https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-perfect-liar--7191725
Each episode peels back the mechanics of fraud, confidence tricks, social engineering and long cons, blending forensic detail, survivor testimony, and analysis of motive and method. You’ll hear how identity is forged, reputations are hijacked, and truth is reconstructed, presented in tight, story-forward episodes that prioritize evidence over sensationalism.

New episodes drop every day: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday at 4:00 AM, so expect consistent short-to-medium length installments that focus on one deception, one tactic, or one unraveling per show. Formats rotate between case breakdowns, expert interviews, and narrative reconstructions to keep the lens fresh while staying rigorous.

This podcast is for anyone obsessed with con artists, impostors, fraud prevention, or the psychology of lying — listeners who want concrete takeaways, warning signs, and the anatomy of deception rather than idle gossip. If you study scams, prepare investigations, or simply can’t stop asking “how did they get away with it?”, this is for you.

Subscribe now to follow every lie as it’s exposed and learn to spot the perfect liar before it’s too late.

keywords SEO: impostor, con artist, fraud, deception, social engineering]]>enTrue CrimeCopyright OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENThttps://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/53782bc642e9de097d158c9373c18594.jpghttps://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-perfect-liar--7191725Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:39:31 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTOBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTcreators@obomedia.comWho is lying, and how did they make everyone believe it? The Perfect Liar dissects deception with surgical curiosity — from daring impostors to subtle con artists, and the psychology that lets lies become truth. Each episode peels back the mechanics...
Each episode peels back the mechanics of fraud, confidence tricks, social engineering and long cons, blending forensic detail, survivor testimony, and analysis of motive and method. You’ll hear how identity is forged, reputations are hijacked, and truth is reconstructed, presented in tight, story-forward episodes that prioritize evidence over sensationalism.

New episodes drop every day: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday at 4:00 AM, so expect consistent short-to-medium length installments that focus on one deception, one tactic, or one unraveling per show. Formats rotate between case breakdowns, expert interviews, and narrative reconstructions to keep the lens fresh while staying rigorous.

This podcast is for anyone obsessed with con artists, impostors, fraud prevention, or the psychology of lying — listeners who want concrete takeaways, warning signs, and the anatomy of deception rather than idle gossip. If you study scams, prepare investigations, or simply can’t stop asking “how did they get away with it?”, this is for you.

Subscribe now to follow every lie as it’s exposed and learn to spot the perfect liar before it’s too late.

keywords SEO: impostor, con artist, fraud, deception, social engineering]]>falseepisodichttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-fake-investigator-found-his-own-credentials-on-a-rock--73056958
Fear that the person who signs an expert's report could be a complete fabrication - and that you only notice because of a laminated card on a rock - starts this story. A credentials card belonging to "Roger West" was found bone dry on a rock 600 feet from the nearest road at 7:42 AM on November 4, 2015; how did it get there, and what did that discovery unravel about an industry that accepted him for nearly a year?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that began with a chance discovery and expanded into a web of fabricated credentials, questioned methodology, and slow procedural unspooling. We describe how West created a professional identity, how he was hired for 22 cases, and why a routine credential check raised the single question that changed everything: was he ever who he claimed to be?

Person: Roger West
Date: November 4, 2015
Location: Callerton Reservoir, Callerton County, Ohio
Cases: 22 cases between January and October 2015
Fees: $62,000 in contracted fees

- A laminated credentials card for Roger West was found on a rock 600 feet from the nearest road at 7:42 AM.
- Roger West was 24 years old in autumn 2015 and lived on Fenwick Road with his mother.
- Between ages 17 and 22, West set 11 fires he later studied; none were officially attributed to him.
- From January to October 2015 West was hired by Meridian Casualty, Pellham, and Four Rivers Mutual.
- Emily Lewis, a licensed investigator with 11 years’ experience, requested a NAFI credential check after finding West’s reports methodologically backwards.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056958Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:00:03 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Fake Investigator Found His Own Credentials on a Rock Fear that the person who signs an expert's report could be a complete fabrication - and that you only notice because of a laminated card on a rock - starts this story. A credentials card...
Fear that the person who signs an expert's report could be a complete fabrication - and that you only notice because of a laminated card on a rock - starts this story. A credentials card belonging to "Roger West" was found bone dry on a rock 600 feet from the nearest road at 7:42 AM on November 4, 2015; how did it get there, and what did that discovery unravel about an industry that accepted him for nearly a year?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that began with a chance discovery and expanded into a web of fabricated credentials, questioned methodology, and slow procedural unspooling. We describe how West created a professional identity, how he was hired for 22 cases, and why a routine credential check raised the single question that changed everything: was he ever who he claimed to be?

Person: Roger West
Date: November 4, 2015
Location: Callerton Reservoir, Callerton County, Ohio
Cases: 22 cases between January and October 2015
Fees: $62,000 in contracted fees

- A laminated credentials card for Roger West was found on a rock 600 feet from the nearest road at 7:42 AM.
- Roger West was 24 years old in autumn 2015 and lived on Fenwick Road with his mother.
- Between ages 17 and 22, West set 11 fires he later studied; none were officially attributed to him.
- From January to October 2015 West was hired by Meridian Casualty, Pellham, and Four Rivers Mutual.
- Emily Lewis, a licensed investigator with 11 years’ experience, requested a NAFI credential check after finding West’s reports methodologically backwards.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1184falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-fabricated-case-that-unraveled-a-beloved-true-crime-voice--73056957
Fear and betrayal: a podcast that built 200,000 regular listeners, 41 episodes and a sixty-three-document archive collapsed because one notebook entry and one mismatch in a frost date exposed a web of invented names and places - including a nonexistent Harwick County and a return address from Kellum Falls, Indiana. How did a show praised as meticulous sustain three seasons without a single verifiable fact, and who finally forced it to stop?

In this episode, we trace the sequence of events that led from a paper route notebook entry to a public, 16-page analysis that prompted Terrace Audio to suspend Cold Meridian, and we ask whether fabricated storytelling can ever be contained once listeners have invested. What exactly did the civil engineer from Dayton find, and why did his persistence matter more than journalists or officials?

Person: Sherry Perry
Event: Launch of Cold Meridian in September 2017
Listener count: 200,000 regular listeners
Episodes: 41 episodes across three seasons
Document: 16-page analysis published June 2020

- On October 3, 2019 at 6:15 AM a 14-year-old named Lauren Morgan noted a padded envelope on Selden Court with return address Kellum Falls, Indiana.
- Cold Meridian produced a sixty-three-document source archive including police reports and a coroner’s preliminary for a county not found in Missouri records.
- Season Two Episode Six referenced a culvert photo dated October 9, 2003 that allegedly showed frost, conflicting with mid-Missouri records showing first measurable frost on October 22, 2003.
- Donald Olson, a 48-year-old civil engineer from Dayton, maintained a desktop document of notes and filed repeated public records requests over 18 months with no matching records found.
- Terrace Audio suspended Cold Meridian within 48 hours of Olson publishing his 16-page analysis in June 2020.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056957Mon, 20 Jul 2026 08:00:03 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Fabricated Case That Unraveled a Beloved True-Crime Voice Fear and betrayal: a podcast that built 200,000 regular listeners, 41 episodes and a sixty-three-document archive collapsed because one notebook entry and one mismatch in a frost date...
Fear and betrayal: a podcast that built 200,000 regular listeners, 41 episodes and a sixty-three-document archive collapsed because one notebook entry and one mismatch in a frost date exposed a web of invented names and places - including a nonexistent Harwick County and a return address from Kellum Falls, Indiana. How did a show praised as meticulous sustain three seasons without a single verifiable fact, and who finally forced it to stop?

In this episode, we trace the sequence of events that led from a paper route notebook entry to a public, 16-page analysis that prompted Terrace Audio to suspend Cold Meridian, and we ask whether fabricated storytelling can ever be contained once listeners have invested. What exactly did the civil engineer from Dayton find, and why did his persistence matter more than journalists or officials?

Person: Sherry Perry
Event: Launch of Cold Meridian in September 2017
Listener count: 200,000 regular listeners
Episodes: 41 episodes across three seasons
Document: 16-page analysis published June 2020

- On October 3, 2019 at 6:15 AM a 14-year-old named Lauren Morgan noted a padded envelope on Selden Court with return address Kellum Falls, Indiana.
- Cold Meridian produced a sixty-three-document source archive including police reports and a coroner’s preliminary for a county not found in Missouri records.
- Season Two Episode Six referenced a culvert photo dated October 9, 2003 that allegedly showed frost, conflicting with mid-Missouri records showing first measurable frost on October 22, 2003.
- Donald Olson, a 48-year-old civil engineer from Dayton, maintained a desktop document of notes and filed repeated public records requests over 18 months with no matching records found.
- Terrace Audio suspended Cold Meridian within 48 hours of Olson publishing his 16-page analysis in June 2020.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1065falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-badge-in-gravel-how-a-fake-therapist-vanished-into-trust--73056956
A single faculty badge found face-up in gravel started a fourteen-month chain that left 43 families and a licensing board asking how harm can be measured when the person who caused it was skilled enough to be indistinguishable from a real clinician. How did a missing department record and a careful set of forged credentials let someone build a private practice and publish a paper that fooled peers?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the badge in the gravel to the discovery of a meticulous spiral-bound notebook, the papers that carried a false Harwick University affiliation, and the gap in record-keeping that Sandra Lawson exploited. What exactly did she do to make trust look authentic, and where did the system fail?

Person: Sandra Lawson
Location: Harwick University (Department of Applied Behavioral Sciences dissolved)
Duration: approximately fourteen months of active deception
Clients: 43 active private-practice clients
Rate: $80 per hour

- The badge found by Bruce Coleman read "Dr. Sandra Lawson" and listed the issuing institution as the Department of Applied Behavioral Sciences at Harwick University.
- The Harwick department had been dissolved seven years earlier and its historical records were not centrally indexed.
- Sandra spent significant time in university libraries studying graduate-level clinical psychology texts, licensing regulations, supervision hour requirements, and academic formatting.
- Within eight months of opening her private practice, Sandra had 43 active clients and charged $80 per hour.
- A twelve-page paper by "Sandra J. Lawson, M.S., licensed clinical counselor" was published in a small regional journal and later used in a graduate seminar with an affiliation listing Harwick University.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056956Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:21:22 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Badge in Gravel: How a Fake Therapist Vanished Into Trust A single faculty badge found face-up in gravel started a fourteen-month chain that left 43 families and a licensing board asking how harm can be measured when the person who caused it...
A single faculty badge found face-up in gravel started a fourteen-month chain that left 43 families and a licensing board asking how harm can be measured when the person who caused it was skilled enough to be indistinguishable from a real clinician. How did a missing department record and a careful set of forged credentials let someone build a private practice and publish a paper that fooled peers?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the badge in the gravel to the discovery of a meticulous spiral-bound notebook, the papers that carried a false Harwick University affiliation, and the gap in record-keeping that Sandra Lawson exploited. What exactly did she do to make trust look authentic, and where did the system fail?

Person: Sandra Lawson
Location: Harwick University (Department of Applied Behavioral Sciences dissolved)
Duration: approximately fourteen months of active deception
Clients: 43 active private-practice clients
Rate: $80 per hour

- The badge found by Bruce Coleman read "Dr. Sandra Lawson" and listed the issuing institution as the Department of Applied Behavioral Sciences at Harwick University.
- The Harwick department had been dissolved seven years earlier and its historical records were not centrally indexed.
- Sandra spent significant time in university libraries studying graduate-level clinical psychology texts, licensing regulations, supervision hour requirements, and academic formatting.
- Within eight months of opening her private practice, Sandra had 43 active clients and charged $80 per hour.
- A twelve-page paper by "Sandra J. Lawson, M.S., licensed clinical counselor" was published in a small regional journal and later used in a graduate seminar with an affiliation listing Harwick University.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1170falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-twin-s-license-how-a-missing-bar-certificate-hid-two-decades-of-deception--73056953
Trust and credentials can be a thin veneer: a framed Certificate of Admission, bar number PA-0041882, sat in an office for nearly three decades while the real holder lived across the country - and nobody checked. When an electrician found that certificate in a utility closet and a routine bar-number lookup returned a different name and gender, it opened a question that hid twenty-nine years of professional life: who was really presiding at labor arbitration tables in western Pennsylvania?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of discoveries and the ordinary routines that let a false professional identity persist: the framed certificate found in a closet, the bar-directory printout set aside, and the continued issuance of awards under that name. How did a staff arbitrator application listing a Pitt Law degree and PA-0041882 go unverified for decades, and what happened after the mismatch was noticed?

Person: Lauren Riley
Person: Lawrence Dennis Riley
Date: August 2011
Location: Fenwick Professional Building, Harwick, Pennsylvania
Bar number: PA-0041882

- At 7:14 AM on a Tuesday in late August 2011 an electrician named Gary Allen found the framed Certificate of Admission in a third-floor utility closet.
- The certificate bore the name Lawrence Dennis Riley and bar number PA-0041882, originally issued in 1981.
- By summer 2011 Lauren Riley was 52 years old and had occupied a third-floor corner office for more than two decades.
- A labor attorney, Bruce Simpson, ran a routine bar-number check in May 2011, printed the directory page showing Lawrence D. Riley as male and inactive, and left it in a folder for eight weeks.
- Between the mid-1980s and 2011 Lauren Riley served as a staff arbitrator, opened Riley Arbitration Services, and issued at least five arbitration awards under her signature after May 2011.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056953Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:21:19 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Twin's License: How a Missing Bar Certificate Hid Two Decades of Deception Trust and credentials can be a thin veneer: a framed Certificate of Admission, bar number PA-0041882, sat in an office for nearly three decades while the real holder...
Trust and credentials can be a thin veneer: a framed Certificate of Admission, bar number PA-0041882, sat in an office for nearly three decades while the real holder lived across the country - and nobody checked. When an electrician found that certificate in a utility closet and a routine bar-number lookup returned a different name and gender, it opened a question that hid twenty-nine years of professional life: who was really presiding at labor arbitration tables in western Pennsylvania?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of discoveries and the ordinary routines that let a false professional identity persist: the framed certificate found in a closet, the bar-directory printout set aside, and the continued issuance of awards under that name. How did a staff arbitrator application listing a Pitt Law degree and PA-0041882 go unverified for decades, and what happened after the mismatch was noticed?

Person: Lauren Riley
Person: Lawrence Dennis Riley
Date: August 2011
Location: Fenwick Professional Building, Harwick, Pennsylvania
Bar number: PA-0041882

- At 7:14 AM on a Tuesday in late August 2011 an electrician named Gary Allen found the framed Certificate of Admission in a third-floor utility closet.
- The certificate bore the name Lawrence Dennis Riley and bar number PA-0041882, originally issued in 1981.
- By summer 2011 Lauren Riley was 52 years old and had occupied a third-floor corner office for more than two decades.
- A labor attorney, Bruce Simpson, ran a routine bar-number check in May 2011, printed the directory page showing Lawrence D. Riley as male and inactive, and left it in a folder for eight weeks.
- Between the mid-1980s and 2011 Lauren Riley served as a staff arbitrator, opened Riley Arbitration Services, and issued at least five arbitration awards under her signature after May 2011.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1189falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-man-who-faked-michelin-the-diploma-that-wasn-t-wet--73056950
The discovery that stopped a man at 6:15 a.m. was a dry, laminated diploma in a soaked alley - a certificate from the Institut Paul Bocuse that had not a single drop of water on it. That solitary, concrete anomaly eventually unspooled a seven-year career built on fabricated credentials, a third Michelin star, and a question: how far can someone get on self-invention, and what does it cost the people around them?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a morning run to a restaurant owner holding a paper that seemed to answer everything and then raised a harder question. The episode covers the diploma, the faked sommelier certificate, the hiring at two restaurants, and the rise to a third Michelin star - but how did no records, no charges, and no prosecution change the outcome?

