MFM Minisode 498

In honor of our newest podcast, Royal Swindle, this week’s hometowns are scam-themed. Stories include a 19-year-old fake doctor and an Arabian horse pyramid scheme. For our sources, please visit https://www.myfavoritemurder.com/episodes. Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3UFCn1g. Head to social media to share your favorite moments from this episode. Instagram: instagram.com/myfavoritemurder http://instagram.com/myfavoritemurder Facebook: facebook.com/myfavoritemurder http://facebook.com/myfavoritemurder TikTok: tiktok.com/@my_favorite_murder http://tiktok.com/@my_favorite_murder Send your hometown stories to [email protected] mailto:[email protected]. Join the Fan Cult to access ad-free episodes of My Favorite Murder. Members also receive merch store discounts, exclusive audio and video content and more! Visit www.fancult.supercast.com http://www.fancult.supercast.com/ to join. Shop for My Favorite Murder and other Exactly Right merchandise here: www.exactlyrightstore.com https://www.exactlyrightstore.com. Rate, review and follow My Favorite Murder on the iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you like to listen. See omnystudio.com/listener https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Speaker 00

  This is Exactly Right.

• 0:07Speaker 00

  Two Aussie lesbian lovers touch down in 1990s London and become the toast of British high society. One of them touts an exclusive investment opportunity and soon the money is rolling in. Rich businessmen and England's horse-loving elite fall under their seductive spell. They even meet Queen Elizabeth. But the millionaire duo are concealing a dark past and dastardly intentions. From USG Audio, Blanchard House and Exactly Right Media, this is Royal Swindle. New episodes drop every Thursday.

• 0:48Speaker 00

  Listen now on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 0:57Speaker 00

  911, what's your emergency?

• 1:00Speaker 00

  Please help us, they're everywhere. We think they're murder warrants.

• 1:04Speaker 01

  911 Nashville returns.

• 1:07Speaker 02

  It's a homicide detective down here.

• 1:08Speaker 03

  Three bodies on the ground.

• 1:10Speaker 01

  With emergencies of biblical proportions.

• 1:12Speaker 03

  I will send swarms upon you and upon your people.

• 1:15Speaker 02

  That's one of the plagues for Bible.

• 1:17Speaker 03

  And somebody's unleashing them on Nashville.

• 1:20Speaker 01

  Brian Phillippe joins 911 Nashville. All new Thursdays on ABC, next day on Hulu.

• 1:26Speaker 00

  Whether you're buying, renting, or selling, Zillow can help make your someday today to help find a home that fits where you are in life, or that apartment that's a little closer to where you want to be. Zillow has the right information, tools, and support to help turn your future home into a reality, because someday starts today. Visit zillow.com/today to get started.

• 2:08Speaker 00

  Hello and welcome.

• 2:09Georgia Hardstark?

  To my favorite murder.

• 2:13Speaker 00

  The minisode. And this week, we have a very special themed episode for you. We're celebrating Exactly Right's brand new limited series podcast, Royal Swindle. It premiered on Thursday, July 23rd.

• 2:25Georgia Hardstark?

  And Royal Swindle tells the story of two fabulously wealthy Australian women who charmed their way into British high societies in the 1990s. But behind all the glamour and country houses, these women are hiding a dark past, some very bad intentions, and a truly wild con.

• 2:42Speaker 00

  So in honor of our new show, Royal Swindle, we are going to be reading all scammer emails.

• 2:48Georgia Hardstark?

  I love this.

• 2:49Speaker 00

  This is my favorite theme.

• 2:50Georgia Hardstark?

  Let's just change the minisodes to all scammers, because I couldn't stop laughing.

• 2:56Speaker 00

  There are many podcasts that would have a problem with that.

• 2:57Georgia Hardstark?

  That's true.

• 2:58Speaker 00

  I think we really got into that space. Do you want to go first?

• 3:01Georgia Hardstark?

  Sure.

• 3:02Speaker 00

  Do it.

• 3:02Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay, here's a hotel scam story from the employee perspective. Hi, I'll admit, I'm not a day one listener, but I have been listening for a long time, to the point where my husband mentioned my love of that murder podcast in our wedding vows.

• 3:17Speaker 00

  Oh my God.

• 3:19Georgia Hardstark?

  And have been waiting for the day I'd have something to write in. I just listened to the recent episode about Anna Delvey and cackled at the part where you mentioned all of the hotel staff fighting to take care of her because she tipped so well, because me and my fellow employees did that once with a woman who turned out to be scamming the hotel.

• 3:36Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 3:37Georgia Hardstark?

  Well, not the hotel directly, but I'll explain. About 10 years ago, I was working at a restaurant that was attached to a hotel. One day, this lady started calling in for room service and tipped at least 20 bucks every time he brought her something, regardless of how much or how little you brought. We all noticed because we were money hungry little monsters, and people started fighting over who got to take care of her, like to the point people would stand by the room service phone, just waiting for her to call.

• 4:02Speaker 00

  Smart. I mean, and also, have you ever stayed at a hotel where it felt like someone was standing directly by the room service phone?

• 4:08Georgia Hardstark?

  Like, oh, I didn't think you.

• 4:10Speaker 00

  I wasn't ready to order my waffles.

• 4:11Georgia Hardstark?

  I don't know what I want. Day two or three of her stay, her daughter came with her kids to stay with her. They told us the daughter got rich recently when she, quote, "fell into a job selling private airplanes." I know, I know, it's ridiculous. I can't believe we fell for it, but anyways.

• 4:27Speaker 00

  But just really quick.

• 4:28Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 4:28Speaker 00

  Because there's a lot of people who fly on private airplanes, so they don't own the planes.

• 4:33Georgia Hardstark?

  But it seems like the daughter sold those planes to the rich people.

• 4:36Speaker 00

  Yes, I'm just saying, hard job because there's not that many who can actually be like, no, no, no, we don't just want to rent the plane for this one trip for an egregious amount of money.

• 4:45Georgia Hardstark?

  It's a very specialized field, probably.

• 4:47Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 4:48Georgia Hardstark?

  By day six or seven, one of the restaurant managers got suspicious and told the hotel manager they should run her credit card and make sure it was valid.

• 4:55Speaker 00

  Smart.

• 4:56Georgia Hardstark?

  I assume this is normal practice when someone hits a certain dollar point, but I don't know. They ran the card and it went through, but my manager had a bad feeling and said the hotel manager should call the credit card company to have them reach out to the person who held the account to make sure it was the lady putting charges on the card. So not shockingly, it was a gender neutral name, so we hadn't questioned it. Turns out, this lady had met a man at a bar across the street, and they decided they wanted to do a little horizontal tangoing and got a hotel room. The next morning, the guy left, but he never checked out of the hotel as a walk-in. There was no checkout date on file, so the room just kept charging the card. I have, I walk out all the time, I didn't know you had to check out.

