Lie, Cheat, & Steal

On this dual-subject episode, Pat tells Kath about the history of Deadwood, South Dakota, a town filled with liars, frauds, thieves and bullshitters, and gives us an update on a bullshitter he knew personally back in his pawn shop days.

Kath tells Pat about a classic scammer archetype: the gambler who's convinced he has a system, and gets in over his head. Viktor Gjonaj was a successful real estate mogul in Michigan before roping an innocent, down-on-his-luck friend into a multi million dollar ponzi scheme that involved the bulk purchasing of lottery tickets, as Gjonaj was convinced he'd discovered a pattern in the numbers. To he...

Kath tells Pat about Anthony William, The Medical Medium, a health guru who claims to have the ability to commune with the spirit world about his clients' health. Despite ringing endorsements from a whole host of celebrities and a cushy appointment writing for GOOP, not all of William's clients have been so fortunate.

Pat and Kath talk about the many sorts of scams they've been victim of in the stand up comedy world, where it's easy for would-be bookers, show producers, and other showbiz hangers-on to make a buck off an aspiring comic's desire for fame and success.

Have you ever talked to an o***f**s model? Well, we have some news for you: that was, to quote everyone in the media, "some guy in the Philippines". Kath tells Pat about the surprisingly competitive world of professional onlyfans chatters, and the class action lawsuit that may put an end to the industry.

Pat tells Kath about an idea somewhere between a vanity project and a utopian vision from Akon, the rnb singer who's songs we love, but who's ideas about city building, cryptocurrency, and how babies are made are pretty suspect. To listen to the full episode, check out our patreon at patreon.com/liecheatandsteal!

Do you want to become an alpha male? Pat runs through a list of fellow alphas who want to teach you how to be more masculine - for a price.

Pat and Kath discuss the Small Venue Operators' Grant, a well intentioned program meant for small performance venues (like the ones we perform in) that were shuttered by covid, but abused by millionaire musicians like Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, and Alice in Chains. Much of this info comes from this article from Business Insider: ⁠https://www.businessinsider.com/lil-wayne-chris-brown-covid-relief-fund...

Kath tells Pat about a man who's rise as a South American drug kingpin was stunted by - but possibly also originated from - his childhood dream of being a soccer star.

series exploring the industries that sell men on masculine identity. This first episode covers the phenomenon of oversized trucks that have ballooned in size over the decades…to the detriment of roads, pedestrians, and the environment. For two more episodes every month, join our patreon at patreon.com/liecheatandsteal!

Kath tells Pat about a Boston area woman who pulled a real life version of Billy Madison - posing as a high school student at public schools while living a double life. A lot of the stuff in this episode comes from reporting in the Boston Globe by Patricia Wen. Read her first article about Hewitt here. To hear this full episode and get access to all of our 100+ bonus episodes, visit patreon.com/li...

Kath tells Pat about Vlad Artamonov, the Harvard Business School graduate who used his prestigious alumni network to scam other high powered finance guys out of millions of dollars.

Since Rita Crundwell is back in the news after being pardoned by Joe Biden, we thought we'd rerelease this episode from way back in 2017 when we first covered the story of the woman who stole millions from a small town government to fund her ambitions as a horse breeder.

Since it's topical, we decided to drop this episode a day early. Pat dives into the sordid history of United Healthcare, which helps explain why the shooting of Brian Thompson had about 100 million suspects.  For the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/liecheatandsteal!

Our pal Jack Frazee comes by to offer a legal perspective on some of Texas History's wildest bribery scandals, and how they've shaped the state's modern laws.

Kath tells Pat about an unlikely duo who pulled off a scam raking in hunreds of millions of dollars: a polygamist Mormon and an Armenian gangster team up to scam the heavily subsidized renewable energy market. Much of the info in this episode was taken from a 2021 Wired Article called "The Lion, The Polygamist, ad the Biofuel Scam" by Vince Beiser. You can read it here: https://www.wired.com/story...

Pat's laptop got stolen so we're wheeling the VCR into the classroom for another roundup of recent tales of liars, frauds, thieves, and bullshitters.

Pat tells Kath about the Besa Mafia, an organization purporting to offer kill-for-hire services on the dark web, who were discovered by tech journalist Carl Miller of "The Kill List" podcast. check out The Kill List for more in depth reporting on this story.

Kath tells Pat about Dave Pelzer, author of a Child Called It, and his potentially dubious history. This episode is unusual because we're not quite sure what Pelzer has lied about, but we know at least a few things seem off.

Kath tells Pat about a miracle gadget that piqued the interest of crowdfunding investors on kickstarter and indiegogo, despite no evidence that a single prototype was ever produced.

Pat tells Kath about one of the messiest people we've ever discussed - Robert Konashewych, a Toronto cop who resorted to drastic measures to get out of debt while trying to hide an affair.

Kath tells Pat about Albert Rosenberg, a man who had many of Toronto's elite fooled into believing he was a fellow power broker in the city's wealthiest neighborhood. Be sure to check out the documentary, The Talented Mr Rosenberg, produced by Courtney Shea, who wrote the Toronto Life article from which much of this story comes.

Kath tells Pat about coaching, an industry undergoing a surge of popularity, and the pyramid scheme-like ways that opportunistic "coaches" take advantage of it. Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/liecheatandsteal!

Pat tells Kath about a crematory operator in the rural south who offered deep discounts to funeral homes to burn their bodies - how'd he do it so cheaply? he never burned them at all.

A lot has been going on in the scam world lately so we are back with another roundup! Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/liecheatandsteal.