Person: Kenneth Alain Simmons
Event: Diploma found on July 9, 2019 at 6:15 a.m.
Location: waterfront alley behind Ardsley's Restaurant, Halverton
Employer: Ardsley's Restaurant; previously Séverin
Credential: Institut Paul Bocuse diploma dated June 1999 (no record at Institut)

- The diploma was found dry on a sealed plastic bag despite 16 millimeters of overnight rain and dripping dumpsters.
- Simmons left Medford at age 19 with an associate degree in hospitality management (a two-year community college credential).
- Simmons read the Oxford Companion to Wine cover to cover and used it as a cornerstone of his self-study.
- For his 2007 job application to Séverin he submitted two fabricated documents: an Institut Paul Bocuse diploma and a Certified-level Court of Master Sommeliers credential.
- By 2014 Ardsley's had earned its third Michelin star, with the citation mentioning the wine program Simmons led.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056950Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:21:16 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Man Who Faked Michelin: The Diploma That Wasn't Wet The discovery that stopped a man at 6:15 a.m. was a dry, laminated diploma in a soaked alley - a certificate from the Institut Paul Bocuse that had not a single drop of water on it. That...
The discovery that stopped a man at 6:15 a.m. was a dry, laminated diploma in a soaked alley - a certificate from the Institut Paul Bocuse that had not a single drop of water on it. That solitary, concrete anomaly eventually unspooled a seven-year career built on fabricated credentials, a third Michelin star, and a question: how far can someone get on self-invention, and what does it cost the people around them?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a morning run to a restaurant owner holding a paper that seemed to answer everything and then raised a harder question. The episode covers the diploma, the faked sommelier certificate, the hiring at two restaurants, and the rise to a third Michelin star - but how did no records, no charges, and no prosecution change the outcome?

Person: Kenneth Alain Simmons
Event: Diploma found on July 9, 2019 at 6:15 a.m.
Location: waterfront alley behind Ardsley's Restaurant, Halverton
Employer: Ardsley's Restaurant; previously Séverin
Credential: Institut Paul Bocuse diploma dated June 1999 (no record at Institut)

- The diploma was found dry on a sealed plastic bag despite 16 millimeters of overnight rain and dripping dumpsters.
- Simmons left Medford at age 19 with an associate degree in hospitality management (a two-year community college credential).
- Simmons read the Oxford Companion to Wine cover to cover and used it as a cornerstone of his self-study.
- For his 2007 job application to Séverin he submitted two fabricated documents: an Institut Paul Bocuse diploma and a Certified-level Court of Master Sommeliers credential.
- By 2014 Ardsley's had earned its third Michelin star, with the citation mentioning the wine program Simmons led.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1059falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/a-woman-dead-for-eight-months-still-has-the-coffee-hot-on-the-railing--73056949
A small-town obituary hoax left a steaming cup of coffee on a porch and nine real names stolen into fake death notices - the paper charged $41 per column inch for grief that never existed. How did one 26-year-old with a background in insurance paperwork fake 31 obituaries over 22 months without being caught?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from a meter reader’s three-line note to the discovery that multiple obituaries were fabricated, the methods used to bill the paper, and the unanswered question of why the forgeries were crafted in such careful detail.

Person: Harriet Voss
Date: October 9, 2013
Location: 14 Holloway Drive
Case: 31 fabricated obituaries over 22 months
Amount: just over $4,000

- A meter reader, Sandra Stroud, recorded three lines noting the house was supposed to be empty, flowers alive, and coffee still hot.
- The false obituary for Harriet Voss ran in the Dennisburg Courier on October 9, 2013 and was 240 words long.
- Melvin Lane joined the Dennisburg Courier in spring 2011 at age 26 and was moved to the obituaries desk four months later.
- Over 22 months, Melvin filed 31 obituaries totaling just over $4,000, using three real funeral homes as listed contacts.
- Melvin fabricated credentials including a diploma from Aldenmoor University (closed 2008) and used his insurance data-entry experience from 2008-2011 to mimic legitimate death notices.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056949Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:21:13 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTUna mujer muerta ocho meses lleva el café todavía caliente en la barandilla A small-town obituary hoax left a steaming cup of coffee on a porch and nine real names stolen into fake death notices - the paper charged $41 per column inch for grief...
A small-town obituary hoax left a steaming cup of coffee on a porch and nine real names stolen into fake death notices - the paper charged $41 per column inch for grief that never existed. How did one 26-year-old with a background in insurance paperwork fake 31 obituaries over 22 months without being caught?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from a meter reader’s three-line note to the discovery that multiple obituaries were fabricated, the methods used to bill the paper, and the unanswered question of why the forgeries were crafted in such careful detail.

Person: Harriet Voss
Date: October 9, 2013
Location: 14 Holloway Drive
Case: 31 fabricated obituaries over 22 months
Amount: just over $4,000

- A meter reader, Sandra Stroud, recorded three lines noting the house was supposed to be empty, flowers alive, and coffee still hot.
- The false obituary for Harriet Voss ran in the Dennisburg Courier on October 9, 2013 and was 240 words long.
- Melvin Lane joined the Dennisburg Courier in spring 2011 at age 26 and was moved to the obituaries desk four months later.
- Over 22 months, Melvin filed 31 obituaries totaling just over $4,000, using three real funeral homes as listed contacts.
- Melvin fabricated credentials including a diploma from Aldenmoor University (closed 2008) and used his insurance data-entry experience from 2008-2011 to mimic legitimate death notices.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1220falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/a-2-garage-sale-vest-had-already-deployed-to-four-disaster-zones-in-four-countries--73056947
Something about the ordinary can hide a dangerous competence: a khaki nylon vest priced at two dollars carried a laminated badge with someone else’s photo, and within a week it had been worn into four international disaster zones. How did a Kellerton food pantry worker assemble fake credentials well enough to pass checkpoints in the Philippines, Nepal, Ecuador, and Haiti - and what does it mean that she could?

In this episode, we tell the story of the vest, the woman whose photo was on the badge, and the Ohio neighbor who bought it; we outline how a months‑long study of field paperwork, a laminator, and a garage-sale purchase produced a credential package that allowed unauthorized deployments, and we ask how such a gap in the humanitarian system was possible.

Person: Linda Ward
Location: Kellerton, Ohio
Date: May 2017 (purchase); April 2013 (garage sale acquisition and credential completion)
Event: Deployments to Philippines, Nepal, Ecuador, and Haiti
Organization: GRI (logo on vest)

- The vest was bought for $2 at a neighborhood garage sale and was khaki nylon with zip front.
- Mark Phillips purchased the vest the first week of May 2017 and used it as a costume prop, storing it for two years.
- Linda Ward was 52 years old, lived in Kellerton, Ohio, and worked eleven years at Open Table of Kellerton.
- Over four years before the 2017 conversation with federal investigators, the vest had been present in disaster zones in four countries: Philippines, Nepal, Ecuador, and Haiti.
- In early 2013 Linda spent eight months studying humanitarian cluster paperwork, then assembled a forged employment letter, a fabricated personnel summary, and a laminated field ID, later attaching it to the garage-sale GRI vest.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056947Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:21:09 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA $2 garage-sale vest had already deployed to four disaster zones in four countries Something about the ordinary can hide a dangerous competence: a khaki nylon vest priced at two dollars carried a laminated badge with someone else’s photo, and...
Something about the ordinary can hide a dangerous competence: a khaki nylon vest priced at two dollars carried a laminated badge with someone else’s photo, and within a week it had been worn into four international disaster zones. How did a Kellerton food pantry worker assemble fake credentials well enough to pass checkpoints in the Philippines, Nepal, Ecuador, and Haiti - and what does it mean that she could?

In this episode, we tell the story of the vest, the woman whose photo was on the badge, and the Ohio neighbor who bought it; we outline how a months‑long study of field paperwork, a laminator, and a garage-sale purchase produced a credential package that allowed unauthorized deployments, and we ask how such a gap in the humanitarian system was possible.

Person: Linda Ward
Location: Kellerton, Ohio
Date: May 2017 (purchase); April 2013 (garage sale acquisition and credential completion)
Event: Deployments to Philippines, Nepal, Ecuador, and Haiti
Organization: GRI (logo on vest)

- The vest was bought for $2 at a neighborhood garage sale and was khaki nylon with zip front.
- Mark Phillips purchased the vest the first week of May 2017 and used it as a costume prop, storing it for two years.
- Linda Ward was 52 years old, lived in Kellerton, Ohio, and worked eleven years at Open Table of Kellerton.
- Over four years before the 2017 conversation with federal investigators, the vest had been present in disaster zones in four countries: Philippines, Nepal, Ecuador, and Haiti.
- In early 2013 Linda spent eight months studying humanitarian cluster paperwork, then assembled a forged employment letter, a fabricated personnel summary, and a laminated field ID, later attaching it to the garage-sale GRI vest.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1180falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-laminated-lie-how-a-goodwill-tape-built-a-broadway-career--73056945
Fear and fascination collide in a gravel-strewn Ohio trail where a laminated certificate with a London address was half-buried - a document that helped a woman build a New York theater career from a single Goodwill cassette that cost less than a dollar. The tape listed eleven accents, the certificate was embossed with a gold foil seal and a registration number, and the institution named on it cannot be found in any record; how did a Maxell cassette and a Kinko's lamination create a professional life on Broadway tracks?

In this episode, we follow the chronology from a Goodwill find to a New York arrival: the discovery of the "VOICE FOR THEATER - COMPLETE SYSTEM, VOLUME 1" cassette, the obsessive practice that followed, the fabrication of a credential at Kinko's, and the move to New York with four hundred dollars and a laminated certificate - which of those elements opened doors for her?

Person: Janet R. Murphy
Location: Bexley, Ohio
Item: Maxell cassette labeled "VOICE FOR THEATER - COMPLETE SYSTEM, VOLUME 1"
Date: September 2006 (date on the fabricated certificate)
Amount: $400 (money she carried to New York)

- The Goodwill cassette listed eleven accents and was produced by "Larkwood Audio," copyright 1989.
- Janet bought the cassette for less than one dollar and wore out the original, making two copies.
- The fabricated certificate used a London street address and bore a gold foil embossed seal, blue-ink signature, and a registration number.
- Janet left for New York in January 2007 with $400 and the laminated certificate in her bag.
- A Kinko's employee, Gayle Sutter, produced the third, convincing lamination using certificate-weight paper and a modified rented notary seal.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056945Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:21:06 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Laminated Lie: How a Goodwill Tape Built a Broadway Career Fear and fascination collide in a gravel-strewn Ohio trail where a laminated certificate with a London address was half-buried - a document that helped a woman build a New York theater...
Fear and fascination collide in a gravel-strewn Ohio trail where a laminated certificate with a London address was half-buried - a document that helped a woman build a New York theater career from a single Goodwill cassette that cost less than a dollar. The tape listed eleven accents, the certificate was embossed with a gold foil seal and a registration number, and the institution named on it cannot be found in any record; how did a Maxell cassette and a Kinko's lamination create a professional life on Broadway tracks?

In this episode, we follow the chronology from a Goodwill find to a New York arrival: the discovery of the "VOICE FOR THEATER - COMPLETE SYSTEM, VOLUME 1" cassette, the obsessive practice that followed, the fabrication of a credential at Kinko's, and the move to New York with four hundred dollars and a laminated certificate - which of those elements opened doors for her?

Person: Janet R. Murphy
Location: Bexley, Ohio
Item: Maxell cassette labeled "VOICE FOR THEATER - COMPLETE SYSTEM, VOLUME 1"
Date: September 2006 (date on the fabricated certificate)
Amount: $400 (money she carried to New York)

- The Goodwill cassette listed eleven accents and was produced by "Larkwood Audio," copyright 1989.
- Janet bought the cassette for less than one dollar and wore out the original, making two copies.
- The fabricated certificate used a London street address and bore a gold foil embossed seal, blue-ink signature, and a registration number.
- Janet left for New York in January 2007 with $400 and the laminated certificate in her bag.
- A Kinko's employee, Gayle Sutter, produced the third, convincing lamination using certificate-weight paper and a modified rented notary seal.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>935falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-fake-law-degree-that-let-her-save-hundreds-then-vanish--73056943
Fear and moral curiosity collide: a forged diploma from a long-closed law school let a paralegal practice immigration law for ten years, serving hundreds of clients at below-market fees - then she vanished after feeding her tortoise and leaving a diploma in a river. How did a diploma dated May 2003 from a school that closed in 1973 carry through bar admission and a decade of practice, and why did she choose to disappear when she did?

In this episode, we tell the chronological story of Sarah M. Stewart’s life from Stockton to Sacramento, the creation of a fake Garrison College of Law diploma, her admission to the California State Bar, the clients she served, and the final morning when routine gave way to disappearance - what led to the bridge that night?

Person: Sarah M. Stewart
Event: Found diploma in Feather River on March 4, 2014
Institution: Garrison College of Law (closed April 1973)
Practice: Sierra Valley Immigration Law on Florin Road, Sacramento
Pet: Desert tortoise named Hector

- On March 4, 2014 Glenn Nelson pulled a diploma from the Feather River alongside four catfish and one carp.
- Garrison College of Law closed in April 1973 and conferred its last titles in May 1973, making a 2003 diploma impossible.
- Stewart graduated Sacramento State in 1998 with a political science degree and worked four years at Vásquez and Holt.
- She fabricated a diploma dated May 2003 and submitted her California State Bar application in February 2004, leading to admission.
- On March 3, 2014 Stewart fed her tortoise Hector at 7:15 a.m., recorded his weight that day, made a phone call, and then disappeared.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056943Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:21:03 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Fake Law Degree That Let Her Save Hundreds - Then Vanish Fear and moral curiosity collide: a forged diploma from a long-closed law school let a paralegal practice immigration law for ten years, serving hundreds of clients at below-market fees -...
Fear and moral curiosity collide: a forged diploma from a long-closed law school let a paralegal practice immigration law for ten years, serving hundreds of clients at below-market fees - then she vanished after feeding her tortoise and leaving a diploma in a river. How did a diploma dated May 2003 from a school that closed in 1973 carry through bar admission and a decade of practice, and why did she choose to disappear when she did?

In this episode, we tell the chronological story of Sarah M. Stewart’s life from Stockton to Sacramento, the creation of a fake Garrison College of Law diploma, her admission to the California State Bar, the clients she served, and the final morning when routine gave way to disappearance - what led to the bridge that night?

Person: Sarah M. Stewart
Event: Found diploma in Feather River on March 4, 2014
Institution: Garrison College of Law (closed April 1973)
Practice: Sierra Valley Immigration Law on Florin Road, Sacramento
Pet: Desert tortoise named Hector

- On March 4, 2014 Glenn Nelson pulled a diploma from the Feather River alongside four catfish and one carp.
- Garrison College of Law closed in April 1973 and conferred its last titles in May 1973, making a 2003 diploma impossible.
- Stewart graduated Sacramento State in 1998 with a political science degree and worked four years at Vásquez and Holt.
- She fabricated a diploma dated May 2003 and submitted her California State Bar application in February 2004, leading to admission.
- On March 3, 2014 Stewart fed her tortoise Hector at 7:15 a.m., recorded his weight that day, made a phone call, and then disappeared.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1077falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-buried-box-how-a-fake-forensic-seal-unraveled-a-county-s-trust--73056942
A buried banker's box held 114 pages of forged forensic reports stamped with a fake "Licensed Forensic Examiner, State of Indiana" seal - and those counterfeit seals helped a man recover $430,000 for small counties while funneling thousands into a shell company. How did a misdelivered letter and a county file from 2006 finally topple a thirty-year bookkeeping career built on an invented credential?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events from the February 2011 discovery to the court findings, following the documents, the buried box, and the financial trail that led back to one man and a Delaware LLC - and we return to the question that begins the unraveling: what exactly did that misdirected letter reveal?

