Unscrupulous

Running another classic episode to allow Bec a bit more time to heal up! Thank you to everyone for your patience and support while we are away.

Re-scrupe your hearts out, lovelies!
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We're gonna need you to start imagining bagpipes right about now.

Bec (they/them) starts us off in Scotland, where four Glaswegian students are ready to take back their nations history as they plan to steal the Stone of Scone...of Destiny.

Next Adam (he/him) introduces us to Sherri Papini, a kidnapping victim who is found wounded by the side of the road. Family and friends are thrilled at her return, until some of the details of her disappearance don't quite seem to add up.

Bec's resources:

• https://ultimatehistoryproject.com/an-infamous-theft-the-stone-of-scone.html
• https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-63130942

Adam's resources:

• Missing California mother feared abducted while jogging - BBC News
• Abducted California woman Sherri Papini found after three weeks - BBC News
• FBI release sketches of Sherri Papini abduction suspects - BBC News
• 'The Vanishing Act': How Sherri Papini fooled investigators, family with phony kidnap plot - ABC News
• Sherri Papini: US woman who staged her own disappearance sentenced to 18 months - BBC News

Make sure to follow us on instagram @unscrupulouspod and send us an email at [email protected]

We're basically in syndication!

We are taking this week off to let Bec have a bit more time to heal after top surgery (!!!!!!)

In the meantime we are running an old favourite, hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane as much as we did! Be back soon!
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This episode went off the railsssss. See what happens when tech issues cause us to go loopy and can't stop giggling. Jocko Blood!! ifkyk. We accidentally chose to cover very similar men, centuries apart.

First Adam (he/him) introduces us to Col. Thomas Blood, who after a life of bumbling through crime decides to bumble through an attempt of stealing the crown jewels. He befriends an unassuming guard just hoping to marry off his daughter.

Next Bec (they/them) takes us to this century where we meet another deceitful dude. Jeremy Wilson must have the best memory of all time because he has upwards of 27 identities he is operating under. So you think he'd be smarter about a trap left by the cops.

Adam's sources:
Irish adventurer “Colonel Blood” steals crown jewels - HISTORY

Colonel Blood and the theft of the Crown Jewels

Attempt to steal the Crown Jewels - The National Archives

Thomas Blood - Wikipedia 

Bec's sources:
 https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/07/nyregion/jeremy-wilson-a-compulsive-con-man.html

https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/where-is-jeremy-wilson-from-generation-hustle-now-prison

Make sure to follow us on instagram @unscrupulouspod and send us an email at [email protected]

Bec (they/them) tells us about Tania Head, a person who pretended to be one of the survivors of the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Known as the woman who wasn't there, we go through all of the actual money, time and effort she put into creating The World Trade Center Survivors Network, but really it seems like the entire sick lie was just for attention.

Adam (he/him) then tells us about Jan Marsalek, with a glimmer in his eye he makes a name for himself in e-commerce in the early days of the internet. Eventually his wildly successful company Wirecard comes under fire when it turns out that their success is not as it seems.

Bec's Sources:

• https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/9-11-fantasists-survivors-world-trade-center-b2164064.html 
• https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/27/nyregion/27survivor.html 
• https://www.npr.org/2012/04/14/149399210/the-amazing-untrue-story-of-a-sept-11-survivor 
• https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/13/the-brief-return-of-the-woman-who-wasnt-there/ 
• Wiki 
• The Woman Who Wasn't There Doc on Youtube

Adam's Sources:

• How the Biggest Fraud in German History Unravelled | The New Yorker
• Wirecard scandal - Wikipedia
• Jan Marsalek - Wikipedia

Make sure to follow us on instagram @unscrupulouspod and send us an email at [email protected]

Adam (he/him) tells us a tale we are slowly becoming familiar with on this show, psychic scams. Patrice Runner learned about the legendary psychic Maria Duval and saw dollar signs. He used her likeness to swindle millions of dollars from innocent people looking for answers, and then harassed them to send him even more money. The question remains, how much was Maria involved in this scam?

Bec (they/them) shares us about a different type of scam, pyramid schemes. Created by a couple who claim their only goal is to uplift women. Overtime though, it becomes clear that what they're really after is making ludicrous amounts of money that they can hide in shell companies, pushing their workers to the edge and sending out farty smelling leggings.


Adam's Sources:

• The Greatest Scam Ever Written | The Walrus

Bec's Sources:

• https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a37543056/lularich-lularoe-founders-family-deanne-mark-stidham/ 
• https://www.buzzfeed.com/shelbyheinrich/lularoe-documentary-facts 
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwhPqG9qB3g 
• https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniemcneal/lularoe-ndss 

Make sure to follow us on instagram @unscrupulouspod and send us an email at [email protected]

Bec (they/them) tells us the infuriating tale of Rachel Dolezal. We learn the story of her life that led up to the infamous clip of her being confronted about her race on tv and the fall out that happened after it aired. Is this a matter of her being delusional and thinking she truly is Black or is this a cry for attention? Is there even a simple answer?

