Pled guilty in September 2008 to misappropriating $50 million in a Ponzi scheme. He'd claim to investors that he had an "inside man" at the Vatican who could get the Catholic Church to sell properties to him at deeply-discounted prices. He would then convert the properties into "socially-responsible" dwellings, then sell them at a profit. Despite the financial backing of
Ron Burkle, he bought just three properties, and failed to "flip" any of them. Follieri may have defrauded investors of as much as $100 million. Girlfriend
Anne Hathaway broke up with him just before his arrest.