Alan Todd May used a potent mix of Southern charm, audacious lies, and fake identities to steal millions and bankroll his fantasy life as a wealthy Texas oil man. When the authorities finally catch on, May doesn?t just surrender ? he stages his most outrageous con yet: a prison escape. On the run, he reinvents himself once again, and settles into Florida high society, where he flaunts his wealth, throws parties, and cozies up to the elite. But May?s hunger for attention will be his undoing, and send him from the society pages straight back into the crosshairs of the law.

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Business is war. Sometimes the prize is your wallet or your attention. Sometimes, it?s just the fun of beating the other guy. The outcome of these battles shapes what we buy and how we live. Business Wars gives you the unauthorized, real story of what drives these companies and their leaders, innovators, investors and executives to new heights -- or to ruin. In the newest season of Business Wars, dive into the high-stakes race to supply the world?s hottest weight-loss drug. Listen to Business Wars: The Race to Ozempic: https://wondery.fm/BW_IFD

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In the 1970s, Studio 54 stood as the ultimate temple of disco, decadence, and hedonism. Lifelong friends and business partners Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager curated a coveted guest list, deciding who slipped past the velvet rope into a celebrity-studded playground that attracted everyone from Cher to Truman Capote to Imelda Marcos. But while Steve and Ian were meticulous about crafting the perfect mix of the rich, famous and beautiful, they were far less disciplined with their finances. Skimming cash became routine ? and a series of missteps eventually brought their seemingly neverending party crashing down.

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At the CIA, Rick Ames had a reputation as a middling agent with a drinking problem and a knack for skating by. But despite poor performance reviews, Rick just kept failing up. As he landed bigger and better assignments, he saw an opportunity to turn his access to Soviet-era secrets into cold, hard cash. For nearly a decade he sold classified intelligence to the KGB in exchange for a life of luxury with his wife, Rosario ? who soon joined in on the betrayal. Together they pulled off one of the most devastating acts of espionage in U.S.history, harming CIA operations and costing countless lives before their luck finally ran out.

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Grinch is back and jollier than NEVER! Whoville?s sassiest late-night talk show host returns for season 3 with more sharp-tongued monologues about everything nipping at his nose this holiday season, his signature brand of merry mischief, and a fete of festive banter, determined to charm a sleigh-full of A-list guests into admitting that Christmas might just be ho-ho-horribly overrated.

This season, Grinch unveils his boldest scam yet: "Grinch-a-palooza," an over-the-top extravaganza timed to outshine Whoville?s beloved tree lighting ceremony. But when his trusted producer Cindy-Lou Who sides with the town?s holiday tradition instead of helping him plan the perfect palooza, the ultimate festive face-off begins. Grinch vs. Cindy?whose Christmas Eve bash will reign supreme? The battle for holiday supremacy is officially ON. Listen to ?Tis the Grinch Holiday Podcast: Wondery.fm/Grinch

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We?ll be back next week with a brand new episode. In the meantime, we?re taking you back to the 1980s ? a time of greed, glamour, and Wall Street excess ? and revisiting the story of the ?Junk Bond King,? Michael Milken. 

In the early 80s, Michael Milken pioneered a novel way to finance companies that traditional investors normally wouldn?t touch. His high-risk, high-reward investing strategy upended decades of Wall Street norms. And it made celebrities out of Michael and the corporate raiders he funded, like T. Boone Pickens, Rupert Murdoch, and Carl Icahn. Michael did make it possible for smaller companies to access capital. But he did it by breaking norms, ethical codes, and financial regulations in order to manipulate the system at every turn. Though, when stock brokers turn into snitches, even his billions can?t protect him.

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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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We?ll be back in two weeks with all-new Scamfluencers episodes. In the meantime, we?re revisiting a political scandal that?s been back in the headlines recently ? and we?ve added some updates since this story first aired.

