Former FBI undercover agent says his cover was nearly blown twice

"For more than two decades, Scott Payne lived in the shadows. As an undercover FBI agent, he infiltrated violent biker gangs and white-supremacist networks. These were criminals who trusted him, laughed with him, and would have killed him if they knew his true identity. Payne joined the FBI in 1998, having worked as a police officer in South Carolina for five years. Over the next 23 years, he built false identities so convincing that criminals treated him as one of their own. He earned invitations to secret gang meetings, shared beers with white supremacists, and watched as men planned murders in front of him."

"In 2005, Payne was deep inside the Outlaws Motorcycle Club in Brockton, Massachusetts. For months, he'd been posing as a tattooed Southerner named "Tex," slowly winning over members in bars and strip clubs. Then one night, a gang member led him into a basement during a private meeting with multiple bikers, where he was essentially accused of being a cop. "They brandished their weapons," Payne told Business Insider's Kevin Reilly. One of the men said to him: "It's my job to protect my brothers. I need you to take all your clothes off. I need you to write down your full name, your address, your kids' names, your wife's name." They used it to cross-check his information online. As he stripped, Payne handed over his clothes that had a hidden wire. If they found it, he'd be dead."

Scott Payne served as an undercover FBI agent for 23 years after five years as a South Carolina police officer. He specialized in infiltrating violent biker gangs and white-supremacist networks by creating convincing false identities and earning deep trust. His assignments included invitations to secret meetings, shared socializing with extremists, and witnessing violent plots. The work demanded patience, confidence, nerves of steel, and luck; his cover was nearly blown twice, leaving him fearing for his life. He now trains law enforcement on domestic terrorism and has written a book about his experiences.

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