Scam Goddess
with Laci Mosley
August 8, 2022
What’s poppin’ con- gregation? This week we got Amy Aniobi & Grace Edwards discussing Dr. Ruja Ignatova, the once famed crypto genius known for her new currency, OneCoin, who ended up stealing nearly $4 billion before disappearing in 2017. Plus, a woman has been writing fake Russian history on Wikipedia for over ten years. Stay Schemin’!
Sources:
https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1010653/she-spent-a-decade-writing-fake-russian-history.-wikipedia-just-noticed
https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3185141/inside-ruja-ignatovas-crazy-rich-life-missing-cryptoqueen
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-4bn-onecoin-scam-how-crypto-queen-dr-ruja-ignatova-duped-ordinary-people-out-of-billions-then-went-missing-trqpr52pq
https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3184333/missing-crypto-queen-ruja-ignatova-new-anna-sorokin-shes?module=inline&pgtype=article
https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-50435014
August 1, 2022
What’s poppin’ congregation? This week, Demi Adejuyigbe joins us to discuss Kane Gamble, a 15 year-old who wreaked havoc on several US government officials sometimes with just his phone. Plus, the Orlando Museum of Art is under fire after displaying 25 fake Jean-Michel Basquiat paintings. Stay Schemin’!
Sources:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fbi-investigating-claim-of-hack-on-cia-director-email/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cia-director-and-dhs-secretary-emails-hacked/
https://www.vice.com/en/article/4xav5m/teen-who-hacked-cia-email-is-back-to-prank-us-spy-chief
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2018/01/22/hack-social-engineering/
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leicestershire-43840075
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/apr/20/two-years-detention-for-uk-teenager-who-cyberterrorised-us-officials-kane-gamble
https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3ekk5/kane-gamble-cracka-back-online-after-a-two-year-internet-ban
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/01/19/british-15-year-old-gained-access-intelligence-operations-afghanistan/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/06/30/orlando-museum-director-fired-fbi-raid-basquiat/7780681001/
https://www.orlandoweekly.com/news/orlando-museum-of-art-director-told-art-expert-who-had-doubts-about-basquiat-exhibit-to-stay-in-her-limited-lane-31912843
July 25, 2022
What’s poppin’ con-gregation? Jonathan Van Ness joins us to discuss how Margaret Keane didn’t know that her husband, Walter Keane was taking credit for her famous “Big Eyed” children paintings popularized during the 1950s and 60s. Plus, find out how one woman found a stack of 70 Chase bank credit cards in her mailbox. Stay Schemin’!
Sources:
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/outintheopen/deception-effects-1.4628704/how-margaret-keane-helped-deceive-the-art-world-1.4629030
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/oct/26/art-fraud-margaret-walter-keane-tim-burton-biopic
https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/margaret-and-walter-keane-art-fraud
https://www.keane-eyes.com/item/limited-editions/exhibit-224/
July 18, 2022
What’s Poppin’ Con-gregation? Ashley Ray joins the show to dissect how so called “civil rights activist,” writer, and company founder Jeffrey Shaun King is still out here scamming. Also, a worker in Chile accidentally got paid 286 times his salary. Stay Schemin’!
Sources:
https://www.blackenterprise.com/shaun-king-daughter-kendi-has-a-word-family-move/
https://twitter.com/MrErnestOwens/status/1407733142769831944?s=20&t=XD6Se6jkQmSc6OPoI2L_bw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwxI_DE4S0A
https://jezebel.com/samaria-rice-asks-shaun-king-accused-grifter-how-the-1847160251
https://www.yahoo.com/video/shaun-king-asks-assistance-move-153036273.html
https://www.newsonyx.com/update-shaun-king-accused-of-clothing-line-scam/
July 11, 2022
What’s poppin’ con- gregation? This week, we got Eric Mosley discussing how a psychic conned Vera Pratt, a well-traveled heiress, out of her inheritance under the guise of curing her of demons. Plus, one wife of former California State Senator is in hot water after a Bay Area news organization discovered she plagiarized her book from Wikipedia. Stay Schemin’!
Sources:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/santa-clara-woman-jean-mccorquodale-plagiarized-wikipedia-for-book-she-was-paid-millions-to-write-report-says
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/23/us/23florida.html
https://www.courant.com/sdut-florida-family-charged-in-40-million-psychic-scam-2011sep01-story.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/walterpavlo/2011/08/17/psychic-scam-busted-by-feds-in-florida/?sh=2b33c9ac7b22
https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/rose-marks-psychic-family-matriarch-found-guilty-on-14-counts-of-fraud-6531594
https://www.browardpalmbeach.com/news/rose-marks-fort-lauderdale-psychic-behind-17-million-fraud-sentenced-to-ten-years-6459931
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/crime/2013/11/04/convicted-fortune-teller-s-younger/6837074007/
July 4, 2022
What’s poppin’ con-gregation? We got Priscilla Davies joining us to discuss Elisabeth Finch, a former TV script writer who allegedly lied about her health status and used other people’s trauma to write story lines in Grey’s Anatomy. Plus, a retired Atlanta Police Sargent says that a con man used his business, to defraud a DeKalb County church out of tens of thousands of dollars. Stay Schemin’!
Sources:
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/05/greys-anatomy-elisabeth-finch-truth-lies
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/05/greys-anatomy-elisabeth-finch-jennifer-beyer
https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/dekalb-county/retired-officer-fighting-clear-his-name-after-fraudster-took-out-loans-under-his-companys-name/5VRBZRQRU5CFRCKJMOBWPEHMVE/
June 27, 2022
What’s poppin’ con-gregation? This week we have comedian Nimesh Patel on to discuss James Hogue, named one of Time’s Top 10 Imposters, this runner turned bike thief fooled an Ivy League school into thinking he was a student but was really a 31 year old con man. Plus, the Red Power Ranger has been arrested by the FBI because of COVID fraud. Stay Schemin’!