• 5:40Speaker 00

  I mean, these days, you usually don't.

• 5:42Georgia Hardstark?

  Right, like they're going to kick you out at 11, no matter what.

• 5:45Speaker 00

  Yeah, that's right. And you can't charge anything after the time you're kicked out, you know?

• 5:49Georgia Hardstark?

  But you could.

• 5:50Speaker 00

  I guess you could, though.

• 5:51Georgia Hardstark?

  Well, I don't know, I have, maybe not.

• 5:53Speaker 00

  I thought we had solved this problem.

• 5:54Georgia Hardstark?

  I thought we were done with this, and that's why I'm reading this one. Apparently, this lady waited around for checkout, and when no one came knocking, she decided to stay. She is a scammer. She got a week-long, all expenses paid vacay on this guy's dime, and he didn't have a clue until the credit card company called him. She ended up racking around $4,000 between the room, food, and booze, and they wouldn't reverse the charges because they made it clear when he checked in that he would also need to check out.

• 6:21Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 6:22Georgia Hardstark?

  Anyways, turns out the lady had a warrant for her arrest for check fraud, so the cops asked the hotel manager to keep it quiet until they got there so they could arrest her. She invited her daughter and grandchildren, like her daughter who sold planes. She said, you've got to get over here, I have a free fucking room, let's have a vacation.

• 6:39Speaker 00

  Do you think the daughter really does sell planes, or do you think they were making up jobs to sound rich?

• 6:43Georgia Hardstark?

  I think they were like, trying to sound rich. And then she's like, I don't know, what do rich people do? Sell fucking private planes?

• 6:49Speaker 00

  You know how rich people fly on private planes? I sell those private planes.

• 6:52Georgia Hardstark?

  Someone's got to sell them. We watched from the parking lot as they took her away, and I got to say, a lot of us were feeling bad for her. The guy had to press charges and would need to take her to court to get his money back, but don't feel bad for him. He told the hotel he wanted to handle it privately, all caps.

• 7:09Speaker 00

  Because he was married.

• 7:10Georgia Hardstark?

  Because he didn't want to have to tell his wife.

• 7:13Speaker 00

  He should have to.

• 7:14Georgia Hardstark?

  I know. So the moral of the story is, don't cheat on your wife and always make sure you check out of your hotel room.

• 7:19Speaker 00

  Dang.

• 7:20Georgia Hardstark?

  My best friend and I were at your Chicago show in November and had an amazing time. We met a bunch of girls at the show who were freaking awesome, and we ended up going out to a couple of bars with them after, bonding over the love of all things true crime. Love you all so much, thank you for all the laughs and comfort you've brought, every one of us listeners, Laura.

• 7:37Speaker 00

  Thanks, Laura.

• 7:38Georgia Hardstark?

  Thank you, Laura.

• 7:39Speaker 00

  That was a great story.

• 7:40Georgia Hardstark?

  That is like, you just never know what someone else is fucking up to.

• 7:43Speaker 00

  Yes. Also, I think all those ways that we can like, close and lock the door behind us technologically is like, yes, why, why don't I take three minutes and check out of a hotel?

• 7:54Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally.

• 7:55Speaker 00

  We're very spoiled.

• 7:59Speaker 00

  Two Aussie lesbian lovers touch down in 1990s London and become the toast of British high society. One of them starts touting an exclusive investment opportunity, and soon the money is rolling in. Rich businessmen and England's horse-loving elite fall under their seductive spell. They even meet Queen Elizabeth.

• 8:26Speaker 00

  But the duo are concealing a dark past and dastardly intentions.

• 8:33Speaker 01

  Evil. They were bad, bad people.

• 8:37Speaker 00

  As bad as evil?

• 8:38Speaker 01

  Yes, definitely.

• 8:41Speaker 00

  Before long, a small town detective gets wind of the duo's exploits and vows to stop them. She was a thieving scumbag.

• 8:52Speaker 00

  Only problem is, these two are exceedingly hard to catch. Decades later, one of them is finally ready to tell all.

• 9:03Speaker 01

  I sold my soul to the devil.

• 9:07Speaker 00

  From USG Audio, Blanchard House, and Exactly Right Media, this is Royal Swindle. New episodes drop every Thursday. Listen now on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 9:25Speaker 00

  Okay, here's my first one. The subject line is 19-year-old fake doctor. And it's not our guy.

• 9:32Georgia Hardstark?

  A lot of these scammers are people like, this is what I did. It's not like other people scamming, it's so good.

• 9:38Speaker 00

  I love it all.

• 9:38Georgia Hardstark?

  They're like, they're confessing on themselves.

• 9:40Speaker 00

  Yes, and, and it's fun because it's like, listen, everybody, I think when you're young, you like, tell yourself, I'm bad if you do a bad thing. It's like, everyone's bad and everyone's good. Everybody gets into these situations, like, I'm not saying, please don't steal money from people.

• 9:56Georgia Hardstark?

  Karen's saying, please steal money from people.

• 9:58Speaker 00

  And lie. I mean, like, it's just the opposite, though. It's like, you, when you're young, you have your experiences with that, and then you feel the extreme self-revulsion after you do it, like, oh, I guess I'm, I guess I'm a bad person?

• 10:10Georgia Hardstark?

  That just means you're human, and that's, it's a good sign if you are like, a little bit guilty that you did something shitty.

• 10:15Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 10:15Georgia Hardstark?

  That's a good sign.

• 10:16Speaker 00

  But yeah, pay, pay people back and say sorry.

• 10:18Georgia Hardstark?

  Right.

• 10:19Speaker 00

  Somebody calls in, Karen stole $20 out of my purse. Okay.

• 10:23Georgia Hardstark?

  But she said sorry.

• 10:24Speaker 00

  But she said sorry 50 years later. Hi Karen of Georgia and all the amazing people at Exactly Right Heart Shape. Heart emoji, sorry.

• 10:32Georgia Hardstark?

  Heart-shaped emoji.

• 10:33Speaker 00

  It's shaped like a heart. I've been a day one listener since February of 2020. Oh, the dark days. When I discovered your show and immediately went back to listen from the very beginning. It took me About six months to catch up. And during the time you were with me dirt through COVID, buying my first house, getting divorced and selling that same house, meeting the love of my life and having our son, who somehow is already two years old.

• 10:56Georgia Hardstark?

  Aww.

• 10:57Speaker 00

  Wow.

• 10:57Georgia Hardstark?

  Congratulations.

• 10:58Speaker 00

  Quite an arc. Thank you for being there through so many of the biggest moments of my life, all the highs and lows in between. I'm from Denmark and English is not my first language. So please excuse any errors grammar. Well, there's the first one, errors grammar.

• 11:11Georgia Hardstark?

  Did you highlight? You should highlight and circle that and we'll send it back to her in red.

• 11:17Speaker 00

  Errors grammar. Okay, it says more specifically, they're from a town in the suburbs of Copenhagen called.

