https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/catch-the-imposter--7193864
Each episode peels back the surface of impostors, con artists and cunning liars with sharp storytelling, forensic curiosity and interviews that expose the mechanics behind deception. Expect crisp reconstructions, analysis of motives, and practical signs to spot manipulative behavior—delivered with a skeptical, human voice that treats victims with respect and holds deception to account. Cacth the Imposter focuses on patterns of fraud, social engineering and fake identities so you can recognize the red flags before it's too late.

New episodes drop every day: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday at 9:00 AM. Episodes run focused and direct; listen for a short case breakdown, expert insight and clear takeaway tips in each installment.

This show is for curious listeners who want to understand how impostors operate—survivors, professionals who assess risk, and anyone tired of being duped by charm and false credentials. If you want to sharpen your instincts and learn the tactics deceivers use, this podcast is built for you.

Subscribe now and start spotting the signs. Keywords SEO: impostors, con artists, fraudsters, social engineering, fake identities]]>enTrue Crime© 2026 OBOMEDIA Creatorshttps://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/88a8c53fb63296cbe1cddafb21df2b6a.jpghttps://www.spreaker.com/podcast/catch-the-imposter--7193864Sun, 25 Oct 2026 13:01:13 +0000Creator at ObomediaCreator at Obomediacreators@obomedia.comWho is pretending, and why does everyone believe them? Catch the Imposter investigates the lies, schemes and soft spots where fraudsters thrive. Each episode peels back the surface of impostors, con artists and cunning liars with sharp storytelling,...
Each episode peels back the surface of impostors, con artists and cunning liars with sharp storytelling, forensic curiosity and interviews that expose the mechanics behind deception. Expect crisp reconstructions, analysis of motives, and practical signs to spot manipulative behavior—delivered with a skeptical, human voice that treats victims with respect and holds deception to account. Cacth the Imposter focuses on patterns of fraud, social engineering and fake identities so you can recognize the red flags before it's too late.

New episodes drop every day: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday at 9:00 AM. Episodes run focused and direct; listen for a short case breakdown, expert insight and clear takeaway tips in each installment.

This show is for curious listeners who want to understand how impostors operate—survivors, professionals who assess risk, and anyone tired of being duped by charm and false credentials. If you want to sharpen your instincts and learn the tactics deceivers use, this podcast is built for you.

Subscribe now and start spotting the signs. Keywords SEO: impostors, con artists, fraudsters, social engineering, fake identities]]>false28f0a4bb-bb3b-5df8-859a-351a6714237fepisodichttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-fake-badge-that-burned-eight-years-of-investigations--73071184
A forged certification card on a pickup truck dashboard launched an eight-year fraud that altered dozens of insurance claims and let one woman act as a certified fire investigator without anyone verifying her credentials. How did a dead mentor’s name, a four-minute hiring review, and an eleven-second silence in a federal office keep this scam alive for nearly a decade?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events that allowed Jessica Carlson to build a professional identity from a dead man’s name and a counterfeit card, describe the hiring and review failures that repeatedly let her pass, and ask which single oversight could have stopped her - and when that door first opened.

Person: Jessica Carlson
Person: Victor Carlson
Person: Harold Binns
Event: Forty-one fire investigation reports
Location: Mableton, Georgia

- 8 years during which Jessica Carlson acted as a certified fire investigator without verified certification
- 12 regional insurance carriers that hired her over that period
- 41 reports she authored, billed between $3,000 and $8,000 each
- Father Victor Carlson convicted and sentenced to 7 years for arson in summer 2001, served 4 years
- First workable counterfeit certification card produced in spring 2011 after an earlier discarded 2009 attempt

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/73071184Mon, 26 Oct 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Fake Badge That Burned Eight Years of Investigations A forged certification card on a pickup truck dashboard launched an eight-year fraud that altered dozens of insurance claims and let one woman act as a certified fire investigator without...
A forged certification card on a pickup truck dashboard launched an eight-year fraud that altered dozens of insurance claims and let one woman act as a certified fire investigator without anyone verifying her credentials. How did a dead mentor’s name, a four-minute hiring review, and an eleven-second silence in a federal office keep this scam alive for nearly a decade?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events that allowed Jessica Carlson to build a professional identity from a dead man’s name and a counterfeit card, describe the hiring and review failures that repeatedly let her pass, and ask which single oversight could have stopped her - and when that door first opened.

Person: Jessica Carlson
Person: Victor Carlson
Person: Harold Binns
Event: Forty-one fire investigation reports
Location: Mableton, Georgia

- 8 years during which Jessica Carlson acted as a certified fire investigator without verified certification
- 12 regional insurance carriers that hired her over that period
- 41 reports she authored, billed between $3,000 and $8,000 each
- Father Victor Carlson convicted and sentenced to 7 years for arson in summer 2001, served 4 years
- First workable counterfeit certification card produced in spring 2011 after an earlier discarded 2009 attempt

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.]]>1333falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-faked-a-murder-8-million-listeners-couldn-t-tell--73071183
Cold fear: a dry binder in wet woods held 114 pages and a phonetic guide for faking a detective's voice, and the name on the cover tied a fabricated murder to a podcast with roughly eight million listeners-so why did a community of 37,000 never catch that the central victim never existed?

In this episode, we tell how a 26-year-old dental scheduler from Bellard, Ohio built Cold Creek Files into a three-season investigative-style podcast that included a fictional victim, a recurring sister voiced in a bathroom, and a master spreadsheet of invented facts-what finally exposed the hoax and who noticed the flaws first?

Person: Marie Wilson
Event: Binder found on Sycamore Creek Trail
Date: October 14, 2019
Audience: approximately 8,000,000 listeners
Community: Facebook group of 37,000 members

- The binder contained 114 pages of production notes, character charts, a phonetic guide, and a three-year cross-reference spreadsheet.
- The fictional victim, Nora Givens, was presented as found in a drainage culvert off Route Seven on September 9, 2012.
- Marie launched Cold Creek Files in spring 2016 at age 26 using a Blue Yeti microphone and an external hard drive.
- A recurring character, Gretchen, was voiced by Linda Chu and recorded on a smartphone in a bathroom; Marie left voicemails to her at 2:15 a.m. on Wednesdays that sometimes ran 18 minutes.
- The first noted discrepancy was a case file number (BCO-2012-1847) spotted by listener Chad Gray in October 2017, who later created a "Givens Discrepancy File."

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/73071183Sun, 25 Oct 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Faked a Murder - 8 Million Listeners Couldn't Tell Cold fear: a dry binder in wet woods held 114 pages and a phonetic guide for faking a detective's voice, and the name on the cover tied a fabricated murder to a podcast with roughly eight...
Cold fear: a dry binder in wet woods held 114 pages and a phonetic guide for faking a detective's voice, and the name on the cover tied a fabricated murder to a podcast with roughly eight million listeners-so why did a community of 37,000 never catch that the central victim never existed?

In this episode, we tell how a 26-year-old dental scheduler from Bellard, Ohio built Cold Creek Files into a three-season investigative-style podcast that included a fictional victim, a recurring sister voiced in a bathroom, and a master spreadsheet of invented facts-what finally exposed the hoax and who noticed the flaws first?

Person: Marie Wilson
Event: Binder found on Sycamore Creek Trail
Date: October 14, 2019
Audience: approximately 8,000,000 listeners
Community: Facebook group of 37,000 members

- The binder contained 114 pages of production notes, character charts, a phonetic guide, and a three-year cross-reference spreadsheet.
- The fictional victim, Nora Givens, was presented as found in a drainage culvert off Route Seven on September 9, 2012.
- Marie launched Cold Creek Files in spring 2016 at age 26 using a Blue Yeti microphone and an external hard drive.
- A recurring character, Gretchen, was voiced by Linda Chu and recorded on a smartphone in a bathroom; Marie left voicemails to her at 2:15 a.m. on Wednesdays that sometimes ran 18 minutes.
- The first noted discrepancy was a case file number (BCO-2012-1847) spotted by listener Chad Gray in October 2017, who later created a "Givens Discrepancy File."

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.]]>1465falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-diploma-in-the-rain-how-a-fake-phd-collapsed-a-trusted-therapist--73071180
A rain-soaked diploma leaned against a gas meter and started an unraveling that would remove a respected child therapist’s license, academic posts, and clinic - all without a single dramatic confrontation. The credential named a University of the Northern Cascades that, investigators later found, did not exist; how did a nonexistent doctorate sustain a thirty-year career in Pelham, Oregon?

In this episode, we follow the chain of records, referrals, and institutional assumptions that kept Debra Sharp’s professional identity intact for decades, and the single detail that first raised alarm. How did a mismatched National Provider Identifier and a diploma in the rain trigger an eight-month inquiry that exposed years of fabricated credentials?

Person: Debra Anne Sharp
Location: Pelham, Oregon
Event: Diploma found propped against a gas meter
Date: a Tuesday morning in September (thirty-two years after 1991)
Case: Sixty-three active clinical cases at time of clinic closure

- The diploma listed "Doctor of Psychology, University of the Northern Cascades, 1991."
- Sharp enrolled as Debra Kowalski in a doctoral program at Pacific Northwest University in 1988 and withdrew in spring 1991.
- She attended a predoctoral internship at Whitmore Children's Institute in Seattle for only the first two days of one week in 1991.
- By October 1991, she was representing herself in Portland as a licensed psychologist claiming the nonexistent doctorate.
- In 2015 a billing coordinator, Andrea Foss, found the NPI code did not match the university on Sharp’s license application, and Sharp corrected it within twenty minutes.

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/73071180Sat, 24 Oct 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Diploma in the Rain: How a Fake PhD Collapsed a Trusted Therapist A rain-soaked diploma leaned against a gas meter and started an unraveling that would remove a respected child therapist’s license, academic posts, and clinic - all without a...
A rain-soaked diploma leaned against a gas meter and started an unraveling that would remove a respected child therapist’s license, academic posts, and clinic - all without a single dramatic confrontation. The credential named a University of the Northern Cascades that, investigators later found, did not exist; how did a nonexistent doctorate sustain a thirty-year career in Pelham, Oregon?

In this episode, we follow the chain of records, referrals, and institutional assumptions that kept Debra Sharp’s professional identity intact for decades, and the single detail that first raised alarm. How did a mismatched National Provider Identifier and a diploma in the rain trigger an eight-month inquiry that exposed years of fabricated credentials?

Person: Debra Anne Sharp
Location: Pelham, Oregon
Event: Diploma found propped against a gas meter
Date: a Tuesday morning in September (thirty-two years after 1991)
Case: Sixty-three active clinical cases at time of clinic closure

- The diploma listed "Doctor of Psychology, University of the Northern Cascades, 1991."
- Sharp enrolled as Debra Kowalski in a doctoral program at Pacific Northwest University in 1988 and withdrew in spring 1991.
- She attended a predoctoral internship at Whitmore Children's Institute in Seattle for only the first two days of one week in 1991.
- By October 1991, she was representing herself in Portland as a licensed psychologist claiming the nonexistent doctorate.
- In 2015 a billing coordinator, Andrea Foss, found the NPI code did not match the university on Sharp’s license application, and Sharp corrected it within twenty minutes.

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.]]>1332falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-woman-who-lived-28-years-as-a-twin-s-bar-license--73071178
A quiet fraud that lasted nearly three decades hides inside plain paperwork: a laminated bar card with the name Dennis R. Thompson and the face of a woman, a storage unit filled with 31 years of labor arbitration files, and annual bar dues paid by money order for 28 years. How did someone with no law degree run a functioning arbitration practice for 28 years without being unmasked - and why did the real Dennis Thompson never know his identity had been borrowed?

In this episode, you will hear how a church volunteer found a storage unit full of legal files and a bar credential, what investigators discovered at the empty Marsh Avenue office, and the routines that kept this life intact; could procedural labor arbitration and meticulous record-keeping really mask an identity theft for nearly three decades?

Person: Kelly Thompson
Person: Dennis R. Thompson
Location: Suncrest Self-Storage, Farwell, Indiana
Date: August 2019 (discovery); records from 1991-early 2019
Topic: Labor arbitration files and false bar credential

- The laminated bar credential carried license number 18847-49 and the name Dennis R. Thompson.
- The storage unit contained 31 years of labor arbitration files organized by year and client.
- Kelly Thompson rented the storage unit in spring 1991 in the name of Dennis R. Thompson.
- Kelly paid the Indiana bar annual dues by money order from a Farwell address for 28 consecutive years.
- No arbitration decisions issued by "Dennis R. Thompson" had been formally appealed as of the story's publication.

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/73071178Fri, 23 Oct 2026 13:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Woman Who Lived 28 Years as a Twin's Bar License A quiet fraud that lasted nearly three decades hides inside plain paperwork: a laminated bar card with the name Dennis R. Thompson and the face of a woman, a storage unit filled with 31 years of...
A quiet fraud that lasted nearly three decades hides inside plain paperwork: a laminated bar card with the name Dennis R. Thompson and the face of a woman, a storage unit filled with 31 years of labor arbitration files, and annual bar dues paid by money order for 28 years. How did someone with no law degree run a functioning arbitration practice for 28 years without being unmasked - and why did the real Dennis Thompson never know his identity had been borrowed?

In this episode, you will hear how a church volunteer found a storage unit full of legal files and a bar credential, what investigators discovered at the empty Marsh Avenue office, and the routines that kept this life intact; could procedural labor arbitration and meticulous record-keeping really mask an identity theft for nearly three decades?

Person: Kelly Thompson
Person: Dennis R. Thompson
Location: Suncrest Self-Storage, Farwell, Indiana
Date: August 2019 (discovery); records from 1991-early 2019
Topic: Labor arbitration files and false bar credential

- The laminated bar credential carried license number 18847-49 and the name Dennis R. Thompson.
- The storage unit contained 31 years of labor arbitration files organized by year and client.
- Kelly Thompson rented the storage unit in spring 1991 in the name of Dennis R. Thompson.
- Kelly paid the Indiana bar annual dues by money order from a Farwell address for 28 consecutive years.
- No arbitration decisions issued by "Dennis R. Thompson" had been formally appealed as of the story's publication.

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.]]>1446falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-fooled-a-michelin-star-restaurant-for-four-years-the-paul-walsh-case--73071174
The idea that a man could pass at the top of a three-Michelin-star restaurant for four years using a forged diploma and one heavily annotated book is unnerving - and it began with a dog finding a monogrammed leather satchel on a summer trail. How did a forgery from a Sacramento document maker and a memorized copy of The World Atlas of Wine let Paul Walsh fool colleagues and critics in Portland’s elite dining scene, and why did he leave the satchel where it could be found?

In this episode, we follow the chain of discoveries from the July morning the satchel was found through the eleven-day investigation that unraveled Walsh’s constructed identity, tracing the evidence, the interrogation of documents, and the small mismatch that first raised suspicion: a single pause about a Burgundy auction. How did silences, a missing verification call, and an expert-level self-taught knowledge combine into a four-year deception?

Person: Paul M. Walsh
Location: Fenwick Creek Trail; Aldermoor River; Portland
Date: mid-July 2023 (satchel found); 2019-2023 (employment period)
Institution: Institut des Métiers du Vin in Beaune (diploma dated eleven years earlier)
Test result: 94th percentile among certified sommeliers (forensic testing)

- A dog named Stoker found a monogrammed leather satchel on a trail on a Tuesday morning in mid-July 2023.
- Inside the satchel was a diploma from the Institut des Métiers du Vin in Beaune dated eleven years earlier that the Institut had never heard of.
- Paul Walsh worked as sommelier at Marchetti, a three-Michelin-star restaurant in Portland, for four years and was hired at age thirty-four.
- Forensic testing placed Walsh’s abilities in the ninety-fourth percentile among certified sommeliers; he could identify vintages by region and producer in blind conditions.
- The diploma was produced by a Sacramento document fabricator whose workshop yielded materials forensically linked to Walsh’s diploma; the forger died before investigators could question him.

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/73071174Thu, 22 Oct 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Fooled a Michelin-Star Restaurant for Four Years: The Paul Walsh Case The idea that a man could pass at the top of a three-Michelin-star restaurant for four years using a forged diploma and one heavily annotated book is unnerving - and it began...
The idea that a man could pass at the top of a three-Michelin-star restaurant for four years using a forged diploma and one heavily annotated book is unnerving - and it began with a dog finding a monogrammed leather satchel on a summer trail. How did a forgery from a Sacramento document maker and a memorized copy of The World Atlas of Wine let Paul Walsh fool colleagues and critics in Portland’s elite dining scene, and why did he leave the satchel where it could be found?

In this episode, we follow the chain of discoveries from the July morning the satchel was found through the eleven-day investigation that unraveled Walsh’s constructed identity, tracing the evidence, the interrogation of documents, and the small mismatch that first raised suspicion: a single pause about a Burgundy auction. How did silences, a missing verification call, and an expert-level self-taught knowledge combine into a four-year deception?

Person: Paul M. Walsh
Location: Fenwick Creek Trail; Aldermoor River; Portland
Date: mid-July 2023 (satchel found); 2019-2023 (employment period)
Institution: Institut des Métiers du Vin in Beaune (diploma dated eleven years earlier)
Test result: 94th percentile among certified sommeliers (forensic testing)

- A dog named Stoker found a monogrammed leather satchel on a trail on a Tuesday morning in mid-July 2023.
- Inside the satchel was a diploma from the Institut des Métiers du Vin in Beaune dated eleven years earlier that the Institut had never heard of.
- Paul Walsh worked as sommelier at Marchetti, a three-Michelin-star restaurant in Portland, for four years and was hired at age thirty-four.
- Forensic testing placed Walsh’s abilities in the ninety-fourth percentile among certified sommeliers; he could identify vintages by region and producer in blind conditions.
- The diploma was produced by a Sacramento document fabricator whose workshop yielded materials forensically linked to Walsh’s diploma; the forger died before investigators could question him.

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.]]>1379falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-obituary-for-a-ghost-why-april-cook-wrote-herself-dead--73071172
Grief that feels true can be a weapon: a woman in Harlan County wrote over 400 obituaries and volunteered weekly at hospice, yet she invented mourners and forged a press portfolio from microfilm - and she later used those skills to erase herself. Which detail tipped a local rootball and a lanyard into exposing a life built on careful fictions?

In this episode, we present the story of April Cook’s sixteen years at the Harlan County Courier, her work at the hospice center, and the specific fabrications buried inside otherwise accurate obituaries, ending with the question that haunts the case: why would someone so expert at making grief feel real choose to disappear from it?

Person: April Cook
Location: Harlan County, Ohio
Date Hired: September 1993
Obituaries Written: more than 400
First Invented Mourners Appeared: January 2007

- Diane Long found a laminated press credential tangled in a root ball on the morning of June 4, 2009.
- April Cook had been dead for four months when Diane Long found the credential.
- Cook worked at Kessler Funeral Home for approximately eleven years before joining the Courier.
- Cook volunteered at Harlan County Hospice Center every Wednesday evening for more than eleven consecutive years without missing a shift.
- The first known fabricated mourner was inserted into an obituary for April Trout who died in March 2006, and the false name appeared in January 2007.

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/73071172Wed, 21 Oct 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Obituary For a Ghost: Why April Cook Wrote Herself Dead Grief that feels true can be a weapon: a woman in Harlan County wrote over 400 obituaries and volunteered weekly at hospice, yet she invented mourners and forged a press portfolio from...
Grief that feels true can be a weapon: a woman in Harlan County wrote over 400 obituaries and volunteered weekly at hospice, yet she invented mourners and forged a press portfolio from microfilm - and she later used those skills to erase herself. Which detail tipped a local rootball and a lanyard into exposing a life built on careful fictions?

In this episode, we present the story of April Cook’s sixteen years at the Harlan County Courier, her work at the hospice center, and the specific fabrications buried inside otherwise accurate obituaries, ending with the question that haunts the case: why would someone so expert at making grief feel real choose to disappear from it?

Person: April Cook
Location: Harlan County, Ohio
Date Hired: September 1993
Obituaries Written: more than 400
First Invented Mourners Appeared: January 2007

- Diane Long found a laminated press credential tangled in a root ball on the morning of June 4, 2009.
- April Cook had been dead for four months when Diane Long found the credential.
- Cook worked at Kessler Funeral Home for approximately eleven years before joining the Courier.
- Cook volunteered at Harlan County Hospice Center every Wednesday evening for more than eleven consecutive years without missing a shift.
- The first known fabricated mourner was inserted into an obituary for April Trout who died in March 2006, and the false name appeared in January 2007.

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.]]>1385falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-vest-that-bought-her-entry-how-a-fake-badge-opened-real-doors--73071170
Fear and fascination collide: an orange-and-white mesh vest and a homemade laminated badge bought for $3 opened doors into international humanitarian operations, and a 23-year-old went on to move 1,200 deliveries across 47 distribution points with zero discrepancies-so how did a fake credential become the hinge of real performance and no formal investigation? What happened next that left institutions baffled instead of prosecuting?

In this episode, we tell the episode's narrative of events from a storage unit discovery to field reports, tracing the steps, purchases, and deployments that followed the vest’s appearance and asking whether competence can ever fully absolve deception.

Person: Marcia Long
Date: March 2023
Location: Clearspan Storage unit 44, Linden Parish
Event: Purchase of mesh vest at Clover, Missouri garage sale for $3
Organization: Compass Aid deployments to Bangladesh, Lebanon, Ecuador, and a fourth unnamed deployment

- The vest was bought for three dollars from Vincent Okafor at a garage sale in Clover, Missouri.
- The laminated credential bore the name Marcia Long, title Senior Logistics Coordinator, and expiration June 2023.
- The QR code on the badge resolved to a self-registered web directory differing from the real organization’s domain by one word.
- Compass Aid deployed Marcia Long to at least four responses, including Bangladesh, Lebanon, and Ecuador.
- In Ecuador, a team supervised by Bill Nakamura moved 1,200 supply deliveries across 47 distribution points in three weeks with no discrepancies.

