Samantha Azzopardi had been living under the alias “Emily,” a 14-year-old gymnast from Russia, when she convinced her friend Hope’s family to adopt her. In this instance, however, her story got much darker than anything else Samantha had ever presented.

According to Hope, Emily claimed that she was severely traumatized by a murder-suicide in her family. Hope’s family believed her, and took her in for an undisclosed amount of time. But, when Hope’s family tried to enroll Emily in high school, school authorities raised questions about her birth certificate. Samantha would eventually move on to a whole new identity, and brainwash an innocent young backpacker who continues to be traumatized by the experience today.

Sponsor:

Hers: forhers.com/dirtymoney for your personalized weight loss options

Follow host, Jami Rice, on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube @JamiOnAir to keep up with this story and other true crime cases she’s deep-diving into and providing commentary on.

Check out Jami’s other true crime podcasts, MURDERISH and Lipstick & Lies, which are available in all podcast apps.

Dirty Money Moves is a collaboration between MURDERISH and Cloud10 Media.

Executive Producers are: Jami Rice and Sim Sarna

Research and writing by: Zach Selwyn

If you enjoy Dirty Money Moves, please do us a favor and give the podcast a 5-star rating and review in Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any podcast player.

Sources are available at MURDERISH.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices