All language subtitles for American Greed s13e15 All-Star Sports Scam

In this episode of American Greed, in
the big money world of professional

athletes, life outside the game can get
tricky.

There is a cadre of people taking care
of all the drama that's going on behind

the scenes.

At the end of the day, the hardest thing
to do is trying to trust people.

Introducing Peggy Fulford, a sweet
-talking beauty who says she doesn't

cash. She had the money.

Like, you believed it. She had all the
money.

She always was driving in the Rolls
Royce, always had diamonds on, very

diamonds. She worked with Bud Hilliard,
Travis Best, and Ricky Williams, and

Dennis Rodman.

She's the solver of problems.

She was everyone's go -to for anything.

If I'm going through a divorce, I'm
calling Peggy.

Their baby mama drama, she would nip
that in the bud.

But Peggy is not only looking to manage
their personal lives, she wants to help

build a legacy.

One of her taglines on business cards
was creating generational wealth.

I do control a very large part of their
life. And when you control someone's

finances, that is their life.

And when unsuspecting athletes hand over
the key to their financial futures,

there's only one drawback.

These athletes...

thought that they and their families
were set for life, and she got every

they had.

She was siphoning away and stealing
everything she could get her hands on.

At the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall
of Fame in Massachusetts in August

2011, the crowd is tapped as this year's
inductee, Dennis Rodman,

arrives for the ceremony.

I was invited by Dennis. I thought it
was going to be amazing, which it was.

Dennis was very emotional, and it was a
great weekend.

In a red carpet photo...

An attractive middle -aged woman is
positioned directly in front of Rodman.

Her face is beaming with pride.

She was wearing all white.

I mean, she was stunning. I mean, it was
really something that you're like, who

is this person? You would think she was
getting inducted.

After singling her out with a kiss as he
enters the ceremony, Peggy King, also

known as Peggy Fulpern, is among the
first people a tearful Rodman mentions.

Peggy King, Elton King, the family,
these guys are taking care of me these

Thank you, Peggy.

AJ Bright is a friend and former manager
of Dennis Rodman.

It just shows you how much he loved her.

The relationship between Peggy and
Dennis was next level.

But in the span of three years...
Rodman's lawyer, Bradford Cohen, and

Rodman's team will discover that Peggy
is faking her credentials.

They'll accuse her of stealing, quote, a
ton of money from the NBA All -Star.

Rodman is not alone.

He's one of several celebrity athletes
who will soon say that Peggy King, a .k

.a. Fulford, befriended them, promised
to safeguard their finances.

And then cheated them out of millions of
dollars.

She was caring and loving, but then also
just robbing them blind at the same

time.

There was just two sides to Peggy.

Perhaps it's ironic that the story of
Peggy Ann Fulford begins in a city built

for both the sinner and the saint.

New Orleans.

The side hustle is a huge part of
people's identity here. A lot of people

that honestly, and other people's side
hustle is not honest.

Peggy grows up here in a neighborhood
where, according to journalist Ramon

Antonio Vargas, the residents look out
for their own.

I'm pretty good at finding things out
about people.

But this kind of goes to the
neighborhood that she's from. It was

anybody that actually wanted to speak
about her.

Peggy Fulford declined an interview with
American Greed.

But records show her attending Spelman
College under the maiden name Peggy

Berard.

Court records will later reveal multiple
aliases attributed to Peggy.

Some include the last names of her five
ex -husbands.

Chantel Cohen is 21 years old when she
meets Peggy.

They meet by chance through Chantel's
friendship with an NFL rookie named

Williams.

Ricky and I met in elementary school. I
was about five, he was about six. We

went to the same junior high school,
same high school.

He's my bestie.

He's my best friend.

Two years before, New Orleans Saints
head coach Mike Ditka had made one of

most controversial moves in NFL history,
trading eight draft picks in order to

nab Ricky Williams for the Saints.

Ditka's infatuation with the dreadlocked
rookie makes Williams the most hyped

young athlete in the NFL.

So for him to come into the NFL, that's
a lot of pressure, you know, but

everyone loved Ricky.