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/73071170Tue, 20 Oct 2026 13:00:01 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Vest That Bought Her Entry: How a Fake Badge Opened Real Doors Fear and fascination collide: an orange-and-white mesh vest and a homemade laminated badge bought for $3 opened doors into international humanitarian operations, and a 23-year-old...
Fear and fascination collide: an orange-and-white mesh vest and a homemade laminated badge bought for $3 opened doors into international humanitarian operations, and a 23-year-old went on to move 1,200 deliveries across 47 distribution points with zero discrepancies-so how did a fake credential become the hinge of real performance and no formal investigation? What happened next that left institutions baffled instead of prosecuting?

In this episode, we tell the episode's narrative of events from a storage unit discovery to field reports, tracing the steps, purchases, and deployments that followed the vest’s appearance and asking whether competence can ever fully absolve deception.

Person: Marcia Long
Date: March 2023
Location: Clearspan Storage unit 44, Linden Parish
Event: Purchase of mesh vest at Clover, Missouri garage sale for $3
Organization: Compass Aid deployments to Bangladesh, Lebanon, Ecuador, and a fourth unnamed deployment

- The vest was bought for three dollars from Vincent Okafor at a garage sale in Clover, Missouri.
- The laminated credential bore the name Marcia Long, title Senior Logistics Coordinator, and expiration June 2023.
- The QR code on the badge resolved to a self-registered web directory differing from the real organization’s domain by one word.
- Compass Aid deployed Marcia Long to at least four responses, including Bangladesh, Lebanon, and Ecuador.
- In Ecuador, a team supervised by Bill Nakamura moved 1,200 supply deliveries across 47 distribution points in three weeks with no discrepancies.

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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.]]>1299falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-broadway-coach-who-learned-everything-from-a-mystery-cassette-tape--73071169
Fear that the person guiding elite actors might be an elaborate fraud and the eerie proof hidden in a wall: a bread-bagged cassette labeled STANDARD VOICES was sealed behind drywall on the third floor of a Fenwick Court brownstone. A woman from Pemberton Township rose to charge $200 an hour on Broadway with no degree, a false Edinburgh conservatory claim, and a single anonymous tape - who recorded it and how did it teach her everything?

In this episode, we follow the discovery and the secrets that link a Goodwill cassette bought for fifty cents to a decade-plus Broadway coaching career, and we ask whether skill learned from an anonymous voice can stand in for formal credentials.

Person: Patricia Hughes
Location: Fenwick Court brownstone, third floor
Origin: Pemberton Township, Burlington County, New Jersey
Price per hour: $200
Tape purchase: Memorex cassette bought for $0.50 in Trenton

- The cassette was sealed inside a wall behind fresh drywall and wrapped in a bread bag with a crumbled elastic band.
- The handwritten label on the tape read "STANDARD VOICES."
- Patricia Hughes charged $200 per hour by 2015 and had three Broadway credits by then.
- The tape was bought in spring 1996 at a Goodwill in Trenton for fifty cents and was listened to by Patricia for approximately three years.
- The Edinburgh conservatory named on her résumé had stopped offering graduate degrees two years before she claimed to have enrolled.

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/73071169Mon, 19 Oct 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Broadway Coach Who Learned Everything From a Mystery Cassette Tape Fear that the person guiding elite actors might be an elaborate fraud and the eerie proof hidden in a wall: a bread-bagged cassette labeled STANDARD VOICES was sealed behind...
Fear that the person guiding elite actors might be an elaborate fraud and the eerie proof hidden in a wall: a bread-bagged cassette labeled STANDARD VOICES was sealed behind drywall on the third floor of a Fenwick Court brownstone. A woman from Pemberton Township rose to charge $200 an hour on Broadway with no degree, a false Edinburgh conservatory claim, and a single anonymous tape - who recorded it and how did it teach her everything?

In this episode, we follow the discovery and the secrets that link a Goodwill cassette bought for fifty cents to a decade-plus Broadway coaching career, and we ask whether skill learned from an anonymous voice can stand in for formal credentials.

Person: Patricia Hughes
Location: Fenwick Court brownstone, third floor
Origin: Pemberton Township, Burlington County, New Jersey
Price per hour: $200
Tape purchase: Memorex cassette bought for $0.50 in Trenton

- The cassette was sealed inside a wall behind fresh drywall and wrapped in a bread bag with a crumbled elastic band.
- The handwritten label on the tape read "STANDARD VOICES."
- Patricia Hughes charged $200 per hour by 2015 and had three Broadway credits by then.
- The tape was bought in spring 1996 at a Goodwill in Trenton for fifty cents and was listened to by Patricia for approximately three years.
- The Edinburgh conservatory named on her résumé had stopped offering graduate degrees two years before she claimed to have enrolled.

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.]]>1382falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-fake-diploma-that-saved-a-lawyer-found-in-the-bosque--73071168
Fear that a single piece of paper can erase a life: a laminated diploma found beneath a cottonwood led investigators to a lawyer whose license, clients, and past all seemed to contradict that scrap of parchment - how did a defunct law school diploma tie into a woman who passed the bar on her first try? What exactly did the diploma conceal, and how close did she come to never being found?

In this episode, we follow the discovery, the people involved, and the consequences that followed, presenting the timeline from the diploma’s finding to the unraveling of a twelve-year career and asking whether one document can determine a professional life.

Person: Rebecca Ann Cooper
Date: March, 2013 (discovery); May, 2001 (diploma date); 2004 (bar passage)
Location: Rio Grande bosque, about forty meters off Isleta Boulevard, south of Albuquerque
Employer/Office: Fourth-floor office in Albuquerque's Old Town area (immigration practice)

- A laminated diploma reading "Southgate College of College, Tucson, Arizona" was found half-tucked under exposed roots of a cottonwood tree about forty meters off Isleta Boulevard.
- Southgate College of College had ceased to exist in 1971, while the diploma was dated May of 2001.
- Rebecca Ann Cooper ran an immigration law office from 2004 to 2013 and was thirty-one years old in March 2013.
- Cooper passed the New Mexico bar examination on her first attempt in 2004 after moving to the state.
- A misfiled photocopy of the diploma was noticed by Saguaro Legal Aid staff attorney Terry Cook in spring 2002; he did not report it and later admitted noticing it in 2013.

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/73071168Sun, 18 Oct 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Fake Diploma That Saved a Lawyer - Found in the Bosque Fear that a single piece of paper can erase a life: a laminated diploma found beneath a cottonwood led investigators to a lawyer whose license, clients, and past all seemed to contradict...
Fear that a single piece of paper can erase a life: a laminated diploma found beneath a cottonwood led investigators to a lawyer whose license, clients, and past all seemed to contradict that scrap of parchment - how did a defunct law school diploma tie into a woman who passed the bar on her first try? What exactly did the diploma conceal, and how close did she come to never being found?

In this episode, we follow the discovery, the people involved, and the consequences that followed, presenting the timeline from the diploma’s finding to the unraveling of a twelve-year career and asking whether one document can determine a professional life.

Person: Rebecca Ann Cooper
Date: March, 2013 (discovery); May, 2001 (diploma date); 2004 (bar passage)
Location: Rio Grande bosque, about forty meters off Isleta Boulevard, south of Albuquerque
Employer/Office: Fourth-floor office in Albuquerque's Old Town area (immigration practice)

- A laminated diploma reading "Southgate College of College, Tucson, Arizona" was found half-tucked under exposed roots of a cottonwood tree about forty meters off Isleta Boulevard.
- Southgate College of College had ceased to exist in 1971, while the diploma was dated May of 2001.
- Rebecca Ann Cooper ran an immigration law office from 2004 to 2013 and was thirty-one years old in March 2013.
- Cooper passed the New Mexico bar examination on her first attempt in 2004 after moving to the state.
- A misfiled photocopy of the diploma was noticed by Saguaro Legal Aid staff attorney Terry Cook in spring 2002; he did not report it and later admitted noticing it in 2013.

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-man-who-faked-credentials-but-actually-caught-thieves--73071167
Trust and danger collide: a man carrying a fake Certified Fraud Examiner card spent eleven years in a Midwestern town both exposing kickback schemes and siphoning money through a Cayman-linked LLC-$412,000 in quiet transfers under $10,000 each. How did someone with invented credentials become the very person the town relied on, and why did he stage his own exposure before disappearing?

In this episode, we walk through the sequence of events that brought Dennis Dempsey to Sulner, Ohio, what he built there, and the unresolved question that haunts investigators and neighbors: was his vanishing an act of shame, escape, or something else?

Person: Dennis Dempsey
Date: February 2011
Location: Sulner, Ohio
Amount: $412,000
Duration: 11 years

- Temperature at discovery: 9 degrees Fahrenheit at 5:30 AM on a Tuesday
- Age when he arrived in Sulner: 41 years old in spring 2000
- First client engagement length: 60 days with Radner Brothers
- Number of client engagements over eleven years: 19 engagements
- Funds moved through the structure over nine years: $412,000 in transfers each kept under $10,000

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/73071167Sat, 17 Oct 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Man Who Faked Credentials But Actually Caught Thieves Trust and danger collide: a man carrying a fake Certified Fraud Examiner card spent eleven years in a Midwestern town both exposing kickback schemes and siphoning money through a...
Trust and danger collide: a man carrying a fake Certified Fraud Examiner card spent eleven years in a Midwestern town both exposing kickback schemes and siphoning money through a Cayman-linked LLC-$412,000 in quiet transfers under $10,000 each. How did someone with invented credentials become the very person the town relied on, and why did he stage his own exposure before disappearing?

In this episode, we walk through the sequence of events that brought Dennis Dempsey to Sulner, Ohio, what he built there, and the unresolved question that haunts investigators and neighbors: was his vanishing an act of shame, escape, or something else?

Person: Dennis Dempsey
Date: February 2011
Location: Sulner, Ohio
Amount: $412,000
Duration: 11 years

- Temperature at discovery: 9 degrees Fahrenheit at 5:30 AM on a Tuesday
- Age when he arrived in Sulner: 41 years old in spring 2000
- First client engagement length: 60 days with Radner Brothers
- Number of client engagements over eleven years: 19 engagements
- Funds moved through the structure over nine years: $412,000 in transfers each kept under $10,000

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.]]>1267falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-case-of-the-expedition-case-how-a-fake-guide-fooled-a-town--73071166
A hard-shell expedition case worth more than a snowplow operator's truck sat upright against a guardrail at 4:00 AM on January 9, 2019, its foam undisturbed - and inside were forty-seven precision prints that would unravel a decade-long deception. How did a woman with training at a printing company manufacture a mountaineering legend that an entire mountain town accepted without truly looking?

In this episode, we tell the story of how a case on a frozen road led investigators back through a sequence of jobs, public talks, and fake expedition photography to ask why suspicious details were ignored for years. What made a community trust a guide whose evidence was literally printed, not lived?

Person: Crystal Cole
Date: January 9, 2019
Location: Ridgecrest Access Road
Period: 2005-2009 (printing company employment)
Event: Recovery of a hard-shell expedition case containing 47 precision prints

- The case was found at 4:00 AM on January 9, 2019, upright against a guardrail.
- Crystal Cole worked at a regional printing company from 2005 through 2009.
- The recovered photographs numbered 47 precision prints with composited images.
- Cole began writing a column called "High Marks" for a local outdoor publication after moving to Renner Falls around 2010.
- At a January 2017 fundraiser slide talk, an observer noted her skin lacked the asymmetric high-altitude sunburn pattern expected of someone who had spent days above 5,000 meters.

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/73071166Fri, 16 Oct 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Case of the Expedition Case: How a Fake Guide Fooled a Town A hard-shell expedition case worth more than a snowplow operator's truck sat upright against a guardrail at 4:00 AM on January 9, 2019, its foam undisturbed - and inside were...
A hard-shell expedition case worth more than a snowplow operator's truck sat upright against a guardrail at 4:00 AM on January 9, 2019, its foam undisturbed - and inside were forty-seven precision prints that would unravel a decade-long deception. How did a woman with training at a printing company manufacture a mountaineering legend that an entire mountain town accepted without truly looking?

In this episode, we tell the story of how a case on a frozen road led investigators back through a sequence of jobs, public talks, and fake expedition photography to ask why suspicious details were ignored for years. What made a community trust a guide whose evidence was literally printed, not lived?

Person: Crystal Cole
Date: January 9, 2019
Location: Ridgecrest Access Road
Period: 2005-2009 (printing company employment)
Event: Recovery of a hard-shell expedition case containing 47 precision prints

- The case was found at 4:00 AM on January 9, 2019, upright against a guardrail.
- Crystal Cole worked at a regional printing company from 2005 through 2009.
- The recovered photographs numbered 47 precision prints with composited images.
- Cole began writing a column called "High Marks" for a local outdoor publication after moving to Renner Falls around 2010.
- At a January 2017 fundraiser slide talk, an observer noted her skin lacked the asymmetric high-altitude sunburn pattern expected of someone who had spent days above 5,000 meters.

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.]]>1318falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/a-flashlight-falls-and-exposes-a-doctor-who-never-existed-the-diane-wagner-case--73071163
A hidden folder dropped from a ceiling panel, revealing a complete set of forged medical credentials - diploma, residency certificate, DEA card and state license - all belonging to a woman who had been treating patients for two and a half years. How did a fabricated doctor gain trust, perform clinical work with normal pregnancy outcomes, and stay undiscovered until a flashlight nudged a ceiling tile?

In this episode, we tell the story of what happened at Lakewood Reproductive Medicine and the sequence of events that followed the discovery, including how staff adapted to clinical gaps and which credentials were falsified; can a small clinic’s procedures and assumptions explain how deception lasted from 2012 to 2014?

Person: Diane Wagner
Location: Lakewood Reproductive Medicine, Calloway, Ohio
Date: December 11, 2014
Period: 2012-2014
Staff member: Jason Sullivan, age 38

- A folder fell from a drop-ceiling panel on December 11, 2014 and contained a University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine diploma dated May 2009.
- Diane Wagner had been treating patients at Lakewood for two and a half years before the folder was found.
- Wagner purchased a diploma and related documents from an online novelty credentials vendor in January 2012.
- Jason Sullivan noticed copied medication orders and identical textbook answers within six weeks of Wagner’s arrival in 2012.
- Wagner had completed two years of pre-medicine at a community college before withdrawing in 2007 and then worked three years as a medical receptionist.

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/73071163Thu, 15 Oct 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaA Flashlight Falls and Exposes a Doctor Who Never Existed: The Diane Wagner Case A hidden folder dropped from a ceiling panel, revealing a complete set of forged medical credentials - diploma, residency certificate, DEA card and state license - all...
A hidden folder dropped from a ceiling panel, revealing a complete set of forged medical credentials - diploma, residency certificate, DEA card and state license - all belonging to a woman who had been treating patients for two and a half years. How did a fabricated doctor gain trust, perform clinical work with normal pregnancy outcomes, and stay undiscovered until a flashlight nudged a ceiling tile?

In this episode, we tell the story of what happened at Lakewood Reproductive Medicine and the sequence of events that followed the discovery, including how staff adapted to clinical gaps and which credentials were falsified; can a small clinic’s procedures and assumptions explain how deception lasted from 2012 to 2014?

Person: Diane Wagner
Location: Lakewood Reproductive Medicine, Calloway, Ohio
Date: December 11, 2014
Period: 2012-2014
Staff member: Jason Sullivan, age 38

- A folder fell from a drop-ceiling panel on December 11, 2014 and contained a University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine diploma dated May 2009.
- Diane Wagner had been treating patients at Lakewood for two and a half years before the folder was found.
- Wagner purchased a diploma and related documents from an online novelty credentials vendor in January 2012.
- Jason Sullivan noticed copied medication orders and identical textbook answers within six weeks of Wagner’s arrival in 2012.
- Wagner had completed two years of pre-medicine at a community college before withdrawing in 2007 and then worked three years as a medical receptionist.

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.]]>1275falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-dry-folder-that-unraveled-a-woman-s-ten-year-fake-life--73071162
An impossible detail - a bone-dry manila folder found under an open underpass after nine hours of rain - started a chain that exposed a decade-long fabricated identity built around a country that doesn’t exist. The folder held a laminated ID, a two-page personal history, and a document in an unidentifiable language; could one dry folder really unravel a whole life of professional acclaim and apparent compassion?

In this episode, we follow the factual trail from a morning discovery to the revelation that the refugee nation on the documents, Alduria, is nowhere to be found in international records. We trace Cynthia Schmidt’s path from Decatur, Illinois to a rising role at Bridgepoint Resettlement Services and ask how someone with an invented past gained such trust and responsibility.

Person: Cynthia Schmidt
Location: Harlan County, Ohio
Event: Dry manila folder found at 6:14 AM after nine hours of rain
Organization: Bridgepoint Resettlement Services
Claim: Identity listed as refugee from Alduria (a country not registered by UN or State Department)

- The folder was discovered at 6:14 AM on a Tuesday in November 2019 under the Braddock Street underpass.
- It had been raining since 9 PM the previous night, yet the folder was bone dry.
- The folder contained a laminated identity card, a two-page personal history, and a document in an unidentifiable language.
- Schmidt worked at Bridgepoint from 2009, became admissions lead within two years and associate director within four years.
- Alduria appears in no United Nations registry, no State Department country list, and no academic database of recognized or unrecognized entities.

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/73071162Wed, 14 Oct 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Dry Folder That Unraveled a Woman's Ten-Year Fake Life An impossible detail - a bone-dry manila folder found under an open underpass after nine hours of rain - started a chain that exposed a decade-long fabricated identity built around a...
An impossible detail - a bone-dry manila folder found under an open underpass after nine hours of rain - started a chain that exposed a decade-long fabricated identity built around a country that doesn’t exist. The folder held a laminated ID, a two-page personal history, and a document in an unidentifiable language; could one dry folder really unravel a whole life of professional acclaim and apparent compassion?

In this episode, we follow the factual trail from a morning discovery to the revelation that the refugee nation on the documents, Alduria, is nowhere to be found in international records. We trace Cynthia Schmidt’s path from Decatur, Illinois to a rising role at Bridgepoint Resettlement Services and ask how someone with an invented past gained such trust and responsibility.

Person: Cynthia Schmidt
Location: Harlan County, Ohio
Event: Dry manila folder found at 6:14 AM after nine hours of rain
Organization: Bridgepoint Resettlement Services
Claim: Identity listed as refugee from Alduria (a country not registered by UN or State Department)

- The folder was discovered at 6:14 AM on a Tuesday in November 2019 under the Braddock Street underpass.
- It had been raining since 9 PM the previous night, yet the folder was bone dry.
- The folder contained a laminated identity card, a two-page personal history, and a document in an unidentifiable language.
- Schmidt worked at Bridgepoint from 2009, became admissions lead within two years and associate director within four years.
- Alduria appears in no United Nations registry, no State Department country list, and no academic database of recognized or unrecognized entities.

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.]]>1391falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-laminated-lie-how-a-meter-reader-unraveled-11-years-of-fraud--73071161
A wet Tuesday in October 2017 and a too-thick laminated card on Orviston Court exposed a decade-long deception that let a woman serve as an elementary principal with a fake doctorate for eleven years. The card bore an embossed state seal, a photograph, and an expiration date of 2021-but its uneven edges and consumer lamination hid a lie that had been rewritten at least three times; how did so many routine checks miss it for over a decade?

In this episode, you’ll hear how a meter-reader’s instinct led to discoveries about falsified credentials, the small audits and sticky notes that almost stopped the fraud, and the unexpected ways a school’s effective programs complicated accountability. Can procedural oversights and human trust explain how a forged doctorate went undiscovered while students and staff benefited from genuine educational work?

Person: Jennifer Slater
Person: Beverly A. Russo, Ed.D. (listed)
Person: Jeffrey O'Brien
Person: Marcus Delaney
Location: Dunmore Elementary, Calhoun Falls

- The laminated card was found on a Tuesday morning in October 2017 on Orviston Court.
- The card listed an expiration date of 2021 and showed a state seal embossed in the lower corner.
- Beverly Russo had been principal at Dunmore Elementary for eleven years and arrived in Calhoun Falls in October 2006 at age 22.
- Dunmore Elementary served roughly 340 students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
- A payroll audit in fall 2015 flagged Beverly’s doctoral accreditation as not appearing in the standard accreditation database.

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/73071161Tue, 13 Oct 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Laminated Lie: How a Meter-Reader Unraveled 11 Years of Fraud A wet Tuesday in October 2017 and a too-thick laminated card on Orviston Court exposed a decade-long deception that let a woman serve as an elementary principal with a fake doctorate...
A wet Tuesday in October 2017 and a too-thick laminated card on Orviston Court exposed a decade-long deception that let a woman serve as an elementary principal with a fake doctorate for eleven years. The card bore an embossed state seal, a photograph, and an expiration date of 2021-but its uneven edges and consumer lamination hid a lie that had been rewritten at least three times; how did so many routine checks miss it for over a decade?

In this episode, you’ll hear how a meter-reader’s instinct led to discoveries about falsified credentials, the small audits and sticky notes that almost stopped the fraud, and the unexpected ways a school’s effective programs complicated accountability. Can procedural oversights and human trust explain how a forged doctorate went undiscovered while students and staff benefited from genuine educational work?

Person: Jennifer Slater
Person: Beverly A. Russo, Ed.D. (listed)
Person: Jeffrey O'Brien
Person: Marcus Delaney
Location: Dunmore Elementary, Calhoun Falls

- The laminated card was found on a Tuesday morning in October 2017 on Orviston Court.
- The card listed an expiration date of 2021 and showed a state seal embossed in the lower corner.
- Beverly Russo had been principal at Dunmore Elementary for eleven years and arrived in Calhoun Falls in October 2006 at age 22.
- Dunmore Elementary served roughly 340 students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
- A payroll audit in fall 2015 flagged Beverly’s doctoral accreditation as not appearing in the standard accreditation database.

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.]]>1417falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-laminated-lie-how-a-fake-continental-table-badge-fooled-columbus--73071158
A laminated press credential dated September 2019 turned out to advertise a magazine that had folded in July 2018 - and that small rectangle of plastic became the first hard evidence in a five-year deception. How did a woman with two unsigned freelance pieces and a craft-store hologram tape convince Columbus food media she was a Continental Table correspondent, and why did so many who nearly exposed her let it go?