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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When her Ponzi scheme starts to crumble ? and her husband dies under mysterious circumstances ? Natalie Cochran plays the perfect victim: a widowed mother of two, supposedly battling cancer while grieving her sudden loss. But behind her tears is a master manipulator. And soon, Natalie will face questions she can?t lie her way out of ? from federal investigators and the national media.

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Natalie Cochran seems to have it all: a stable career as a pharmacist, a loving husband, and two kids. But when she ditches her job to become a ?government contractor? ? and suddenly starts raking in cash ? her life starts looking a little too good to be true. Behind the scenes, Natalie is running an elaborate con: one with fake government contracts, fake cancer, and a real trail of victims. When her house of cards starts to fall, Natalie will make a devastating choice that will turn her dream life into a nightmare.

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Mark Hofmann, a lifelong Mormon, skyrockets to local fame by uncovering ?historical? documents that challenge core LDS Church narratives. He sells the documents to the church, claiming he?s protecting it from scandal?but the truth is much darker. The documents are forgeries, and Mark is a closet atheist and master con artist. And when his double life is about to be exposed, he takes drastic measures to protect his secrets.

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After declaring martial law in 1972, Ferdinand Marcos cemented his dictatorship over the Philippines ? jailing opponents, silencing dissent, and amassing untold wealth with his wife, Imelda. But as the country?s economy buckled, the Filipino people pushed back through protests, lawsuits, and international pressure. When Ferdinand?s health starts to decline, Imelda launches a campaign to secure her family?s grip on power ? and build a dynasty that will last for generations.

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Imelda Marcos - the former beauty queen turned First Lady of the Philippines ? was as famous for her 1,000 pairs of shoes and jawbreaker-sized diamonds as she was infamous for the fortune that she and her husband, President Ferdinand Marcos, stole from their country. While Imelda jet-setted around the globe on the public dime, ordinary Filipinos struggled under a collapsing economy. When Ferdinand?s popularity starts to plummet, he pulls his most ruthless move yet ? declaring martial law to keep himself in power.

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Wayne LaPierre spent decades at the helm of the National Rifle Association, transforming it into one of the most powerful lobbying groups in America. But behind his carefully crafted image as a gun-toting cowboy was a man who barely knew how to fire a weapon. LaPierre?s true loyalty was never to guns?or even to the NRA?but to himself. He raised millions from devoted members, then siphoned off the organization?s funds to bankroll his own life of luxury.

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Andrew Caspersen seemed to have it all: Ivy League credentials, athletic talent and a trust fund that fueled his reputation as a rising star in finance. But behind his polished image was a spiral of drinking, gambling, and reckless bets on the stock market. Soon, his risky trades won?t just drain his own fortune ? they?ll cost his friends and family millions.

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Brian Reader made his name as ?The Guv?nor? in the 1960s and 70s by pulling off daring, Ocean?s Eleven-style heists that turned him into a tabloid sensation. By the 2010s, his glory days were long gone ? but when the lure of one final big score proved irresistible, Reader and a crew of aging criminals plotted one last job over Easter weekend in 2015. But the heist that was meant to cement their legend instead turned into a tabloid spectacle ? and the downfall of a man who couldn?t leave his past behind.

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When Jan Lewan escapes to the United States from Poland in the 1970s, he uses his musical talent to become a larger than life polka star and pursue the American dream. Fueled by his charm and charisma, he performs for presidents, gets nominated for a Grammy, and attracts a devoted following. But like any good showbiz story, there?s a dark underbelly to Jan?s world: he uses his fanbase to fuel a Ponzi scheme. But when his wife?s pageant competition gets mired in a mysterious scandal, Jan?s shady dealings come to light, and his career unravels in bitterness and tragedy. Until, that is, a legit Hollywood star steps in to give him an unlikely third act.