• 11:25Georgia Hardstark?

  You got it.

• 11:25Speaker 00

  Vitrovra.

• 11:27Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 11:27Speaker 00

  Vitrovra. But look at the way it's spelled. H V.

• 11:31Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, that sounds right. Oh, Vitrovra. Yeah.

• 11:33Speaker 00

  Okay. The story I'm about to tell you is a true hometown story for me. In the summer of 2019, a 19 year old man walked into Vitrovra Hospital just outside Copenhagen, where now I'm mispronouncing Copenhagen, wearing a white lab coat and claiming to be a medical student. For about a month, he moved between hospital departments, examined patients, wrote medical records, and even prescribed medication despite having no medical training at all. Doctors, nurses, patients, and families all believed he belonged there.

• 12:03Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 12:03Speaker 00

  Why? Tall, white blonde? One of his patients-

• 12:07Georgia Hardstark?

  That's all they have in Copenhagen.

• 12:08Speaker 00

  That's true.

• 12:09Georgia Hardstark?

  That's the only flavor.

• 12:11Speaker 00

  Then is it, what's the, where's the privilege? Where's the prejudice? One of his patients was a six month old baby girl. He examined her, prescribed medication, and sent her home. When she didn't improve, her parents returned to the hospital a few days later, where a real doctor diagnosed her with pneumonia and treated her successfully. Things got even weirder. One day, he walked up to an ambulance parked outside the hospital and told the EMTs, "We have to leave right now. There's been a hanging." As you can imagine, that's never how an ambulance is sent to an emergency.

• 12:44Speaker 00

  The doctor runs down with a note.

• 12:46Georgia Hardstark?

  Let's go.

• 12:47Speaker 00

  That always comes through the emergency dispatch center. When the EMTs didn't react to the guy's orders, he walked off. The EMTs went in and sounded the alarm. And the next time the guy showed up at the hospital, he was arrested for suspicion of fraud.

• 13:00Georgia Hardstark?

  Phew.

• 13:01Speaker 00

  He went on to be investigated, tried, and later convicted. During the trial, it was revealed how he was not a medical student. In fact, he had not made it into med school. That year, he just really badly wanted to be a doctor. It had been his lifelong dream.

• 13:16Georgia Hardstark?

  My lifelong dream, but not enough to try harder.

• 13:18Speaker 00

  Not enough to study, well enough to pass tests.

• 13:22Georgia Hardstark?

  Right.

• 13:22Speaker 00

  Or be a good doctor.

• 13:23Georgia Hardstark?

  Right.

• 13:24Speaker 00

  I just want to do it.

• 13:25Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 13:25Speaker 00

  And I don't care how good or bad I am at it.

• 13:28Georgia Hardstark?

  I feel like that way about podcasting.

• 13:30Speaker 00

  Yeah, just get it done.

• 13:31Georgia Hardstark?

  I just want to do it.

• 13:32Speaker 00

  And if people die, they die. He was convicted of impersonating a medical professional and practicing medicine without authorization. Because he received a relatively short sentence, Danish media have never published his identity due to a court ordered reporting restriction and Danish press ethics surrounding criminal cases with short sentences.

• 13:51Georgia Hardstark?

  They're so fair there.

• 13:52Speaker 00

  I mean, they're, they're doing it right.

• 13:53Georgia Hardstark?

  So boring.

• 13:54Speaker 00

  His sentence, his sentence, you ask, 30 days of suspended imprisonment and 40 hours of community service. He walked out of court a free man. What's that community service?

• 14:05Georgia Hardstark?

  Shopping.

• 14:05Speaker 00

  Stay away from the blood drive. And that's somehow not the craziest part of the story. We're not there yet. The following year, he was admitted to medical school.

• 14:14Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, no, really? Like, fair and square?

• 14:18Speaker 00

  Today, he isn't pretending anymore. He's actually studying medicine and could eventually graduate and work as a physician in Denmark. Well, guess what? And maybe this is, I'm saying this from the luxury of being in America, not in Denmark. He really wanted it.

• 14:32Georgia Hardstark?

  He's gonna be the better doc. He's either gonna be the best doctor ever or the worst one. And we won't know because they didn't give his name. I feel like in an impersonation case, we should have the name of the impersonator for future reference.

• 14:45Speaker 00

  I mean, at least could the hospital administrator have the name of the impersonator just so they know where they're standing?

• 14:51Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally.

• 14:51Speaker 00

  Is it the, did he go back to the same? Well, let me finish. I won't guess. I'll just read. Danish universities do not require applicants to submit a criminal record certificate. By the time he applies for employment as a doctor, the conviction may no longer appear on his criminal record, depending on the applicable disclosure rules and how much time has passed. That means the families he deceived, including the parents of that baby, could theoretically one day meet him again, this time with him wearing the white coat legally. That's crazy.

• 15:19Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 15:20Speaker 00

  The whole story has sparked years of debate here in Denmark, not only about his actions, but about hospital security, accountability, rehabilitation, and whether some professions should have stricter background checks than they currently do.

• 15:32Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, because also, like, if he had been an actual doctor and had been, like, lying about what he knew, he would have been disbarred. But instead, he's allowed to go on to be a doctor. Like, it just feels like he's a scammer. He should be.

• 15:44Speaker 00

  He, that, that would be so wrong of him to do as a doctor that he would not be able to be a lawyer.

• 15:49Georgia Hardstark?

  Right.

• 15:50Speaker 00

  Because he's disbarred.

• 15:53Speaker 00

  No, I know what you mean.

• 15:55Georgia Hardstark?

  Disbarred.

• 15:56Speaker 00

  From medicine.

• 15:58Georgia Hardstark?

  But whatever.

• 15:59Speaker 00

  No, you're completely right. And also, it's the ethical thing of, like, do you want a person that's working on you that's like, well, if I can cheat and scam my way through whatever we're doing, let's do it that way.

• 16:08Georgia Hardstark?

  It should be their choice.

• 16:10Speaker 00

  The-

• 16:11Georgia Hardstark?

  The person, the patients.

• 16:12Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 16:14Georgia Hardstark?

  The lawyer's choice.

• 16:15Speaker 00

  Lawyer doctor. Okay, so it says, it's one of these stories that sounds like Catch Me If You Can until you realize it happened in a pediatric ward. Thank you for an amazing show and for being some really cool older sisters, cousins, aunties, sharing important stories with me and all your listeners. What you do is important and significant to all of us.

• 16:35Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, my God.

• 16:35Speaker 00

  And that's someone in Denmark.

• 16:37Georgia Hardstark?

  Wow.

• 16:37Speaker 00

  They don't like anybody. SSDGM. Just kidding, I don't know what they do in Denmark. SSDGM, Yasmin or Yasmin? And P.S. If you ever come to Denmark, please let me know. I'd love to go to a show or be your tour guide.

• 16:50Georgia Hardstark?

  All right.