Person: John R. Fleming
Event: Banker's box found in drainage easement on Decatur-Linden Road
Date: February 2011 discovery (box struck at 6:40 AM on a Tuesday)
Case: Clearwater Advisory Group LLC billing scheme involving Loretta Fleming
Amount recovered for clients: approximately $430,000

- The buried box contained 114 pages of professional forensic accounting reports with embossed seals and signature blocks reading "John R. Fleming. CFE, CPA, Licensed Forensic Examiner, State of Indiana."
- Fleming designed a brass embosser and assigned license number IN-FE-4471, a designation not issued by any Indiana licensing body.
- Between 2000 and 2010 Fleming was retained by more than 13 public bodies across Calloway, Dearing, and Penfield Counties.
- Fleming's engagements recovered approximately $430,000 and eight engagements exposed genuine financial misconduct according to court findings.
- In 2003 Fleming registered Clearwater Advisory Group LLC in Delaware; Clearwater billed clients $3,000 to $11,000 for digitization services that were not performed, with funds deposited into a Columbus savings account held in Loretta Fleming's name.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056942Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:21:00 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Buried Box: How a Fake Forensic Seal Unraveled a County's Trust A buried banker's box held 114 pages of forged forensic reports stamped with a fake "Licensed Forensic Examiner, State of Indiana" seal - and those counterfeit seals helped a man...
A buried banker's box held 114 pages of forged forensic reports stamped with a fake "Licensed Forensic Examiner, State of Indiana" seal - and those counterfeit seals helped a man recover $430,000 for small counties while funneling thousands into a shell company. How did a misdelivered letter and a county file from 2006 finally topple a thirty-year bookkeeping career built on an invented credential?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events from the February 2011 discovery to the court findings, following the documents, the buried box, and the financial trail that led back to one man and a Delaware LLC - and we return to the question that begins the unraveling: what exactly did that misdirected letter reveal?

Person: John R. Fleming
Event: Banker's box found in drainage easement on Decatur-Linden Road
Date: February 2011 discovery (box struck at 6:40 AM on a Tuesday)
Case: Clearwater Advisory Group LLC billing scheme involving Loretta Fleming
Amount recovered for clients: approximately $430,000

- The buried box contained 114 pages of professional forensic accounting reports with embossed seals and signature blocks reading "John R. Fleming. CFE, CPA, Licensed Forensic Examiner, State of Indiana."
- Fleming designed a brass embosser and assigned license number IN-FE-4471, a designation not issued by any Indiana licensing body.
- Between 2000 and 2010 Fleming was retained by more than 13 public bodies across Calloway, Dearing, and Penfield Counties.
- Fleming's engagements recovered approximately $430,000 and eight engagements exposed genuine financial misconduct according to court findings.
- In 2003 Fleming registered Clearwater Advisory Group LLC in Delaware; Clearwater billed clients $3,000 to $11,000 for digitization services that were not performed, with funds deposited into a Columbus savings account held in Loretta Fleming's name.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1298falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-faked-every-summit-the-ralph-parker-deception--73056941
Fear and fascination collide: a storage unit set from the inside, nine spiral notebooks of route profiles, a cot with a sleeping bag and a laminated "Contributing Mountaineer" credential - but the GPS was still in its box. How did a twenty-six-year-old from Grover City build an entire mountaineering persona whose photos and notes fooled so many, and what finally unraveled it?

In this episode, we follow the factual trail from a January 7th maintenance discovery to the published investigation that challenged every ascent Ralph Parker claimed. We trace his childhood embellishments, his work at an outdoor retailer, the rented storage unit, and the single horizon line that exposed the deception.

Person: Ralph Parker
Age: twenty-six
Location: Grover City, Colorado
Storage Unit: Unit 41, twelve by twenty feet
Summit Heights Claimed vs Actual: claimed above fourteen thousand feet; actual not above twelve thousand four hundred feet

- On January 7, 2019 at 7:14 a.m., maintenance worker Erin Carlson opened storage unit 41 with the master key.
- The unit contained nine spiral notebooks filled with handwritten route profiles and gear lists.
- Photographic panels covered three walls showing the same man at altitude; a GPS unit in factory packaging was found on top of an equipment bag.
- Parker grew up in Grover City at roughly five thousand feet elevation and had skied Ridgecrest Basin since age seven.
- Ridgecrest Basin summit is twelve thousand four hundred feet; an 11,200-foot ridgeline hike with friend Brett Ochoa was Parker’s only confirmed outing above base levels.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056941Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:20:57 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTHe Faked Every Summit: The Ralph Parker Deception Fear and fascination collide: a storage unit set from the inside, nine spiral notebooks of route profiles, a cot with a sleeping bag and a laminated "Contributing Mountaineer" credential - but the...
Fear and fascination collide: a storage unit set from the inside, nine spiral notebooks of route profiles, a cot with a sleeping bag and a laminated "Contributing Mountaineer" credential - but the GPS was still in its box. How did a twenty-six-year-old from Grover City build an entire mountaineering persona whose photos and notes fooled so many, and what finally unraveled it?

In this episode, we follow the factual trail from a January 7th maintenance discovery to the published investigation that challenged every ascent Ralph Parker claimed. We trace his childhood embellishments, his work at an outdoor retailer, the rented storage unit, and the single horizon line that exposed the deception.

Person: Ralph Parker
Age: twenty-six
Location: Grover City, Colorado
Storage Unit: Unit 41, twelve by twenty feet
Summit Heights Claimed vs Actual: claimed above fourteen thousand feet; actual not above twelve thousand four hundred feet

- On January 7, 2019 at 7:14 a.m., maintenance worker Erin Carlson opened storage unit 41 with the master key.
- The unit contained nine spiral notebooks filled with handwritten route profiles and gear lists.
- Photographic panels covered three walls showing the same man at altitude; a GPS unit in factory packaging was found on top of an equipment bag.
- Parker grew up in Grover City at roughly five thousand feet elevation and had skied Ridgecrest Basin since age seven.
- Ridgecrest Basin summit is twelve thousand four hundred feet; an 11,200-foot ridgeline hike with friend Brett Ochoa was Parker’s only confirmed outing above base levels.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1298falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-held-her-fake-credentials-up-to-the-dark-the-frances-blum-case--73056939
When Alice Patterson trained a 500-mm lens on a gravel turnout at 6:42 a.m. on December 14, 2019, she photographed a dark blue Volvo with a woman inside holding two laminated cards to the dashboard light - the woman’s doctor’s face, reading her own credentials in the dark. The clinic records would later show the woman was using a forged Caribbean medical diploma, a state license granted on those papers, and a name she used only at work; how did someone with two semesters of community college pass for a fertility specialist for six years?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of moments and documents that let Frances Blum present herself as “Dr. Frances Blum” at Dellbrook Reproductive Associates, the small clinic serving southwestern Wisconsin, and follow the clues from the turnout photo to the credential files and witness memory. What exactly in her paperwork and work history fooled the credentialing process, and what did colleagues and patients miss for so long?

Person: Frances Blum / known at work as Frances Blum
Date: December 14, 2019 at 6:42 a.m.
Location: Kessler Valley wetland preserve gravel turnout
Event: Woman in dark blue Volvo holding two laminated cards to instrument panel light
Period: Employed at Dellbrook Reproductive Associates from 2013; retired founder left in 2015

- Photographer Alice Patterson used a 500-mm lens to photograph the woman at 6:42 a.m, on December 14, 2019.
- Frances arrived in Dellbrook in autumn 2013 at age 42 and was on staff as a junior partner for two years before becoming primary physician.
- Legitimate credential: a medical assistant certification from Spokane issued in 1998, held for 21 years.
- Forged diploma: a Caribbean medical school diploma investigators confirmed exists but shows no record of her as a graduate; reportedly purchased for $4,000 in cash via an online forum.
- Weekly routine: every Wednesday for six years she drove 40 minutes to Parris Lake to visit her great-aunt Edith Colburn, arriving ~6:00 p.m. and leaving between 9:00 and 9:30 p.m.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056939Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:20:53 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTShe Held Her Fake Credentials Up to the Dark: The Frances Blum Case When Alice Patterson trained a 500-mm lens on a gravel turnout at 6:42 a.m. on December 14, 2019, she photographed a dark blue Volvo with a woman inside holding two laminated cards...
When Alice Patterson trained a 500-mm lens on a gravel turnout at 6:42 a.m. on December 14, 2019, she photographed a dark blue Volvo with a woman inside holding two laminated cards to the dashboard light - the woman’s doctor’s face, reading her own credentials in the dark. The clinic records would later show the woman was using a forged Caribbean medical diploma, a state license granted on those papers, and a name she used only at work; how did someone with two semesters of community college pass for a fertility specialist for six years?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of moments and documents that let Frances Blum present herself as “Dr. Frances Blum” at Dellbrook Reproductive Associates, the small clinic serving southwestern Wisconsin, and follow the clues from the turnout photo to the credential files and witness memory. What exactly in her paperwork and work history fooled the credentialing process, and what did colleagues and patients miss for so long?

Person: Frances Blum / known at work as Frances Blum
Date: December 14, 2019 at 6:42 a.m.
Location: Kessler Valley wetland preserve gravel turnout
Event: Woman in dark blue Volvo holding two laminated cards to instrument panel light
Period: Employed at Dellbrook Reproductive Associates from 2013; retired founder left in 2015

- Photographer Alice Patterson used a 500-mm lens to photograph the woman at 6:42 a.m, on December 14, 2019.
- Frances arrived in Dellbrook in autumn 2013 at age 42 and was on staff as a junior partner for two years before becoming primary physician.
- Legitimate credential: a medical assistant certification from Spokane issued in 1998, held for 21 years.
- Forged diploma: a Caribbean medical school diploma investigators confirmed exists but shows no record of her as a graduate; reportedly purchased for $4,000 in cash via an online forum.
- Weekly routine: every Wednesday for six years she drove 40 minutes to Parris Lake to visit her great-aunt Edith Colburn, arriving ~6:00 p.m. and leaving between 9:00 and 9:30 p.m.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1081falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-invented-a-country-then-helped-real-refugees-thrive--73056938
Fear and fascination collide: a laminated ID names the Republic of Tambura - a country that does not exist - yet the woman who invented it spent years helping refugee families with complete files and met every deadline. How can a sustained, calculated deception coexist with competent, lifesaving work, and what happens when institutions discover the truth?

In this episode, we tell the story of Marilyn Donnelly and the path that led her from volunteer to senior coordinator at Lakeshore Welcoming Coalition, the falsified documents she used to get there, and the real families who relied on her help - asking whether good outcomes erase structural fraud or make the deception worse.

Person: Marilyn Donnelly
Age: 31 in November 2019
Organization: Lakeshore Welcoming Coalition
Employer before hiring: Pathways Forward
Case referenced: Abdi Warsame school enrollment assistance

- On November 5, 2019 at 6:45 a.m., a 14-year-old delivering newspapers found a ground-floor apartment door open with a laminated ID naming the Republic of Tambura on the kitchen table.
- Marilyn began volunteering around 2010 at Pathways Forward and by 2014 was a paid case coordinator.
- In 2016 she was hired the same week by Beverly Marsh at Lakeshore Welcoming Coalition for a senior coordinator position.
- In 2017 Marilyn spent 14 hours over three days resolving documentation that allowed Abdi Warsame’s children to enroll in school.
- A federal judge later described her deception as “sustained, calculated,” while also noting her work was externally competent and the harm structural and institutional.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056938Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:20:51 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTShe Invented a Country - Then Helped Real Refugees Thrive Fear and fascination collide: a laminated ID names the Republic of Tambura - a country that does not exist - yet the woman who invented it spent years helping refugee families with complete...
Fear and fascination collide: a laminated ID names the Republic of Tambura - a country that does not exist - yet the woman who invented it spent years helping refugee families with complete files and met every deadline. How can a sustained, calculated deception coexist with competent, lifesaving work, and what happens when institutions discover the truth?

In this episode, we tell the story of Marilyn Donnelly and the path that led her from volunteer to senior coordinator at Lakeshore Welcoming Coalition, the falsified documents she used to get there, and the real families who relied on her help - asking whether good outcomes erase structural fraud or make the deception worse.

Person: Marilyn Donnelly
Age: 31 in November 2019
Organization: Lakeshore Welcoming Coalition
Employer before hiring: Pathways Forward
Case referenced: Abdi Warsame school enrollment assistance

- On November 5, 2019 at 6:45 a.m., a 14-year-old delivering newspapers found a ground-floor apartment door open with a laminated ID naming the Republic of Tambura on the kitchen table.
- Marilyn began volunteering around 2010 at Pathways Forward and by 2014 was a paid case coordinator.
- In 2016 she was hired the same week by Beverly Marsh at Lakeshore Welcoming Coalition for a senior coordinator position.
- In 2017 Marilyn spent 14 hours over three days resolving documentation that allowed Abdi Warsame’s children to enroll in school.
- A federal judge later described her deception as “sustained, calculated,” while also noting her work was externally competent and the harm structural and institutional.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1243falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-diploma-in-the-ditch-how-a-fake-principal-stayed-hidden-15-years--73056937
Cold evidence in eighteen-degree weather turned out to be the crack that would open a fifteen-year deception: a laminated Bachelor of Science in Education pulled from a ditch, dated May 17, 1991, bearing the name Cynthia Anne Anne - but made for less than forty dollars in a copy shop. How did a forged diploma survive routine checks, a checked "VERIFIED" box, and eleven years of running an elementary school without being unmasked?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events from the ditch to the personnel file and the small decisions that let a fake credential slip through district processes, asking how verification failed repeatedly and what finally made one staff member hesitate. Can the gap between suspicion and proof explain how a fake principal stayed hidden for a decade and a half?

Person: Cynthia Anne Anne
Event: Diploma found in ditch on a service lane behind Harwick Elementary
Date: Diploma conferred May 17, 1991; found on a Tuesday morning at 6:40 in February
Location: Harwick Elementary School District, eastern Pennsylvania
Duration: Fifteen years in district roles (assistant principal + principal)

- The diploma was laminated, in a clear plastic sleeve, retrieved from a frozen drainage ditch by Linda Whitley at 6:40 AM.
- The document was a Bachelor of Science in Education from Alderton University College of Education, conferred May 17, 1991.
- Cynthia Anne had 15 years total in Harwick Elementary, including 11 years as principal and 4 years as assistant principal.
- The forged diploma was produced for less than $40 at a copy shop after a call to the registrar to learn formatting.
- A district coordinator, Frank Deluca, checked the box marked "VERIFIED" in 2003 after a voicemail at the registrar number and documented no return call.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056937Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:20:47 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Diploma in the Ditch: How a Fake Principal Stayed Hidden 15 Years Cold evidence in eighteen-degree weather turned out to be the crack that would open a fifteen-year deception: a laminated Bachelor of Science in Education pulled from a ditch,...
Cold evidence in eighteen-degree weather turned out to be the crack that would open a fifteen-year deception: a laminated Bachelor of Science in Education pulled from a ditch, dated May 17, 1991, bearing the name Cynthia Anne Anne - but made for less than forty dollars in a copy shop. How did a forged diploma survive routine checks, a checked "VERIFIED" box, and eleven years of running an elementary school without being unmasked?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events from the ditch to the personnel file and the small decisions that let a fake credential slip through district processes, asking how verification failed repeatedly and what finally made one staff member hesitate. Can the gap between suspicion and proof explain how a fake principal stayed hidden for a decade and a half?

Person: Cynthia Anne Anne
Event: Diploma found in ditch on a service lane behind Harwick Elementary
Date: Diploma conferred May 17, 1991; found on a Tuesday morning at 6:40 in February
Location: Harwick Elementary School District, eastern Pennsylvania
Duration: Fifteen years in district roles (assistant principal + principal)

- The diploma was laminated, in a clear plastic sleeve, retrieved from a frozen drainage ditch by Linda Whitley at 6:40 AM.
- The document was a Bachelor of Science in Education from Alderton University College of Education, conferred May 17, 1991.
- Cynthia Anne had 15 years total in Harwick Elementary, including 11 years as principal and 4 years as assistant principal.
- The forged diploma was produced for less than $40 at a copy shop after a call to the registrar to learn formatting.
- A district coordinator, Frank Deluca, checked the box marked "VERIFIED" in 2003 after a voicemail at the registrar number and documented no return call.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1049falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-posed-as-michelin-stole-fame-40k-then-vanished--73056935
Fear: a false credential, a stolen career, and a vanished woman lurking behind a perfect forgery - how far will someone go to buy authority? A laminated Michelin credential, a discarded envelope with 47 pages, and a name that matched a missing-person report: what did Sandra Slater really take, and who paid the price?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a utility technician finding a manila envelope on September 4, 2017 to the rise of a food critic who never had the credentials she claimed. We trace how a fabricated identity built readership, influence, and real-world consequences - and ask how the deception eventually began to unravel.

