PRETEND

Darnell Emanuel spent years inside Rony Denis's inner circle at the House of Prayer Christian Church. His name is on documents. His credit was used to buy houses he never lived in. But when the fraud finally caught up with the church, Darnell wasn't indicted.

In this bonus, Darnell walks us through the burner phones, the code names, and how the whole scheme worked. Plus, an update on Marjorie Denis. And what's happening at NTCC since the series aired.

The next two episodes are available right now on Patreon and PRETEND+ on Apple Podcasts.

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/pretendradio

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pretendpod

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We've covered a lot of PRETENDers on this show. But the guy in this one might take the prize.

Carlos Henrique Raposo, better known as Kaiser, fooled the entire professional soccer world in Brazil for 26 years. He signed with more than 30 clubs. He partied with George Michael. He got protected by Rio's most dangerous crime boss. He once punched a fan in the face rather than actually step on the field. And through all of it, he barely played a single real game.

This week we're revisiting one of our favorite conversations: an interview with Louis Myles, director of the 2015 documentary "Kaiser! The Greatest Footballer Never to Play Football." Myles and his team spent 18 months in Rio chasing down the truth, or something close to it, behind Brazil's greatest football legend who never actually played football.

Watch the documentary:

"Kaiser! The Greatest Footballer Never to Play Football" (2015) is streaming on Amazon Prime.

Also from Louis Myles:

"Mighty Penguins," following the Brentford Penguins, a football team made up of players with Down syndrome, as they prepare to serve as guard of honour at a Premier League match. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2023 and is currently on the festival circuit.

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This week, Javier stops by the Hot Mess Happy Hour Podcast and it didn't disappoint. It was a hot mess!

About Hot Mess Happy Hour:

Are you always running late? Do you leave things on top of your car and

Check out the Hot Mess Happy Hour:

https://hotmesshappyhour.buzzsprout.com/

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My friend Johnathan Walton just launched a new show called Hardcore Con, and I had to share it with you.

Each episode, he breaks down a con story and the specific psychological tactics scammers use to pull it off. And this episode gets at something I think about a lot: it doesn't matter how smart you are.

Subscribe to Hardcore Con on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0mXtr05OjD4wk4M8JrvLPy

Or search "Hardcore Con" wherever you listen.

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Federal prosecutors say the man known as Rony Denis isn't Rony Denis at all.

The arrest finally came in the fall of 2025. Three years after the FBI raids. But the church is still operating. So my friend Jared Smith from the Heliocentric YouTube channel and I drove down to Fayetteville to attend a Sunday service and see what's left of the House of Prayer Christian Church.

And the whole sermon, it turned out, felt aimed at two specific people in the pews.

This is the final chapter of the Chain of Command series. But it ain't over yet.

Watch Jared's Atheist Church Audits on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HeliocentricOfficial

Written and Produced by Javier Leiva Edited by Puneeth Shenoy | Podcast Pundits https://www.podcastpundits.com/ Music by Joe Basile | thechicken.net

Get early access and bonus content

PRETEND+ on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/pretend/id6443456985

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/pretendradio

© 2026 Creative Babble LLC

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In Part 6, the FBI comes knocking.

Rony Denis and his top associates allegedly defrauded the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and military veterans out of more than $23.5 million. The House of Prayer Bible Seminary looked like a school. Veterans used their GI Bill benefits to enroll, paying the church hundreds of dollars a month for classes that led nowhere and credits worth nothing outside these walls.

Rony Denis is still a free man. But not for long.

Written and Produced by Javier Leiva

Edited by Puneeth Shenoy | Podcast Pundits https://www.podcastpundits.com/

Music by Joe Basile | thechicken.net

Get early access and bonus content

PRETEND+ on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/pretend/id6443456985

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/pretendradio

© 2026 Creative Babble LLC

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Rony Denis wasn't just the spiritual leader at the House of Prayer Christian Church... He was their god.

In Part 5, former members start connecting the dots on how Rony Denis consolidated control, and it's worse than you think. He ordered members to smash their own phones in front of the congregation. He commanded public confessions. And when he set his eyes on something he wanted, whether that was another man's wife or a ten-year-old boy, he found a way to take it.

Written and Produced by Javier Leiva

Edited by Puneeth Shenoy | Podcast Pundits https://www.podcastpundits.com/

Music by Joe Basile | thechicken.net

Get early access and bonus content — join on Patreon or try PRETEND+ free on Apple Podcasts.

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/pretendradio

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/pretend/id6443456985

© 2026 Creative Babble LLC

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I teamed up with Carter Roy for a special guest collaboration on Murder: True Crime Stories and this one is something else. For the full episode, follow Murder: True Crime Stories on your favorite podcast app: https://pod.link/1745145932In November 2006, Abraham Shakespeare won $30 million in the Florida Lottery. He couldn't read or write, and within two years he'd given most of it away to anyone who asked. Then Dee Dee Moore showed up promising to protect what was left — and within months, she had his house, his insurance, and his power of attorney. Not long after, Abe vanished.

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Note: This episode contains graphic descriptions of sexual abuse and psychological manipulation.

It started with a revolt. Thirty ministers walked out of NTCC mid-service and never looked back. They thought they were done with high-control leadership, mandatory tithing, and pastors who ruled by fear. They were wrong. In this episode, former pastor Arlen Bradeen and Greg Shepard tell us what happened when they followed Rony Denis to Georgia — and what it cost them to finally get out.

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In part three of Chain of Command, we hear from those who grew up in the New Testament Christian Churches of America. From Victor Johanson, a former Army soldier who confirms on tape that NTCC ministers got vasectomies because children would interfere with their ministry. From a woman we're calling Kaylee, who was raised inside the church and was groomed and assaulted by a family member who was also an NTCC minister. And we look at how the church's CEO, Michael Kekel, has publicly stated at one point that no church is under a legal obligation to report child abuse.

This episode discusses sexual assault and the grooming of minors. Please take care while listening.

Want to keep going? Bonus episodes featuring the full unedited conversations with Victor Johanson and Kaylee are available right now on PRETEND+ on Apple Podcasts and on Patreon. You'll get bonus episodes and full access to the PRETEND archive.

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/pretend/id6443456985

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/pretendradio

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Stay Away From NTCC (former member YouTube channel run by Tracy Pelfrey)

The Mountain News (Bruce Smith's reporting on NTCC)

Washington State Senate Bill 5375 (clergy mandatory reporting law, May 2025)

Support and resources:

If you or someone you know is currently serving in the military and feels pressured by a religious group, you have options. Military OneSource is available 24/7 at 1-800-342-9647. Your installation chaplain can also provide confidential support across all faiths.

If you're a former member of NTCC or another high-control group and looking for support, the International Cultic Studies Association at icsahome.com offers resources, recovery workshops, and a directory of professionals familiar with high-control group recovery.

If you've experienced sexual assault, RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), or online at rainn.org.

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