American Greed: Scams, Scoundrels and Scandals Season 1 Episode 5 Baptist Foundation of Arizona/Medical Scams: Dr. Mikos

American Greed: Scams, Scoundrels and Scandals season 1 episode 5 is named "Baptist Foundation of Arizona/Medical Scams: Dr. Mikos." The episode looks at two different scams and the people behind them, starting with a fraudulent investment scheme that robbed thousands of hardworking people of their life savings, and then turning the focus to a doctor who lied to patients about his qualifications and performed unnecessary surgeries on them.

The first half of the episode examines the Baptist Foundation of Arizona, a charity that was created to provide financial support to Baptist churches and organizations throughout the state. However, by the late 1990s, the organization had become much more than a charity. It had transformed into an investment fund that promised high returns to anyone who invested their money with them. Thousands of people, including retirees and churchgoers, trusted the organization and handed over their savings and retirement funds, believing that they were making a wise financial decision.

However, as investigators would later discover, the Baptist Foundation of Arizona was nothing more than a Ponzi scheme, with money from new investors being used to pay off older investors. The mastermind behind the scheme was a man named William Crotts, who had been a pastor before he began managing the organization. Through his charismatic personality and promises of high returns, Crotts was able to convince thousands of people to invest with him.

However, as the episode reveals, Crotts was not the only guilty party in this story. Many of the Baptist pastors who had supported the organization had also profited from its investments, even as they continued to assure their congregations that their money was safe. When the scheme inevitably collapsed, many people lost everything they had invested with the Baptist Foundation of Arizona. Crotts and several others were eventually convicted of multiple counts of fraud and sent to prison.

The second half of the episode focuses on a different kind of scam, one that preyed on people's fears and desperation. Dr. Mark Mikos was a Texas orthopedic surgeon who had a history of malpractice claims, including allegations that he had tried to perform surgery on the wrong part of a patient's body. Despite this, he continued to practice medicine and even opened his own clinic, the Mikos Surgical Center.

At this clinic, Dr. Mikos performed unnecessary surgeries on patients who were in chronic pain, promising to alleviate their discomfort and improve their quality of life. However, as the episode reveals, many of these surgeries were not only unnecessary, but they were also dangerous. Patients were left with chronic pain, nerve damage, and even paralysis.

As investigators began to scrutinize Dr. Mikos and his practice, they discovered that he had lied about his qualifications and experience, claiming to be a "world-renowned" surgeon when he was, in fact, barely qualified to practice medicine. He had even faked his surgical records and staged photos to make himself appear more experienced than he actually was.

Dr. Mikos eventually lost his medical license and was sentenced to prison for wire fraud and healthcare fraud. However, as the episode makes clear, the damage had already been done. Many of his patients were left with permanent injuries and were forced to seek medical treatment to correct the damage that he had done.

Overall, "Baptist Foundation of Arizona/Medical Scams: Dr. Mikos" is a sobering reminder of the devastating consequences that come with greed and deception. From the retirees who lost everything to the innocent patients who were maimed and injured, the victims of these scams will be feeling the effects for years to come.