The Scamfluencers Holiday Special | 133

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! Listen to Scamfluencers on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/scamfluencers/ now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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

• 0:00Sarah Hagi?

  Audible subscribers can listen to all our episodes of Scamfluencers ad-free right now. Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app.

• 0:15Sarah Hagi?

  Sachi, it's that time of the year again when American holidays overwhelm all media, including our show.

• 0:23Speaker 01

  Well, that makes perfect sense for us, two people who don't really celebrate any holidays right now.

• 0:28Sarah Hagi?

  Well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. We're doing something a little different today. This is the first ever Scamfluencers holiday special. It's just like the ones hosted by noted Scamfluencer alum Martha Stewart.

• 0:42Speaker 01

  That's right. We're coming for the crown of the ultimate cozy influencer. We're here at the J-Peak Resort in Vermont. It's snowing outside, but we're sitting in front of a roaring fire. We're wearing thick knit sweaters, eating cookies, and we're drinking... Actually, what are you drinking, Sarah?

• 0:59Sarah Hagi?

  I have a classic hot chocolate with lots of whipped cream and a candy cane, of course, and it's going to make my teeth hurt.

• 1:09Speaker 01

  Oh, lovely. Well, I have spiked my own eggnog, which after this year, I deserve.

• 1:16Sarah Hagi?

  OK, if you and I were starring in a Hallmark movie about our show, what hometown would we go to? And which hotties would finally convince us we should settle into trad wife life and stop working so damn hard?

• 1:30Speaker 01

  Ooh, unfortunately, I don't think either of us would get to be the lead of a Hallmark movie. I think you and I are the types to be like the funny and ambiguously ethnic best friends who own a bakery that's the site of like 1,000 meat cutes.

• 1:42Sarah Hagi?

  Yeah, you're right. We are one-dimensional support.

• 1:44Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:45Sarah Hagi?

  Well, I actually watched Martha's 1995 holiday special to prepare for this episode, and it is everything you'd expect. Here's a clip so you can really get the vibe.

• 1:55Speaker 02

  Well, now I know it's Christmas. There's a wreath on my front door and plum puddings are steaming in the oven. Welcome to my home for the holidays.

• 2:07Sarah Hagi?

  I feel so soothed by this, like she's really selling the cozy holiday vibe with her turtleneck. To recap the special, she makes a wreath and then she turns her studio into a Christmas workshop and it's full of children. It seems Martha does not give a shit about child labor laws. And then she makes her mom and sister stand in the kitchen all day making tons of plum pudding to hand out as gifts. Also, Miss Piggy, Julia Child, and Hillary Clinton stop by.

• 2:35Speaker 01

  I feel like the Scamfluencers version is that our nieces and nephews explain TikTok trends to us, and then my dad updates us on whether our recent episodes have been any good. Surprise, he doesn't like them. And our guest would definitely be Abby Lee Miller, who would teach us how to dance just like the Rockettes.

• 2:51Sarah Hagi?

  We are not insured for that, but when it comes to Scamfluencers, you never know what you're gonna get. So stay tuned and learn about the holiday spirit the Scamfluencers way.

• 3:08Speaker 03

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• 3:36Speaker 03

  In New Orleans, truckers kept getting sideswiped the exact same way. When a man is found murdered under questionable circumstances related to these accidents, the rubber hits the road. Listen to Over My Dead Body: Operation Sideswipe wherever you get your podcasts.

• 3:59Sarah Hagi?

  From Wondery, I'm Sarah Haggy.

• 4:01Speaker 01

  And I'm Sachi Cole.

• 4:02Sarah Hagi?

  And this is Scamfluencers.

• 4:13Sarah Hagi?

  With the holidays coming up, we wanted to take the time to reflect, celebrate, and rehash some of our favorite scams. We're cheersing to another year of scammers who don't know how to shut up and those who are actually having to face consequences. And of course, no Scamfluencer special is complete without some very legitimate and serious awards. So get cozy and pour yourself a drink of some expensive fake wine, and let's get celebrating. This is the Scamfluencers Holiday Special.

• 4:50Sarah Hagi?

  Sachi, we bring this up a lot. We're both Canadians. We don't celebrate American Thanksgiving. But that doesn't mean we can't pause to reflect on all that we're thankful for. Have you ever been to a Thanksgiving dinner in the US?

• 5:03Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's basically the same thing as the Canadian version, except it happens needlessly late in the harvest season.

• 5:09Sarah Hagi?

  It should happen in October.

• 5:11Speaker 01

  Isn't it crazy that they do it, like, in the winter?

• 5:14Sarah Hagi?

  I don't understand the point of a holiday that happens a month before Christmas.

• 5:19Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's a waste.

• 5:20Sarah Hagi?

  Anyway, we're all on the same page about eating ungodly amounts of turkey, stuffing, and pie, and then going around the table and talking about what we're grateful for. But that's a little too cheesy for our show. So instead, we're gonna pass out some very ridiculous awards to our even more ridiculous scammers, who we just love to make fun of. So, let's get into it.

• 5:43Sarah Hagi?

  In the spirit of the holiday, our first award is for the scammer who just keeps on giving. We have some truly great contenders who just will not stop blowing up our Google Alerts with stupid little updates. Like Martin Shkreli having to give back that rare Wu-Tang album after making copies of it and giving them to, quote, "like 50 different chicks." And of course, Martha Stewart giving us stoner energy with her Snoop Dogg collabs, though she says she only gets high secondhand, which is not real. But we at SCAM are still obsessed with the Chrisleys and all their spinoff podcasts. Sachi, doesn't your dad also love this bonkers family?

• 6:25Speaker 01

  Yeah, he only listens to half of our episodes for this show, but he did manage to watch several full episodes of Chrisley Knows Best, and now he thinks he is a part of their family.

