All language subtitles for American Greed s12e13 The Fake Housewife of Orange County

In this episode of American Greed, the
numbers don't add up for this

accountant. She's convincing.

She's charming.

She's confident. And she's chaotic. And
you say, oh, that's just Lizzie. Social

climber Lizzie Mulder appears to have it
all.

Money. She had money to spend on
anything and everything she wanted.

Status. The average home in this area, I
would say it's about $5 million.

And friends.

We were close. It was like family. I
trusted her wholeheartedly.

But an upscale Laguna Beach looks can be
deceiving.

Welcome to the Orange County dream a
real housewife is willing to steal for.

Somebody that I believed was my friend
was screwing us intentionally.

Even if it means swindling her best
friends.

There's no justification for what she
did.

She's just a horrible person.

Orange County, California is a surfside
paradise.

With its endless sunshine, golden
beaches, and extravagant wealth, it

lifestyle of luxury that borders on
fantasy.

Elizabeth Mulder's Orange County dream
begins here in this stately house in the

hills of Laguna Beach.

But Mulder's Orange County dream will
become a nightmare for her closest

friends. 28 -year -old Lizzie, as she's
known around Laguna, has an accounting

practice that caters to small business
owners with big dreams.

Wine distributor Jay Avery is referred
to Lizzie by a trusted friend.

My friend told me, Lizzie, she's great,
she's got a good personality, she's a

hard worker, and she'll get done what
needs to be done for your business.

Jay meets Lizzie at her home office and
is immediately impressed.

It was a house in Laguna.

On the hill, overlooking the ocean, and
I thought, wow, this is pretty amazing.

She must be pretty good at what she
does. She had an office set up with

screens, screens that go over books and
projections.

The degree was framed on the wall from
Pepperdine. I was left thinking that

having someone with her energy and her
background is the best move I can make

help build my company.

Jay is the founder of Jack Wines. Even
though the wine label launched only two

years earlier, Jay has a heady vision
for his boutique company.

I wanted to go big. I didn't want to
just be in California or the United

I wanted to be all over the world.

And Jay is willing to risk his own money
to make it happen.

My family, I come from the beer
business.

My dream was to go out on my own. With
Jack Wines, I put my own money up.

No investors. It was 100 % mine.

But as Jay's business starts to grow,
his personal life threatens everything.

I got married young at 25, and it wasn't
the healthiest relationship.

And then I had a bunch of surgeries,
about five in two years, and got

to prescription pain medication. It was
how I got through the day.

Jay confides in Lizzie, whose younger
brother is also struggling with drug

abuse, until tragedy strikes.

I got a phone call from Lizzie in the
morning that her...

Her brother had passed away from a
heroin overdose, and we had a moment to

she was crying and upset, and she told
me I better not do that to her.

Heeding Lizzie's advice, Jay checked
himself into a treatment center, and one

person was there for him through it all.

While I was in treatment, Lizzie and I
would talk daily, sometimes multiple

times a day.

It meant the world to me.

Jay has so much faith in Mulder that
while in recovery, he names his trusted

confidant Chief Financial Officer of
Jack Wines.

I told Lizzy while I'm getting healthy,
mentally and physically, that I'm going

to need your help. I just gave her
access to all the financials, to the

account, to writing checks. I gave her
signing authority. I mean, I gave her

everything. And it pays off.

With Lizzie's steady hand guiding the
company, production ticks up 25%. Things

go so smoothly that Mulder retains
control of accounts even after Jay

treatment. And just two months later, a
big opportunity comes calling.

Lizzie came to me with an amazing
business opportunity with a company

of China that invests in the small
wineries and help them grow. Sent them

samples. And within a month of the
samples arriving there, she got a phone

saying they were interested in investing
into Jack Wines.

The investors are called the Wine Trust,
and Jay immediately gets on the phone

with their CEO, Brent Harrison.

Very nice guy, kind of soft -spoken,
very direct.