In this episode, we tell how a found badge led to the unspooling of a long con, tracing Rachel Mitchell’s rise from restaurant expediter to a reputed Midwest correspondent, and asking how social access, plausibility, and a single real connection allowed the lie to flourish. What happened between a conference badge kept in 2015 and the discovery in 2019 that finally cracked the story?

Person: Rachel Mitchell
Location: Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Event: Badge found on September 4, 2019
Publication status: Continental Table closed in July 2018
Blog readership: about 400 weekly readers at Plate and Place

- The laminated credential bore an issue date of September 2019 despite Continental Table having closed in July 2018.
- Rachel Mitchell attended a food-media conference in spring 2015 and did not return the press badge she received at registration.
- Two freelance pieces submitted by Mitchell appeared unsigned under "our Midwest desk" and she was paid for them.
- Plate and Place, Mitchell’s Columbus food blog, had a readership of around 400 people on a good week.
- An events coordinator named Patrick Yuen sought credential confirmation in 2018, and a PR manager named Diane Kocher searched Mitchell’s byline in 2016 and found no name attached.

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/73071158Mon, 12 Oct 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Laminated Lie: How a Fake Continental Table Badge Fooled Columbus A laminated press credential dated September 2019 turned out to advertise a magazine that had folded in July 2018 - and that small rectangle of plastic became the first hard...
A laminated press credential dated September 2019 turned out to advertise a magazine that had folded in July 2018 - and that small rectangle of plastic became the first hard evidence in a five-year deception. How did a woman with two unsigned freelance pieces and a craft-store hologram tape convince Columbus food media she was a Continental Table correspondent, and why did so many who nearly exposed her let it go?

In this episode, we tell how a found badge led to the unspooling of a long con, tracing Rachel Mitchell’s rise from restaurant expediter to a reputed Midwest correspondent, and asking how social access, plausibility, and a single real connection allowed the lie to flourish. What happened between a conference badge kept in 2015 and the discovery in 2019 that finally cracked the story?

Person: Rachel Mitchell
Location: Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Event: Badge found on September 4, 2019
Publication status: Continental Table closed in July 2018
Blog readership: about 400 weekly readers at Plate and Place

- The laminated credential bore an issue date of September 2019 despite Continental Table having closed in July 2018.
- Rachel Mitchell attended a food-media conference in spring 2015 and did not return the press badge she received at registration.
- Two freelance pieces submitted by Mitchell appeared unsigned under "our Midwest desk" and she was paid for them.
- Plate and Place, Mitchell’s Columbus food blog, had a readership of around 400 people on a good week.
- An events coordinator named Patrick Yuen sought credential confirmation in 2018, and a PR manager named Diane Kocher searched Mitchell’s byline in 2016 and found no name attached.

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.]]>1051falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-taught-for-eleven-years-using-a-dead-man-s-name--73071157
A quiet Oregon trail revealed a laminated teaching credential that had somehow stayed completely dry after three nights of rain - a small detail that exposed eleven years of identity theft and a man living as a dead teacher. How did a fabricated Oregon Department of Education card, yellowed at the corners, keep a deception intact for over a decade, and what finally made it unravel?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from a Tuesday morning discovery on Briar Notch Ridge in August 2023 to the classroom where investigators confronted a man marking quizzes. The episode covers the forged credentials, the life Terrence Bodine built as "Scott M. Adams," and the moment the missing card set a long investigation in motion: what questions did the system never ask?

Person: Terrence Bodine
Person: Scott M. Adams (deceased)
Date: August 2023 (card discovery)
Date: Fall 2012 (teacher began at Ridgecroft Middle School)
Location: Briar Notch Ridge trail

- The card was found dry after three nights of late-summer rain on Briar Notch Ridge.
- The laminated card bore the name SCOTT M. ADAMS and an Oregon Department of Education certification number.
- Terrence Bodine taught sixth-grade social studies at Ridgecroft Middle School starting in fall 2012 for eleven years.
- The real Scott Adams died in April 2011 of a cardiac event in Dunnville, Oregon, at age fifty-three.
- Bodine was born in fall 1961 in eastern Idaho, had one year of community college, and a prior fraud conviction for forged employment records.

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/73071157Sun, 11 Oct 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Taught for Eleven Years Using a Dead Man's Name A quiet Oregon trail revealed a laminated teaching credential that had somehow stayed completely dry after three nights of rain - a small detail that exposed eleven years of identity theft and a...
A quiet Oregon trail revealed a laminated teaching credential that had somehow stayed completely dry after three nights of rain - a small detail that exposed eleven years of identity theft and a man living as a dead teacher. How did a fabricated Oregon Department of Education card, yellowed at the corners, keep a deception intact for over a decade, and what finally made it unravel?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from a Tuesday morning discovery on Briar Notch Ridge in August 2023 to the classroom where investigators confronted a man marking quizzes. The episode covers the forged credentials, the life Terrence Bodine built as "Scott M. Adams," and the moment the missing card set a long investigation in motion: what questions did the system never ask?

Person: Terrence Bodine
Person: Scott M. Adams (deceased)
Date: August 2023 (card discovery)
Date: Fall 2012 (teacher began at Ridgecroft Middle School)
Location: Briar Notch Ridge trail

- The card was found dry after three nights of late-summer rain on Briar Notch Ridge.
- The laminated card bore the name SCOTT M. ADAMS and an Oregon Department of Education certification number.
- Terrence Bodine taught sixth-grade social studies at Ridgecroft Middle School starting in fall 2012 for eleven years.
- The real Scott Adams died in April 2011 of a cardiac event in Dunnville, Oregon, at age fifty-three.
- Bodine was born in fall 1961 in eastern Idaho, had one year of community college, and a prior fraud conviction for forged employment records.

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.]]>833falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-faked-a-life-to-heal-broken-people-the-connie-bowers-case--73071155
A laminated counselor ID found dangling from a trotline half a mile into the woods launched a small-town shock: a woman who ran a grief practice for twenty-two clients had no verifiable credentials and had been living under a borrowed name. How did a lapsed license number, a printed certificate, and stories about a dead brother and a mentor create trust strong enough for strangers to bring their darkest moments into a second-floor office-and why did it take two years for anyone to pull the thread?

In this episode, we tell what happened in Canfield, Missouri, from the morning the badge was found to the months when neighbors and a chamber-of-commerce attendee noticed inconsistencies. You will hear how Connie Bowers built a practice from public records and grief books, who first grew suspicious, and what remained unresolved about the people she counseled.

Person: Connie Waite (known in town as Connie Bowers)
Location: Canfield, Pettis County, Missouri
Date: July 8, 2011 (badge found)
Clients: 22 people
Occupation claimed: Licensed Professional Counselor

- The badge was found at 6:00 a.m. on July 8, 2011, hanging from a guide cord at Sutter's Pond.
- Connie moved to Meridian Street in spring 2009 and was 24 years old while she told locals she was 27.
- Within three weeks of opening, she had four clients; within six months she had twenty-two clients.
- She previously worked 14 months at an insurance claims office in Springfield, Missouri, reviewing hundreds of accidental death and serious illness files.
- A chamber-of-commerce mixer in October 2009 prompted Bruce Green to search the graduate program she cited and find no record of her name, leading him to watch her for 22 months.

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/73071155Sat, 10 Oct 2026 13:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Faked a Life to Heal Broken People: The Connie Bowers Case A laminated counselor ID found dangling from a trotline half a mile into the woods launched a small-town shock: a woman who ran a grief practice for twenty-two clients had no verifiable...
A laminated counselor ID found dangling from a trotline half a mile into the woods launched a small-town shock: a woman who ran a grief practice for twenty-two clients had no verifiable credentials and had been living under a borrowed name. How did a lapsed license number, a printed certificate, and stories about a dead brother and a mentor create trust strong enough for strangers to bring their darkest moments into a second-floor office-and why did it take two years for anyone to pull the thread?

In this episode, we tell what happened in Canfield, Missouri, from the morning the badge was found to the months when neighbors and a chamber-of-commerce attendee noticed inconsistencies. You will hear how Connie Bowers built a practice from public records and grief books, who first grew suspicious, and what remained unresolved about the people she counseled.

Person: Connie Waite (known in town as Connie Bowers)
Location: Canfield, Pettis County, Missouri
Date: July 8, 2011 (badge found)
Clients: 22 people
Occupation claimed: Licensed Professional Counselor

- The badge was found at 6:00 a.m. on July 8, 2011, hanging from a guide cord at Sutter's Pond.
- Connie moved to Meridian Street in spring 2009 and was 24 years old while she told locals she was 27.
- Within three weeks of opening, she had four clients; within six months she had twenty-two clients.
- She previously worked 14 months at an insurance claims office in Springfield, Missouri, reviewing hundreds of accidental death and serious illness files.
- A chamber-of-commerce mixer in October 2009 prompted Bruce Green to search the graduate program she cited and find no record of her name, leading him to watch her for 22 months.

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.]]>1281falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/three-weddings-one-folder-the-man-who-married-three-women-in-a-month--73071152
A misfiled marriage license behind a cattle-fence deed revealed three marriage ceremonies to the same man all within one calendar month-found by a county surveyor at 11:48 AM on a Tuesday in June 2019. How did Robert Allen Ford maintain three separate lives across counties, with three engagements and a manila folder in a detached Farwell Road garage waiting to finish the job?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from Ford's arrival in Addison in fall 2015 through three meetings and engagements across different counties, and the clerical error that exposed him; what patterns in his movements and documents ultimately led to discovery?

Person: Robert Allen Ford
Date: June 8, 2019
Location: Farwell Road, Addison, Teller County
Event: Three marriage ceremonies within one calendar month
Occupation (claimed): Retired structural engineer

- A county surveyor, Debra Gallagher, found a misfiled marriage license at 11:48 AM on a Tuesday in June 2019.
- The Teller County ceremony was scheduled for June 8, 2019, with groom Robert Allen Ford.
- Ford arrived in Addison in fall 2015 at age 46 and rented a two-bedroom house with a detached garage.
- Ford met Susan Mack in September 2018 and they were engaged by March 2019; Susan was 39 and a paralegal.
- Ford had three phones confirmed by carrier records and made weekly 12-22 minute calls every Wednesday at 5:45 AM to a prepaid number.

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/73071152Fri, 09 Oct 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThree Weddings, One Folder: The Man Who Married Three Women in a Month A misfiled marriage license behind a cattle-fence deed revealed three marriage ceremonies to the same man all within one calendar month-found by a county surveyor at 11:48 AM on...
A misfiled marriage license behind a cattle-fence deed revealed three marriage ceremonies to the same man all within one calendar month-found by a county surveyor at 11:48 AM on a Tuesday in June 2019. How did Robert Allen Ford maintain three separate lives across counties, with three engagements and a manila folder in a detached Farwell Road garage waiting to finish the job?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from Ford's arrival in Addison in fall 2015 through three meetings and engagements across different counties, and the clerical error that exposed him; what patterns in his movements and documents ultimately led to discovery?

Person: Robert Allen Ford
Date: June 8, 2019
Location: Farwell Road, Addison, Teller County
Event: Three marriage ceremonies within one calendar month
Occupation (claimed): Retired structural engineer

- A county surveyor, Debra Gallagher, found a misfiled marriage license at 11:48 AM on a Tuesday in June 2019.
- The Teller County ceremony was scheduled for June 8, 2019, with groom Robert Allen Ford.
- Ford arrived in Addison in fall 2015 at age 46 and rented a two-bedroom house with a detached garage.
- Ford met Susan Mack in September 2018 and they were engaged by March 2019; Susan was 39 and a paralegal.
- Ford had three phones confirmed by carrier records and made weekly 12-22 minute calls every Wednesday at 5:45 AM to a prepaid number.

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.]]>1489falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-fake-engineer-who-buried-his-diploma-beneath-the-plant--73071150
Forty feet underground, a laminated diploma-bubbling at the corner-was wedged in a utility corridor beneath Veridian Technologies, and the name on it belonged to the company’s Director of Systems Engineering. The credential read “Carver-Lund University” and was dated May 2009, yet that university does not exist; how did a fake diploma end up hidden under the building, and what else was buried in the story of Wayne T. Schmidt?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a Tuesday morning discovery through personnel records and workplace memory to reconstruct how Schmidt rose through Veridian without an accredited degree; we also trace the evidence that revealed he had produced multiple versions of the same diploma-so why did no one verify his credentials sooner?

Person: Wayne T. Schmidt
Company: Veridian Technologies
Date of discovery: May 2019 (7:14 AM, Tuesday)
Found by: Monica Cox
HR reviewer: Tess Bourne

- The diploma photographed in the crawl space was conferred May 2009 and laminated with bubbling corners.
- Schmidt was hired in spring 2014 at age 27 and promoted twice by late 2015.
- Carver-Lund University appears in one private database but is absent from the National Center for Education Statistics registry.
- An HR file contained a cleaner diploma and a verification letter routed to a Google Voice number tied to a prepaid phone and a dissolved LLC in Ohio.
- The diploma in the crawl space was an earlier, rougher design; the HR copy was a refined later version, indicating iteration.

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/73071150Thu, 08 Oct 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Fake Engineer Who Buried His Diploma Beneath the Plant Forty feet underground, a laminated diploma-bubbling at the corner-was wedged in a utility corridor beneath Veridian Technologies, and the name on it belonged to the company’s Director of...
Forty feet underground, a laminated diploma-bubbling at the corner-was wedged in a utility corridor beneath Veridian Technologies, and the name on it belonged to the company’s Director of Systems Engineering. The credential read “Carver-Lund University” and was dated May 2009, yet that university does not exist; how did a fake diploma end up hidden under the building, and what else was buried in the story of Wayne T. Schmidt?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a Tuesday morning discovery through personnel records and workplace memory to reconstruct how Schmidt rose through Veridian without an accredited degree; we also trace the evidence that revealed he had produced multiple versions of the same diploma-so why did no one verify his credentials sooner?

Person: Wayne T. Schmidt
Company: Veridian Technologies
Date of discovery: May 2019 (7:14 AM, Tuesday)
Found by: Monica Cox
HR reviewer: Tess Bourne

- The diploma photographed in the crawl space was conferred May 2009 and laminated with bubbling corners.
- Schmidt was hired in spring 2014 at age 27 and promoted twice by late 2015.
- Carver-Lund University appears in one private database but is absent from the National Center for Education Statistics registry.
- An HR file contained a cleaner diploma and a verification letter routed to a Google Voice number tied to a prepaid phone and a dissolved LLC in Ohio.
- The diploma in the crawl space was an earlier, rougher design; the HR copy was a refined later version, indicating iteration.

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.]]>1370falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-pastor-who-forged-a-life-how-a-small-town-was-betrayed--73071148
Fear and disbelief: a man with a fake seminary diploma and a notarized ordination served coffee to a ninety-person congregation while three forged documents sat in his car-none of the institutions on them existed. How did a string of $4,080 withdrawals, a memory-care visitor log, and a homemade certificate convince an entire town to hand him trust-and what finally made the seams show?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that brought Franklin Zeller into Calvary Ridge Community Church, the actions he took once installed, and the small details that first raised suspicion-then unravelled his story. What was he building toward with his weekly visits to Meadow Glen and his spotless receipts?

Person: Frank Zeller
Date: February 22, 2019
Location: Calvary Ridge Community Church, Prosper Creek, South Carolina
Event: Three forged documents found in vehicle; congregation voted him in as pastor
Amount: $4,080 in questionable benevolence withdrawals

- Zeller was fifty-two years old and moved into the church rectory within a week of the February 22, 2019 vote.
- The congregation size was roughly ninety members and had been without a permanent pastor for fourteen months.
- Three documents found on the passenger seat included a certificate of ordination, a framed Master of Divinity diploma, and a letter of recommendation from Harvest Light Fellowship.
- Treasurer George Pell found three withdrawal entries totaling $4,080 in the benevolence fund, each accompanied by receipts using Cherokee County Department of Social Services letterhead.
- Zeller drove about forty minutes each Thursday to Meadow Glen memory care and signed the visitor log seeking an eighty-one-year-old resident named Dorothy Sisk.

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/73071148Wed, 07 Oct 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Pastor Who Forged a Life: How a Small Town Was Betrayed Fear and disbelief: a man with a fake seminary diploma and a notarized ordination served coffee to a ninety-person congregation while three forged documents sat in his car-none of the...
Fear and disbelief: a man with a fake seminary diploma and a notarized ordination served coffee to a ninety-person congregation while three forged documents sat in his car-none of the institutions on them existed. How did a string of $4,080 withdrawals, a memory-care visitor log, and a homemade certificate convince an entire town to hand him trust-and what finally made the seams show?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that brought Franklin Zeller into Calvary Ridge Community Church, the actions he took once installed, and the small details that first raised suspicion-then unravelled his story. What was he building toward with his weekly visits to Meadow Glen and his spotless receipts?

Person: Frank Zeller
Date: February 22, 2019
Location: Calvary Ridge Community Church, Prosper Creek, South Carolina
Event: Three forged documents found in vehicle; congregation voted him in as pastor
Amount: $4,080 in questionable benevolence withdrawals

- Zeller was fifty-two years old and moved into the church rectory within a week of the February 22, 2019 vote.
- The congregation size was roughly ninety members and had been without a permanent pastor for fourteen months.
- Three documents found on the passenger seat included a certificate of ordination, a framed Master of Divinity diploma, and a letter of recommendation from Harvest Light Fellowship.
- Treasurer George Pell found three withdrawal entries totaling $4,080 in the benevolence fund, each accompanied by receipts using Cherokee County Department of Social Services letterhead.
- Zeller drove about forty minutes each Thursday to Meadow Glen memory care and signed the visitor log seeking an eighty-one-year-old resident named Dorothy Sisk.

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.]]>1302falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-fake-battalion-the-folded-flag-and-a-small-town-s-lie--73071147
Fear that the hero in your town is a fabrication: a regulation-triangle flag, hand-sewn with a unit that never existed, sat for thirteen years in a kitchen drawer-found the same morning a paperboy discovered Robert Schmidt collapsed on the linoleum. How did a quiet supply clerk turn a four-year Army record into a twelve-year decorated career that yielded speeches, VFW membership, and six-figure benefits?

In this episode, we follow the concrete trail left in Dearing, Ohio: the folded flag, the forged DD-214, the invented Two Hundred Fourteenth Forward Reconnaissance Battalion, and the benefits that followed. What did the flag mean to Schmidt, and what did it cost the town when the truth came to light?

Person: Robert Schmidt
Date: March 11, 2019
Location: Dearing, Ohio
Period: 1990s-2019
Case: Fabricated military service and VA benefits

- A fourteen-year-old paper carrier found the folded flag and Robert Schmidt face-down and burning with fever on March 11, 2019.
- The flag had been folded into a regulation triangle, sealed inside a cotton case dated April 12, 2003, and hand-sewn with a fictitious unit seal.
- Schmidt enlisted in the Army in the early 1990s, served four years as a supply clerk and motor pool in Georgia, and was honorably discharged in 1998.
- By 2005 Schmidt had fabricated a DD-214 claiming twelve years of service, a Bronze Star, and deployments to Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003, produced on an inkjet printer with mail-order embossing equipment.
- According to court filings, Schmidt collected approximately $114,000 in VA disability payments.

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/73071147Tue, 06 Oct 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Fake Battalion, The Folded Flag, and a Small Town's Lie Fear that the hero in your town is a fabrication: a regulation-triangle flag, hand-sewn with a unit that never existed, sat for thirteen years in a kitchen drawer-found the same morning a...
Fear that the hero in your town is a fabrication: a regulation-triangle flag, hand-sewn with a unit that never existed, sat for thirteen years in a kitchen drawer-found the same morning a paperboy discovered Robert Schmidt collapsed on the linoleum. How did a quiet supply clerk turn a four-year Army record into a twelve-year decorated career that yielded speeches, VFW membership, and six-figure benefits?

In this episode, we follow the concrete trail left in Dearing, Ohio: the folded flag, the forged DD-214, the invented Two Hundred Fourteenth Forward Reconnaissance Battalion, and the benefits that followed. What did the flag mean to Schmidt, and what did it cost the town when the truth came to light?

Person: Robert Schmidt
Date: March 11, 2019
Location: Dearing, Ohio
Period: 1990s-2019
Case: Fabricated military service and VA benefits

- A fourteen-year-old paper carrier found the folded flag and Robert Schmidt face-down and burning with fever on March 11, 2019.
- The flag had been folded into a regulation triangle, sealed inside a cotton case dated April 12, 2003, and hand-sewn with a fictitious unit seal.
- Schmidt enlisted in the Army in the early 1990s, served four years as a supply clerk and motor pool in Georgia, and was honorably discharged in 1998.
- By 2005 Schmidt had fabricated a DD-214 claiming twelve years of service, a Bronze Star, and deployments to Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003, produced on an inkjet printer with mail-order embossing equipment.
- According to court filings, Schmidt collected approximately $114,000 in VA disability payments.

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.]]>1437falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-con-artist-who-volunteered-every-tuesday-until-she-vanished--73071146
Fear that a polite stranger could be a precision fraudster: forty-one forged "Wire Transfer Confirmed" pages totaling over $210,000 were carried in a brass‑snapped portfolio found in four inches of snow-yet the woman who owned them volunteered every Tuesday for months. How did a paper scaffold costing $42 at a copy shop work across seven hotels for four years, and why did she never miss a single volunteer shift?

In this episode, we present the sequence of events, the patterns of behavior, and the loose ends that remain about the woman who used the name Marilyn and a fake firm called Alderton Private Wealth Group. Listen to hear how hotel procedures, a buried note, and a consistent Tuesday routine intersected with a case that still resists easy explanation.

