He Faked a Route, Stole Her Heart - She Lost $43,000

The most romantic gesture Karen Rafferty ever received was a postcard postmarked Billings, Montana - but the man who sent it had never been to Billings and had never been near a truck. Postcards, prepaid mail-forwarding depots in eleven cities, and a storage unit in Wichita full of scripted dialogue trees reveal a calculated romance scam; how far did that planning go?

In this episode, we tell the story of Karen Rafferty, a 54-year-old night-shift licensed practical nurse from Harlow, Kansas, who met "Bruce Wells" on AgriMatch and kept postcards on her windowsill. We follow the parallel case of Sandra Polk in Enid, Oklahoma, and the discovery of a damp manila envelope on the Harlow River Trail - what do the staged postmarks and printed scripts in Wichita prove?

Person: Karen Rafferty
Age: 54
Platform: AgriMatch
Storage unit discovery: laptop and printed dialogue trees in Wichita
Loss reported (Sandra Polk): $43,000 via eleven wire transfers over seven months

- Karen Rafferty turned fifty-four the spring before the messages began.
- The first postcard was postmarked Billings, Montana and read "Thinking of you every mile."
- Postcards were shipped through a network of prepaid mail-forwarding depots in eleven cities.
- A storage unit in Wichita contained a laptop and printed branching scripts with headings like "When She Asks to Meet."
- Sandra Polk, age sixty-one, sent eleven wire transfers totaling $43,000 over seven months to an account under the name David Harmon.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

The Fake Roman Who Bought Her Trust - And Kidnapped Her Morning

Fear and fascination collide: a handwritten card, a skinned-over ramekin of olive oil, and a twenty-three-year-old food blogger gone forty minutes before the plate was found - was this the end of a romance or the final prop in a three-year construction? How did small payments totaling $6,400 and a face stolen from a retired teacher lead Amy to climb into a stranger's car?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from Amy Peterson's online bond with "Marco Ferretti" to the physical clues left on her patio, tracing the money transfers, the fake identity, and the people closest to her as they recount what happened - could the man she trusted ever have been real?

Person: Amy Peterson
Age: 23
Location: Sable Creek Drive, Dunmore Park
Date: August 14, 2019
Perpetrator alias: Marco Ferretti

- A china plate with a linen napkin and a handwritten card inscribed "For Amy - every meal is a letter. - M." was found on the back patio at 7:45 AM.
- Amy Peterson was reported missing forty minutes before the plate was discovered.
- Amy's blog, Fork & Latitude, had roughly 18,000 followers by July 2019.
- Three money transfers to "Marco" totaled $6,400: $800 in June, $2,000 in late June, and a $3,600 plane ticket in mid-July.
- The photograph used for Marco's profile belonged to Warren Kovacs, a retired schoolteacher in Phoenix, while the writing attributed to Marco was produced by Troy Padgett, age 38, of Linwood, Indiana.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

A Voice From Nowhere: The Michael Griffin Romance Scam

Fear that the person who loved you might be a lie: a cracked phone in a church pew led to a voicemail that revealed a six-month romance built with stolen photos and daily messages - and $3,000 wired for a fabricated emergency. Who was the man on the other end of the calls, and how did a routine life become the target of an online scheme?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a found prepaid phone and a 22-second voicemail to the social media connection that grew into daily messages, a nine-minute video call, and a financial request that Griffin honored. How did images of a retired firefighter become the face of a Coast Guard officer, and what did investigators later piece together from bank records and cell tower data?

Person: Michael Griffin
Date: late July 2022
Location: Calvary Lutheran, Dellwood, Minnesota
Age: 38
Perpetrator: Ronald Porter

- The phone was found in the third pew and remained untouched for two days before being charged and played.
- The voicemail from contact "M." was 22 seconds long and was listened to twice by Diane Foss.
- Michael Griffin accepted a social media request in February 2022 from a profile named James Whitfield.
- The first video call occurred in the third week of April and lasted nine minutes with only the lower half of a man's face visible.
- Griffin wired $3,000 within 48 hours to cover a supposed medical bill for "Cassie" in Portland.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

The Man Who Wasn't There: How "James Calloway" Stole Ruth's Last Hope

Fear that the person who comforts you might be a lie: a cobalt-blue mug inscribed "You are not alone" sits in evidence while the woman in the photo loses everything she had left. How did a false therapist with a stolen face and a pitch-shifted voice turn quiet kindness into a carefully engineered theft - and what did the mug really mean to Ruth?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from a trail find to a digital con that reached across borders and into a grieving support group, tracing how Ruth's referral to Clearwater Circle led to private messages, a fake investment called Meridian Vault, and a devastating outcome that only the evidence photo could reveal.

