Swindled

Originally published on March 7, 2019.

Led by an effective advertising campaign (Smilin' Bob), an herbal supplement company's popular male enhancement pill is revealed to be a $500 million fraud.

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A cost-cutting decision to switch municipal water sources leads to a public health crisis in Flint, Michigan. 

Prelude: The discovery and response to the lead contamination of Washington, D.C. drinking water.

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An immigration raid at a kosher slaughterhouse in Postville, Iowa uncovers financial crimes committed by the company's CEO, Sholom Rubashkin. 

Prelude: Thirteen hundred undocumented workers are arrested during a coordinated raid of six Swift & Co. meatpacking facilities.

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Originally published on January 8, 2018.

In a scheme that lasted over a decade, Jerome "Uncle Jerry" Jacobson defrauded fast-food giant McDonald's for over $20 million by rigging the promotional Monopoly game.

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A lifelong con artist impersonates a Saudi Arabian prince to live a life of luxury. 

Prelude: Thomas Noe manages the State of Ohio's $50 million rare coin investment.

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A middle school dropout embraces his role as "the most hated man on the Internet" after creating a notorious "revenge porn" website called Is Anyone Up. 

Prelude: Kevin Bollaert becomes the first person convicted under California's revenge porn law.

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Australia's "most notorious con-woman" adopts multiple aliases to commit crimes around the world. 

Prelude: Jerry Joseph leaves Haiti to become a high school basketball star in a small, west Texas town.

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A coal mining disaster in Utah places the mine's owner in the media spotlight. 

Prelude: The Sago Mine disaster leads to renewed scrutiny on mine safety.

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The owner of a Washington D.C. escort agency loses everything after becoming the subject of a federal investigation.

Prelude: Kristin M. Davis, the Manhattan Madam, runs for office after spending time in prison.

Listen to Susie Bright's full interview with Deborah Jeane Palfrey on In Bed with Susie Bright exclusively on Audible.

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A successful trucking company is destroyed after it is inherited by the boss' greedy son. 

Prelude: Hundreds of Falcon Transport employees are blindsided by the company's sudden closure.

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