He had connections everywhere to help us
grow our brand.

Brent Harrison asked me questions about
Lizzie and what she's like.

I told him that, you know, she's
amazing. She's a bright, young

Brent says the wine trust will consider
investing $2 million into Jay's

business. But first, he wants to sample
more wines.

Once they got involved, we had to buy
samples. And those samples needed

and those samples needed cork. I mean,
our expenses went up, I'd say, a couple

hundred percent over a period of...

six months once they got involved.

And finally, Jay's investment pays
dividends as the Wine Trust comes back

the news Jay was hoping to hear.

They love the name. They love the label.
They love the wine. And they wanted to

give us a chance to invest in us and
grow us into a global brand.

It was kind of a dream come true.

After a year of emails and phone calls,
Jay arranges to finally meet the

investors in person to seal the deal.

Brent Harrison will travel to Seattle to
meet Jay, and Lizzie will faithfully be

at Jay's side.

But just before he's set to fly, Jay
receives a worrying message from Brent.

About five hours before I was supposed
to board the flight, I got an email from

Brent Harrison to do a background check.

which I had already done previously.
Shouldn't have had to take another one

soon.

Jay got a personal background check
months ago to prove he's in good

have a liquor license.

But Brent is now requesting that Jay get
a new background check on impossibly

short notice.

Jay immediately calls Lizzie to find a
solution.

She said, listen, I'll go up there. I'll
meet with them. I said, no, I want to

meet these people that I've been talking
to for the last year.

She then got upset with me. She said,
well, you're going to make us look bad

you go up there and meet with them and
all of our affairs aren't taken care of.

So we got in a verbal argument, hung up,
and I just had a bad feeling.

It just didn't make sense.

And then shortly after that, I got an
email from Brent saying that the

meeting had been canceled, that he
couldn't make it. I knew at that point

all of this wasn't real.

And I'm not a big crier, but I cried. I
was upset. I was heartbroken.

So Marla watched everything that I went
through, and she went on a mission.

Marla is Jay's new wife. The former
model met Jay after he finished rehab.

She's long been skeptical of Lizzie, but
said nothing.

I didn't want to tell Jay because he had
already lost so much. He had this one

friend left that was supporting him and
being there for him and giving him hope.

I couldn't take that away from him.

With Jay's hope now shattered, Marla
opens Jack Wine's bank records and sees

huge sums of money have been sent
directly to Lizzie.

He sent her a text and basically told
her that she didn't tell Jay everything

and send us all the information that we
needed that I would nail her ass to the

wall. He never texts me back.

Next on American Greed, the former
Playboy model plays amateur detective.

Jay deserved for somebody to fight for
him. He deserved it. Until the actual

police get involved.

I said, okay, so I've got a recovering
drug addict, a former Playboy Playmate,

and a box of files.

Lizzie Mulder fueled Jay Avery's dream
of success.

I genuinely trusted her as much as I
probably ever trusted anybody at that

in my life.

Then burned it to the ground.

Now Jay's wife, Marla, is taking matters
into her own hands.

She reviews Jack Wine's bank records and
finds numerous checks written to Lizzie

Mulder, one for as much as $18 ,000.

I just took it upon myself to...

go after and do everything I possibly
could to get justice.

Marla prints out three years of emails,
text messages, and bank statements.

She even finds suspicious invoices
Lizzie sent to Jay.

The invoices date back to when Jay
entered rehab, leading Marla to believe

while Lizzie was begging Jay to get
clean, she was also robbing him blind.

Marla thinks she has enough proof to
take their case to the police.

I was thinking that I officially nailed
Lizzie to the wall. As I'm leaving the

police station for the end of my shift,
in walks Jay Avery with Marla. I hear

Jay say, I need to speak with the fraud
detective.

I noticed he was holding a cardboard box
full of files, and I just, I looked at

the box, I looked at my watch, I looked
at him, and I said, let's talk.