Person: Marilyn Ford
Date: February 9, 2011
Location: Bellard Grand hotel, Kellerton, Ohio
Event: Portfolio with 41 forged wire confirmations found in snow
Status: Arrested at Greyhound station two days later with $600 and no ID

- Portfolio contained 41 sheets labeled "Wire Transfer Confirmed" representing over $210,000 extracted from seven hotels across four years.
- The fake stationery cost $42 at a Merchant Avenue copy shop and used Garamond typeface with a noted font irregularity.
- Wire confirmation amounts on the sheets ranged from $60,000 to $420,000 and lacked routing prefixes and transaction codes.
- She stayed at the Bellard Grand for 31 days starting around January 8-9, 2011, and volunteered every Tuesday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m, without missing a shift.
- Two days after the portfolio was found on February 9, 2011, police arrested her at a Greyhound station in Columbus, Ohio, with $600 cash, one bag, and no identification.

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/73071146Mon, 05 Oct 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Con Artist Who Volunteered Every Tuesday Until She Vanished Fear that a polite stranger could be a precision fraudster: forty-one forged "Wire Transfer Confirmed" pages totaling over $210,000 were carried in a brass‑snapped portfolio found in...
Fear that a polite stranger could be a precision fraudster: forty-one forged "Wire Transfer Confirmed" pages totaling over $210,000 were carried in a brass‑snapped portfolio found in four inches of snow-yet the woman who owned them volunteered every Tuesday for months. How did a paper scaffold costing $42 at a copy shop work across seven hotels for four years, and why did she never miss a single volunteer shift?

In this episode, we present the sequence of events, the patterns of behavior, and the loose ends that remain about the woman who used the name Marilyn and a fake firm called Alderton Private Wealth Group. Listen to hear how hotel procedures, a buried note, and a consistent Tuesday routine intersected with a case that still resists easy explanation.

Person: Marilyn Ford
Date: February 9, 2011
Location: Bellard Grand hotel, Kellerton, Ohio
Event: Portfolio with 41 forged wire confirmations found in snow
Status: Arrested at Greyhound station two days later with $600 and no ID

- Portfolio contained 41 sheets labeled "Wire Transfer Confirmed" representing over $210,000 extracted from seven hotels across four years.
- The fake stationery cost $42 at a Merchant Avenue copy shop and used Garamond typeface with a noted font irregularity.
- Wire confirmation amounts on the sheets ranged from $60,000 to $420,000 and lacked routing prefixes and transaction codes.
- She stayed at the Bellard Grand for 31 days starting around January 8-9, 2011, and volunteered every Tuesday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m, without missing a shift.
- Two days after the portfolio was found on February 9, 2011, police arrested her at a Greyhound station in Columbus, Ohio, with $600 cash, one bag, and no identification.

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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.]]>1455falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-fake-doctor-who-cared-for-a-town-until-the-diploma-fell--73071144
A rural town trusted a man for eleven years who prescribed medicines, stitched wounds, and kept a stethoscope hanging every day - until a forged diploma was found deliberately laid on an exam table. How could one man without a medical degree practice medicine for over a decade while the community never noticed the missing credential?

In this episode, we tell how the clinic operated, the steps Morris took to present himself as a physician, and the gaps investigators had to bridge to answer whether he was ever legitimately trained - and what the discovery of the forged diploma revealed about a life built to be believed.

Person: Kenneth D. Morris
Date: January 9, 2011
Location: Parrish County Rural Clinic on Birch Hollow Road
Period: 11 years of practice
Institution: University of Nebraska College of Medicine (no record found)

- Morris practiced medicine in rural Nebraska for eleven years without a medical degree.
- The forged diploma was found centered on an exam table with the stethoscope placed beneath it on January 9, 2011.
- Investigators reviewed more than 300 patient charts and found no deaths and no serious injuries directly tied to Morris’s practice.
- Morris attended the University of Nebraska College of Medicine for eleven weeks in the fall of 1982 and then withdrew.
- Over seventeen years he worked as a transcriptionist (4 years), an orderly (3 years), in medical billing (2 years), and as an unlicensed medical interpreter (2 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/73071144Sun, 04 Oct 2026 13:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Fake Doctor Who Cared for a Town - Until the Diploma Fell A rural town trusted a man for eleven years who prescribed medicines, stitched wounds, and kept a stethoscope hanging every day - until a forged diploma was found deliberately laid on an...
A rural town trusted a man for eleven years who prescribed medicines, stitched wounds, and kept a stethoscope hanging every day - until a forged diploma was found deliberately laid on an exam table. How could one man without a medical degree practice medicine for over a decade while the community never noticed the missing credential?

In this episode, we tell how the clinic operated, the steps Morris took to present himself as a physician, and the gaps investigators had to bridge to answer whether he was ever legitimately trained - and what the discovery of the forged diploma revealed about a life built to be believed.

Person: Kenneth D. Morris
Date: January 9, 2011
Location: Parrish County Rural Clinic on Birch Hollow Road
Period: 11 years of practice
Institution: University of Nebraska College of Medicine (no record found)

- Morris practiced medicine in rural Nebraska for eleven years without a medical degree.
- The forged diploma was found centered on an exam table with the stethoscope placed beneath it on January 9, 2011.
- Investigators reviewed more than 300 patient charts and found no deaths and no serious injuries directly tied to Morris’s practice.
- Morris attended the University of Nebraska College of Medicine for eleven weeks in the fall of 1982 and then withdrew.
- Over seventeen years he worked as a transcriptionist (4 years), an orderly (3 years), in medical billing (2 years), and as an unlicensed medical interpreter (2 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.]]>1469falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-faked-god-the-chaplain-who-bought-a-faith-for-340--73071133
A laminated chaplain credential, bought for $340 in cash at a Dayton copy shop, sat in a hospice file for 22 months while a 23-year-old woman held patients’ hands in their last hours-so why did no one verify the seal that didn’t exist? What did Jean A. Osborne build with a fake degree and a custom embossing die, and how did it go unnoticed until a son’s curiosity and an accountant’s search cracked the case?

In this episode, we trace the timeline from a December morning when a credential card was found in frozen mud to the discovery that the issuing body could not be located, and we follow the people who noticed and responded-asking whether the trust placed in spiritual caregivers can be manufactured or must be earned.

Person: Jean A. Osborne
Age: 23
Date found: December 11, 2009
Purchase: $340 cash at a Dayton, Ohio print shop
Organization on card: Interdenominational Chaplaincy Credentialing Council

- Jean was hired in February 2008 and her personnel file held the credential for 22 months.
- The credential included a custom embossing die, two-color ink, and was laminated.
- Jean paid $340 in cash and also obtained a reproduction of a university degree in January 2008.
- Kevin Treece searched for the Interdenominational Chaplaincy Credentialing Council in November 2009 and found no record.
- Vera Stanton pulled Jean’s file on December 9, 2009, and contacted paralegal Dennis Farber, whose search took roughly three weeks.

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/73071133Sat, 03 Oct 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Faked God: The Chaplain Who Bought a Faith for $340 A laminated chaplain credential, bought for $340 in cash at a Dayton copy shop, sat in a hospice file for 22 months while a 23-year-old woman held patients’ hands in their last hours-so why...
A laminated chaplain credential, bought for $340 in cash at a Dayton copy shop, sat in a hospice file for 22 months while a 23-year-old woman held patients’ hands in their last hours-so why did no one verify the seal that didn’t exist? What did Jean A. Osborne build with a fake degree and a custom embossing die, and how did it go unnoticed until a son’s curiosity and an accountant’s search cracked the case?

In this episode, we trace the timeline from a December morning when a credential card was found in frozen mud to the discovery that the issuing body could not be located, and we follow the people who noticed and responded-asking whether the trust placed in spiritual caregivers can be manufactured or must be earned.

Person: Jean A. Osborne
Age: 23
Date found: December 11, 2009
Purchase: $340 cash at a Dayton, Ohio print shop
Organization on card: Interdenominational Chaplaincy Credentialing Council

- Jean was hired in February 2008 and her personnel file held the credential for 22 months.
- The credential included a custom embossing die, two-color ink, and was laminated.
- Jean paid $340 in cash and also obtained a reproduction of a university degree in January 2008.
- Kevin Treece searched for the Interdenominational Chaplaincy Credentialing Council in November 2009 and found no record.
- Vera Stanton pulled Jean’s file on December 9, 2009, and contacted paralegal Dennis Farber, whose search took roughly three weeks.

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.]]>1283falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-fraudster-who-fooled-11-insurance-carriers-the-william-stevens-case--73071132
Fear that a single fake certificate can cost carriers everything: a man with no accredited training collected $240,000-$300,000 a year by posing as an independent fire investigator and displayed a bought credential on the outside of a shed where anyone could see it - so how did eleven insurance carriers trust him without verifying the basics?

In this episode, we tell how ordinary route notes, a framed diploma on an exterior shed wall, and a prepaid cell phone trace unraveled a five-year fraud; what the episode covers are the methods Stevens used to establish credibility, the regulatory gap that enabled him, and the unanswered question investigators kept returning to: how much did he actually know about fire?

Person: William R. Stevens
Location: 14 Oleander Court, Bexfield, Ohio
Period: 2009-2012
Income: $240,000-$300,000 per year (peak billing)
Outcome: Convicted on 19 of 31 counts

- Certificate displayed outside on cedar siding, east-facing, mounted to the shed exterior
- Credential dated September 2011 from the National Association of Fire Investigation Professionals purchased through a diploma mill
- Fake institute website registered in 2008 via a privacy proxy with phone traced to a prepaid cell in Stevens’s truck
- Retained by eleven different carriers across Ohio, Indiana, and western Pennsylvania by end of 2010
- Shed dimensions: 12 feet by 14 feet, locked nightly by nine

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/73071132Fri, 02 Oct 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Fraudster Who Fooled 11 Insurance Carriers: The William Stevens Case Fear that a single fake certificate can cost carriers everything: a man with no accredited training collected $240,000-$300,000 a year by posing as an independent fire...
Fear that a single fake certificate can cost carriers everything: a man with no accredited training collected $240,000-$300,000 a year by posing as an independent fire investigator and displayed a bought credential on the outside of a shed where anyone could see it - so how did eleven insurance carriers trust him without verifying the basics?

In this episode, we tell how ordinary route notes, a framed diploma on an exterior shed wall, and a prepaid cell phone trace unraveled a five-year fraud; what the episode covers are the methods Stevens used to establish credibility, the regulatory gap that enabled him, and the unanswered question investigators kept returning to: how much did he actually know about fire?

Person: William R. Stevens
Location: 14 Oleander Court, Bexfield, Ohio
Period: 2009-2012
Income: $240,000-$300,000 per year (peak billing)
Outcome: Convicted on 19 of 31 counts

- Certificate displayed outside on cedar siding, east-facing, mounted to the shed exterior
- Credential dated September 2011 from the National Association of Fire Investigation Professionals purchased through a diploma mill
- Fake institute website registered in 2008 via a privacy proxy with phone traced to a prepaid cell in Stevens’s truck
- Retained by eleven different carriers across Ohio, Indiana, and western Pennsylvania by end of 2010
- Shed dimensions: 12 feet by 14 feet, locked nightly by nine

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.]]>1399falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-built-a-missing-town-the-woman-who-invented-a-murder--73071131
A chilling deception grew from a locked metal box found behind hymnals: a forged death certificate, a fake press pass, seventeen unidentified photos, and a hand-drawn map of a county that does not exist - all tied to a podcast that amassed 340,000 subscribers. How did one woman invent a murder, a township, and an entire community’s grief, and what finally made her story unravel?

In this episode, we follow the trail from the moment a volunteer found the box to the online clues that first cracked the story, presenting the sequence of discoveries, the fabricated documents, and the forensic audio hints that listeners and students unearthed - could a podcast have created a false world that fooled hundreds of thousands?

Person: Ryan Hunter
Event: Box discovered on March 12, 2019
Topic: The Marsh Girl podcast launched January 2015
Person: Karen Barrett, age 61 in 2019
Audience: 340,000 subscribers

- The locked metal box was found behind a shelf of discarded hymnals in St. Anselm's church storage room.
- The box contained a forged death certificate for "Dena Marsh" and a press credential for "Karen Barrett."
- The Marsh Girl podcast launched in January 2015 and grew to 340,000 subscribers by 2019.
- Karen Barrett was 61 years old in 2019 and lived in a rented duplex in Northwood, Columbus.
- Two independent listeners identified anomalies: an impossible Caldwell Township and identical background AC noise across interviews.

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/73071131Thu, 01 Oct 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Built a Missing Town: The Woman Who Invented a Murder A chilling deception grew from a locked metal box found behind hymnals: a forged death certificate, a fake press pass, seventeen unidentified photos, and a hand-drawn map of a county that...
A chilling deception grew from a locked metal box found behind hymnals: a forged death certificate, a fake press pass, seventeen unidentified photos, and a hand-drawn map of a county that does not exist - all tied to a podcast that amassed 340,000 subscribers. How did one woman invent a murder, a township, and an entire community’s grief, and what finally made her story unravel?

In this episode, we follow the trail from the moment a volunteer found the box to the online clues that first cracked the story, presenting the sequence of discoveries, the fabricated documents, and the forensic audio hints that listeners and students unearthed - could a podcast have created a false world that fooled hundreds of thousands?

Person: Ryan Hunter
Event: Box discovered on March 12, 2019
Topic: The Marsh Girl podcast launched January 2015
Person: Karen Barrett, age 61 in 2019
Audience: 340,000 subscribers

- The locked metal box was found behind a shelf of discarded hymnals in St. Anselm's church storage room.
- The box contained a forged death certificate for "Dena Marsh" and a press credential for "Karen Barrett."
- The Marsh Girl podcast launched in January 2015 and grew to 340,000 subscribers by 2019.
- Karen Barrett was 61 years old in 2019 and lived in a rented duplex in Northwood, Columbus.
- Two independent listeners identified anomalies: an impossible Caldwell Township and identical background AC noise across interviews.

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.]]>910falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-man-who-faked-therapy-23-children-one-perfect-lie--73071130
Fear that someone you trust with a child is a fraud - and the quiet, ordinary details that let him slip in - start this story: 23 children were in weekly care, diplomas hung level on the wall, and a fake Ohio license number came from a retired neuropsychologist’s listing. How did no one check the one number that would have exposed everything?

In this episode, we follow the chronology of the case as presented in the record: how a man built a professional identity from two semesters of college and one week of observation, how a hiring committee and a regional journal accepted him, and why a single database flag finally triggered scrutiny. What breaks the chain of small oversights and reveals the full extent of the deception?

Person: Marvin Myers
Location: Ralston Pike practice
Date: early September 2011 (envelope found)
Case: 23 children in care
Institution: Millbrook College hiring committee (spring 2007)

- Myers attended Pelham Community College for two semesters beginning fall 2002 and left without a degree.
- He observed four sessions during a one-week unpaid internship at Harborview Pediatric Behavioral Associates in summer 2005 and then left without notice.
- By September 2006 Myers had created documents claiming a doctoral degree from Renner University and an Ohio psychology license using the number of a retired neuropsychologist.
- In spring 2007 a three-person Millbrook College committee interviewed him for approximately 40 minutes and offered a visiting assistant professor position at $41,000 per year.
- By 2009 twenty-three children, some as young as six, were attending therapy at Myers’s two-room Ralston Pike 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/73071130Wed, 30 Sep 2026 13:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Man Who Faked Therapy: 23 Children, One Perfect Lie Fear that someone you trust with a child is a fraud - and the quiet, ordinary details that let him slip in - start this story: 23 children were in weekly care, diplomas hung level on the wall,...
Fear that someone you trust with a child is a fraud - and the quiet, ordinary details that let him slip in - start this story: 23 children were in weekly care, diplomas hung level on the wall, and a fake Ohio license number came from a retired neuropsychologist’s listing. How did no one check the one number that would have exposed everything?

In this episode, we follow the chronology of the case as presented in the record: how a man built a professional identity from two semesters of college and one week of observation, how a hiring committee and a regional journal accepted him, and why a single database flag finally triggered scrutiny. What breaks the chain of small oversights and reveals the full extent of the deception?

Person: Marvin Myers
Location: Ralston Pike practice
Date: early September 2011 (envelope found)
Case: 23 children in care
Institution: Millbrook College hiring committee (spring 2007)

- Myers attended Pelham Community College for two semesters beginning fall 2002 and left without a degree.
- He observed four sessions during a one-week unpaid internship at Harborview Pediatric Behavioral Associates in summer 2005 and then left without notice.
- By September 2006 Myers had created documents claiming a doctoral degree from Renner University and an Ohio psychology license using the number of a retired neuropsychologist.
- In spring 2007 a three-person Millbrook College committee interviewed him for approximately 40 minutes and offered a visiting assistant professor position at $41,000 per year.
- By 2009 twenty-three children, some as young as six, were attending therapy at Myers’s two-room Ralston Pike 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.]]>1365falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-twin-who-borrowed-a-bar-card-31-years-of-quiet-fraud--73071099
Fear and fascination collide: a waterproof envelope pulled from the Kessler River held an Illinois bar card from 1989 bearing the name Dennis Holt - but the photo was of a calm woman who went on to act as an arbitrator for 31 years. How did a false professional identity survive in a town of roughly 19,000 people for three decades without anyone realizing the license belonged to someone else?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events as recorded: the river discovery, the personnel and bar records, and the personal details that kept the fiction alive. What allowed Marilyn Holt to maintain a borrowed bar number and carry out official duties for so long?

Person: Marilyn Holt
Person: Dennis Holt
Location: Kessler River, Portfield, Illinois
Date: August 14, 2019
Institution: Portfield Area Labor Council

- The bar card inside a sealed camping-grade waterproof sleeve was pulled from the Kessler River on August 14, 2019.
- The Illinois State Bar card was issued in 1989 to Dennis M. Holt but carried a photograph of a woman approximately 28 years old.
- Marilyn Holt served as an arbitrator for the Portfield Area Labor Council since 1991 and handled disputes for eleven local affiliates.
- Dennis Holt placed his Illinois license in inactive status in 1992 and worked in Tucson as a floor supervisor, unaware his license was kept active.
- Biennial renewal fees were paid from a bank account opened in Dennis Holt’s name in 1992, without his knowledge, keeping the license technically active for 31 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/73071099Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Twin Who Borrowed a Bar Card: 31 Years of Quiet Fraud Fear and fascination collide: a waterproof envelope pulled from the Kessler River held an Illinois bar card from 1989 bearing the name Dennis Holt - but the photo was of a calm woman who...
Fear and fascination collide: a waterproof envelope pulled from the Kessler River held an Illinois bar card from 1989 bearing the name Dennis Holt - but the photo was of a calm woman who went on to act as an arbitrator for 31 years. How did a false professional identity survive in a town of roughly 19,000 people for three decades without anyone realizing the license belonged to someone else?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events as recorded: the river discovery, the personnel and bar records, and the personal details that kept the fiction alive. What allowed Marilyn Holt to maintain a borrowed bar number and carry out official duties for so long?

Person: Marilyn Holt
Person: Dennis Holt
Location: Kessler River, Portfield, Illinois
Date: August 14, 2019
Institution: Portfield Area Labor Council

- The bar card inside a sealed camping-grade waterproof sleeve was pulled from the Kessler River on August 14, 2019.
- The Illinois State Bar card was issued in 1989 to Dennis M. Holt but carried a photograph of a woman approximately 28 years old.
- Marilyn Holt served as an arbitrator for the Portfield Area Labor Council since 1991 and handled disputes for eleven local affiliates.
- Dennis Holt placed his Illinois license in inactive status in 1992 and worked in Tucson as a floor supervisor, unaware his license was kept active.
- Biennial renewal fees were paid from a bank account opened in Dennis Holt’s name in 1992, without his knowledge, keeping the license technically active for 31 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.]]>1377falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-lamplight-diploma-how-a-fake-sommelier-fooled-an-elite-kitchen--73071098
A laminated diploma with a gold-foil seal and a registration number was found zip-tied to a stake on Fenwick Road behind Pelerin - placed there less than ninety minutes after the woman named on it walked out of the restaurant for the last time. How did a homemade credential, a tea-stained fake certificate, and eleven days with an atlas combine to sustain a four-year deception that fooled colleagues, magazines, and managers?

In this episode, we trace the steps that led Rhonda A. Harrison from a used-book sale to the head sommelier position at Pelerin, following the physical evidence, personal routines, and resume fabrications that built her reputation - and we ask what she actually knew versus what she faked.

Person: Rhonda A. Harrison
Date found: July 9, 2017 at 7:40 AM
Location: Fenwick Road, behind Pelerin, Portsmith, North Carolina
Item found: Laminated diploma with gold-foil seal and registration number zip-tied to a stake
Witness who found it: Janet Lawson, county surveyor

- Rhonda bought the Hargrove Atlas of the World's Wine Regions, 5th edition (840 pages) for $4 and read it cover to cover in 11 days.
- She created a color-coded index card system of appellations and wine data and reviewed it every morning on a 4-mile Riverwalk starting at 6:15 AM.
- At age 27 she printed and tea-stained a certificate for a non-existent Meridian Wine Academy and used it on her résumé.
- She added a fictitious consulting tenure at Veritas Table in Napa to her résumé before being hired at Pelerin in spring 2013.
- A server named Lisa Barnes, age 29, passed the Court of Master Sommeliers introductory exam after being hired in November 2016.

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/73071098Mon, 28 Sep 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Lamplight Diploma: How a Fake Sommelier Fooled an Elite Kitchen A laminated diploma with a gold-foil seal and a registration number was found zip-tied to a stake on Fenwick Road behind Pelerin - placed there less than ninety minutes after the...
A laminated diploma with a gold-foil seal and a registration number was found zip-tied to a stake on Fenwick Road behind Pelerin - placed there less than ninety minutes after the woman named on it walked out of the restaurant for the last time. How did a homemade credential, a tea-stained fake certificate, and eleven days with an atlas combine to sustain a four-year deception that fooled colleagues, magazines, and managers?

In this episode, we trace the steps that led Rhonda A. Harrison from a used-book sale to the head sommelier position at Pelerin, following the physical evidence, personal routines, and resume fabrications that built her reputation - and we ask what she actually knew versus what she faked.

