In the bustling Filipino-American community of Southern California in the 1980s, few names shone brighter than Emanuele “June” Rodica. He was the ultimate “rags-to-riches” hero, a celebrated car dealership CEO whose story was a powerful testament to the promise of the American Dream. Immigrants and investors alike flocked to him, seeing in his success a path to their own. They called him the “Golden Boy.”

But behind the charismatic smile and the empire of gleaming cars was a dark and sprawling criminal enterprise—a massive, multi-million dollar scam that would ultimately collapse, leaving a trail of shattered dreams and sending its mastermind on an incredible 24-year run from justice.

June Rodica’s story began with humble origins. He arrived in the United States from Laguna, Philippines, in 1977 with his wife, Hilda. Armed with an accounting degree but facing the harsh realities of immigrant life, he took a job as a busboy.

But Rodica was a man of immense ambition and charm. He soon talked his way into a job at a car dealership, and through a combination of relentless hard work and a natural gift for sales, he began a meteoric ascent. By 1984, the former busboy had become the vice president of a dealership.

A year later, he was the CEO of his own, the Grand Wilshire Group, which would grow to become one of the largest minority-owned enterprises in Southern California.

To the Filipino community, he was a hero. He spoke their language, understood their struggles, and, most importantly, he offered them a chance. He specialized in helping fellow immigrants, who were often rejected by traditional banks, secure car loans.

His dealership became a beacon of hope, and he cultivated an image of a benevolent leader, always ready to help a “kababayan.” He was so respected that the Governor of California appointed him to the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles.

But this empire of hope was built on a foundation of lies. The entire business was an elaborate and multi-faceted criminal operation.

According to the FBI, Rodica’s scheme was two-pronged. First, he was running a massive loan fraud and Ponzi scheme. He used his position to approve car loans for his customers by submitting fraudulent documents to at least five different banks.

When these customers inevitably defaulted, he would use the steady stream of new cash from his adoring Filipino-American investors to cover the old, bad loans, keeping the house of cards from collapsing.

The second part of his operation was an international car theft ring. When customers defaulted, instead of repossessing the cars for the banks as required, Rodica’s own private gang, the “Magic Diablos,” would seize the vehicles.

Rodica would then have his employees file fraudulent insurance claims, reporting the cars as stolen. After the insurance companies paid out, he would have the cars secretly shipped to the Philippines and sold for a second profit.

For years, the money poured in. It is estimated that he scammed his own community of investors out of nearly $25 million and defrauded banks of another $64 million. But by 1988, his web of deceit was beginning to unravel. With multiple agencies, including the FBI and the LAPD, closing in on his operation, June Rodica made his final move. He vanished.

Taking the investors’ money with him, he fled back to the Philippines, leaving behind a devastated community. Thousands of Filipino-Americans, many of whom had invested their entire life savings or mortgaged their homes to buy into his “American Dream,” were left with nothing.

For 24 years, June Rodica was a ghost, one of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives. He had seemingly gotten away with it. He reinvented himself in Australia, changing his name, starting new businesses, and continuing his scams on a smaller scale. Then, in November 2012, his life on the run came to a stunning and almost comically mundane end.

Now 68 years old and traveling under the alias Roberto C. Cantrell, Rodica and his new wife booked a flight from Australia to Canada.

The flight had a layover at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). As a non-citizen transiting through the U.S., he was required to be fingerprinted at the immigration counter.

In the 24 years since he had fled, technology had changed. The moment he placed his fingers on the scanner, the system flagged him. The ghost had reappeared. After nearly a quarter of a century, the FBI’s most-wanted Filipino fugitive was finally in custody.

After a series of legal delays, the once-charismatic “Golden Boy,” now a frail old man, pleaded guilty. In 2017, he was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison and ordered to pay $29.4 million in restitution to the victims he had so cruelly deceived.

His story remains a powerful and cautionary tale of a hero who became a predator, and a dream that, for thousands, turned into a devastating nightmare.