Detective Jordan Merakian is the fraud
detective at Laguna Beach Police

Department. He started the conversation
off by saying, I'm a recovering addict.

And then he introduces me to Marla. Then
it comes out that she's a former

Playboy Playmate.

I said, okay, so I've got a recovering
drug addict and a former Playboy

and a box of files.

But once Jay and Marla tell their story,
they quickly win over Detective

Merakian's trust.

Jay was sitting across from me, and he
was saying, I've lost it all

but I'm sober.

But I can't let this die. I have to hold
this person accountable.

You try not to get personally involved,
but at that point, I was invested.

When Marla hands over her box of
paperwork, Detective Merakian discovers

roadmap to the fraud.

Marla. had meticulously identified text
messages, e -mails, bank statements. She

had highlighted different wire
transfers.

It was at that time that I realized, I
have a case.

Detective Merakian starts to unpick
Mulder's crime.

Lindsay's scheme was simply a check
fraud scheme.

She was robbing Peter to pay Paul, but
Paul was herself.

Lizzie repeatedly sends fake invoices
for Jack Wine's expenses.

When Jay earmarks money to pay bills,
Lizzie transfers it to her personal bank

account, then covers her tracks with
fraudulent receipts showing the expenses

have been paid. But before Detective
Merakian can finish his investigation,

case takes a twist.

I'm walking out the door at 5 o 'clock,
and I hear, I need to speak with the

fraud detective.

Same with Jay. I look at my watch. I
look at the gentleman at the counter,

introduce myself as the fraud detective,
and he is clearly distraught. And he

begins to tell me this story about how
his wife, she's an accountant, and she's

been stealing money from small
businesses throughout Orange County.

It wasn't until about five minutes into
the interview that I said, well, what's

your wife's name?

And he says, Lizzie Mulder.

In the detective bureau, we called it
Fukushima because it was like everything

just exploded.

In the simplest version of the story, I
say, tell me more.

Lizzie's husband, Jesse, shares a list
of her clients. And Detective Merakian

immediately gets in touch with their
businesses.

Every single one of them said, oh, not
Lizzie.

Anyone but Lizzie. And a couple of them
hung up on me.

And my response to all of them was, take
a look at your bank statements and call

me tomorrow.

By the next day, I had seven people that
had called me.

Detective Merakian finds that many of
Lizzie's clients also happen to be her

closest friends.

They would say, I had her in my house.
She was at my kid's birthday party. She

was at my wedding.

I can't believe she'd do this. The only
thing in this case that was consistent

was that Lizzie used her charm to gain
their trust.

It all sounds painfully familiar to Jay
Avery.

I was relieved to find out that I wasn't
the only gullible jackass in Orange

County to fall for this.

Next on American Greed, Lizzie Mulder
traps her victims with manipulation and

lies.

Most of my victims were women.

Most of them were entrepreneurs.

She keeps her friends close, but her
victims closer.

She desperately wanted to be a part of
that social circle.

Detective Jordan Merakian's case against
Lizzie Mulder takes a dramatic turn

when he gets a tip from an unexpected
source, Lizzie's own husband.

Jesse Mulder has been so rocked by
Lizzie's actions that before telling

Detective Merakian about her fraud, he
alerted some of the victims himself.

Lauren Skacia is one friend who Jesse
called.

My first thought was she got in a car
accident.

and, like, something was bad, especially
when Jesse said, Lauren, are you

sitting down?

And then what I heard next was, I think
Lizzie's been embezzling from you and

from others.

And that, like, that's when everything,
I don't know if it came together or fell

apart. I don't know which one it is.

Years before she became one of Lizzie's
marks, Lauren was her friend.

She's fun.

She has a lot of charisma.

She likes to laugh.

It's an attractive personality to be
near someone that's confident in their

and has a good time. So it was easy to
know her.

Lauren was also Lizzie's hairdresser.
With her friend in her chair, Lauren

tell Lizzie about her dream to one day
own a salon.