Adam (he/him) then tells us about Violet Charlesworth. After her car was found abandoned on the edge of a cliff locals were worried for her wellbeing. But the more they dug into her history, the more confused they got about who this supposed heiress really was.

Bec's Sources:

• https://abcnews.go.com/US/rachel-dolezal-timeline-naacp-leaders-transition-white-black/story?id=31801772 
• https://www.khq.com/news/timeline-rachel-dolezal-in-the-news-over-the-years/article_3dc41c92-4b60-5a5b-ae4d-9f3319be47dc.html 
• https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tasneemnashrulla/rachel-dolezals-brother-says-she-warned-dont-blow-my-cover#.ogrRQaZYy 
• https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/13/rachel-dolezal-i-wasnt-identifying-as-black-to-upset-people-i-was-being-me 
• https://cdapress.com/news/2015/jun/11/black-like-me-5/ 
• https://www.thestranger.com/features/2017/04/19/25082450/the-heart-of-whiteness-ijeoma-oluo-interviews-rachel-dolezal-the-white-woman-who-identifies-as-black 
• Wiki 

Adam's Sources:

• The Welsh woman who stole £2m from would-be husbands then faked her own death - Wales Online
• Harry Thomas' Memory Lane, Volume 1
• Historical Candidates for the Real-Life Carmen San Diego 
• Violet Charlesworth - Wikipedia
• The Welsh woman who stole £2m from would-be husbands then faked her own death - Wales Online
• Harry Thomas' Memory Lane, Volume 1
• Historical Candidates for the Real-Life Carmen San Diego 
• Violet Charlesworth - Wikipedia

Make sure to follow us on instagram @unscrupulouspod and send us an email at [email protected]

Adam (he/him) tells us about the group known as The Freedomites. Descending from a group called the Doukobor's, The Freedomites believed in a lot of things, and they were willing to do just about anything to keep their way of life. In the 1950's the Canadian government learned just how far this group was willing to go. The Freedomites held naked protests, and burned their possessions to show how serious they were, and in retaliation, the Canadian government tried to take their children away.

Bec (they/them) then tells us about a GoFundMe campaign that turned out to be a little too good to be true. Kate McClure and her boyfriend Mark D'amico said they just wanted to raise a bit of money to help out good Samaritan Johnny Bobbitt Jr. The heartwarming story became the websites biggest payout to date, unfortunately, it seems there was a lot more going on behind the scenes than met the eye.

Adam's Sources:

• The Origin of the Freedomite Movement | Doukhobor Heritage
• Sons of Freedom - Canada's History
• Annotations: Sergey Tolstoy and The Doukhobors: The Halifax Quarantine - PMC
• Lack of compensation for Doukhobor religious group disappointing, B.C. ombudsperson says | CBC News 
• B.C. Doukhobors forced into residential schools want apology akin to natives' | National Post  
• Doukhobor Life in Canada - Welcome 
• The Vocal 6 - Doukhobor Singing - Природа Играет 
• Freedomites - Wikipedia

Bec's Sources:

• https://abc7chicago.com/no-good-deed-documentary-gofundme-hulu-crowdfunding-holiday-heist-johnny-bobbitt/11362176/ 
• https://globalnews.ca/news/9014465/katelyn-mcclure-gofundme-scam-prison-sentence/ 

Make sure to follow us on instagram @unscrupulouspod and send us an email at [email protected]

Bec (they/them) gives us their first ever list episode! They go through a couple of fun stories of people misbehaving at Saturday Night Live and getting themselves banned from the show. Spanning from the 1980's to as recently as 2010's; from hosts to musical guests, some behaved poorly on stage, while others kept it to behind the scenes but for whatever reason every person on this list have managed to get themselves not asked back to Studio 8H. We know that this list would not be complete without mentioning the great Sinèad O'connor, and we do not disappoint.

Adam (he/him) shares what some people call the biggest scam in history! Artur Virgílio Alves Reis didn't want to get into the family business after he saw how often they struggled with money. Alves wanted to make something different of himself, and boy does he ever. He ends up creating such a successful fraud against the Portuguese Bank where he copies bank notes, that in 1925 it becomes known as the Portuguese Note Crisis. Tune in and learn how this one man was almost responsible for the entire financial collapse of Portugal.

Bec's Sources:

• Fear Performance
• https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/every-celebrity-banned-from-saturday-night-live/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Saturday_Night_Live_incidents#Banned_performers 
• https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/reason-adrien-brody-banned-from-snl/ 
• https://ultimateclassicrock.com/steven-seagal-saturday-night-live/ 
• Sinèad O’connor Clip
• Joe Pesci Monologue

Adam's Sources:

• THE PORTUGUESE BANKNOTE CASE: THE SCAM OF THE CENTURY - INSIDER
• Alves dos Reis: the biggest crook in the history of Portugal & the world !
• Alves dos Reis - Wikipedia

Make sure to follow us on instagram @unscrupulouspod and send us an email at [email protected]

Adam (he/him) reminds us about the 2000 reality tv dumpster fire that was the two hour special "Who Wants To Marry A Multi-Millionaire?" Fifty women come looking for love, one woman, Darva Conger leaves incredibly disappointed with her new husband. Who is our bachelor Rick Rockwell, and is he even a millionaire?

