Set in Los Angeles over the course of 24 hours, Criminal follows a day in the life of two small-time bunco artists who stumble upon a foolproof, and extremely lucrative, scam. The story begins in a casino when Rodrigo (Diego Luna) is caught pulling a "change-for-a-hundred" swindle on two different cocktail waitresses. The escapade is witnessed by Richard Gaddis (John C. Reilly) an older, more experienced con artist who intervenes. Posing as a policeman he escorts Rodrigo away.
Richard explains that he is temporarily in need of a partner and invites the younger man to help him pull a few jobs. Rodrigo is suspicious, but desperate to help his father who is in serious trouble over gambling debts. He agrees to try out a partnership.
The two men are taking a break from a series of "nickel and dime" schemes when Richard is summoned to the luxury hotel where his sister Valerie (Maggie Gyllenhaal) who hates him for swindling her and their younger brother Michael (Jonathan Tucker) out of their inheritance, works as the concierge.
Valerie explains that an older Spanish man named Ochoa had been making a scene in the lobby trying to see VIP guest William Hannigan (Peter Mullan). While being escorted out, he had collapsed, but not before calling out Richard's name and begging Valerie to call him. Incensed that Richard and his low-life friends might endanger her job, she tells her brother to make sure both he and Ochoa never set foot in the hotel again.
As Richard and Rodrigo enter the room where the old time con man is waiting for the paramedics, they have no idea that a once in a lifetime opportunity is about to fall into their laps.
Ochoa explains the sting. An expert forger, he has made a copy of an extremely rare, one-of-a-kind 1878 Monroe Silver Certificate. Due to U.S. tax concerns, Hannigan, an Irish multi-millionaire who collects antique currency, must leave the country the next day. If Richard can get to Hannigan, Ochoa knows he will not be able to resist adding the Certificate to his collection. Because lab tests would take a week, there is virtually no chance that he will discover the fraud. The payoff? At least $500,000.
As the deceptions and duplicity mount, Richard and Rodrigo must negotiate a succession of swindlers, thieves and grifters to pull off the biggest caper of their lives.
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Set in Los Angeles over the course of 24 hours, Criminal follows a day in the life of two small-time bunco artists who stumble upon a foolproof, and extremely lucrative, scam. The story begins in a casino when Rodrigo (Diego Luna) is caught pulling a "change-for-a-hundred" swindle on two different cocktail waitresses. The escapade is witnessed by Richard Gaddis (John C. Reilly) an older, more experienced con artist who intervenes. Posing as a policeman he escorts Rodrigo away.