Person: Rhonda A. Harrison
Date found: July 9, 2017 at 7:40 AM
Location: Fenwick Road, behind Pelerin, Portsmith, North Carolina
Item found: Laminated diploma with gold-foil seal and registration number zip-tied to a stake
Witness who found it: Janet Lawson, county surveyor

- Rhonda bought the Hargrove Atlas of the World's Wine Regions, 5th edition (840 pages) for $4 and read it cover to cover in 11 days.
- She created a color-coded index card system of appellations and wine data and reviewed it every morning on a 4-mile Riverwalk starting at 6:15 AM.
- At age 27 she printed and tea-stained a certificate for a non-existent Meridian Wine Academy and used it on her résumé.
- She added a fictitious consulting tenure at Veritas Table in Napa to her résumé before being hired at Pelerin in spring 2013.
- A server named Lisa Barnes, age 29, passed the Court of Master Sommeliers introductory exam after being hired in November 2016.

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.]]>1084falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-cabinet-of-false-lives-why-she-buried-forty-three-obituaries--73071097
A buried filing cabinet contained forty-three forged obituaries - thirty-one entirely invented lives and twelve listing living people - and one rubber stamp kit bought for $14.95 reproduced a funeral home's retired postage meter stamp. How did a trusted obituary writer hide six years of fabrications in plain sight, and who finally noticed what should have ended her career?

In this episode, we tell how routine work and small errors uncovered a long-running deception at a local paper, detailing the discovery, the methods used to fake submissions, and the unanswered questions that remain about oversight and motive. Who benefited from the illusion of authenticity, and why were so many fake deaths allowed to run for years?

Person: Christine Whitfield
Location: Carvell County
Date (discovery): June 2019
Case: Forty-three forged obituaries
Item: Rubber stamp kit cost $14.95

- The shovel struck metal at thirty-one inches down, revealing a forest-green two-drawer lateral filing cabinet.
- Inside were forty-three manila folders organized alphabetically, each with handwritten notes, a typed draft, and a forged funeral home submission form.
- Christine Whitfield wrote the Lives Remembered column for eleven years and was fifty-three when the discovery ended her work.
- She bought a rubber stamp kit in 2011 for $14.95 that reproduced Hensley Brothers Funeral Home’s retired postage meter stamp.
- In August 2016, Tom Haverford called after seeing his living mother Elaine Haverford listed as deceased; the paper logged it as a clerical mix-up.

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/73071097Sun, 27 Sep 2026 13:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Cabinet of False Lives: Why She Buried Forty-Three Obituaries A buried filing cabinet contained forty-three forged obituaries - thirty-one entirely invented lives and twelve listing living people - and one rubber stamp kit bought for $14.95...
A buried filing cabinet contained forty-three forged obituaries - thirty-one entirely invented lives and twelve listing living people - and one rubber stamp kit bought for $14.95 reproduced a funeral home's retired postage meter stamp. How did a trusted obituary writer hide six years of fabrications in plain sight, and who finally noticed what should have ended her career?

In this episode, we tell how routine work and small errors uncovered a long-running deception at a local paper, detailing the discovery, the methods used to fake submissions, and the unanswered questions that remain about oversight and motive. Who benefited from the illusion of authenticity, and why were so many fake deaths allowed to run for years?

Person: Christine Whitfield
Location: Carvell County
Date (discovery): June 2019
Case: Forty-three forged obituaries
Item: Rubber stamp kit cost $14.95

- The shovel struck metal at thirty-one inches down, revealing a forest-green two-drawer lateral filing cabinet.
- Inside were forty-three manila folders organized alphabetically, each with handwritten notes, a typed draft, and a forged funeral home submission form.
- Christine Whitfield wrote the Lives Remembered column for eleven years and was fifty-three when the discovery ended her work.
- She bought a rubber stamp kit in 2011 for $14.95 that reproduced Hensley Brothers Funeral Home’s retired postage meter stamp.
- In August 2016, Tom Haverford called after seeing his living mother Elaine Haverford listed as deceased; the paper logged it as a clerical mix-up.

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.]]>1545falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-woman-who-built-a-fake-relief-group-then-became-indispensable--73071096
Fear and admiration collide when a woman with forged credentials walked into real disaster zones and became the most trusted logistician on the ground - so how did a counterfeit badge open doors no resume could? Discover how a rented Geneva mailbox, a dollar‑fifty vest, and forty‑one photos from a creek told a story that left emergency professionals divided and a sheriff’s office stunned.

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from a camera pointed at a woman burning credentials to the letters sent to a federal courthouse, tracing how one person’s skills and a fake organization changed the way responders judged trust and competence. What happens when performance makes a fiction feel real?

Person: Gail Whitfield
Age: 44
Location: Fairvale, Ohio
Event: May 11, 2019 photo mailing to Fairvale Sheriff's Office
Organization name used: Global Humanitarian Coordination Initiative

- On May 11, 2019 at 7:15 a.m., Wade Graham photographed Gail Whitfield destroying laminated credentials in Sutter Creek.
- Gail created the Global Humanitarian Coordination Initiative credentials using a computer, printer, and laminator after being laid off in 2013.
- Between 2014 and 2018 she deployed to four real disaster operations: two flood responses, one wildfire coordination, and one hurricane response.
- The Geneva address she used was a rented mailbox near the Gare de Cornavin train station in Switzerland.
- Seventeen letters from emergency management professionals were submitted to the federal courthouse before sentencing, all praising her logistical skills.

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/73071096Sat, 26 Sep 2026 13:00:04 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Woman Who Built a Fake Relief Group - Then Became Indispensable Fear and admiration collide when a woman with forged credentials walked into real disaster zones and became the most trusted logistician on the ground - so how did a counterfeit...
Fear and admiration collide when a woman with forged credentials walked into real disaster zones and became the most trusted logistician on the ground - so how did a counterfeit badge open doors no resume could? Discover how a rented Geneva mailbox, a dollar‑fifty vest, and forty‑one photos from a creek told a story that left emergency professionals divided and a sheriff’s office stunned.

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from a camera pointed at a woman burning credentials to the letters sent to a federal courthouse, tracing how one person’s skills and a fake organization changed the way responders judged trust and competence. What happens when performance makes a fiction feel real?

Person: Gail Whitfield
Age: 44
Location: Fairvale, Ohio
Event: May 11, 2019 photo mailing to Fairvale Sheriff's Office
Organization name used: Global Humanitarian Coordination Initiative

- On May 11, 2019 at 7:15 a.m., Wade Graham photographed Gail Whitfield destroying laminated credentials in Sutter Creek.
- Gail created the Global Humanitarian Coordination Initiative credentials using a computer, printer, and laminator after being laid off in 2013.
- Between 2014 and 2018 she deployed to four real disaster operations: two flood responses, one wildfire coordination, and one hurricane response.
- The Geneva address she used was a rented mailbox near the Gare de Cornavin train station in Switzerland.
- Seventeen letters from emergency management professionals were submitted to the federal courthouse before sentencing, all praising her logistical skills.

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.]]>1384falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-bought-a-tape-built-a-life-was-it-all-a-lie--73071095
A thrift-store cassette bought for a few dollars became the spine of a four-year regional theatre career: he listened to that tape about 400 times, taught a method called "phoneme shadowing," and earned $800-$1,200 a week - but the school and mentor he named left no trace. Was the skill he built enough to make the invented credentials irrelevant, or was it still fraud?

In this episode, we present the story of Curtis Allen, how a single cassette and solitary study turned into a professional identity, and why the discovery of an invented Harcourt Institute and a purported Dr. Elaine Marsh raises the question: does authenticity rest on paperwork or on measurable results?

Person: Curtis Allen
Event: discovery of cassette in dressing room three
Date: April 2011
Location: Castellan Theatre, West Forty-Seventh Street
Payment: $800-$1,200 per week

- He found a Maxell C-90 cassette behind a steam pipe while running errands as a 16-year-old in April 2011.
- The A-side label read "STAGE DIALECTS: A COMPLETE COURSE, VOL. 1 OF 1" and the B-side read "CURTIS."
- Curtis listened to the thrift-store tape approximately 400 times and borrowed phonetics textbooks from the Trenton Public Library.
- He worked as a dialect coach on the regional mid-Atlantic theatre circuit for four years starting around 2007.
- The Harcourt Institute and Dr. Elaine Marsh named by Curtis had no records, address, accreditation, or trace of existence.

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/73071095Fri, 25 Sep 2026 13:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Bought a Tape, Built a Life - Was It All a Lie? A thrift-store cassette bought for a few dollars became the spine of a four-year regional theatre career: he listened to that tape about 400 times, taught a method called "phoneme shadowing," and...
A thrift-store cassette bought for a few dollars became the spine of a four-year regional theatre career: he listened to that tape about 400 times, taught a method called "phoneme shadowing," and earned $800-$1,200 a week - but the school and mentor he named left no trace. Was the skill he built enough to make the invented credentials irrelevant, or was it still fraud?

In this episode, we present the story of Curtis Allen, how a single cassette and solitary study turned into a professional identity, and why the discovery of an invented Harcourt Institute and a purported Dr. Elaine Marsh raises the question: does authenticity rest on paperwork or on measurable results?

Person: Curtis Allen
Event: discovery of cassette in dressing room three
Date: April 2011
Location: Castellan Theatre, West Forty-Seventh Street
Payment: $800-$1,200 per week

- He found a Maxell C-90 cassette behind a steam pipe while running errands as a 16-year-old in April 2011.
- The A-side label read "STAGE DIALECTS: A COMPLETE COURSE, VOL. 1 OF 1" and the B-side read "CURTIS."
- Curtis listened to the thrift-store tape approximately 400 times and borrowed phonetics textbooks from the Trenton Public Library.
- He worked as a dialect coach on the regional mid-Atlantic theatre circuit for four years starting around 2007.
- The Harcourt Institute and Dr. Elaine Marsh named by Curtis had no records, address, accreditation, or trace of existence.

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.]]>932falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-lawyer-who-never-graduated-how-pamela-tate-fooled-a-county-for-decades--73071094
Fear that someone in plain sight has been living a lie: a laminated bar ID, a Harmon College of Law degree dated 1983, and a woman practicing for decades-until a briefcase on County Road Nine set a six-week chain that exposed a claim that could not exist. How did a forged transcript slip past licensing, colleagues, clients, and county officials for more than thirty years?

In this episode, you will hear the sequence of events from the discovery on March 4, 2014 to the moment a photograph landed on the wrong desk, and learn what records, references, and routine procedures allowed Pamela A. Tate to be treated as an attorney-until one simple question about Harmon College of Law surfaced. Could a law degree dated 1983 from a school that stopped teaching in 1978 be authentic?

Person: Pamela A. Tate
Date: March 4, 2014
Location: County Road Nine; Dunmore County
Event: Briefcase found containing a laminated identification card
Topic: Harmon College of Law transcript forgery

- The briefcase was found at 6:41 a.m. on March 4, 2014 by Roger Quinn while grading the shoulder of County Road Nine.
- Pamela Tate had been licensed in Minnesota since 1983 and reportedly scored in the 91st percentile on that year's bar examination.
- Harmon College of Law ceased instruction in autumn 1978 and its final class was dismissed in February 1979; the building was demolished in 1986.
- A forensic analysis described the 1983 Harmon transcript on Tate’s application as "a careful and informed forgery."
- Pamela Tate had lived in Dunmore for eleven years, joined the library board in 2011, and was found to be caring for a diabetic Labrador requiring twice-daily insulin.

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/73071094Thu, 24 Sep 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Lawyer Who Never Graduated: How Pamela Tate Fooled a County for Decades Fear that someone in plain sight has been living a lie: a laminated bar ID, a Harmon College of Law degree dated 1983, and a woman practicing for decades-until a briefcase...
Fear that someone in plain sight has been living a lie: a laminated bar ID, a Harmon College of Law degree dated 1983, and a woman practicing for decades-until a briefcase on County Road Nine set a six-week chain that exposed a claim that could not exist. How did a forged transcript slip past licensing, colleagues, clients, and county officials for more than thirty years?

In this episode, you will hear the sequence of events from the discovery on March 4, 2014 to the moment a photograph landed on the wrong desk, and learn what records, references, and routine procedures allowed Pamela A. Tate to be treated as an attorney-until one simple question about Harmon College of Law surfaced. Could a law degree dated 1983 from a school that stopped teaching in 1978 be authentic?

Person: Pamela A. Tate
Date: March 4, 2014
Location: County Road Nine; Dunmore County
Event: Briefcase found containing a laminated identification card
Topic: Harmon College of Law transcript forgery

- The briefcase was found at 6:41 a.m. on March 4, 2014 by Roger Quinn while grading the shoulder of County Road Nine.
- Pamela Tate had been licensed in Minnesota since 1983 and reportedly scored in the 91st percentile on that year's bar examination.
- Harmon College of Law ceased instruction in autumn 1978 and its final class was dismissed in February 1979; the building was demolished in 1986.
- A forensic analysis described the 1983 Harmon transcript on Tate’s application as "a careful and informed forgery."
- Pamela Tate had lived in Dunmore for eleven years, joined the library board in 2011, and was found to be caring for a diabetic Labrador requiring twice-daily insulin.

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.]]>1323falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-faked-forensics-caught-a-thief-then-disappeared--73071092
The thought of a twenty-two-year-old with only fourteen college credits forging a forensic credential and walking into a credit union to steal $22,417 is unnerving; she audited legitimately, exposed an internal thief, then vanished with a notebook showing she was studying for the real credential-so what made her run? Who benefits from a woman who both uncovers fraud and quietly redirects small sums into a hidden account?

In this episode, we present the sequence of events from the morning the fake badge was found to the discovery of the fraud scheme, outlining how she gained the job, what she did there, and the puzzling evidence left behind-could the same skills that caught one thief explain the disappearance of the auditor herself?

Person: Patricia A. Cooper
Date: February 11, 2009
Location: Kellerton Municipal Credit Services, Ohio
Amount: $22,417
Suspect uncovered: Vincent Ashby

- Badge: laminated American Board of Forensic Accountants badge zip-tied to an exterior conduit six feet off the ground
- Employment: hired at age 22 for $64,000 per year after presenting a fabricated resume and fake credential
- Theft method: redirected fractional rounding differentials of $40-$90 per transaction into a suspense account
- Scheme duration: funds accumulated over five months through eleven sessions of about twelve minutes each
- Prior theft uncovered: loan processor Vincent Ashby siphoned roughly $9,000 over two 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/73071092Wed, 23 Sep 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Faked Forensics, Caught a Thief - Then Disappeared The thought of a twenty-two-year-old with only fourteen college credits forging a forensic credential and walking into a credit union to steal $22,417 is unnerving; she audited legitimately,...
The thought of a twenty-two-year-old with only fourteen college credits forging a forensic credential and walking into a credit union to steal $22,417 is unnerving; she audited legitimately, exposed an internal thief, then vanished with a notebook showing she was studying for the real credential-so what made her run? Who benefits from a woman who both uncovers fraud and quietly redirects small sums into a hidden account?

In this episode, we present the sequence of events from the morning the fake badge was found to the discovery of the fraud scheme, outlining how she gained the job, what she did there, and the puzzling evidence left behind-could the same skills that caught one thief explain the disappearance of the auditor herself?

Person: Patricia A. Cooper
Date: February 11, 2009
Location: Kellerton Municipal Credit Services, Ohio
Amount: $22,417
Suspect uncovered: Vincent Ashby

- Badge: laminated American Board of Forensic Accountants badge zip-tied to an exterior conduit six feet off the ground
- Employment: hired at age 22 for $64,000 per year after presenting a fabricated resume and fake credential
- Theft method: redirected fractional rounding differentials of $40-$90 per transaction into a suspense account
- Scheme duration: funds accumulated over five months through eleven sessions of about twelve minutes each
- Prior theft uncovered: loan processor Vincent Ashby siphoned roughly $9,000 over two 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.]]>1410falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-flag-in-the-park-how-a-found-photo-unraveled-a-fake-mountaineer--73071090
Cold morning, framed photo, and a flag that named a summit she never stood on - a single discarded picture in Teller Park set off a five-year unraveling of a constructed life. What did that image, found with no frost and no condensation, finally force people to see about Gail York?

In this episode, we follow the path that began with Amanda Wallace discovering the photo and moves through a small college campus, a ski area, and a home office storage bin to show how a mix of true credentials and invented feats created a convincing false identity - and why one photograph broke it. How did a woman with real certifications and two real fourteener climbs come to claim a winter ascent of Vance Peak?

Person: Gail York
Location: Teller Park
Event: Found framed photograph of woman at Vance Peak expedition
Date: January morning (six fifteen) - photo dated 2014
Background: Worked as office manager at a corporate retreat firm in 2007

- Amanda Wallace found the framed photo propped against a stone memorial wall at 6:15 AM in eleven-degree air.
- The flag in the photograph read "VANCE PEAK EXPEDITION - YEAR TWO THOUSAND AND FOURTEEN."
- Gail completed three mountaineering courses and summited two Colorado fourteeners between 2007 and 2011.
- The photograph had hung above Gail’s desk in her home office for four years before she moved it.
- Gail moved ninety miles north to Grantwell in 2007 and became office manager at a corporate retreat firm where she met Steve Okafor.

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/73071090Tue, 22 Sep 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Flag in the Park: How a Found Photo Unraveled a Fake Mountaineer Cold morning, framed photo, and a flag that named a summit she never stood on - a single discarded picture in Teller Park set off a five-year unraveling of a constructed life....
Cold morning, framed photo, and a flag that named a summit she never stood on - a single discarded picture in Teller Park set off a five-year unraveling of a constructed life. What did that image, found with no frost and no condensation, finally force people to see about Gail York?

In this episode, we follow the path that began with Amanda Wallace discovering the photo and moves through a small college campus, a ski area, and a home office storage bin to show how a mix of true credentials and invented feats created a convincing false identity - and why one photograph broke it. How did a woman with real certifications and two real fourteener climbs come to claim a winter ascent of Vance Peak?

Person: Gail York
Location: Teller Park
Event: Found framed photograph of woman at Vance Peak expedition
Date: January morning (six fifteen) - photo dated 2014
Background: Worked as office manager at a corporate retreat firm in 2007

- Amanda Wallace found the framed photo propped against a stone memorial wall at 6:15 AM in eleven-degree air.
- The flag in the photograph read "VANCE PEAK EXPEDITION - YEAR TWO THOUSAND AND FOURTEEN."
- Gail completed three mountaineering courses and summited two Colorado fourteeners between 2007 and 2011.
- The photograph had hung above Gail’s desk in her home office for four years before she moved it.
- Gail moved ninety miles north to Grantwell in 2007 and became office manager at a corporate retreat firm where she met Steve Okafor.

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.]]>1513falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-diploma-on-the-wall-how-a-fake-doctor-ran-fertility-care-for-14-years--73071088
A single framed diploma zip-tied to a cinder-block wall in December led to the unravelling of a fourteen-year fraud that placed hundreds of fertility patients under care by a man who never completed his medical degree. The clinic used a surrendered Ohio license number altered just enough to pass a visual check - so how did no one notice for over a decade?

In this episode, we follow the concrete steps that kept the clinic running: a falsified diploma, a resurrected license number, staff decisions to manage care, and the moment a utility worker's flashlight exposed the first clue. How did a mid-sized city’s gap in specialist care and small procedural oversights allow a practice to flourish for fourteen years?

Person: Wade E. Fleming
Location: Aldersham Professional Building, Breck Falls, Ohio
Date (first enrollment): Fall 1985
Date (clinic opening): 2008
Event: Discovery of altered diploma and license in December 2022

- The diploma was found zip-tied to a cinder-block wall at shoulder height behind a juniper shrub in December.
- Fleming enrolled at Caldwell School of Medicine in fall 1985 and withdrew in spring 1986 after one academic year.
- Fleming used an Ohio medical license number that belonged to Arthur Weil, who surrendered his license in 2003.
- Aldersham Reproductive Associates opened in 2008 and by 2012 had a six-month waiting list.
- A landlord/property manager signed the lease after receiving a credential folder in spring 2008 that contained a printed diploma and an altered expiration field on the license copy.

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/73071088Mon, 21 Sep 2026 13:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Diploma on the Wall: How a Fake Doctor Ran Fertility Care for 14 Years A single framed diploma zip-tied to a cinder-block wall in December led to the unravelling of a fourteen-year fraud that placed hundreds of fertility patients under care by...
A single framed diploma zip-tied to a cinder-block wall in December led to the unravelling of a fourteen-year fraud that placed hundreds of fertility patients under care by a man who never completed his medical degree. The clinic used a surrendered Ohio license number altered just enough to pass a visual check - so how did no one notice for over a decade?

In this episode, we follow the concrete steps that kept the clinic running: a falsified diploma, a resurrected license number, staff decisions to manage care, and the moment a utility worker's flashlight exposed the first clue. How did a mid-sized city’s gap in specialist care and small procedural oversights allow a practice to flourish for fourteen years?

Person: Wade E. Fleming
Location: Aldersham Professional Building, Breck Falls, Ohio
Date (first enrollment): Fall 1985
Date (clinic opening): 2008
Event: Discovery of altered diploma and license in December 2022

- The diploma was found zip-tied to a cinder-block wall at shoulder height behind a juniper shrub in December.
- Fleming enrolled at Caldwell School of Medicine in fall 1985 and withdrew in spring 1986 after one academic year.
- Fleming used an Ohio medical license number that belonged to Arthur Weil, who surrendered his license in 2003.
- Aldersham Reproductive Associates opened in 2008 and by 2012 had a six-month waiting list.
- A landlord/property manager signed the lease after receiving a credential folder in spring 2008 that contained a printed diploma and an altered expiration field on the license copy.

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.]]>887falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-closet-of-lies-how-a-fargo-woman-became-a-fake-refugee--73071087
Fear and fascination collide when a laminated UNHCR ID is found in a locked closet alongside a Somali death certificate and hand-drawn village map - the woman in the photo had been living a fabricated refugee life for seven years. How did a Fargo-born twenty-six-year-old convince a resettlement office she was from the Somali region of Ethiopia, work with real refugees, and keep the lie until someone opened that door?

In this episode, we tell what was discovered in the Calvary Lutheran fellowship hall closet and trace the paper trail and language tests that followed, asking whether skill and service can erase deception.