Person: Sandra Slater
Date: September 4, 2017
Event: Laminated Michelin credential and 47 printed pages found in manila envelope
Person: Connie Marsh
Publication: The Considered Table
Amount: $40,000

- The envelope contained exactly 47 printed pages labeled "MICHELIN GUIDE - INTERNAL EVALUATION - NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION."
- The laminated credential bore a Michelin crest, holographic overlay, photograph, and the name Sandra Slater.
- The phone number printed on the back of the credential matched journalist Faye Drummond, who had reported a credential stolen four years earlier.
- Sandra (as Connie Marsh) began writing for Drayfield & Surrounds in February 2013 and ran a column called The Considered Table.
- Sandra's digital readership reached between 40,000 and 60,000 readers per issue.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056935Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:20:45 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTShe Posed as Michelin - Stole Fame, $40K, Then Vanished Fear: a false credential, a stolen career, and a vanished woman lurking behind a perfect forgery - how far will someone go to buy authority? A laminated Michelin credential, a discarded...
Fear: a false credential, a stolen career, and a vanished woman lurking behind a perfect forgery - how far will someone go to buy authority? A laminated Michelin credential, a discarded envelope with 47 pages, and a name that matched a missing-person report: what did Sandra Slater really take, and who paid the price?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a utility technician finding a manila envelope on September 4, 2017 to the rise of a food critic who never had the credentials she claimed. We trace how a fabricated identity built readership, influence, and real-world consequences - and ask how the deception eventually began to unravel.

Person: Sandra Slater
Date: September 4, 2017
Event: Laminated Michelin credential and 47 printed pages found in manila envelope
Person: Connie Marsh
Publication: The Considered Table
Amount: $40,000

- The envelope contained exactly 47 printed pages labeled "MICHELIN GUIDE - INTERNAL EVALUATION - NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION."
- The laminated credential bore a Michelin crest, holographic overlay, photograph, and the name Sandra Slater.
- The phone number printed on the back of the credential matched journalist Faye Drummond, who had reported a credential stolen four years earlier.
- Sandra (as Connie Marsh) began writing for Drayfield & Surrounds in February 2013 and ran a column called The Considered Table.
- Sandra's digital readership reached between 40,000 and 60,000 readers per issue.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1085falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-taught-for-a-decade-with-a-dead-man-s-name-how--73056934
A quiet lawn plaque and a laminated certificate with the name Thomas Aldric Aldric ended up on a gravel path - and that name had appeared in an obituary eleven years earlier. How did a nineteen-year-old using a dead man’s Social Security number teach roughly eighteen hundred school days to between four and five thousand students over ten years without being stopped?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events: the posthumous certification, the yellow notation in the state database, the 2009 hire of a person claiming to be Thomas Aldric, and the small clerical decisions that let the deception persist - but how did no system catch a 15-year age gap or the persistent administrative signals until 2019?

Person: Thomas Aldric Aldric
Date of Death: February 2008
Person: Scott Schmidt
Period: September 2009 through June 2019
Location: Kettrick Middle School, Dunmore

- Aldric died in February 2008 at age 34 and had coursework submitted posthumously by Carfield University.
- A yellow notation was placed in the state certification database after Carfield’s submission and went uncorrected for ten years.
- Scott Schmidt, born in 1990, presented himself as Thomas Aldric and was hired in September 2009 at age 19.
- Schmidt worked as a long-term substitute teacher for approximately ten years, covering roughly 1,800 school days.
- A laminated certificate bearing Thomas Aldric Aldric’s name was found on a gravel path in August 2019 and entered evidence at the Dunmore Police Department by 9:00 a.m.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056934Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:20:42 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTHe Taught for a Decade with a Dead Man's Name - How? A quiet lawn plaque and a laminated certificate with the name Thomas Aldric Aldric ended up on a gravel path - and that name had appeared in an obituary eleven years earlier. How did a...
A quiet lawn plaque and a laminated certificate with the name Thomas Aldric Aldric ended up on a gravel path - and that name had appeared in an obituary eleven years earlier. How did a nineteen-year-old using a dead man’s Social Security number teach roughly eighteen hundred school days to between four and five thousand students over ten years without being stopped?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events: the posthumous certification, the yellow notation in the state database, the 2009 hire of a person claiming to be Thomas Aldric, and the small clerical decisions that let the deception persist - but how did no system catch a 15-year age gap or the persistent administrative signals until 2019?

Person: Thomas Aldric Aldric
Date of Death: February 2008
Person: Scott Schmidt
Period: September 2009 through June 2019
Location: Kettrick Middle School, Dunmore

- Aldric died in February 2008 at age 34 and had coursework submitted posthumously by Carfield University.
- A yellow notation was placed in the state certification database after Carfield’s submission and went uncorrected for ten years.
- Scott Schmidt, born in 1990, presented himself as Thomas Aldric and was hired in September 2009 at age 19.
- Schmidt worked as a long-term substitute teacher for approximately ten years, covering roughly 1,800 school days.
- A laminated certificate bearing Thomas Aldric Aldric’s name was found on a gravel path in August 2019 and entered evidence at the Dunmore Police Department by 9:00 a.m.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1162falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-diploma-on-the-slab-how-a-fake-therapist-healed-a-town--73056932
Trust and danger curl together in Morrow Falls: a framed diploma placed deliberately on a concrete slab led to the discovery that Susan Anne Hughes practiced for sixteen years without any record at Indiana University. How did a woman using a stolen license number and a fabricated bereaved-daughter story build an 18-client waiting list and real healing in a town that trusted her?

In this episode, we follow the facts of the case as presented in the town: the morning the diploma was found, the details of Susan Hughes's life in Morrow Falls, and the contradictions between documented fraud and the community's experience of care. What drove her to construct that life, and why leave the credential where a neighbor would find it?

Person: Susan Anne Hughes
Date found: July 9, 2019 at approximately 8:45
Location: Sycamore Terrace, Morrow Falls
Clients: 18 at any given time with a two-year waiting list by 2009
License owner: Sandra Huggins (retired clinical social worker; number used without her knowledge)

- Susan arrived in Morrow Falls in summer 2003 at age 38 with a car, a cat named Agnes, and a diploma in a wooden frame.
- By summer 2005 she had four clients; by 2009 she had eighteen clients and a waiting list stretching two years.
- The diploma claimed a social work degree from Indiana University, but Indiana University had no record of her in any program or year.
- Susan told clients she had a daughter named Mia who died of a cardiac defect in 2001; investigators found no hospital records or obituaries for Mia.
- The license number on her letterhead belonged to Sandra Huggins, a retired clinical social worker who never met Susan and did not consent to its use.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056932Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:20:39 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Diploma on the Slab: How a Fake Therapist Healed a Town Trust and danger curl together in Morrow Falls: a framed diploma placed deliberately on a concrete slab led to the discovery that Susan Anne Hughes practiced for sixteen years without any...
Trust and danger curl together in Morrow Falls: a framed diploma placed deliberately on a concrete slab led to the discovery that Susan Anne Hughes practiced for sixteen years without any record at Indiana University. How did a woman using a stolen license number and a fabricated bereaved-daughter story build an 18-client waiting list and real healing in a town that trusted her?

In this episode, we follow the facts of the case as presented in the town: the morning the diploma was found, the details of Susan Hughes's life in Morrow Falls, and the contradictions between documented fraud and the community's experience of care. What drove her to construct that life, and why leave the credential where a neighbor would find it?

Person: Susan Anne Hughes
Date found: July 9, 2019 at approximately 8:45
Location: Sycamore Terrace, Morrow Falls
Clients: 18 at any given time with a two-year waiting list by 2009
License owner: Sandra Huggins (retired clinical social worker; number used without her knowledge)

- Susan arrived in Morrow Falls in summer 2003 at age 38 with a car, a cat named Agnes, and a diploma in a wooden frame.
- By summer 2005 she had four clients; by 2009 she had eighteen clients and a waiting list stretching two years.
- The diploma claimed a social work degree from Indiana University, but Indiana University had no record of her in any program or year.
- Susan told clients she had a daughter named Mia who died of a cardiac defect in 2001; investigators found no hospital records or obituaries for Mia.
- The license number on her letterhead belonged to Sandra Huggins, a retired clinical social worker who never met Susan and did not consent to its use.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1079falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-scheduled-three-weddings-on-the-same-day-the-eric-hansen-fraud--73056930
Fear that someone next to you is living a secret life: three wedding programs printed on identical cream stock named the same groom for June 24, 2011, but for three different brides and churches - how did one 23-year-old build that web without anyone noticing? What breaks down when everyday trust becomes the tool of deception?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events that tied three women in three towns to one man using small, repetitive acts that looked ordinary. Listen to how deposits, layaway rings, weekly calls, and matching printed programs created a convincing construction - and where the first crack in that construction appeared.

Person: Eric T. Hansen
Age: 23
Date: June 24, 2011
Event: Three weddings scheduled same day
Location: Three towns (Dellwood, Fenwick, Millhaven)

- Two wedding programs printed on the same cream stock with the same embossed lily and same groom name but different brides and venues.
- Maureen Doyle, age 26, set her wedding at Grace Fellowship Church for 4:00 PM on June 24, 2011.
- Debra Foust, age 25, set her wedding at Lakeside Community Chapel in Fenwick for 4:00 PM on June 24, 2011.
- Patrice Overton met Eric in February 2011 and scheduled a wedding for June 24, 2011 at 6:00 PM with a reception deposit paid by check.
- Doug Haas, print shop owner on Merchant Avenue, printed both orders after receiving separate deposits and signed approvals weeks apart.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056930Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:20:36 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTHe Scheduled Three Weddings on the Same Day: The Eric Hansen Fraud Fear that someone next to you is living a secret life: three wedding programs printed on identical cream stock named the same groom for June 24, 2011, but for three different brides...
Fear that someone next to you is living a secret life: three wedding programs printed on identical cream stock named the same groom for June 24, 2011, but for three different brides and churches - how did one 23-year-old build that web without anyone noticing? What breaks down when everyday trust becomes the tool of deception?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events that tied three women in three towns to one man using small, repetitive acts that looked ordinary. Listen to how deposits, layaway rings, weekly calls, and matching printed programs created a convincing construction - and where the first crack in that construction appeared.

Person: Eric T. Hansen
Age: 23
Date: June 24, 2011
Event: Three weddings scheduled same day
Location: Three towns (Dellwood, Fenwick, Millhaven)

- Two wedding programs printed on the same cream stock with the same embossed lily and same groom name but different brides and venues.
- Maureen Doyle, age 26, set her wedding at Grace Fellowship Church for 4:00 PM on June 24, 2011.
- Debra Foust, age 25, set her wedding at Lakeside Community Chapel in Fenwick for 4:00 PM on June 24, 2011.
- Patrice Overton met Eric in February 2011 and scheduled a wedding for June 24, 2011 at 6:00 PM with a reception deposit paid by check.
- Doug Haas, print shop owner on Merchant Avenue, printed both orders after receiving separate deposits and signed approvals weeks apart.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1186falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-diploma-that-drowned-a-career-found-in-a-storm-drain--73056928
When a golden retriever named Pepper pulled a framed, unblemished diploma from a storm drain in early May 2019, it set off a chain that would topple a six-year rebuilt career - and the document had cost just $430. Who was the man behind the fake credential, and why did a $430 diploma matter more than six years of proven competence?

In this episode, we trace the discovery, the people it touched, and the small decisions that connected a dog walk in Alderton to a leadership role undone; what happens when the paper between a person and their job is revealed to be a purchase rather than a proof?

Person: Kenneth R. Vogel
Date: Early May 2019
Location: Fenwick Industrial Park, Alderton, Ohio
Event: Framed graduate diploma found in storm drain
Cost: $430

- Pepper, a golden retriever, found the diploma on a Tuesday morning in early May 2019.
- The diploma was purchased around 2003 through an Eastern European credential service for $430.
- Kenneth Vogel supervised 23 engineers and managed a $4.2 million annual budget.
- Vogel had completed 18 months of genuine graduate coursework at Ohio State before withdrawing due to his mother's illness.
- Vogel bowled weekly at Fenwick Industrial with an average score of 168.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056928Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:20:33 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Diploma That Drowned a Career: Found in a Storm Drain When a golden retriever named Pepper pulled a framed, unblemished diploma from a storm drain in early May 2019, it set off a chain that would topple a six-year rebuilt career - and the...
When a golden retriever named Pepper pulled a framed, unblemished diploma from a storm drain in early May 2019, it set off a chain that would topple a six-year rebuilt career - and the document had cost just $430. Who was the man behind the fake credential, and why did a $430 diploma matter more than six years of proven competence?

In this episode, we trace the discovery, the people it touched, and the small decisions that connected a dog walk in Alderton to a leadership role undone; what happens when the paper between a person and their job is revealed to be a purchase rather than a proof?

Person: Kenneth R. Vogel
Date: Early May 2019
Location: Fenwick Industrial Park, Alderton, Ohio
Event: Framed graduate diploma found in storm drain
Cost: $430

- Pepper, a golden retriever, found the diploma on a Tuesday morning in early May 2019.
- The diploma was purchased around 2003 through an Eastern European credential service for $430.
- Kenneth Vogel supervised 23 engineers and managed a $4.2 million annual budget.
- Vogel had completed 18 months of genuine graduate coursework at Ohio State before withdrawing due to his mother's illness.
- Vogel bowled weekly at Fenwick Industrial with an average score of 168.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1101falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-pastor-who-faked-a-seminary-found-in-a-creek-briefcase--73056926
Fear and curiosity collide when a soaked briefcase with a bogus Meridian Bible Seminary seal surfaces in Sutter Creek-inside, an ordination certificate for Reverend Gerald Spence Powell, a man who led a Texas church for nearly four years without a real seminary or recognized ordination. How did a photocopied letter, a withheld verification, and a fishing trotline converge to expose a pastor many had trusted?

In this episode, we lay out the timeline from the April 9, 2014 creek discovery back to the summer of 2010 arrival in Brenham Crossing, describing the documents, the people who raised concerns, and the community impact that followed-could a single unanswered question about credentials explain years of unquestioned trust?

Person: Gerald Spence (also known as Jerry Powell)
Date: April 9, 2014
Location: Sutter Creek / Brenham Crossing, Calvert County, Texas
Event: Discovery of black leather briefcase with fake ordination certificate
Case: Meridian Bible Seminary (institution never existed)

- The briefcase was found before 5:30 AM on April 9, 2014, by Rhonda Coleman running a trotline.
- The certificate inside was sealed in a ziplock bag and wrapped in black electrical tape with a gold seal reading Meridian Bible Seminary.
- Gerald Spence arrived in Brenham Crossing in summer 2010 at age 60 and served nearly four years as the church pastor.
- Cornerstone's food pantry, started by Spence, fed 63 families within 12 months across two zip codes.
- Dean Peterson held a photocopy of a letter and an email for four years questioning credentials and had asked if the seminary had been contacted before the hiring vote.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056926Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:20:30 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Pastor Who Faked a Seminary-Found in a Creek Briefcase Fear and curiosity collide when a soaked briefcase with a bogus Meridian Bible Seminary seal surfaces in Sutter Creek-inside, an ordination certificate for Reverend Gerald Spence Powell, a...
Fear and curiosity collide when a soaked briefcase with a bogus Meridian Bible Seminary seal surfaces in Sutter Creek-inside, an ordination certificate for Reverend Gerald Spence Powell, a man who led a Texas church for nearly four years without a real seminary or recognized ordination. How did a photocopied letter, a withheld verification, and a fishing trotline converge to expose a pastor many had trusted?

In this episode, we lay out the timeline from the April 9, 2014 creek discovery back to the summer of 2010 arrival in Brenham Crossing, describing the documents, the people who raised concerns, and the community impact that followed-could a single unanswered question about credentials explain years of unquestioned trust?

Person: Gerald Spence (also known as Jerry Powell)
Date: April 9, 2014
Location: Sutter Creek / Brenham Crossing, Calvert County, Texas
Event: Discovery of black leather briefcase with fake ordination certificate
Case: Meridian Bible Seminary (institution never existed)

- The briefcase was found before 5:30 AM on April 9, 2014, by Rhonda Coleman running a trotline.
- The certificate inside was sealed in a ziplock bag and wrapped in black electrical tape with a gold seal reading Meridian Bible Seminary.
- Gerald Spence arrived in Brenham Crossing in summer 2010 at age 60 and served nearly four years as the church pastor.
- Cornerstone's food pantry, started by Spence, fed 63 families within 12 months across two zip codes.
- Dean Peterson held a photocopy of a letter and an email for four years questioning credentials and had asked if the seminary had been contacted before the hiring vote.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1060falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-fake-sergeant-who-bought-a-town-s-trust-and-a-bronze-plaque--73056924
A lacquered-new bronze plaque appeared overnight on a veterans memorial pillar in Grover's Mill, Tennessee, honoring "Sergeant First Class Scott T. Jenkins" and a unit that does not exist in the U.S. Army order of battle - who bolted it there, and why did an entire town accept him as a decorated veteran for nearly four years?

