Ahead of The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks, dropping tonight on MAX, here’s a look back at Danny’s recap of the previous six-part series from 2023. The Curious Case of Natalia Grace explores the Barnett family and the unusual events that unfolded—from Natalia’s adoption and suspicions about her age, to police involvement, her birth family in Ukraine, and the child abandonment trial.

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Danny is joined by Ashley Randele, co-host of the new podcast Smokescreen: My Fugitive Dad. At 38, Ashley discovered that her father, Thomas Randele, was a bank robber and fugitive known as Ted Conrad. She shares her experience creating the docuseries, what it was like investigating her own father’s past, and what listeners can expect in upcoming episodes.

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Danny is back with some holiday scams to watch out for: gift cards, QR codes, “smishing,” ChatGPT, and a pyramid scheme gift exchange.

SOURCES:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/shopping/2023/12/11/gift-card-scam-card-draining-holiday-shoppers-christmas/71876923007/

https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2023/12/scammers-hide-harmful-links-qr-codes-steal-your-information

https://www.axios.com/2023/12/12/beware-chatgpt-holiday-scams

https://bucks.crimewatchpa.com/newbritaintwppd/34878/post/gift-card-tampering-card-draining-scam?fbclid=IwAR2UjH5BtX7_7N0gz0Sbm49SLwsK5uV9uBH4EtHUUafZt7VNlDmEEdTAeOk

https://www.bbb.org/article/scams/18854-bbb-warning-secret-sister-gift-exchange-is-illegal

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This week, Danny covers the mysterious story of Australian conwoman Melissa Caddick. After falling victim to a romance scam in her early 20s, she pivoted to becoming a scammer herself, cheating friends and family out of millions. As the law began to catch up with her, Melissa mysteriously disappeared, only for a disembodied foot matching her DNA to wash up on the beach months later. Danny gets into the ins and outs of Melissa's scams and disappearance, as well as the theories about whether or not she faked her own death.

SOURCES:

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/25/australia/australia-melissa-caddick-fraud-coroner-death-intl-hnk/index.html

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/26/the-lady-vanishes-fraudster-melissa-caddick-is-dead-but-the-intrigue-lives-on

https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-forever-friend-the-former-boss-the-ex-husband-the-early-victims-of-fraudster-melissa-caddick-20210304-p577wo.html

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Ahead of Netflix’s American Nightmare, dropping January 17, we’re taking a look back at Danny’s interview with Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn, the subjects of the three-part docuseries.

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This week, Danny dives into the world of housing disputes. First, the story of a pair of bamboccioni (aka “big babies”) in Italy, whose 75-year-old mother took them to court for freeloading. Next, an Italian Supreme Court case from 2020 about parents financially supporting their adult children. Finally, the story of Elizabeth Hirschhorn—aka the “tenant from hell”—who refused to leave (or pay for) her LA rental mansion for over 500 days, after previously pulling a similar stunt in Oakland.

SOURCES:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/26/italian-woman-forced-to-court-to-evict-her-two-sons-aged-40-and-42

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12597887/Airbnb-guest-Elizabeth-Hirschhorn-kicked-Oakland-rental-two-months-moving-Sascha-Jovanovics-Brentwood-mansion-Harvard-grad-overstayed-540-days.html

https://www.fox9.com/news/airbnb-guest-stays-rental-500-days-without-paying-refuses-leave

https://fox59.com/news/national-world/airbnb-nightmare-tenant-leaves-los-angeles-home-after-nearly-600-days/

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Danny's flying solo this week with another roundup of recent newsworthy scams. First up, a Massachusetts family defrauds the lottery out of $20 million. Then, an Australian woman is the latest victim of an employment scam, losing her life savings. And finally, striking actors are being recruited for AI research that may end up replacing them in the future.

SOURCES:

https://nypost.com/2023/10/25/news/how-a-massachusetts-family-scammed-the-lottery-out-of-20-million/

https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/at-work/aussie-mum-loses-her-life-savings-to-a-cruel-employment-scam/news-story/13a9a41820d16246d020b51a0b5dad96

https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/10/19/1081974/meta-realeyes-artificial-intelligence-hollywood-actors-strike/

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This week, Danny covers James Hogue, a champion runner–turned–con man, who stole everything from trophies to bikes to gemstones—all while posing as a teenage student, even though he was nearly 30.

SOURCES:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2001/09/03/the-runner

https://paw.princeton.edu/article/strange-case-james-arthur-hogue#:~:text=As%20it%20turned%20out%2C%20Alexi,for%20possession%20of%20stolen%20property.

https://areomagazine.com/2022/04/08/the-curious-case-of-a-scholar-who-didnt-exist/

https://www.aspentimes.com/news/famed-con-man-who-lived-in-ajax-shack-arrested-again-in-aspen/

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Attorney Rex Chatterjee joins to explain why the FTX case is actually simpler than it seems. He walks Danny through the basics of wire fraud, how this kind of trial works, Sam Bankman-Fried’s strategy of blaming his attorneys, and why venture capitalists keep funding narcissists who “move fast and break shit.”

Note: This episode was recorded before the verdict was announced.

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Today, Danny shares a special episode of one of his favorite podcasts: Pop Crime with host Kiki Monique. Kiki breaks down the ongoing saga of Kanye West, as multiple lawsuits and allegations threaten his cultural empire. Danny joins to discuss whether this could be the end for Yeezy.

Tune in to NATCP on Monday for a deeper dive on the Donda drama, featuring Kiki!

@thetalkofshame

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