• 16:51Speaker 00

  Love it. And we go to that hospital first and we all wear different white coats and see who can get the furthest.

• 16:57Georgia Hardstark?

  Yes.

• 16:58Speaker 00

  Into the staff.

• 16:59Georgia Hardstark?

  It's you. Like, I don't even have to.

• 17:01Speaker 00

  Could I do it?

• 17:02Georgia Hardstark?

  I'll get far into the cafeteria and get a bunch of free food, but.

• 17:06Speaker 00

  You could be a lunch lady with all your, your past. Here's me as a doctor.

• 17:14Speaker 00

  Yes, I'll take the temperature.

• 17:17Georgia Hardstark?

  I'm having a new kind of hot flash. That's, my scalp is hot flashing only.

• 17:22Speaker 00

  Loving it.

• 17:23Georgia Hardstark?

  Can we get the air?

• 17:24Speaker 00

  Can we get two hats, please?

• 17:26Georgia Hardstark?

  Look what I have from my purse. Two hats. Can I get a beanie?

• 17:30Speaker 00

  Girl.

• 17:31Georgia Hardstark?

  A small one.

• 17:33Speaker 00

  Slay all day.

• 17:35Georgia Hardstark?

  Sweat all day.

• 17:36Speaker 00

  That's so cute and small.

• 17:37Georgia Hardstark?

  Isn't it?

• 17:38Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 17:38Georgia Hardstark?

  You want it?

• 17:38Speaker 00

  Yeah. I really like it.

• 17:40Georgia Hardstark?

  You can have it.

• 17:41Speaker 00

  This can just be the standing hot flash fan.

• 17:43Georgia Hardstark?

  Yes, absolutely.

• 17:44Speaker 00

  Just to let people know. And maybe we'll start bringing up, like, a graphic that's like, hot flash blinking on the bottom. And then you can call in, if we're having a hot flash, you can call the 800 number.

• 17:54Georgia Hardstark?

  And win.

• 17:55Speaker 00

  And win a bunch of Tiger Balm. And they can see what it feels like to be a lady.

• 18:01Georgia Hardstark?

  You fuck.

• 18:01Speaker 00

  You fucking asshole.

• 18:03Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, there's also rage. There's the rage.

• 18:05Speaker 00

  And brain fog.

• 18:10Speaker 00

  Two Aussie lesbian lovers touch down in 1990s London and become the toast of British high society. One of them starts touting an exclusive investment opportunity, and soon their money is rolling in. Rich businessmen and England's horse-loving elite fall under their seductive spell. They even meet Queen Elizabeth.

• 18:37Speaker 00

  But the duo are concealing a dark past and dastardly intentions.

• 18:44Speaker 01

  Evil. They were bad, bad people.

• 18:48Speaker 00

  As bad as evil?

• 18:49Speaker 01

  Yes, definitely.

• 18:51Speaker 00

  Before long, a small town detective gets wind of the duo's exploits and vows to stop them. She was a thieving scumbag.

• 19:03Speaker 00

  Only problem is, these two are exceedingly hard to catch. Decades later, one of them is finally ready to tell all.

• 19:16Speaker 00

  To the devil. From USG Audio, Blanchard House and Exactly Right Media. This is Royal Swindle. New episodes drop every Thursday. Listen now on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 19:35Speaker 00

  911, what's your emergency?

• 19:39Speaker 05

  Please help us. They're everywhere.

• 19:41Speaker 00

  We think they're murder warrants.

• 19:43Speaker 01

  911 Nashville returns.

• 19:46Speaker 02

  There's a homicide detective down here.

• 19:47Speaker 03

  Three bodies on the ground.

• 19:49Speaker 01

  With emergencies of biblical proportions.

• 19:51Speaker 03

  Hell since swarms upon you and upon your people.

• 19:54Speaker 02

  That's one of the plagues of the Bible.

• 19:56Speaker 03

  And somebody's unleashing them on Nashville.

• 19:58Speaker 01

  Brian Phillippe joins 911 Nashville. All new Thursdays on ABC, next day on Hulu.

• 20:05Speaker 00

  Whether you're buying, renting or selling, Zillow can help make your someday today. To help find a home that fits where you are in life. Or that apartment that's a little closer to where you want to be. Zillow has the right information, tools and support to help turn your future home into a reality. Because someday starts today. Visit zillow.com/today to get started.

• 20:32Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay, I am not stupid and neither are you. Red flag alert. So this is a real one. Like a warning one, which is so great. Georgia and Karen. Formal. I am writing to you with tears still in my eyes after being the victim of, falling victim to. I don't like that at all as it puts the power in the hands of the wrongdoers. So being the unwitting participant of a scam. I hope that by sharing, I can help other people pleasers from going through what I just went through for the last three hours. Oh God, we got, we had one in Italy.

• 21:06Speaker 00

  A scammer?

• 21:06Georgia Hardstark?

  We, Vince got a text saying, because we drove, we got a car and drove, that he had a ticket and he went to pay it.

• 21:14Georgia Hardstark?

  They don't do it like that. They don't text you about your ticket.

• 21:16Speaker 00

  No, they won't personally text you.

• 21:17Georgia Hardstark?

  I was surprised. Vince is not stupid.

• 21:19Speaker 00

  He just wanted to take care of business and yeah.

• 21:21Georgia Hardstark?

  He's, yeah, he's so, okay. I received a phone call this afternoon from a police officer who proceeded to spell his name and give me his badge number after I specifically asked regarding my failure to show up to jury selection several months ago. I was given two citation numbers and two separate fines. Being the aforementioned people pleaser, I was terrified of getting in trouble. So I immediately said, oh, I'm so sorry. I must have missed the notice. Now, to be clear, I actually did get a notice and I did not attend the selection.

• 21:51Georgia Hardstark?

  I know, I know. It's wrong. And I knew it was wrong, but insert excuses here. Alas, here we are. So you might understand that when the officer brought that up, I thought, fuck, I've been caught.

• 22:02Speaker 00

  Yep.

• 22:03Georgia Hardstark?

  He proceeded to provide instructions.

• 22:04Speaker 00

  It's why they do it that way.

• 22:06Georgia Hardstark?

  One out of every 10 person, I mean, more than that probably.

• 22:09Speaker 00

  I would say seven out of 10. People, that's all people do is try to get out of jury duty. No one's like us where they're just like, let me get down there. It'd be so fun. I mean.

• 22:18Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. He proceeded to provide instruction that I was not to get off the phone with him. Red flag number one. I wrote, a couple of these I read, don't hang up the phone or we're coming for you.

• 22:28Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 22:28Georgia Hardstark?

  They said.

• 22:29Speaker 00

  Yeah, the, the people that are from jury duty.

• 22:31Georgia Hardstark?

  Right.

• 22:32Speaker 00

  Don't hang up the phone. This is the most important way we're going to communicate with you.

• 22:35Georgia Hardstark?