When Ricky is chosen for an episode of
MTV Crib, he hires an interior designer

to stage his New Orleans condo.

Peggy unexpectedly tags along.

She walks into the condo and I'm just
like, who is this lady?

Beautiful, hair done, makeup, jewelry,
Gucci, like, just

stunning.

The first time that we ever went out,
she asked me and my friend to call her

Raquel. People who know me know me as
Peggy, but, you know, I don't need

all in my business and everything like
that, so when we go out, call me Raquel.

We kind of laughed about it, like, okay,
you have an alias?

Okay, cool.

And if Peggy King has a secret to hide,
Chantel writes it off as the eccentric

behavior of the rich and beautiful.

In the ensuing months, Peggy becomes
close friends with both Chantel and

She tells them that she's a Harvard Law
graduate who's made millions on Wall

Street.

She had a huge house in New Orleans,
different cars.

Always was shopping.

She just had all the accoutrements of
someone who was extremely successful.

She had the whole package. She claims
she's also a certified financial advisor

with a soft spot for professional
athletes. Because they never had like a

plan of what they wanted to do after the
field.

Her main goal was...

keep the athletes from getting scammed
by family members, by strangers.

In 2001, after a challenging year in the
NFL spotlight, Ricky is diagnosed with

social anxiety disorder.

Peggy's there to add a mature and stable
influence in his life.

Peggy had that, like, motherly instinct
and kind of, you know, she would call

you baby and let me take care of you.

When Ricky and his partner Kristen
Barnes get pregnant with their first

Peggy throws Kristen a baby shower.

And Peggy drives Kristen home from the
hospital when the baby is born.

Peggy was always there. She did dinners
for us, and whenever Kristen and Ricky

would get into it, Kristen would
automatically call Peggy.

She always said, I love you guys. You
guys are like my brothers and sisters.

You're like my family.

Although he was not involved in Peggy's
case, Chase Carlson is an attorney who

specializes in investment fraud
litigation.

He shares what the court records
disclose about Kristen and Peggy's

Peggy said that she was the sister he
never had.

Ricky's ex -wife said that she was her
best friend.

That was sort of Peggy's way of getting,
latching on to Ricky and getting really

close to him.

It's about this time that Ricky Williams
agrees to let Peggy manage his

finances.

In his own documentary, he said, money
doesn't matter to me.

So this was a guy who really needed to
be protected. He wasn't going to pay

attention to his finances.

Peggy doesn't even charge Ricky for her
services.

Peggy's whole thing was we have to make
sure that your kids are good. Like,

you're a legend, basically, so your kids
need to be set up that same way, so let

me help you get to the goal that you
need to get to to make sure you're set

life.

Peggy puts the family on a monthly
allowance.

The rest of Ricky's income will deposit
to a separate account for Peggy to

manage.

The decision gives Peggy free access to
the family's finances.

Peggy was going to be sort of the CFO
for these players. She was going to help

them with a budget, pay their bills,
help them with their investments, and

do their taxes.

She was going to do everything for them.

The following season, Ricky Williams
gets traded to the Miami Dolphins.

Peggy? who is now married to a wealthy
anesthesiologist, buys a house in Fort

Lauderdale.

And the entire entourage makes the move
to South Florida.

She bought a huge house right off the
interculto.

So that was Miami for it.

Party.

Party, party, party.

When American Greed returns.

Ricky Williams' popularity soars in
South Beach, and Peggy gets free

to the inner circle of celebrity
athletes.

She just had a big personality, and
mixed with the successful husband, big

house, and the cars, it all looked
legitimate.

In 2002, Ricky Williams launches his
first season with the Miami Dolphins

superhuman display of force.

The guy was a beast.

Unbelievable, phenomenal athlete.

He was highly coveted and a very
physical player, one of the best running

of all time.

Chantel and Ricky are still close.

But their circle of friends has changed.

The wealth -driven lifestyle of Miami's
pro ballers make New Orleans look like

the Britney.

Everyone loved Ricky.

He was the hottest thing.

Everyone wanted him at parties, dinners.

