Sara and Danny are back with a deep dive on Barry Minkow, a man with a relentless entrepreneurial spirit for cons and scams. In Part 1, they cover his early start as a child telemarketer, and how his adolescent carpet cleaning business ZZZZ Best led him to credit card fraud, stock fraud, getting in bed with the mob, and prison. Come back next week for Part 2, where Barry becomes a born-again...

Sara and Danny are joined by journalist, NYT bestselling author, and Pulitzer finalist Tom Wright, to talk about his podcast Crypto Kingpins. The podcast covers the rivalry between two titans in the crypto industry: Sam Bankman-Fried of FTX and Changpeng Zhao of Binance. Tom tells Sara and Danny how Bankman-Fried presented himself as the good boy of crypto, how his rivalry with CZ began, and where things stand with crypto now. With Bankman-Fried currently on trial for fraud, and billions of...

Sara and Danny are joined by Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe to talk about their new HBO documentary BS High, which covers the story of a high school football scandal that made headlines 2021. The Bishop Sycamore Centurions - a football team for a high school that doesn't exist - had the internet in a frenzy when they suffered a humiliating loss to IMG Academy that was televised on ESPN. Travon and Martin share how they became aware of and involved with this story, what it was like...

This week, Sara and Danny recap some recent celebrity news. First up is Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, who were in hot water after their letters to the judge in Danny Masterson's rape case were made public. Ashton subsequently resigned as Chairman of the Board at Thorn, the sex trafficking organization he founded with Demi Moore in 2009. Iggy Azalea also faced criticism last month, when the public became aware of *her* letter of support for Tony Lanez regarding the Megan Thee Stallion...

Sara and Danny are joined by documentary filmmaker Sam Lipman-Stern, to talk about his 3 part HBO docuseries Telemarketers. This two-decades-long project began back when Sam first started working at the Civil Development Group, where he started recording the bizarre goings-on at the office simply because it was entertaining, all the while unwittingly participating in a massive scam. Sam fills Sara and Danny in on how everything unfolded, the journey to getting the project funded and made, and...

Sara and Danny bid a sweaty farewell to summer with a roundup of some recent festival fiascos and one coming down the pipeline. First up is Burning Man, the week-long festival in the Nevada desert, where each year participants erect (and fully dismantle) Black Rock City. This year, an unexpected rainfall of extreme proportions created a disastrous level of mud, and 70,000 people were subsequently trapped there and forced to shelter in place. Next, NYC's Electric Zoo festival became a massive...

Sara and Danny are joined by writer and reporter Susan Burton, to talk all about her podcast The Retrievals, a 5 part narrative series from The New York Times and Serial. The Retrievals details the story of dozens of women who underwent IVF treatment at the Yale Fertility Center, and the nightmare of excruciating pain that ensued. Susan shares her experience producing the podcast and how her own experience with eating disorder recovery informed her interest in stories about women's...

This week, Sara and Danny cover the bizarre catfishing case where a romance scammer posed as Stranger Things actor Darce Montgomery to get thousands of dollars in gift cards. Then, a Miami realtor is serving time for misuse of Covid relief funds. And finally, Ghislane Maxwell has suddenly decided to connect with her late father's Jewish faith, presumably to get better food and time off on the...

This week, Danny covers the ongoing legal drama between Michael Oher, and the Tuohy family, best known for their portrayal in the 2009 film The Blind Side (based on a book of the same name). Michael is suing the Tuohys, alleging that they lied about adopting him, and in fact placed him under a conservatorship instead, which cheated him out of millions of dollars while they continue to profit off of him. Danny gets into the lawsuit, the Tuohy family's lavish life, and where this is all...

Sara and Danny are back with a rundown of some current scams that we all need to be on alert for. First up, people posing as Bank Of America fraud department employees are tricking customers into transferring them money via Zelle. Next is a Florida woman who conned an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor out of $2.8 million. Then, a fake romance crypto scam that began over Hinge and ending with something horrifically called "pig butchering." Finally, what happens when you hire someone to solve your...

This week, Sara and Danny cover Leah Remini's new harassment and defamation lawsuit against the Church of Scientology. Then, they get into some international elder scams: First, a 73-year-old New York grandmother named Jean, who outsmarted a scammer posing as her grandson. Then, police in Thailand take down an international operation that cheated the elderly out of $87 million. And finally, Japan's projected plan to put an end to elder scams once and for all... by taking away their bank...

Sara and Danny are joined by intellectual property entertainment lawyer Joshua Greenberg, who explains the Shien lawsuit and what actually constitutes copyright infringement. They also discuss the potential problems that may arise with Elon's X-branded Twitter pivot. Check out our latest promo codes here: https://betches.com/promos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sara & Danny are back with a conman from New York history, Ferdinand Ward, who earned himself a reputation worthy of the nickname "Young Napoleon of Finance" - and eventually, the "Best-Hated Man" in the country. Sara and Danny dive into his early scams and how he leveled up into a bank-collapsing Ponzi scheme that landed him in Sing Sing - but that still wasn't the end of his...