• 6:35Sarah Hagi?

  Well, then, I think this award should go to the Chrisleys.

• 6:42Sarah Hagi?

  Quick reminder, this family of uppity Southern blondes seemed to live a life of luxury on their TV show, Chrisley Knows Best. But really, they were lying to banks to take out millions in loans while also not paying their taxes. The couple was sent to prison in January 2023. They kept releasing their podcast, Chrisley Confessions, right up to when they reported to prison. Then their daughter Savannah picked up the slack, launching her own podcast. And in March, she also appeared on The Masked Singer as an Afghan hound. She sang "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" by The Tokens and was voted off immediately. Here's why she said she decided to humiliate herself in front of millions.

• 7:20Speaker 04

  My life over the past year has changed drastically. Lost both my parents to the federal system, and now I have custody of my 15-year-old brother and 10-year-old sister. So if I can teach them anything, it's take every opportunity that comes your way, and don't back down. I love it.

• 7:38Speaker 01

  That's great. I mean, there aren't a lot of good reasons to be on The Masked Singer, but I think perhaps the best reason is that you need to provide for your siblings, who now don't have parents because your parents are in legal trouble.

• 7:51Sarah Hagi?

  God forbid we ever be without Chrisley content. But the matriarch of the family, Julie, was in the news recently. Her seven-year sentence was vacated in June because an appeals court found a technical error in how her sentence was calculated. This gave her and her family hope she would get released early, but no. At a resentencing hearing in September, the judge upheld her original sentence. She's expected to be released in April 2028. And to add insult to injury, Julie appeared in court as a brunette. Apparently, she isn't able to get a hold of bleach in prison. People reported that she was, quote, "unrecognizable."

• 8:31Sarah Hagi?

  Julie's lawyers asked the judge to take into account her two younger children who Savannah has custody of. The judge said she hoped the children's wellbeing was a priority, not television ratings and podcasts. While Savannah took issue with that, here she is outside of the courtroom after the resentencing.

• 8:49Speaker 04

  To say that it is for TV ratings or for podcast ratings is laughable because both of my parents are sitting in federal prison. So this has nothing to do with ratings.

• 9:01Sarah Hagi?

  Savannah is also upset about how federal prosecutors handled her parents' situation. She actually seems to think that her parents having to pay consequences after ripping off the government for years was politically motivated. So much so that she ranted about it at the Republican National Convention earlier this year.

• 9:18Speaker 04

  I'll never forget what the prosecutor said in the most heavily Democrat county in the state before an Obama-appointed judge. He called us the Trumps of the South.

• 9:33Speaker 04

  Yeah, hey, it's fun. He meant it as an insult, but let me tell you, boy, do I wear it as a badge of honor.

• 9:43Speaker 01

  Well, you know who famously has never had any legal trouble is Donald Trump.

• 9:48Sarah Hagi?

  Yeah, she's really hoping she can get her parents pardoned by Trump.

• 9:51Speaker 01

  Well, you know what? If Trump pardoned Rod Belgojevich, I don't see why he wouldn't pardon the Chrisleys.

• 9:57Sarah Hagi?

  Why not pardon anyone, right?

• 9:59Speaker 01

  Everybody, in fact.

• 10:00Sarah Hagi?

  Well, for now, Todd is still serving his 12-year sentence, which has already been shortened by two years. He's currently expected to be released in July 2032.

• 10:11Speaker 01

  All right, enough about the Chrisleys. Our next category is scam we think we'd fall for. Sarah, we've learned a lot about scammers and their ways while doing this show, and we're pretty skeptical people. You will not find me sending all of my money to a bank in Antigua. However, I am not immune to being scammed. Have you ever been scammed?

• 10:31Sarah Hagi?

  Sachi, last month, I wanted to order pizza. I Googled the place I wanted to order pizza from, clicked on the Google search results of the pizza website, looked exactly normal, ordered the pizza, and then I got a notification saying my credit card was trying to charge me $2,500. And it turns out, I clicked on a sponsored result that was like a fake shadow website of Pizza YOLO.

• 11:01Speaker 01

  All right. Well, I do hope eventually you got your pizza.

• 11:04Sarah Hagi?

  It actually scarred me. I'm so scared of Googling anything now.

• 11:08Speaker 01

  I actually think you should never look anything up, so this might actually work in your favor. Well, we have some notable contenders for this award. Like, if a bunch of soccer moms told me they were legit investigators and crime solvers, I would trust them. But this is a scam that we've actually fallen for, and pretty much every young girl has fallen for it, too. This award goes to Ruth Handler, the girl boss behind Barbie.

• 11:36Speaker 01

  As we talked about in our episode on her, she was inspired by a German sex doll. She then went on to rebrand and refine the doll to become Barbie. Ruth ended up having to settle a lawsuit at a court for stealing the design, but she didn't stop there. A few years later, she pleaded no contest to charges of conspiracy and fraud for cooking the books at Mattel. Listen, all she was trying to do was sell toys and give girls unrealistic beauty standards for years to come. But what I personally found the most inspiring was her whole reinvention of herself. Ruth's golden years were spent selling silicone prosthetic breasts to people who had gotten mastectomies. Oh, and using herself as a model for the ad campaigns. I, too, hope to avoid prison and then pose on a boat.

• 12:20Speaker 01

  It all feels like a real scammy way of rewriting her legacy. But yes, I did watch the Barbie movie, and I did really enjoy the nostalgia of it.

• 12:32Sarah Hagi?

  What's so funny about this show is that there are so many scams that feel way too simple. Like, there are some people who just straight up lie and don't even try that hard to make it believable. That's why we have a very special award, the Sam Bankman-Fried Award for Most Obvious Scam. Because we all know the most obvious scam out there is cryptocurrency.