Then in 2014, Lauren and her business
partner, Geneva Burghorst, are offered a

chance to franchise the luxury salon
they've been managing.

Lauren and I were like, what?

Are you kidding me? I mean, this is a
dream salon.

Now we have the opportunity to own it?
Of course.

But they need a CPA to help them set up
the business.

Naturally, Lauren heads to the home of
her good friend, Lizzie.

Geneva and I drove to Laguna and get out
of the car. We're like, damn, like,

this is awesome.

Like, where she lives is incredible.

She made sure that we knew that her
credentials were very high. She

with honors from Pepperdine, and she
passed it on the first time.

She just said, you know, you need
somebody you can trust.

You can't afford me, but that's okay.
I'll take care of you guys.

Despite being a high -dollar CPA, Mulder
offers to barter her services.

Lizzie will handle the salon's
bookkeeping and taxes.

And in exchange, her family will get
free treatments at the salon.

Lizzie made sure that we knew how lucky
we were to have her in our lives.

And we felt it.

Lizzie tells Lauren and Geneva to keep
their hairdressers and clients happy and

leave the rest to her.

Everything that was happening, we were
asking her permission if we could do it.

But with the understanding of she knows
where we are financially.

As their business relationship grew, so
did Lizzie and Lauren's friendship.

When Lauren invites Lizzie to her
wedding, Lizzie shocks her friend with a

lavish present.

She gifted us five grand in wine. It was
actually Jack wine. And we just thought

that was so generous.

We're like, man, we are just really
lucky to have her in our lives.

But at the salon, issues are arising.

A few months after opening, the salon is
locked out of their online payroll

system. Mulder sets up the payroll on a
different platform, but come payday, no

money arrives.

We told our staff, yes, direct deposit's
good, you're going to get your money on

Thursday. So on Friday, when they didn't
get their money the night before, they

were already in a bad mood.

Mulder explains direct deposit is
pending approval, so she manually

and cuts checks for all 45 of the
salon's employees.

Lizzy Wood.

Rush into the salon with her bags, drop
the bags, and start issuing these manual

checks. You know, just in time to save
the day.

And she did, and we were grateful.

Like, God, we're so lucky to have you.

Two weeks later, it's payday again. This
time, Lizzie assures them by forwarding

a confirmation that direct deposit is on
its way.

But the exact same thing occurs.

No checks would arrive, and we would
have to manually write out 40 -some -odd

check. Every two weeks for a period of
about four months.

It was chaos. It was absolute chaos
every two weeks.

Then one day, with the salon full of
clients, the lights go out.

The clients were making comments.

You know, who didn't pay the bill?

Lauren and Geneva immediately called
Lizzie.

So I called Lizzie and said, like, what
the heck? Our electricity is out. What

happened?

I thought we were on auto pay.

She goes, that's ridiculous. We are on
auto pay. So she's like, I'm going to

call them right now.

A few minutes later, Geneva receives a
call from an 800 number.

On the other line is a woman who says
she is from Southern California Edison,

the electric company.

And she said, I understand that you have
just had your electricity shut off.

And I said, yeah, what's going on? I
thought we were on auto pay. She goes,

ma 'am, you are on auto pay.

We believe that this has been a
fraudulent situation.

And sure enough, less than an hour
later, the lights flick on.

But I told Lauren, I'm still a little,
like, weirded out by the way that that

call went. It seemed really muffled. It
seemed like it was being placed at a

call center in, say, China or something.

Geneva checks her caller ID and Googles
the 800 number.

The number matches Southern California
Edison's corporate office.

But Geneva still can't shake the feeling
something is off.

So things like that started to happen.

It just really became very fishy.

Only one year after taking over the
salon, Lauren and Geneva find that

working hard and having strong revenue,
their finances are running out.

I started looking at her thinking,
there's something not right.

It came to a point where, you know,
Geneva said, like, let's get through

and let's find somebody else. And I
said, okay.

