When Thelma and Louise was being made in the early 1990s, production was in and out of financial trouble. Behind this shortage of cash was an Italian businessman and epic scammer named Giancarlo Parretti, who managed to buy multiple movie studios on two continents through falsified loans from a corrupt bank. Still at large in Italy, Giancarlo seems to be a scammer with nine lives.

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Billy Mitchell became the king of arcade games when he achieved a perfect Pac Man score, and held the highest score in Donkey Kong. But in the early 2000s, a documentary about an upstart trying to be the best at Donkey Kong leads fans to examine how Billy actually achieved those high scores. Nearly two decades later, the jury is still out on whether Billy was ever truly the King of Kong.

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When Luigi Mangione allegedly gunned down UnitedHealthcare?s CEO, the media called it a senseless crime. But online, a different story emerged?one of rage, reckoning, and a suspected killer turned folk hero. More than just a true crime podcast, LUIGI, hosted by Jesse Weber, dares to look beyond the crime and the accused to explore a cultural tipping point in America, asking you to decide - is the status quo enough, or is it time for a cultural reckoning?

Listen to Law&Crime?s LUIGI exclusively on Wondery+ and follow the show page to keep up on all the latest developments. You can join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts. Visit www.wondery.com/links/luigi and start your free trial now!

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We?ll be back next week with all-new episodes but in the meantime we?re bringing back a very timely episode. In 2024, President Biden commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 people in one day? including one of our very own Scamfluencers. Rita Crundwell had horse girl dreams, and she used her job as comptroller of a small Illinois town to pull off a colossal fraud. She poured millions into showing quarter horses and lived extravagantly? until one nosy co-worker unraveled the entire scheme. Rita bankrupted an entire town in what became the biggest case of municipal embezzlement in U.S. history. 

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The Matharoo sisters have gone from globe-trotting tastemakers to detained prisoners. Stuck in an airport hotel without their passports or phones, they decide to take matters into their own hands ? and hatch a bold escape plan. Before long, their story goes from local gossip fodder to an international scandal. 

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While we work on some brand-new episodes, we?re returning to one of our very first episodes about two jet-setting sisters from Canada, Kiran and Jyoti Matharoo. In 2016, a mysterious apology video surfaces online. In it, the sisters claim they?re the masterminds behind a vicious gossip site that?s been stirring up scandal and controversy in Nigeria. The only problem? The video is a fabrication ? and the truth is even stranger.  

Want to hang out with us IRL? Reserve your spot today for Wondery's Exhibit C: A True Crime Cruise: exhibitccruise.com/scamfluencers 

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When Priscila Barbosa moves to Boston from Brazil in 2018, she sets out to pay off her debts and send money back home by driving for rideshare platforms like Uber and Lyft. Eventually, she decides her cut isn?t enough, and she rallies other undocumented immigrants to create one of the most lucrative illicit rideshare rings in Beantown. But this millennial #girlboss learns that suspicious groupchats and Instagrams flaunting her cozy new lifestyle will hurt her chances of staying one step ahead of Silicon Valley and the feds. Eventually, Priscilla?s free ride delivers her to a final destination: jail.

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During the early 2000s Brian Wansink made his mark as a ?food psychologist? with quirky studies backed by the USDA and Cornell. His research led to the 100-calorie snack pack, the side plate for dinner, and the idea that Elmo stickers led kids to eat healthier. But one tone-deaf blog post led a pack of scientists to dig into Brian?s data. What they found was a hunt for bite-size takeaways, a lack of ethical rigor? and a whole lotta junk science.

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In the early 80s, a German magazine thought it had the scoop of the century: access to Adolf Hitler?s secret diaries. But as soon as excerpts of the diaries were released, critics pounced. Soon, the magazine that published them, the expert who verified them, and the journalist-slash-Nazi-enthusiast who sourced them are found to be victims of an artful forger? and of the allure of a story so incredible, it really was too good to be true.