Now, 50 -year -old Peggy King is an
essential fixture in their lives.

With Peggy the way that she carried
herself, she always...

was invited to the different galas or
parties, and she was beautiful.

And Ricky's shy, so he could just walk
in with her. She takes over, and she

would work the room.

Peggy was the person for Ricky. She was
the person he needed in his life to

handle the things he didn't really want
to handle.

Peggy takes to the limelight like a
natural.

Everybody was giving high fives to her.

There wasn't a time where she would walk
into a room or go to a charity event

where people didn't know her.

There were just all these people in her
orbit.

Once you get into that orbit, you kind
of are vetted and approved in a way.

Peggy and her expanding business, King
Management, are even pitched as the

subject of a potential reality show.

Professional athletes get caught up with
the material, fancy cars.

Guys who play three years, ten years, it
doesn't matter. After they're retired,

within five years, over 75 % of them are
completely broke.

My name's Peggy, and I'm the CEO of King
Management.

King Management is a company I founded
because I wanted to help professional

athletes manage their finances.

But the reality show project never gets
off the ground.

By the time Rashad McCants meets Peggy
in 2005,

she claims to be representing 31 pro
athletes.

I met her right after the championship.

I was in Miami celebrating with the
Detroit Piston.

As a star college player, McCants helped
the North Carolina Tar Heels win the

national championship.

Now... 21 -year -old McCants is signed
on as a first -round draft pick with the

Minnesota Timberwolves.

It's a rookie deal worth $1 .5 million.

When you're at the rookie, the new guy,
everyone wants a piece of you because

you're the only one that no one has a
piece of, right? You're just like fresh

meat. And while some say Peggy gives off
a sisterly vibe... That's how I would

describe her in a family atmosphere.

Rashad calls a distinct flip side to her
charm.

But I'll describe her from a male
perspective.

Peggy was sexy.

She was attractive.

She was seductive.

She knew how to play on a man's
heartstrings. She knew what to do to

guard. So she knew how to switch it. She
knew how to go from I'm almost a

stripper

I babysit all the kids.

According to Rashad, Peggy charts out an
investment plan, one that not only

safeguards his retirement, but builds
generational wealth.

She really sold me on that female person
of color entity where, you know, black

woman being in an opportunity to build
your wealth and help you become a

billionaire.

Rashad listens to her pitch and likes
what he hears.

especially for black athletes, talking
about generational wealth, I think is

something that really resonates because
when you make millions and millions of

dollars, you'd like to be able to leave
some sort of legacy behind.

McCants hires her to manage his
investment portfolio.

She had a power of attorney to go into
any of my accounts that was set up by

to a bank here in Florida, and my first
check came to that account.

Later that fall at the Timberwolves
training camp, McCance is baffled when

debit card is declined.

He says he's recently deposited his
first six -figure paycheck, and he's

convinced the bank has made a mistake.

Then his agent confirms the money is
gone.

He called me and told me, I think Peggy
got us, man. So my first full check was

in her pocket.

According to Rashad, when he tries to
confront Peggy, She ghosts him entirely.

No email, no return calls, anything.
Everything was pretty much far gone from

that point.

Peggy is never charged with any
wrongdoing, and she declined to comment

American Greed.

Rashad chalks it up as an expensive
rookie mistake and keeps quiet.

I just literally got off stage from
being drafted to the Minnesota

I wasn't even thinking about no money at
that point. I'm thinking, how do I

become the rookie of the year?

How do I do that?

As Brigade severs ties with Peggy, she
sets her sights on much bigger prey.

When American Greed returns, Peggy
Fulford aims high and scores an NBA

legend.

Dennis was relying on her for emotional
support, and she was relying on him to

afford her very expensive lifestyle.

By 2009,

Peggy King has a growing number of
players interested in her promise of

generational wealth.

signs of Peggy's own wealth are on
increasingly stunning display.

She always has diamonds on, diamond
watches, diamond earrings, and not your

common, like, nice pair of diamond
earrings. I'm talking about, you know,

to America type diamond earrings.

