This Colombian Kid Stole Millions - The Juan Carlos Betancourt story

0.149 - 23.528 Narrator

So this little kid, he might be one of the best con artists I've ever seen. Let me show you. Now his name is Juan Carlos, and he lives in Colombia. And so far, he's had a really hard life. But Juan Carlos is about to do whatever it takes to succeed. So one day, he sets out to make that happen. And he heads to the local airport to catch a flight to Miami.

23.768 - 45.841 Narrator

But little Juan Carlos, he can't afford a plane ticket. So he sneaks onto the tarmac and he climbs onto a cargo plane and he hides out in the wheel well. And he allegedly holds on real tight while the plane takes off and flies three and a half hours from Cali, Columbia to Miami, Florida. Then the plane lands and allegedly Juan Carlos falls out of the wheel well.

46.081 - 68.239 Narrator

And he just lays there on the tarmac, unconscious. And airport staff, they eventually find him. And he's shivering, and he's disoriented, and he's just a wreck. But he tells them, not that his name is Juan Carlos, but that his name is Guillermo, and that he's 13 and from Colombia, and that his parents had died, and that he doesn't have anyone else, so he fled to America.

68.459 - 86.15 Narrator

And his story just blows people away. Because they feel sorry for him. And so the local media, they start covering it. Then a police officer in the area, this guy, Lozano, he's driving home one day and he hears the story on the radio that they found this 13-year-old kid who had been hiding in the wheel well of a plane.

86.35 - 105.52 Narrator

And Lozano is so moved, he goes and he volunteers to be Juan Carlos' temporary guardian while the state figures out what to do with him. So Juan Carlos goes and he lives with Lozano and his family. And this changes his life. Suddenly he's not living in poverty anymore. And this middle class lifestyle feels like wealth to him.

105.54 - 127.268 Narrator

And they've got all these nice things and so he tells himself that soon he's gonna have nice things too. And within a few weeks of living with Lozano's family, Juan Carlos starts stealing. And things around the house go missing. Plus, he's been disappearing for days at a time. And Lozano and his wife, they start thinking that something isn't adding up about this kid.

127.588 - 153.901 Narrator

Then, one day, they get a call. And it's the Colombian consulate, who had just gotten some important information. Turns out Juan Carlos isn't actually named Guillermo. He's named Juan Carlos. And he isn't some innocent kid. He's actually got a criminal record. And he isn't 13. He's actually 17. And his parents aren't dead. They're actually alive and well back in Colombia.

154.381 - 176.336 Narrator

And he probably didn't ride in the wheel well of that plane. It's more likely that he rode inside the plane with the cargo. And he just lied about it all because it made a better story. So Juan Carlos is just a little con artist trying to con his way into the United States so that he can have a better life. And so, bam, they immediately detain him and they deport him back to Colombia.

176.636 - 197.494 Narrator

Oh, but this isn't over for Juan Carlos. Because for a moment, he got a taste of a much better life. And he'll do anything to get that back. So over the years, Juan Carlos tries his best to scam his way out of Colombia and get back into the US and other countries using different aliases and fake IDs. But he ends up getting deported, like a bunch of different times.

197.714 - 219.609 Narrator

And while all this is going on, Juan Carlos, he's there developing the perfect con. Here's his perfect con. Juan Carlos dresses up real nice, pretending to be a rich man. And he goes into a five star hotel and he tries to make it look like he's a guest there. He hangs out in the lobby and at the hotel bar. He'll chat with the staff a little bit just to make sure that they notice him.

219.809 - 239.005 Narrator

And as he's doing this, he also takes note of other guests. He'll memorize their name. He'll memorize their room number. Then he'll go to reception, pretending to be that guest. And he'll say that he lost his room key. And reception, they'll recognize him like, oh, this guy, he's been hanging out in the lobby for a few days. Of course he's a guest here. So the hotel will let him in the room.

239.186 - 257.78 Narrator

And while he's there, he'll steal money and credit cards and jewelry and whatever he can get out of the guest's luggage. Then to make it worse, he'll then call the hotel security desk and tell them he's locked out of his safe. And security, they'll come up to the room and they'll open the safe for him. And they don't question anything because he's already in the room.

258 - 281.794 Narrator

So of course they think it's his room. So then Juan Carlos takes everything from the safe and he leaves the hotel a slightly richer man. And this con works. In fact, it works really well for him. So Juan Carlos does it repeatedly. Hotel after hotel after hotel. Just raking it in. Until one day in London, boom, he gets arrested for using a credit card he had stolen.

282.014 - 301.182 Narrator

But Juan Carlos, he's ready for this. He's been thinking about it a while and he gives police a fake name and he skips bail and leaves town. And then a year later, he's back in London, pulling off his same con and then bam, he gets arrested again. for using another stolen credit card. This time he gives them a different fake name and a fake ID.

301.462 - 322.193 Narrator

And he ends up getting off with a small fine because they don't realize he's the same guy they arrested the year before. So Juan Carlos continues with this pattern. He travels the world using fake names, fake IDs, and robbing hotels. But a few years later, he makes his way back to London again. And there he hits four more hotels and leaves with over $100,000 worth of cash and jewelry.