FAKD

What if the people running a rehab center made more money by keeping their patients addicted? This week on FAKD with Joseph Rowan, we're diving into one of the most disturbing healthcare fraud cases of 2026. Federal prosecutors have charged a father and son in an alleged $1.6 billion addiction treatment fraud scheme involving dozens of rehabilitation facilities. According to investigators, vulnera...

This week on FAKD with Joseph Rowan, we're breaking down five unbelievable stories involving counterfeit shipping labels, forged artwork, stolen military identities, a massive investment fraud, and a 1,600-year-old mystery. A man is arrested after allegedly selling more than 5 million counterfeit USPS shipping labels, causing an estimated $126 million in losses. A Miami art dealer is sentenced to...

Does vitamin C actually prevent you from getting sick, or have we been sold one of the biggest myths in the supplement industry? In this episode of FAKD, we uncover how two-time Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling helped popularize high-dose vitamin C, why products like Emergen-C and Airborne became household names, and the truth behind a $30 million supplement advertising settlement. We also break d...

This week on FAKD with Joseph Rowan, we're diving into five bizarre stories involving corporate surveillance, online scams, fake investments, international fraud, and ancient mysteries. An OpenAI engineer is arrested after investigators discover a hidden recording device inside an executive meeting room, with one particularly ridiculous detail. A company promising to protect sextortion victims is...

How do we know the Holocaust happened, why do people still deny it, and what does the historical evidence actually tell us? In this episode of FAKD with Joseph Rowan, we're joined by Jonathan Buchwalter, a Holocaust history expert, educator, and content creator known on TikTok as @jonstertruck, where he breaks down historical misinformation and challenges Holocaust denial. We explore the history o...

This week on FAKD, we're diving into five bizarre stories involving fake jobs, AI-generated music, stolen checks, Medicaid fraud, and an unusual ancient Inca ritual. First, an international money-laundering operation recruited more than 15,000 Americans through what appeared to be legitimate jobs. Instead, they were unknowingly helping criminals move millions of dollars stolen from bank accounts....

Is the fish you're ordering actually the fish you're getting? On this episode of FAKD, Joseph Rowan sits down with Dr. Marla (Max) Valentine from Oceana to dive into the surprisingly complicated world of seafood fraud. From mislabeled fish and questionable restaurant menus to seafood substitutions and hidden supply chains, we explore how consumers can end up paying for something they're not actual...

This week on FAKD, we're breaking down five stories involving a massive government fraud, a convicted romance scammer, millions in alleged tax fraud, a dead man's stolen identity, and an ancient Roman factory. First, a former federal employee has pleaded guilty in a scheme that caused approximately $194 million in government losses—with investigators ultimately seizing 298 gold bars and other luxu...

The Tinder Swindler is back — and this time, he says he wants to protect you from scammers. Simon Leviev, the man made infamous by Netflix’s The Tinder Swindler, is behind a new dating app called Safe Love, which promises stricter identity verification, government ID checks, selfie matching, and even an emergency SOS feature. In this episode of FAKD, we break down the history of the Tinder Swindle...

This week on FAKD: This Week In Scams, we're breaking down five stories involving a completely fake federal agency, more than a million used phones allegedly sold as new, counterfeit Ozempic, a dangerous fake Apple preorder page, and one of Ancient Rome's strangest rituals. First, a man pleaded guilty after creating what appeared to be a federal emergency-management agency, complete with governmen...

How good have fake luxury goods actually become? This week on FAKD, Joseph Rowan sits down with luxury authentication expert Graham Wetzbarger to go inside the world of counterfeit designer goods and “superfakes.” We break down how experts authenticate brands like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci and Hermès, the tiny details that can expose a fake, and why receipts, packaging and serial numbers aren't...

Amway has been one of the biggest names in multi-level marketing for nearly 70 years—and now it’s facing a proposed $225 million settlement with the FTC and Washington State. In this episode of FAKD, we break down the allegations against Amway and organizations connected to its distributor network, the company’s controversial history with regulators, and the landmark 1979 case that helped shape th...

This week on FAKD: This Week In Scams, we're breaking down five bizarre stories involving alleged fake daycares, a hole-in-one prize that never came, a multimillion-dollar stadium promise, Pokémon card scams, and a Viking treasure hiding underground for roughly 1,000 years. First, federal prosecutors have charged 12 people in alleged schemes that diverted more than $10 million in childcare subsidi...

