Cox falsified documents to make it appear that he owned properties, and then fraudulently obtained several mortgages on them for five to six times their actual worth.

[1] His teachers advised him to get a job in which he worked with his hands, so he studied sculpture at the University of South Florida, and majored in art.

[4] After being fired from the company when he was convicted of mortgage fraud in 2002, Cox faked a good credit history, and used that to buy dozens of homes and properties.

Several of his future girlfriends said that his painting talents were part of his allure, though the St. Petersburg Times described his works as copies of murals by Tamara de Lempicka.

[8][9] Cox charmed Alison Arnold, a young local married woman, into believing he could give her a wealthy and luxurious life.

[2] While courting Arnold, she said, he took her to crime films such as The Italian Job and Catch Me if You Can—which he reportedly adored and watched several times—and detailed his criminal plans to her.

[2][10] In this practice, known as "shotgunning" in the real estate community, Cox either himself forged or had accomplices attain inflated appraisals to increase the value of the mortgages.

[12] Cox took advantage of the Hillsborough County school district by selling it a property for much more than its appraised value,[13] and arranged financing on a $90,000 house for future Florida Representative Janet Cruz.

[14] When a female accomplice rented a house in Pinellas County as part of Cox's schemes, then faked ownership of the property, the owner found out about the fraud.

A title company manager had become suspicious of a loan Cox's accomplice was applying for on the house and called the property's real owner.

[16] She had already committed criminal offenses before meeting Cox, and was fired from a job in Las Vegas for forging her employer's name on checks that she used to pay her debts.

[20][21] Despite her involvement in the purchase or sale of 58 properties in six years, she claimed that she and the other remaining shareholder were "incapable of operating or managing Urban Equity", so the company was put into receivership.

Cox used these identities to create a false impression of a quickly appreciating neighborhood, and was able to deceive banks and appraisers into believing that homes with an actual value of $40,000 were really worth $190,000.

After filing false documents that indicated he owned the house, Cox took out mortgages on the property for several hundred thousand dollars.

[23] News broadcasts showed photos of Cox and Hauck and requested that viewers provide any information pertaining to their whereabouts.

Cox also stole identities from the homeless by posing as a survey–taking Red Cross worker to acquire their social security numbers.

She was sentenced to two years in prison for numerous offenses, including conspiracy to commit bank fraud and identity theft.

[2][27] He was dating a single mother, Amanda Gardner, who was unaware of his criminal past,[28] and posing as the owner of a home restoration business.

When she found out he was originally from Florida, she researched him online and eventually discovered that the man she knew as "Joseph Carter" was really Matthew Cox.

Fearing for the safety of Gardner's son, Taylor reached out to Jeff Testerman of the St. Petersburg Times, who had closely followed Cox for more than three years.

[35] Cox was ordered to serve a 26-year sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI), a low-security facility in Coleman, Florida.

[37] Records and statements from those who donated show that Cox did in fact make numerous contributions to White's campaign, and reimbursed others who did so as well.

[38] White has denied that he knew these contributions were reimbursed, and called Cox's accusations "the jailhouse ramblings of a reputed con man.

[41] During his time in prison, Cox introduced himself to arms trader Efraim Diveroli after reading a Rolling Stone article on him, and encouraged him to write a memoir.

[4] Both the protagonist and Cox drove a silver Audi TT, illegally acquired Tampa real estate worth $2.7 million, were alumni of the University of South Florida, had an intense fear of Interpol, and formerly worked selling insurance.