But before Lauren can part ways with
Lizzie, she gets the call from her

On the phone, Jesse Mulder tells Lauren
to review their bank statements for any

checks written to income tax payments.

And Lauren and Geneva eventually find 82
of these checks totaling more than $290

,000. The scam began when the salon's
payroll platform stopped working.

It turns out that she was prolonging the
process behind our back.

to create more chaos in order to
accomplish what she ended up

The salon previously used their payroll
system to calculate their income tax

withholdings. But now, Mulder has access
to this money.

We would ask Lizzie, so the taxes are
being recorded, right? And she goes, oh

yeah, they're going to go on the next
payroll.

Don't worry, it's totally fine.

Lizzie writes checks made payable to
income tax payments.

Lauren and Geneva are told these checks
are being sent to the IRS.

But in fact, Lizzie has opened a bank
account under the same name, and the

checks are going directly to her.

She was my friend, and I trusted what
she was discussing with us.

She always seemed to have our best
interest in mind, so I never questioned

One day after receiving Jesse's phone
call, Lauren makes a call of her own to

Detective Merakian.

In addition to Lauren and Geneva's
salon, Detective Merakian finds a travel

agency and a nearby Pilates studio that
Mulder victimized.

These businesses have one thing in
common. They are all run by women who

they are good friends with Lizzie.

Who better to work with than Lizzie
Mulder?

She's a woman. She's an entrepreneur.

She's a pillar of the community.

And when the going got tough for them
and they got stressed out, she would

remind them that she was there to save
the day.

And so she had all these people really
in her pocket.

I absolutely think that Lizzie preyed
upon my kindness, my kind nature.

She just really focused on the
relationship, and I think that made me

feel good.

So she capitalized on my weakness.

Plastic surgery, Arabian horses, and
Ocean View real estate don't come cheap.

See, Mulder's friends discover where
their money is going.

Lizzie wanted to finance the Orange
County dream.

With their luxury yachts, sun -drenched
beaches, and lavish lifestyle, Orange

County residents have a reputation for
living the good life.

But affording the good life doesn't come
easy.

I think the driving force behind this
entire fraudulent scheme was Lizzie

to finance the Orange County dream.

Detective Jordan Merakian has identified
four small businesses who believe

Lizzie Mulder is embezzling from them.

If you look at these victims, they're
all very attractive people.

And there's a small part of me that
thinks Lizzie was jealous of that.

While the businesses struggle to make
ends meet, Lizzie, her husband, and

two children are living a high -end
lifestyle on the victim's dime.

There was an enormous amount of pressure
because it seems like everyone is

trying to one -up each other.

Lizzie Mulder was an ugly duckling in a
room full of beautiful people.

And I think that's a big reason why she
spent some of that money on plastic

surgery.

Long considered a hub for fashion and
beauty, Orange County has also become

known as a makeover mecca due to the
numerous cosmetic surgery options

available.

Dr. Arian Malavi of Laguna Beach is a
well -established plastic surgeon in the

area.

Everybody wants to fit in, right?

So, you know, sometimes plastic surgery
can help you get there.

According to court records, Mulder
received numerous plastic surgeries,

including a common procedure in Orange
County called the Mommy Makeover.

The Mommy Makeover is intended for moms,
and you're trying to reverse the time?

All the weight gain and the stretching
of their bellies and increased fat in

their breasts and then the sagging. But
for a full mommy makeover, you're

looking at anywhere from $15 ,000 to $40
,000.

Dr.

Malavi's most consistent clientele are
moms.

They make up 80 % of all the patients he
sees.

Looking better brings you more
confidence, and I think it helps you be

successful.

And look, life is short, right? You got
to make the best of it.

For Mulder, the makeover is extensive.

Her friend, Jen Rodriguez, says she
never knew Lizzie's scale of

until the day she finds an old photo
hidden in Lizzie's home.

When I went upstairs, I saw her picture
of Lizzie and Jesse on their wedding

day. And I was taken away because I
could not believe how unrecognizable she

was. I hate to say it, but she wasn't
blonde and 110 pounds. She was Lizzie.

