Scamfluencers

Wayne LaPierre spent decades at the helm of the National Rifle Association, transforming it into one of the most powerful lobbying groups in America. But behind his carefully crafted image as a gun-toting cowboy was a man who barely knew how to fire a weapon. LaPierre’s true loyalty was never to guns—or even to the NRA—but to himself. He raised millions from devoted members, then siphoned off the organization’s funds to ba...

Andrew Caspersen seemed to have it all: Ivy League credentials, athletic talent and a trust fund that fueled his reputation as a rising star in finance. But behind his polished image was a spiral of drinking, gambling, and reckless bets on the stock market. Soon, his risky trades won’t just drain his own fortune – they’ll cost his friends and family millions.

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Brian Reader made his name as “The Guv’nor” in the 1960s and 70s by pulling off daring, Ocean’s Eleven-style heists that turned him into a tabloid sensation. By the 2010s, his glory days were long gone – but when the lure of one final big score proved irresistible, Reader and a crew of aging criminals plotted one last job over Easter weekend in 2015. But the heist that was meant to cement their legend instead turned into a...

When Jan Lewan escapes to the United States from Poland in the 1970s, he uses his musical talent to become a larger than life polka star and pursue the American dream. Fueled by his charm and charisma, he performs for presidents, gets nominated for a Grammy, and attracts a devoted following. But like any good showbiz story, there’s a dark underbelly to Jan’s world: he uses his fanbase to fuel a Ponzi scheme. But when his w...

By the late 1980s, Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter is now known as New York City bond trader Christopher Crowe. But even the Wall Street lifestyle is not quite glamorous enough for him. So he decides to transform once again, this time into a billionaire heir: a Rockefeller. With his new last name, he meets the woman of his dreams and settles into the leisurely life he’s always wanted. But when his past catches up with him — ...

We’ll be back in one week with all-new Scamfluencers episodes. In the meantime, we’re returning to one of our favorites. 

In the late 1970s, Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter leaves his small Bavarian village in pursuit of the American dream. He enrolls in high school in Connecticut and tries to impress his classmates with fake accents, fancy suits, and grandiose stories. Over the years, he spins even bigger lies and creat...

We’ll be back in two weeks with all-new Scamfluencers episodes. In the meantime, we’re returning to one of our favorites. 

It’s hard to know what to believe about George Santos’ wild origin story. Since being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022, almost every facet of his life has been called into question — from his name and religious background to his former marriage and previous employment. But when ...

As Erika Jayne’s pop star career blossoms, questions continue to mount about her husband Tom Girardi’s finances and his legal practice. His clients have been waiting in limbo to receive the settlement money owed to them, and they’re not the only ones getting angry with Tom. In the finale to this two-part series, Tom’s own legal woes overshadow his storied career. The revelations from multiple lawsuits and investigations wi...

We’ll be back in four weeks with all-new Scamfluencers episodes. In the meantime, we’re returning to one of our favorites.

Tom Girardi dreams of being a do-gooder lawyer like his childhood hero on the TV show “Perry Mason.” When he starts his own legal firm in the 1960s, he does just that, representing clients against the huge corporations that wronged them. One of his biggest cases even gets the Hollywood treatment in the ...

Frustrated by the racist, sexist stereotypes keeping her down, Doris Payne started swiping precious jewels out of spite as a teen. For the next seven decades, she executed heists across nine countries, with thefts totalling an estimated $2 million. She spent her life dodging the FBI, Interpol, and countless precincts all over the U.S. by being fabulous, charming, and absolutely relentless. Now in her 90s, she’s still regar...

Guo Wengui was a billionaire real estate mogul in China, but when the government cracks down on his empire, he flees to the U.S. From a Manhattan apartment and a luxury superyacht, Guo publicly decries corruption in the CCP, which earns him devoted friends in the MAGA movement. But behind the scenes, Guo’s media company, crypto venture, fashion line, and fledgling rap career are all masking the fact that he’s ripping off h...

Fugees founder Pras Michel is struggling to pivot to a new career when he meets Malaysian billionaire playboy and criminal mastermind Jho Low. He’s handsomely rewarded for helping Jho make political connections, but over time Jho’s asks get bigger and the implications far more serious. Eventually, Pras finds himself at the center of a global geopolitical caper involving far-right figures, an international scam, and even ho...

Lisette Lee is a party girl heiress who uses money, mean-girl bullying, and her early 2000s glam to control everyone around her. But when daddy’s cash isn’t enough to sustain her lifestyle, she manipulates her adoring posse into acting as her drug mules. But her scheme of trafficking weed via private jet raises suspicions, and drug-sniffing dogs are impervious to her charm.

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Phil Kitzer was a globe-trotting scammer who spent more than a decade creating fake banks and insurance companies, ripping off customers to pay for his lavish lifestyle. By the late 70s, Phil’s scam is so prolific that the FBI authorizes the first-ever white collar undercover sting operation. Two young agents join Phil’s entourage and quickly get in way over their heads. With no undercover training, these two newbies scram...

Singer-actor Earl Washington turns out to be a triple threat when he takes up carving wood blocks to make ends meet while hustling to make a life as an entertainer in Los Angeles. But just like any other artist, his wood carvings need a good origin story, so Earl creates a new identity, a made-up grandfather, and begins selling his blocks on eBay as historical relics rather than his own creations. What Earl doesn’t account...

Polish immigrant Hershel Geguzin fled to the U.S. from the faltering Russian Empire at the turn of the 20th century. And like many scammers around this time, he adopts a fabulous new identity: as Prince Michael Romanoff, the last living member of the former Russian ruling family. Everyone knows the new prince is lying about his royal heritage, but he’s such a good hang, he floats from party to party across the U.S. and Eur...

Rocky Aoki, the son of a vaudeville performer and a tango dancer, grows up in the wreckage of post-war Tokyo. With his natural flair for entertainment, he opens his first Benihana restaurant in Manhattan, making sure to entertain his customers via knife-wielding chefs. Rocky builds his business up throughout the 80s, stopping at nothing to make his restaurant empire bullet-proof, but he ends up almost bringing the ship dow...

Multi-level marketing businesses like Mary Kay, HerbaLife, and Amway are so ubiquitous, it's almost hard to imagine where they started or how deep their influence goes. In this special episode of Scamfluencers, Sarah Hagi talks with Bridget Read about her new book, Little Bosses Everywhere: How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America. She spent years researching the origins of the “pyramid scheme,” a twist on the classic Ponzi s...

We’ll be back next week with all-new episodes, but in the meantime, we thought it was the perfect time to revisit our grossest-ever Scamfluencer: Brian Johnson, aka The Liver King. Brian grows up a scrawny kid who decides to bulk up to avoid being bullied. As an adult, he and his family adopt a “caveman” lifestyle, featuring an extreme diet of mostly raw meat. He becomes an influencer, selling supplements he promises will ...