Twenty-five years after 9/11, the conspiracy theories haven't disappeared. Jet fuel can't melt steel beams. The Twin Towers looked like controlled demolitions. Mysterious “explosions” were caught on camera. Building 7 fell without being hit by a plane. A plane never hit the Pentagon. And perhaps the biggest claim of all—the government knew it was going to happen. In this episode, we take six of th...

Are data centers really draining our water, overwhelming the power grid, raising electric bills and destroying communities — or has some of the panic gotten ahead of the facts? Ty Mathews joins FAKD to separate the legitimate concerns surrounding America's massive data-center boom from the myths, misconceptions and outright misinformation. We break down what data centers actually do, why AI is dri...

How do you tell if a million-dollar masterpiece is real—or an incredibly convincing fake? Art authenticator Richard Polsky joins FAKD to take us inside the fascinating world of art fraud, forgery, and authentication. We explore the history of fake art, why forgers do it, some of the biggest art scams ever uncovered, and the red flags that can expose a counterfeit masterpiece. Richard also shares s...

This week on FAKD: This Week In Scams, we're breaking down five wild stories involving sleight of hand, stolen identities, millions in scam money, stolen government checks, and a 3,000-year-old treasure that disappeared in minutes. First, federal prosecutors say a man allegedly used a sleight-of-hand trick at Walmart stores across the country to walk away with merchandise after secretly removing c...

A fake NFL career. Millions in fake investments. A “financial adviser.” Luxury cars, football gear, and an entire ecosystem designed to look legitimate. Federal investigators allege Daejon Love posed as a San Francisco 49ers player while building romantic relationships with women and convincing them to invest in his supposed financial success. Authorities say at least 26 victims have been identifi...

This week on FAKD: This Week In Scams, we're breaking down five wild stories involving fake identities, millions of dollars, counterfeit luxury goods, fake investments, and one seriously creepy burial. First, federal prosecutors say a man allegedly pretended to be an NFL player while building relationships with more than two dozen women and convincing victims to hand over roughly $1.3 million. He...

Reality TV is supposed to be real… but how real is it actually? In this episode of FAKD, we go back to the earliest reality shows and uncover how the genre evolved into the billion-dollar entertainment machine we know today. From producer manipulation and carefully engineered drama to “Frankenbiting,” misleading reaction shots, villain edits, recreated scenes, and clever continuity tricks, we brea...

This week on FAKD: This Week In Scams, we're breaking down five bizarre stories involving fake identities, millions in government money, GPS spoofing, counterfeit checks, and an ancient mystery. First, federal prosecutors say a group calling itself the “War Room” used GPS spoofing to make it appear Medicaid patients were taking legitimate medical rides that allegedly never happened—part of a schem...

This week on FAKD: This Week In Scams, we're breaking down some of the wildest fraud and odd-history stories making headlines. An Illinois man is accused of impersonating roughly 60 doctors and making more than 3,000 calls to pharmacies to obtain unauthorized GLP-1 and other prescription drugs. Then, we dive into an alleged $165 million crypto Ponzi scheme that promised investors guaranteed 25% mo...

Phoebe Gates’ AI shopping app Phia is facing controversy over allegations that its affiliate technology could take credit for sales it didn’t actually generate. In this episode of FAKD, we break down how the system worked, how researchers discovered it, the internal messages that fueled the controversy, and why the story sounds surprisingly similar to the allegations surrounding PayPal’s Honey ext...

This week on FAKD: This Week In Scams, we're breaking down five wild stories involving millions of dollars, romance scams, fake marriages, counterfeit technology, and investment fraud. First, a New Jersey man has pleaded guilty in a $47 million Ponzi-like investment scheme where victims were promised returns as high as 53%—while millions allegedly went toward gambling debts and personal expenses....

This week on FAKD, we're breaking down five wild stories involving scams, fraud, and a little bit of bizarre history. First, the FTC has shut down a massive credit-repair operation accused of taking consumers for nearly $200 million—and investigators say some companies even filed false identity-theft reports in customers' names. Then, we look inside a $16 million corporate fraud scheme involving a...