  Right. We can't call you back.

• 22:36Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 22:37Georgia Hardstark?

  And, and that if I did, I would have a warrant issued for my arrest for civil disruption. That's fucking scary. Secondly, I must immediately pay $250 per citation in cash. And then it says my cheeks start to redden. Yes, flag number two. Then I must stay online while I drive to the sheriff's office, which I didn't get to because I was instructed to pull over and complete the transaction over the phone. Yes, a flag. To sign a document noting that I agreed to pay the fee. So you pay the fee and then they're like, but go to the sheriff's office. That seems legit, right?

• 23:12Speaker 00

  Exactly. They're, they're sending you to the place where they would never want you to be to talk about what's actually happening to you.

• 23:17Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally. Now you ask, why did I not run away? Why did I not hang up? And then it says in all caps, why did I pay them from the cash app? Then my Apple Pay in excess, in excess of $1,000 after they couldn't accept the funds. Because, and here's the no surprise kicker, I was scared.

• 23:37Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 23:38Georgia Hardstark?

  I am, with the above exception, a law abiding citizen. I don't think you could call yourself that.

• 23:44Speaker 00

  But that's how they get you. You're guilty. You know you did bad. You're not one of those people that doesn't care.

• 23:49Georgia Hardstark?

  Right. I have three kids and I teach them right and wrong, and I knew that I had done wrong. These scammers preyed upon that and held me hostage on the phone and I went with it. Too afraid to be arrested in front of my family, too afraid to have a record, too afraid to get in trouble.

• 24:04Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 24:05Georgia Hardstark?

  I was lucky and my bank did alert me to the fraud, which when I said out loud, the officer told me it was because it was the first time I'd used the app and I believed him, because it was. I ended up driving to the bank with the ill advised intent to transfer funds from them to law enforcement directly. However, when I walked in the doors of the bank, it dawned on me and my husband whom I, with whom I was texting, that this was no real deal. And I said, still on the phone with them, can I speak to the sheriff? She's still on the phone with them.

• 24:35Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 24:36Georgia Hardstark?

  Going to transfer funds because none of the other apps worked. They all worked.

• 24:40Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 24:40Georgia Hardstark?

  So it's thousands of dollars. Like Vince, when he put his credit card, none of them would work. The credit cards, they didn't accept that one.

• 24:47Speaker 00

  You just keep on entering information and passwords.

• 24:49Georgia Hardstark?

  Immediately cancel all his cards. I know. And when they put me on hold, I told a bank employee, I think I'm actively being scammed. And they hung up. I write this as someone who listens to you ladies on a weekly basis and has for years. I am a woman of a certain age, ew, and consider myself. That's them. Ew.

• 25:09Speaker 00

  Oh ew?

• 25:09Georgia Hardstark?

  Ew.

• 25:10Speaker 00

  Oh, I thought she said, I'm a woman of a certain age, ew.

• 25:13Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh.

• 25:15Georgia Hardstark?

  I mean, I guess we all are.

• 25:16Speaker 00

  Either way.

• 25:17Georgia Hardstark?

  And consider myself reasonably informed. We watch true crime docu-series featuring regular people, listen to podcasts, et cetera, with people who might have known better. And I'm here to tell you that these scammers are professionals. They know their demographic. They are smart. They have a narrative in place. And though I hope you never find yourself crying at the bank after believing that a law enforcement officer has contacted you and you might be arrested for non-compliance, you are actually all good. These people are relentless. I want to share the scam, which I'm sure happens all too often, but also remind those that may have participated with regret that you are not at fault. These people are skilled con artists. They know the game and put you in as an unwitting player.

• 26:00Georgia Hardstark?

  I would advise myself and anyone else to tell such a caller, thank you for letting me know. I will be in touch. It is always okay to trust and verify. I hope that you read this and others learn that shit happens to good people. Fuck politeness and always get a callback number. S.

• 26:15Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 26:16Georgia Hardstark?

  But even the callback number, right?

• 26:18Speaker 00

  Even the callback number, but here's the thing that just popped into my head is you can also do the thing, anytime anyone's rushing you, you know, that's an element of it. Rushing is a big thing. But you can just do a thing where you talk as if you're normally talking and hang up on yourself mid-sentence and it looks like you got cut off. Then you see what they do because they can't blame you for getting cut off. You didn't, you know, whatever. And then it's like, and then are they calling you back crazy? Is it like, whatever? Also, I think, and I could completely be wrong. So maybe there are people who like work at county offices who know. I think, isn't it when you have to pay stuff like that? It's, it's like check only?

• 26:54Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, there's no way it'll ever be cash or like.

• 26:57Speaker 00

  Never, cash only?

• 26:58Georgia Hardstark?

  Cash only or even an app. I can't like.

• 27:01Speaker 00

  What if they were like cash only or any weed you have? Or just like, this seems fake, but okay.

• 27:07Georgia Hardstark?

  Or McDonald's coupons is fine too.

• 27:09Speaker 00

  The Christmas book.

• 27:10Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, yeah.

• 27:11Speaker 00

  Legend. Okay, that was amazing and great, great like takeaway for everybody.

• 27:18Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 27:19Speaker 00

  Okay. The subject line of this email is my grandma helped expose a pyramid scheme in the eighties.

• 27:24Georgia Hardstark?

  Wow.

• 27:25Speaker 00

  All the things I love. Greetings, MFM gang. My girlfriend has been bugging me to write this email since we went out to dinner with my grandmother several months ago. But now we finally have a free moment to write it. So here you go. My dad's mom Sylvia is a very southern lady. During the eighties, she was about a single mother of five, living in Charlotte, North Carolina. A single mother of five. A living saint. At the time, she was working as the sales manager for the local Sheraton hotel and she was really good at her job. I mean, she was like the top producing sales manager in the whole country. So when the people at the top saw this, they offered her a new position as the national sales manager without a raise. And then in parentheses, it says, fuck you corporate sexism.

• 28:08Georgia Hardstark?

  Offering you a new position.

• 28:10Speaker 00

  A higher position.

• 28:11Georgia Hardstark?

  And you can't say no.

• 28:12Speaker 00

  No raise. Right. Cause they're like, you can take the position.

• 28:15Georgia Hardstark?

  Right.

• 28:15Speaker 00

  At your. What a time in the eighties. Later that month, she was at a social event and was approached by a man named Thomas McCollgan, who offered her a job at his company that paid way more than she was already making. The company was called IBC Arabian Investments and it was a company that allowed people to purchase Arabian horses in foal. So like when the horse was pregnant as stock. Supposedly after the baby horses were born and several years old, they could be sold again as a return on the initial investment. The selling point to this idea was that people invested in small groups, about 10 people. So a share was only one tenth of the price. So it's like a.

• 28:55Georgia Hardstark?

  What are they called? Time.

• 28:57Speaker 00

  Time shares.

• 28:58Georgia Hardstark?

  Time shares, yes.