Person: Ruth Jensen
Location: Calvary Lutheran fellowship hall, Moorfield, Ohio
Age: 26
Organization: Tri-County Refugee Alliance (TCRA)
Investigator: Dr. Ama Asante

- A laminated United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees photo ID with Ruth Jensen’s face was hanging on a nail in the locked closet.
- A photocopied Somali-language death certificate dated 1996 was found among items in the closet.
- Ruth Jensen worked at TCRA for two years and four months and arrived in spring 2017.
- Her application included a Master of Social Work in forced migration from the University of Winnipeg, which investigators later found fabricated.
- Dr. Ama Asante’s Somali assessment of Ruth in spring 2018 lasted thirty-five minutes, longer than the typical twenty-minute assessment.

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/73071087Sun, 20 Sep 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Closet of Lies: How a Fargo Woman Became a Fake Refugee Fear and fascination collide when a laminated UNHCR ID is found in a locked closet alongside a Somali death certificate and hand-drawn village map - the woman in the photo had been living...
Fear and fascination collide when a laminated UNHCR ID is found in a locked closet alongside a Somali death certificate and hand-drawn village map - the woman in the photo had been living a fabricated refugee life for seven years. How did a Fargo-born twenty-six-year-old convince a resettlement office she was from the Somali region of Ethiopia, work with real refugees, and keep the lie until someone opened that door?

In this episode, we tell what was discovered in the Calvary Lutheran fellowship hall closet and trace the paper trail and language tests that followed, asking whether skill and service can erase deception.

Person: Ruth Jensen
Location: Calvary Lutheran fellowship hall, Moorfield, Ohio
Age: 26
Organization: Tri-County Refugee Alliance (TCRA)
Investigator: Dr. Ama Asante

- A laminated United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees photo ID with Ruth Jensen’s face was hanging on a nail in the locked closet.
- A photocopied Somali-language death certificate dated 1996 was found among items in the closet.
- Ruth Jensen worked at TCRA for two years and four months and arrived in spring 2017.
- Her application included a Master of Social Work in forced migration from the University of Winnipeg, which investigators later found fabricated.
- Dr. Ama Asante’s Somali assessment of Ruth in spring 2018 lasted thirty-five minutes, longer than the typical twenty-minute assessment.

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.]]>1424falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-principal-who-printed-a-degree-found-in-a-drainage-grate--73071086
The leather portfolio sat six years underwater until Sandra Cho's dog Biscuit pulled it from a drainage grate on the Raymond Mills trail; inside was a master's degree from Aldermoor State University issued to a woman the university says never enrolled. How did a document printed for less than sixty dollars at a QuikPrint end up validating eleven years of a principal's career - and what single question finally made that life unravel?

In this episode, we follow the discovery and aftermath of the waterlogged diploma and trace how a forged transcript, a fake letter of recommendation, and a misplaced verification letter slipped through school and state systems for years. Who missed the gap, who filed the warning under the wrong name, and how did one conference-room question in October 2015 change everything?

Person: Wendy Anne Anne
Location: Raymond Mills trail, Dunmore Township Watershed Preserve
Institution: Aldermoor State University
Date found: October 2015
Cost to produce documents: under $60

- The portfolio had been underwater for six years when found.
- The school district hired Anne in September 2004 and she served eleven years as principal.
- Anne's real education record ended with a 62-credit associate's degree completed between 1989 and 1993.
- The forged transcript showed thirty-six graduate credits and a 4.0 GPA.
- A routine 2007 verification letter from the Ohio Department of Education found no record, but was filed under the wrong 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/73071086Sat, 19 Sep 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Principal Who Printed a Degree - Found in a Drainage Grate The leather portfolio sat six years underwater until Sandra Cho's dog Biscuit pulled it from a drainage grate on the Raymond Mills trail; inside was a master's degree from Aldermoor...
The leather portfolio sat six years underwater until Sandra Cho's dog Biscuit pulled it from a drainage grate on the Raymond Mills trail; inside was a master's degree from Aldermoor State University issued to a woman the university says never enrolled. How did a document printed for less than sixty dollars at a QuikPrint end up validating eleven years of a principal's career - and what single question finally made that life unravel?

In this episode, we follow the discovery and aftermath of the waterlogged diploma and trace how a forged transcript, a fake letter of recommendation, and a misplaced verification letter slipped through school and state systems for years. Who missed the gap, who filed the warning under the wrong name, and how did one conference-room question in October 2015 change everything?

Person: Wendy Anne Anne
Location: Raymond Mills trail, Dunmore Township Watershed Preserve
Institution: Aldermoor State University
Date found: October 2015
Cost to produce documents: under $60

- The portfolio had been underwater for six years when found.
- The school district hired Anne in September 2004 and she served eleven years as principal.
- Anne's real education record ended with a 62-credit associate's degree completed between 1989 and 1993.
- The forged transcript showed thirty-six graduate credits and a 4.0 GPA.
- A routine 2007 verification letter from the Ohio Department of Education found no record, but was filed under the wrong 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.]]>870falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-wore-a-michelin-lanyard-nobody-asked-who-she-was--73071085
They found a pristine Michelin press badge on a fishing trotline in September 2019 - a laminated credential reading LINDA BECKER, SENIOR CRITIC, stamped Michelin Lanyard North America, press access, June 2019. How did a lanyard picked up at a convention become the master key that let a woman invent a respected food critic persona and convince top restaurants she was real?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the lanyard’s discovery through the construction of a fake media identity, and the questions investigators and chefs kept asking as the story unfolded: who authorized her, and why did no one check?

Person: Linda Becker
Event: Lanyard found on a trotline in Sable Creek, September 2019
Credential: Michelin Lanyard North America, press access, dated June 2019
Website: palateandmeridianpress.com (registered for $11)
Locations: Indianapolis, Louisville, Chicago, Cincinnati

- The credential was laminated and showed no water damage or algae when pulled from the third hook from the east anchor.
- The Michelin press seal included a stylized fork with a gold star and listed Linda Becker as SENIOR CRITIC.
- The domain palateandmeridianpress.com was registered for eleven dollars and used as the claimed employer.
- Linda submitted a Michelin accreditation in 2017 with a reference letter and the active domain, leading to an issued press credential.
- Sandra Cho of Wicker Park called the review Linda submitted the most technically precise criticism she had received.

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/73071085Fri, 18 Sep 2026 13:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Wore a Michelin Lanyard - Nobody Asked Who She Was They found a pristine Michelin press badge on a fishing trotline in September 2019 - a laminated credential reading LINDA BECKER, SENIOR CRITIC, stamped Michelin Lanyard North America, press...
They found a pristine Michelin press badge on a fishing trotline in September 2019 - a laminated credential reading LINDA BECKER, SENIOR CRITIC, stamped Michelin Lanyard North America, press access, June 2019. How did a lanyard picked up at a convention become the master key that let a woman invent a respected food critic persona and convince top restaurants she was real?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the lanyard’s discovery through the construction of a fake media identity, and the questions investigators and chefs kept asking as the story unfolded: who authorized her, and why did no one check?

Person: Linda Becker
Event: Lanyard found on a trotline in Sable Creek, September 2019
Credential: Michelin Lanyard North America, press access, dated June 2019
Website: palateandmeridianpress.com (registered for $11)
Locations: Indianapolis, Louisville, Chicago, Cincinnati

- The credential was laminated and showed no water damage or algae when pulled from the third hook from the east anchor.
- The Michelin press seal included a stylized fork with a gold star and listed Linda Becker as SENIOR CRITIC.
- The domain palateandmeridianpress.com was registered for eleven dollars and used as the claimed employer.
- Linda submitted a Michelin accreditation in 2017 with a reference letter and the active domain, leading to an issued press credential.
- Sandra Cho of Wicker Park called the review Linda submitted the most technically precise criticism she had received.

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.]]>1213falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-taught-for-nine-years-but-dennis-prue-had-been-dead--73071084
The gap between a mailbox post and its concrete footing held a laminated teacher's certificate that belonged to a man who had died fourteen years earlier - and someone else had been using that name to teach for nine years. This episode hooks you with a vanished death certificate, a state database that never checked mortality, and one unresolved question: how did a dead man's identity become a nine-year life?

In this episode, we follow the discovery, the paperwork trail, and the people tied to the identity that kept working in a classroom and at a bar trivia night; we cover the sequence of events from the 1997 death to the 2011 discovery and ask how three near-exposures failed to stop it.

Person: Dennis Alan Prue
Date: April 1997
Location: Tiffin area grain auger accident
Event: Laminated teaching certificate found August 14, 2011
Person: Troy Vogel

- The real Dennis Alan Prue died in April 1997 at age 31 from a grain auger accident.
- The Ohio Department of Education issued the teaching certificate six weeks after Prue's death in 1997.
- Troy Vogel was hired in spring 2002 at Moreau Elementary using the name Dennis Prue and was about 43 years old at hiring.
- Vogel taught for nine continuous years, including Wednesday astronomy nights and Tuesday trivia, before the certificate was found.
- A district audit in 2007 noted a five-year renewal had never been filed; a renewal arrived eleven days after the inquiry, five years late.

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/73071084Thu, 17 Sep 2026 13:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Taught for Nine Years - But Dennis Prue Had Been Dead The gap between a mailbox post and its concrete footing held a laminated teacher's certificate that belonged to a man who had died fourteen years earlier - and someone else had been using...
The gap between a mailbox post and its concrete footing held a laminated teacher's certificate that belonged to a man who had died fourteen years earlier - and someone else had been using that name to teach for nine years. This episode hooks you with a vanished death certificate, a state database that never checked mortality, and one unresolved question: how did a dead man's identity become a nine-year life?

In this episode, we follow the discovery, the paperwork trail, and the people tied to the identity that kept working in a classroom and at a bar trivia night; we cover the sequence of events from the 1997 death to the 2011 discovery and ask how three near-exposures failed to stop it.

Person: Dennis Alan Prue
Date: April 1997
Location: Tiffin area grain auger accident
Event: Laminated teaching certificate found August 14, 2011
Person: Troy Vogel

- The real Dennis Alan Prue died in April 1997 at age 31 from a grain auger accident.
- The Ohio Department of Education issued the teaching certificate six weeks after Prue's death in 1997.
- Troy Vogel was hired in spring 2002 at Moreau Elementary using the name Dennis Prue and was about 43 years old at hiring.
- Vogel taught for nine continuous years, including Wednesday astronomy nights and Tuesday trivia, before the certificate was found.
- A district audit in 2007 noted a five-year renewal had never been filed; a renewal arrived eleven days after the inquiry, five years late.

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.]]>1426falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-woman-who-laminated-a-fake-grief-certificate-and-never-blinked--73071082
Trust turns to cold curiosity when you learn the certificate was laminated and left face-up in damp crawl space dirt on July 9, 2011-yet the woman never denied a single thing. How did a falsified credential, a made-up daughter named Nora, and a sealed juvenile past build a nine-year life of trust in Garner Township before a sanitation worker found the proof?

In this episode, we walk through the timeline from July 9, 2011 back to Angela Tillman’s first clients, showing how a laminated certificate, a waiting list, and local referrals created the appearance of expertise-so how did no one check the organization behind the credential until it was too late?

Person: Angela Marie Pruett (used name Angela R. Tillman)
Location: Bellard Road, Garner Township, southwestern Pennsylvania
Date: July 9, 2011 (discovery of laminated certificate)
Event: Certificate dated March 2003 from American Board of Certified Grief Specialists
Case: Federal dissolution of the American Board of Certified Grief Specialists in 2001

- Sanitation worker David White found the laminated certificate in the crawl space at 7:43 AM.
- The humidity at the time was recorded as 68 percent where the certificate was found.
- The American Board of Certified Grief Specialists was dissolved in 2001, two years before the certificate’s date.
- Angela began a Wednesday evening group that reached 14 members at its peak.
- Emily Ford discovered the federal investigation notice about the board while searching at her municipal work desk in spring 2008.

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/73071082Wed, 16 Sep 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Woman Who Laminated a Fake Grief Certificate and Never Blinked Trust turns to cold curiosity when you learn the certificate was laminated and left face-up in damp crawl space dirt on July 9, 2011-yet the woman never denied a single thing. How...
Trust turns to cold curiosity when you learn the certificate was laminated and left face-up in damp crawl space dirt on July 9, 2011-yet the woman never denied a single thing. How did a falsified credential, a made-up daughter named Nora, and a sealed juvenile past build a nine-year life of trust in Garner Township before a sanitation worker found the proof?

In this episode, we walk through the timeline from July 9, 2011 back to Angela Tillman’s first clients, showing how a laminated certificate, a waiting list, and local referrals created the appearance of expertise-so how did no one check the organization behind the credential until it was too late?

Person: Angela Marie Pruett (used name Angela R. Tillman)
Location: Bellard Road, Garner Township, southwestern Pennsylvania
Date: July 9, 2011 (discovery of laminated certificate)
Event: Certificate dated March 2003 from American Board of Certified Grief Specialists
Case: Federal dissolution of the American Board of Certified Grief Specialists in 2001

- Sanitation worker David White found the laminated certificate in the crawl space at 7:43 AM.
- The humidity at the time was recorded as 68 percent where the certificate was found.
- The American Board of Certified Grief Specialists was dissolved in 2001, two years before the certificate’s date.
- Angela began a Wednesday evening group that reached 14 members at its peak.
- Emily Ford discovered the federal investigation notice about the board while searching at her municipal work desk in spring 2008.

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.]]>1281falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-built-three-fiances-the-stump-the-envelope-the-lie--73071081
A retired birdwatcher found a sealed envelope tucked inside a rotten willow stump at Reece Pond containing three wedding contracts for the same groom and three different brides-each unaware of the others-placed there five days earlier; who would drive across a wet meadow to hide that envelope, and why? The discovery connects a 28-year-old woman with three phones, three engagement rings, and three separate lives across three counties-what did she expect to happen next?

In this episode, we follow how the envelope in a marsh led from a library print job to simultaneous engagements in three counties, and how small choices and silences let a fabrication grow; what was Shannon Snyder constructing, and how did others enable it?

Person: Shannon Snyder
Person: Marcia Tucker
Location: Reece Pond, Sutter Flats, Reece Hollow Event Barn
Date: June 2022 (envelope found), August 2022 (booked wedding)
Case: three wedding venue contracts for same groom, three brides

- The envelope was tucked inside the hollow of a rotted willow stump and had been there for five days when found.
- Shannon was twenty-eight years old and maintained three phones, three engagement rings, and three separate lives across three counties.
- Shannon paid cash at a Pelham print shop and library in spring 2019 for a printed occupational therapy certificate from a non-existent organization.
- By New Year's Eve 2021 she was engaged to Daniel Rourke with a round solitaire in a yellow-gold setting; in Farrow County she was engaged to Marcus Delaney with a cushion-cut halo in white gold.
- Neil Wagner processed a deposit for Reece Hollow Event Barn for August 2022 under the name Daniel Rourke and later heard of a similar booking with the same names at a regional conference.

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/73071081Tue, 15 Sep 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Built Three Fiancés - The Stump, The Envelope, The Lie A retired birdwatcher found a sealed envelope tucked inside a rotten willow stump at Reece Pond containing three wedding contracts for the same groom and three different brides-each unaware...
A retired birdwatcher found a sealed envelope tucked inside a rotten willow stump at Reece Pond containing three wedding contracts for the same groom and three different brides-each unaware of the others-placed there five days earlier; who would drive across a wet meadow to hide that envelope, and why? The discovery connects a 28-year-old woman with three phones, three engagement rings, and three separate lives across three counties-what did she expect to happen next?

In this episode, we follow how the envelope in a marsh led from a library print job to simultaneous engagements in three counties, and how small choices and silences let a fabrication grow; what was Shannon Snyder constructing, and how did others enable it?

Person: Shannon Snyder
Person: Marcia Tucker
Location: Reece Pond, Sutter Flats, Reece Hollow Event Barn
Date: June 2022 (envelope found), August 2022 (booked wedding)
Case: three wedding venue contracts for same groom, three brides

- The envelope was tucked inside the hollow of a rotted willow stump and had been there for five days when found.
- Shannon was twenty-eight years old and maintained three phones, three engagement rings, and three separate lives across three counties.
- Shannon paid cash at a Pelham print shop and library in spring 2019 for a printed occupational therapy certificate from a non-existent organization.
- By New Year's Eve 2021 she was engaged to Daniel Rourke with a round solitaire in a yellow-gold setting; in Farrow County she was engaged to Marcus Delaney with a cushion-cut halo in white gold.
- Neil Wagner processed a deposit for Reece Hollow Event Barn for August 2022 under the name Daniel Rourke and later heard of a similar booking with the same names at a regional conference.

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.]]>1390falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-faked-a-degree-ran-a-company-until-a-teenager-noticed--73071080
A quiet fraud quietly held for nine years: a cream-colored diploma with a burgundy seal passed through the same hands eleven times, and a prepaid phone line answered by a professional-sounding recording - all until a sixteen-year-old picking up a package noticed something. Who was Philip Arthur Arthur, how did a forgery survive annual checks at Vantage Systems, and what changed in forty-five seconds in May 2006?

In this episode, we tell the story covered in the transcript: how Philip rose to director of engineering at Vantage Systems using a forged Rennick Technical University diploma, how routine verification failed for nearly a decade, and how a teenager's observation triggered a chain of events that exposed the deception.

Person: Philip Arthur Arthur
Company: Vantage Systems
Location: Crestfield, Ohio
Date discovered: May 2006
Age at discovery: 54

- The diploma was dated May 1989 for a program Rennick Technical University did not open until September 1991.
- Philip worked at Vantage for 15 years and had been director of engineering for 9 years.
- The forged diploma was submitted and photocopied annually for 9 consecutive years for insurance documentation.
- Investigators found a laser printer bought in 1996, cream stock with a mimicked watermark, a rubber stamp, and an index card in Philip's house.
- The index card contained eleven anticipated questions and prepared answers in Philip's handwriting.

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/73071080Mon, 14 Sep 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Faked a Degree, Ran a Company - Until a Teenager Noticed A quiet fraud quietly held for nine years: a cream-colored diploma with a burgundy seal passed through the same hands eleven times, and a prepaid phone line answered by a...
A quiet fraud quietly held for nine years: a cream-colored diploma with a burgundy seal passed through the same hands eleven times, and a prepaid phone line answered by a professional-sounding recording - all until a sixteen-year-old picking up a package noticed something. Who was Philip Arthur Arthur, how did a forgery survive annual checks at Vantage Systems, and what changed in forty-five seconds in May 2006?

In this episode, we tell the story covered in the transcript: how Philip rose to director of engineering at Vantage Systems using a forged Rennick Technical University diploma, how routine verification failed for nearly a decade, and how a teenager's observation triggered a chain of events that exposed the deception.

Person: Philip Arthur Arthur
Company: Vantage Systems
Location: Crestfield, Ohio
Date discovered: May 2006
Age at discovery: 54

- The diploma was dated May 1989 for a program Rennick Technical University did not open until September 1991.
- Philip worked at Vantage for 15 years and had been director of engineering for 9 years.
- The forged diploma was submitted and photocopied annually for 9 consecutive years for insurance documentation.
- Investigators found a laser printer bought in 1996, cream stock with a mimicked watermark, a rubber stamp, and an index card in Philip's house.
- The index card contained eleven anticipated questions and prepared answers in Philip's handwriting.

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.]]>1426falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-pastor-in-a-ditch-the-diploma-that-unraveled-a-life--73071079
A sealed seminary diploma found in a drainage culvert on Route Nine exposed a pastor living a sixteen-month lie, the diploma naming a non-existent school, town, and a man whose age and history didn't match the papers - how did a congregation of 140 never notice? Who was Duane Alan Watson really, and why did he build a life on invented institutions instead of violence or theft?

In this episode, we lay out the timeline from the April morning the diploma was found through the unanimous vote that installed Watson at Redemption Road Church of Christ, presenting the documents, actions, and contradictions that led a small town to confront two pressing questions: how did he do it, and why?

Person: Duane Alan Watson
Location: Millhaven, Pell County, Indiana
Event: Diploma found in drainage culvert at junction of Route Nine and Aster Lane
Date: April 14, 2020 at 6:40 AM
Congregation size: 140

- The diploma was found sealed in plastic in a drainage culvert at 6:40 AM on April 14, 2020 after two days of rain.
- Watson's application packet claimed he was 28 and held a Master of Divinity conferred in 2014 from Crestfield Theological Institute in Harmon, Ohio.
- The search committee voted unanimously to call Watson after his candidating Sunday sermon in May 2019, where he preached from Ruth without notes.
- Watson moved into the church-owned pastor's house and served for sixteen months, organizing a food pantry and visiting parishioners.
- Grant Osborne searched for Crestfield Theological Institute and Harmon, Ohio in August 2019 and found no record of either.

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/73071079Sun, 13 Sep 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Pastor in a Ditch: The Diploma That Unraveled a Life A sealed seminary diploma found in a drainage culvert on Route Nine exposed a pastor living a sixteen-month lie, the diploma naming a non-existent school, town, and a man whose age and...
A sealed seminary diploma found in a drainage culvert on Route Nine exposed a pastor living a sixteen-month lie, the diploma naming a non-existent school, town, and a man whose age and history didn't match the papers - how did a congregation of 140 never notice? Who was Duane Alan Watson really, and why did he build a life on invented institutions instead of violence or theft?

In this episode, we lay out the timeline from the April morning the diploma was found through the unanimous vote that installed Watson at Redemption Road Church of Christ, presenting the documents, actions, and contradictions that led a small town to confront two pressing questions: how did he do it, and why?

Person: Duane Alan Watson
Location: Millhaven, Pell County, Indiana
Event: Diploma found in drainage culvert at junction of Route Nine and Aster Lane
Date: April 14, 2020 at 6:40 AM
Congregation size: 140

- The diploma was found sealed in plastic in a drainage culvert at 6:40 AM on April 14, 2020 after two days of rain.
- Watson's application packet claimed he was 28 and held a Master of Divinity conferred in 2014 from Crestfield Theological Institute in Harmon, Ohio.
- The search committee voted unanimously to call Watson after his candidating Sunday sermon in May 2019, where he preached from Ruth without notes.
- Watson moved into the church-owned pastor's house and served for sixteen months, organizing a food pantry and visiting parishioners.
- Grant Osborne searched for Crestfield Theological Institute and Harmon, Ohio in August 2019 and found no record of either.

