How The Bre-X Gold Mine Scandal Swindled Thousands - Masterminds - Fools Gold

A recreation of the Bre-X goldmine scam in Indonesia that swindled thousands of investors out of their life savings.
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[@robinabernathy2829]

This is one of the first episodes where the masterminds were true masterminds because they screwed everyone and got away with it with no punishment

[@demonpunisher9337]

My view too

[@george25199]

@Sheldon Cooper Nothing a little interferon wont take care off

[@Renwoxing13]

@Brian Jones your an Idiot, he is just as dead as the plane jacker db cooper. Of course the authorities will say they are dead, otherwise they look like fucking useless fools! Not everyone gets caught they just want you to think they do!

[@SaQusKate]

@starlord neveragain True and David Walsh died from an aneurysm. I went to his funeral by the time they released his body he was green/grey at his open casket funeral. My family lost a ton of money in this scam.

[@ElRosco187]

@starlord neveragain That wasn’t him, they even said dude faked his death.

[@dougymccrae]

The movie Gold (2016) was based on this with a few changes. It paints Michael de Guzman as less of a fraud and more of someone trying to help a desperate friend, definitely worth a watch

[@wildestcowboy2668]

I heard he is a Joe Biden loving gun banning clown

[@mike.p.1400]

Yea. I seen it. It wasn’t bad. I’m heading to the Philippines shortly. Maybe I’ll run into mike. Lol 😂

[@christopherlondon7382]

He's somewhere in Amsterdam smoking weed wit D.B. Cooper...

[@iain1019]

Christopher London d.b copper lives in my village shush dont tell the feds

[@elsinorebrewing3841]

Total crock of shit considering DeGuzman supposedly "jumped" from a helicopter over the Borneo jungle to his death.If he jumped he "jumped" with a parachute and couple of hockey bags of US currency as well as a passport and a new identity.Walsh and Felderhof both made a fortune on selling their stock in Bre-X.Walsh died 6 months later of a heart attack in a Carribean and Felderhof moved from Canada to the Phillipines and lived out the rest of his life in luxury with all of his money secure and safe from lawsuits etc and where he could also not face any criminal prosecution. Bre-X was not a one person scam it was a big scam involving all three of them.When Deguzman went out of that helicopter he either went out with a parachute and a shitload of cash and a new identity or he was THROWN out because he was going to crack and spill the beans.

[@SMOBY44]

The man paid off that pilot to drop him off.

[@SMOBY44]

@campbellscollision I think he dropped him off a long way away from where he said he jumped.

[@wagonstation3709]

SMOBY44 Exactly. He wouldn't go through all this just to jump out along the way & risk breaking his neck.

[@frozenangel7239]

and considering the corrupt form of government and authorities the Indonesian have. . surely he paid that pilot and faked his death ... I wonder why didn't they conduct any autopsy and DNA tests ...? hahaha corruption at it's stake..

[@wagonstation3709]

SMOBY44 Yes, he'd get a "headstart" if he were dropped off, miles away. He's a legend---but not as well known as the D.B. Cooper.

[@dustinmiser377]

I think they was mad as hell an killed him an said he jumped out the heli

[@BrettonFerguson]

"How did he do it?" People will believe anything if they want to believe it.

[@3m5r56]

Gold fever!!

[@tavoiaiono7885]

Easier to fool people than to convince them they have been fooled.

[@wifferstess2824]

@@tavoiaiono7885 PT Barnum proved that people want to be fooled.

[@joeyboland3406]

Pretty unfortunate scam to fall victim to, but anybody who invested their entire life savings (or even a significant portion of it) in to one single overseas mining company (no matter how hot the stock is), is an idiot, and should not be investing in the first place.

[@stee8345]

@campbellscollision yeah, only something you worked for every waking moment of your life. No big whoop.

[@amandamcmoney693]

@campbellscollision Rite💯

[@3m5r56]

W.C.Fields Never give a sucker an even break

[@freddean9601]

@@stee8345 Shouldn't invest if you can't take it

[@wifferstess2824]

If you think that's crazy, people were even mortgaging their houses to invest in Bre-X. The saying that "you can't fix stupid" is sadly true.