• 28:59Speaker 00

  About a horse time share.

• 29:03Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay, sounds legit.

• 29:05Speaker 00

  I want the hair on his, I want his name. This scheme was largely. Targeting middle-class people who would not normally invest in something like Arabian horses.

• 29:13Georgia Hardstark?

  So among us.

• 29:15Speaker 00

  I mean, so my grandmother agreed to work for him and over the course of a year, traveled all around the Western United States. She stayed in condos in Las Vegas, went to exotic horse auctions in Flagstaff, Arizona, and even once flew with my dad and aunt to California on company money. Thomas McCollgan had been paying Pricewaterhouse to do the corporate taxes for IBC Arabian. When he presented the business plan to the potential investors, he had to show them the financials of his business so the investors could see that they were, what they were getting into. Once while she was in Las Vegas, shooting a commercial for IBC with Wayne Newton, and then just a bunch of question marks and exclamation points. My grandma received a call from her coworker back in Charlotte. Her coworker

• 29:57Speaker 00

  had said that Thomas asked her to go all around Charlotte and look for a typeface font that matched that of Pricewaterhouse. Thomas McCollgan was forging financial documents to show to his investors to get money. It was later found out that he actually used money from investors to buy more horses, very illegal, because that money is not supposed to be touched for years. Yes, that's the classic Ponzi scheme. When my grandma found out about all of this, she immediately left the video shoot with Wayne Newton.

• 30:25Georgia Hardstark?

  Peace, Wayne. This is bullshit. You know it.

• 30:28Speaker 00

  Even you, Wayne Newton, can't keep me here.

• 30:30Georgia Hardstark?

  Shame on you, Wayne.

• 30:32Speaker 00

  This is.

• 30:32Georgia Hardstark?

  God, how much were they paying Wayne Newton?

• 30:34Speaker 00

  I mean, just to come on and be like, that guy was amazing.

• 30:37Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 30:37Speaker 00

  Anytime he showed up.

• 30:38Georgia Hardstark?

  I want to see that commercial, although I guess it didn't get filmed.

• 30:40Speaker 00

  Do you like Arabian horses? Or maybe I'm thinking of, who's the guy from the morning show? I'm thinking of Regis Philbin. I'm so sorry. Okay. So she flew back to North Carolina on her own money, so Thomas did not see that she bought a plane ticket back. Very smart. She called Pricewaterhouse and set up a discreet meeting in a hotel lobby in Charlotte. When she told the person she met with about what she heard, they said that Thomas was about to get in big trouble. My grandma did not testify in court because she was only involved in the sales part of the business. Thomas McCollgan was found guilty of securities fraud, and my grandma has not heard from him since. She described him as an egomaniac and a stupid, greedy man. My grandma went on to work for the state

• 31:21Speaker 00

  of North Carolina, fighting for women's rights, and even helping write new legislation on sexual assault laws.

• 31:27Georgia Hardstark?

  Wow.

• 31:28Speaker 00

  Needless to say, my grandmother is a badass, powerful, caring woman, and I love her and all of her stories so much. I mean, incredible.

• 31:35Georgia Hardstark?

  That's amazing.

• 31:36Speaker 00

  Stay sexy and don't invest in horses, because it's probably a pyramid scheme, Burt.

• 31:40Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay, but what happened to the Arabian ponies?

• 31:43Speaker 00

  They're just trotting around looking for investors. So sad.

• 31:47Georgia Hardstark?

  So sad. Wayne Newton's just like, what are we doing?

• 31:50Speaker 00

  One little foal has a PowerPoint presentation. Come on, believe in us. Invest.

• 31:59Speaker 00

  Two Aussie lesbian lovers touch down in 1990s London and become the toast of British high society. One of them starts touting an exclusive investment opportunity, and soon their money is rolling in. Rich businessmen and England's horse-loving elite fall under their seductive spell. They even meet Queen Elizabeth. But the duo are concealing a dark past and dastardly intentions.

• 32:33Speaker 01

  Evil. They were bad, bad people.

• 32:37Speaker 00

  As bad as evil?

• 32:38Speaker 01

  Yes, definitely.

• 32:40Speaker 00

  Before long, a small-town detective gets wind of the duo's exploits and vows to stop them. She was a thieving scumbag.

• 32:52Speaker 00

  Only problem is, these two are exceedingly hard to catch. Decades later, one of them is finally ready to tell all. I sold my soul to the devil. From USG Audio, Blanchard House and Exactly Right Media, this is Royal Swindle. New episodes drop every Thursday. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 33:24Speaker 05

  911, what's your emergency? Please help us. They're everywhere.

• 33:30Speaker 01

  We think they're murder warrants. 911 Nashville returns.

• 33:35Speaker 02

  What's the homicide detective doing here?

• 33:36Speaker 03

  Three bodies on the ground.

• 33:38Speaker 01

  With emergencies of biblical proportions.

• 33:40Speaker 03

  All since swarms upon you and upon your people. That's one of the plagues from the Bible. And somebody's unleashing them on Nashville.

• 33:47Speaker 01

  Ryan Phillippe joins 911 Nashville. All new Thursdays on ABC, next day on Hulu.

• 33:54Speaker 00

  Whether you're buying, renting, or selling, Zillow can help make your someday today to help find a home that fits where you are in life, or that apartment that's a little closer to where you want to be. Zillow has the right information, tools, and support to help turn your future home into a reality. Because someday starts today. Visit zillow.com/today to get started.

• 34:20Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay, here's my last one. I was a pre-teen con artist. Hey, ladies, this story has everything. A trash mom, a mystery, an inappropriate joke. So let's get started.

• 34:34Speaker 00

  Hell, yes.

• 34:35Georgia Hardstark?

  The year is 1996, and my mother decided the perfect family vacation for my brother, 10, and me, 12, would be a trip to Vegas. I've been there as a child. But why, you might ask? Well, her live-in boyfriend at the time loved to gamble.

• 34:51Speaker 00

  Wayne Newton?

• 34:53Georgia Hardstark?

  The movie Casino had just come out, and he was obsessed, to the point that he had bought a rollout craps table to play at home.

• 35:00Speaker 00

  Oh.

• 35:00Georgia Hardstark?

  Red flag, everybody.

• 35:02Speaker 00

  He likes, he likes Robert De Niro.

• 35:05Georgia Hardstark?

  He's teaching these children how to gamble.

• 35:07Speaker 00

  Casino is an amazing movie, though, because Don Rickles plays a pretty big part.

• 35:11Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 35:11Speaker 00

  And it's so good.

• 35:12Georgia Hardstark?

  It's so good.

• 35:13Speaker 00

  Great outtakes.

• 35:14Georgia Hardstark?

  So, yeah, my mom booked her boyfriend's dream vacation and dragged my brother and I along. Oh, single mom's boyfriends. You just don't really get over it.

• 35:22Speaker 00

  Yeah, because your mom's forced into a bit of a pick-me situation.

