Jen Shah, a former star on “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” was released from federal prison earlier this week, after serving less than 3 years of her 6.5 year sentence. Shah pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud with telemarketing back in 2022. At the time, the DOJ claimed from at least 2012 until her arrest years later in March 2021, she was behind a nationwide telemarketing fraud scheme that amassed thousands of victims. Prosecutors said that her ruse targeted vulnerable and elderly people, and they “were defrauded over and over again until they had nothing left.” In a February 2024 letter to People Magazine, she wrote “In my daily prayers, I ask God for the courage to realize I am worthy of a second chance,” and added "I am finding the courage to set my fear and guilt aside." Shah was released from a minimum-security federal prison camp in Texas to community confinement, where she will serve out the rest of her sentence at home or a halfway house. Criminal defense attorney Lauren Johnson-Norris joins “Forbes True Crime” to discuss.

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“To Catch a Predator” was a cultural phenomenon when it aired from 2004 to 2007. “Predators,” a new documentary, explores the complicated legacy of the crime show that captured the zeitgeist of the early 2000s. The film’s director, David Osit, joins “Forbes True Crime” to discuss.

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Mary Carole McDonnell is the former CEO of Bellum Entertainment, a company that produced shows like "Corrupt Crimes," "Deep Undercover," and "I Married a Murderer." In 2017, Bellum reportedly began facing an onslaught of financial problems – Deadline reported that year the company was facing issues with their line of credit and the California Labor Commissioner was investigating wage claims lodged against the company by dozens of employees. The FBI alleges that In july 2017, McDonnell “knowingly, and with the intent to defraud” came up with an elaborate ruse to scam various financial institutions out of close to 30 million dollars. Authorities allege she maintained she was an heiress with ties to a wealthy aviation family and would have access to an $80M trust. Over the next 10 months, with that phony story, she was able to obtain $14.7M from one bank, and con an additional $15M from other institutions. In December 2018, she was charged with bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Seven years later, the FBI added McDonnell to the Bureau’s Most Wanted list, claiming that they believe the former executive is currently in Dubai. Former FBI agent Dr. Rhonda Glover Reese joins “Forbes True Crime” to break down the case.

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The Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed into law in November, gave the Department of Justice a deadline of December 19th to release all of their documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Since Friday, the DOJ has released batches of Epstein-related materials on what has been described as a rolling basis. In the document dumps were photos of Epstein with the rich and prominent people, an image of former President Bill Clinton soaking in a hot tub, and an email sent in January of 2020 from a federal prosecutor that claimed “Donald Trump traveled on Epstein's private jet many more times than previously has been reported.” The DOJ released a statement with the release of the December 23 files that in part said “Some of these documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election. To be clear: the claims are unfounded and false, and if they had a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already.” Barry Levine, author of "The Spider: Inside the Criminal Web of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell," joined “Forbes True Crime” to discuss what has been revealed in the released materials so far.

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The doctor who sold Matthew Perry ketamine before the actor’s 2023 overdose death was sentenced to 2.5 years in federal prison on Wednesday. The 54-year-old actor, who is most known for playing Chandler Bing on the sitcom “Friends,” died on October 28, 2023, after he was found unresponsive in his hot tub. During the sentencing hearing, the federal judge reportedly told Dr. Salvador Plasencia that while he did not supply the ketamine that ultimately killed the actor, “you and others helped Mr. Perry on the road to such an ending by continuing to feed his ketamine addiction.” Four other defendants pleaded guilty to crimes related to Perry’s death and are expected to be sentenced in the coming months. Harry Nelson, lawyer and author of “The United States of Opioids,” joins “Forbes True Crime” to discuss.

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Audiochuck, the parent company of true crime podcasts like 'Crime Junkie' and 'The Deck,' recently signed a multi-year deal with Tubi, that according to reporting from The Wall Street Journal, is valued at $150M. Audiochuck's founder Ashley Flowers described the deal as "first of it's kind" said that "by joining forces with Tubi, we're not just expanding our reach — we're redefining how true crime stories are experienced across audio and video." Audiochuck's CEO Matt Starker joined "Forbes True Crime" to discuss the media company's expansion into the video and television space.

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Over the summer, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche conducted a two-day interview with longtime Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence after being found guilty of sex trafficking charges in connection to Epstein. During her meeting with Blanche, she claimed to have never witnessed any inappropriate behavior, and that she never saw President Donald Trump engage in any wrongdoing. After the meeting, she was transferred to a minimum-security facility in Texas – the type of prison camp that typically does not allow sex offenders. Emails that Maxwell has sent since her move to the Lone Star State show she’s received preferential treatment from the warden, benefits from a host of privileges not usually provided to other inmates, and writes in a tone that is “notably free of regret, remorse, shame, and self-doubt,” according to The Atlantic staff writer Isaac Stanley-Becker, who obtained the correspondence. Stanley-Becker joins “Forbes True Crime” to discuss his takeaways from Maxwell’s emails from prison.

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Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) has been indicted on charges related to her alleged role in stealing and laundering millions of dollars in disaster funds through her family’s health care company, and then using the money to aid her run for Congress in 2021. In July of that year, the indictment alleges that Cherfilus-McCormick’s family health care company was accidentally overpaid to the tune of $5 million dollars for a federally funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract. Instead of returning the misappropriated funds, federal prosecutors claim “a substantial portion” of the money was used for Cherfilus-McCormick's campaign and “for the personal benefit of the defendants.” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement that using disaster relief funds for personal gain “is a particularly selfish, cynical crime.” The congresswoman has maintained her innocence, called the indictment a “sham,” and added that she is looking forward to her day in court. Criminal defense attorney Skye Lazaro joined “Forbes True Crime” to discuss.

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House Democrats on the Oversight Committee released a handful of Jeffrey Epstein’s emails that raised new questions about the relationship between the convicted sex offender and President Donald Trump. Republican committee members accused Democrats of cherry-picking emails that would “generate clickbait,” and then released an additional 20,000 documents. Seemingly in response to the email dump, President Trump posted on Truth Social that “the Democrats are using the Jeffrey Epstein hoax to try and deflect from their massive failures, in particular, their most recent one — the shutdown!" On the same day, a discharge petition secured enough signatures to force a House vote on a bill that would compel the Trump administration to release all files related to Epstein. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in connection with the late sex offender. On "Forbes True Crime," Barry Levine, author of "The Spider: Inside the Criminal Web of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell," reacted to newly-released emails.

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Aileen Wuornos is infamously known as one of America’s most notorious female serial killers – she confessed to killing seven men between 1989 and 1990. “Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers” is a new documentary that explores Wuornos’ story. Emily Turner, the director of the film, joins “Forbes True Crime” to discuss her new project.

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