I doubt he's still in industry, but my guess was it provided good, "easy" money while he was laying low for previous misdeeds. When I said "bonafide conman" - I meant he was using a fake identity and was quite literally on the run. The police got in touch with the org not too long afterwards asking after him - he was re-using an alias the police knew, and his employment/background-check likely popped him right back onto their radar. The police had wanted to set up a sting operation, but found no takers on staff - his alleged past crimes were linked to organized crime, so I can't say if the fears were overblown.