• 35:27Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 35:27Speaker 00

  That like, you just subconsciously understand, but don't factually understand.

• 35:31Georgia Hardstark?

  I remember every single one. Um, update, this relationship did not stand the test of time.

• 35:37Speaker 00

  No. What?

• 35:39Georgia Hardstark?

  I still see the trip through my jerk 12-year-old eyes. I get it so much more now that I have a 12-year-old daughter of my own, but I have to admit, we had a good time. My mom did a great job of finding a kid-friendly fun Vegas had to offer. Plus, we ate at buffets and got to swim a ton, a kid's dream.

• 35:54Speaker 00

  That's all that matters.

• 35:55Georgia Hardstark?

  It really was a fun place to be when you were a kid. It's like, this is sketchy as fuck, and I love it. And you just meet all these fucking, like, free-range kids.

• 36:04Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 36:04Georgia Hardstark?

  Whose parents are, like, also.

• 36:05Speaker 00

  Las Vegas parents.

• 36:06Georgia Hardstark?

  That's right.

• 36:07Speaker 00

  I mean, what a mix.

• 36:08Georgia Hardstark?

  It was pretty great. Um, one of my favorite memories is when my mother let my brother and I walk the strip alone at night while they gambled. The 90s, man.

• 36:18Speaker 00

  Jesus.

• 36:18Georgia Hardstark?

  Well, they were, they had each other. I think I've heard that before.

• 36:23Speaker 00

  They're getting.

• 36:23Georgia Hardstark?

  Stick with each other.

• 36:24Speaker 00

  They're getting those sex pamphlets from the guys that are handing them out.

• 36:27Georgia Hardstark?

  Definitely got those.

• 36:28Speaker 00

  No, thank you.

• 36:29Georgia Hardstark?

  So my mother had scheduled for my brother and I to fly back a few days early so she could have alone time with her boyfriend. Ew. I mean, letting us wander the city streets while she gambled in the casino had to have been stressful.

• 36:41Speaker 00

  One would hope.

• 36:42Georgia Hardstark?

  Anyway, so my brother and I flew on our own, with the plan being that my dad would pick us up at the airport back home. The flight was pretty uneventful until we landed. While we were sitting and waiting to get off the plane, I checked to make sure that the $23 I had left from my trip spending money was still in my purse, only to find it was, dun, dun, dun, missing.

• 37:02Speaker 00

  Stolen.

• 37:03Georgia Hardstark?

  That amount of money might not seem like a big deal, but that's $44.32 in today's moolah.

• 37:10Speaker 00

  Well done. Well done.

• 37:11Georgia Hardstark?

  And I was 12. It might as well have been $44,000. So I proceeded to lose my shit, sobbing, snorting, hyperventilating. But the worst part, I refused to get off the plane until the money was found. The stewardesses were literally begging me to deplane, and I just simply would not.

• 37:30Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 37:31Georgia Hardstark?

  That was until the pilot came out to see what was going on. Once he heard the story, he pulled out a crisp $20 bill and put it in my psychotic little tween hand. I magically calmed after that and made my way off the plane.

• 37:43Speaker 00

  Pilot's like, I'll give you 20 bucks to get the hell out.

• 37:47Georgia Hardstark?

  We're, we're trying to fucking go home to our families.

• 37:49Speaker 00

  We have 52 more flights today.

• 37:53Georgia Hardstark?

  From there, we were escorted by the airport employee over to my dad, waiting for us outside the terminal. The employee looked at me and asked, is this your dad? Well, apparently, I was riding high on the mayhem I had just caused on the plane, because I looked at her and dryly joked, I've never seen this man before in my life. She's got a cigarette. She's picked it up in Vegas.

• 38:15Speaker 00

  And then she's got her, the 20 tucked behind her ear on the other side.

• 38:18Georgia Hardstark?

  She looked shocked. My dad looked pissed, and I just stood there laughing hysterically. I've never seen this man a day in my life.

• 38:25Speaker 00

  Also, punish the dad for letting him let the mother take you to Vegas.

• 38:28Georgia Hardstark?

  To all of it. Eventually, the whole thing was sorted out, and we headed off home with my still-fuming dad. You might wonder what happened to that $23 that somehow went missing. Well, on the drive back from the airport, I thought to unzip the little inside pocket of my esprit purse, only to find my not-so-missing money safely hidden inside. That's right, I conned that pilot out of a fresh $20 and almost doubled my money. Jackpot. Question mark, question mark, question mark.

• 38:58Speaker 00

  They really absorbed something in Las Vegas. They knew how to do it.

• 39:02Georgia Hardstark?

  Well, keep doing what you're doing in every way. As a thoroughly medicated and therapized person, I appreciate all of the light you shine on mental health. Without help, I might still be throwing bits on planes. We can't have that.

• 39:16Georgia Hardstark?

  Maybe I'll write in some stories about my mom next. She may have been a 90s trash mom, but she was also a criminal attorney for 40 years.

• 39:24Speaker 00

  Cut this out.

• 39:25Georgia Hardstark?

  Is that how she met this gambling boyfriend?

• 39:26Speaker 00

  Yeah, really. I could have sworn the boyfriend stole the money out of the little kid's purse.

• 39:30Georgia Hardstark?

  Right.

• 39:31Speaker 00

  I was like, that's kind of the dirtbaggiest way to end it.

• 39:33Georgia Hardstark?

  Right.

• 39:34Speaker 00

  That's kind of fun.

• 39:35Georgia Hardstark?

  Gale has seen some shit. Love to you all. Stay sexy. And what happens on a plane from Vegas doesn't count. Kate with a C.

• 39:43Speaker 00

  Incredible, Kate. God damn. Someone will give me $20.

• 39:48Georgia Hardstark?

  That's such a big sister move, too.

• 39:50Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 39:50Georgia Hardstark?

  Although I could see a little sister doing that, too.

• 39:52Speaker 00

  I mean, it's just gutsy and then she got her money.

• 39:56Georgia Hardstark?

  She did.

• 39:56Speaker 00

  Okay, here's my last one. Kind of similar. The subject line of this email is "The Devil's Child." And it says, "Hey badass bitches and Steven. When I was five years old, a Jiffy Mart opened in our tiny town not far from our house, and it created quite the impression on me. If you're not familiar with them, a Jiffy Mart is just a convenience store, so not really that exciting, but to a five-year-old candy-obsessed me, it was everything. We only went one time to check it out, and my mom let me purchase a package of sixlets, little round candy-coated balls with chocolate. Have you ever had a sixlet?"

• 40:28Georgia Hardstark?

  I can't think I have. I can't picture them.

• 40:30Speaker 00

  It was like the Hydrox to M&M's Oreo.

• 40:33Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, got it.

• 40:34Speaker 00

  So they were round, but they were basically M&M's. And also, the package was like a little tube. This is interesting.

• 40:41Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay.