Person: Ruth Vickers
Date: June 4, 2022
Location: Melvin Reed Trail
Case: Clearwater Circle / Meridian Vault
Person: James Calloway (alias)

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

The Lavender Bookmark: How a Chekhov Lie Cost Her Everything

A quiet town, a pressed sprig of lavender, and eighty-three thousand dollars wired in eleven precise installments - this episode explores how routine and trust were weaponized against a woman who ran a tiny bookstore. What was contained in a canvas bag hanging from a willow and why did no one report Cheryl missing until it was almost too late?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the first online message to the discovery at Garfield Landing and trace the pattern that linked emotional escalation to money transfers - could a cultivated romance have been a deliberate scheme to dismantle a life?

Person: Cheryl A. Myers
Location: 14 Fenwick Lane, Caldwell, Indiana
Date: May 14, 2023
Amount: $83,000
Transfers: 11 wire-transfer confirmations, January through May 3, 2023

- At 6:41 AM on May 14, 2023 Holly Rice found a canvas messenger bag hanging from a willow thirty yards off the east bank at Garfield Landing.
- Inside the bag was an accordion folder sealed in a gallon zip-lock containing wire-transfer confirmations totaling $83,000.
- Cheryl Myers’s Wednesday table at Patsy's Diner sat empty for nine days and her phone held 41 unread messages before she was reported missing.
- An online profile named Larry Thorpe contacted Cheryl about six months before first meeting, using a photo taken from Jeff Kowalski’s LinkedIn.
- Each of the 11 wire-transfer requests arrived 48 to 72 hours after a documented emotional escalation in their message thread.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

The Mailbox Receipt That Unmasked a $91,000 Romance Scam

Fear and disbelief: a $14,000 wire receipt blowing out of a truck window led to a $91,000 romance scam that played out over eighteen months - and it started with a dating profile and a stolen photograph. Who was the man behind the messages that convinced Ross Patterson to send nearly everything he had?

In this episode, we follow the paper trail from a roadside mailbox in Moline County to a bank account in Accra and trace how a relationship built over messages and newsletters turned into repeated wire transfers. How did routine kindness and detailed storytelling convince one man to send escalating sums over a year and a half?

Person: Ross Patterson
Date: November 2020 (dating profile created)
Location: Moline County, Indiana
Amount: $91,000
Case: last transfer on March 29, 2022

- A $14,000 transfer receipt blew out of a pickup truck and landed in mailbox 4412 in April 2022.
- Ross Patterson created his dating profile in November 2020 at age 47.
- Within 48 hours of his profile, Ross received a message from "Philip Hansen" who claimed to work for Grace Hands Mission Children's Fund.
- The first money request was $400 in March 2021; transfers escalated over 18 months to a total of $91,000 by March 29, 2022.
- The photograph used for "Philip Hansen" was actually of Douglas Osei, a retired missionary from Nairobi, whose image was stolen.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

He Wore Another Man's Life to Steal Her Heart-and $11,000

From four laminated badges buried in a yard to a fabricated family story spoken over dinner, this episode opens with a smell and ends with a stolen life: a man's name pilfered from LinkedIn, a woman’s routines mapped to the minute, and $11,000 gone. How do you build a romance scam so patient and precise that it becomes architectural - and who pays when the costume comes off?

In this episode, we follow the discovery that began on Oleander Loop and trace how a fake identity moved from online profile to dinner table to a calculated fraud that targeted a carefully scheduled life. Which missteps and small deceptions allowed the con to succeed, and what did investigators find when the real Thomas Roberts was contacted?

Person: Dawn Simmons
Person: Thomas Roberts
Location: Oleander Loop, Harlan County
Item: four laminated badges labeled Thomas Roberts, Senior Field Coordinator
Amount: $11,000

- Four laminated badges with the name "Thomas Roberts, Senior Field Coordinator" were found half-buried at the base of a concrete riser.
- Dawn Simmons kept a whiteboard calendar and woke at 5:40 AM daily to administer insulin to her 12-year-old cat, Biscuit.
- The real Thomas Roberts lived and worked in Portland, Oregon, and had not been to Harlan County in twenty years.
- Two days after the first dinner, Kimberly received a text from an unknown number claiming to be "Thomas - Dawn's Thomas."
- The Prescott Mutual directory used to explain the contact lists office extensions and professional emails, not personal cell phones.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