[@gonstotwriter]

My former neighbor in Vancouver, a lawyer, lost $3 million in the Bre-X scandal and shot himself in the head one evening because of it.

[@wifferstess2824]

Was he one of those who mortgaged his home to invest?

[@gonstotwriter]

@@wifferstess2824 I believe he mortgaged everything he had and advised his friends to do likewise.

[@danrook5757]

This was back in the 90s, a lot of people got screwed in Canadian investment

[@rscott2247]

To hear that some people committed suicide, from losing so much of their money is dumbfounded, but sadly true.

[@hypnoticwun]

I lived in Calgary at the time of Bre-X. Wish I would have invested at pennies, then cashed out when it reached $100 a share.

[@paulm2041]

hindsight is 20/20

[@mogazamoha7906]

He is probably enjoying his loot rightnow

[@BrettonFerguson]

Sprinkling the ground with gold (Salting) is the oldest trick in the fake mine for sale book. How were they fooled. They should dig several holes and see if there is any gold in undisturbed soil. If you are going to invest hundreds of millions, at least go there yourself or send someone trustworthy, and dig several holes at least 5 feet deep yourself.

[@Renwoxing13]

You would need an expert on ground disturbance signs as well. Being the oldest trick in the book would mean that salting 5 ft deep in multiple locations is a very real possibility!

[@danielweston9188]

Only greedy people fall for salted ground..... so easy to avoid......

[@wildestcowboy2668]

@@danielweston9188 I'm glad you told those clowns off. Bunch of idiots!

[@annwilliams6438]

Don’t, just DO NOT put all of your savings into one stock - no matter how brilliant it seems.

[@robertbolivarr8363]

No DNA? De Guzman still alive 101 percent. Great Escape.

[@wagonstation3709]

This is only the 4th Mastermind I've watched, but this seems like the easiest scam of all them!

[@samjhonson6543]

Lot fishes sees the hook never the bait

[@roccoVAL]

@campbellscollision crazy Eddie scam was epic

[@2024s_truth-speaker]

let's do it ourselves! just do it enough to get str8 and quit instead of keep going lol

[@wagonstation3709]

campbellscollision I remember seeing those commercials and thought that stuff is stolen....and/or he's high on something. I never would have walked in. I wonder how long it was open.

[@wagonstation3709]

@Sheldon Cooper I can't understand how anybody could overlook such a crazy personality....would you buy a used car from him? No?? Than why buy anything else? He was obviously high or crazy. Or a bit of both? No sympathy (from me) to any victims of any level..

[@rogerscottcathey]

What kind auditor doesnt insist having an intact core, split or not? No whole core, suspiciously water borne gold in supposedly volcanic soils or fumeroles, and he goes, "Hunh? Well . . . Ok."

[@danielweston9188]

The lack of half cores should have been the end of it. Not to mention the wrong type of gold - -

[@MondoBeno]

Sounds like Elizabeth Holmes. A no-name nothing says "I'm going to invent a way to turn base metal into gold, (or turn coal into diamonds, build an 8x10 solar panel that can power an entire city, invent a car that runs on peanut butter, cure male baldness with applesauce, etc) and you're all welcome to invest money in it." Then she becomes a media darling, everyone's convinced she's a genius, and all the while there's no equipment in the laboratory.

[@Spidey-tb3tu]

Never heard of BRE-X. Toronto Wall Street is one of the largest legalized gambling joints.

[@geoffwickens3871]

Toronto Wall Street?? How about Yonge Street in Toronto .... keep your country there and stop trying to Americanize Canada!!

[@80sOutrunFan]

I remember this story, they got played like little violins lol.

[@unknowndriver6652]

Lol

[@kingg_roast259]

😂😂 🎻🎻🎻🎻

[@jaimesantiago1475]

And what happened to all his money??🤔

[@80sOutrunFan]

@@jaimesantiago1475 A few unconfirmed stories but I do know somebody has some extra cash to spend :)

[@muthuicyrus]

Now this is a mastermind

[@syrzelhenderson442]

Question is how did he do it?? Love that lol!!