In this episode, we tell how community routine and small-town networks allowed a twenty-four-year-old tenant to be perceived as a wounded combat veteran, how a topographer's photograph exposed a mismatch in records, and what unravelled when county officials checked the plaque's authorization - could one wrong detail undo years of trust?

Person: Scott T. Jenkins
Location: Grover's Mill, Tennessee
Population: roughly 11,000 people
First arrival: spring of 2019
Photograph that triggered inquiry: taken by Susan Miller, topographer, in March 2023

- The plaque read "Sergeant First Class Scott T. Jenkins" and was lacquered-new when installed.
- Grover's Mill population is roughly eleven thousand people.
- Jenkins arrived in spring 2019 at age twenty-four and paid first month and security deposit in cash.
- Army records show Jenkins served one year at Fort Campbell, was administratively separated in 2017 as a Private First Class, and had never been deployed outside the continental United States.
- Susan Miller, a topographer with nineteen years' experience, photographed the unauthorized plaque in March 2023, prompting county inquiry.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056924Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:20:27 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Fake Sergeant Who Bought a Town's Trust - and a Bronze Plaque A lacquered-new bronze plaque appeared overnight on a veterans memorial pillar in Grover's Mill, Tennessee, honoring "Sergeant First Class Scott T. Jenkins" and a unit that does not...
A lacquered-new bronze plaque appeared overnight on a veterans memorial pillar in Grover's Mill, Tennessee, honoring "Sergeant First Class Scott T. Jenkins" and a unit that does not exist in the U.S. Army order of battle - who bolted it there, and why did an entire town accept him as a decorated veteran for nearly four years?

In this episode, we tell how community routine and small-town networks allowed a twenty-four-year-old tenant to be perceived as a wounded combat veteran, how a topographer's photograph exposed a mismatch in records, and what unravelled when county officials checked the plaque's authorization - could one wrong detail undo years of trust?

Person: Scott T. Jenkins
Location: Grover's Mill, Tennessee
Population: roughly 11,000 people
First arrival: spring of 2019
Photograph that triggered inquiry: taken by Susan Miller, topographer, in March 2023

- The plaque read "Sergeant First Class Scott T. Jenkins" and was lacquered-new when installed.
- Grover's Mill population is roughly eleven thousand people.
- Jenkins arrived in spring 2019 at age twenty-four and paid first month and security deposit in cash.
- Army records show Jenkins served one year at Fort Campbell, was administratively separated in 2017 as a Private First Class, and had never been deployed outside the continental United States.
- Susan Miller, a topographer with nineteen years' experience, photographed the unauthorized plaque in March 2023, prompting county inquiry.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1154falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-volunteer-who-faked-a-fortune-inside-donna-bauer-s-lies--73056923
A small town’s trust was baited with cream stationery, burgundy crests and million-dollar wire transfers - and volunteers kept receiving help from a woman who wasn't who she said she was. What led a longtime volunteer to bury a fake financial life behind the Aldermoor Inn, and why did fourteen unsigned sheets become the only proof?

In this episode, we tell how a volunteer named Donna Bauer lived under a constructed identity for six years, how her story unfolded in Coppervale, and what one bundled discovery in a septic gap revealed about the false foundation she claimed to represent.

Person: Donna Bauer
Location: Aldermoor Inn, Coppervale
Date: February 11, 2009
Event: Fourteen sheets of cream stationery found hidden
Occupation: Volunteer at Coppervale Food Shelf

- Fourteen sheets of cream stationery were found folded once and protected in a plastic sleeve behind the Aldermoor Inn.
- The papers bore four different letterheads: The Fontaine, The Graymont, The Cavendish Club, and The Belleclaire.
- None of the fourteen sheets carried a signature or a date.
- The documents described wire transfers and trust disbursements with figures running into the millions.
- Donna had been in Coppervale for approximately six years and volunteered at the food shelf, credited as the most dependable volunteer that season.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056923Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:20:24 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Volunteer Who Faked a Fortune: Inside Donna Bauer's Lies A small town’s trust was baited with cream stationery, burgundy crests and million-dollar wire transfers - and volunteers kept receiving help from a woman who wasn't who she said she was....
A small town’s trust was baited with cream stationery, burgundy crests and million-dollar wire transfers - and volunteers kept receiving help from a woman who wasn't who she said she was. What led a longtime volunteer to bury a fake financial life behind the Aldermoor Inn, and why did fourteen unsigned sheets become the only proof?

In this episode, we tell how a volunteer named Donna Bauer lived under a constructed identity for six years, how her story unfolded in Coppervale, and what one bundled discovery in a septic gap revealed about the false foundation she claimed to represent.

Person: Donna Bauer
Location: Aldermoor Inn, Coppervale
Date: February 11, 2009
Event: Fourteen sheets of cream stationery found hidden
Occupation: Volunteer at Coppervale Food Shelf

- Fourteen sheets of cream stationery were found folded once and protected in a plastic sleeve behind the Aldermoor Inn.
- The papers bore four different letterheads: The Fontaine, The Graymont, The Cavendish Club, and The Belleclaire.
- None of the fourteen sheets carried a signature or a date.
- The documents described wire transfers and trust disbursements with figures running into the millions.
- Donna had been in Coppervale for approximately six years and volunteered at the food shelf, credited as the most dependable volunteer that season.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1220falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-parking-permit-that-exposed-a-fake-doctor-in-millhaven--73056922
A single laminated parking permit dated academic year 2002-2003, issued by a college that closed in 2001, hung from a rearview mirror and set off a chain that toppled a fake physician. How did a retired birdwatcher’s photograph and two years of private notes unravel a credential stack built to be unverifiable?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that led from a parking lot snapshot to the exposure of a woman practicing medicine without a legitimate degree. We trace the timeline of Amy Stein’s arrival in Millhaven, the inconsistencies colleagues noticed, and the moment the permit triggered action - but who missed the signs first, and why did it take so long?

Person: Amy Stein
Event: Parking permit photographed by Stanley Harrison
Location: Millhaven Family Health Clinic parking lot
Date: January 2011 (photograph); Amy arrived spring 2008
Population: Millhaven roughly 4,400

- The parking permit was laminated and dated academic year 2002-2003 from Calloway Medical College, which closed in spring 2001.
- Stanley Harrison photographed the permit in January 2011 while birdwatching with binoculars and a camera.
- Amy Stein had been treating Millhaven families for nearly three years and arrived in town in spring 2008 at age 30.
- Lisa Owens kept private notes for approximately two years after noticing credential inconsistencies, including a DEA number state prefix mismatch.
- Frank Aldrich reviewed Stein’s credential portfolio in roughly 20 minutes before hiring her and retired four months after she started.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056922Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:20:21 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Parking Permit That Exposed A Fake Doctor in Millhaven A single laminated parking permit dated academic year 2002-2003, issued by a college that closed in 2001, hung from a rearview mirror and set off a chain that toppled a fake physician. How...
A single laminated parking permit dated academic year 2002-2003, issued by a college that closed in 2001, hung from a rearview mirror and set off a chain that toppled a fake physician. How did a retired birdwatcher’s photograph and two years of private notes unravel a credential stack built to be unverifiable?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that led from a parking lot snapshot to the exposure of a woman practicing medicine without a legitimate degree. We trace the timeline of Amy Stein’s arrival in Millhaven, the inconsistencies colleagues noticed, and the moment the permit triggered action - but who missed the signs first, and why did it take so long?

Person: Amy Stein
Event: Parking permit photographed by Stanley Harrison
Location: Millhaven Family Health Clinic parking lot
Date: January 2011 (photograph); Amy arrived spring 2008
Population: Millhaven roughly 4,400

- The parking permit was laminated and dated academic year 2002-2003 from Calloway Medical College, which closed in spring 2001.
- Stanley Harrison photographed the permit in January 2011 while birdwatching with binoculars and a camera.
- Amy Stein had been treating Millhaven families for nearly three years and arrived in town in spring 2008 at age 30.
- Lisa Owens kept private notes for approximately two years after noticing credential inconsistencies, including a DEA number state prefix mismatch.
- Frank Aldrich reviewed Stein’s credential portfolio in roughly 20 minutes before hiring her and retired four months after she started.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1218falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-faked-seminary-but-who-did-she-comfort-for-nine-years--73056921
Fear and fascination collide: a cream certificate dated May 22, 2001, a burgundy embossed seal, and a seminary name that never existed - yet for nine years a woman named Dawn Olson sat with the dying and earned praise from a Franciscan priest and hospice nurses. Who was she really, and how do we reckon with care that felt authentic when the paperwork was a lie?

In this episode, we follow the documents, the people who trusted her, and the small decisions that let a false credential go unchecked for nearly a decade. We trace Dawn's path into Lakeview Hospice, the hiring committee's brief twenty-minute review, and the quiet, repeated acts of bedside presence that complicate the verdict: what do we call her work?

Person: Dawn Olson (went by Dawn Olson)
Date: May 22, 2001
Location: Lakeview Hospice, Millhaven, Ohio
Document: Crestfield Theological certificate (institution did not exist)
Witness: Father Daniel Rourke (Franciscan priest)

- The Crestfield Theological certificate bore a burgundy embossed seal and the date May 22, 2001, but the seminary never existed.
- The seal on the certificate was a stock image purchased in Akron for $11.40.
- Dawn's folder included a falsified reference on Madison General Hospital letterhead using Thomas Pell's name; Pell had never met her.
- The hiring committee at Lakeview Hospice reviewed Dawn's materials for approximately 20 minutes and did not contact Crestfield or Madison General.
- An online interfaith ordination in the folder was genuine, cost $45, and conferred no denominational standing.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056921Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:20:18 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTShe Faked Seminary-But Who Did She Comfort For Nine Years? Fear and fascination collide: a cream certificate dated May 22, 2001, a burgundy embossed seal, and a seminary name that never existed - yet for nine years a woman named Dawn Olson sat with...
Fear and fascination collide: a cream certificate dated May 22, 2001, a burgundy embossed seal, and a seminary name that never existed - yet for nine years a woman named Dawn Olson sat with the dying and earned praise from a Franciscan priest and hospice nurses. Who was she really, and how do we reckon with care that felt authentic when the paperwork was a lie?

In this episode, we follow the documents, the people who trusted her, and the small decisions that let a false credential go unchecked for nearly a decade. We trace Dawn's path into Lakeview Hospice, the hiring committee's brief twenty-minute review, and the quiet, repeated acts of bedside presence that complicate the verdict: what do we call her work?

Person: Dawn Olson (went by Dawn Olson)
Date: May 22, 2001
Location: Lakeview Hospice, Millhaven, Ohio
Document: Crestfield Theological certificate (institution did not exist)
Witness: Father Daniel Rourke (Franciscan priest)

- The Crestfield Theological certificate bore a burgundy embossed seal and the date May 22, 2001, but the seminary never existed.
- The seal on the certificate was a stock image purchased in Akron for $11.40.
- Dawn's folder included a falsified reference on Madison General Hospital letterhead using Thomas Pell's name; Pell had never met her.
- The hiring committee at Lakeview Hospice reviewed Dawn's materials for approximately 20 minutes and did not contact Crestfield or Madison General.
- An online interfaith ordination in the folder was genuine, cost $45, and conferred no denominational standing.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1169falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-11-badge-that-toppled-a-fake-fire-investigator--73056919
A single laminated credential card survived eleven days in freezing weather and a snowplow blade-then unraveled six years of fake investigations and twelve insurance contracts. The card cost eleven dollars to produce and led to a rabbit-feeding schedule that became a critical clue; who was Jerry Andrews really, and how did an $11 template hide him for so long?

In this episode, we tell how one discarded credential ended a long-running fraud and trace the key moments and people involved, from routine audits to a persistent claimant who refused to let the case lie. How did auditors, adjusters, and a single man piecing his life back together finally expose a manufactured expert?

Person: Jerry Andrews
Age: 46
Event: Card found on Harwick Road after a snowplow strike
Date: Eleven days after a property fire
Case: Fake CFEI credential produced from an $11 online template

- The CFEI card was laminated, printed with the name Jerry Andrews, and recovered on Harwick Road at 4:00 AM.
- Jerry charged $4,000 per site and held contracts with twelve insurance carriers.
- He never passed a Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator exam nor submitted required field experience hours.
- Phil Navarro filed a memo noting problematic reports in 2011 that was subsequently filed away.
- Judith Harris requested credentials in fall 2009, was told the database was migrating, and was ordered to close the vendor inquiry.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056919Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:20:15 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe $11 Badge That Toppled a Fake Fire Investigator A single laminated credential card survived eleven days in freezing weather and a snowplow blade-then unraveled six years of fake investigations and twelve insurance contracts. The card cost...
A single laminated credential card survived eleven days in freezing weather and a snowplow blade-then unraveled six years of fake investigations and twelve insurance contracts. The card cost eleven dollars to produce and led to a rabbit-feeding schedule that became a critical clue; who was Jerry Andrews really, and how did an $11 template hide him for so long?

In this episode, we tell how one discarded credential ended a long-running fraud and trace the key moments and people involved, from routine audits to a persistent claimant who refused to let the case lie. How did auditors, adjusters, and a single man piecing his life back together finally expose a manufactured expert?

Person: Jerry Andrews
Age: 46
Event: Card found on Harwick Road after a snowplow strike
Date: Eleven days after a property fire
Case: Fake CFEI credential produced from an $11 online template

- The CFEI card was laminated, printed with the name Jerry Andrews, and recovered on Harwick Road at 4:00 AM.
- Jerry charged $4,000 per site and held contracts with twelve insurance carriers.
- He never passed a Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator exam nor submitted required field experience hours.
- Phil Navarro filed a memo noting problematic reports in 2011 that was subsequently filed away.
- Judith Harris requested credentials in fall 2009, was told the database was migrating, and was ordered to close the vendor inquiry.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1197falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-woman-who-invented-a-missing-girl-and-bilked-thousands--73056918
A fake cold-case podcast amassed 280,000 subscribers and thousands of dollars while the central missing girl, Cassie Drummond, never existed - and the creator recorded herself playing every role alone for nearly four years. Who built this elaborate fiction, kept it impeccably consistent, and why did listeners believe it so completely?

In this episode, we tell how a woman named Laura Weaver created Cold Signal, produced episodes weekly from storage units and apartments, and convinced a regional audience a vanished nineteen-year-old from Millhaven was real. How did meticulous rehearsal, physical props, and a committed schedule sustain the deception?

Person: Laura Weaver
Event: Launch of Cold Signal podcast in September 2015
Subscribers: 280,000 by discovery in March 2019
Case: Disappearance of "Cassie Drummond" (fictional), allegedly from fall 2003
Award: Regional audio journalism award received fall 2017

- On March 14, 2019 at 7:14 AM an electrician named Donna Tucker found a laminated press credential in a Pratt Falls storage unit.
- Laura Weaver recorded on Wednesday nights from 9:00 to 11:00 PM, consistently, for nearly four years.
- The podcast grew from 40,000 subscribers in its first season to 280,000 by the second season.
- Weaver stored materials in 37 organized binders, four external hard drives, a professional microphone, and a portable acoustic panel.
- Weaver registered a production company for $40 and accepted a regional audio journalism award under that name in fall 2017.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056918Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:20:12 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Woman Who Invented a Missing Girl - and Bilked Thousands A fake cold-case podcast amassed 280,000 subscribers and thousands of dollars while the central missing girl, Cassie Drummond, never existed - and the creator recorded herself playing...
A fake cold-case podcast amassed 280,000 subscribers and thousands of dollars while the central missing girl, Cassie Drummond, never existed - and the creator recorded herself playing every role alone for nearly four years. Who built this elaborate fiction, kept it impeccably consistent, and why did listeners believe it so completely?

In this episode, we tell how a woman named Laura Weaver created Cold Signal, produced episodes weekly from storage units and apartments, and convinced a regional audience a vanished nineteen-year-old from Millhaven was real. How did meticulous rehearsal, physical props, and a committed schedule sustain the deception?

