Fraudsters

This is part two of BiiitConneeeeeeect! The WORLD is a Ponzi Scheme, not BitConnect… at least according to their promoters. In this episode, we will meet Glenn Arcano, one of the top promoters, his techniques for capturing people, and the terrible fate that awaits him. There is also the not-so-smart promoter Trevon James who didn’t have the best timing for joining BitConnect. And finally, we will know what happened to Carlos Mato. What is he up to now?

TIMESTAMPS

(03:08) - Previously on the BitConnect fraud: Satish Kumbanhi and his three frauds. The lending program, the Ponzi scheme (Ponzi would be so proud!), and the multi-level marketing scam.

(07:54) - Glenn Arcaro one of the top promoters for BitConnect: How he would capture people and the evasive answers he would give when asked about the owner of BitConnect. 

(24:17) - The Cryptocurrency Certification Course by Glenn Arcano, where he taught how to invest in the lending program. Twenty thousand people took the course. TWENTY THOUSAND!!!

(28:45) - “We are living in a Ponzi scheme” - Arcano’s opinion on what is a Ponzi scheme and defending BitConnect with the “everything is a scam” argument. 

(36:26) - 20 years in prison, $250,000 in fines, and four levies against him, among other bitter things that Arcano has to face. 

(39:16) - Trevon Brown, the “Doper” that got into BitConnect by “taking action.” But he took action at BitConnect’s downfall. 

(42:46) . Why isn’t Brown facing the same charges as Arcano? Also, we see him use the “everything is a scheme” argument too.

(51:42) - What happened to Carlos? What has he been up to? Some people just don’t learn. 

RESOURCES

Glenn Arcano's video about who owns BitConnect

BitConnect Annual Ceremony

Trevon on Twitter

Confessions of the #1 BitConnect promoter - Trevon James

Carlos Launching an NFT

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We are coming, and we are coming in waves with the BitConnect fraud! (We promise this will make sense later) Imagine thousands of dollars going into your account without doing anything. It’s just like how Don Corleone once said: “What have we done to deserve this generosity?” Well, nothing, because it always comes with a price. What is BitConnect? How does it work? Who is the man behind this fraud? We’ll also have the privilege to listen closely to why this scam is not new at all: it only has a huge, shiny tech wrap around.

TIMESTAMPS

(2:28) - We are covering the crypto scams! We listen to Carlos Matos’ video where he is drunk on the fiction money he is getting from cryptocurrency. 

(11:04) - Satish Kumbhani, the man behind BitConnect, a fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platform. 

(12:29) - BitConnect is nothing we haven’t seen before! This type of scam is called the Big Store Con and it began with Ben Marks and his little game Three-card Monte.

(16:48) - Playing a man against the wall - The other approach to the Big Store Con and its resemblance to BitConnect. 

(19:14) - The first two major frauds: the security fraud with the lending program and the Ponzi Scheme run by the trading bot.

(23:05) - The third major fraud: the multilevel marketing scheme to get more people in.This is the big part of the Big Store Con!

(34:18) - Breaking down each of the major frauds that conformed BitConnect and spending Bitcoin to buy BitConnect, an explanation of its absurd mechanism.

(31:49) - How did this crypto start? What is a high-frequency trader? A man just on his computer who blows his nose. 

(35:08) - Turning pollution into diamonds - The trading bot is “a safe way to earn high rate of return on your investment without having to undergo a significant amount of risk”. Red flaaags!

(29:41) - An interview with Mr. Bad Liar: Satish Kumbhani. A YouTuber asks some basic questions to him but gets no real answers.

(48:05) - From January 2017 to January 2018 BitConnect acquired 325,000 Bitcoins. What was Satish Kumbhani doing with all of this money?