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In the early 2000s, Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista was seen as the ultimate mining mogul: he was a speedboat-racing showman and a playboy who liked to show off his wealth. To expand his empire, Eike spun a web of bribes and fraud with high-ranking government officials. So when he was finally brought down, it created one of the biggest corruption scandals Brazil has ever seen.

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In the midst of the Great Depression, out-of-work salesman Charles Darrow sold the board game he created, Monopoly, to Parker Brothers. The game was an overnight success, and Charles became a hopeful example of the American dream. But soon, fellow game obsessives questioned Charles?s inventor status. Decades later, another game creator?s tireless pursuit of the truth reveals Monopoly?s subversive origin story and the twisted journey it took before landing in Charles Darrow?s hands.

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In 1997 Beverly Dollarhide hears miraculous news: her missing son, Nicholas, has been found in Spain. But the person she thinks is her teenage son is actually a grown man, a well known French identity scammer named Frederic Bourdin. And, after Frederic is brought back to the United States to be with his pretend family, the mystery of the real Nicholas Barclay?s disappearance grows deeper.

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When Apollo Nida joined the cast of The Real Housewives of Atlanta in 2009, he?d recently been released from prison and was expecting a child with his superstar lawyer wife, Phaedra Parks. Apollo had every reason to stay on the straight-and-narrow, but he immediately went back to scamming. His identity theft ring, feuds with castmates, and eventually threatening behavior to Phaedra herself add up to a twisted tale that?s scandalous even by Housewife standards.

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Joe Francis created an empire of spring break smut with the ?Girls Gone Wild? video series. But the story behind the alcohol-fueled antics is darker than you think. Scaachi interviews Jamila Wignot, director of the docuseries ?Girls Gone Wild: The Untold Story? as they revisit Scaachi?s original reporting on Joe Francis, and the questionable filming practices, sloppy record-keeping, illegal tax write-offs, and assault allegations that brought Girls Gone Wild to its ignoble end.

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In the second part of this two-part epic, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker go their separate ways and carve out very different paths ? but they both still love being in the spotlight. Tammy becomes a fixture on daytime and reality TV, while Jim gets out of prison and goes right back to televangelizing. This time, he?s embracing a whole new scheme: shilling products for the apocalypse.

Next week, we?ll be back with all-new episodes. 

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This month a musical featuring a Scamfluencers alum closed its doors on Broadway. Tammy Faye featured music by Elton John and told the story of a televangelist who stole America?s heart with her humor, earnestness, and impressive eye makeup. You may no longer be able to see the musical, but we?re giving you the next best thing: a return to our own coverage of Tammy Faye and her husband, Jim. 

Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker get their start in Christian broadcasting in the early 1960s and quickly become television superstars. As their fame explodes, they build an empire complete with their own network, a theme park, and a super-sized luxury lifestyle for themselves. But when their spending ? and their scandals ? get out of control, they?ll face their own judgment day. 

This episode contains descriptions of sexual assault. If you or someone you know is a survivor looking for resources, call the U.S. National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-H-O-P-E.

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Dr. Oz has been making headlines again ? but not for a scam. Now that he?s been tapped to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, we?re revisiting how this former TV doctor survived scandal and shifted into politics. 

In the mid-90s, Dr. Mehmet Oz is a rock star surgeon with a reputation for performing on high-profile clients. He eventually scores his own television show, and soon he becomes daytime television royalty. Oprah even dubs him ?America?s doctor.? But his drive for stardom has him hawking questionable products, mostly related to weight loss. When his medical reputation is up in the air, he does what past-their-prime reality stars do best: he pivots to politics. 

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At the turn of the century, Manhattan social climber John Gluck stepped in to answer children' s letters to Santa. But as soon as donations started flooding into his newly formed Santa Claus Association, John went from Saint Nick to Grinch, skimming off the top and living large. He ran his Claus con for more than a decade before real-life Boy Scouts rallied to take him down.

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In this episode we examine America?s favorite pastime: gambling. With loosening regulations, the explosion of online betting sites, and the full support of major sports leagues, sportsbetting has become ripe for scam. In this episode we meet an accountant who worked the system and bilked an NFL team out of millions, an interpreter who conned one of baseball?s greatest players, and a basketball player who bet against himself. In all three cases, the stakes are high and hopes are dashed when luck runs out.