Person: Laura Weaver
Event: Launch of Cold Signal podcast in September 2015
Subscribers: 280,000 by discovery in March 2019
Case: Disappearance of "Cassie Drummond" (fictional), allegedly from fall 2003
Award: Regional audio journalism award received fall 2017

- On March 14, 2019 at 7:14 AM an electrician named Donna Tucker found a laminated press credential in a Pratt Falls storage unit.
- Laura Weaver recorded on Wednesday nights from 9:00 to 11:00 PM, consistently, for nearly four years.
- The podcast grew from 40,000 subscribers in its first season to 280,000 by the second season.
- Weaver stored materials in 37 organized binders, four external hard drives, a professional microphone, and a portable acoustic panel.
- Weaver registered a production company for $40 and accepted a regional audio journalism award under that name in fall 2017.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1209falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-faked-a-phd-for-16-years-the-fax-that-unraveled-her-life--73056917
The tiny hum of a fax at 5:47 AM on September 3, 2019 exposed a credential verification signed by Patricia Ann Becker and left jammed for eleven days - a single paper that dismantled a sixteen-year facade. She built a clinical career, private practice, and expert testimony while keeping a folder labeled "Continuity" cataloguing every fabricated credential; how did competence and fraud coexist for so long?

In this episode, we tell how a grounds supervisor’s curiosity and one stuck document led to revelations about Becker’s life, from a one-week internship in 1991 to publishing under her name by 1998, and the questions that remain about institutional assumptions and personal deception.

Person: Patricia Ann Becker
Date: September 3, 2019
Location: Harwick University psychology building
Period: 1991-2019
Case: Fabricated credentials uncovered by jammed fax

- The fax machine hummed at 5:47 AM and the document remained jammed for 11 days before discovery.
- Patricia Becker arrived in Harwick, Virginia in September 2003 at age 43 and rented a two-bedroom apartment near the reservoir.
- By 2005 she had a private practice on Dalton Street with a waiting list spanning three counties.
- Investigators seized personal notebooks containing volumes spanning 28 years, with the first entries dated to summer 1991.
- A folder labeled "Continuity" contained every fabricated credential, false co-author correspondence, and marginal notes tying each detail to specific uses.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056917Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:20:08 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTShe Faked a PhD for 16 Years - The Fax That Unraveled Her Life The tiny hum of a fax at 5:47 AM on September 3, 2019 exposed a credential verification signed by Patricia Ann Becker and left jammed for eleven days - a single paper that dismantled a...
The tiny hum of a fax at 5:47 AM on September 3, 2019 exposed a credential verification signed by Patricia Ann Becker and left jammed for eleven days - a single paper that dismantled a sixteen-year facade. She built a clinical career, private practice, and expert testimony while keeping a folder labeled "Continuity" cataloguing every fabricated credential; how did competence and fraud coexist for so long?

In this episode, we tell how a grounds supervisor’s curiosity and one stuck document led to revelations about Becker’s life, from a one-week internship in 1991 to publishing under her name by 1998, and the questions that remain about institutional assumptions and personal deception.

Person: Patricia Ann Becker
Date: September 3, 2019
Location: Harwick University psychology building
Period: 1991-2019
Case: Fabricated credentials uncovered by jammed fax

- The fax machine hummed at 5:47 AM and the document remained jammed for 11 days before discovery.
- Patricia Becker arrived in Harwick, Virginia in September 2003 at age 43 and rented a two-bedroom apartment near the reservoir.
- By 2005 she had a private practice on Dalton Street with a waiting list spanning three counties.
- Investigators seized personal notebooks containing volumes spanning 28 years, with the first entries dated to summer 1991.
- A folder labeled "Continuity" contained every fabricated credential, false co-author correspondence, and marginal notes tying each detail to specific uses.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1203falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-24-year-old-fake-lawyer-who-ran-112-arbitration-rooms--73056915
Fear and fascination meet in a garage diploma: for five years a 24-year-old posed as a 56-year-old labor attorney and presided over 112 arbitration rooms while Denton Falls believed she had thirty-one years of experience-how did a single piece of paper and a copied bar card sustain an entire professional life, and what was she trying to finish before she died?

In this episode, we tell the episode’s facts: the diploma found in a two-car garage, the copied bar card linked to a twin brother, the federal verification that was ignored, and the community that trusted her in disputes between workers and employers-what explains the gap between identity and authority?

Person: Crystal Andrews
Age at death: 24
Location: Prospect Ridge Drive, Denton Falls
Professional identity claimed: 56 years old with 31 years of experience
Verification anomaly date: August 2021

- Crystal Andrews died alone in a garage and was found 18 hours later with a legal pad on her knees.
- She arbitrated more than 100 labor disputes while presenting herself as an experienced attorney.
- The diploma on the garage wall read Harwick College of Law, class of 1994, a school closed since 2008.
- A copied bar card belonged to her twin brother Dennis Andrews, a licensed labor attorney in Flagstaff since 1994.
- In August 2021, Phil Dempsey ran a bar number verification, saw Dennis’s photo, closed the browser, and filed via a workaround without reporting the discrepancy.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056915Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:20:05 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe 24-Year-Old Fake Lawyer Who Ran 112 Arbitration Rooms Fear and fascination meet in a garage diploma: for five years a 24-year-old posed as a 56-year-old labor attorney and presided over 112 arbitration rooms while Denton Falls believed she had...
Fear and fascination meet in a garage diploma: for five years a 24-year-old posed as a 56-year-old labor attorney and presided over 112 arbitration rooms while Denton Falls believed she had thirty-one years of experience-how did a single piece of paper and a copied bar card sustain an entire professional life, and what was she trying to finish before she died?

In this episode, we tell the episode’s facts: the diploma found in a two-car garage, the copied bar card linked to a twin brother, the federal verification that was ignored, and the community that trusted her in disputes between workers and employers-what explains the gap between identity and authority?

Person: Crystal Andrews
Age at death: 24
Location: Prospect Ridge Drive, Denton Falls
Professional identity claimed: 56 years old with 31 years of experience
Verification anomaly date: August 2021

- Crystal Andrews died alone in a garage and was found 18 hours later with a legal pad on her knees.
- She arbitrated more than 100 labor disputes while presenting herself as an experienced attorney.
- The diploma on the garage wall read Harwick College of Law, class of 1994, a school closed since 2008.
- A copied bar card belonged to her twin brother Dennis Andrews, a licensed labor attorney in Flagstaff since 1994.
- In August 2021, Phil Dempsey ran a bar number verification, saw Dennis’s photo, closed the browser, and filed via a workaround without reporting the discrepancy.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1069falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-sommelier-who-left-a-5-000-bottle-and-vanished-overnight--73056913
A magnum of Chevalier-Montrachet 2009 worth between $4,000 and $6,000 was found upright on a church pew with a card reading "For what I borrowed" - left by a man who turned in his keys and disappeared from Harwick, Ohio overnight. How did a sommelier with a falsified certificate and a perfect palate vanish after a single missing bottle exposed a four-year lie?

In this episode, we trace the sequence of events from a Tuesday morning in the third week of July 2021 back through the hiring in spring 2017, the missing magnum logged in spring 2019, and the accounting irregularities found in spring 2020 to ask whether a single inventory line could unravel an entire fabricated life.

Person: Glenn Mills
Location: Harwick, Ohio
Date: Tuesday morning, third week of July 2021
Item: Magnum of Chevalier-Montrachet 2009, Domaine Leflaive
Discrepancy discovered: Duplicate lot numbers on invoices, spring 2020

- Glenn Mills arrived in Harwick in spring 2017 at age 35 and was hired by Patricia Hung within two days.
- The missing magnum was logged withdrawn from inventory in spring 2019 for a wedding tasting but was not returned.
- The magnum’s estimated worth was between $4,000 and $6,000.
- Glenn used a certification number from the Court of Master Sommeliers that belonged to another person, altered by a single digit.
- Accounting anomalies (duplicate lot numbers on invoices) were identified by accountant Ted Soria in spring 2020.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056913Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:20:03 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Sommelier Who Left a $5,000 Bottle and Vanished Overnight A magnum of Chevalier-Montrachet 2009 worth between $4,000 and $6,000 was found upright on a church pew with a card reading "For what I borrowed" - left by a man who turned in his keys...
A magnum of Chevalier-Montrachet 2009 worth between $4,000 and $6,000 was found upright on a church pew with a card reading "For what I borrowed" - left by a man who turned in his keys and disappeared from Harwick, Ohio overnight. How did a sommelier with a falsified certificate and a perfect palate vanish after a single missing bottle exposed a four-year lie?

In this episode, we trace the sequence of events from a Tuesday morning in the third week of July 2021 back through the hiring in spring 2017, the missing magnum logged in spring 2019, and the accounting irregularities found in spring 2020 to ask whether a single inventory line could unravel an entire fabricated life.

Person: Glenn Mills
Location: Harwick, Ohio
Date: Tuesday morning, third week of July 2021
Item: Magnum of Chevalier-Montrachet 2009, Domaine Leflaive
Discrepancy discovered: Duplicate lot numbers on invoices, spring 2020

- Glenn Mills arrived in Harwick in spring 2017 at age 35 and was hired by Patricia Hung within two days.
- The missing magnum was logged withdrawn from inventory in spring 2019 for a wedding tasting but was not returned.
- The magnum’s estimated worth was between $4,000 and $6,000.
- Glenn used a certification number from the Court of Master Sommeliers that belonged to another person, altered by a single digit.
- Accounting anomalies (duplicate lot numbers on invoices) were identified by accountant Ted Soria in spring 2020.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1183falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-published-47-dead-but-one-man-answered-the-badge--73056910
A single laminated press badge dug from a trail led to a string of 47 obituaries that had no matching death records - and the man who "died" in print was replying on Facebook. How did a trusted obituary writer file dozens of community tributes for people who, by every official record, were still alive?

In this episode, we follow the discovery on June 4, 2019, when Patricia Holt found the badge and the subsequent six-week unraveling in Caldwell County that revealed invented deaths. What the episode covers: the badge on the Norman Williams Trail, Alan Burke’s nine years at the Caldwell Courier-Ledger, and the county records that first flagged the false obituaries - but how far did the fabrications go?

Person: Alan Burke
Date: June 4, 2019
Location: Norman Williams Trail
Event: Discovery of laminated press badge
Case: First confirmed fabricated obituary published spring 2017

- The press badge photograph showed Alan Burke with reading glasses and listed years 1957-2014.
- Patricia Holt posted the badge photo to a local Facebook group and received a reply at 4:15 PM from Alan Burke.
- The trail had been open 11 days and the trailhead kiosk had a receipt from May 25 registered to a ten-year-old Subaru owned by Alan Burke.
- Alan Burke began working at the Caldwell Courier-Ledger in spring 2010 and had been on staff nine years by 2019.
- By summer 2017, the Caldwell vital statistics records coordinator had assembled a file of 13 names from Burke’s obituaries that had no matching death certificates.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056910Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:20:00 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTHe Published 47 Dead - But One Man Answered the Badge A single laminated press badge dug from a trail led to a string of 47 obituaries that had no matching death records - and the man who "died" in print was replying on Facebook. How did a trusted...
A single laminated press badge dug from a trail led to a string of 47 obituaries that had no matching death records - and the man who "died" in print was replying on Facebook. How did a trusted obituary writer file dozens of community tributes for people who, by every official record, were still alive?

In this episode, we follow the discovery on June 4, 2019, when Patricia Holt found the badge and the subsequent six-week unraveling in Caldwell County that revealed invented deaths. What the episode covers: the badge on the Norman Williams Trail, Alan Burke’s nine years at the Caldwell Courier-Ledger, and the county records that first flagged the false obituaries - but how far did the fabrications go?

Person: Alan Burke
Date: June 4, 2019
Location: Norman Williams Trail
Event: Discovery of laminated press badge
Case: First confirmed fabricated obituary published spring 2017

- The press badge photograph showed Alan Burke with reading glasses and listed years 1957-2014.
- Patricia Holt posted the badge photo to a local Facebook group and received a reply at 4:15 PM from Alan Burke.
- The trail had been open 11 days and the trailhead kiosk had a receipt from May 25 registered to a ten-year-old Subaru owned by Alan Burke.
- Alan Burke began working at the Caldwell Courier-Ledger in spring 2010 and had been on staff nine years by 2019.
- By summer 2017, the Caldwell vital statistics records coordinator had assembled a file of 13 names from Burke’s obituaries that had no matching death certificates.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1072falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-laminated-lie-how-a-2-vest-built-a-fake-humanitarian-career--73056909
Fear and fascination collide the moment a laminated photo ID surfaces in a flooded oxbow creek - pristine, eighteen inches below the surface - for an organization that had been dissolved three years earlier; how could a two-dollar garage-sale vest and a copy-shop badge open doors to field command across continents, and what broke the illusion? This episode centers on that badge, a blue lanyard, and the single unresolved question: where do we draw the line between fabricated credentials and real competence?

In this episode, you’ll hear the sequence of events that followed the creek find, how the vest and a homemade ID enabled multiple humanitarian deployments, and the unusual judicial outcome that treated field assessments as competent while still ending in prison; what does this case reveal about institutional assumptions?

Person: Bruce Carter
Location: Dellwood, Arkansas
Item: laminated photo ID on a blue lanyard
Organization: Meridian Global Relief Consortium (dissolved 2016)
Sentence: thirty-one months in federal prison

- The badge was found eighteen inches below the surface of a flooded oxbow creek behind a grain elevator in Dellwood, Arkansas.
- Bruce purchased a nylon mesh vest with embroidered MERIDIAN GLOBAL RELIEF CONSORTIUM patch at a garage sale for two dollars.
- Meridian Global Relief Consortium was a real organization founded in the 1990s and dissolved in 2016.
- Within twenty minutes of arriving at a September 2015 Louisiana flood site, Bruce was handed a clipboard and led a team.
- Federal investigators rated every field assessment Bruce submitted as competent to highly competent, yet he received a thirty-one month federal prison sentence.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056909Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:19:57 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Laminated Lie: How a $2 Vest Built a Fake Humanitarian Career Fear and fascination collide the moment a laminated photo ID surfaces in a flooded oxbow creek - pristine, eighteen inches below the surface - for an organization that had been...
Fear and fascination collide the moment a laminated photo ID surfaces in a flooded oxbow creek - pristine, eighteen inches below the surface - for an organization that had been dissolved three years earlier; how could a two-dollar garage-sale vest and a copy-shop badge open doors to field command across continents, and what broke the illusion? This episode centers on that badge, a blue lanyard, and the single unresolved question: where do we draw the line between fabricated credentials and real competence?

In this episode, you’ll hear the sequence of events that followed the creek find, how the vest and a homemade ID enabled multiple humanitarian deployments, and the unusual judicial outcome that treated field assessments as competent while still ending in prison; what does this case reveal about institutional assumptions?

Person: Bruce Carter
Location: Dellwood, Arkansas
Item: laminated photo ID on a blue lanyard
Organization: Meridian Global Relief Consortium (dissolved 2016)
Sentence: thirty-one months in federal prison

- The badge was found eighteen inches below the surface of a flooded oxbow creek behind a grain elevator in Dellwood, Arkansas.
- Bruce purchased a nylon mesh vest with embroidered MERIDIAN GLOBAL RELIEF CONSORTIUM patch at a garage sale for two dollars.
- Meridian Global Relief Consortium was a real organization founded in the 1990s and dissolved in 2016.
- Within twenty minutes of arriving at a September 2015 Louisiana flood site, Bruce was handed a clipboard and led a team.
- Federal investigators rated every field assessment Bruce submitted as competent to highly competent, yet he received a thirty-one month federal prison sentence.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1109falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-tape-in-the-crawlspace-that-unraveled-a-voice-coach-s-lies--73056907
Fear that a single, mundane object can expose a life built on small deceits - a county surveyor found a heavily used cassette tape in a crawlspace in Dellmore, New York, in April 2011, labeled with a woman's name and a school that had no link to the house; what did that scrap of magnetic tape reveal about her past and credentials? How did thirty-five cents and a thrift-store bargain turn into the hinge of a decade-long fabrication?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the tape's discovery to the administrative question a paralegal asked six weeks later that began to unravel a career. The episode covers the origins of Linda Bishop's skill, the false résumé claims, her decade of work on three Broadway productions, and the opening of her Dellmore Academy of Dramatic Arts - but what exactly did the cassette label trigger?