The Voice He Loved Was a Lie: $41,200 and a Cottonwood Phone

He lost $41,200 to a coaching account that promised health and companionship, and the phone that proved it was tucked in a sealed freezer bag four feet up in a cottonwood tree on the east bank of Sutter Slough. Who placed that phone there, and why did a man named Terry Wilson come to trust a voice that was not who it claimed to be?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of discoveries from the cottonwood tree to the messages, calls, and financial trail that connected a NourishPath coaching account to a seventeen-month romance that never physically existed. What turns a wellness coach into a persistent voice that persuades a man to send tens of thousands of dollars?

Person: Terry Wilson
Date: February 11, 2022
Location: Cottonwood tree, east bank of Sutter Slough, Grover County, Indiana
Topic: Romantic scam via wellness coaching account
Amount: $41,200

- The phone was found with 61% battery inside a sealed freezer bag four feet off the ground in a cottonwood tree.
- Rachel West discovered the phone just before dawn on February 11, 2022 while birdwatching and photographed the scene before calling the Grover County Sheriff.
- Terry Wilson lived on Fenwick Lane in Caldwell, Indiana for nineteen years and had been divorced since 2016.
- Terry downloaded the NourishPath app after a type 2 diabetes diagnosis in August 2020 and paid $49 for a three-month subscription.
- Over seventeen months Terry sent $41,200 through transfers that included prepaid debit cards mailed to a forwarding service in Muncie.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

The Peacekeeper's Calendar: How a Rose Led to $312,000 Theft

Grief made her vulnerable: a single red rose left at 3:40 AM on January 9, 2019, a rose that was not frozen despite 19°F temperatures, and by the end of ten months Pamela Zeller had lost $312,000 - every cent her late husband saved. Who used a paper calendar, a staged soldier persona, and precise timing to turn her loneliness into a schedule of theft?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events that led Pamela from a social-network message to repeated wire transfers, and how a handwritten calendar recovered in a motel tied four CD maturity dates to staged crises. How did small gestures, filtered phone calls, and a calculated timeline convince a cautious, steady woman to hand over her life savings?

Person: Pamela Zeller
Event: Red rose placed in mailbox at 3:40 AM on January 9, 2019
Temperature: 19 degrees Fahrenheit
Loss: $312,000
Location: Dellwood, New Mexico

- A single red rose was placed inside a mailbox on Sutter Creek Road at 3:40 AM on January 9, 2019.
- The outside temperature that morning was 19°F, yet the rose was not frozen.
- Pamela was 44 years old in summer 2017 and had lived on Sutter Creek Road for 22 years.
- Ray died of a cardiac event in June 2017; the couple had no children and Ray had invested in four CDs at First Consolidated Bank.
- A handwritten paper calendar recovered in a Midwest City, Oklahoma motel had four dates matching the maturity dates of Pamela’s CDs.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

She Sent $4,100 to a Chessmaster - His Laptop Told the Truth

Fear of being tricked into love and money hits like a cold discovery: a laptop found upright in a snowdrift with a blinking amber light would later link a second-floor apartment to a six-state fraud ring. Four thousand one hundred dollars wired to a Dublin account, thirty-one transfers into that account over nine months, and a stolen laptop with a white chess knight sticker - who was the real Vincent, and how did the laptop become the missing witness?

In this episode, we walk through the sequence of events from the laptop discovery to the revelations about the romance scam, following the people, timestamps, and documents that connected one woman’s private messages to a multi-state fraud operation. How did routine chess games and curated photographs become the perfect cover for stealing $4,100?

Person: Erin Edwards
Date: December 4 (laptop found), November 22 (first wire), December 2 (second wire)
Location: County Road 9, Pallister, Wisconsin
Amount: $4,100 total ( $1,100 + $3,000 )
Case: laptop registered to Thomas Aldridge; stolen from Minneapolis eight weeks earlier

- Laptop found at 4:47 AM standing upright in eight inches of snow with battery at 31% and amber light blinking.
- Erin wired $1,100 on November 22 and $3,000 on December 2 to an intermediary Dublin account.
- The Dublin account received 31 wire transfers in nine months from 14 victims across six states.
- The man in the photograph had reported his laptop stolen in Minneapolis eight weeks before it was found on County Road 9.
- Erin played ten-minute chess games every morning at 7:15 starting in October and moved to private messaging by November.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].