-face meeting before i send anyone money. guess who may spoil the party ♪ i dreamed the dream ♪ >> when "follow the money" continues.

we are at war. >> sergeant james perez has seen it firsthand. >> we're at war with a faceless enemy. an invisible enemy that has the inate ability to get right in the living room n to the core of our country and try to scam people and they are doing it at a record rate. >> he's been investigating the case of a connecticut woman who lost her life savings. >> attention beneficiary, the transfer will have effect

tomorrow. >> the e-mail said she was about to inherit a fortune. the documents looked so real and shireen wanted to believe them so badly. even though at first she had her doubts. >> at one point, she stopped them and said, i don't believe this. she basically told them that she had seen a "dateline" show on scams. >> so wait a minute, shireen had actually seen one of our previous investigations? >> that's correct. >> my name is chris hansen and you have just been caught. you have seen one of my stories and you actually confronted barrister davis about these comments and are you one with of these guys. >> yes. >> what did he say? >> he was very angry and said you better apologize. >> you better apologize? >> yeah with, he said i'm not like that. >> she didn't realize she was being conned until it was too late. >> why didn't you just walk away from it? >> i know i was going to and

they kept saying that see you already invested so much money. >> and you figured i'm in to it this far. >> exactly. >> after shireen contacted local police, they contacted federal authorities, but international scams over the internet are tough to prosecute. so shireen asked "dateline" to help. could we crack the case and lure the thieves out from behind their computer keyboards in to plain sight? >> mr. davis, i received your e-mail and noted the content. >> the first step, taking over her e-mail. remember, the thieves are already taking over $200,000 from shireen, but it doesn't take long to discover their greed has no limit. they want even more. >> dear shireen, get the balance of $5,000 before the end of this month. >> authorities say the thieves are maers manipulators who know they almost never get caught. >> it goes to show you how bold and confident they are that they

are not going to be arrested for it. >> there's always an excuse? >> always an excuse. >> we are about to turn the tables. our chance comes when the thieves send this e-mail saying the money transfer is finally ready but the bank is asking for more money than ever before. >> dear shireen, they say the only fee they will be collecting is the 10% of the $15 million. >> 10%. that's a staggering fee. $1.5 million. but remember, "dateline" is answering the e-mails now and we say we will pay the up-front money on one condition, the scammers have to meet me face to face. >> is this barrister davis? >> i'm posing as a businessman who is supposedly loaning shireen the money she needs to close the deal. the thieves at first refuse to meet but we keep dangling the money if we meet. i need to do a face-to-face meeting before i meet anybody.

i am willing to invest. i adore and want to help her and get this thing done. >> finally barrister davis takes the bait. >> dear shireen, your friend can see the fund face to face. >> so it's off to london. that's where shireen met with the so-called bankers before. >> did you meet with him? >> yes. >> that's where they agreed to meet me. "dateline" rents a suite. there is a last-minute problem, the bankers haven't arrived yet. the barrister says they want us to send money in advance to pay for their plane tickets. >> dear shireen, now we need to send them the $7500 which their staff will use to travel to london. >> we think that is just another con. >> i can't believe you don't have a representative already in london. >> remember, in earlier investigation, we discovered the nigerian scammers have people

based in london. so i decide to call the barrister's bluff. >> mr. davis, you need to listen to me. if the bank is going to take a fee of more than $1 million they can certainly afford to get somebody here for a meeting tomorrow afternoon. shireen even called. >> hello. >> mr. davis? >> all but begging the barrister. without a face-to-face meeting, she says she has no hope of raising the money. >> i now have my last hope is my friend mr. chris has been willing to help me, but he wants to meet someone in person. >> but while we're upstairs making those calls our hotel is invaded by reporters and photographers even from our own network. >> we will talk a lot this morning about susan boyle. >> they are here covering the british singing sensation susan boyle. ♪ i dreamed the dream ♪ >> turns out we scheduled our meeting right before the finals