And I think no matter how hard she
tried, she could never fit in that mold.

And possibly that's what fed the need to
steal more and more and more to have

more work done.

Beyond her body work, Lizzie's most
expensive habit is horseback riding. She

regularly shared photos such as these
with her friends.

She would tell me she was doing these
events, three -day events, and those are

thousands of dollars, and boarding is
thousands of dollars.

Lizzie owns two Arabian horses from
Elite Bloodlines. She uses them to

in endurance competitions.

Deanna Jones -Guinasso is a fellow
endurance rider who lives upstate in

California.

Endurance riding is similar to marathon
running.

You have 24 hours to get 100 miles done.

Arabian horses are the best suited for
endurance because they had

to survive in the wild, in the desert.
It made them fit.

Deanna's horse, named Big Dog, is an
Arabian stallion from a storied

Deanna has become a top ten writer on
Big Dog's Back.

In 2013, Deanna has to sell Big Dog's
brother named Dandy.

And a gal by the name of Lizzie Mulder
called me from Southern California and

said she would like to come up and take
a look at him.

Deanna sells Dandy to Mulder for $7
,000.

My name is Lizzie Mulder and this is my
horse, Dandy. And Lizzie posts a video

of Dandy on social media to market a
nutritional supplement for horses.

Deanna suspects that Lizzie is more
interested in the status of owning a top

horse than actually riding it.

I have seen pictures of Dandy in
jacuzzis.

that Lizzie would share on Facebook with
me. I can't even guess how much

that it could cost to do that kind of
thing with a horse. Way out of my realm.

But no status symbol means more to
Lizzie than her beautiful house in

Beach. She openly flaunts the multi
-million dollar price tag, even to

who can't afford such luxury.

Lizzie would make comments that would
say,

I can't believe you make so little. How
do you survive on so little? I can't

believe you still rent. Oh my God,
you're in your 30s. You're still

It felt like to me she was telling me,
look, Jen, I'm so successful. I'm so

established. But I just thought in my
head, oh, Lizzie.

Next on American Greed, Lizzie Mulder
faces off against Detective Merakian.

Do you think they want me to go to jail
or do you think they want me to pay them

back? And why did Lizzie's husband
really turn her in? Because she's

her clients or because she's cheating on
him?

And all of a sudden I come across this
name of Jill Love. I thought, well,

that's either a... A stage actor, a porn
star, or, you know, I didn't know. I

mean, Jill Love.

Lizzie Mulder dominates her victims to
accomplish her crime. And at home, she

uses the same tactics with her husband.

While Lizzie works as a high -earning
CPA, Jesse is a parking valet.

Lizzie liked to impress upon people that
she was the breadwinner. She was the

one that paid for everything.

Jesse, either from being beaten down for
so many years or just with his

personality, just rolled with it.

Jen Rodriguez and her husband go on a
double date with Lizzie and Jesse where

they witness their relationship up
close.

Jesse arrives at the restaurant late and
angry because his ATM card has been

declined. He accuses Lizzie of
forgetting to deposit money into his

Jesse was livid.

He was pissed.

And she brought in the case where, well,
if you're so angry about it, go get a

job. Calm down. You're fine.

And made him look stupid.

But in early 2016, Jesse does something
for himself.

After years working as a valet, Jesse
achieves his lifelong dream of becoming

firefighter. When Jesse comes to
Detective Merakian, it's because he's

Lizzie's actions could put his job at
risk.

You're given what's called a
probationary period, and it's usually a

And during that year...

you can be terminated or let go without
cause.

Jesse explains he was in Lizzie's home
office when he notices some mail on her

desk from American Express.

It's addressed to one of Lizzie's
friends, who is also a client.

When Jesse checks inside the envelope,
he finds a credit card bill for tens of

thousands of dollars.

Growing suspicious, Jesse opens Lizzie's
laptop.

and finds her bank account for income
tax payments.