She had a five -bedroom waterfront
mansion in Fort Lauderdale, marble

with an elevator. She had a fleet of
cars, multiple Mercedes -Benzes, a

Maserati, a Bentley.

A Rolls Royce Ghost, a Porsche,
completely over the top.

Inside, her home office is decked out
with sports memorabilia, including

autographed helmets and signed jerseys.

When Peggy offers to make Chantel Cohen
her assistant, Chantel jumps at the

chance. I wanted to be like Peggy. So
she said, well, come work for me and

show you the rope.

I thought she would.

Someone that was like my big sister.

And while Peggy is still promising to
build generational wealth for her

Chantel Cohen doesn't remember much
discussion of trades or investments.

It was more of running errands type
things, going to the mall with her,

things that did not help solidify what I
was really trying to do in the sports

management world.

Once I didn't get paid, I was like,
yeah, no, I'm good.

And although Peggy appears to be
extremely successful, people associated

the sports world are beginning to
question her motives.

For one, her insistence that she never
charges her clients a fee.

I thought it was weird. Like who works
for free? Like why would you take on and

deal with ex -wives and the child
support office and filing taxes?

My friend played in the NFL.

He had four cars in his driveway.

Peggy had five cars in her driveway.

You don't want your financial advisor
having a bigger house than you or having

more cars than you.

It just doesn't add up.

Once you get in the circle, you're sort

of in.

So once Peggy got one foot in the door,
she sort of had free reign to meet all

these other athletes.

During this time, Dennis Rodman split
ways with the California accounting firm

that handled his affairs and relocates
to Miami.

A friend introduces him to Peggy.

From there, Dennis and Peggy became the
best of friends.

If you think about it, most...

People who can make it to the
professional league have been catered to

time they're about 13 years old.

So in order for them to continue to
progress in their athletic career, they

to rely on a lot of other people to help
them.

Dennis was one of the guys who needed
the most protection out of anyone.

Dennis was going through serious
personal issues.

He admits himself he had a serious
drinking problem, and he needed somebody

protect him.

All the same, at 47 years old, the NBA
legend still carries an incredible

earning power.

He's one of the most recognizable people
in the world.

Even to this day, you know, he makes
upwards of a million dollars a year. He

hasn't played basketball in almost 20
years.

It was a very symbiotic relationship.

Dennis was relying on her, I think, for
emotional.

and I think also for some support in
terms of his life organization.

And she was relying on him to afford her
very expensive lifestyle.

Peggy puts Dennis on a monthly allowance
and creates two joint business

accounts,

Star Rod LLC and the Dennis Rodman
Group.

In the ensuing years, Peggy provides a
grounding influence on Rodman's

unconventional lifestyle.

They were very, very, very close.

And I think that Peggy knew and
understood things that would really

Dennis, just being almost like that
motherly figure and someone who's going

look out for his best interest.

And the thing is, is like Dennis is a
smart guy, right?

I think that him taking the reins of his
own investments, he could have done it.

I just think that he became very
comfortable with Peggy doing it for him.

In August of 2011, Dennis Rodman is
inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame

Springfield, Massachusetts.

Peggy's arrival at the Springfield
Marriott for the ceremony resembles

royalty.

I remember pulling up and Peggy was just
arriving.

And then there was two carts, two hotel
carts full of LV bags.

First of all, Springfield doesn't see
that.

Springfield is a very small town and our
claim to fame is the Basketball Hall of

Fame. To see someone roll up with, you
know, two carts of LV bags, full length

fur coat, you know, all white, high
heels, gigantic diamonds.

It was something that you would see in
like a movie. It was amazing.

But Cohen recalls how the stunning
portrayal of wealth triggered questions

Rodman's team.

Even for me, who I'm a little jaded from
living in South Florida, seeing it

every day, I thought that was over the
top.

But Peggy's built a winning strategy by
convincing clients that she loves them

like family.

I do care. And after all the lights are
turned off and they're not running up

and down the football field or the
court, I will be there long after them

because I care. I really do. And that's
the difference.

When American Greed returns,

Peggy slips up and the IRS comes
knocking.

They'd never received the money and
they'd never seen that tax return.