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By the late 1980s, Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter is now known as New York City bond trader Christopher Crowe. But even the Wall Street lifestyle is not quite glamorous enough for him. So he decides to transform once again, this time into a billionaire heir: a Rockefeller. With his new last name, he meets the woman of his dreams and settles into the leisurely life he?s always wanted. But when his past catches up with him ? skeletons and all ? it?ll all go up in flames. 

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We?ll be back in one week with all-new Scamfluencers episodes. In the meantime, we?re returning to one of our favorites. 

In the late 1970s, Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter leaves his small Bavarian village in pursuit of the American dream. He enrolls in high school in Connecticut and tries to impress his classmates with fake accents, fancy suits, and grandiose stories. Over the years, he spins even bigger lies and creates fake names and new identities all over the country, winning over unsuspecting women along the way. By the time his victims figure out he?s been hiding a gruesome secret, it?ll be too late. 

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We?ll be back in two weeks with all-new Scamfluencers episodes. In the meantime, we?re returning to one of our favorites. 

It?s hard to know what to believe about George Santos? wild origin story. Since being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022, almost every facet of his life has been called into question ? from his name and religious background to his former marriage and previous employment. But when the Justice Department starts digging into his campaign fundraising reports, they discover an even bigger bombshell. Since our original episode aired, George Santos has been expelled from congress and he has pled guilty to wire fraud and identity theft and is currently serving an 87-month sentence in federal prison.

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As Erika Jayne?s pop star career blossoms, questions continue to mount about her husband Tom Girardi?s finances and his legal practice. His clients have been waiting in limbo to receive the settlement money owed to them, and they?re not the only ones getting angry with Tom. In the finale to this two-part series, Tom?s own legal woes overshadow his storied career. The revelations from multiple lawsuits and investigations will upend his reputation, his marriage, and even his freedom.

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We?ll be back in four weeks with all-new Scamfluencers episodes. In the meantime, we?re returning to one of our favorites.

Tom Girardi dreams of being a do-gooder lawyer like his childhood hero on the TV show ?Perry Mason.? When he starts his own legal firm in the 1960s, he does just that, representing clients against the huge corporations that wronged them. One of his biggest cases even gets the Hollywood treatment in the movie ?Erin Brockovich.? But behind the scenes, Tom isn?t the hero he makes himself out to be. And when his extravagant home life with wife Erika Jayne gets broadcast on ?The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,? his fraudulent schemes will finally come under the microscope.

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Frustrated by the racist, sexist stereotypes keeping her down, Doris Payne started swiping precious jewels out of spite as a teen. For the next seven decades, she executed heists across nine countries, with thefts totalling an estimated $2 million. She spent her life dodging the FBI, Interpol, and countless precincts all over the U.S. by being fabulous, charming, and absolutely relentless. Now in her 90s, she?s still regarded as America?s most prolific jewel thief.

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Guo Wengui was a billionaire real estate mogul in China, but when the government cracks down on his empire, he flees to the U.S. From a Manhattan apartment and a luxury superyacht, Guo publicly decries corruption in the CCP, which earns him devoted friends in the MAGA movement. But behind the scenes, Guo?s media company, crypto venture, fashion line, and fledgling rap career are all masking the fact that he?s ripping off his loyal followers for hundreds of millions. In the end, a disillusioned follower finds the bravery to hold Guo accountable and expose his global grift.

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Fugees founder Pras Michel is struggling to pivot to a new career when he meets Malaysian billionaire playboy and criminal mastermind Jho Low. He?s handsomely rewarded for helping Jho make political connections, but over time Jho?s asks get bigger and the implications far more serious. Eventually, Pras finds himself at the center of a global geopolitical caper involving far-right figures, an international scam, and even hostage negotiations. When Pras admits to the law he?s in over his head, they turn him into the figurehead of a wide-ranging scandal.

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Lisette Lee is a party girl heiress who uses money, mean-girl bullying, and her early 2000s glam to control everyone around her. But when daddy?s cash isn?t enough to sustain her lifestyle, she manipulates her adoring posse into acting as her drug mules. But her scheme of trafficking weed via private jet raises suspicions, and drug-sniffing dogs are impervious to her charm.