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.]]>1289falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-man-with-the-purple-heart-plate-inside-a-six-year-lie--73071077
Fear mixes with disbelief when you learn a trusted local veteran assembled a false military identity on a folding table for six years - complete with 16 medals, laminated discharge papers, and a Purple Heart license plate. How did a pencil note reading "NPRC no match" sit unread for nearly two years while his lie grew into civic trust and $41,000 in benefits?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a utility technician's discovery to the small clues that should have stopped the deception sooner, tracing the decisions and paperwork that kept the story believable. What made the community accept him, and what finally exposes the truth?

Person: Lloyd A. Bauer
Location: Orviston, Ohio
Event: Discovery of fabricated military items in March 2019
Status: Elected chaplain of local American Legion post
Amount: More than $41,000 in benefits drawn

- 16 military medals arranged in four rows of four were found on a folding table in a back room.
- A handwritten index card claimed "Third Special Forces Group, Kandahar, 2004 through 2006."
- Lloyd Bauer arrived in Orviston in March 2013 at age 32 driving a white Ford pickup with a Purple Heart license plate.
- Tom Wexler wrote "NPRC no match. follow up." in pencil on Bauer's folder in March 2017 and the note sat unread for nearly two years.
- Investigators calculated the total financial benefit obtained at more than $41,000.

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/73071077Sat, 12 Sep 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Man With the Purple Heart Plate: Inside a Six-Year Lie Fear mixes with disbelief when you learn a trusted local veteran assembled a false military identity on a folding table for six years - complete with 16 medals, laminated discharge papers,...
Fear mixes with disbelief when you learn a trusted local veteran assembled a false military identity on a folding table for six years - complete with 16 medals, laminated discharge papers, and a Purple Heart license plate. How did a pencil note reading "NPRC no match" sit unread for nearly two years while his lie grew into civic trust and $41,000 in benefits?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a utility technician's discovery to the small clues that should have stopped the deception sooner, tracing the decisions and paperwork that kept the story believable. What made the community accept him, and what finally exposes the truth?

Person: Lloyd A. Bauer
Location: Orviston, Ohio
Event: Discovery of fabricated military items in March 2019
Status: Elected chaplain of local American Legion post
Amount: More than $41,000 in benefits drawn

- 16 military medals arranged in four rows of four were found on a folding table in a back room.
- A handwritten index card claimed "Third Special Forces Group, Kandahar, 2004 through 2006."
- Lloyd Bauer arrived in Orviston in March 2013 at age 32 driving a white Ford pickup with a Purple Heart license plate.
- Tom Wexler wrote "NPRC no match. follow up." in pencil on Bauer's folder in March 2017 and the note sat unread for nearly two years.
- Investigators calculated the total financial benefit obtained at more than $41,000.

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.]]>1302falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-faked-a-4-million-fortune-the-rebecca-keller-fraud--73071076
Cold, meticulous deception: eleven sealed pages claiming a four-million-dollar trust were left on a frozen riverbank, printed on hotel stationery and dated across fourteen months-so how did a woman from a motel childhood convince a retired developer she’d inherited millions? What trick turned a stack of authentic-looking letters into the spine of a long con?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from a riverbank discovery to the life that made the fraud possible, tracing the documents, the hotel rehearsals, and the relationships that enabled the lie; can a few convincingly printed pages and a practiced persona create a real-life fortune out of thin air?

Person: Rebecca Keller
Event: Envelope found on riverbank
Location: Cassaway River near old rail bridge, Pryor Falls
Date: February 9, 2011
Case: Harcastle Meridian Partners letters

- The envelope contained eleven sheets of paper sealed with packing tape and a brass clasp.
- Each sheet carried Harcastle Meridian Partners, Senior Trust Administration, and confirmed a $4,000,000 account.
- Rebecca Keller was convicted in 2004 for approving fictitious invoices totaling over $48,000 and sentenced to 14 months.
- Keller printed the eleven letters during three hotel stays totaling nine days at the Alderton Grand Hotel in Cincinnati.
- By November 2010 Keller was living as a guest in Stuart Aldiss’s home after meeting him at a Cincinnati chamber of commerce dinner.

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/73071076Fri, 11 Sep 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Faked a $4 Million Fortune: The Rebecca Keller Fraud Cold, meticulous deception: eleven sealed pages claiming a four-million-dollar trust were left on a frozen riverbank, printed on hotel stationery and dated across fourteen months-so how did a...
Cold, meticulous deception: eleven sealed pages claiming a four-million-dollar trust were left on a frozen riverbank, printed on hotel stationery and dated across fourteen months-so how did a woman from a motel childhood convince a retired developer she’d inherited millions? What trick turned a stack of authentic-looking letters into the spine of a long con?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from a riverbank discovery to the life that made the fraud possible, tracing the documents, the hotel rehearsals, and the relationships that enabled the lie; can a few convincingly printed pages and a practiced persona create a real-life fortune out of thin air?

Person: Rebecca Keller
Event: Envelope found on riverbank
Location: Cassaway River near old rail bridge, Pryor Falls
Date: February 9, 2011
Case: Harcastle Meridian Partners letters

- The envelope contained eleven sheets of paper sealed with packing tape and a brass clasp.
- Each sheet carried Harcastle Meridian Partners, Senior Trust Administration, and confirmed a $4,000,000 account.
- Rebecca Keller was convicted in 2004 for approving fictitious invoices totaling over $48,000 and sentenced to 14 months.
- Keller printed the eleven letters during three hotel stays totaling nine days at the Alderton Grand Hotel in Cincinnati.
- By November 2010 Keller was living as a guest in Stuart Aldiss’s home after meeting him at a Cincinnati chamber of commerce dinner.

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.]]>1345falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-faked-a-medical-license-the-gail-weber-case--73071075
A water meter reading of exactly zero at 14 Sycamore Trace started a chain that exposed a 26-year-old woman posing as a physician who had been treating patients in a small Illinois town for more than a year - but whose care, in measurable ways, had helped people. How did a meter reading lead to notebooks of pharmacological tables, spotless patient records, and a forged path into medicine?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the January 2011 meter reading through the months and years that produced Gail Weber’s medical identity, detailing where she worked, what investigators found in her notes, and the community’s reaction - and we ask whether the benefits she provided change how the fraud should be judged.

Person: Gail Weber
Location: Pallerton, central Illinois
Date first arrived in Pallerton: October 2009
Meter reading discovered: January 2011
Previous employment: medical transcription in Bloomington and unlicensed medical assistant in Decatur emergency department

- The water meter at 14 Sycamore Trace read exactly zero in January 2011.
- Gail Weber arrived in Pallerton in October 2009 at age 26.
- Investigators found several spiral notebooks filled with handwritten pharmacological interaction tables and patient self-assessments.
- Sue Hatch, the clinic billing coordinator, reported Gail’s patient records had no corrections or missing entries.
- Gail spent approximately three years working in a Decatur emergency department as an unlicensed medical assistant before leaving in 2008.

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/73071075Thu, 10 Sep 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Faked a Medical License: The Gail Weber Case A water meter reading of exactly zero at 14 Sycamore Trace started a chain that exposed a 26-year-old woman posing as a physician who had been treating patients in a small Illinois town for more than...
A water meter reading of exactly zero at 14 Sycamore Trace started a chain that exposed a 26-year-old woman posing as a physician who had been treating patients in a small Illinois town for more than a year - but whose care, in measurable ways, had helped people. How did a meter reading lead to notebooks of pharmacological tables, spotless patient records, and a forged path into medicine?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the January 2011 meter reading through the months and years that produced Gail Weber’s medical identity, detailing where she worked, what investigators found in her notes, and the community’s reaction - and we ask whether the benefits she provided change how the fraud should be judged.

Person: Gail Weber
Location: Pallerton, central Illinois
Date first arrived in Pallerton: October 2009
Meter reading discovered: January 2011
Previous employment: medical transcription in Bloomington and unlicensed medical assistant in Decatur emergency department

- The water meter at 14 Sycamore Trace read exactly zero in January 2011.
- Gail Weber arrived in Pallerton in October 2009 at age 26.
- Investigators found several spiral notebooks filled with handwritten pharmacological interaction tables and patient self-assessments.
- Sue Hatch, the clinic billing coordinator, reported Gail’s patient records had no corrections or missing entries.
- Gail spent approximately three years working in a Decatur emergency department as an unlicensed medical assistant before leaving in 2008.

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.]]>1454falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-wore-a-real-seal-but-was-she-a-real-chaplain--73071074
A volunteer finds a credential number that looks legitimate but certifies work never done - a real seal, a real signature, and a ledger entry for certification that was never earned. How did Jean Zeller wear that credential for years while families and colleagues trusted her presence - and what happens when the truth surfaces?

In this episode, we follow the paper trail and the people who watched Jean Zeller at work across two hospices, the small anomalies that went unpursued, and the single word that ended her career. Could competence and a genuine bedside presence mask an undocumented claim to authority?

Person: Jean Zeller
Event: Credential issued with number IFS-2004-0317 despite coursework never completed
Location: Aldervale Hospice
Date: December 11, 2019 (folder discovered); credential check traced to February 2004
Case: Assistant chaplain hired 2004, worked at Aldervale 2013-2019

- The credential carried the Interdenominational Fellowship of Sacred Ministry's actual seal and the director's actual signature.
- Jean was hired at a Dayton hospice in 2004 and worked there for nine years before the facility closed.
- Jean began at Aldervale Hospice in spring 2013 and served there for six years until 2019.
- In 2015 a staff nurse, Keith Tully, noticed a denomination mismatch between Jean's badge and personnel file that was not investigated.
- In March 2018 Frank Marshall heard Jean say she had no authority to administer sacraments under her ordination.

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/73071074Wed, 09 Sep 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Wore a Real Seal - But Was She a Real Chaplain? A volunteer finds a credential number that looks legitimate but certifies work never done - a real seal, a real signature, and a ledger entry for certification that was never earned. How did Jean...
A volunteer finds a credential number that looks legitimate but certifies work never done - a real seal, a real signature, and a ledger entry for certification that was never earned. How did Jean Zeller wear that credential for years while families and colleagues trusted her presence - and what happens when the truth surfaces?

In this episode, we follow the paper trail and the people who watched Jean Zeller at work across two hospices, the small anomalies that went unpursued, and the single word that ended her career. Could competence and a genuine bedside presence mask an undocumented claim to authority?

Person: Jean Zeller
Event: Credential issued with number IFS-2004-0317 despite coursework never completed
Location: Aldervale Hospice
Date: December 11, 2019 (folder discovered); credential check traced to February 2004
Case: Assistant chaplain hired 2004, worked at Aldervale 2013-2019

- The credential carried the Interdenominational Fellowship of Sacred Ministry's actual seal and the director's actual signature.
- Jean was hired at a Dayton hospice in 2004 and worked there for nine years before the facility closed.
- Jean began at Aldervale Hospice in spring 2013 and served there for six years until 2019.
- In 2015 a staff nurse, Keith Tully, noticed a denomination mismatch between Jean's badge and personnel file that was not investigated.
- In March 2018 Frank Marshall heard Jean say she had no authority to administer sacraments under her ordination.

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.]]>1283falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-built-truth-from-ash-stole-a-dead-woman-s-badge-to-burn-bright--73071073
A chill trust: a valid certification card, perfect fonts and navy logo, carried a member number belonging to a woman who had been dead for eleven years - and no one noticed for four. Kimberly Fitzgerald built a professional life from that single stolen number, landing twelve insurance contracts and a reputation as “better than sound”; how did a credential borrowed from microfiche and obituary archives let her burn so bright for so long?

In this episode, we follow the timeline of Kimberly Fitzgerald’s career and the small, forensic details that sustained it, from the microfiche discovery to the Vizsla that unraveled her story. You’ll hear how a professional credential, precise reports, and a single suspicious number led to the question: was expertise enough to conceal identity and fraud?

Person: Kimberly Fitzgerald
Case: Use of decedent’s certification number
Organization: National Association of Fire Investigators
Counts: Twelve insurance contracts across three states
Unraveling event: Dog pulling owner to drainage ditch led to discovery within 18 days

- The certification card bore the official NAFI logo, navy blue color, and a member number printed in ten-point Helvetica.
- Lisa Corbin earned her CFEI in 2002, used it for eleven months, and died in a car accident before NAFI digitized membership records.
- Kimberly presented the borrowed certification to her first client in 2009 and by 2011 held twelve insurance contracts across three states.
- A claims manager named Marie Hunter noticed the credential number format discrepancy in November 2011 and called NAFI, which confirmed the number belonged to Lisa Corbin.
- The investigation unraveled from a muddy leather planner to an arrest in eighteen days after a newly adopted Vizsla named Coppice pulled its owner toward a drainage ditch on a cold November 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/73071073Tue, 08 Sep 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Built Truth from Ash - Stole a Dead Woman's Badge to Burn Bright A chill trust: a valid certification card, perfect fonts and navy logo, carried a member number belonging to a woman who had been dead for eleven years - and no one noticed for...
A chill trust: a valid certification card, perfect fonts and navy logo, carried a member number belonging to a woman who had been dead for eleven years - and no one noticed for four. Kimberly Fitzgerald built a professional life from that single stolen number, landing twelve insurance contracts and a reputation as “better than sound”; how did a credential borrowed from microfiche and obituary archives let her burn so bright for so long?

In this episode, we follow the timeline of Kimberly Fitzgerald’s career and the small, forensic details that sustained it, from the microfiche discovery to the Vizsla that unraveled her story. You’ll hear how a professional credential, precise reports, and a single suspicious number led to the question: was expertise enough to conceal identity and fraud?

Person: Kimberly Fitzgerald
Case: Use of decedent’s certification number
Organization: National Association of Fire Investigators
Counts: Twelve insurance contracts across three states
Unraveling event: Dog pulling owner to drainage ditch led to discovery within 18 days

- The certification card bore the official NAFI logo, navy blue color, and a member number printed in ten-point Helvetica.
- Lisa Corbin earned her CFEI in 2002, used it for eleven months, and died in a car accident before NAFI digitized membership records.
- Kimberly presented the borrowed certification to her first client in 2009 and by 2011 held twelve insurance contracts across three states.
- A claims manager named Marie Hunter noticed the credential number format discrepancy in November 2011 and called NAFI, which confirmed the number belonged to Lisa Corbin.
- The investigation unraveled from a muddy leather planner to an arrest in eighteen days after a newly adopted Vizsla named Coppice pulled its owner toward a drainage ditch on a cold November 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.]]>1344falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-faked-three-murders-the-press-pass-at-the-creek--73071072
Near-danger curiosity: a laminated press card zip-tied to a trotline in a Tennessee creek belonged to a correspondent who was eating dinner in Indiana that same night - and three supposed murder victims from a popular podcast never existed. How did one man build a Peabody-nominated true-crime empire from fabricated names, faked voices, and real addresses until a dry, uncreased credential in a creek started to unravel everything?

In this episode, we follow the timeline and concrete details behind Cold Ledger and its creator, showing how specific case numbers, property descriptions, and recorded interviews were used to convince millions - and what single physical trace forced authorities to re-evaluate the whole narrative. How far did the fabrication go, and did the creator ever believe his own stories?

Person: John Kowalski
Event: press credential found zip-tied to trotline in creek on October 14, 2022
Location: Tennessee creek; credential entered into federal evidence then returned to Portsmith County Sheriff's substation
Topic: Cold Ledger podcast seasons claiming three fabricated murders
Organization: Ledger Audio (Delaware LLC) paid performers and ran Patreon earning approximately $31,000 per month

- The press card read "JOHN KOWALSKI, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT" and was dry and uncreased despite being found in a creek.
- John Kowalski launched Cold Ledger in January 2019 from a second bedroom outside Evansville.
- Season One featured a 1998 death of "Donna Hale" in "Sutter Bend, Indiana," neither of which existed.
- Ledger Audio's Patreon was clearing approximately $31,000 per month by the end of Season Two.
- A white clapboard house described in Season Two matched Bob Finch's house at 414 Terrell Road though no Terrell Road exists in Aldine County.

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/73071072Mon, 07 Sep 2026 13:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Faked Three Murders - The Press Pass at the Creek Near-danger curiosity: a laminated press card zip-tied to a trotline in a Tennessee creek belonged to a correspondent who was eating dinner in Indiana that same night - and three supposed murder...
Near-danger curiosity: a laminated press card zip-tied to a trotline in a Tennessee creek belonged to a correspondent who was eating dinner in Indiana that same night - and three supposed murder victims from a popular podcast never existed. How did one man build a Peabody-nominated true-crime empire from fabricated names, faked voices, and real addresses until a dry, uncreased credential in a creek started to unravel everything?

In this episode, we follow the timeline and concrete details behind Cold Ledger and its creator, showing how specific case numbers, property descriptions, and recorded interviews were used to convince millions - and what single physical trace forced authorities to re-evaluate the whole narrative. How far did the fabrication go, and did the creator ever believe his own stories?

Person: John Kowalski
Event: press credential found zip-tied to trotline in creek on October 14, 2022
Location: Tennessee creek; credential entered into federal evidence then returned to Portsmith County Sheriff's substation
Topic: Cold Ledger podcast seasons claiming three fabricated murders
Organization: Ledger Audio (Delaware LLC) paid performers and ran Patreon earning approximately $31,000 per month

- The press card read "JOHN KOWALSKI, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT" and was dry and uncreased despite being found in a creek.
- John Kowalski launched Cold Ledger in January 2019 from a second bedroom outside Evansville.
- Season One featured a 1998 death of "Donna Hale" in "Sutter Bend, Indiana," neither of which existed.
- Ledger Audio's Patreon was clearing approximately $31,000 per month by the end of Season Two.
- A white clapboard house described in Season Two matched Bob Finch's house at 414 Terrell Road though no Terrell Road exists in Aldine County.

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.]]>1107falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-hidden-diploma-how-a-fake-psy-d-haunted-17-years-of-care--73071070
Fear that a trusted clinician might be a fraud: a hidden mahogany frame revealed a Psy.D. that never existed, and that forged credential quietly authorized seventeen years of child therapy across clinics, classrooms, and publications. How did a technically convincing fake diploma pass licensing and become everyday evidence of legitimacy-and who failed to look twice?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the diploma’s discovery to the record of Patterson’s education, employment, licensing, and public-facing practice, tracing the moments when knowledge substituted for credential and the systems that missed verification. What does the full record reveal about Harvey D. Patterson’s work, his deception, and the consequences that followed?

Person: Harvey D. Patterson
Date: September 14, 2019
Location: Dunmore Road (vacant office crawl space)
Education: BA in Psychology (May 1997); MA in Developmental Psychology (May 1999), both from Crestfield University
Event: Discovery of fabricated doctoral diploma hidden behind a cinder block

- The fake Psy.D. diploma was found wedged behind a cinder block in a mahogany frame with its gold seal intact on September 14, 2019.
- Patterson earned a BA in Psychology in May 1997 and an MA in Developmental Psychology in May 1999 from Crestfield University.
- After three doctoral program rejections in 1999, Patterson completed one unpaid one-week practicum that fall and no further documented supervised clinical work.
- In spring 2001 Patterson submitted a provisional psychology license application including a self-fabricated doctoral diploma produced with desktop publishing, a laser printer, embossing tools, and matched paper stock.
- Patterson opened a private practice in 2002 displaying three framed diplomas (BA, MA, fabricated doctorate) and had a waiting list within three 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/73071070Sun, 06 Sep 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Hidden Diploma: How a Fake Psy.D. Haunted 17 Years of Care Fear that a trusted clinician might be a fraud: a hidden mahogany frame revealed a Psy.D. that never existed, and that forged credential quietly authorized seventeen years of child...
Fear that a trusted clinician might be a fraud: a hidden mahogany frame revealed a Psy.D. that never existed, and that forged credential quietly authorized seventeen years of child therapy across clinics, classrooms, and publications. How did a technically convincing fake diploma pass licensing and become everyday evidence of legitimacy-and who failed to look twice?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the diploma’s discovery to the record of Patterson’s education, employment, licensing, and public-facing practice, tracing the moments when knowledge substituted for credential and the systems that missed verification. What does the full record reveal about Harvey D. Patterson’s work, his deception, and the consequences that followed?

Person: Harvey D. Patterson
Date: September 14, 2019
Location: Dunmore Road (vacant office crawl space)
Education: BA in Psychology (May 1997); MA in Developmental Psychology (May 1999), both from Crestfield University
Event: Discovery of fabricated doctoral diploma hidden behind a cinder block

- The fake Psy.D. diploma was found wedged behind a cinder block in a mahogany frame with its gold seal intact on September 14, 2019.
- Patterson earned a BA in Psychology in May 1997 and an MA in Developmental Psychology in May 1999 from Crestfield University.
- After three doctoral program rejections in 1999, Patterson completed one unpaid one-week practicum that fall and no further documented supervised clinical work.
- In spring 2001 Patterson submitted a provisional psychology license application including a self-fabricated doctoral diploma produced with desktop publishing, a laser printer, embossing tools, and matched paper stock.
- Patterson opened a private practice in 2002 displaying three framed diplomas (BA, MA, fabricated doctorate) and had a waiting list within three 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.]]>1277falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-arbitrator-who-stole-a-twin-s-life-secrets-in-a-leather-portfolio--73071069
A dry leather portfolio hidden beside a septic tank held a bar admission certificate, a laminated law diploma, and an index card that read "these go back to W after August" - and it sat undisturbed despite twice flooding that summer. How did a clerk with ten years' arbitration experience use a twin's credentials to become a lead arbitrator for three years, and what did that deception cost the people who trusted her?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the morning Jennifer Barnes found the portfolio on August 14, 2019, through the four-month investigation that unraveled a fraud built on borrowed credentials and careful silence. What exactly was inside the portfolio, how was it used to secure a senior arbitrator position, and why did it take years for the scheme to come to light?