But that's not all he discovers.

And at the same time, he learns that
she's been having an affair.

While Jesse is combing through the home
office, Lizzie is on the road with a new

friend, a cowboy named Joe Love.

Lizzie thinks so highly of Joe, she's
been sending her friends photos of their

rides together.

I mean, it really does sound like, you
know, you're at... Thunder from Down

Under in Vegas and, you know, Magic Mike
and Joe Love.

Joe Love is a fixture in the Orange
County horse community where he runs a

business transporting horses.

There had been rumors that Lucy was
having an affair with someone, and then

started putting the dots that possibly
the someone was Joe Love. I saw his name

come up on her phone.

When she picked up, she was always a
little giggly. I also know that she

attention.

Lizzie and Joe would later deny having
an affair, but the two have become close

business partners.

For several months, they've spent their
weekends together in Northern

California, laying plans for a new
business they've launched called Love

Livestock.

Whereas with the other victims, she used
her charm as a mother and as a wife and

as an entrepreneur. With Joe Love, she
did the oldest trick in the book. She

flirted with him.

Mulder persuades Joe to purchase $26
,000 worth of cattle embryos. And she

a realtor to take them on a helicopter
tour of Napa Valley so they can buy

property for their new livestock
business.

Lizzie is with Joe on the way back from
Northern California when she receives a

fateful call from Jesse. She begs Jesse
to let her come home and explain.

But as Lizzie races back to Orange
County...

Her phone starts buzzing.

Jessie has called her friends and
clients, and they want to know what's

on. That there's some damaging rumors
going around you, and she said that she

had to get home because Jessie was
freaking out.

But Mulder never does make it home that
night.

Instead, Lizzie ends up here at Mission
Hospital, where, according to Detective

Merakian, she checks into the behavioral
health wing.

I think the real reason why Lizzie
Mulder checked into a mental hospital is

because she was trying to lay the
groundwork for some sort of insanity

She knew that the walls were closing in
on her. She was caught.

And after her voluntary 72 -hour stay,
Lizzie makes another surprising visit.

This case seemed to always explode as I
was leaving.

To meet with Detective Merakian.

It's the end of a very long day.

Packed up my stuff, and I'm walking out
the door, and in walks Lizzie Mulder,

and she says she wants to talk to me and
provide a statement.

His investigation isn't complete, but
Merakian wants to seize his chance to

down Mulder's story.

So the quick -thinking detective
improvises.

So what I did is I created some boxes,
some phony files, and I wrote the name

Mulder on the outside.

During the interview, she kept looking
behind me at the boxes.

I think she thought that what I had were
bank records and real estate files and

all of the things that I eventually
learned during the course of this

investigation.

With the evidence seemingly stacked
against her, Lizzie argues that she's

victim.

According to Lizzie, the $185 ,000 from
Jack Wines was a reward for Lizzie doing

all the work.

He hired me as his bookkeeper and then,
look, I just took over.

Just like I do with everybody.

I know that I'm smart and I can do stuff
and I end up doing every single thing.

And it's so stupid of me.

But all those checks I wrote to Lizzie
Mulder, he said... But while Mulder

to rationalize her crimes, her body
language betrays her.

With Lizzie, I would ask her a question
and she would shift in her chair.

Sometimes she would cross her arms and
look down.

Sometimes she would get emotional. She
was putting on a very amateur

performance.

And the detective isn't buying it,
especially as Lizzie recounts her

Jay Avery.

And, you know, I didn't want him to do
that, too.

Lizzie put her head down and started to
cry.

And I looked at her very closely, and I
noticed that there were no tears coming

out.

Unswayed, Detective Merakian soon has
Mulder on her heels.

Throughout the interview, I just let her
talk, and I let her dig herself into an

even deeper hole.

And then I exposed her for the liar that
she was.

For one, she's not a certified public
accountant.

Her degree from prestigious Pepperdine
University is a sham.

