Scamfluencers

When Luigi Mangione allegedly gunned down UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, the media called it a senseless crime. But online, a different story emerged—one of rage, reckoning, and a suspected killer turned folk hero. More than just a true crime podcast, LUIGI, hosted by Jesse Weber, dares to look beyond the crime and the accused to explore a cultural tipping point in America, asking you to decide - is the status quo enough, or is i...

We’ll be back next week with all-new episodes but in the meantime we’re bringing back a very timely episode. In 2024, President Biden commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 people in one day… including one of our very own Scamfluencers. Rita Crundwell had horse girl dreams, and she used her job as comptroller of a small Illinois town to pull off a colossal fraud. She poured millions into showing quarter horses and lived ex...

The Matharoo sisters have gone from globe-trotting tastemakers to detained prisoners. Stuck in an airport hotel without their passports or phones, they decide to take matters into their own hands – and hatch a bold escape plan. Before long, their story goes from local gossip fodder to an international scandal. 

Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https...

While we work on some brand-new episodes, we’re returning to one of our very first episodes about two jet-setting sisters from Canada, Kiran and Jyoti Matharoo. In 2016, a mysterious apology video surfaces online. In it, the sisters claim they’re the masterminds behind a vicious gossip site that’s been stirring up scandal and controversy in Nigeria. The only problem? The video is a fabrication — and the truth is even stran...

When Priscila Barbosa moves to Boston from Brazil in 2018, she sets out to pay off her debts and send money back home by driving for rideshare platforms like Uber and Lyft. Eventually, she decides her cut isn’t enough, and she rallies other undocumented immigrants to create one of the most lucrative illicit rideshare rings in Beantown. But this millennial #girlboss learns that suspicious groupchats and Instagrams flaunting...

During the early 2000s Brian Wansink made his mark as a “food psychologist” with quirky studies backed by the USDA and Cornell. His research led to the 100-calorie snack pack, the side plate for dinner, and the idea that Elmo stickers led kids to eat healthier. But one tone-deaf blog post led a pack of scientists to dig into Brian’s data. What they found was a hunt for bite-size takeaways, a lack of ethical rigor… and a wh...

In the early 80s, a German magazine thought it had the scoop of the century: access to Adolf Hitler’s secret diaries. But as soon as excerpts of the diaries were released, critics pounced. Soon, the magazine that published them, the expert who verified them, and the journalist-slash-Nazi-enthusiast who sourced them are found to be victims of an artful forger… and of the allure of a story so incredible, it really was too go...

In the early 2000s, Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista was seen as the ultimate mining mogul: he was a speedboat-racing showman and a playboy who liked to show off his wealth. To expand his empire, Eike spun a web of bribes and fraud with high-ranking government officials. So when he was finally brought down, it created one of the biggest corruption scandals Brazil has ever seen.

Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest ...

In the midst of the Great Depression, out-of-work salesman Charles Darrow sold the board game he created, Monopoly, to Parker Brothers. The game was an overnight success, and Charles became a hopeful example of the American dream. But soon, fellow game obsessives questioned Charles’s inventor status. Decades later, another game creator’s tireless pursuit of the truth reveals Monopoly’s subversive origin story and the twist...

In 1997 Beverly Dollarhide hears miraculous news: her missing son, Nicholas, has been found in Spain. But the person she thinks is her teenage son is actually a grown man, a well known French identity scammer named Frederic Bourdin. And, after Frederic is brought back to the United States to be with his pretend family, the mystery of the real Nicholas Barclay’s disappearance grows deeper.

Be the first to know about Wondery’...

When Apollo Nida joined the cast of The Real Housewives of Atlanta in 2009, he’d recently been released from prison and was expecting a child with his superstar lawyer wife, Phaedra Parks. Apollo had every reason to stay on the straight-and-narrow, but he immediately went back to scamming. His identity theft ring, feuds with castmates, and eventually threatening behavior to Phaedra herself add up to a twisted tale tha...

Joe Francis created an empire of spring break smut with the “Girls Gone Wild” video series. But the story behind the alcohol-fueled antics is darker than you think. Scaachi interviews Jamila Wignot, director of the docuseries “Girls Gone Wild: The Untold Story” as they revisit Scaachi’s original reporting on Joe Francis, and the questionable filming practices, sloppy record-keeping, illegal tax write-offs, and assault alle...

In the second part of this two-part epic, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker go their separate ways and carve out very different paths — but they both still love being in the spotlight. Tammy becomes a fixture on daytime and reality TV, while Jim gets out of prison and goes right back to televangelizing. This time, he’s embracing a whole new scheme: shilling products for the apocalypse.

Next week, we’ll be back with all-new episodes...

This month a musical featuring a Scamfluencers alum closed its doors on Broadway. Tammy Faye featured music by Elton John and told the story of a televangelist who stole America’s heart with her humor, earnestness, and impressive eye makeup. You may no longer be able to see the musical, but we’re giving you the next best thing: a return to our own coverage of Tammy Faye and her husband, Jim. 

Jim and Tammy Faye Ba...

Dr. Oz has been making headlines again – but not for a scam. Now that he’s been tapped to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, we’re revisiting how this former TV doctor survived scandal and shifted into politics. 

In the mid-90s, Dr. Mehmet Oz is a rock star surgeon with a reputation for performing on high-profile clients. He eventually scores his own television show, and soon he becomes daytime televis...

Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletter

Listen to Scamfluencers on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/scamfluencers/ now.

See Privacy Policy...

At the turn of the century, Manhattan social climber John Gluck stepped in to answer children' s letters to Santa. But as soon as donations started flooding into his newly formed Santa Claus Association, John went from Saint Nick to Grinch, skimming off the top and living large. He ran his Claus con for more than a decade before real-life Boy Scouts rallied to take him down.

Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest p...

In this episode we examine America’s favorite pastime: gambling. With loosening regulations, the explosion of online betting sites, and the full support of major sports leagues, sportsbetting has become ripe for scam. In this episode we meet an accountant who worked the system and bilked an NFL team out of millions, an interpreter who conned one of baseball’s greatest players, and a basketball player who bet against himsel...

Come join Sarah and Scaachi for a very Scamfluencers holiday special. We’ll give thanks to the scammers we’ll never forget, review our naughty and slightly-less-naughty list, and roast the ones who deserve it… along with chestnuts on the open fire. We’ve got updates on some of our most infamous scammers, and we name a few scammers-to-be who we hope get indictments in their stockings. We’re making like Grinches crashing a W...