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Come join Sarah and Scaachi for a very Scamfluencers holiday special. We?ll give thanks to the scammers we?ll never forget, review our naughty and slightly-less-naughty list, and roast the ones who deserve it? along with chestnuts on the open fire. We?ve got updates on some of our most infamous scammers, and we name a few scammers-to-be who we hope get indictments in their stockings. We?re making like Grinches crashing a Whoville party and toasting to the most American thing of all: scamming!  

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Senator Bob Menendez and his wife have just been indicted for wheeling and dealing with the government of Egypt, along with many other crimes. In a bid to save his career, Bob throws his co-conspirators under the bus?including his wife, Nadine. But after decades avoiding consequences, Bob faces a mountain of evidence in court. He?s about to go from lion of the Senate to major liability.

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Bob Menendez rode an anti-corruption reputation to the highest levels of the New Jersey political machine. But as he ascends to the U.S. Senate, he realizes he can raise money the good old-fashioned way: through bribes. By the time he meets his one true love, Nadine Arslanian, Bob is no stranger to corruption, and as a senior member of the senate, he?s more than happy to use his influence to make his new girlfriend happy.

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Yolanda Saldívar?s whole life is Tejano music, especially the genre?s biggest rising star: Selena Quintanilla. Yolanda works her way into Selena?s inner circle, first as leader of her fan club and eventually more like a second mother. Then she abuses her power, terrorizing staff and stealing from Selena and her family. But when Selena catches onto her schemes, Yolanda senses that her time in the spotlight may be coming to an end, and she makes a desperate and deadly decision.

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Matthew Cox wanted to prove his haters?especially his dad?wrong, so he goes into real estate in Florida and quickly gets involved in ?light fraud.? That quickly expands to very real fraud and soon Matthew is on the run, stealing identities and opening illegal bank accounts all across the South. His grit and determination run so deep that, when he?s eventually caught and sent to prison, he executes the perfect scammer pivot: using his story to platform himself as a true crime host.

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Garth Drabinsky overcomes a sickly childhood to become a world-famous theater producer, bringing big shows like Phantom of the Opera and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to his native Canada. Then he tackles Broadway, always staging shows that were bigger, brighter, and more expensive than anyone else. Like every theater kid, he?s determined the show must go on ? even if that involves a little fraud. But when the most feared man in Hollywood becomes a business partner, Garth?s dreams come crashing down in dramatic fashion.

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Fueled by cocaine and daddy issues, Richard Bandler revolutionized self-help by developing an approach called Neuro-Linguistic Programming ? which is essentially mental manipulation. Richard got his start in the 1970s, and his books and controversial workshops gained thousands of followers and made him rich. But his addictions isolated him from his friends and family, and led him to get caught up in a gruesome crime. Richard may not have practiced what he taught, but NLP has inspired many, including some truly toxic and criminal movements.

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The ultimate cringey crypto couple has fessed up to their crimes and are now testifying against other con artists. We?re looking back on how Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather ?Razzlekahn? Morgan hacked a major cryptocurrency exchange in the summer of 2016 and ran off with billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin. The stolen crypto sat unspent for months, and the crime seemed all but impossible to trace? until two surprisingly savvy federal agents began investigating on the black market. As they followed the money, it led them to our wacky, and tacky, international cyber-criminals. 

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The Lottery Lawyer?s luck has run out: Jason Kurland is now behind bars. We revisit how he went from a Long Island real estate lawyer to eventually representing major lottery winners. He claimed to help new millionaires and billionaires manage their wealth. But once these unsuspecting winners gave Jason access to their bank accounts, their sudden good fortune started to look like a curse. And Jason and his buddies felt like they hit the jackpot.

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When Elon Musk bid to buy Twitter for $44 billion, he made headlines for the mess that followed ? including flip flopping on the deal and immediately firing most of the site?s employees. In this special episode of Scamfluencers, Scaachi Koul talks with New York Times reporters Kate Conger and Ryan Mac about their new book Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter. They explain how Musk leveraged his Silicon Valley clout to take over, and tank, everyone?s favorite hellsite and we?re left wondering: is Elon Musk the ultimate Scamfluencer?