of "britain's got talent" and our hotel was crawling with reporters. not exactly how scammers like to be greeted. >> it will be terrible for me to disappoint shireen but we have to meet face to face or the deal is not going to happen. we may never know if it was the mead media with frenzy or something that scared them off but in the end barrister davis backs out leaving shireen angry and disappointed. >> i think he's the devil. >> we're a long way from throwing in the towel and the trail is about to lead to a place we never expected. coming up, shireen's first brush with her $15 million inheritance. why was this money funny? >> two huge men show up. >> with a crate of money. l mil dones >> but it is all dyed black. >> it is all dooid black. >> when "dateline" continues. >> when "dateline" continues. y black. >> when "dateline" continues. ed black. >> when "dateline" continues.

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premier card gives you more ways to earn points. what's your story? citi can help you write it. no one is available at this time? >> even though barrister davis didn't show up for our scheduled meeting in london. >> we have to meet face to face or the deal is not going to happen and not worth us talking anymore. >> his ring of thieves want to squeeze more money out of shireen.

>> to shireen, the bank told me you have to pay more fees. >> and "dateline" hasn't given up either. we have taken over shireen's e-mail and we are trying to lure the thieves in to a face-to-face meeting. so we write back that shireen has found a new friend with lots of money. >> mr. davis, i spoke to my friend today and he said he will definitely loan me the money. >> the barrister takes the bait again, agreeing to a face to face meeting. >> to shireen, you will meet with the diplomate. >> where will this meeting be? over the years we have tracked internet thieves all over the world, to africa, amsterdam, london and switzerland. >> i suspect you are part of a scam. authorities say most internet crimes are based overseas, and they are on the rise. >> did you or did you not lie to me? >> i lied to you. >> at the government's internet crime center, the number of

claims is running more than 300,000 a year and the fbi estimates that e-mail attacks are bilking americans out of more than a half billion dollars a year. >> how often do you rip people off this way? so based on our other investigations, we think we will have to travel overseas again, but this time we're in for a surprise. >> to shireen, the diplomates will move your funds to south carolina for delivery. >> south carolina. this ring of thieves apparently is brazen enough to operate right here at home on u.s. soil. the barrister tells us to contact a man he calls a diplomate. somebody going by the name of jeffrey grant to work out the details. >> yes, mr. grant, i'm calling for shireen. >> we don't want to let shireen meet the thieves alone so we make a story she's been in the hospital. a "dateline" producer is pretending to be a relative who will be helping her with the trip.

>> do you physically have the fund that she is supposed to receive? >> sir, everything. we don't need to speak too much. >> okay. we'll see you friday. >> yes, sir. thank you. >> the meeting has taken nearly a year to set up, but we're with about to meet one of the thieves face to face. we call to let the so-called diplomate know we've arrived mr. grant? >> hey, how. >> good. >> shireen and i got in early. >> hi mr. grant. >> how are you? >> good thank you. >> shortly after our phone call the so-called diplomate jeffrey grant arrives in our hotel in greenville. and we have rented a room and our cameras will be recording his every word. it is an international crime ring at work, right here in the united states. mr. grant, this is shireen. >> how are you?

>> moments earlier, barrister davis called all the way from nigeria to check on how the deal was progressing. >> i got a call from mr. davis and he said to as soon as you come to give you a call. >> okay. >> just as we suspected the scammers apeer to be part of a sophisticated overseas network. >> somehow this going to work today? >> bring it over here. >> what over here. >> the boxes with the money. >> yeah. >> for mr. grant the first meeting seems to be a scouting mission to make sure we aren't the police. he tells us he will come back later with the paper work and the money. >> one hour. >> one hour and you will bring the money up here? >> yes. >> before he leaves, there's another phone call from the barrister. >> hello. mr. grant is here sitting right in front of here with me. >> it's almost as if the crook

overseas is checking up on his partner in america. >> we'll meet back here in an hour and let's do that. >> okay. >> and when he comes back, we're hoping to get a look at one of the crook's favorite tricks. remember, before "dateline" got involved shireen had flown to london in hopes of claiming her money. during that trip, she met with people she thought were bankers and lawyers and she remembers they gave her a sneak peek at what they said was her fortune. >> they brought a big trunk. >> they open it up and what do you see. >> bundles, like covered with black. >> bundles of black bills? >> yes, yes. >> police call it the blackmun trick. >> two huge men show up. >> two guys show up with a crate of money. but it is all dyed black. >> it is all dyed black. >> the scammers have an explanation for that. >> apparently they have to dye it black to smuggle it out of africa.

