tonight, for the first time, sam eshaghoff tells us how and why he did it. >> sam eshaghoff: i thought that there was an easy way to make money. and just like any other easy way to make money, it's always too good to be true. >> stewart: who told you you were in trouble? >> eshaghoff: my parents got a phone call saying that there was a warrant for my arrest, which was scary and shameful. i felt like my world was going to come crashing down. >> stewart: until he was arrested in september, sam eshaghoff seemed like the perfect kid. at new york's great neck north high school, he was a top student, vice president of the business club, and a varsity athlete. but what may have been his greatest talent was the one that got him in trouble-- his ability to ace standardized tests, which was how he began a double life as a con man. >> kathleen rice: i would call him an academic gun for hire. that's what he was. >> stewart: people just needed him to get a job done and he got it done. >> rice: and he was the man. >> stewart: nassau county district attorney kathleen rice filed criminal charges again