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Jack Abramoff has schemed his way to the top of right-wing politics, skimming off the top of every lobbying deal he makes. But when burned clients expose his scam to Congress, Jack is forced to answer to elected officials who have actually stuck to their convictions. He still considers himself a hero, even as his circle of DC power players gets taken down. And even a stint behind bars can?t stop Jack?s impulsive need to lie, cheat, and steal, even as he tries to stage a comeback tour.

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Jack Abramoff got his start bending the rules while he was still in elementary school? and never stopped. At first, he works to advance right-wing causes he believes in. Jack?s principles start to fade once he finds his true calling: using pay-to-play politics to amass wealth and power for himself and his friends. Years before calls to drain the swamp, Jack Abramoff was The Swamp Thing.

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Ski-obsessed Bill Stenger has big dreams for his sleepy Vermont mountain town. He pairs with a wealthy businessman to tap into an obscure government program that funnels millions from foreign investors looking to fast-track their visa applications. Bill and Ariel turn their ski resort into a year-round tourist attraction and create thousands of jobs? but millions of dollars are unaccounted for. When troubled investors band together, they discover their money is hiding in a mountain of fraud. 

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Before she became the most infamous dance teacher in America, Abby Lee Miller ran a struggling dance studio in Pittsburgh. Shortly after declaring bankruptcy, she gets the break of a lifetime: she?s cast as the lead in Dance Moms. She becomes a reality TV star overnight, and even as she leads young dancers to stardom in front of millions of viewers ? fighting their moms every step of the way ? she schemes to keep her newfound wealth a secret from the courts. And when curtain finally falls on her fraud, Abby insists on an encore.

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Now that Lamor Whitehead has been sent to prison, we return to his Biblical fall from grace. In 2006, Lamor gets arrested while wearing a mink coat, prompting the New York post to dub him a ?high roller.? But after a stint in prison, Lamor reinvents himself as a man of God. He starts his own for-profit ministry called Leaders of Tomorrow and befriends some very influential people, including New York politician Eric Adams. But Lamor never lets go of his flashy lifestyle. After he gets robbed while wearing expensive jewelry, his community begins to wonder: How does the pastor of a tiny church afford all of this luxury? 

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It?s been more than a year since Hans Niemann?s cheating scandal rocked the chess world and we?re looking back to see if the bad boy of chess has been redeemed. From a young age, Hans knows he loves chess and wants to face off against his hero, Magnus Carlsen. Hans grows into a brash and intense player who makes questionable moves during online chess tournaments. When he finally gets the opportunity to compete against Magnus, their egos and ambitions collide, threatening to tarnish both of their legacies.

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We?re revisiting the story of prep-girl-gone-bad Danielle Miller now that her jet-setting scamming has landed her in prison. After being humiliated and exploited at her elite New York City prep school, Danielle sets out to reinvent herself. She ends up befriending a group of young socialites in Los Angeles, and before long, she?s flying on private jets, picking up pricey dinner tabs, and running her own P.R. firm. But when Danielle is arrested crossing into the U.S. border from Mexico, the source of her money comes into question ? and her life slowly begins to unravel.  

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Lance Armstrong?s determination to win helps him survive cancer and become cycling?s biggest star in the early 2000s. But his ruthless desire to be the best leads him to create a secret cheating scheme. It fuels him to a historic Tour de France winning streak?but requires an elaborate cover-up that includes bullying anyone who tries to expose him, even his teammates. After he?s exposed and falls from grace, his pride and stubbornness makes his apology tour feel more like backpedaling to save his reputation.

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In the late 90s, the UK Post Office rolls out a new computer accounting system they know is full of glitches. Then, it spends two decades covering up its mistake. When small, mom-and-pop shop owners report errors, the Post Office blames them and forces them to cover any losses? or face prosecution, or jail. But a relentless, rag-tag team of owners and journalists team up to fight the powers that be, and inspire a TV producer to expose the greatest government scam in UK history.