Sources:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2001/09/03/the-runner
https://www.aspentimes.com/news/famed-con-man-who-lived-in-ajax-shack-arrested-again-in-aspen/
https://paw.princeton.edu/article/strange-case-james-arthur-hogue
June 20, 2022
What’s Poppin’ Congregation? This week, we have comedian Kevin Fredericks to discuss the baddest bitches of pirating to have ever sailed the ocean blue, Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Plus, a family of scammers from Queens, New York, who stole a house from a dead man in 2010 are finally caught. Stay Schemin’!
Research by Kaelyn Brandt.
Sources:
June 13, 2022
EP. 142 — The Queen of Cons w/ Miranda Cosgrove & Nathan Kress
Guest Miranda Cosgrove & Nathan Kress
What’s poppin con-gregration? It’s the iCarly, Scam Goddess crossover we’ve all been waiting for! We got Miranda Cosgrove and Nathan Kress discussing Cassie Chadwick, who at the turn of the 20th century became one of the US’ foremost accomplished fraudsters. Plus, a Florida man is charged with 114 counts of various fraud, after he was caught in an alleged decades-long scheme to defraud Florida State’s Division of Unclaimed Property. Stay Schemin’!
Research by Kaelyn Brandt.
Sources:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-high-priestess-of-fraudulent-finance-45/
https://www.wrhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Cassie-Chadwick.pdf
June 6, 2022
What’s poppin’ congregation? This week, we have the hosts of Not Another True Crime Podcast, Sara Levine & Danny Murphy to discuss Elizabeth Swaney, who proudly made it to the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games, without doing a single trick in her sport. Plus, the FDA demands Alex Jones stop advertising questionable dietary supplements as coronavirus treatments, threatening legal action if he doesn’t. Stay Schemin!
Research by Kaelyn Brandt.
Sources:
https://everything-everywhere.com/elizabeth-swaney-and-the-power-of-just-showing-up/
https://olympics.com/en/news/elizabeth-swaney-unlikely-halfpipe-hero
May 30, 2022
What’s poppin’ congregation? This week, Tahir Moore returns to the show to discuss John Darwin, a British man who faked his death and disappearance to avoid a mountain of debt. Plus, a home in Virginia was put on the market with an occupant still living in the basement. Stay Schemin’!
Research by Kaelyn Brandt.
Sources:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/how-i-exposed-the-curious-case-of-canoe-man-john-darwin-0krwmnlkw
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-tyne-37551735
https://www.axios.com/local/washington-dc/2022/04/13/fairfax-squatter-house-under-contract
https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvn4zd/john-darwin-canoe-man-true-story
May 23, 2022
EP. 139 — The Queen Sheep Herder of New Zealand w/ Lady Bunny & Monét X Change
Guest Lady Bunny & Monét X Change
What’s poppin’ congregation? This week, we have Lady Bunny and Monét X Change discussing Amy Bock, a 20th century con woman who famously disguised herself as a wealthy sheep farmer convincing another woman to marry her. Plus, Goldman Sachs and Ozy Media try to work out their business relationship after someone impersonated an executive during a conference call. Stay Schemin’!
Research by Kaelyn Brandt.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/26/business/media/ozy-media-goldman-sachs.html
https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2b30/bock-amy-maud
https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/black-sheep/story/2018670137/con-artist-the-story-of-amy-bock
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdalene_asylum
https://alchetron.com/Amy-Bock#amy-bock-5027d02e-edbc-447f-81b2-719f6b82d9c-resize-750.jpeg
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/carlos-watson-ozy-media-stays-open-1235024859/
May 16, 2022
What’s poppin’ con-gregation? This week, Jordan Carlos joins us to discuss how during the 1970’s the FBI hired Mel Weinberg, a career conman to tackle some of Washington’s biggest politicians. This story inspired the movie American Hustle. Plus, Late Night Talk Show Host John Oliver is scamming the scammers…Congress that is. Stay schemin’!
Research by Kaelyn Brandt.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/06/obituaries/mel-weinberg-dead-abscam-informant.html
https://www.nj.com/inside-jersey/2013/11/jersey_hustle_the_real-life_story_of_abscam.html
https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/abscam
https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/expulsion/140HarrisonWilliams_expulsion.htm
May 9, 2022
What’s poppin’ congregation? This week, content creator La’Ron Hines joins us to discuss how a New York man is scammed by his therapist Dr. Ike Herschkopf, getting caught in a web of entanglement and paying him $3 million in monetary compensation. Plus, the city of Fresno, California lost $600,000 and told no one about it. Stay Schemin’!
May 2, 2022
What’s poppin’ con-gregation? This week, Lisa Gilroy joins us to discuss how Beanie Baby Mania took the 90’s by storm with people collecting and selling Ty Inc. stuffed toys for thousands of dollars. Plus, influencer scammer Caroline Calloway is accused of owing her landlord over $40,000. Stay Schemin’!
Research by Kaelyn Brandt.
Sources:
https://www.insider.com/influencer-caroline-calloway-accused-of-not-paying-40000-in-rent-2022-3
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22870250/nft-beanie-baby-price-guide-bubble-princess-value
https://thehustle.co/the-great-beanie-baby-bubble-of-99/
https://theweek.com/articles/461977/great-beanie-baby-bubble
https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/May-2014/Ty-Warner/
The Great Beanie Baby Bubble by Zac Bissonnette