Queen of the Con

When reality TV producer Johnathan Walton and his neighbors lose access to their resort-style swimming pool in their Downtown Los Angeles high-rise, they band together to push back against their landlord. At one of their protest parties, Johnathan meets Mair Smyth, a wealthy Irish heiress with a storied past who is battling some serious demons from her family back in Ireland. She dazzles the crowd, dropping in like an angel ready t...

Johnathan gets a panicked call from Mair...in jail. Her powerful Irish family set her up to make it look like she stole hundreds of thousands from her employer, all so they can torpedo her chances of getting her $25 million inheritance. Johnathan spends $70,000 trying to help Mair clear her name and help her get what’s rightfully hers. But one day he discovers "Mair Smyth" is not even her real name. And that's only the tip of the i...

Johnathan discovers that his good will helping his best friend was actually a long con: Mair scammed him out of nearly $100,000. But his story is only the beginning of what’s shaping up to be a laundry list of cons, including credit card fraud, blackmail, and much more. When police refuse to take his case seriously, Jonathan takes to the internet, writing blog posts warning any future victims, including one in particular: a wealthy...

Johnathan’s blog not only draws out more victims, it also stops one major crime before it happens. Mair comes very close to scamming a Newport Beach engineer into adding her name to the deeds of his two multi-million dollar homes—so that she can own half of them. But when the engineer’s ex-wife, herself a victim of Mair’s evil lies, finds Johnathan’s blog, the truth puts the kibosh on the con queen's plan just in the nick of time.

Mair Smyth spectacularly scams a Los Angeles politician out of tens of thousands by impersonating his former mistress and making threats of taking their relationship public right before an election. Johnathan also learns that Mair’s been in the blackmail business for a while, conning men she meets on a “Sugar Daddy” dating site. As he uncovers each new head-spinning con, Johnathan wonders just how far down this rabbit hole goes.

Johnathan discovers that Mair Smyth’s cons have gone international, and police from Northern Ireland are hot on her trail. Mair's daughter Chelsea speaks out for the first time about her experience being raised by a con artist and getting roped into helping her scam $500,000 from dozens of victims in Northern Ireland. Chelsea reveals not only that Mair was an unfit mother, but offers a stunning psychological portrait of a woman who...

After doggedly pursuing law enforcement for years, Johnathan finally gets some relief. Mair Smyth is arrested in Los Angeles, but keeps herself busy awaiting trial. She uses a phony mental illness claim and a pair of crutches to trick a judge into going easy on her. But the folks she’s conned band together and are committed to fighting back. As Johnathan and his fellow victims put it all on the line to see her brought to justice, M...

Mair Smyth goes on trial for scamming reality TV producer Johnathan Walton out of almost $100,000. But her latest con could prevent Walton from being allowed in the courtroom to testify against her. Victims come out of the woodwork to tell the court how she scammed them. Even her own daughter, Chelsea, shows up and tells the judge Mair is a pathological liar. But Mair's attorney casts doubt on everyone's story, threatening to thwar...

In this bonus episode, Johnathan catches up with Buddha Noah, a Los Angeles spiritual advisor who saw the future months before Mair was charged, arrested, and convicted—and implored Johnathan not to give up just when he was about to throw in the towel. The two talk about the dark energy Buddha Noah saw in Mair Smyth, how he knew Johnathan would ultimately see justice served, and what he thinks karma has in store for this Queen of t...

In this bonus episode, Johnathan reviews the case of Mair Smyth with Tori Telfer, author of the award-winning book Confident Women: Swindlers, Grifters, and Shapeshifters of the Feminine Persuasion. They talk about the profile of the female con artist, what Telfer has learned from her research on famous con women, why these smart criminals make some of the dumbest mistakes, and how listeners can avoid falling prey to cons.

Lizzie Mulder appears to be a wealthy Orange County CPA, swooping in like an angel to help small business owners manage their companies. After this clever con artist’s scams push her clients to the brink, Lizzie ends up in the crosshairs of an enterprising Laguna Beach detective and the FBI. But even that heat can’t prevent Lizzie from pulling her most brazen con yet. 

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After going public for putting "The Irish Heiress" con artist Mair Smyth behind bars, Queen of the Con host Johnathan Walton gets deluged by requests from hundreds of victims of other con artists asking for help bringing their scammers to justice. One of the most fascinating cases to come across Johnathan’s desk takes place in Orange County, California. Lizzie Mulder is no Real Housewife—she’s a dazzling CPA with ...

When Lizzie’s husband Jesse calls up salon owners Lauren and Geneva to tell them that his wife has been stealing from them, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Suddenly, Laguna Beach PD’s fraud detective Jordan Mirakian is fielding calls from a number of victims. He learns that Lizzie used an elaborate system of phony emails, invoices, bank accounts, and even voice-disguising technology to con her victims out of h...

When Jay Avery needs to take a break from his new wine business to go to rehab, Lizzie Mulder is there for him like family. And when she takes the reins of his winery, business is booming and Jay gets an attractive offer from a Chinese investor who wants to pump millions into his company. The only problem is that every time they set up a meeting, the investor inexplicably cancels at the last minute. When Ja...

Is con artist Lizzie Mulder working alone? A trusted business owner known as "The Dog Trainer" gives Lizzie a glowing recommendation to print shop owner and victim Mike Cochran. So Mike hires her to do the books for his business. He also introduces Lizzie to his parents who need tax help. Then tragedy strikes. Mike’s ailing father takes a turn for the worse and gets admitted into hospice care. And con artist Lizzie Mulder&hel...

In a shocking turn of events, Lizzie Mulder’s own husband, Jesse, shows up unannounced to the Laguna Beach police department and confesses to detective Jordan Mirakian that his wife is stealing millions of dollars from her clients. And then suddenly, con artist Lizzie Mulder uses the element of surprise to her advantage and ambushes detective Mirakian at a local park; telling him she wants to talk about her case. The detectiv...

Con artist Lizzie Mulder tries her darndest to spin her elaborate scams as innocent misunderstandings, but Detective Jordan Mirakian soon catches her in documented lie after lie. Especially about one victim she scams named Joe Love. While the criminal case against Lizzie Mulder gets stronger and stronger, the detective’s higher-ups and the Orange County DA’s office order him to close the case—and let Lizzie Mulder...

Once Detective Jordan Mirakian gets the IRS and FBI involved with the Lizzie Mulder case, a federal courtroom becomes ground zero for the con artist’s auspicious reckoning. In never before heard audio recordings of the gripping proceedings, victims come out of the woodwork to tell a federal judge just how irreparably damaged they are as a result of Lizzie’s many scams. But will the judge believe them? Or will he believe...