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Phil Kitzer was a globe-trotting scammer who spent more than a decade creating fake banks and insurance companies, ripping off customers to pay for his lavish lifestyle. By the late 70s, Phil?s scam is so prolific that the FBI authorizes the first-ever white collar undercover sting operation. Two young agents join Phil?s entourage and quickly get in way over their heads. With no undercover training, these two newbies scramble to keep up with one of the best con-men in the world without blowing their cover, and hopefully get enough evidence to put Phil away for good.

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Singer-actor Earl Washington turns out to be a triple threat when he takes up carving wood blocks to make ends meet while hustling to make a life as an entertainer in Los Angeles. But just like any other artist, his wood carvings need a good origin story, so Earl creates a new identity, a made-up grandfather, and begins selling his blocks on eBay as historical relics rather than his own creations. What Earl doesn?t account for is the number of times people will try to take him down, including a collector named Doug, who does his research, calls the FBI, and gets justice for the trail of deceived collectors Earl has left in his wake.

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Polish immigrant Hershel Geguzin fled to the U.S. from the faltering Russian Empire at the turn of the 20th century. And like many scammers around this time, he adopts a fabulous new identity: as Prince Michael Romanoff, the last living member of the former Russian ruling family. Everyone knows the new prince is lying about his royal heritage, but he?s such a good hang, he floats from party to party across the U.S. and Europe for decades. In the end, Prince Michael sets up shop in Hollywood, hosting mega-stars from Humphrey Bogart to Frank Sinatra. Prince Michael?s story is the ultimate lesson in faking it until you make it.

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Rocky Aoki, the son of a vaudeville performer and a tango dancer, grows up in the wreckage of post-war Tokyo. With his natural flair for entertainment, he opens his first Benihana restaurant in Manhattan, making sure to entertain his customers via knife-wielding chefs. Rocky builds his business up throughout the 80s, stopping at nothing to make his restaurant empire bullet-proof, but he ends up almost bringing the ship down after having several affairs, a secret family, and a conviction for insider trading. To this day his kids and his widow, Keiko Aoki, are still battling it out over the Benihana trust and its flashy legacy.

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Multi-level marketing businesses like Mary Kay, HerbaLife, and Amway are so ubiquitous, it's almost hard to imagine where they started or how deep their influence goes. In this special episode of Scamfluencers, Sarah Hagi talks with Bridget Read about her new book, Little Bosses Everywhere: How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America. She spent years researching the origins of the ?pyramid scheme,? a twist on the classic Ponzi scam, and she talks about who is most vulnerable to these massive, billion-dollar frauds, and why they?ve become unavoidable today.

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We?ll be back next week with all-new episodes, but in the meantime, we thought it was the perfect time to revisit our grossest-ever Scamfluencer: Brian Johnson, aka The Liver King. Brian grows up a scrawny kid who decides to bulk up to avoid being bullied. As an adult, he and his family adopt a ?caveman? lifestyle, featuring an extreme diet of mostly raw meat. He becomes an influencer, selling supplements he promises will turn his followers into jacked he-men. But incriminating emails surface that completely undermine his carefully crafted persona. Netflix recently released Untold: The Liver King, a documentary that tracks Brian?s rise, and reveals even more scandals scams that turned this pipsqueak into the manosphere?s most notorious carnivore.

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Teal Swan?s self-help empire is on the rise, and so is the backlash to some of her most controversial techniques. Teal fights back against her critics, releasing long rebuttals and detailed explainers on YouTube. She even invites a film crew to document her life and hires a private investigator to prove she?s got nothing to hide. But when the findings come out, things will get even more complicated. 

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached at 1-800-273-8255. The U.S. National Alliance on Mental Illness is available at 1-800-950-6264. If you or someone you know is a victim of sexual assault, you can contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline in the US by calling 1-800-656-4673. That's 1-800-656-4673. 