By 2012, plenty of pro athletes consider
Peggy King a member of their tribe.

She's won their hearts and taken charge
of their finances.

She would give them an allowance.

She'd put them on a budget. So say, OK,
I'll give you $5 ,000 a week. Any

previous issues you have with the
government or ex -wives or anything

I'll clean all that up.

With everyone, she promised to pay their
bills.

She also promised what she called
generational wealth building.

That was her thing all the time. Like,
I'm looking so far into the future that

you can't even see it.

In October, Rebecca Hilliard, wife of
NFL football player Lex Hilliard, meets

Peggy at a birthday party.

Peggy tells her she's a Harvard
-educated lawyer with an MBA.

Rebecca later testifies in court.

that they've been swindled by members of
their own family.

As a result, their savings have taken a
hit.

Peggy's pitch sounds appealing.

As usual, Peggy unselfishly offers her
services, free of charge.

She didn't want people to take advantage
of these athletes, and that sounded

really good to the Hilliards because
they were looking, again, to rebuild

their money, and they wanted some help
with that.

But problems are emerging with some of
Peggy's longtime clients.

Attorney Bradford Cohen gets a call
saying the electricity has been shut off

Dennis Rodman's condo in Florida.

So I called Peggy, and Peggy was like,
oh, don't worry, baby, I have to move

some money into a different account, and
it should have been paid.

It's around this same time that A .J.
Bright says he gets a disturbing call

concerning Rodman.

Dennis has a $5 million life insurance
policy that's going to lapse.

The policy is almost at cash value. And
Wright is confounded as to why the $18

,000 premium hasn't been paid.

I knew he had the money to pay it. It's
$18 ,000.

It's not a lot of money.

What financial advisor or business
manager is going to allow a $5 million

to lapse?

Peggy blames Rodman's spending habits
and the struggle she faces trying to

manage his accounts.

She was really good at projecting this
very calming influence, and she was the

master of the check is in the mail.

By 2013, Kristen Williams is living in
Austin, Texas.

Conveniently, Peggy has moved to nearby
Houston with yet another husband.

She goes by the name Peggy Fulford.

One morning, Kristen wakes up and
discovers she doesn't have enough money

checking account to buy groceries.

Peggy always had an excuse.

She would tell them, oh, no, it's fine,
it's a mistake.

It got lost in the mail.

But there had been other episodes when
they had noticed things weren't right.

Ricky Williams' car had been stolen
while he was visiting Houston.

And when they went to make a claim on
their insurance, they found out their

insurance had been canceled.

It was just like her personality was so
overbearing with love and everything

that you really didn't want to touch on
little stuff that you thought was a red

flag.

Then in October, Christian opens a
letter from the IRS.

It's a $377 ,000 bill for unpaid taxes
dating back to the year 2010.

The IRS claims she and Ricky took a
series of false deductions that led to a

sizable return.

Now, the Williams are on the hook for
the illegitimate refund, plus back taxes

and fees.

They'd never received the money, and
they'd never seen that tax return.

That's when the floodgates opened and
Kristen's mind just started rolling.

we just start going backwards of
thinking of things. Like, I remember one

baby moms saying that she didn't get
child support this month. And why didn't

have money to pay rent for this month?

Since 2007, Peggy has held control over
the vast majority of Ricky's income.

At least $11 million.

The bulk of those funds are nowhere to
be found.

Kristen spends months trying to get an
explanation from Peggy. But it seems

Peggy's lost interest in their
friendship.

Her calls go unanswered.

Peggy's Houston home stands deserted.

Then comes a bombshell revelation.

Ricky's ex -wife, Kristen, calls the
bank that was supposed to hold all their

investments and realizes that they don't
even have an account there.

Instead, Peggy has used a joint account
in Florida to drain $6 million through a

maze of wire transfers, debits, and
cash.

On December 16, 2013, Ricky Williams and
Kristen filed a civil lawsuit against

Peggy Fulford.

FBI Special Agent Jim Hawkins reads
about the case in the Houston sports

I like sports. That's interesting to me.
And that's the kind of case that my

squad worked.

