ON WYFF NEWS 4.... HE STOLE

57 MILLION FROM 798 VICTIMS IN A

PONZI SCHEME...

NOW FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER RON

WILSON IS SPEAKING out from

JAIL. TONIGHT...THE NEW DETAILS

FROM OUR EXCLUSIVE JAILHOUSE

INTERVIEW.

HERE NOW IS WYFF NEWS 4'S MANDY

GAITHER.

FROM THE SPARTANBURG COUNTY

JAIL... RON WILSON TOLD US IT

ALL STARTED WITH A LIE...AND HE

GOT GOOD AT TELLING THEM...

WHEN JENA EISON...THE VICE

PRESIDENT OF HIS COMPANY

ATLANTIC BULLION AND COIN...

STARTED ASKING

QUESTIONS...WANTING TO SEE THE

SILVER VICTIMS THOUGHT THEY HAD

BOUGHT --WILSON HAD THE RIGHT

ANSWERS...

I said what is it you don't

trust me? Here you are vice

president of the company you

don't trust me she said oh no I

trust you and I said well come

on what is it and she said I'm

just trying to get more

information to be more effective

with the clients and I said when

you get to those questions bring

me in because I used to tell

them. I had a client she brought

in one day she said he said how

do I know the silver is there I

said you don't . he sat there

and he says what. I said you

don't know it's not in your name

it's in ours that's how I can

trade it. I said if you're

uncomfortable get out

we'll settle? out. Nobody did.

It was part of the arrogance. It

was part of the stupidity.

RIGHT BEFORE HIS ARREST...

WILSON SAYS HE BELIEVES EISON

FIGURED IT OUT... BUT SAYS HE

OCHESTRATED THE ENTIRE PONZI

SCHEME ON HIS OWN. NOT

WANTING TO TAKE A CHANCE...OR

TRUST ANYONE

BUT HIMSELF.

I'm not mad at the Secret

Service, I'm not mad the

receiver I'm not mad at anyone

I'm mad at myself. I did this. I

put myself in here. Nobody put

me in here I did this and it's a

horrible way to end up your life

WILSON SAYS IT WAS SHEER GREED

THAT LED HIM TO STEAL. HE

SAYS HIS BUSINESS WAS LEGITIMATE

UNTIL 2001.

HE NOTICED THAT VERY FEW PEOPLE

EVER TOOK ANY MONEY OUT OF THEIR

ACCOUNTS...

I started issuing statements

that had nothing behind it. I

even re-designed the statement

that was very good.

In fact the secret service told

me it was genius because ther'es

no way anyone would take a look

at that statement and h ave a

doubt THOSE CLIENTS...NOW

VICTIMS...ARE THE ONES WHO

BROUGHT WILSON DOWN.

HE SAYS ONE ASKED TO SELL HIS

SILVER AND GET HIS MILLION

DOLLARS...THEN A SECOND WANTED

TWO MILLION...BUT THERE WAS

NOTHING TO SELL...

hadn't been for awhile. And then

i -- when i hung up that phone i

thought this is the bullet with

my name on it. THOSE VICTIMS

AND SO MANY OTHERS NEVER GOT

THEIR MONEY...

WILSON WILL BE 82-YEARS-OLD WHEN

HE GETS OUT OF PRISON...HE'S

ACCEPTED THE FACT THAT HE MAY

DIE THERE.

I'd like to think that I might

through some - God's providence

that I might live to get out - I

would like to spend

some time with my daughter and

my grandkids and my

great-grandkids but that's not

likely to happen and so I have

to just come to grips with what

I've done and what's it's going

to cost me a lot. I'm sorry that

it cost the clients what it did

them but it cost them things

that are financial. It cost me

things that I'll never recover.

MANDY GAITHER WYFF NEWS 4.

WILSON SAYS HE DOESN'T REMEMBER

HIS FIRST VICTIM, BUT SAYS HE'S

HAUNTED BY SOME WHOM HE CAN'T

FORGET.

PREACHERS...FRIENDS...FAMILY

...THOSE WHO GAVE HIM

EVERYTHING...AND THEN LOST

EVERYTHING. WILSON TOLD US HE

SPENT THE MONEY HE STOLE ON

BUILDING A HOUSE AND A FARM...

HE ALSO WENT TO AUCTIONS AND

BOUGHT WHAT HE WANTED...AND TOLD

US HE RELISHED IN THE FACT THAT