>> they explain the money has to be converted in to usable ann money and the only way to do that is to dip it in to an expensive chemical in order to make the money legal so you can use it. >> sergeant perez says most of the so-called money is plain black paper but in a magic fit, fit for houdini, he shows how the thieves convinced shireen the money was real by washing a couple of select bills before her very eyes. >> he cleaned two bills. >> and when he cleaned those bills, what was revealed? >> two one hundred dollar bills. >> real bills. >> exactly. >> they hand her the money so she can see and feel the money in their hands and they go so far is as to tell her, you don't have to take our word for it. take this money and go to the store and go spend it. so that they can really convince her that this money is so real and it's all right there.

>> of course it's all a trick to get more money. the scammers use simple supplies, else mers glue and iodine to put a coating on a couple of real bills. a it dries the black is easy to wash off. but the thieves say they are using special chemicals and they are very expensive. so it is another big fee to pay before you can actually spend your fortune. when we called mr. grant earlier to set up the meeting we asked about the chemicals. >> she said something about chemicals or a person with chemicals that will be needed okay. so the is that blackmun trick what the diplomate has up his sleeve? coming up, shireen is told her inheritance is just a car ride away, packed in a stunk, stored in an underground vault. >> do you think it is filled with money, gold, valuables,

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>> when you've been a victim of a scam, it's embarrassing. >> part of the problem with investigating these crimes is that most victims will never come forward. they are just too embarrassed. they do not want to let their families know and the scammers realize this and they use that very fear against them. >> but shireen, the connecticut woman who lost more than a quarter million dollars in an internet scam was not only brave enough to tell police, now she's helping "dateline," as we try to turn the tables on her scammers. mr. grant, this is shireen. we have met face to face with the so-called diplomate jeffrey grant who's supposed to be delivering shireen's $15 million inheritance.

to our surprise, the meeting is happening here in the u.s., in a hotel room we rented in greenville, south carolina. it seems as if mr. grant is a part of a ring of internet thieves. operating here in america. but after a few minutes he told us he had to leave to pick up some forms and of course the huge pile of cash they have been promising shireen for so long. >> one hour. >> one hour? >> and you will be able to bring the money up here? >> yes. >> when he returns we wonder if he will pull the same black money trick shireen saw before in london but mr. grant is gone more than two hours and i'm beginning to worry he might be on to us so i call, just to make sure he's coming back. >> hello. >> hello, mr. grant? >> yes. >> but we are in for another surprise. when he hears it is me, mr. grant quickly puts a woman on the phone. she says she's from a local storage company that's been protecting a mysterious

shipment. >> we know it is heavy and it is stored in one of the underground vaults. >> okay. of course we are supposed to think the container holds shireen's multimillion-dollar inheritance but what this is leading up to is another attempt to dip in to shireen's pocketbook before we can even see the mysterious shipment, the woman says we will need to give more cash to mr. grant, $37,600 to be exact. supposedly so he can pay the storage fees. my understand is mr. grant will come here and get the $37,600. >> right. >> and then he will bring it to you -- >> he will bring it back to our office. >> do you want cashier's check or cash. >> absolutely cash. >> absolutely cash, okay. ash. exactly what criminals want. >> i will bet you dinner at your favorite restaurant there is no container. but i think we have a local ring here.