White collar crime cases like con men,
embezzlers, insiders at banks.

26 years with the FBI tells Agent
Hawkins the civil case warrants a

investigation.

It seemed like a slam dunk.

I thought it was a one and done.

But the eventual scope of Peggy
Fulford's deception will surprise

was not doing anything that she said she
was doing. She was just buying Rolls

Royces and fur coats and diamond
earrings.

In January 2014,

Ricky Williams requests a court
injunction against Peggy Fulford for

bank records. He claims Peggy has
pilfered $6 million from his savings,

defrauded the IRS, and lied about being
an attorney and Harvard graduate.

So it was all these lies that she
literally played it. And she did it

She played it very well.

The Williamses hand over the few records
they have to help launch a federal

investigation.

Paper doesn't lie.

It's like doing a puzzle, and if you can
find the paper, you can find the crime.

As we look through them, we would see
transactions going to other accounts,

there'd be five or ten other bank
accounts that the money from those

went to.

Funds from those accounts funnel to
more.

including shell corporations and
accounts held by other clients of Peggy

Fulford, like Dennis Rodman.

Money would just be transferred willy
-nilly from account to account to

for no business purpose.

Over the next 12 months, their
investigation exposes a web of 85 bank

That looked like money laundering, and
it was sustained and large.

In addition to Dennis Rodman and Ricky
Williams, the FBI learns that former NBA

player Travis Best was one of Peggy's
earliest victims.

But one of the most damning transaction
links to Peggy's newest victims.

In 2013, Peggy wired $200 ,000 from Lex
and Rebecca Hilliard's account in

Montana to purchase a half -acre lot in
downtown Houston.

The property is in Peggy's name, and the
transfer shows a clear misuse of funds.

It was the real estate transaction here
in Houston that gave us venue on that

federal case here.

Agent Hawkins reaches out to schedule a
meeting with Dennis Rodman.

It turns out that Rodman's management
team is sifting through its own

quagmire related to Peggy.

A Midwest collection agency is
attempting to sue Rodman over unpaid

$100 ,000 tax refund.

Everyone was like, wait a minute, what
tax return did he get? And why does he

owe these people $30 ,000 on a $100 ,000
tax refund?

We've never seen that money before.

But the NBA all -star has been hesitant
to blame his longtime friend.

He had a very, very tight relationship
with Peggy.

Anyone that would even mention something
bad about Peggy, he got very defensive.

Their meeting with the FBI is a come to
Jesus moment, even for Rodman. And you

start seeing, oh, there's a Dennis
Rodman LLC that Dennis is not on. He's

the president. He's not a shareholder.
This is just an account that's open that

says Dennis Rodman LLC, where Dennis
Rodman checks were getting cashed.

Dennis' agency would send Dennis a wire
for $90 ,000 at like, say, 10 .30 in the

morning. By 3 o 'clock that same day,
all $90 ,000 is swept out of his

and he shows it showing up in one of
Peggy's accounts.

I mean, all of it. She wouldn't even
leave him a couple hundred dollars for a

loaf of bread. I mean, she took all of
it.

In April 2015,

Bradford Cohen sends Peggy a letter
terminating her relationship with Dennis

Rodman.

Cohen writes, Although you claim to have
a graduate degree from Harvard, it is

more like your resume could be a study
in fictional writing at Harvard.

In a response published by the tabloid
news site TMZ, Peggy says she never

claimed to be a Harvard grad, and that
she's stuck with the athlete through

thick and thin.

By now, most people aren't buying
Peggy's claims, and the scrutiny casts

on Peggy Fulford's extravagant
lifestyle.

That's when I said it's bigger than us.

I said, she literally has been doing
this for a living. Like, it was not just

you, Ricky. Like, she was doing this to
everybody.

Next on American Greed, Peggy returns to
her hometown of New Orleans and throws

out her last few minutes.

Peggy Fulford is a financial predator.

She looks for prey.

She's looking for someone that she can
ingratiate herself with, earn their

trust, and steal their money.

Peggy Fulford has returned to her
hometown of New Orleans.

She's burned every bridge with her
friends in the sports world.

And some are sick of waiting for the con
artist to come clean.

I wanted her to hurt the way that we
hurt.

And, you know, just, I wanted to say why
in her face.

You know, like, just admit it.

On December 13, 2016, a federal grand
jury in Houston indicts Peggy on charges

of mail fraud, wire fraud, money
laundering.

and interstate transportation of stolen
property.

We were ready to finish and also stop
her because we knew that she was

out victimizing people every day.

FBI agents arrest Peggy at her apartment
in New Orleans.

But during the course of her arrest, an
agent sees something that sparks his

curiosity.

A check made out to Peggy Fulford for
$197 ,000.

It doesn't take long for federal
investigators and local police to

that Peggy Fulford has already
pinpointed her next victim.

It turned out that she was now
defrauding non -athletes.

She's managed to sweet -talk a local
doctor into investing in a real estate

to purchase a shuttered high school in
the Lower Ninth Ward and convert it into

a retirement home.

He invested many thousands of dollars,
$197 ,000 to be accurate, in that

particular project known as the Holy
Cross Project.

There's only one problem, according to
Frank Denton, a fraud investigator with

the New Orleans police.

As it turned out upon investigation, the
property was not for sale.

The arrest comes just in the nick of
time.

If the New Orleans FBI had arrested her
one day later, That money would have

been deposited.

That money would have been gone.

On February 1st, 2018, Peggy Fulford
cuts a deal with a district attorney in

Houston. She pleads guilty to one count
of interstate transportation of stolen

property.

She's released on bond and placed under
probational supervision.

But over the weeks leading up to the
sentencing hearing, Peggy stays busy.

Her final scam comes to the attention of
prosecutors at the 11th hour.

I was busy and we were preparing for the
sentencing the next day and I got a

message on my voicemail at work.

It's from an engineer in New Orleans
named Ray Thompson.

Just days before, he succumbed to get
another of Peggy's convincing cons.

He'd been working in Saudi Arabia to
rebuild his life because he had lost

everything after Katrina.

And she convinced him that for a $25
,000 investment, they were going to make

lot of money together.

That, I think, really was the nail in
the coffin about whether she was going

stop or not or whether she's capable of
stopping.

In retrospect, Rashad McCants believes
he got off easy.

But he says scammers are prevalent in
the world of pro sports.

Hundreds of people around pulling at
you, picking at you.

And you finally feel like you meet
somebody that you connect with.

And, you know, they have an ulterior
motive.

And they'll do anything to cover that
ulterior motive up until they see the

and they can pick it up and walk out the
room with it. Ricky Williams, Dennis

Rodman, and other players declined
American Greed's request for interviews.

Rodman did offer a message via his
friend A .J. Bright.

It makes me sad I trusted someone I
considered family to manage my money and

they did terribly wrong by me.

I hope other athletes and celebrities
can learn from this experience.

When I read this, I definitely can feel
the pain in those words

because Dennis really trusted Peggy.

Chantel Cohen can sympathize too.

For someone to be in your inner circle
for that long to do something like that

to somebody that Ricky is one of the
nicest people that I ever met in my

So for someone to do that to him, I
think you're sick.

Something's wrong with you.

In 2018, Peggy Fulford pleads guilty to
one charge of interstate transportation

of stolen property.

As part of her sentencing, the judge
orders more than $3 million in

to Ricky Williams, more than $1 .2
million to Dennis Rodman, $1 .3

million to Travis Best, and $132 ,000 to
former NFL player Lex

Hilliard.

Regardless of the big money professional
athletes earn, Chase Carlson says this

kind of fraud is devastating for
players.

A lot of their lifetime earnings are
packed into a short period of time. If

get ripped off at the end of their
career, there's no time to recoup that

because their playing contracts are
over.

In the end, Peggy Fulfer, the woman
prosecutors call a financial predator,

receives a maximum sentence of 10 years
in prison.

As I told the judge when he sentenced
her, she's probably not going to stop. I

mean, she'll be 70 years old when she
gets out.

Hopefully I'm wrong. I really hope I'm
wrong.