The Perfect Scam

In part two, law enforcement narrows in on Kota Youngblood and his scheme to steal millions of dollars from neighbors and fellow hockey league parents. His cruel lies have many believing that his life and, in some cases, their own lives are in danger from a Mexican drug cartel. The stories are so convincing that some victims are hesitant to talk to the FBI.

Kota Youngblood is known as a larger-than-life character in his small Texas town, spinning wild tales of military service and work as an undercover federal agent to his neighbors and acquaintances from his son's hockey league. His deceptions – from investments in rare coins and sports memorabilia to stories about drug cartels and kidnappings – steal millions and send one family into hiding.

In this bonus episode, Bob sits down with Josh Margolin, writer and director of the action and comedy film, Thelma, to discuss Josh's real-life inspiration – his 104-year-old grandmother, Thelma, and her frightening experience as a scam victim. Josh took the experience to heart, especially because the criminal pretended to be him. Thelma is winner of the 2025 AARP Movies for Grownups Award for the Best Intergenerational Movie.

Jordan is a star athlete and homecoming king who is packing for a beach vacation when he receives a message on Instagram. The account is of an attractive girl named Dani. Jordan exchanges flirty messages with her, and eventually, she convinces him to send an explicit photo of himself. That's when everything changes. Dani threatens to send the photo to his family and friends if he doesn't pay $1,000. Jordan tragically sees no way out and dies by suicide. Law enforcement tracks the crime to brothers in Nigeria, and in a landmark case, extradites them to the US where they are convicted and sentenced. Jordan's parents share his story in hopes of preventing similar tragedies.

In part 2, US Postal Inspector Cory McManus is hot on the trail of criminals running an elaborate romance scam network. After identifying dozens of victims, he arrests two suspects who've been acting as money mules. They quickly give up information about how the scam works and the name of the ringleader, Wisdom Onyobeno, who lives in Atlanta. Onyobeno's many victims finally get justice when he pleads guilty and is sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.

When Debbie's mother passes away suddenly, she is not prepared for what she finds. While sorting through financial records and paperwork, she discovers correspondence with the US Postal Inspection Service and letters to a victim's advocate. Debbie learns that her mother was hiding the painful secret that she was the victim of a romance scam that had stolen over $400,000 from her. But a US Postal Inspector is putting together the pieces to catch the ringleader of the elaborate, wide-ranging romance scam empire that is stealing millions of dollars from dozens of victims. Will Debbie get justice for her mom?

In this 2021 episode, when Shirley Gibson learns that her property in Miami's historic West Grove neighborhood has been sold by someone using a forged deed, she is determined to fight. Working together with journalist Phil Prazen and lawyer David Winker, they uncover an elaborate real estate scam targeting dozens of elderly property owners in this historically Black neighborhood. Law enforcement is soon on the trail of the criminals, but will Shirley get her land back?

In this 2021 episode, Miami's historic West Grove neighborhood has recently become a hot real estate market. So hot, in fact, that it has attracted the attention of scammers. It wasn't always so. Shirley Gibson's family has owned property in West Grove since her great-grandmother immigrated from the Bahamas over 100 years ago. Now in her 80s, Shirley had hoped to pass on the property to her niece and nephew. But when Shirley goes to pay her taxes one day, she learns that her property has been sold without her knowledge for $230,000. When another of her properties shows up on Zillow, it becomes clear this is not a fluke but an elaborate real estate scam, targeting property owners in this historically Black neighborhood.

Suzi and Gary retire to Tucson and find the perfect house with a less-than-perfect kitchen. They love to cook and entertain, so they put their energy and money into renovating their dream kitchen. Construction starts and is going smoothly until the payment for cabinets is due. The designer requests immediate payment by wire transfer, but a week later they discover that the designer never received the payment. Suzi and Gary discover that they are the victims of a BEC (business email compromise) scam.

Retired priest, Father Robert Banzin, has devoted his life to the service of others. Now in his 80s, he continues to preach every Sunday at his Chicago-area parish. Father Bob, as he is known in his community, gets an alarming email claiming that his PayPal account had been used for a purchase on eBay. Concerned, he calls a number he believes to be PayPal's customer service and is informed that his bank account has been compromised. Within weeks, every penny of his life savings had been stolen. But all is not lost, as former students and parishioners rally to support him.