RESOURCES

Video of Carlos Matos from Bitcoin

Cryptogirl interviews Satish Kumbhani

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It’s part two and we are taking a hard look at the orgasm… again! Dr. Jordan is back and we go through all the wildly offensive details on Nicole Daedone and One Taste. We won’t lie, things get a little dark here: sexual assaults, coercion sexual control, trauma, financial debts, and other horrors sponsored by One Taste. How did One Taste work? Where did the money come from? Why would people engage in it? Tune in to listen to the perfect intersection between scams and orgasmic meditations. It is all about power! 

TIMESTAMPS

(2:04) - Dr. Jordan is back with us to help us finish with the One Taste’s Case and talk about the PhD in Sensuality or Lifestyles offered by Moore University.

(15:44) - Meeting Reese Jones, the tech millionaire that was funding One Taste and all about Orgasmic Meditation.

(19:54) - $499 for a weekend course! $12,000 for a coaching course! A $60,000 exclusive membership! Spoiler alert: this is where it gets really gross.

(23:17) - Pussy noses, t-shirt slogans, and asking how’s your orgasm? - The sickening and coercive sales tactics used by One Taste.

(29:57) - At this point, Scientology feels a little PG compared to these people! The violence and adding centers where vulnerable people show up and feel like they have a shelter.  

(35:52) - The perpetrator's profile: Likely people who have a history of engagement in prior violence or prior perpetrated behaviors and have been praised for it. 

(41:47) - The victims: Feeling ashamed, having power issues, PTSD, physiological trauma, debts and so many things that victims have to go through thanks to One Taste’s slavery system.  

(46:57) - The Fall: Bloomberg’s article, Daedone stepping down as CEO, believing her own lies, the FBI opening an investigation and closing all of One Taste’s offices. 

(54:07) - Groom your bush and play with your wood - The Land, or what might be the 2.0 version of One Taste. Will they ever stop?

(58:48) - Why Daedone’s work is not new - Dr. Jordan shares with us some final thoughts about One Taste and how it is a cult. 

RESOURCES

One Taste’s website 

Dr. Ruth on Twitter

Dr. Ruth on Instagram

Dr. Jordan Soper’s Website

Dr. Jordan on Facebook

Dr. Jordan on Linkedin 

Dr. Jordan on Instagram

The Darkside of One Taste, the Orgasmic Meditation Company an article by Bloomberg

OneTaste CEO Steps Down After Claims That Company Engaged in Predatory Behavior an article by Bloomberg

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This episode is all about sex, orgasms, and pleasure! Did that get your attention? Well, this is the way One Taste would get the attention of their victims. It is our first wellness fraud and to help us navigate its turbulent waters we invited Dr. Jordan Soper a certified sex therapist to speak with us. What is One Taste? What is Orgasmic Meditation or OM? Witsho is Nicole Daedone and where did she get the inspiration for One Taste? In this episode, we see how the promise of pleasure can turn into a real nightmare where slavery, control, and harassment rule. Put your audio seat belt on because it’s about to get nasty!

TIMESTAMPS

(02:16) - It’s our first wellness fraud! The company: One Taste. The fraud: Orgasmic Meditation or OM. The core: a classical financial scheme. But first, what is OM?

(07:24) - To help us navigate the turbulent waters of One Taste’s case, we invited Dr. Jordan Soper, a certified sex therapist.

(09:26) - What is the pleasure gap? How the orgasm receives more attention rather than pleasure.

(11:39) - Nicole Daedone, founder and CEO of One Taste, has a Ted Talk about the female orgasm. Let’s hear what she has to say about it and learn a little bit about her past.

(24:46) - What makes an orgasm good? Thinking about orgasms from the clinical standpoint there are so many mechanisms involved. We need details guys, not generalizations!

(27:50) - Learning from Victor Baranco - Founder of the Lafayette Morehouse, sex communes, and the model that Daedone later used for One Taste.

(33:25) - Slavery, control, and hiding under “educational purposes” - The really creepy stuff that was going on at Lafayette Morehouse.

(43:34) - Baranco’s target: young, naive, and new to the world. Also, other disgusting tales from the Lafayette Morehouse. 