• 12:53Speaker 01

  In fact, we did an entire episode where I talked to a former teen heartthrob about how crypto sucks. It's called service journalism, and you're welcome.

• 13:02Sarah Hagi?

  Okay, so the winner for the SBF Award is Rick Singer and the college admissions scandal.

• 13:11Sarah Hagi?

  I mean, come on. Olivia Jade is clearly not a rower. Please never forget that staged photo of Olivia, where she's supposed to look like she's been rowing for years. Once again, can you please describe this?

• 13:25Speaker 01

  It is a blurred out photo of Olivia on a rowing machine, and it appears that this is the first time she has ever gone near a rowing machine. She's approaching it the way Sleeping Beauty approaches a poison spindle.

• 13:38Sarah Hagi?

  For the record, Olivia Jade is still vlogging, and she is still very much dating Jacob LRD. Maybe someday you'll get your chance, Sachi.

• 13:47Speaker 01

  Please don't worry about me. I have a new white boy of the month, and it's a guy at my local coffee shop who doesn't know I exist. Sorry, Jacob.

• 13:54Sarah Hagi?

  Anyway, this scam, like so many others we cover, is more than just one person. Because, let's be real, Rick Singer, the mastermind behind it all, is boring. What this really shows us is that the whole American university system is a scam. These families who worked with Rick went through all this trouble and spent loads of money for what? Shitty dining hall food and gross frat parties? College really can't be worth that much. Also, it was so obvious how little the parents believed in their kids. Like, they were convinced the only way they'd get into an elite school was by cheating. That, to me, was actually pretty sad, and I truly hope these kids get counseling. I mean, they'll probably be fine because they went to Yale or whatever.

• 14:37Speaker 01

  Yeah, people who go to Yale famously turn out fine, and they never run for vice president.

• 14:43Sarah Hagi?

  Well, Sarah, on this show, we love a rebrand. I mean, we just talked about Ruth Handler's pivot from toys to bras. We also saw Lance Armstrong go from absolute dominance on the racetrack to stupid reality TV show competitions. But the award for the scammer with the best post-scam pivot goes to Spiro Agnew.

• 15:06Speaker 01

  From Richard Nixon's VP to political/ romance novelist, that is quite a turn. Quick reminder, Spiro was accused of extortion and bribery and eventually resigned from his VP post after being convicted of tax evasion. In 1976, a few years after leaving office in disgrace, Spiro published a novel called The Canfield Decision. It's about a hot, rich vice president mowing through mad babes. And Sarah, I have another passage from The Canfield Decision that I need you to read. In this scene, a vice presidential adviser meets up with a secret agent, and I just love to imagine Spiro Agnew, who was once the second most powerful guy in America, writing steamy moments just like this.

• 15:48Sarah Hagi?

  Um, this is actually torture, and you've already made me do it once.

• 15:53Speaker 01

  Yeah, but this is how you get paid the big bucks that you eventually lose through some fake pizza website.

• 15:58Sarah Hagi?

  Okay, too soon. Okay, I'll read it. "His arms went around her slim waist, and he felt the soft pressure of her breasts when she leaned into him. Then she lifted her...

• 16:15Sarah Hagi?

  Then she lifted her lips in an unmistakable invitation. He kissed her gently, and her arms reached around his neck. She pressed the full length of her body against him. Suddenly free of the uncharacteristic, schoolboy-like timidity he had felt with her, Zack now began to respond with passion. He opened his lips, and the kiss became an expression of fundamental need." So she hugged him and they kissed?

• 16:47Sarah Hagi?

  "This was just as painful as the last time you made me do this, but at least it wasn't about a guy named Newt."

• 16:54Speaker 01

  Well, maybe if Spiro had put more effort into his craft instead of all of the politics and corruption, he would be Nora Roberts by now.

• 17:03Sarah Hagi?

  Okay, so our next award is for the most classic guy scammer. And honestly, we have so many dudes to consider. There's a lot of masculine scammer energy on this show, much to the chagrin of some of our listeners. I'm sorry, they just commit the majority of scammy crimes. We know, we've done the research. But this award can really only go to one person, Brian Johnson, aka The Liver King.

• 17:33Sarah Hagi?

  The dude who's trying to sell extreme masculinity by eating raw meat and taking a shit ton of steroids.

• 17:39Speaker 01

  I love that extreme masculinity is just eating a lot of protein and taking drugs.

• 17:45Sarah Hagi?

  Yeah, and also hating women.

• 17:48Speaker 01

  Oh, that's assumed, you know?

• 17:50Sarah Hagi?

  To recap, Liver King gained tons of followers for posting about what he called ancestral living, which to him meant eating mostly raw meat, doing insane workouts, and making loads of money off supplements. He claimed his gains were au naturel, but he was eventually exposed by swole internet sleuths. He then owned up to it and apologized. Liver King's latest content still features him doing insane workouts, and his whole body is almost always a concerning shade of red. But the Liver King also seems to be eating some vegetables and has taken a slightly softer tone in recent videos. He's also definitely still consuming some very weird organs, like in this TikTok video from September.

• 18:34Sarah Hagi?

  I don't know how to prepare you for this, Sachi.

• 18:36Speaker 05

  I'm gonna have testicle ceviche on seafood Wednesday as I think about the great beauty and love there is in family and the support we should give one another to apologize. Liver King 3.0, the holy trinity, the truth. That's what I do, not tell the truth.

• 18:54Speaker 01

  I too am often eating ball ceviche, thinking about the beauty of family.

• 18:59Sarah Hagi?

  He's so disgusting. Apparently Netflix is working on a documentary about him, and you better watch because every annoying guy you go on a first date with will be all over that. Well, on to our final award for the scammer we are most grateful for. Sachi, who's your pick?