Person: Linda Bishop
Location: Dellmore, New York
Date: April 2011
Event: Cassette tape found in crawlspace
Case: Dellmore Academy of Dramatic Arts

- The cassette was identified as ferric oxide magnetic tape with stretched leaders re-spliced with clear tape.
- The thrift-store tape Linda bought in 1996 cost thirty-five cents and was a 1970s British pronunciation drill with fourteen exercises.
- Linda coached accent and dialect work on three Broadway productions between 2003 and 2009.
- The London Voice Institute Linda listed on her résumé had dissolved in 1988 and the Edinburgh conservatory had no record of her enrollment.
- The cassette reached a paralegal's desk six weeks after its discovery, prompting a single administrative question that began to unravel her credentials.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056907Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:19:54 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Tape in the Crawlspace That Unraveled a Voice Coach's Lies Fear that a single, mundane object can expose a life built on small deceits - a county surveyor found a heavily used cassette tape in a crawlspace in Dellmore, New York, in April 2011,...
Fear that a single, mundane object can expose a life built on small deceits - a county surveyor found a heavily used cassette tape in a crawlspace in Dellmore, New York, in April 2011, labeled with a woman's name and a school that had no link to the house; what did that scrap of magnetic tape reveal about her past and credentials? How did thirty-five cents and a thrift-store bargain turn into the hinge of a decade-long fabrication?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the tape's discovery to the administrative question a paralegal asked six weeks later that began to unravel a career. The episode covers the origins of Linda Bishop's skill, the false résumé claims, her decade of work on three Broadway productions, and the opening of her Dellmore Academy of Dramatic Arts - but what exactly did the cassette label trigger?

Person: Linda Bishop
Location: Dellmore, New York
Date: April 2011
Event: Cassette tape found in crawlspace
Case: Dellmore Academy of Dramatic Arts

- The cassette was identified as ferric oxide magnetic tape with stretched leaders re-spliced with clear tape.
- The thrift-store tape Linda bought in 1996 cost thirty-five cents and was a 1970s British pronunciation drill with fourteen exercises.
- Linda coached accent and dialect work on three Broadway productions between 2003 and 2009.
- The London Voice Institute Linda listed on her résumé had dissolved in 1988 and the Edinburgh conservatory had no record of her enrollment.
- The cassette reached a paralegal's desk six weeks after its discovery, prompting a single administrative question that began to unravel her credentials.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1108falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/plumber-finds-a-law-degree-hidden-in-a-fence-the-connie-bishop-case--73056906
A routine fence repair in March 2013 produced a laminated Juris Doctor diploma tied with zip-ties-bearing the name Constance Marie Bishop and a 2003 graduation from Alderton School of Law, an institution that closed in 1973. How did a woman practicing immigration law for nearly nine years carry a degree from a school that ceased to exist thirty years earlier, and what did the discovery mean for her clients?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the fence find to the moment a colleague on a continuing legal education call realized the dates didn’t add up. You’ll hear the concrete steps Bishop took to build her credentials, the near-misses that almost exposed her, and the single question that pushed the Ohio bar to reassess a long-standing assumption.

Person: Constance Marie Bishop
Event: Diploma found behind fence panel on Birchwood Lane
Date: March 2013
Institution: Alderton School of Law (operated 1951-1973)
Colleague who alerted bar: Raymond Anderson

- The diploma was laminated, zip-tied to the inner face of a wooden fence slat and found by Gail Long on a Tuesday morning in March 2013.
- Alderton School of Law officially operated from 1951 to 1973 and closed mid-semester in spring 1973 with no diplomas issued that year.
- Bishop passed the Ohio bar on her second attempt in October 2003 and opened a practice in Columbus in 2004, serving mainly Somali and Eritrean clients.
- The fake diploma listed graduation year 2003; supporting faculty names and recommendation letters were copied from a 1968 Alderton course catalog bought at an estate sale.
- An archivist’s 2008 memo noting Alderton’s lack of 1973 diplomas was drafted but never sent; in 2012 Raymond Anderson discovered the inconsistency and called the bar the next morning.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056906Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:19:51 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTPlumber Finds a Law Degree Hidden in a Fence: The Connie Bishop Case A routine fence repair in March 2013 produced a laminated Juris Doctor diploma tied with zip-ties-bearing the name Constance Marie Bishop and a 2003 graduation from Alderton...
A routine fence repair in March 2013 produced a laminated Juris Doctor diploma tied with zip-ties-bearing the name Constance Marie Bishop and a 2003 graduation from Alderton School of Law, an institution that closed in 1973. How did a woman practicing immigration law for nearly nine years carry a degree from a school that ceased to exist thirty years earlier, and what did the discovery mean for her clients?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the fence find to the moment a colleague on a continuing legal education call realized the dates didn’t add up. You’ll hear the concrete steps Bishop took to build her credentials, the near-misses that almost exposed her, and the single question that pushed the Ohio bar to reassess a long-standing assumption.

Person: Constance Marie Bishop
Event: Diploma found behind fence panel on Birchwood Lane
Date: March 2013
Institution: Alderton School of Law (operated 1951-1973)
Colleague who alerted bar: Raymond Anderson

- The diploma was laminated, zip-tied to the inner face of a wooden fence slat and found by Gail Long on a Tuesday morning in March 2013.
- Alderton School of Law officially operated from 1951 to 1973 and closed mid-semester in spring 1973 with no diplomas issued that year.
- Bishop passed the Ohio bar on her second attempt in October 2003 and opened a practice in Columbus in 2004, serving mainly Somali and Eritrean clients.
- The fake diploma listed graduation year 2003; supporting faculty names and recommendation letters were copied from a 1968 Alderton course catalog bought at an estate sale.
- An archivist’s 2008 memo noting Alderton’s lack of 1973 diplomas was drafted but never sent; in 2012 Raymond Anderson discovered the inconsistency and called the bar the next morning.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>961falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-faked-every-credential-the-roger-marshall-forensic-fraud--73056904
Fear of being betrayed by the credentials you trust starts here: a man who never passed an exam or held a certification billed clients roughly $940,000 over seven years using a self-made CFA title and phantom vendor companies - so how did he keep multilayered deception hidden until one single invoice unraveled it all?

In this episode, we walk through the sequence of events that led from a gold-sealed envelope on a pickup dashboard to federal handcuffs, showing how fabricated letterhead, passthrough accounts, and weekly coordination with a relative sustained the scheme - what exactly did that one invoice reveal that every subpoena later confirmed?

Person: Roger Marshall
Location: Millbrook, Ohio
Date: February 2011 (arrest); scheme spanned seven years in Millbrook
Amount billed: approximately $940,000
Amount for services never performed: $310,000

- The envelope with a gold seal was found on a pickup dashboard at Tanner Ridge Wildlife Preserve lot seventeen miles outside Millbrook.
- Marshall moved to Millbrook in 2004 and billed clients approximately $940,000 over seven years.
- $310,000 of billed funds were for phantom services such as software licensing and database access funneled through vendor names.
- Apex Verification Group had no employees and its sole person connected was Marshall; Arbor Forensic Systems domain was registered seven months before scrutiny.
- Every Credential morning Marshall made a 20-40 minute call confirmed by cell records to Diane Pollard in Dayton, who managed the passthrough accounts.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056904Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:19:49 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTHe Faked Every Credential: The Roger Marshall Forensic Fraud Fear of being betrayed by the credentials you trust starts here: a man who never passed an exam or held a certification billed clients roughly $940,000 over seven years using a self-made...
Fear of being betrayed by the credentials you trust starts here: a man who never passed an exam or held a certification billed clients roughly $940,000 over seven years using a self-made CFA title and phantom vendor companies - so how did he keep multilayered deception hidden until one single invoice unraveled it all?

In this episode, we walk through the sequence of events that led from a gold-sealed envelope on a pickup dashboard to federal handcuffs, showing how fabricated letterhead, passthrough accounts, and weekly coordination with a relative sustained the scheme - what exactly did that one invoice reveal that every subpoena later confirmed?

Person: Roger Marshall
Location: Millbrook, Ohio
Date: February 2011 (arrest); scheme spanned seven years in Millbrook
Amount billed: approximately $940,000
Amount for services never performed: $310,000

- The envelope with a gold seal was found on a pickup dashboard at Tanner Ridge Wildlife Preserve lot seventeen miles outside Millbrook.
- Marshall moved to Millbrook in 2004 and billed clients approximately $940,000 over seven years.
- $310,000 of billed funds were for phantom services such as software licensing and database access funneled through vendor names.
- Apex Verification Group had no employees and its sole person connected was Marshall; Arbor Forensic Systems domain was registered seven months before scrutiny.
- Every Credential morning Marshall made a 20-40 minute call confirmed by cell records to Diane Pollard in Dayton, who managed the passthrough accounts.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>985falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/a-fourteen-year-old-finds-what-six-years-buried-the-donna-erickson-fraud--73056903
The first image of a fake life was found in a dumpster at 6:15 a.m. by a fourteen-year-old paper carrier in four-degree cold - a framed summit photo that hiddenly included an orange ski-lift tower. How did six years of carefully built reputation around Aconcagua and high-altitude experience dissolve after one discarded print, and what else did the evidence reveal about Donna Erickson?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a January 2017 morning in Ridgemont to the district attorney's office seventy-two hours later, laying out how community trust, framed photographs, and unverifiable claims intersected - and whether a missing Aconcagua permit was the smoking gun.

Person: Donna Erickson
Age: 44
Date: late January 2017
Location: Ridgemont, Colorado
Claim: guided attempt on Aconcagua, February 2012

- Photo discovered at 6:15 a.m. by 14-year-old Sherry Baker on Bellamy Avenue
- Temperature at discovery: 4 degrees
- Donna rented a bungalow on Ferris Street and was 44 years old in January 2017
- No entry for Donna Erickson in the Aconcagua permit registry for any season
- Within 72 hours of the photo reaching the Ridgemont Courier, six years of identity were on record at the district attorney's office

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056903Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:19:46 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA Fourteen-Year-Old Finds What Six Years Buried: The Donna Erickson Fraud The first image of a fake life was found in a dumpster at 6:15 a.m. by a fourteen-year-old paper carrier in four-degree cold - a framed summit photo that hiddenly included an...
The first image of a fake life was found in a dumpster at 6:15 a.m. by a fourteen-year-old paper carrier in four-degree cold - a framed summit photo that hiddenly included an orange ski-lift tower. How did six years of carefully built reputation around Aconcagua and high-altitude experience dissolve after one discarded print, and what else did the evidence reveal about Donna Erickson?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a January 2017 morning in Ridgemont to the district attorney's office seventy-two hours later, laying out how community trust, framed photographs, and unverifiable claims intersected - and whether a missing Aconcagua permit was the smoking gun.

Person: Donna Erickson
Age: 44
Date: late January 2017
Location: Ridgemont, Colorado
Claim: guided attempt on Aconcagua, February 2012

- Photo discovered at 6:15 a.m. by 14-year-old Sherry Baker on Bellamy Avenue
- Temperature at discovery: 4 degrees
- Donna rented a bungalow on Ferris Street and was 44 years old in January 2017
- No entry for Donna Erickson in the Aconcagua permit registry for any season
- Within 72 hours of the photo reaching the Ridgemont Courier, six years of identity were on record at the district attorney's office

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1129falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/a-doctor-who-never-was-the-glenn-peterson-case--73056901
Fear that the person you trust with new life might be an actor - not a physician - grabs you before the first detail: a mahogany-framed diploma propped in eleven-degree cold with cracked glass, and eleven families who carried children conceived under a man who had never attended medical school. How did a fake credential, prepaid phones and a voicemail ring lead to live-birth rates in the clinic’s top third - and who kept the deception from collapsing sooner?

In this episode, we tell how a paper trail of forgeries, a trusted clinic staff, and one nurse’s suspicion intersected to expose a decade of fraud; it follows the path from a Wisconsin snowplow driver’s discovery to an eleven-month investigation and asks whether systems meant to verify credentials can fail so completely.

Person: Glenn Allen Peterson
Event: Diploma found on median on December 9, 2014 at 5:15 AM
Location: Renfield, Wisconsin
Case: Eleven families received treatments at Renfield Reproductive Associates
Investigation: Eleven-month investigation after arrest

- The diploma was found upright on the median at 5:15 AM on December 9, 2014 in eleven-degree cold.
- Glenn Peterson was arrested and in handcuffs at his apartment by 9:47 AM the same morning.
- Peterson operated the fertility clinic in Renfield for just over four years without any medical license in any U.S. jurisdiction.
- Eleven families had children because of treatments performed at his clinic, which ranked in the top third for live-birth rate among similar Midwest clinics.
- Peterson left University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 2004 without a degree, completed a healthcare administration certificate over roughly fourteen months, and worked about four years as a medical records coordinator in Sheboygan.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056901Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:19:43 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA Doctor Who Never Was: The Glenn Peterson Case Fear that the person you trust with new life might be an actor - not a physician - grabs you before the first detail: a mahogany-framed diploma propped in eleven-degree cold with cracked glass, and...
Fear that the person you trust with new life might be an actor - not a physician - grabs you before the first detail: a mahogany-framed diploma propped in eleven-degree cold with cracked glass, and eleven families who carried children conceived under a man who had never attended medical school. How did a fake credential, prepaid phones and a voicemail ring lead to live-birth rates in the clinic’s top third - and who kept the deception from collapsing sooner?

In this episode, we tell how a paper trail of forgeries, a trusted clinic staff, and one nurse’s suspicion intersected to expose a decade of fraud; it follows the path from a Wisconsin snowplow driver’s discovery to an eleven-month investigation and asks whether systems meant to verify credentials can fail so completely.

Person: Glenn Allen Peterson
Event: Diploma found on median on December 9, 2014 at 5:15 AM
Location: Renfield, Wisconsin
Case: Eleven families received treatments at Renfield Reproductive Associates
Investigation: Eleven-month investigation after arrest

- The diploma was found upright on the median at 5:15 AM on December 9, 2014 in eleven-degree cold.
- Glenn Peterson was arrested and in handcuffs at his apartment by 9:47 AM the same morning.
- Peterson operated the fertility clinic in Renfield for just over four years without any medical license in any U.S. jurisdiction.
- Eleven families had children because of treatments performed at his clinic, which ranked in the top third for live-birth rate among similar Midwest clinics.
- Peterson left University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 2004 without a degree, completed a healthcare administration certificate over roughly fourteen months, and worked about four years as a medical records coordinator in Sheboygan.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1178falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-man-who-bought-a-un-badge-how-a-small-town-trusted-a-stranger--73056899
Trust tightens the throat: a genuine UNHCR holographic strip sat in a Minnesota garage while its owner had never been to Africa, and credential FO-2014-KE-0047 matched an active officer in Dadaab except for one transposed digit - how did a community hand refugee placements to a man with forged international credentials?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a utility pole sighting to a warrant that opened a padlocked garage, tracing the small-city routines, the nonprofit cases processed, and the single clerical error that unspooled seven years of trust - could one digit really unravel an entire constructed life?

Person: Clifford Henderson
Date: November 9, 2014
Location: Sutter Creek Road, Harlow Falls, Minnesota
Event: Discovery of laminated credential FO-2014-KE-0047
Case: Collaborative resettlement placements for 217 families

- At 7:15 AM on November 9, 2014, Jennifer Meyer spotted a laminated UNHCR credential through the open side wall of a residential garage.
- The Collaborative had processed placement services for 217 families by 2014 under Henderson's directorship.
- Credential FO-2014-KE-0047 was issued January 2014 to field protection officer Amos Gitonga, who was assigned to the Dadaab complex in Kenya.
- The credential in the garage differed from the genuine serial by a single transposed digit.
- Investigators found a professional laminator, specialty holographic film from a supplier in Montreal, reference photographs of authentic UNHCR credentials, and six earlier versions of the same credential in a locked steel cabinet.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056899Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:19:40 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Man Who Bought a UN Badge: How a Small Town Trusted a Stranger Trust tightens the throat: a genuine UNHCR holographic strip sat in a Minnesota garage while its owner had never been to Africa, and credential FO-2014-KE-0047 matched an active...
Trust tightens the throat: a genuine UNHCR holographic strip sat in a Minnesota garage while its owner had never been to Africa, and credential FO-2014-KE-0047 matched an active officer in Dadaab except for one transposed digit - how did a community hand refugee placements to a man with forged international credentials?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a utility pole sighting to a warrant that opened a padlocked garage, tracing the small-city routines, the nonprofit cases processed, and the single clerical error that unspooled seven years of trust - could one digit really unravel an entire constructed life?