turns out we haven't been made at all. in fact the scammers apparently think they can take us for even more money. >> you want some coffee? >> sure enough, that afternoon, mr. grant is back at our hotel to collect $37,000. but before we hand over the cash, i have a few questions like confirming the exact amount of money we need to pay. the amount i have to give you now for shireen is 37,600. okay. that's the number? >> yes. >> is there anything else involved or -- >> with each question the answers get more suspicious. for instance, since i'm handing over so much cash up front, shouldn't i be able to be there when he picked up the supposed fortune. >> would it be wise if i went with you to pick up the crate? >> if you were to go with me -- >> he's telling me that coming along to the underground vault would be a security problem, but i keep asking. >> maybe i could help you careerry it. >> no.

it is not a problem. >> are you sure? because i'm happy to do go with you if you like. >> trust me. it is no problem. >> and then the question of what is supposed to be in that container. remember, shireen had been promised $15 million but remarkably mr. grant claims he doesn't know what is in the mysterious trunk. >> do you think it is filled with money, gold, valuables or what? >> only one way to find out. >> this so-called diplomate says he can't give us a receipt for the tens of thousands of dollars we're about to hand over in return for shireen's supposed fortune. >> do you have any paperwork or receipt for the money you want us to give you now? do you have a receipt with you? >> what for. >> the receipt for $37,600. >> no. >> if there was if any doubt that this was part of a scam to take more money from a woman who

has already lost her life savings, there is none now. it is no way it is a legitimate deal. so it is time for me to tell mr. grant who i really am. mr. grant, there's something you need to know. i'm chris hansen with "dateline" nbc. despite everything you have just seen the so-called diplomate insists he's done nothing wrong. now that you are in trouble -- i think you are in trouble. when "dateline" continues. woman: saving for our child's college fund was getting expensive. man: yes it was. so to save some money, we taught our 5 year old how to dunk. woman: scholarship! woman: honey go get him. anncr: there's an easier way to save. get online. go to geico.com. get a quote. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. [ female announcer ] a revolutionary conditioner from dove. we've combined conditioner with a weightless nutri-oil treatment. to give 3x the internal nourishing power

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so, after i give you the 3 money you go to the storage facility. you pay them they give you the documentation. they release this crate. >> we're face to face with a so-called diplomate, jeffrey grant. he says he's going to bring us a mysterious crate, that's supposedly being neld a special underground vault in greenville south carolina. >> are you going to bring it back here this. >> i'm going to bring it back here. >> we're supposed to believe it contains $15 million, but we think it's really all part of a sophisticated scam that's already stolen this connecticut woman's life savings. >> mr. grant is here. >> shireen has been helping "dateline" for nearly a year, trying to lure one of the

thieves out of the shadows. finally it is time to turn the tables on the man who's ready to take even more of her money. >> mr. grant, there's ng something you need to know. i'm chris hansen with "dateline" nbc. and we have been taking a look at this group that you are apparently affiliated with. a group that has taken $200,000 of her money. >> yeah. >> $200,000. >> i don't have any money. >> you are about to take 36,700 from me. >> no. >> that's what you said to me. what do you say to this woman? people you work with and know took her for $200,000. >> i don't. >> why don't you just tell me the truth right now. you know there's no crate. there's no riches, nothing of value in a crate mr. grant denieses he has anything to do with the scam but suddenly he's bashful about who he really is. >> i'd like to see some i.d.,

please. >> what i.d.? >> your i.d. your identification. >> what do you mean. >> your driver's license, passport. you told me that you were jeffrey grant from south africa and the very least you can do is prove that. otherwise i have no reason to believe you. >> sir, you asked me a question. i told you. you don't owe me any money. >> that's not what you said before. now that you are in trouble. >> i'm in the not in trouble. >> i think you are because you are affiliated with a group of people who have been pulling scams. now i he's not only denies he's part of a scam, he's saying he never used the name jeffrey grant. >> your name is not jeffrey grant. >> i never told you my name is jeffrey grant? i have not. i haven't told you my name is jeffrey grant. >> it's what i have been calling you all day. >> in fact that's the name he's been responding to for weeks.