• 19:19Speaker 01

  I for one am grateful for Steve Madden. He's the iconic shoemaker of the 90s and 2000s who was influenced by the king of scams, Jordan Belfort. Steve got involved with the Wolf of Wall Street to help his fledgling shoe business, and it landed him in prison. He's out now, and his brand is just as big as ever. You know, I owned and actually still do own several pairs of shoes from Steve Madden, and I also see them everywhere on the street in New York City. Honestly, a classic Mary Jane will always have a special place in my heart.

• 19:49Sarah Hagi?

  Who are you most grateful for, Sarah? I think I'm most grateful for Rita Crandwell, who was responsible for the biggest municipal fraud scheme in US history. She was such a unique and outrageous scammer. Rita was the one who bred and showed quarter horses and seemed to make a lot from her winnings. Like, a lot. She spent millions on expensive RVs, top-tier horses, and lots of tacky jewelry. Never forget that diamond-encrusted SpongeBob pendant, Sachi. In reality, it was all being funded by the taxpayers of Dixon, Illinois. She managed the city's finances and stole more than $50 million over two decades. Gratitude is complicated on scamfluencers

• 20:34Sarah Hagi?

  because our greatest stories can also lead to a lot of trouble for others. And you could say, "That's the moral of scam giving." Couldn't have put it better myself.

• 20:47Sarah Hagi?

  Well, before we move on to our scam giving feast, there's one scammer I'm sad we didn't get to talk about. But any scam involving a fruitcake is worth at least an honorable mention this time of year. Sandy Jenkins was the accountant at the Collins Street Bakery who quietly scrolled away more than $16 million from the fruitcake company. He and his wife bought new cars and flew private jets, all in an effort to keep up with the Joneses in Corsicana, Texas. Once the bakery and the FBI caught on, he tried to hide all his expensive belongings. He was caught and sentenced to 10 years in prison. I haven't been able to stop thinking about the fact that all his wealth came from a fruitcake company. Sachi, have you ever tried fruitcake?

• 21:33Sarah Hagi?

  I don't think so, and I don't know that I want to. Well, today is our lucky day. As the French say, "Let them eat fruitcake." Oh, no.

• 21:46Speaker 01

  Thanks, I think. Oh damn. Sarah, we have in front of us the very same Corsica can of fruitcake. I see that you've already started eating yours. Would you like to tell us what it tastes like while I try it?

• 22:01Sarah Hagi?

  It's actually pretty good, but there's one specific flavor in it that I don't really like. I don't know what dried fruit that is. Honestly, it's good. I like it. It's dense.

• 22:08Speaker 01

  This smells like the inside of a cupboard that's been abandoned. Okay, first of all, this looks like a brain.

• 22:15Sarah Hagi?

  It's not good, guys.

• 22:18Sarah Hagi?

  You know what it is? I don't like raisins in that way.

• 22:22Speaker 01

  It's all raisin.

• 22:24Sarah Hagi?

  Mmm, that's what it is.

• 22:28Sarah Hagi?

  I'll eat anything.

• 22:29Speaker 01

  I know. What fruit do you think this is?

• 22:32Sarah Hagi?

  This looks like pineapple that's turned red.

• 22:35Speaker 01

  Oh, it's pineapple. It's dyed pineapple.

• 22:37Sarah Hagi?

  Oh, it's dyed.

• 22:38Speaker 01

  It's dyed pineapple.

• 22:39Sarah Hagi?

  Oh my god, that makes so much sense. Here's the thing, like, I understand this being something people really loved when cakes weren't everywhere.

• 22:51Speaker 01

  I think this is a fine dessert if for some reason you live in pioneer times and you don't have a fridge.

• 22:56Sarah Hagi?

  I don't want to hate on this cake because it has like a really storied history I respect.

• 23:00Speaker 01

  Yeah, I mean, I respect the history. I do not respect the taste.

• 23:04Sarah Hagi?

  You know, I can see why Sandy Jenkins was like really pissed off because it's like crazy to be rich off this.

• 23:09Speaker 01

  Yeah, this is outrageous.

• 23:11Sarah Hagi?

  Let's take a break for us to ponder what this is doing to our digestive tracts and our, um, blood sugar. When we come back, we're gonna look back on some major updates to the biggest scammers we've ever covered and hear from you, our listeners. Stay tuned.

• 23:33Sarah Hagi?

  Ghosts aren't real. At least, that's what journalist Tristan Redmond always believed. Sure, odd things happen in his childhood bedroom, but ultimately, he shrugged them off. Until he discovered that he wasn't alone, that everyone who lived thereafter him also had bizarre experiences they couldn't explain. And it gets even weirder. It just so happens that his wife's great-grandmother- ...was murdered in the house next door. Is this ghost somehow connected to her murder? He decides to go where no son-in-law should, digging up a cold case and asking questions that nobody wants answered. Like, could his wife's great-grandfather have gotten away with the perfect crime? This is a podcast about family secrets, overwhelming coincidence, and the things that come back to haunt us.

• 24:18Sarah Hagi?

  For the best bingeable series like Ghost Story, listen to the Audible True Crime Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can get all episodes early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts. Journalist Tristan Redman goes where no son-in-law should ever go, deep into his wife's family history, digging up the cold case of who murdered her great-grandmother. Because, I should mention, he thinks the murderer might actually be the beloved family patriarch. For the best bingeable series like Ghost Story, listen to the Audible True Crime Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

• 25:01Sarah Hagi?

  Sachi, neither of us celebrate Christmas, as we've mentioned many times. But I know we've watched 1,000 holiday specials. And one tradition people have is listening to a classic Christmas story. When I think of what kind of story we'd read to our Scam listeners, it would probably be How the Grinch Stole Christmas. There's literally a scam in the title of it. And also, some of our Apple Podcast reviews think our hearts are three sizes too small when it comes to how we talk about white guys. But more on that later. Oh, my god, I can't wait. Here at Scamfluencers, we're all about making a list and checking it twice. And you might think that means all of our scammers are on the naughty list, but I'm not so sure. Some of them are kind of endearing.

