By Sony Music Entertainment
4
25492,549 ratings
The podcast currently has 106 episodes available.
The mastermind behind the Maria Duval scam is revealed. Who is he and how did he operate one of the biggest scams in U.S. history? Investigative reporter Rachel Browne discovers this wasn’t his first mail-order operation and that Terry Polevoy, an amateur scam-buster, had helped expose that scheme. Rachel discovers the mastermind’s M.O.
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An ITN Productions & Sony Music Entertainment production.
Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts.
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U.S. Postal Inspector Clayton Gerber discovers that the letters are entering the country via Albany, NY, and that they’re originating from a company in Montreal. Locating criminals across the border for extradition is no simple task, but eventually Clayton finds two of the scam’s top lieutenants. Can he get them to give up the name of their boss, the true mastermind of the scheme?
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Just click Subscribe on the top of the Smoke Screen show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.
An ITN Productions & Sony Music Entertainment production.
Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts.
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To find out how the scheme is operating in the present, we go back to how it all started. We know that two Swiss businessmen had bought Maria’s name and image to add legitimacy to their mailing scheme and launch letters across Europe. But who were these men? What motivated them to cheat hundreds of thousands of people out of their life savings? And where are they today?
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Just click Subscribe on the top of the Smoke Screen show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.
An ITN Productions & Sony Music Entertainment production.
Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts.
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The Maria Duval letter scam began in Europe—so how did it make its way to America? U.S. Postal Inspector Clayton Gerber begins to unravel the threads of the scam when he discovers an address on Long Island, where victims are sending their replies to Duval. They also send intimate items like locks of their hair, hoping for the psychic’s help. Clayton’s team goes dumpster diving on Long Island and finds bags of return letters – proof Duval herself wasn’t getting the replies. Why were their replies ending up here, of all places? And who’s responsible?
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Just click Subscribe on the top of the Smoke Screen show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.
An ITN Productions & Sony Music Entertainment production.
Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts.
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Who was Maria Duval? Her son says she had a gift, an ability to see people’s futures. She helped locate missing people and worked with the French elite, befriending Jacques Chirac and Brigitte Bardot. In the late 80s, when two businessmen approached Maria Duval with a life-changing deal, her name becomes synonymous with one of the greatest scams ever written.
Unlock all episodes of The Greatest Scam Ever Written, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the first of every month thats all episodes, all at once, all ad-free.
Just click Subscribe on the top of the Smoke Screen show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.
An ITN Productions & Sony Music Entertainment production.
Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts.
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What would you do if you got a mysterious letter promising to restore your health and vitality? Doreen Robinson wrote back and sent money to the French psychic named Maria Duval who’d written to her. As their relationship deepened, Doreen had no idea that she wasn’t the only one. In fact, hundreds of thousands of people had gotten a Duval letter, and gave an estimated $175m. How was this possible?
Unlock all episodes of The Greatest Scam Ever Written, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the first of every month thats all episodes, all at once, all ad-free.
Just click Subscribe on the top of the Smoke Screen show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.
An ITN Productions & Sony Music Entertainment production.
Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts.
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What would you do if one handwritten letter promised to change your life forever?
All of us want magic, to feel like there is some sort of exterior force guiding our next steps, to believe our fate is written in the stars. This is the story of 1 million hopeful Americans, the global scam that took $200m from them, and the mastermind who managed it all by sending out thousands of letters a week.
Investigative journalist Rachel Browne takes us through the facts of the fraud, from its brilliantly simple conception to the revelation and imprisonment of the fraudster themselves. Speaking through letters from behind bars, the con artist maintains their innocence, saying: ‘Maybe it's not moral, maybe it's bullshit, but it doesn’t mean it's fraud.’
And that is the question at the heart of The Greatest Scam Ever Written: What happens if you want to believe that sending $50 to a psychic will change the course of your destiny? Are you a victim, or a willing participant?
Unlock all episodes of The Greatest Scam Ever Written, ad-free as soon as they drop on August 1st by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, you'll get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the first of every month, every month - thats all episodes, all at once, all ad-free.
Just click subscribe on the top of the Smoke Screen show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access.
An ITN Productions & Sony Music Entertainment production.
Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts.
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Despite promises made by the police, the killer faces the death penalty for his crimes. Donna confesses that she is terrified her father will find a way to avoid the death penalty, get out of prison, and come after her. As time goes on, Donna and Steve reckon with the aftershocks of her father’s crimes, the mistakes Steve made as a young journalist, and the damage the killer inflicted on his victims… both living and dead.
This episode will be released for free on July 8th.
Unlock all episodes of Smoke Screen: My Friend, the Serial Killer, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the first of every month thats all episodes, all at once, all ad-free. Just click Subscribe on the top of the Smoke Screen show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.
An Orbit Media & Sony Music Entertainment production in association with Rhyme Media.
Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts
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In the present day, Steve tracks down Donna, the killer’s daughter, who he first met when she was 12. Nearly fifty years later, Donna describes the harsh reality of growing up the daughter of a serial killer who she loved.
This episode will be released for free on July 1st.
Unlock all episodes of Smoke Screen: My Friend, the Serial Killer, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the first of every month thats all episodes, all at once, all ad-free.
Just click Subscribe on the top of the Smoke Screen show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.
An Orbit Media & Sony Music Entertainment production in association with Rhyme Media.
Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts
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Steve secures his exclusive interview with the killer, who reveals what he considers the “real reasons” his victims died. While digging into this investigative lead, Steve tracks down a former social worker, who has a stunning revelation for Steve that will completely change his understanding of the case.
This episode will be released for free on June 24th.
Unlock all episodes of Smoke Screen: My Friend, the Serial Killer, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the first of every month thats all episodes, all at once, all ad-free.
Just click Subscribe on the top of the Smoke Screen show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.
An Orbit Media & Sony Music Entertainment production in association with Rhyme Media. Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The podcast currently has 106 episodes available.
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