there were phone calls to set up the meeting. >> mr. grant sglrks how are you? >> the phone call this morning telling him we just arrived. >> hi mr. grant. >> how are you? >> and the first time he walked in to the hotel room. mr. grant, this is shireen. >> how are you? >> even though we have it on tape he is trying to pretend it never happened. how do you expect to pull this off? it is a scam, it's a con and we have seen it before and you are smack dab in the middle of it. his world now seems topsy-turvy, he's not mr. grant, he's not involved in a scam and now he's even denying he knows the person who set up the meeting many barrister davis. >> how do you know him. >> i don't know him. >> how can you tell me that you don't know barrister davis. he said you were the guy that says to come and set up this deal. >> and you have been talking to him on the phone. >> it is a remarkable lapse in memory.

he obviously doesn't know we have been recording his every word. remember when he walk withed in to the hotel room and barrister davis wanted him to call. >> i got a call from mr. davis and he said as soon as you come here to give me a call. >> okay. >> he certainly seemed to know barrister davis then. >> and now you are saying you don't know him? >> i don't. >> how can you sit here and lie to me like that. >> i i'm not lying. >> what you are saying doesn't make sense in that barrister davis gave us your information. how would he give us that information if you don't know him. >> i have explained myself to you. >> not very well and not truthfully. if you are thinking it can't get stranger as mr. whoever he is blames shireen for the scam saying she is trying to take money she doesn't deserve from poor africans. >> i want to know because poverty in africa, why is it we

keep going over and over people getting poor. why are you doing it. >> so you are the victim, africa is the victim. >> i want to know why are you part of the scam from the beginning. >> so she is the bad guy. >> i don't take nothing from nobody. overseas for two years or whatever. tell the truth. why are you doing that. >> she thought she was going to make money on the deal. >> i'm telling you -- >> she's ripping people off now oh, that's outrageous. >> no matter what we ask, he won't admit a thing. look, we can go round and round in this forever, but the reality is we were given your number. you responded to our calls. and you set up a deal in which we were supposed to give you $37,600 to this storage facility and bring back some chest of valuables. >> sir, listen --

>> is that wrong? >> whatever you said here. >> is what i said wrong with, yes or no, very simple. clearly he's not answering my questions. thank you very much. >> he may think he is free and clear of all responsibility, but there are others who may not think so. >> we had told police in connecticut about our meeting and they tipped off authorities in south carolina. greenville police had been monitoring the meeting on their own from an adjoining room. the so-called diplomate is under arrest. we've only started to scratch the surface of just how widespread this crime ring really is. and how prominent. >> $2300 from this person. 5,000 from from this person, 6,000 from this person. when i added it up $2.3 million. coming up on friday on "dateline," the secret life of

the homecoming queen. they were a golden couple. >> a lot of people called us ken and barbie. >> he was a church deacon but among the faithful, she caught someone else's eye. >> he's saying boy, you are a beautiful girl. >> yes, sir. >> and then an unholy act, the deacon lay dead. >> stab wounds. it was a bad crime scene. >> was she really a devastated widow. >> i just fell on the floor crying. >> or was she in on it? her lover said no. her brand new funeral ready outfit said something else. >> every woman needs a black dress. c ollege i moved back in with my parents. iem you know? i mean for instan to betonight before making my dinner. which is fine, i mean i, i know how to make dinner. it just starts to make you wonder. is this what happens when you age? my friends used to say i was the lucky one. i had the fun parents. where's the fun now? night, guys.

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we'll never stop sharing our memories or getting lost in a good book. we'll always cook dinner and cheer for our favorite team. we'll still go to meetings make home movies and learn new things. but how we do all this, will never be the same. in danger of living shorter lives than their parents because of the dangers of obesity. let's show our kids today how to eat healthier and exercise more. let's move to raise a healthier generation.