• 25:46Sarah Hagi?

  Like, I will never hate Teresa Giudice. I'm sorry. But we have updates on some actual villains who are only getting coal in their stockings this year. We'll start by going way back to the very beginning of Scamfluencers. Sachi, what do you remember about our Black Swan? Oh, what don't I remember? Black Swan is about a couple, Doug and Ashley Benefield. They get married within two weeks of meeting. They start a ballet company that's an absolute shitshow from beginning to end. They get all these dancers to show up and it's clear that they have nothing prepared, from the programming to their housing. And meanwhile, their marriage is in shambles. And at the very end of the story, Ashley shoots and kills Doug. Well, we have huge news in this case.

• 26:30Sarah Hagi?

  Ashley Benefield was found guilty of manslaughter in July. She faces up to 30 years in prison. But as of this recording, her sentencing has been indefinitely postponed. The judge is investigating possible jury misconduct because nothing about this case can ever be normal. Ashley's lawyers had tried to argue that the case should be thrown out based on Florida's "stand your ground" laws, but the judge wasn't buying it. Doug's daughter, Eva, has been posting on TikTok all about the case. The day the verdict was read, Eva said her dad got the justice he deserved after four years of waiting. The following day, she said this on TikTok.

• 27:07Speaker 04

  This whole trial broke my heart, being reminded that the last few years of his life, my dad was manipulated and eventually lost his life. As for me, what feels like having the entire world watch your every move is very overwhelming. I'm excited to have this chapter closed so I can allow both of my parents to rest peacefully.

• 27:24Sarah Hagi?

  Oh, man. I am glad that she's able to get some closure now. Yeah, I mean, she is only 23 and she says she'll be working on a memoir about everything she's experienced in her life. That is going to be quite the read.

• 27:39Sarah Hagi?

  Sarah, you and I aren't always aligned, but the moment we were 100% on the same page is when we were talking about Erica Jane's iconic monologue. Do you remember it? It goes, "Tom's house was broken into and he confronted the burglar and then he had to go have eye surgery and then my son had to go over and help. And then my son, he rolled his car five times on the way home. So yeah, I'm under a lot of stress." Great job. I say it four to five times a day, mostly to myself. Well, I have an update on Erica's ex, skeezy lawyer Tom Girardi. In August, he was found guilty of embezzling millions of dollars from his clients. You know, the people who trusted him with their settlements from things like plane crashes and gas explosions. Pretty nasty work, and definitely top of the naughty list.

• 28:24Sarah Hagi?

  Tom will be sentenced in December and faces up to 80 years in prison. Leading up to the trial, there were questions about Tom's mental health and if he was competent to take the stand. The 85-year-old was diagnosed with dementia a few years ago. On the stand, Tom said, quote, "The last thing I would do would be to take someone's money." Well, the jury decided otherwise. Sarah, can you read what one juror told the LA Times after the trial? Yeah, the juror said, "All the evidence was there, and it wasn't a hard decision. Everyone can tell how evil he is." As for Erica Jane, she's single as she waits for her divorce to be finalized. And there is a bit of a hiccup in that, too, given Tom's mental state. She's also still dealing with the fallout from Tom's bankruptcy filings.

• 29:06Sarah Hagi?

  So I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the court finally decides to do with her infamous $750,000 diamond earrings.

• 29:18Sarah Hagi?

  I hate to say this, Sachi, but the next person on our naughty list may not actually be that naughty. But I've got some mixed feelings about the biggest diva to ever serve in the US Congress. I mean, George Santos definitely doesn't deserve to be on the nice list, but maybe we can make a not-as-naughty list for him? Well, we do talk about this sometimes, how we get Stockholm syndrome for certain scammers, and I do think this is one of them. Well, here's a quick refresher on everyone's favorite disgraced Congress member. George is a serial liar who fibbed about everything from his job history and being Jew-ish to his mom dying in 9/11. In December 2023, he was kicked out of Congress, and since stepping down from public office, he has been making videos on Cameo.

• 30:03Sarah Hagi?

  In August, he pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for lying about his campaign donors and finances. He was also previously charged with unemployment fraud and using campaign finances for luxury purchases. Those crimes will be considered as part of his sentencing. In a very un-scamfluencer turn of events, George kind of accepted responsibility for his actions. Here's what he said to reporters outside of the courtroom after pleading guilty.

• 30:32Speaker 06

  It's certain to me now that I allowed ambition to cloud my judgment, leading me to make decisions that were unethical. Being guilty is a step I never imagined I'd take.

• 30:45Speaker 01

  I also can never predict when I'm gonna have to admit having done something wrong.

• 30:50Sarah Hagi?

  Yeah, it's honestly a little bit of a shame his case didn't go to trial. Apparently prosecutors had collected over 500 exhibits of evidence, including financial and phone records. I want to know what tea George was spilling about members of Congress. George will be sentenced early next year and could serve up to six to eight years in prison. He's also agreed to pay over $370,000 back to his victims. I wonder if his cameo earnings will ever cover that.

• 31:21Sarah Hagi?

  Speaking of cameo, we have a truly great scamfluencers crossover here. Stay with me, Sachi. So John Fetterman is the poorly dressed former lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania who beat the very scammy TV doctor, Dr. Oz, in a senate race. Well, John had George Santos record a cameo about Bob Menendez. You know, the Keebler elf guy we just covered who loves bribes from foreign countries and throwing his wife under the bus? Sachi, this is actually pretty good and we have to watch it again.

