On the American Greed episode “The Car Con,” brothers Darain and Cory Atkinson are featured. They owned and operated US Fidelis, a fraudulent vehicle service contracts (VSCs) business based in St. Louis, Missouri. According to the FBI, Darain Atkinson told USF employees to “fraudulently withhold substantial portions of refunds due to customers who cancelled their VSC and were owed a full or pro-rated refund.” In 2012, Darain pled guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and one felony count of filing false tax returns. He was sentenced to eight years in jail and ordered to pay more than $4 million in restitution. Corey was sentenced to serve 40 months in prison and also ordered to pay more than $4 million in restitution to the IRS.
To pay back the IRS, Atkinson’s $27 million mansion on Lake St. Louis was put on the market. It included many amenities including an aquarium wall, art studio, basketball court, beauty parlor, bowling alley, movie theater, and several hidden passageways. In 2010, it was sold for $4.75 million. American Greed airs Sundays at 8pm on CNBC.