Bec (they/them) then recounts the life of fashion icon and actual Nazi agent Coco Chanel. Despite growing up in poverty, Coco went on to find fame and fortune which allowed her to rub elbows with some upper crust people, perhaps this is where she really honed into her anti-semitism. Once Coco Chanel had a bad business deal that she seems to use as the basis to help the Nazi's while they occupy Paris. Using her social connections, she did all she could to help the German's during the war, no matter what the Chanel apologists say.



Adam's Sources:

• Original Reel | Joey Engelman 
• Who wants to marry a multimillionaire? Not the bride | CBC News
• How The Misogynistic Mess That Was 'Who Wants To Marry A Multi-Millionaire?' Inspired 'The Bachelor' | HuffPost Entertainment
• Fox Network Will End 'Multimillionaire' Marriage Specials | New York Times
• Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire? - Wikipedia

Bec's Sources:

• https://www.snopes.com/news/2017/03/06/coco-chanel-nazi-spy/
• Wiki 
• https://spyscape.com/article/operation-modelhut-was-coco-chanel-a-nazi-spy 
• https://www.biography.com/history-culture/coco-chanel-nazi-agent 

Make sure to follow us on instagram @unscrupulouspod and send us an email at [email protected]

Bec (they/them) tells the tale of local legend, the Halifax glove guy. Seemingly, just a good Samaritan who offers rides to young men after a night out, with a passion for his glove business. In exchange for a free ride, all they have to do is listen to his sales pitch and try on some gloves. Most people left his car feeling the encounter hadn't been as harmless as it was presented, others had experiences that had longer lasting effects on their lives.

Adam (he/him) then tells us about some queer figures from the old west you've probably never heard of before. A refreshing perspective of American history that isn't exclusively filled with white men; Adam tells us about a handful of people that remind us that queer people have always existed, including the wild west.

Bec’s Sources:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf2QpXPLpfw 
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTmGjSXxcPc 
• https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/nighttime-podcast-name-disputed-1.5203527 
• https://www.reddit.com/r/halifax/comments/6qqr7c/warning_men_of_halifax_the_glove_man/ 
• https://www.vice.com/en/article/3kxb9n/this-late-night-glove-salesman-masturbating-story-is-very-weird-but-also-true 

Adam's Sources:

• Meet the transgender heartthrob of the Wild West - LGBTQ Nation
• Harry Allen (trans man) - Wikipedia
• Jeanne or Jean Bonnet 1849-1876 United States — Ria Brodell
• Jack Bee Garland aka Babe Bean, the Trousered Enigma - HeadStuff
• Jack Bee Garland - Wikipedia
• The Wild and Queer Old West: Race, Gender and Identity in the American West, by Jason Lee – Manchester Historian
• The Forgotten Trans History of the Wild West - Atlas Obscura
• Homo History: Cowboys and Lovers
• Mary Ellen Pleasant - Wikipedia
• 'Out West' at the Autry examines the history of homosexuals and transgender people in the Old West - Los Angeles Times
• Pride Month: The Gay Old West | Bandera Bulletin
• Overlooked No More: Charley Parkhurst, Gold Rush Legend With a Hidden Identity 

Make sure to follow us on instagram @unscrupulouspod and send us an email at [email protected]

First Adam (he/him) takes us into the world of cults! Saul B. Newton pretended to start a group based around free love, breaking down the nuclear family structure, and working closely with therapists for personal growth. Like every cult though,  it morphed it into something dark to satisfy his own twisted pleasure. The first cult you've ever heard of that moved into a city and started an acting troupe; Saul moves everyone to Manhattan and begins his possessive control over every aspect of his followers lives, especially when they try to leave.

Next Bec (they/them) tells us about how after Spain's basketball team won gold at the 2000 Summer Paralympic games, they were ordered to return their medals. Why? Turns out that 8 out of the 10 members were not disabled at all. Yes, the plot of a Johnny Knoxville movie actually happened in real life.


Adam's Sources:

• The Upper West Side Cult That Hid in Plain Sight | The New Yorker
• Inside the Rise & Fall Of A 1970s Upper West Side Cult - Gothamist
• The Sullivan Institute Was A Psychotherapy Cult Based In New York's West Side That Demonized Nuclear Families 
• The Fourth Wall | 2023 Tribeca Festival 
• Saul B. Newton - Wikipedia
• About – William Alanson White Institute 

Bec's Sources:

• https://www.mamamia.com.au/spanish-basketball-paralympic-team-2000/ 
• https://web.archive.org/web/20020502094647/http://www.accessibility.com.au/news/sport/para_cheat.htm 
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMNBXU1rP9M&t=65s 
• https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2458715/Spanish-basketball-team-pretended-disabled-win-Paralympic-gold.html 
• https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-58598677 
• https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2004/sep/16/gilestremlett.features11 

​​https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/other-sports/paralympics-disabled-spanish-basketball-sydney-24834683 

Make sure to follow us on instagram @unscrupulouspod and send us an email at [email protected]