At the turn of the century, Manhattan social climber John Gluck stepped in to answer children' s letters to Santa. But as soon as donations started flooding into his newly formed Santa Claus Association, John went from Saint Nick to Grinch, skimming off the top and living large. He ran his Claus con for more than a decade before real-life Boy Scouts rallied to take him down.

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In this episode we examine America’s favorite pastime: gambling. With loosening regulations, the explosion of online betting sites, and the full support of major sports leagues, sportsbetting has become ripe for scam. In this episode we meet an accountant who worked the system and bilked an NFL team out of millions, an interpreter who conned one of baseball’s greatest players, and a basketball player who bet against himself. In all three cases, the stakes are high and hopes are dashed when luck runs out.

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Come join Sarah and Scaachi for a very Scamfluencers holiday special. We’ll give thanks to the scammers we’ll never forget, review our naughty and slightly-less-naughty list, and roast the ones who deserve it… along with chestnuts on the open fire. We’ve got updates on some of our most infamous scammers, and we name a few scammers-to-be who we hope get indictments in their stockings. We’re making like Grinches crashing a Whoville party and toasting to the most American thing of all: scamming!  

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Senator Bob Menendez and his wife have just been indicted for wheeling and dealing with the government of Egypt, along with many other crimes. In a bid to save his career, Bob throws his co-conspirators under the bus—including his wife, Nadine. But after decades avoiding consequences, Bob faces a mountain of evidence in court. He’s about to go from lion of the Senate to major liability.

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Bob Menendez rode an anti-corruption reputation to the highest levels of the New Jersey political machine. But as he ascends to the U.S. Senate, he realizes he can raise money the good old-fashioned way: through bribes. By the time he meets his one true love, Nadine Arslanian, Bob is no stranger to corruption, and as a senior member of the senate, he’s more than happy to use his influence to make his new girlfriend happy.

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Yolanda Saldívar’s whole life is Tejano music, especially the genre’s biggest rising star: Selena Quintanilla. Yolanda works her way into Selena’s inner circle, first as leader of her fan club and eventually more like a second mother. Then she abuses her power, terrorizing staff and stealing from Selena and her family. But when Selena catches onto her schemes, Yolanda senses that her time in the spotlight may be coming to an end, and she makes a desperate and deadly decision.

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Matthew Cox wanted to prove his haters—especially his dad—wrong, so he goes into real estate in Florida and quickly gets involved in “light fraud.” That quickly expands to very real fraud and soon Matthew is on the run, stealing identities and opening illegal bank accounts all across the South. His grit and determination run so deep that, when he’s eventually caught and sent to prison, he executes the perfect scammer pivot: using his story to platform himself as a true crime host.

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Garth Drabinsky overcomes a sickly childhood to become a world-famous theater producer, bringing big shows like Phantom of the Opera and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to his native Canada. Then he tackles Broadway, always staging shows that were bigger, brighter, and more expensive than anyone else. Like every theater kid, he’s determined the show must go on — even if that involves a little fraud. But when the most feared man in Hollywood becomes a business partner, Garth’s dreams come crashing down in dramatic fashion.

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Fueled by cocaine and daddy issues, Richard Bandler revolutionized self-help by developing an approach called Neuro-Linguistic Programming — which is essentially mental manipulation. Richard got his start in the 1970s, and his books and controversial workshops gained thousands of followers and made him rich. But his addictions isolated him from his friends and family, and led him to get caught up in a gruesome crime. Richard may not have practiced what he taught, but NLP has inspired many, including some truly toxic and criminal movements.

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When Elon Musk bid to buy Twitter for $44 billion, he made headlines for the mess that followed — including flip flopping on the deal and immediately firing most of the site’s employees. In this special episode of Scamfluencers, Scaachi Koul talks with New York Times reporters Kate Conger and Ryan Mac about their new book Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter. They explain how Musk leveraged his Silicon Valley clout to take over, and tank, everyone’s favorite hellsite and we’re left wondering: is Elon Musk the ultimate Scamfluencer?

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