RESOURCES

Dr. Jordan Soper’s Website

Dr. Jordan on Facebook

Dr. Jordan on Linkedin 

Dr. Jordan on Instagram

Nicole Daedone’s Ted Talk

Lafayette Morehouse video

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How far can a parent go for his/her kid? We’ve realized that we have a little bit of meat left on the old Rick Singer bone and that is why we decided to make a bonus episode! We cover the cases of actresses Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives), Lori Laughlin (Full House), and her husband Mossimo Giannulli (Yes, the 90s Mossimo jeans guy). It seemed like these celebrities made some generous “donations” to the Key Worldwide Foundation but in reality, they were paying to get their daughters into top universities. What led them to make those decisions? How did they all end up? Are they part of our beloved fraudsters? Tune in and discover with great details how far these celebs went for their kids!

TIMESTAMPS

(02:07) - We’re covering one of Hollywood’s scandals in hope that, maybe, we can figure out what led the people involved to make the decisions they did. Let’s start with Felicity Huffman!

(08:40) - Art imitating life? Felicity’s career takes off with Desperate Housewives and her tendency to play the role of the well-intended mother. 

(13:37) - Freeze! Felicity is arrested in 2019 for giving $15K to the Key Worldwide Foundation to get her daughter the extra 400 points she needed for her SAT to audition for drama school. 

(23:52) - Doing the same scheme next year for her younger daughter, aborting the mission due to Huffman’s guilt which eventually helped her case (in addition to Eva Longoria’s support letter).

(25:40) - Huffman’s lawyers argue that “she was being unfairly persecuted for being rich,” and the sentence she had to face. Also, what happened to Sofia?

(29:46) - Introducing the fraudster couple: Actress Lori Laughlin and fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli. 

(38:33) - Let’s focus on Olivia Jade’s story because the scheme in her case is better and, well, more documented: The fake athletes and the sentences her parents had to face. 

(45:29) - “I’ve been to one class and I already want to die,” Olivia Jade on USC. Also, we talk with Melissa Korn and Jennifer Levitz about Olivia Jade on the Red Table Talk.

RESOURCES

Desperate Housewives, meet the housewives

Olivia Jade on the Red Table Talk

Unacceptable: Privilege, Deceit & the Making of College Admissions Scandal by Melissa Korn, Jennifer Levitz

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We can’t get enough of Anna! In this episode, we continue our exploration of Anna Sorokin’s case and the show “Inventing Anna”. We had the opportunity to interview actor, writer, and director Arian Moayed. Arian shares with us a little bit of his story, his amazing project Waterwell and his experience playing Anna Delvey’s lawyer, Todd Spodek, in this Shondaland hit. We’re really grateful for the opportunity to meet and talk with such a great guy like Arian (Of Stewy fame from Succession!). Why does he play such shitty people? How is it to be on a Shonda Rhimes set? What is his perception of Anna Delvey’s case? Tune in and find out!

TIMESTAMPS

(01:33) - You’ve seen him in “Succession”, “Spider-man: No Way Home” and “Inventing Anna.” Ladies and gentlemen Arian Moayed!

(10:48) - Arian talks to us about his amazing company Waterwell, an art and education civic-minded company. 

(19:08) - Ok now let’s get to the good part! - Arian shares with us his experience playing the role of Anna’s lawyer, Todd Spodek.

(23:16) - Meeting the real Todd on the most crucial day of filming for Arian, the Brooklyn accent, and being in a Shonda Rhimes set. 

(32:15) - What is it about these types of stories that make us so attracted to them? Thinking Anna is not a victim? Or is she? Arian shares his thoughts on this.

(39:27) - Rachel, the Queen of Missteps - The way the media is portraying Anna’s defrauded best friend.

(44:02) - Succession - Being such a lovely man, how does Arian play such shitty people? Also, has Arian been a victim of fraud?

RESOURCES

Arian Moayed on Instagram

Arian Moayed on Twitter

Waterwell website

Succession Trailer

Spider-man: No Way Home Trailer

Inventing Anna, breakdown jail scene (1x8)

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We are going back to season one a little bit and talking about one of our favorite fraudsters, Anna Delvey! Who is Anna now? Also, our favorite New York Times reporter and our favorite reporter for the Anna Delvey story is back! We take a closer look at Shonda Rhimes’ dramatization of events: Inventing Anna, and the different efforts of media outlets to answer who Anna is. Has she changed? What is next for her? What has she been up to? It seems we’re still  very interested in her and have soo many questions! Join us and satisfy your Anna Delvey intrigue with us!

TIMESTAMPS

(02:00) - Let’s talk about one of our favorite fraudsters Ana Sorokin aka Anna Delvey and go through some of the key moments from last season's episodes we did about her case. 

(07:34) - Who is Anna? The 60 minutes sit-down interview with Anna, her Instagram, and Shonda Rhymes’ dramatization of events, “Inventing Anna.”

(13:45) - Emily Palmer is back! The journalist who covered Anna’s trial joins us one more time to talk about what Anna Delvey is like now. 

(22:23) - Inventing Anna - The 9-hour-long dramatization of Anna’s case. How accurate was the show? Was it a fair portrayal of Anna?

(36:46) - Is she remorseful? Reinventing Anna, the changes Emily has been able to see about this fraudster and Anna saying “I’m not a good person.”

(42:14) - What is she getting out of all this fanfare? Also, we take a look at the things we missed! And, what do Anna’s case and mediatic spotlight say about society?

(55:51) - What is next for Anna in the upcoming months? What is next for Emily? What was Emily’s favorite part of the show?

RESOURCES

Inventing Anna, the official trailer

Anna’s Instagram

Emily Palmer on Twitter

Emily Palmer on LinkedIn

Emily Palmer on Instagram

Emily Palmer on The New York Times

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It’s the Italian swindler of excellence! The Picasso of con artists! The king of kings of fraudsters Charles Ponzi! We’ve all heard about the Ponzi schemes but who was Ponzi? What did he do to have a scheme named after him? We invited Patrick O’Boyle to help us understand Charles Ponzi twisted and brilliant mind better. Also, Dr. Amir Mahan Ghaznavi (Yes, Seena’s brother) shares with us some useful information to prove that Ponzi’s redemption story was pure trash! In this episode, we learn who Charles Ponzi was before becoming the king of fraud, how he got to America, and his neverending scheme stories. Tune in and find out why he is the crème de la crème of fraudsters!

TIMESTAMPS

(02:10) - It’s the proto fraudster! The king of kings of frauds! The Italian immigrants' scam! The Lord and Savior Charles Ponzi! 

(07:54) - Patrick O’Boyle is here to help us illustrate and paint a more beautiful picture of what Ponzi actually is to the Italian people and who he was back then. 

(15:36) - Ponzi comes to America! Why Italians might have gravitated toward the banking center? Patrick O’Boyle shares his theory about it.

(25:04) - Ponzi’s crime beginnings: Faking a check, his job as ‘Special Assistant to a prison warden at the Canadian Prison,’ becoming the Canadian Coyote, and more time in prison.

(29:31) - Rebooting his image - Becoming a nurse at a mining camp and giving 50 inches of his skin to a fellow nurse. Is that even possible? Let’s see what Dr. Amir has to say…

(37:36) - It's the beginning of his iconic fraud! The creation of The Securities Exchange Company which promised a 100% return on investment in his postal reply coupons in 90 days. 

(43:47) - Meet Charles Burelli and Andrea Luciana - Changing identities, faking deaths, and changing jobs. Scam and prison being the only constant things in Ponzi’s life.

RESOURCES

The Italian American Podcast website

Patrick O’Boyle on Facebook

Patrick O’Bolye on Instagram

Dr. Amir Mahan Ghaznavi Cleveland Clinic’s Website

Dr. Amir Mahan Ghaznavi on LinkedIn

Dr. Amir Mahan Ghaznavi on Twitter

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It’s our final episode on the College Admission Scandal where Rick Singer is the Michael Jordan of snitching! In this episode, we are having a little fun introducing the Fraudsters Roulette! There are around 40 parents to choose from and we are telling you, we are airing all their dirty laundry! Who are they? What did they do? Are they facing any sentences? And finally, we talk with Melissa and Jennifer about who the real victims of this fraud are. Don’t go anywhere because this final episode it’s gonna get hot and scammy.