[@bohemianabyss6419]

Lot many times I thought of writing the same wondering am I the only one who finds it interesting when he says that! 😁 And now finally i find your comment!👍

[@tdct4649]

this kind of stuff still happens every day with penny stocks.

[@marcusmaynard1526]

Yup, aurcana silver is the most recent one. I lost 40% and would’ve lost more if I didn’t pull the plug

[@samjhonson6543]

Few ounces gold to 6 billions 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂🤣😂😂

[@kaylonrome]

Actually it was his wedding band and about $60k to a local miner lol! He turned a little over$60k to 6billion company in which he cashed out 100million! Of course he faked his own death! He probably paid a local Mortuary a thousand dollars for a dead body and threw it out the Helicopter! The man is true a mastermind!

[@angelangel3951]

I'm 100% sure that he's alive 😉👍

[@abefinklestein711]

He paid that pilot off! How you gonna turn around in all of,a sudden your passenger is gone? Like you can just open a helicopter door without the pilot knowing! 😂😂😂

[@tommybear1097]

They said it was an air force pilot which means he was probably in an old UH-60 style bird that the doors were either off of or just left open, I doubt they would have picked him up in a new private helicopter with tons of amenities.

[@abefinklestein711]

@@tommybear1097 good stuff, logical info!

[@amyjojinkerson6745]

when it comes to gold everyone wants a piece of it

[@HikikomoriDev]

15:05 man.. those "special" effects... RIP CRT.

[@joefagasta2117]

The Bre-X scandal or Busang goldmine scandal took place in my country, becoming national issue.

[@user-ej4li1lt3d]

Masterminds is a great show sucks they cancelled it seeings there is plenty of criminal crews out there for them to document

[@MM-zt4oe]

Dick Head wouldn’t feel the same. This has 90s / 2000s nostalgia

[@JazzDrummer1946]

I worked as an Investment banker on Wall St during this period. I never understood gold or precious minerals very well, so I couldn't/didn't recommend Bre-X. But, I know some guys who did. Very unfortunate for their clients.

[@VincentOtienoShow]

A true mastermind...stole billions and was never caught

[@eyemmeohigho]

The president

[@kireki01]

Mchaka

[@rolex907]

My dawg got no jail time. Fuckin legend

[@SilverWalker84]

He didn't even get close to how much wall street has stolen by manipulating the prescious metals market. JP Morgan recently got fined 1 billion for silver spoofing. They aren't even playing with their own money so they don't care about fines but that's a whole different rabbit hole.....This guy just didn't work on the right side of the street. Also if you want to invest in metal just buy physical.

[@debi909]

Plot twist ... Pilot robbed and got rid of him =O The real mastermind

[@giuseppenero110]

Allowing a company to drill and crush their own core samples without independent supervision should be an obvious red flag. No pity for the investors here.

[@sludge4125]

Absolutely!!

[@hyperghoul]

Remember... This is 1990s, no one knows about that

[@paulm2041]

I wouldn't say "no one knows about it" but I see what you are trying to say.

[@bokkiho9242]

Me too , I believe he's alive , the chopper incident sounds too well planned .

[@saintr3394]

Back around 2004 i met a business man that told me he lost 5 million dollars on "that bre x shit"

[@rooneye]

What a genius!

[@HardTrancid]

I remember being a kid in the 90's and some of my friends parents invested into Bre-X Lost everything. I didn't really get the scope back then, being a teenager.

[@johnnyparker9928]

A fool and his money are soon parted.

[@juiceymoojuice]

I don't think it started out as a scam, he really did hope to strike gold. But when he found none he lied & scam more money to continue drilling to keep investors happy. When too far & he bolted....

[@SaQusKate]

true

[@kaylonrome]

FREAKING AWESOME!

[@renasworldofgaming]

As an accountant what he did was amazing. As a Filipino he makes my home country proud. He just told people he had a gold mine and they believed it.

[@kevinhealey6540]

10:12 What I find highly suspicious is why didn't the auditor himself drill for samples and check these samples out.

[@kevinhealey6540]

@Sheldon Cooper It's obvious. I also believe he faked his death and paid everybody off to go along with it. He probably never even got on the Helicopter.