And the Mulders don't own their
beautiful house in Laguna Beach. They

But the biggest surprise is that while
running her fake accounting practice,

Mulder has been holding down a full
-time job selling fertilizer for an

agricultural company.

Or as Detective Merakian puts it, So
Lizzie Mulder is full of crap and she

sells.

Next on American Greed, Lizzie's day in
court arrives and Jay Avery still wants

to know who is Brent Harrison and why
would the wine investor never meet him

person? The most sociopathic person I've
ever met.

When Jay and Marla Avery first visit
Detective Merakian, they have no idea it

only his second day as a detective.

This is what a lot of detectives refer
to as a career case.

I was a fraud detective for all of two
days.

Detective Merakian is dealing with
multiple victims and more than $1

fraud, so he pitches the case to federal
prosecutors.

IRS Special Agent James Kim immediately
signs on.

Mulder's most damaging fraud is her
income tax payment scheme.

But in a stroke of irony, Lizzie never
reported her stolen income.

At the tax account, you would think you
would need to report all your business

income on your tax returns.

But Lizzie didn't. I said, hey, the
clear charge is tax fraud.

Special Agent Kim takes the case to
Assistant U .S. Attorney Scott Tenley,

was motivated to prosecute Mulder.

After hearing the victim's gut
-wrenching stories... You hear in fraud

lot about con men, people who gain the
confidence of their victims, and that's

what she did.

Literally, a victim saying, Lizzie was
my best friend. And it makes you a

more motivated on the case because you
feel like these are people who have

been victimized at their core, not just
in their bank account.

With each victim, Lizzie customizes her
scheme to target her clients'

vulnerabilities.

They were preyed upon. They were preyed
upon by somebody who they thought was

their friend, who they could trust, and
it could have happened to anybody.

Investigators discovered a common thread
in Lizzie's con.

The victims all suspect she had an
accomplice.

Oftentimes to keep these frauds alive,
to keep them going, you need an

accomplice to help you to validate that
the fraudster is not stealing. They're

working in your favor.

In the case of Elizabeth, she didn't
have an accomplice. She created them.

In addition to creating numerous fake
email accounts, Mulder creates fake

personas.

Lizzie owns phone software that allows
her to disguise her voice and change the

number that appears on people's caller
ID.

To actually impersonate somebody on the
phone takes kind of an extra level of

chutzpah, which is not something you see
in many cases. In fact, I've never seen

it done in a fraud case.

Over the years, Mulder impersonates the
electric company, the payroll service,

the bank, the IRS, and yes, even Brent
Harrison.

I had no idea that the Brent Harrison I
was talking to on the phone wasn't a

man. When I found out it was Poop
Software, it was like something out of a

movie. I could not, I just didn't know
people were capable of this kind of

stuff, and especially her.

Facing overwhelming evidence against
her, Lizzie Mulder pleads guilty to one

count of wire fraud and one count of tax
fraud.

On October 16, 2017, she's sentenced to
63 months in federal prison

and is ordered to pay restitution for
more than $1 .5 million.

While the victims celebrate, Lizzie sits
stone -faced through it all.

She was completely emotionless. It was
shocking. Or maybe it was all the Botox

she had.

Lizzie Mulder declined American Greed's
request to speak with her.

Joe Love, seen by Lizzie's side in this
photo she shared with her friends, is

never accused by law enforcement of
being involved in Lizzie's fraud.

Ultimately, Joe loses all the money he
has invested in their livestock

The victims of this cold -hearted
manipulator are still left picking up

pieces of their lives.

Many of their businesses are shuttered,
and they've all suffered profound

financial losses.

Meanwhile, Lizzie's Orange County dream
ends behind bars.

My hope is that the victims at least can
sleep at night knowing that Lizzie

Mulder is being held accountable.

She's a convicted felon.

I don't think Lizzie ever grieved. I
think the only time Lizzie has ever felt

remorse is when she's alone at night in
her little cell in federal prison.