en if you want to know what i think, i think you are tied in to a group from nigeria. >> no. >> that trades names and identities of vulnerable women and men like who and you scam them. that's what i think. he claims he's not part of a scam. but as he leaves our hotel room,

the man known as diplomate jeffrey grant is arrested and charged with fraud by city police in greenville, south carolina. they were tipped off to our meeting by the police in connecticut who originally launched the investigation. >> finally able to contact somebody who realized this was going to be a significant arrest. >> but the job of determinening who the so-called diplomate is, and how far his crime ring stretches is just beginning. >> we have a criminal history here in greenville that dates back to 1996. >> detective rick floyd discovered his real name is kenneth ojulott. he has lived in the united states for 14 years and turns out this is not the first time he's been arrested. records show in 2007, at the bar we met him ken nebraska oujla tried a scam on a doctor in texas. "dateline" watched as an investigator from the local sheriffs department opened the

evidence they seized in that case. >> this is the great book. including a logbook from his apartment listing hundreds of potential victims from all over the country. a possible clue on how thieves stay so organized when communicating all over the world. >> each page lists at least victim, 2300 from this person, 8300 from this person, 5,000 from this person, 6,000 from this person. the total take if you added it all. >> when i added it up it was $2.3 million. >> that's right. more than $2 million. and there's more. remember that black money trick shireen saw, the bundles of black bills. >> yes. yes. >> so, walk me through this evidence. when detective winer showed me the evidence, he said smuggling black money out of africa was part of the scam then. >> according to the doctor, he had seen a foot locker full of money that was black. >> so, this is some of the money as he called it. >> yes, sir.

>> these are pieces of paper. >> right. and he uses this shoe polish, liquid shoe polish. >> shoe polish to turn paper black and bottles of supposedly special chemicals to turn it back in to real money. turns out the doctor had fallen for the same trick shireen saw. >> it was a doctor. >> right. >> you think he would know better. >> he is book smart. >> not street smart. >> right. >> the detective says he tried to convince federal authorities to take the ful multimillion-dollar case but they declined even though the logbooks detailed names and names of scammers overseas and u.s. victims. the fortune they had been promised. even the fake names oujou was supposed to use when he met them. meanwhile, the texas doctor who had been ripped off was getting cold feet about testifying. so local prosecutors cut a deal with the suspect kenneth ojou. he paid the doctor back and the charges were dropped.

in other words, he walked free, to try to rip off other people like shireen. >> i'm fine, thank you. >> and if the phone numbers in the logbooks are any indication there may have been hundreds of them. >> 847, chicago, 702, las vegas. he's operating around the country. >> yes, sir. >> how drouing? >> i wanted to ask kenneth about the new information. we found him at his apartment where he was on house arrest awaiting trial. how are you doing? >> fine. >> he invites us in but when i start to ask about the list of victims all across the country he doesn't have much to say. when you were arrested in 2007, police found all of these logs in your possession, these records indicating, for instance, that these were contacts, these were targets of your scam. >> i got a lawyer. if you want to talk to my lawyer

i would be glad to get my lawyer. >> later his lawyer said kenneth was innocent until proven guilty and as for the logbook police showed us, the lawyer said he didn't know anything about it. and what about the story we heard about shireen's fortune being stored in an underground vault? >> it is heavy and it's stored in one of the underground vaults. >> rick floyd, the lead detective in greenville says none of it checks out. >> we don't think there was ever a case of money. >> did you ever find the special storage vault? >> no, we did not. >> the warehouse? >> no. >> the trunk? >> no. >> what about the woman on the phone? she hasn't been identified either. so what's next for kenneth oujou. >> right now he has been indicted in south carolina but the secret service is looking in it to and will most likely adopt the case. >> and that's exactly what happened. a federal grand jury indicted kenneth and five others

suspected in the scam. after plooet pleading guilty he was sentenced to more than two years in prison. and for shireen, the victim who was brave enough to step forward, even though she may never get her money back, finally a measure of satisfaction. >> these guys drained your savings. >> yes. >> embarrassed you. >> right. >> how did it feel for you to see this guy put in handcuffs and arrested? >> it made me feel really good. finally some justice. >> what do you say to people who say this could never happen to me? i'm too smart for it? >> we're not as smart as we think we are when it comes to human emotions, and i would caution them that even the best of us can become victims and they are sometimes better at what they do than we are at what we do. >> authorities are still trying to track down the five people overseas who were indicted along