Zeke Gonzalez had worked hard to turn his life around when, one morning, on his way to work, he was arrested. Zeke couldn't seem to shake the past he'd worked hard to leave behind and soon, the rest of his life would hang in the balance. 

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When Rebecca Gray arrived in Perth in 2016, she met Sean and they quickly fell in love. After they'd been together for over a year, Sean uncovered a trail of lies and realized Rebecca was weaving the same story with another man. Hannah tells Patia about this romance fraudster, or as they like to say in Australia, this "love rat."  

Recommendation: The Dark Wizard (TV Series) 

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This week we'd like to introduce you to the podcast, Hardcore Con. It's a new show from Johnathan Walton Media. What on earth could convince an Ivy League-educated journalist to fork over a shoebox with her entire life savings in it to a complete stranger for safekeeping? This is an intricate and complex con involving multiple con artists. And it could happen to any one of us so pay attention to the tricks, the brain hacks and the dark psychology these A-list scammers use to successfully pull off this $50,000 con. 

Check out Johnathan's other podcasts at johnathanwalton.com/podcasts 

Johnathan Walton's book is Anatomy of a Con Artist 

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When Julie Belshe learned her parents had been placed under private guardianship and taken from their home in September 2013, she launched a battle to get them back. Her fight exposed a disturbing, corrupt network that all led back to a woman named April Parks. 

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When Julie Belshe arrived at her parents’ Las Vegas house in 2013, they’d vanished. After a desperate weekend of searching, she located them, but their reappearance sparked a deeper mystery. What happened to her parents, and how would Julie bring them back?

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As a follow-up to last week's episode, Patia and Hannah break down the fraud perpetrated by Tony Dia, the father of fallen police officer, Anthony Dia. Patia also tells Hannah about an additional victim of Lisa Titkemeier.

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When Lisa Titkemeier told her new friend Dee Lynn that she had cancer, Dee sprang into action, raising thousands of dollars to help. But what began as an inspiring story of friendship and community support soon took a dark turn. 

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What is a public defender really up against? Emily Galvin Almanza fought for over 2000 clients in some of America's toughest courts and saw firsthand how even being accused of a crime can derail someone's life. Today, we speak with Emily about her most memorable cases and her new fight to reform the criminal justice system. 

Emily's book: The Price of Mercy: Unfair Trials, a Violent System, and a Public Defender's Search for Justice in America 

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Attorney Michael Cowgill joins us to discuss a wrongful death lawsuit involving Kratom, the widely available and largely unregulated substance sold in gas stations across the U.S. At the center of the case is Patrick Coyne, a 39-year-old husband and father, whose death has been attributed to Kratom use. We explore the legal battle, the risks associated with the substance, and the questions surrounding oversight and consumer safety. 

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Paul Fronczak discovered that he was not biologically related to his parents, Dora and Chester Fronczak, but was born in New Jersey as Jack Rosenthal. He also learned he had a twin sister, Jill, who was missing. Paul's search for his identity had expanded. He was now looking for three people: the real Paul Fronczak who was kidnapped in 1964, the kidnapper, and his biological twin sister, Jill. 

Referenced in the episode:  

Paul Jack Fronczak's podcast: The Fronczak Files

Paul Jack Fronczak's books: The Foundling and True Identity 

Documentary: The Lost Sons 

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