[@joseastudillo6165]

Geologist Michael De Guzman is alive that I have for sure. The idea of ​​dissolving the gold in the sample bags is amazing.

[@LookmyBack354]

The filipino saying "there two people who live in this world the fool and scammer"..

[@mikelong2756]

Now this is how you hock your wedding ring😂

[@t.o.o.smooth5870]

I loved the show Masterminds!

[@charlesvan13]

Similar to the Theranos fraud. Though that company wasn't publicly traded, it was worth 6 billion from independent investors. Then collapsed when the owners couldn't escape the fact that their promised medical technology is impossible.

[@michalgajdos7575]

He scammed greedy speculators aka Wall street.what a Legend.

[@bxbank]

He's alive.

[@rubenlira3752]

Man I really miss this shows

[@treborironwolfe978]

Pyrite's got nothin' on this guy.. But I can't help wonder how his wife felt about the shaving of his wedding ring...

[@glendooer6211]

The old man to win by marrying.

[@rjs1jd]

Well by doing that he was able to buy as many 💍 rings as they wanted!

[@treborironwolfe978]

@@rjs1jd I have a feeling that the authorities seized most of his purchased rings.. then his wife ran off with the rest.

[@christopherrobin1505]

My dad's first stock market venture was this and he lost 50 grand Canadian. Thank his brother for convincing him to invest

[@waverly2468]

I think they made a movie inspired by this caper-- "Gold" (2016) with Matthew McConaughey.

[@jorgeledesma2418]

Just by The way he looks i wouldn't trust him.

[@ZaiidDarkness]

This is an actor😂

[@BrettonFerguson]

Racist!!! But it's better to be called a racist than to loose 1 billion dollars. Rich people are lazy, they hire others to do things for them. They have to trust what these people say. They should go there themselves and dig a hole.

[@sludge4125]

Hey, Wen, why even educate the clown?

[@Dwightstjohn-fo8ki]

Eight months before Bre-X "detonated" my employee had his girlfriend working the front desk for Bre-X. Xmas party was a de rigueur "Il Giardino", the preferred, and expensive rest. for Vancouvers' "Howe Street Hookers", the stock exchange that was the main Bre=X vehicle. "rounds" of 200. a shot Chivas came out, all you wanted. when I asked what his girfriend did for Bre=X, BESIDES a lot of cocaine on the job, he said she never finished High School. She's being paid 26. an hour when the average office wage in Van. was 12. Cdn. ????? Well, there's your flag right there.

[@O.M.96]

What????

[@ohdee970]

When you "play the market", prepare to get played. No DNA? No extradition? No problem. "Void where prohibited, except in Indonesia". I love it! Bet them investors don't feel so savvy anymore...

[@radamanthisantares2702]

Very good magician 🤔 now you see me!🤓Now you don’t see me!😎✌️

[@thechetjr]

Invest only won't keep you awake staring at the ceiling all night.

[@jtmunn4496]

I hope he got away

[@DC-ks6fd]

Yeah

[@doctorkhumalo7730]

He ain't dead 😂😂😂

[@josebeto2693]

Did ya know el chapo is a mastermind too

[@900108Chale]

*Finally! One MasterMind that got away!* (or not). BUT he wasn't caught.

[@MP-ut1xp]

That helicopter pilot was greased with enough cash to settle for life that was where the trace of De guzman vanished.

[@benderbendingrofriguez3300]

crazy. In Calgary you can still find the building.

[@Tharayfoster]

6 billion dollars, that kind of scam can not be orchestrated by one person.

[@RARVlog]

Dahil sa kaalaman. Napunta ako dito😂

[@TheLochs]

The overall greed of these people. Too bad for you.

[@coolmoncur]

Did people not ask to see actual gold coming out of the ground and not just samples?

[@billymoore8731]

He lives in Harlan county Ky. Upp on bat wing hill tryin to turn coal into gold him and James Robert Moffett

[@DAMAN14]

A JOB WELL DONE...I D O L

[@kimberleywilliams5228]

He's kickn back on Bondi beach Sydney 😂

[@da__lang]

Filing his wedding ring was ingenious? It seems quite crude.