• 31:50Speaker 06

  Hey Bobby, uh, look, I don't think I need to tell you, but these people that want to make you get in trouble and want to kick you out and make you run away, you make them put up or shut up. You stand your ground, sir, and don't get bogged down by all the haters out there. Stay strong. Merry Christmas.

• 32:11Sarah Hagi?

  That is some really beautiful holiday spirit. Well, I've got another diva to add to our not so naughty list. But first, to be clear, the scamming done by Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shaw was horrible. For years, she was part of a telemarketing fraud scheme that targeted vulnerable people, and she was sentenced to six and a half years for her crimes. But I also think she's just a really great reality TV character. She's even keeping us entertained from prison. Besides befriending another girl boss scammer, Theranos founder, and medical scammer Elizabeth Holmes, Jen is really putting in the work. And by work, I mean participating in a Barbie hair show competition. Sarah, can you describe her look and read what she told people about it?

• 32:55Speaker 01

  She's, you know, somehow...

• 32:58Sarah Hagi?

  Tailored her prison outfit to be these cute shorts and like a top that's, you know, tied at the front. And she's with her friend who's wearing pink and they, you know, she has a high ponytail. She looks very good. And if I saw this photo, I wouldn't necessarily think this was taken in a prison. And here's what she told people. "I found the courage to smile, find genuine joy and laughter by participating in a Barbie hair show competition as Adventure Barbie. My Barbie team and I razzle-dazzled the real hair updo category with a fully choreographed routine to Lotto's Big Energy. It brought me so much joy to put smiles on my fellow inmates' faces. And yes, we won our category."

• 33:41Sarah Hagi?

  That is something. She really is seeing the glass half-full here.

• 33:46Speaker 01

  Sarah, these updates really made my heart grow three full sizes.

• 33:52Sarah Hagi?

  Let's really embody our true Christmas spirit and take another page from The Grinch, or maybe Ebenezer Scrooge, and read some reviews from our haters.

• 34:01Speaker 01

  Why leave a shitty review if you don't want to be recognized for it? Here you go, losers. Here's that attention you ordered.

• 34:08Sarah Hagi?

  Okay, this review is titled "Two's a Crowd and It's One Star," and it says, "This had potential, but another podcast where there is zero reason for two people went downhill quickly. What does it deal with the laughing and giggling? Awful."

• 34:25Sarah Hagi?

  I don't know. Listen to an audiobook then. Like...

• 34:29Speaker 01

  No laughing. That's only...

• 34:31Sarah Hagi?

  Go listen to some Democracy Now!, okay?

• 34:34Speaker 01

  Go listen to The Young Turks and leave us alone. All right, this one is from August 2024. The headline is "White Men Hate." It's a two-star review, and it says, "The content of the podcast is great. I love the stories. Unfortunately, as a white man, I feel targeted by the hosts. It's unfortunate, as I would have loved to keep listening. Luckily, the Scamtown podcast exists now and doesn't have hosts who take cheap shots and discriminate against people who had no choice of who they were born to or of their gender."

• 35:03Sarah Hagi?

  You know what? I agree. You were born this way.

• 35:04Speaker 01

  You were born this way, and you will never change and you will never get fixed. That's unfortunate. Next?

• 35:09Sarah Hagi?

  Oh, wow. One star.

• 35:11Speaker 01

  This one's my favorite.

• 35:12Sarah Hagi?

  This one I actually did send you, I think. Good stories, annoying tick. Please stop repeating Sachi's name. This show, please stop repeating Sachi's name. This kills a show and makes me cringe. The stories are well told, which is a reason I listen. Update, like other comments, I find your judgmental hatred towards white men and multiple other groups of people to be frustrating and disappointing. I'll keep looking for other podcasts with similar material, but I'm done with this one.

• 35:42Speaker 01

  Why do you think they have a problem hearing my name, Sarah?

• 35:45Sarah Hagi?

  Because they're like, I can't spell that in my head.

• 35:47Speaker 04

  It's hard, it's so hard.

• 35:48Sarah Hagi?

  I want to say one thing. I genuinely do not think we are too judgmental towards white men and other groups.

• 35:55Speaker 01

  No, we're appropriately judgmental. It's an appropriate amount.

• 35:57Sarah Hagi?

  I think we're pretty judgmental of everyone.

• 35:59Speaker 01

  Yeah, this is a podcast where everyone's bad.

• 36:01Sarah Hagi?

  People really like being mad for absolutely no reason at all, as we know. So let's talk about encores. There are a lot of comments about them. Here's one. Lazy content, one star. Regurgitated content we have heard before and so many encores, you'd think with all of the ads, they would have plenty of support to write new shows. I can replay old episodes myself on following. Okay, I need to say something. Like, sorry, we have a show that puts out nearly 40 episodes a year and we have a few reruns. And also, we always give you new information at the top.

• 36:39Speaker 01

  I would also add, there are a bunch of people who work on this show. And part of why we have encores is so that people can have lives and take a vacation and not grind themselves into a thin powder. So before you leave us a shitty review about how we have encore weeks, please consider that people deserve some time off. I also feel like, do these people not recognize that this podcast is free? Like, you get this for free.

• 37:05Sarah Hagi?

  We actually do have some really nice people leaving reviews for us. And please keep doing that. This one is, I'm obsessed with this podcast. Not only do I love a good scam story, but Sachi and Sarah tell each story with lots of detail and enough humor to make them feel not so dark. It's my number one, and I've shared it with several people. Keep going, ladies. Hell, yeah.

• 37:27Speaker 01

  I love that they call us ladies. There's actually another one also calling us ladies. That's another five star review. Intriguing and Relevant topics presented with well-researched information. I'm not easily entertained by podcasts, but these ladies have me laughing out loud with their commentary. There seems to be a pattern with the negative reviews this podcast has received, and it's coming from a specific demographic that's known for being widely offensive to others, so the whining is pretty ironic. Did I write this?