TIMESTAMPS

(02:02) - If Rick Singer falls everyone falls with him! He has to win right? How Morrie Tobin flipped on Rick Singer and everything went down. 

(13:48) - Introducing the Fraudster’s Roulette for the Varsity Blues Scandal! We’ve got around 40 parents to choose from! The first one is Robert Flaxman.

(18:54) - Our next lucky fraudsters of the day are: Gordon Ernst, Peter Jan Sartorio, and Robert Zangrillo!

(31:33) - Red 18 is no other than Michelle Janavs! She is the heiress of the Hot Pockets empire and we’ll tell you, she would do anything for her kids. 

(35:46) - The complete absurdity of this case, how people threw their money away just for status ($50 million or not, the kid isn’t going to class anyway), and how this is a Nuveau Rich thing. 

(41:14) - Continuing with our Fraudster’s Roulette we talk about Jane Buckingham, just take that name in and imagine her…well it’s worst, it’s the complete dark side of this case.

(50:23) - The final fraudsters from the Fraudster’s Roulette are…the Abbotts anddd Doug Hodge!

(1:07:09) - Who were the real victims of this whole fraud? The real-life athlete kids whose photos were stolen and the intended beneficiaries. 

RESOURCES

Hot Pockets commercial

Jane Buckingham on Instagram

Greg Abbott’s book

I Wish I’d Never Met Rick Singer by Doug Hodge

Unacceptable: Privilege, Deceit & the Making of College Admissions Scandal by Melissa Korn, Jennifer Levitz

Jennifer Levitz on Twitter

Jennifer Levitz on The Wall Street Journal 

Jennifer Levitz on LinkedIn

Melissa Korn on The Wall Street Journal

Melissa Korn on Twitter

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Rick Singer finally starts selling that one thing that makes every parent vulnerable: their children's future. In this episode, we see how he reaches the peak. Finally, he is the winner of all hustlers and liars! Melissa and Jennifer are back to give us some insights on the techniques and the mechanism of Singer’s scam. How did it work? Also, we learn about his two companies and the key role they played for the scam to work, and finally, we get to see how it all blew up. Tune in and find out why Rick Singer is the greatest rat of all time!

TIMESTAMPS

(02:03) - Our grooming fraudster decided it was time to make his move helping kids into the school of their dreams and published a book called “Getting in.” So kind of him! 

(10:56) - Launching the college counselor - A tight group of wealthy white elite people hires him in the early 90s. Also, Melissa and Jennifer share with us how he did business.

(16:07) - The art of resume embellishment - Bold-faced lies and business growing. (FOMO, a hell of a drug and Singer’s business fuel!)

(22:36) - A change of luck! His time working for call centers, India, and coming back to tell more lies than ever before!

(33:36) - The Master Coach and his two companies: Edge College and Career Network, LLC, and The Key Worldwide foundation. A complete shit show! 

(37:29) - We listen to an actual conversation from Rick Singer getting hired. Also, Melissa and Jennifer give us a little more insight into the scam itself. 

(44:34) - Bribes and Cambodia - The Key Worldwide Foundation as an exempt organization under 501C3. What does that mean? How did Singer make it work?

(56:37) - Melissa and Jennifer tell us how it all blew up: Rick Singer is a rat and he is the greatest rat of all time!

RESOURCES

The Key Worldwide Overview

Unacceptable: Privilege, Deceit & the Making of College Admissions Scandal by Melissa Korn, Jennifer Levitz

Jennifer Levitz on Twitter

Jennifer Levitz on The Wall Street Journal 

Jennifer Levitz on LinkedIn

Melissa Korn on The Wall Street Journal

Melissa Korn on Twitter

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