This week, Sara and Danny cover Cassie Chadwick, aka Betty Bigley, aka Madam Marie Rosa, aka Madame Lydia Devere - a scammer with an unbelievable track record of defrauding banks and millionaires. They get into her many crimes and identities and the immense amount of money she got away with swindling, all the way to her ultimate demise. RESOURCES: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-high-priestess-of-fraudulent-finance-45/ Crime in Cleveland Cassie Chadwick: The Con Artist of...

Sara and Danny cover a still-unsolved mass murder from 1912, where a family of six and two guests were bludgeoned to death in their Villisca, Iowa home. They get into the events leading up to the murders, the investigation, and the three major suspects - one of whom may have been a serial...

Sara and Danny are joined by criminal defense attorney Jason Goldman, who shares his unique insight and perspective on the justice system, as well as some past and present high profile cases, including the Idaho murders, Natalie Holloway, Scott Peterson, and Adnan Syed. Jason explains why the alibi defense is his least favorite, what the biggest misconceptions people get from crime TV shows are, and the story behind how he chose to go into this area of law. Check out our latest promo codes...

This week, Sara and Danny are going back to the 1800s to cover C.L. Blood, a con man who posed as a doctor, and claimed that oxygenized air (aka nitrous oxide) could cure a whole slew of medical ailments. They get into all of Blood's shady associates, his trouble with the law, and how it all led to a botched blackmailing and a gruesome murder. RESOURCES: “A Wily Doctor: The Career of Charles L. Blood, Once of Boston” - The Boston Weekly Guide “A Man of Ominous Name”: The Inter Ocean “The...

Sara and Danny are joined by broadcast journalist and producer Charlie Webster, to talk all about her true crime podcast Scamanda. The 8 episode series details the story of Amanda Riley, who made headlines in 2022 for faking her cancer diagnosis and swindling donors out of more than $100k. Charlie shares how she got involved with this story, some of the wildest things that have come up in her investigation, and how Amanda managed to convince so many people of her lie. To close out the...

This week, Sara and Danny give their recap and thoughts on the new Max docuseries The Curious Case Of Natalia Grace, which takes a closer look at a bizarre story that NATCP covered back in 2019. They get into the Barnett family and the strange events that unfolded starting from Natalia's adoption, to the suspicions about her age, police involvement, Natalia's birth family in Ukraine, and the child abandonment trial. The six available episodes show the Barnett's POV, with Natalia's side of the...

Danny and Sara are joined by UK radio host, podcaster, and true crime aficionado Daisy Maskell! They get into Daisy's documentary Cheat Detectives which investigates the TikTok "loyalty test" trend, find out her latest true crime obsessions, and share their favorite cases from across the pond that don't get the same level of attention in their home countries. Then, some current events updates, including Armie Hammer's charges being dropped, 73 year old Manson girl Leslie Van Houten's appeal,...

Sara and Danny are back this week with a rundown of the Netflix documentary Big Mäck: Gangsters and Gold, which tells the story of Donald Stellwag - a man who was wrongfully imprisoned for a robbery he did not commit, based on little more than a misidentified ear. After nine years, he finally went free... but the story doesn't end there. They get into his post-prison life as a local celeb and low key influencer, and another robbery that he may actually have been involved in and gotten away...

This week, Sara and Danny cover a recent news story about Katie Sorensen - an "aspiring" Bay Area momfluencer who falsely accused a couple of attempting to kidnap her children in a Michaels store. They get into her QAnon past, her racist profiling of the innocent couple, and the way her lies were unwoven in court. To wrap up the show, Sara and Danny play a round of Can You Buy This Thing At...

Sara and Danny are back with some stories from recent headlines. First up is Utah mother and wife Kouri Richins, who wrote a children's book about grief after her husband died... only to then be revealed as her husband's killer. Next, from Sara's own home town, it's the House of Representative's most absurd scammer, George Santos. And finally, checking in yet again on Elizabeth "Liz"...

This week, Sara and Danny delve into the world of fitness and Christianity influencers, with scammer and self-proclaimed "eating disorder solider" Brittany Dawn. They break down how her shady business swindled vulnerable customers and landed her in legal trouble with the state of Texas. To wrap up the show, Sara and Danny play a round of Guess The Apology, where they figure out which quotes belong to which shamed YouTuber apology videos. And an update to the story: Brittany's trial was...

Sara and Danny are back with a round-up of some current and ongoing stories from the past week's headlines. First up is the ever-present Elizabeth Holmes, who is once again doing whatever it takes to avoid serving her sentence. Next, there are some harrowing updates from the Lori Vallow trial. Then, a viral video reveals that a wanted serial sex offender who faked his own death in the US, has been found in Scotland using a fake name, accent, and potentially several medical ailments. And...