• 37:54Sarah Hagi?

  You'll notice a pattern if you see the bad reviews.

• 37:57Speaker 01

  For those who keep listening, don't mind hearing our names said aloud, and enjoy laughter, thank you so much. Stay tuned for a couple of stories we desperately wanted to be scams in 2024, but they didn't quite make it. And we set some scam-centered resolutions. Stay tuned. In January 1995, 18-year-old Krista Pike and two friends lured a classmate, 19-year-old Colleen Schlemmer, to an abandoned steam plant and killed her. At just 20 years old, Pike was sentenced to death. 30 years later, on September 30, 2026, the state of Tennessee tried to execute her and failed.

• 38:42Speaker 01

  I'm Candace DeLong, former FBI profiler and host of the podcast Killer Psyche, where we go inside the minds behind the most shocking crimes. In our latest episode, we take you inside the case of Krista Pike. The brutal crime, the childhood of abuse, three decades of appeals, and the night an execution went terribly wrong. Follow Killer Psyche wherever you get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of Killer Psyche one week early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts.

• 39:20Speaker 03

  There are books that change how you see the world, and there are books that change how you see yourself. In a new podcast series, A Great Book with Barack Obama, President Obama sits down with a series of surprising and sharp guests to explore six books that have shaped his life and perspective on the world. From Song of Solomon and the Fire Next Time, to All the Pretty Horses and Gilead, the president is joined by guests like Tom Hanks and Ta-Nehisi Coates to reflect on how these timeless stories shaped his thinking on everything from fatherhood to leadership, and discover together what they tell us about the world we live in and the world we want to create. Audible subscribers can listen to all

• 40:05Speaker 03

  episodes of A Great Book with Barack Obama ad-free right now, plus access each audiobook discussed in the series. Download the Audible app today.

• 40:22Speaker 07

  I feel like a...

• 40:28Sarah Hagi?

  We're getting near the end of our holiday special. We've had a great time rehashing our favorite scammers and giving out our very legit awards. Heading into the new year, we have a lot to look forward to. There's one scam we've been dying to cover, and it looks like we may get our wish. We finally have a Mayor Eric Adams indictment. He already gifted us with an appearance in our Bling Bishop, AKA Lamar Whitehead, episode. Sachi, you're the New Yorker here. What the hell is going on?

• 40:56Speaker 01

  Oh, my God, Sarah, so much. To recap, Lamar Whitehead was the bishop from Brooklyn who lied, committed fraud, and even stole from his parishioners to fund his very bougie lifestyle. He was also close with Eric Adams. But shortly after Lamar's arrest in December 2022, Eric Adams distanced himself from Lamar publicly. His office told The New Yorker in January 2023 that he hadn't spoken to Lamar much since becoming mayor. More than a year later, in March 2024, Lamar was convicted of fraud, attempted extortion, and making false statements to the feds. And that very day, Lamar went on Instagram to claim that he was innocent and explained why he believed he was being unfairly persecuted.

• 41:38Speaker 04

  Why was Bishop Whitehead on trial? This was politically driven. This was about Mayor Eric Adams. Everybody knows that me and the mayor were close. And I was targeted. The FBI came to my house, and what they said to me was, "We don't want you. We want the mayor of New York." And just because I was not going to be a

• 42:08Speaker 03

  Federal informant against the mayor of New York. The FBI said they was gonna make my life a living hell. And that's what you guys are seeing.

• 42:18Sarah Hagi?

  I mean, listen, I think he can be guilty and Eric Adams can be guilty at the same time.

• 42:25Speaker 01

  Yes, a few things can be true at once.

• 42:28Sarah Hagi?

  I mean, allegedly, who knows? Who knows?

• 42:30Speaker 01

  Allegedly, allegedly for now. Well, in June 2024, Lamore was sentenced to nine years in prison. And with or without Lamore's cooperation, the feds kept circling Eric Adams. All year, there's been a steady drip of news about the FBI raiding the homes of some of Eric's top officials, several staffers resigning, and the feds seizing lots and lots of phones. And in September, he was indicted. As of this recording, Eric's been charged with bribery, fraud, and soliciting foreign campaign donations. For years, he's been cozy with Turkish officials, who allegedly bought him off with free flights, luxurious hotels, and meals. If you're a fan of the show, you know that these are ingredients for a great episode. Eric Adams is a true scamfluencer.

• 43:14Speaker 01

  He's absolutely ridiculous, and he's friends with tons of horrible people. Like, look at this photo of Eric giving Sean Combs the key to the city last year.

• 43:23Sarah Hagi?

  Oh my god, this is so evil. Yikes.

• 43:27Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 43:27Sarah Hagi?

  There, in Times Square, and they're doing like, heart hands with each other. Like, each hand is a half of a heart.

• 43:34Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 43:35Sarah Hagi?

  And they're smiling, not knowing what will happen to them in a year.

• 43:38Speaker 01

  Aging really well. Well, Eric hasn't given in yet. Here he is at a press conference right after the indictment dropped at the end of September. This did not surprise us that we reached this day. And I ask New Yorkers to wait to hear our defense before making any judgments. It's so wild to me that he's asking New Yorkers not to judge. Like, we already hate him.

• 44:02Sarah Hagi?

  Well, in Toronto, as you know, we had a mayor who smoked crack.

• 44:06Speaker 01

  That's true. That feels so quaint right now. Well, I'm just glad that Eric may finally be reunited with his friend Lamore in prison. Going into the new year, we're sure there'll be other even more outrageous scams to cover. Like, will Twitter and Elon Musk's sanity finally implode? Will we see another Bravo celebrity behind bars? We can only hope.

• 44:26Sarah Hagi?