[@ddd1hhh]

狼大 is that an oil joke? 😂😂😂

[@phantomKE]

Aah! The Mathew Mcconaghey movie.

[@terrymiller111]

Government greed/corruption unraveled it.

[@alanalilley3037]

Smart man

[@SpaNT650]

My father has always said, never invest (bet) money you're not willing to lose 😉

[@TheMadarauchiha101]

What a genius

[@joxepojoxepin2752]

7:00. Hmm, Filipinos speaking Spanish.

[@archangellagi5768]

@campbellscollision Spanish is not a major language in the Philippines. It’s not the language used when one goes about his daily life in the Philippines. I was born and raised in Manila myself and shared rooms with other students from other provinces in the Philippines; there were very few Chavacanos but Chavacano isn’t Spanish.

[@archangellagi5768]

In the movie Year of Living Dangerously, set in Indonesia, the extras were speaking in Tagalog, the director probably thought viewers won’t know the difference. Also in a Chuck Norris movie MIssing In Action, the Vietnamese were speaking in Tagalog, the director probably also thought the viewers won’t know the difference

[@Live-Life-Freely]

I bet he paid off the Indo-govt and is still in Indo smoking indo and getting foot massage by lady-boys. CASE CLOSED!

[@zero_wing_]

living the fucking life

[@Tharayfoster]

The podcast series is currently being broadcasted on @BBC that’s where you get all the secrets

[@mike.p.1400]

I think Mike is alive. Good luck to him.

[@paulm2041]

Who were the experts talking? I don't see any mention of them in the credits

[@muzwot9603]

Pristine rainforest destroyed, and for nothing.

[@dautibrahim2100]

He played them nigga so hard they committed Suicide 😂🤣 it sad but that is some next level shii 🤣

[@supremereader7614]

He paid off the Indonesian government and that pilot! Do a DNA or dental records test would be the easiest thing in the world.

[@DeniseWill2]

I wist they would run new cases on ID TV.

[@ac-ib9le]

I saw gold in a creek once when I was kid thought I was rich!!

[@Saber-tooth]

Can't they run a DNA test of the body and compare it to a family member?

[@juniorsaj1870]

Welcome to 3rd world countries where fraud is legal

[@pauld.b7129]

Definatley just paid the pilot to drop him off... I guess nobody felt the need to look into it though? That seems pretty obvious from the story. No way a guy smart enough to do all this is going to just jump out of a helicopter. Probably paid off a couple indonesian officials too, once they realized there was no gold, that was the only cash out they were going to get. Which was the whole point of taking over half the mine.... Eh people scam people every day, hope this guy is out there living it up somewhere. Thats what people get when they start betting on stuff they haven't even confirmed exists. People pay for scientology, so not the worst scam anyone has run.

[@filliusawusi6174]

Take Risk and Not ask Questions.. Greed strikes again.. Be Careful out there folks.. You Never know..

[@addiejonez]

What I don’t understand is I can’t be allowed to view and identify my family member’s body, that to me is smelly, secondly they say that country is corrupt that means for a $100k a man will sell his badge of honor for sure. Talk to the pilot and he will tell

[@3m5r56]

he had to bribe more then the pilot.

[@marchestonduno3574]

Cant c his body becoz there s something else, all well planned

[@fixinggrace]

This is why you never put all your eggs in one basket. Or all your money in one firm

[@chancest.thomas5160]

People STILL Pan 4 Gold??😕 17:29-18:45 Damn, Dawg...

[@roccopennisi1943]

My friend says he knows where Mrs De Guzman now lives.

[@creatura_orbis_centuria]

How about the local community of busang where it is a No Go Zone for foreigners and journalists? Are they protecting De Guzman with the money he had aquired. The money trail and where is it right now?

[@2008dio]

the master of all master swindler.

[@christisgodd]

Why are people still being scammed day by day

[@vernwallen4246]

PT BARNUM=There's a"SUCKER"born every minute.The😈never😴.

[@elmodj]

I saw that guy in penang

[@johnnyfannucci]

Who doesn’t like a happy ending.