Person: Clifford Henderson
Date: November 9, 2014
Location: Sutter Creek Road, Harlow Falls, Minnesota
Event: Discovery of laminated credential FO-2014-KE-0047
Case: Collaborative resettlement placements for 217 families

- At 7:15 AM on November 9, 2014, Jennifer Meyer spotted a laminated UNHCR credential through the open side wall of a residential garage.
- The Collaborative had processed placement services for 217 families by 2014 under Henderson's directorship.
- Credential FO-2014-KE-0047 was issued January 2014 to field protection officer Amos Gitonga, who was assigned to the Dadaab complex in Kenya.
- The credential in the garage differed from the genuine serial by a single transposed digit.
- Investigators found a professional laminator, specialty holographic film from a supplier in Montreal, reference photographs of authentic UNHCR credentials, and six earlier versions of the same credential in a locked steel cabinet.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1033falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-ran-a-school-for-six-years-without-a-degree-the-christine-bailey-case--73056898
A single wrong shade of blue in a laminated credential collapsed six years of assumed expertise and left a community asking how a forged doctorate and doctored transcripts went unnoticed. A jogger found the card in mud at 6:40 a.m., a regional auditor had a pantone reference in his drawer, and a forty-five minute meeting later produced a guilty plea - but why did Christine Bailey create this life in the first place?

In this episode, we trace the documented timeline from a Tuesday morning discovery to the audit that exposed Christine Bailey, the details of her application and forgeries, and the routines she maintained at Crestfield Elementary - including weekly after-hours sessions with children - to ask whether documented fraud can explain the person behind it.

Person: Christine Bailey
Location: Crestfield Elementary School
Date found: late October 2009 at approximately 6:40 a.m.
Age on arrival to Harlow County: 24
Outcome: Guilty plea after a 45-minute meeting

- The credential card lay in mud for at least three days before being found by jogger Terry Miller.
- Regional licensing officer Craig Olson was auditing 240 educators when he compared the card to a pantone reference sheet.
- Christine listed three degrees on her application but actually held only a high school diploma and four years as an uncertified teacher's aide.
- The forged transcripts were printed on a consumer-grade inkjet printer at a Millhaven print shop on a Saturday afternoon.
- Christine hosted Wednesday library sessions from 5:30-8:00 p.m., attended by 8-14 children, missing exactly twice in about eleven years.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056898Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:19:38 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTShe Ran a School for Six Years Without a Degree: The Christine Bailey Case A single wrong shade of blue in a laminated credential collapsed six years of assumed expertise and left a community asking how a forged doctorate and doctored transcripts...
A single wrong shade of blue in a laminated credential collapsed six years of assumed expertise and left a community asking how a forged doctorate and doctored transcripts went unnoticed. A jogger found the card in mud at 6:40 a.m., a regional auditor had a pantone reference in his drawer, and a forty-five minute meeting later produced a guilty plea - but why did Christine Bailey create this life in the first place?

In this episode, we trace the documented timeline from a Tuesday morning discovery to the audit that exposed Christine Bailey, the details of her application and forgeries, and the routines she maintained at Crestfield Elementary - including weekly after-hours sessions with children - to ask whether documented fraud can explain the person behind it.

Person: Christine Bailey
Location: Crestfield Elementary School
Date found: late October 2009 at approximately 6:40 a.m.
Age on arrival to Harlow County: 24
Outcome: Guilty plea after a 45-minute meeting

- The credential card lay in mud for at least three days before being found by jogger Terry Miller.
- Regional licensing officer Craig Olson was auditing 240 educators when he compared the card to a pantone reference sheet.
- Christine listed three degrees on her application but actually held only a high school diploma and four years as an uncertified teacher's aide.
- The forged transcripts were printed on a consumer-grade inkjet printer at a Millhaven print shop on a Saturday afternoon.
- Christine hosted Wednesday library sessions from 5:30-8:00 p.m., attended by 8-14 children, missing exactly twice in about eleven years.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1166falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-badge-that-bought-her-fame-how-a-lost-credential-ran-wild--73056897
A single laminated press credential folded on a concrete step became the physical center of a three-year fraud that passed across three states and into published reviews. The badge bore a holographic seal and a real journalist's name, yet the woman who used it had no credential of her own-how did that lanyard turn trust into a byline and why did nobody check the badge closely enough?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the moment the badge was found to the bylines it produced, following the people, places, and decisions that turned a lost press pass into public authority. What exactly did the badge allow her to do, and how did institutions fail to verify the credentials that made her credible?

Person: Rachel Norris
Person: Janet Colton
Date: September 2019 (badge found at 9:47 AM on a Tuesday)
Event: Food industry trade event in Chicago, spring 2016
Publication: Table & Place (Minneapolis-based)

- The badge was found folded in half and face-up on a concrete step at 9:47 AM on a Tuesday in the second week of September 2019.
- Janet Colton reported her laminated press credential missing during a Chicago trade event in spring 2016; staff logged the report with no follow-up.
- Six weeks after the Chicago event, Rachel Norris used the credential to gain press treatment at Tom Hwang's restaurant on opening night, receiving an amuse-bouche from the chef.
- By 2017 Rachel had a column in Table & Place after Phil Garrett read three writing samples and called one reference that routed to a prepaid phone bought at a suburban gas station.
- Rachel listed a culinary institute in Lyon on her CV that did not run the program she claimed and did not recognize her name.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056897Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:19:35 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Badge That Bought Her Fame: How a Lost Credential Ran Wild A single laminated press credential folded on a concrete step became the physical center of a three-year fraud that passed across three states and into published reviews. The badge bore...
A single laminated press credential folded on a concrete step became the physical center of a three-year fraud that passed across three states and into published reviews. The badge bore a holographic seal and a real journalist's name, yet the woman who used it had no credential of her own-how did that lanyard turn trust into a byline and why did nobody check the badge closely enough?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the moment the badge was found to the bylines it produced, following the people, places, and decisions that turned a lost press pass into public authority. What exactly did the badge allow her to do, and how did institutions fail to verify the credentials that made her credible?

Person: Rachel Norris
Person: Janet Colton
Date: September 2019 (badge found at 9:47 AM on a Tuesday)
Event: Food industry trade event in Chicago, spring 2016
Publication: Table & Place (Minneapolis-based)

- The badge was found folded in half and face-up on a concrete step at 9:47 AM on a Tuesday in the second week of September 2019.
- Janet Colton reported her laminated press credential missing during a Chicago trade event in spring 2016; staff logged the report with no follow-up.
- Six weeks after the Chicago event, Rachel Norris used the credential to gain press treatment at Tom Hwang's restaurant on opening night, receiving an amuse-bouche from the chef.
- By 2017 Rachel had a column in Table & Place after Phil Garrett read three writing samples and called one reference that routed to a prepaid phone bought at a suburban gas station.
- Rachel listed a culinary institute in Lyon on her CV that did not run the program she claimed and did not recognize her name.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1112falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/volunteer-finds-a-dead-man-s-name-on-a-teacher-s-file-the-crystal-morrow-case--73056895
A retired mail carrier found a laminated teaching certificate in a school staff room bearing the name Raymond Dale Fitch - a man who had been dead for nineteen years - and that discovery unspooled a decade-long deception that still doesn't sit right with a town that remembers every teacher. How did a woman using a dead teacher's certificate become a beloved substitute in Millhaven, Missouri, for ten years without anyone spotting the lie?

In this episode, we listen to the sequence of discoveries and the records that followed, tracing how the certificate moved from a manila folder to district HR to investigators, and asking whether the good she did as "Ms. H" changes how we judge the fraud.

Person: Crystal Anne Morrow
Person: Raymond Dale Fitch
Date: 2012-2022
Location: Millhaven, Missouri
Event: Substitute teaching under the name Crystal Harrison

- A laminated certificate bearing Raymond Dale Fitch's name was found by Lloyd Collins on a Tuesday morning in summer 2022.
- Raymond Dale Fitch died in 2003 at age 44 and had earned a bachelor's in 1980 and a Missouri teaching certificate in 1991.
- Crystal Morrow moved to Millhaven in summer 2011 and began substitute teaching in fall 2012 as "Ms. H."
- District records show a fourth-grade student, Marcus Webb, moved from below grade level to above by 2022 after working with Morrow's Ladder method.
- Morrow's diary from around 2010 contains the entry "Raymond Dale Fitch" and later the line "I know how to do this. I know how to do the actual work."

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056895Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:19:32 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTVolunteer Finds a Dead Man's Name on a Teacher's File: The Crystal Morrow Case A retired mail carrier found a laminated teaching certificate in a school staff room bearing the name Raymond Dale Fitch - a man who had been dead for nineteen years -...
A retired mail carrier found a laminated teaching certificate in a school staff room bearing the name Raymond Dale Fitch - a man who had been dead for nineteen years - and that discovery unspooled a decade-long deception that still doesn't sit right with a town that remembers every teacher. How did a woman using a dead teacher's certificate become a beloved substitute in Millhaven, Missouri, for ten years without anyone spotting the lie?

In this episode, we listen to the sequence of discoveries and the records that followed, tracing how the certificate moved from a manila folder to district HR to investigators, and asking whether the good she did as "Ms. H" changes how we judge the fraud.

Person: Crystal Anne Morrow
Person: Raymond Dale Fitch
Date: 2012-2022
Location: Millhaven, Missouri
Event: Substitute teaching under the name Crystal Harrison

- A laminated certificate bearing Raymond Dale Fitch's name was found by Lloyd Collins on a Tuesday morning in summer 2022.
- Raymond Dale Fitch died in 2003 at age 44 and had earned a bachelor's in 1980 and a Missouri teaching certificate in 1991.
- Crystal Morrow moved to Millhaven in summer 2011 and began substitute teaching in fall 2012 as "Ms. H."
- District records show a fourth-grade student, Marcus Webb, moved from below grade level to above by 2022 after working with Morrow's Ladder method.
- Morrow's diary from around 2010 contains the entry "Raymond Dale Fitch" and later the line "I know how to do this. I know how to do the actual work."

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1178falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-man-who-never-left-twelve-fake-credentials-one-vanished-name--73056894
A calm life built from lies left a plastic bag and twelve laminated credentials on a new trail - all bearing the single name Eugene Stroud - while the man himself had vanished from Crestfield on July 22, 2019; who was the person twenty-two grieving clients trusted, and what part of his story was true? Search terms like fake credentials and grief counselor fraud pulse through this episode as the trail of small, exact details opens into a larger mystery: how long can a borrowed identity hold together?

In this episode, we follow the documented timeline from Stroud's arrival in Crestfield to the moment investigators first spot inconsistencies, presenting the facts uncovered about his life, work, and the credentials left at the trail; what began with a bag and a dog becomes a question about trust and identity that only deep listening can answer.

Person: Eugene Stroud
Location: Crestfield, North Carolina
Date Found: July 22, 2019
Employer: Crestfield Collective
Clients: 22 people in active grief

- Twelve laminated credentials found together in a bag propped against a pine tree on a trail open to the public for eleven days.
- Four of the twelve credentials were certifications in grief counseling, all bearing the exact same name.
- Stroud arrived in Crestfield in spring 2017 by bus from Asheville at age twenty-three carrying a single large duffel bag.
- He rented a one-bedroom on Garner Street from landlord Patricia Weems and lived there for two years without ever leaving overnight.
- An internal audit flagged a certificate dated March 2015 while Stroud’s college semester in Tennessee was also listed as running through spring 2015.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056894Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:19:29 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Man Who Never Left: Twelve Fake Credentials, One Vanished Name A calm life built from lies left a plastic bag and twelve laminated credentials on a new trail - all bearing the single name Eugene Stroud - while the man himself had vanished from...
A calm life built from lies left a plastic bag and twelve laminated credentials on a new trail - all bearing the single name Eugene Stroud - while the man himself had vanished from Crestfield on July 22, 2019; who was the person twenty-two grieving clients trusted, and what part of his story was true? Search terms like fake credentials and grief counselor fraud pulse through this episode as the trail of small, exact details opens into a larger mystery: how long can a borrowed identity hold together?

In this episode, we follow the documented timeline from Stroud's arrival in Crestfield to the moment investigators first spot inconsistencies, presenting the facts uncovered about his life, work, and the credentials left at the trail; what began with a bag and a dog becomes a question about trust and identity that only deep listening can answer.

Person: Eugene Stroud
Location: Crestfield, North Carolina
Date Found: July 22, 2019
Employer: Crestfield Collective
Clients: 22 people in active grief

- Twelve laminated credentials found together in a bag propped against a pine tree on a trail open to the public for eleven days.
- Four of the twelve credentials were certifications in grief counseling, all bearing the exact same name.
- Stroud arrived in Crestfield in spring 2017 by bus from Asheville at age twenty-three carrying a single large duffel bag.
- He rented a one-bedroom on Garner Street from landlord Patricia Weems and lived there for two years without ever leaving overnight.
- An internal audit flagged a certificate dated March 2015 while Stroud’s college semester in Tennessee was also listed as running through spring 2015.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1206falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/river-license-three-fiancees-the-man-who-faked-a-medical-life--73056892
He fashioned authority from paperwork and small, believable lies until a laminated Tennessee medical license washed up in a river and unspooled four years of deception. Three women were engaged to him with wedding dates seven weeks apart, and he kept their lives separate with a four-week rotation of calls-how did he juggle three fiancées without a single immediate contradiction?

In this episode, we follow the chronology of events that led from a Mauldin River discovery to the unraveling of Douglas Allen Padgett’s constructed identity, and we ask how a man with administrative skills but no medical degree sustained that fiction for years.

Person: Douglas Allen Padgett
Date found: June 2019
Location: Mauldin River
Occupation claimed: Internal medicine physician
Number of fiancées: Three

- The laminated Tennessee medical license was found sealed inside a clear plastic sleeve, fourteen inches below the river surface.
- Padgett moved to Dalton County, Tennessee in 2015 at age 43 and began presenting himself as a physician within months.
- He showed the fabricated license once to a medical society membership coordinator, who glanced at it for approximately four seconds and photocopied it without checking the state database.
- Between late 2017 and summer 2018 he met Sandra Coe, Debra Lund, and Miriam Taft and proposed to each, scheduling three non-overlapping wedding dates within seven weeks.
- He called each fiancée on a rotating four-week schedule with calls lasting between twenty and thirty-five minutes, maintaining separate narratives and relationships.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73056892Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:19:26 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTRiver License, Three Fiancées: The Man Who Faked a Medical Life He fashioned authority from paperwork and small, believable lies until a laminated Tennessee medical license washed up in a river and unspooled four years of deception. Three women...
He fashioned authority from paperwork and small, believable lies until a laminated Tennessee medical license washed up in a river and unspooled four years of deception. Three women were engaged to him with wedding dates seven weeks apart, and he kept their lives separate with a four-week rotation of calls-how did he juggle three fiancées without a single immediate contradiction?

In this episode, we follow the chronology of events that led from a Mauldin River discovery to the unraveling of Douglas Allen Padgett’s constructed identity, and we ask how a man with administrative skills but no medical degree sustained that fiction for years.

Person: Douglas Allen Padgett
Date found: June 2019
Location: Mauldin River
Occupation claimed: Internal medicine physician
Number of fiancées: Three

- The laminated Tennessee medical license was found sealed inside a clear plastic sleeve, fourteen inches below the river surface.
- Padgett moved to Dalton County, Tennessee in 2015 at age 43 and began presenting himself as a physician within months.
- He showed the fabricated license once to a medical society membership coordinator, who glanced at it for approximately four seconds and photocopied it without checking the state database.
- Between late 2017 and summer 2018 he met Sandra Coe, Debra Lund, and Miriam Taft and proposed to each, scheduling three non-overlapping wedding dates within seven weeks.
- He called each fiancée on a rotating four-week schedule with calls lasting between twenty and thirty-five minutes, maintaining separate narratives and relationships.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1081falsefull