As one of 128 siblings, and part of a much larger Mormon Cult known as ‘The Order’, Jacob Kingston hardly stood out. However, that changed when he realized he could use his small biofuel company to scam the US Government out of hundreds of millions of dollars. To make this possible, he reached out to an unlikely partner: the head of Los Angeles’ ruthless Armenian Mafia, whose nickname was ‘The Lion’. We are excited to welcome award-winning author, producer and journalist, Michele McPhee, whose latest article in LA Magazine covers this incredible story.

The Order - aka The Kingston Clan - is a fundamentalist, polygamist, racist, misogynistic, and criminal Mormon cult. They prefer to keep a low-profile. When Jacob Kingston was advised by an Armenian known as ‘The Lion’ to trade in his Toyota Tercel for a Lamborghini, The Order noticed. But their share of the profits - many tens of millions of dollars - was simply too much to do anything about it.

Levon ‘The Lion’ Termendzhyan dropped out of high school at 17 to work at a gas station, and would became a billionaire by the time he was 30. Despite being a fearsome mafia boss, due to his expertise in fuel transportation and delivery, he seemed like the perfect partner for Jacob.

Their criminal operation, which scammed the US government through biodiesel subsidies, generated hundreds of millions of dollars. The scope of protecting their operation and spending their stolen money was spectacular. It spanned from Utah to California to Belize to Turkey, the latter of which where they stashed over $100 million should they ever needed to flee the US. They spent millions more using a fake attorney to pay off an LA Narcotics cop and an FBI counter-terrorism agent, and to buy multiple Bugattis, a Bel-Air mansion, private jets and even a 150-foot yacht.

Make sure to check out Michele’s incredible article, ‘The Mobster and the Mormon’ in LA Magazine. As always, thanks for listening to Heroes Behind Headlines.