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We?ll be back in two weeks with all-new Scamfluencers episodes. In the meantime, we?re returning to one of our favorites. 

After surviving a difficult childhood, Teal Swan starts a family and reinvents herself as a spiritual leader for the Internet age. She gains a huge following by talking openly about a wide-range of topics, including taboo mental health issues. In her videos, she?s warm, candid, and relatable. But her unconventional approach may have some dark consequences. 

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached at 1-800-273-8255. The U.S. National Alliance on Mental Illness is available at 1-800-950-6264. If you or someone you know is a victim of sexual assault, you can contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline in the US by calling 1-800-656-4673. That's 1-800-656-4673.

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Paul Bragg used showmanship and outrageous claims to grow his health food company into a wellness empire. But after he died in his 90s and passed the company to his daughter, Patricia, people started asking questions. And soon it?s revealed that Paul and Patricia?s empire was built on a foundation of lies? about their products, and about themselves.

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Michael Milken is known as the King of Junk Bonds. In the early 80s, he pioneered a novel way to finance companies that traditional investors normally wouldn?t touch. His high-risk, high-reward investing strategy upended decades of Wall Street norms. And it made celebrities out of Michael and the corporate raiders he funded, like T. Boone Pickens, Rupert Murdoch, and Carl Icahn. Michael did make it possible for smaller companies to access capital. But he did it by breaking norms, ethical codes, and financial regulations in order to manipulate the system at every turn. Though, when stock brokers turn into snitches, even his billions can?t protect him.

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Francois-Marie Banier is facing an uphill battle in French courts when he learns he?s being sued by Liliane Bettencourt?s only daughter, Francoise. When the French media learn of the accusations of financial abuse against the L?Oreal heiress, he becomes the butt of a joke, twisting the L?Oreal slogan, ?Because he?s worth it.? But thanks to a nosy butler and 20 hours of secret recordings, a new scandal overtakes Francois-Marie?s melodrama: Mediapart, a scrappy, new newspaper, gets a hold of the recordings and accusations fly, this time sweeping up Nicholas Sarkozy and a web of alleged illegal campaign donations, tax shelters, and new villains in the massive tangle that is the Bettencourt Affair. 

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Francois-Marie Banier overcame indifferent parents to reach the heights of the Parisian art scene. His novels, plays, and photography gained him famous friends like Salvadore Dali, Princess Caroline of Monaco, and Johnny Depp. But he?s also known as a striving social climber who seeks the affections of older French women to bankroll his artistic projects. When he?s hired to photograph L?Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, at one point the richest woman in the world, they hit it off instantly. As they grow closer, Liliane starts lavishing Francois-Marie with gifts: jewelry, real estate, and lucrative consulting contracts. But when she makes him the beneficiary of a life insurance policy, Liliane?s daughter takes notice. She thinks Francois-Marie is taking advantage of the aging, possibly demented heiress. Liliane?s daughter, and household staff, start monitoring Francois-Marie?s every move. Soon, this palace intrigue will go far beyond France?s wealthiest family, leading to lawsuits, secret recordings, and shocking revelations that will captivate all of France.

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Conrad Black turned ownership of a single Canadian newspaper into a global media empire, and he used his wealth and status to cozy up to conservative superstars like Magaret Thatcher and Henry Kissinger. For years, he and his business partner lived large, looted company coffers to buy gulf stream jets, fund pet charity projects, and of course, throw lavish parties with famous people. But when a savvy investor reveals his self-dealing, Conrad will face the fight of his life to preserve his status and stay in the black.

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After her latest biography flopped, Lee Israel was hard up for money to buy booze and cat food. So, she used her research skills to access celebrity letters in prominent archives, stealing them and adding juicy tidbits to hike up their value. The librarians are clueless, and the collectors she sells to are flipping her letters for big bucks. But Lee discovers that the feds are not as charmed by her con artist bon mots.

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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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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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