• 40:42Speaker 00

  Inferior to M&M's for sure, but again, I was five. Yeah, that's right. Well, after I had that bag of chocolatey dipped red dye number five treasures, they were all I could think about. How on earth would I ever get the money to get more? And then I had it, the brilliant foolproof plan to go door to door in my neighborhood, telling people my little brother was sick and we needed money for his medicine.

• 41:03Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh my God. It's like a Facebook scam before there's Facebook.

• 41:08Speaker 00

  Yep. There's a living five-year-old GoFundMe scam.

• 41:11Georgia Hardstark?

  Like, what's wrong with that plan? Nothing in the child's mind.

• 41:15Speaker 00

  I'm gonna take this to the neighborhood and see if they want me to have sixlets, because I think they do, and/or my brother to get better. Okay. And then it says, "Yep, I was a five-year-old grifter. Shockingly, no one was taking the bait. They'd simply look at me strangely and say, 'Go home.'" Then I came to her house, the weirdo church lady at the end of the block. I didn't know much about her, but I knew church people loved to do things for others, so I forged ahead.

• 41:41Speaker 00

  After my little spiel, she felt so terrible for me that she cleaned out her change purse, and I traipsed home, hands brimming with coins. This feels so good. "I wasn't stupid enough to let my mom know what I had done, so I did what any five-year-old would do. I hid behind the chair in the living room to count the money. Almost immediately, my mom was on to me. I guess watching me sneak behind a piece of furniture and the sound of clinking coins was a dead giveaway. 'Where did you get that?' she asked me." "I've had it," I said unconviningly. Within minutes, she had the whole story out of me, and because we were also church people, I was told I had to return the money, apologize, and tell the woman what I had done.

• 42:19Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, you do.

• 42:20Speaker 00

  "So my mom drove me to the end of the block and made me get out by myself," all caps. "I trembled my way to the door, and when she answered, I blubbered and cried and apologized and admitted my lie. Church lady's eyes flared with anger, and instead of the pat on my head I expected, I was met with this: 'You little liar. You're the devil's child, and you're going to hell for what you've done.'"

• 42:44Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh my God.

• 42:48Speaker 00

  That's like every nun in my grammar school. "And then she slammed the door in my tiny face. Sobbing, I turned to my mother, who was still in the car, and showed her the money and shrugged like, what do I do now?"

• 42:59Georgia Hardstark?

  She didn't take the money?

• 43:01Speaker 00

  No.

• 43:01Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay, it's yours now.

• 43:02Speaker 00

  Too busy screaming at her. She yelled at me to leave it on the porch, and when I got back in the car, I told her what the woman said. In shock herself, my mom took me home and got on the phone with my grandmother to tell her about the escapade, while they laughed and laughed. Confused and traumatized, I tried to find the humor in it, too. Stay sexy and don't scam your neighbors. A. G. Her."

• 43:24Georgia Hardstark?

  I was hoping she'd somehow get the six... what are they called?

• 43:28Speaker 00

  Sicklet?

• 43:28Georgia Hardstark?

  Sicklets. Like, get sicklets out of it. Like, her mom would feel bad that she got screamed at by a psychotic woman.

• 43:34Speaker 00

  If it was 2026, they'd get on TikTok and then sixlets would be like, "Don't worry, we got you covered."

• 43:40Georgia Hardstark?

  There'd be a Ring doorbell camera, the whole fucking thing.

• 43:43Speaker 00

  But instead, this one's like, "Maybe I am a devil child," and carries that into adulthood.

• 43:48Georgia Hardstark?

  Comes a total goth.

• 43:49Speaker 00

  Yeah. Thank God another goth is made.

• 43:52Georgia Hardstark?

  Thankfully.

• 43:53Speaker 00

  Well, that was our scam show.

• 43:55Georgia Hardstark?

  Let's read the-

• 43:55Speaker 00

  To celebrate Royal Swindle.

• 43:57Georgia Hardstark?

  Let's read the ending. Royal Swindle is out now. New episodes will be released weekly on Thursdays, and please follow Royal Swindle now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 44:09Speaker 00

  From Blanchard House, Exactly Right Media, and USG Audio, it's the Romcon of the summer. It's Royal Swindle. Stay sexy.

• 44:16Georgia Hardstark?

  And don't get murdered.

• 44:18Speaker 00

  Goodbye. Elvis, do you want a cookie?

• 44:28Speaker 00

  This has been an Exactly Right production.

• 44:30Georgia Hardstark?

  Our senior producer is Molly Smith, and our associate producer is Tessa Hughes.

• 44:33Speaker 00

  Our editor is Aristotle Laseveta.

• 44:35Georgia Hardstark?

  This episode was mixed by Liana Scolacci.

• 44:38Speaker 00

  Email your hometowns to [email protected].

• 44:41Georgia Hardstark?

  Follow the show on Instagram at MyFavoriteMurder.

• 44:43Speaker 00

  Listen to My Favorite Murder on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 44:48Georgia Hardstark?

  And now you can watch My Favorite Murder on Netflix.

• 44:50Speaker 00

  And when you're there, hit the double thumbs up and the remind me buttons. That's the best way you can support our show. Goodbye.

• 45:04Speaker 00

  Two Aussie lesbian lovers touch down in 1990s London and become the toast of British high society. One of them touts an exclusive investment opportunity, and soon, the money is rolling in. Rich businessmen and England's horse-loving elite fall under their seductive spell. They even meet Queen Elizabeth. But the millionaire duo are concealing a dark past and dastardly intentions. From USG Audio, Blanchard House, and Exactly Right Media, this is Royal Swindle. New episodes

• 45:43Speaker 00

  drop every Thursday. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 45:53Speaker 00

  Calling all amateur detectives and podcast obsessives.

• 45:57Georgia Hardstark?

  Virgin Voyages' second true crime voyage sets sail March 20, 2027, for a five-night escape to Grand Turk and the beach club at Bimini.

• 46:05Speaker 00

  As part of the On Air at Sea collection, this immersive sailing brings together fan-favorite podcasts, including DisgraceLand, Buried Bones, and Wisecrack, for live recordings, behind-the-scenes access, exclusive meet and greets, and crime-themed programming that you won't find anywhere else.

• 46:21Georgia Hardstark?

  All aboard our award-winning, kid-free ships.

• 46:24Speaker 00

  Head over to virginvoyages.com/truecrime to secure your spot. Goodbye. Okay. Laundry stinks. Literally. I mean, you could just keep buying new underwear. Not that I've ever done that. Or maybe sort your clothes into piles based on how re-wearable or filthy they are. Or just use Arm & Hammer Deep Clean. It's made for real life stinks and stains. So even if you don't do laundry the, quote, "right way," Deep Clean will knock it out. I mean, it is from the number one liquid detergent brand that tackles more loads than any other. Come clean with Arm & Hammer Deep Clean. Number one claim based on total wash loads sold.