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Ruth Handler is a mom and small business owner when a sex doll gives her inspiration for a toy that will change everything: Barbie. She becomes the proto-Girl Boss who?s willing to lie, cheat and steal to make Mattel the biggest toy company in the world. And she?s having a good day every day, until shareholders and the SEC catch her making pretend with business documents.

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After a Texas oil bust forces him into bankruptcy, Allen Stanford looked abroad for a new opportunity: starting an off-shore bank in Antigua and using client money as his own personal piggybank. Soon, he?s spending billions on private planes, his own cricket grounds and estates all over the world. To keep his scheme going, he bullies his coworkers, makes blood oaths with regulators, and threatens to punch reporters in the mouth. But when the global financial crisis hits in 2008, Allen?s bravado is met with cold hard reality.

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Maryland Republican Spiro Agnew is a crook. He rose from Baltimore County Zoning Board Chair to Vice President of the United Sates in under a decade?accepting cash bribes the entire time. When a state investigation threatens to take him down, Spiro hides behind President Nixon?s explosive Watergate scandal to hide his crimes and disappear from public memory? almost.

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Charles and Diana Ingram are an average British couple with a love of pub quizzes who set out to appear on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? But when Charles wins the big prize, the producers point to a coughing fit to claim he cheated his way to the win. The public outcry, and criminal trial, ruined the Ingrams for good. And now, decades later, some wonder if maybe the Ingrams are the ones who got conned.

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Rick Singer is a college admissions consultant whose elaborate, secretive network of college coaches and admissions officers can rig the system to get rich kids into top tier schools of their parents? choosing? for a price. But when the feds start listening in, Rick will fail the ultimate test, and expose the dark side of the American education system.

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Steve Madden transforms from Long Island screw-up to fashion icon thanks to an eye for fashionable footwear and an addiction to work. But to get his shoe brand off the ground, Steve got entangled with one of the Wolf of Wall Street himself, Jordan Belfort. And Steve?s dealings with Jordan ? including wild parties and stock manipulation ? won?t stay secret forever. When Jordan?s scam spirals out of control, Steve?s left on his back foot.

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Now that evil dentist Larry Rudlph has finally been sentenced, we return to the story of the deadly safari that unraveled a lifetime of grift. Larry seems to have it all: A devoted wife and family, a growing business, and big-game hunting hobby that lets him travel the world. But his dental practice isn?t all it seems? and an affair with his hygienist spins into a murder scheme so cold-blooded, it?ll land them both behind bars. 

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In the second part of our two-part series on the Chrisleys, the family is riding high on their hit reality show and several spin offs, but the cracks are starting to show. Tax fraud allegations have the Feds circling, and some of the Chrisley kids are starting to spill the tea about what?s really happening behind the scenes. While gossip plays out on social media, the real drama plays out in federal court. The downfall of this all-American Christian dynasty is downright unholy.

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As Todd and Julie Chrisley continue to face legal troubles from jail, we revisit our episodes on the Chrisleys, which originally aired in December 2022. Todd and Julie paint the picture of a lavish Southern lifestyle on their over-the-top reality TV show Chrisley Knows Best. They show off their massive home in suburban Atlanta, their kids drive luxury cars, and Todd makes frequent trips to Beverly Hills for haircuts. But behind the scenes, everything isn?t all glitz and glamor. The real story involves an extramarital affair, blackmail, and fake financial records that threaten to completely upend their reality TV empire.

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In this episode we look into an alarming scam trend: people who lie about where they were on 9/11. It?s a lie that ties together a volunteer firefighter seeking attention, an immigrant trying to fit in, a comedian looking for his big break, and even someone seeking the White House. They?re exploiting national tragedy for sympathy and clout. But with a lie so easy to disprove, what can they really hope to gain?

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Stephen Glass is a rising star in the ?90s magazine journalism world, breaking provocative stories that his editors love. But some find the stories too fantastical to believe. When he finally gets a close edit, the scope and scale of his scam will be stranger than fiction.

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