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
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.–––-–----------------------------------------PATREON: Patreon.com/SwindledDONATE: Swindle
An unclaimed, jackpot-winning lottery ticket purchased in Iowa leads to a cross-continent search for the winner. Prelude: Nick Perry, a local TV celebrity in Pittsburgh, rigs the Pennsylvania lottery in a scandal known as the "Triple Six Fix".
An incredible discovery of sunken treasure leads to a manhunt for the person who investigators have called "one of the smartest fugitives ever". Prelude: A millionaire art dealer named Forrest Fenn releases clues pertaining to the location of a
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.–––-–-------------------------------------
A chemical technician risks her life to expose corporate misdeeds at a nuclear facility in Oklahoma. Prelude: Energy mogul Robert S. Kerr becomes the "uncrowned king of the Senate".–––-–----------------------------------------PATREON: Patreon
A multi-level marketing company becomes a global success despite accusations of dangerous products and exploitation. Prelude: Glenn W. Turner’s lifetime of pyramid schemes.–––-–----------------------------------------PATREON: Patreon.com/Swin
A Spanish woman becomes the president of a survivors group in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001. Prelude: Fred Parisi, a New York City police officer, creates a foundation to support 9/11 first responders. –
A New Jersey couple raises money on GoFundMe to repay a homeless man for his act of kindness. Prelude: Ginny Irovando Long organizes a fundraiser for her terminally ill son.–––-–----------------------------------------PATREON: Patreon.com/Swi
A technology entrepreneur defrauds investors in order to build a luxury music festival in the Bahamas. Prelude: The Lapland New Forest Christmas Festival delivers an underwhelming experience.–––-–----------------------------------------PATREO
A pharmaceutical company looks the other way as its promising new birth control product, the Dalkon Shield intrauterine device (IUD), endangers the lives of more than 2 million women around the world. Prelude: A pill scare sweeps the nation as
An international boycott ensues after a multinational corporation is accused of contributing to the deaths of millions of infants around the world. Prelude: Baby milk tainted with an industrial chemical leads to over 300,000 illnesses and 6 dea
An international fraudster posing as a wealthy CEO utilizes a popular dating app to scam women out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Prelude: Maria Elvira Pinto Exposto, an Australian grandmother, meets the man of her dreams online.Link to
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.–––-–----------------------------------------PATREON: Patreon.com/SwindledDO
A young entrepreneur’s Girls Gone Wild franchise leads to a litany of legal issues related to tax evasion, bribery, and false imprisonment as well as accusations of sexual assault. Prelude: A group of high school students creates a much-maligne
A prominent oral surgeon embarks on a new career path after an addiction to painkillers leads to the loss of his dental license. Prelude: A horrifying discovery is made at the Tri-State Crematory in northwest Georgia.–––-–---------------------
A funeral director in a small town in Colorado is accused of selling human body parts. Prelude: A raid on Arthur Rathburn's body brokering business in Detroit leads to arrests in Phoenix and Chicago.–––-–---------------------------------------
A young Australian woman becomes a health and wellness guru after defeating terminal brain cancer through diet, exercise, and alternative therapies. Prelude: Jess Ainscough transforms into 'The Wellness Warrior' following a rare cancer diagnosi
An aviation entrepreneur creates the boyband craze of the nineties and one of the longest-running Ponzi schemes in American history. Prelude: In Australia, Alan Bond is remembered as both a national hero and a national disgrace.–––-–----------
A municipal employee embezzles over $50 million from the city of Dixon, Illinois, to support her extravagant lifestyle and expensive hobby. Prelude: History of Ronald Reagan's oft-repeated maxim, "Trust but verify", and its relevance in modern
More than one hundred people are killed when two overhead walkways collapse in the lobby of a Kansas City hotel. Prelude: The failure of a much-needed pedestrian bridge at Florida International University.–––-–---------------------------------
A Russian-born con artist posing as a wealthy German heiress scams businesses and acquaintances in an attempt to develop her own art foundation in New York. Prelude: Kari Ferrell's Brooklyn exploits earn her the nickname "The Hipster Grifter".
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 in
The FBI turns to a career con artist to assist with an undercover sting operation that ensnares multiple members of the United States Congress. Prelude: Mel Weinberg’s lifetime of scams finally catches up with him.–––-–------------------------
Once envisioned as a model community, the neighborhood of Love Canal in Niagara Falls, New York, became the victim of a massive, man-made environmental disaster. Prelude: James Denney, a Missouri farmer, makes a deal for a local chemical compan