  Unfortunately, Sachi, not all of our scamfluencers' dreams can come true. Eric Adams came through in a big way. But one story we hoped would turn into something didn't quite pan out. I'm, of course, talking about our favorite Australian. No, not Belle Gibson. I'm talking about Ray Gun. Sachi, did you see all the videos of her flopping and rolling around on the floor at the Olympics? I'm going to show you a clip, and I want you to describe what you're seeing.

• 44:54Speaker 01

  I have obviously watched this so many times. It is Ray Gun performing at the Olympics, the first ever breakdancing competition they had. And she is doing the worm a lot, it seems, doing something called kangaroo pose. It's super bad. She does a sprinkler at one point. This is how I dance when I do drugs.

• 45:18Sarah Hagi?

  Well, after Rachel Gunn, aka Ray Gun, absolutely bombed during the breakdance competition, there were rumors spreading online about her appearance at the Games being part of a big conspiracy. And honestly, fair, because it was just that bad. People claimed Ray Gun rigged the qualifying competitions and maybe even the entire system to land her spot in the Olympics. There was even an online petition with 50,000 signatures asking for her to apologize. And to be clear, none of it is true. She qualified for her sport among a small pool of Australian breakdancers. Ray Gun gave an interview to an Australian TV show called "The Project" about a month after the Olympics.

• 46:00Sarah Hagi?

  Yeah, I knew my chances were slim.

• 46:02Speaker 04

  As soon as I qualified, I was like, oh my gosh, what have I done? Because I knew that I was going to get beaten and I knew that people were not going to understand my style and what I was going to do.

• 46:15Sarah Hagi?

  She told the project she tried to play to her strengths of using a range of movements and musicality in the performance. She also apologized about the backlash the breakdance community has had to experience and advocated for more resources for it in Australia. Ray Gun is a white woman with a PhD in cultural studies. And some say that having her represent a sport created by Black and Brown people and doing horribly felt like she was making a mockery of it. Even after scoring zero points at the Olympics in September, the World Dance Sport Federation ranked Ray Gun as a number one breakdancer in the world. This was so controversial that the federation had to come out with an explanation. They said she got to the top because of the weird ranking system, which only counted

• 46:59Sarah Hagi?

  a few competitions outside of the Olympics and qualifying events. So one performance gave her enough points to earn that top seed.

• 47:07Speaker 01

  I don't know, Sarah, this still sounds fishy to me.

• 47:10Sarah Hagi?

  Yeah, I mean, there were some very amazing women competing that day. Shout out to Nika from Lithuania, I loved her. And in early November, Ray Gun came out and announced she would no longer compete in breakdancing. That's probably for the best. I mean, are there some very interesting aspects of this story? Definitely. Is this a scam? Looks like, unfortunately, no.

• 47:37Sarah Hagi?

  Okay, Sachi, as we're looking ahead to the new year, what do you want to see in 2025? Do you have any resolutions?

• 47:44Speaker 01

  I want to see more women scammers, or non-binary, or trans people. Like, why should the scamming be left to the boys? I want to see more diversity in crime. As for personal resolutions, you can check out my book, Sucker Punch, which will be out in March and is available for preorder now. Sarah, what are your resolutions? Do you want to see another scammer pivot to romance novels, maybe?

• 48:06Sarah Hagi?

  I do think George Santos could write something incredible. I mean, will I read it? Probably not. Will it be written by AI? Definitely. But seriously, I'm trying to aim for something doable, like, you know...

• 48:23Sarah Hagi?

  Cleaning my room.

• 48:25Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 48:25Sarah Hagi?

  I don't know.

• 48:26Speaker 01

  I mean, every year I resolve to learn how to juggle, and every year I don't do it.

• 48:31Sarah Hagi?

  I'm gonna learn how to juggle with you this year.

• 48:33Speaker 01

  Okay, we're gonna do it together.

• 48:35Sarah Hagi?

  So that is our show, folks. I guess it's time for us to finish up our fruitcake and toast to the most American thing of all: scamming. Cheers.

• 48:49Speaker 01

  Follow Scamfluencers on the Audible app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to all episodes of Scamfluencers ad-free by joining Audible.

• 49:01Sarah Hagi?

  This is the Scamfluencers Holiday Special. I'm Sarah Haggie.

• 49:05Speaker 01

  And I'm Sachi Cole.

• 49:06Sarah Hagi?

  Our associate producer, Lexi Peery, wrote this episode. Additional writing by us, Sarah Haggie and Sachi Cole. Olivia Bryle and Eric Thurm are our story editors. Fact checking by Lexi Peery. Sound design by Sam Ada. Our managing producer is Desi Blaylock. Our senior managing producer is Callum Pluse. Janine Cornello and Stephanie Jens are our development producers. Our other associate producer is Charlotte Miller. Our producers are Julie McGruder and John Reed. Our senior producers are Sarah Enney and Ginny Bloom. Our executive producers are Jenny Lauer Beckman, Marshall Louie, and Erin O'Flaherty for Wondery.

• 49:56Speaker 05

  Journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia spent her life exposing powerful people. Then, in 2017, she was killed in a car bombing. I'm Stephen Gray, and for the past nine years, I've been trying to find out who wanted her dead. That search took me to Malta through secret companies, organized crime, and eventually to one of the island's richest and most powerful men. Now, after years of waiting, his trial has finally happened. But when the verdict came in, the case took a turn that almost no one had expected. In a brand-new update to the multi-award-winning podcast, Who Killed Daphne?, I'm returning to Malta to find out how we got there and where the search for the truth goes next. Listen to the new episode of Who Killed Daphne? wherever you get your podcasts.

• 50:41Speaker 05

  And you can hear

• 50:42Speaker 03

  The full six-part investigation from the beginning, ad-free with Audible. Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app and by subscribing on Apple Podcasts.