Person: Marcia Mueller
Person: Warren Mueller
Date: August 14, 2019
Location: Tri-County Labor Relations Center, east wing
Event: Four-month fraud investigation

- The portfolio was found dry behind a panel beside the septic tank after that cavity had flooded twice earlier in the summer.
- Inside the portfolio were Warren Mueller’s Ohio Supreme Court bar admission certificate and a laminated Alderton College of Law diploma.
- Marcia photographed Warren’s credentials and had reproductions made, using his name and bar number on her application to Tri-County in 2016.
- Marcia worked roughly ten years in labor-relations firms before applying and was hired as a senior arbitrator in 2016 despite not being bar-admitted.
- Jennifer Barnes found the portfolio on August 14, 2019, photographed it, and brought it to Phil Ogden, triggering the investigation.

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/73071069Sat, 05 Sep 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Arbitrator Who Stole a Twin's Life: Secrets in a Leather Portfolio A dry leather portfolio hidden beside a septic tank held a bar admission certificate, a laminated law diploma, and an index card that read "these go back to W after August" -...
A dry leather portfolio hidden beside a septic tank held a bar admission certificate, a laminated law diploma, and an index card that read "these go back to W after August" - and it sat undisturbed despite twice flooding that summer. How did a clerk with ten years' arbitration experience use a twin's credentials to become a lead arbitrator for three years, and what did that deception cost the people who trusted her?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the morning Jennifer Barnes found the portfolio on August 14, 2019, through the four-month investigation that unraveled a fraud built on borrowed credentials and careful silence. What exactly was inside the portfolio, how was it used to secure a senior arbitrator position, and why did it take years for the scheme to come to light?

Person: Marcia Mueller
Person: Warren Mueller
Date: August 14, 2019
Location: Tri-County Labor Relations Center, east wing
Event: Four-month fraud investigation

- The portfolio was found dry behind a panel beside the septic tank after that cavity had flooded twice earlier in the summer.
- Inside the portfolio were Warren Mueller’s Ohio Supreme Court bar admission certificate and a laminated Alderton College of Law diploma.
- Marcia photographed Warren’s credentials and had reproductions made, using his name and bar number on her application to Tri-County in 2016.
- Marcia worked roughly ten years in labor-relations firms before applying and was hired as a senior arbitrator in 2016 despite not being bar-admitted.
- Jennifer Barnes found the portfolio on August 14, 2019, photographed it, and brought it to Phil Ogden, triggering the investigation.

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.]]>1430falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-sommelier-who-faked-france-a-12-year-wine-deception-uncorked--73071066
A near-priceless 1996 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet, worth north of $1,800 and three-quarters full, was found upright in a restaurant recycling bin - weeks after a photo had already revealed the clue that finally unmasked a twelve-year imposture. How did a sommelier who had never been to France convince colleagues, chefs, and diners she carried elite French credentials for more than a decade?

In this episode, we tell how the story unfolds from that Tuesday morning in the third week of July 2019 back through twelve years at Crestline, showing how a fabricated résumé, a laminated certificate, and an unverified purchasing system held together a deception - and what single photographic detail broke it open.

Person: Erin Dempsey
Location: Crestline restaurant, Short North, Columbus, Ohio
Date found: third week of July 2019, Tuesday morning
Bottle: 1996 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet, three-quarters full
Duration: twelve years as Crestline sommelier

- The bottle was found standing upright in a recycling bin behind Crestline in the third week of July 2019.
- The wine was a 1996 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet with retail value north of $1,800.
- Erin Dempsey was hired in spring 2007 at age thirty-one and worked as sommelier for twelve years.
- Her résumé claimed a stage in Lyon, experience in Burgundy, and an Advanced Court of Master Sommeliers certification that did not exist in the registry.
- Forty-one bottles and a foil detail visible in a photograph were central to unraveling the scheme.

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/73071066Fri, 04 Sep 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Sommelier Who Faked France: A 12-Year Wine Deception Uncorked A near-priceless 1996 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet, worth north of $1,800 and three-quarters full, was found upright in a restaurant recycling bin - weeks after a photo had...
A near-priceless 1996 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet, worth north of $1,800 and three-quarters full, was found upright in a restaurant recycling bin - weeks after a photo had already revealed the clue that finally unmasked a twelve-year imposture. How did a sommelier who had never been to France convince colleagues, chefs, and diners she carried elite French credentials for more than a decade?

In this episode, we tell how the story unfolds from that Tuesday morning in the third week of July 2019 back through twelve years at Crestline, showing how a fabricated résumé, a laminated certificate, and an unverified purchasing system held together a deception - and what single photographic detail broke it open.

Person: Erin Dempsey
Location: Crestline restaurant, Short North, Columbus, Ohio
Date found: third week of July 2019, Tuesday morning
Bottle: 1996 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet, three-quarters full
Duration: twelve years as Crestline sommelier

- The bottle was found standing upright in a recycling bin behind Crestline in the third week of July 2019.
- The wine was a 1996 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet with retail value north of $1,800.
- Erin Dempsey was hired in spring 2007 at age thirty-one and worked as sommelier for twelve years.
- Her résumé claimed a stage in Lyon, experience in Burgundy, and an Advanced Court of Master Sommeliers certification that did not exist in the registry.
- Forty-one bottles and a foil detail visible in a photograph were central to unraveling the scheme.

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.]]>802falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-man-who-wrote-dead-people-s-lives-alive-and-unmasked--73071065
A small-town obituary column became a ledger of invented deaths: 31 fabricated notices ran over twenty months, flowers delivered to nonexistent addresses, and one 71-year-old woman found her own obituary on the porch. Who was the young writer who bypassed verification and why did no one notice until a retired assessor and a surprised neighbor forced the truth into daylight?

In this episode, we tell how a nineteen-year-old applicant joined the Carver Falls Courier and began filing obituaries that read like facts, how patterns of misdelivered sympathy flowers and unverified calls went unchallenged, and how a single mistaken notice finally led to an investigation. What did the paper’s routines and community habits allow to happen, and what was exposed when someone at last kept a careful record?

Person: Marian Ostroff
Age: 71
Person: William Weaver
Start Date at paper: spring of 2008
Total fabricated obituaries: 31

- Marian Ostroff found her obituary in the paper on June 7 despite being alive.
- William Weaver was hired at age 19 after presenting a portfolio in spring 2008.
- Investigators later identified 31 fabricated obituaries running over twenty months.
- Approximately one in every five sympathy arrangements at Petal & Stem florist reached a wrong or nonexistent address starting in 2010.
- Retired assessor Neil Barrett documented five suspicious cases over ten weeks before presenting his folder on June 14, 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/73071065Thu, 03 Sep 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Man Who Wrote Dead People's Lives - Alive and Unmasked A small-town obituary column became a ledger of invented deaths: 31 fabricated notices ran over twenty months, flowers delivered to nonexistent addresses, and one 71-year-old woman found...
A small-town obituary column became a ledger of invented deaths: 31 fabricated notices ran over twenty months, flowers delivered to nonexistent addresses, and one 71-year-old woman found her own obituary on the porch. Who was the young writer who bypassed verification and why did no one notice until a retired assessor and a surprised neighbor forced the truth into daylight?

In this episode, we tell how a nineteen-year-old applicant joined the Carver Falls Courier and began filing obituaries that read like facts, how patterns of misdelivered sympathy flowers and unverified calls went unchallenged, and how a single mistaken notice finally led to an investigation. What did the paper’s routines and community habits allow to happen, and what was exposed when someone at last kept a careful record?

Person: Marian Ostroff
Age: 71
Person: William Weaver
Start Date at paper: spring of 2008
Total fabricated obituaries: 31

- Marian Ostroff found her obituary in the paper on June 7 despite being alive.
- William Weaver was hired at age 19 after presenting a portfolio in spring 2008.
- Investigators later identified 31 fabricated obituaries running over twenty months.
- Approximately one in every five sympathy arrangements at Petal & Stem florist reached a wrong or nonexistent address starting in 2010.
- Retired assessor Neil Barrett documented five suspicious cases over ten weeks before presenting his folder on June 14, 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.]]>1096falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/a-two-dollar-estate-sale-vest-launched-five-years-of-disaster-relief-fraud-and-saved-lives--73071064
The sight of an orange canvas vest and a laminated badge on a stranger's passenger seat launched five years of fake disaster relief that nonetheless moved real supplies and radios into real crises. Could a two-dollar buy from an estate sale become a functioning fake nonprofit that people trusted in tornadoes, floods, earthquakes and hurricanes - and who was the woman behind it?

In this episode, we follow the timeline of how a folded vest and a lapsed nonprofit name became a working credential, how that credential opened doors at disaster sites, and how competence and fraud became indistinguishable in the field. What happens when operational skill meets a stolen identity, and who finally looked behind the vest?

Person: Tamara Jones
Location: Attala County, Mississippi
Event: Tornado response in central Oklahoma (spring 2013)
Event: Missouri flooding (2014)
Event: Nepal earthquake response (2015)

- On May 14th, a road grader operator found an orange canvas vest and laminated badge on the passenger seat in Attala County, Mississippi.
- Tamara Jones bought the vest at an estate sale in Tanner, Alabama for two dollars in early 2013.
- The original organization, Global Reach Aid Consortium, had ceased to exist in 2008 after its founder died and its tax-exempt status and domain lapsed.
- Within three months of buying the vest, Tamara registered a domain, produced letterhead, and forged a deployment letter signed with the deceased founder's name.
- Over five years Tamara operated at disaster sites including a 2013 Oklahoma tornado response, 2014 Missouri floods, and the 2015 Nepal earthquake, gaining access and responsibilities without official verification.

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/73071064Wed, 02 Sep 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaA two-dollar estate-sale vest launched five years of disaster-relief fraud - and saved lives The sight of an orange canvas vest and a laminated badge on a stranger's passenger seat launched five years of fake disaster relief that nonetheless moved...
The sight of an orange canvas vest and a laminated badge on a stranger's passenger seat launched five years of fake disaster relief that nonetheless moved real supplies and radios into real crises. Could a two-dollar buy from an estate sale become a functioning fake nonprofit that people trusted in tornadoes, floods, earthquakes and hurricanes - and who was the woman behind it?

In this episode, we follow the timeline of how a folded vest and a lapsed nonprofit name became a working credential, how that credential opened doors at disaster sites, and how competence and fraud became indistinguishable in the field. What happens when operational skill meets a stolen identity, and who finally looked behind the vest?

Person: Tamara Jones
Location: Attala County, Mississippi
Event: Tornado response in central Oklahoma (spring 2013)
Event: Missouri flooding (2014)
Event: Nepal earthquake response (2015)

- On May 14th, a road grader operator found an orange canvas vest and laminated badge on the passenger seat in Attala County, Mississippi.
- Tamara Jones bought the vest at an estate sale in Tanner, Alabama for two dollars in early 2013.
- The original organization, Global Reach Aid Consortium, had ceased to exist in 2008 after its founder died and its tax-exempt status and domain lapsed.
- Within three months of buying the vest, Tamara registered a domain, produced letterhead, and forged a deployment letter signed with the deceased founder's name.
- Over five years Tamara operated at disaster sites including a 2013 Oklahoma tornado response, 2014 Missouri floods, and the 2015 Nepal earthquake, gaining access and responsibilities without official verification.

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.]]>1426falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/a-cassette-tape-built-his-broadway-career-the-steven-morris-case--73071063
The discovery of hundreds of handwritten phonetic cards, a BBC cassette tape bought for seventy-five cents, and a forged Royal Academy of Dramatic Art diploma revealed a life built on careful imitation and one persistent secret: how did a man from Clarksburg, West Virginia, whose formal training never included RADA, rise to coach three Broadway productions and earn three Tony nominations? What happened in the room where every window was papered black and dozens of index cards promised an upper-class English voice?

In this episode, we walk through the items found in an apartment in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, the thrift-store cassette that started it all, and the career milestones that followed, asking how a forty-year gap between a diploma date and its font went unnoticed while his name climbed the Broadway billing.

Person: Steven Alan Morris
Location: Cobble Hill, Brooklyn
Origin: Clarksburg, West Virginia
Item: BBC Received Pronunciation cassette purchased for $0.75
Event: First Broadway credit in fall 2015

- The apartment windows were covered in black paper and hundreds of handwritten index cards were laid out in organized rows.
- One index card instruction read "back of the hard palate, not the teeth" and another read "schwa, unstressed, nearly silent."
- Morris bought a BBC RP exercise cassette at a Goodwill in Morgantown, West Virginia, for seventy-five cents in autumn 2006.
- A framed RADA diploma on his wall bore the date 1989 but used a typeface RADA did not use until 2003, a 14-year discrepancy.
- Morris filed a 2014 tax deduction itemizing $412 for cassette tapes and library fees before his Broadway debut in 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/73071063Tue, 01 Sep 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaA Cassette Tape Built His Broadway Career: The Steven Morris Case The discovery of hundreds of handwritten phonetic cards, a BBC cassette tape bought for seventy-five cents, and a forged Royal Academy of Dramatic Art diploma revealed a life built...
The discovery of hundreds of handwritten phonetic cards, a BBC cassette tape bought for seventy-five cents, and a forged Royal Academy of Dramatic Art diploma revealed a life built on careful imitation and one persistent secret: how did a man from Clarksburg, West Virginia, whose formal training never included RADA, rise to coach three Broadway productions and earn three Tony nominations? What happened in the room where every window was papered black and dozens of index cards promised an upper-class English voice?

In this episode, we walk through the items found in an apartment in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, the thrift-store cassette that started it all, and the career milestones that followed, asking how a forty-year gap between a diploma date and its font went unnoticed while his name climbed the Broadway billing.

Person: Steven Alan Morris
Location: Cobble Hill, Brooklyn
Origin: Clarksburg, West Virginia
Item: BBC Received Pronunciation cassette purchased for $0.75
Event: First Broadway credit in fall 2015

- The apartment windows were covered in black paper and hundreds of handwritten index cards were laid out in organized rows.
- One index card instruction read "back of the hard palate, not the teeth" and another read "schwa, unstressed, nearly silent."
- Morris bought a BBC RP exercise cassette at a Goodwill in Morgantown, West Virginia, for seventy-five cents in autumn 2006.
- A framed RADA diploma on his wall bore the date 1989 but used a typeface RADA did not use until 2003, a 14-year discrepancy.
- Morris filed a 2014 tax deduction itemizing $412 for cassette tapes and library fees before his Broadway debut in 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.]]>785falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-lawyer-who-never-graduated-the-briefcase-that-lied-and-why--73071061
A retired postal worker found a leather briefcase at the Dornan County Fairgrounds on the morning of March 14, 2011, with a bar admission certificate for "Teresa Bailey, Attorney at Law" among soaked client files-and the diploma's embossing was authentic even though the issuing law school had closed in 1971. How could a woman born about a decade after the school's last graduating class build an eight-year immigration practice on documents that looked real enough to fool a state bar file for years?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of discoveries from the briefcase delivery to the federal investigator's findings, describing the documents, the gaps in Teresa Bailey's educational record, and how her office handled hundreds of immigration cases-so what exactly filled the gap between her mother's death and the opening of Bailey Immigration Law?

Person: Teresa Bailey
Date: March 14, 2011
Location: Dornan County Fairgrounds
Event: Discovery of briefcase containing client files and bar admission certificate
Status: Federal investigation found diploma authentic in embossing but from a school closed in 1971

- The briefcase was found by William Campbell before 8:00 a.m, on March 14, 2011, against a chain-link fence.
- Linden University's Caldwell School of Law closed in 1971, while Teresa Bailey was born approximately ten years later.
- By 2006, three years after opening Bailey Immigration Law, Teresa had approximately 300 active immigration cases.
- Investigators determined the diploma embossing and seal were authentic, but the issuing institution no longer existed.
- The bar admission certificate combined authentic state bar templates with deliberate digital alterations and sat in a state bar file for eight years without verification.

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/73071061Mon, 31 Aug 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Lawyer Who Never Graduated: The Briefcase That Lied and Why A retired postal worker found a leather briefcase at the Dornan County Fairgrounds on the morning of March 14, 2011, with a bar admission certificate for "Teresa Bailey, Attorney at...
A retired postal worker found a leather briefcase at the Dornan County Fairgrounds on the morning of March 14, 2011, with a bar admission certificate for "Teresa Bailey, Attorney at Law" among soaked client files-and the diploma's embossing was authentic even though the issuing law school had closed in 1971. How could a woman born about a decade after the school's last graduating class build an eight-year immigration practice on documents that looked real enough to fool a state bar file for years?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of discoveries from the briefcase delivery to the federal investigator's findings, describing the documents, the gaps in Teresa Bailey's educational record, and how her office handled hundreds of immigration cases-so what exactly filled the gap between her mother's death and the opening of Bailey Immigration Law?

Person: Teresa Bailey
Date: March 14, 2011
Location: Dornan County Fairgrounds
Event: Discovery of briefcase containing client files and bar admission certificate
Status: Federal investigation found diploma authentic in embossing but from a school closed in 1971

- The briefcase was found by William Campbell before 8:00 a.m, on March 14, 2011, against a chain-link fence.
- Linden University's Caldwell School of Law closed in 1971, while Teresa Bailey was born approximately ten years later.
- By 2006, three years after opening Bailey Immigration Law, Teresa had approximately 300 active immigration cases.
- Investigators determined the diploma embossing and seal were authentic, but the issuing institution no longer existed.
- The bar admission certificate combined authentic state bar templates with deliberate digital alterations and sat in a state bar file for eight years without verification.

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.]]>1280falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-faked-a-cpa-the-framed-certificate-that-betrayed-her--73071060
Cold air, a sealed FBI building, and a framed CPA certificate angled to face the street - a forgery so convincing a forensic examiner called it one of the best fabrications he'd seen in thirty years, for fourteen years Marilyn R. Chambers paraded a credential she never earned, using a cream stock, embossed gold seal, and carefully matched paper to build a career; how did a wrong name on an invoice and an unlocked door finally expose her?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a Tuesday morning in February 2011 back through Chambers's work history and the small oversights that let her impersonation persist, asking how routine trust and a plausible excuse kept a fraud hidden for more than a decade.

Person: Marilyn R. Chambers
Date: February 2011
Location: Garrison Consulting Group office
Event: Framed CPA certificate discovered after FBI sealed building
Case: Fake CPA credentials maintained for 14 years

- The door was found standing wide open at eleven degrees Fahrenheit on a Tuesday morning in February 2011.
- The alarm log recorded a valid entry code typed at 2:17 AM the night before the framed certificate was moved.
- The forged certificate was produced after four months of work, using paper sourced to match authentic Ohio CPA certificates.
- Marilyn Chambers left Huron County Community College after one semester in 1981 with no accounting coursework or credit hours.
- The Ohio State Board of Accountancy had no record of Marilyn R. Chambers in their examination database.

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/73071060Sun, 30 Aug 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Faked a CPA - The Framed Certificate That Betrayed Her Cold air, a sealed FBI building, and a framed CPA certificate angled to face the street - a forgery so convincing a forensic examiner called it one of the best fabrications he'd seen in...
Cold air, a sealed FBI building, and a framed CPA certificate angled to face the street - a forgery so convincing a forensic examiner called it one of the best fabrications he'd seen in thirty years, for fourteen years Marilyn R. Chambers paraded a credential she never earned, using a cream stock, embossed gold seal, and carefully matched paper to build a career; how did a wrong name on an invoice and an unlocked door finally expose her?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a Tuesday morning in February 2011 back through Chambers's work history and the small oversights that let her impersonation persist, asking how routine trust and a plausible excuse kept a fraud hidden for more than a decade.

Person: Marilyn R. Chambers
Date: February 2011
Location: Garrison Consulting Group office
Event: Framed CPA certificate discovered after FBI sealed building
Case: Fake CPA credentials maintained for 14 years

- The door was found standing wide open at eleven degrees Fahrenheit on a Tuesday morning in February 2011.
- The alarm log recorded a valid entry code typed at 2:17 AM the night before the framed certificate was moved.
- The forged certificate was produced after four months of work, using paper sourced to match authentic Ohio CPA certificates.
- Marilyn Chambers left Huron County Community College after one semester in 1981 with no accounting coursework or credit hours.
- The Ohio State Board of Accountancy had no record of Marilyn R. Chambers in their examination database.

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.]]>1420falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-pegboard-lie-how-a-ski-photo-exposed-a-fake-denali-guide--73071059
If a framed photo on a church pegboard could topple a reputation, this is how it happened: a 16x20 framed print labeled "Denali, Central Summit, twenty thousand three hundred and ten feet - Michelle Green, June two thousand fourteen" showed machine-groomed resort snow-impossible at 20,310 feet. Who was the woman presenting herself as a certified Denali guide, and how long did her fabrication go unnoticed?

In this episode, you will hear the sequence of discoveries that followed a single photograph and the career built around a false resume. The episode covers the framed photo, the biography Michelle Green created, her role at Summit Meridian and later Green Summit Consulting, and the moment climbers and clients began to question what had been presented as true.

Person: Michelle Green (later used name Michelle Green)
Location: Redeemer Lutheran Church annex (pegboard display)
Photo size: 16 by 20 inches
Date on photo: June 2014
Period of fabrication observed: nearly five years

- The handwritten caption on the framed photo claimed "twenty thousand three hundred and ten feet - Michelle Green, June two thousand fourteen."
- The photograph measured sixteen by twenty inches and was framed in pine.
- Carol Vickers noticed the groomed, herringbone pattern in the snow and photographed the frame on her phone.
- Michelle's documented prior high-altitude experience peaked at twelve thousand feet under recreational circumstances.
- Michelle left Summit Meridian in January 2016 and began operating independently as Green Summit Consulting.

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/73071059Sat, 29 Aug 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Pegboard Lie: How a Ski Photo Exposed a Fake Denali Guide If a framed photo on a church pegboard could topple a reputation, this is how it happened: a 16x20 framed print labeled "Denali, Central Summit, twenty thousand three hundred and ten...
If a framed photo on a church pegboard could topple a reputation, this is how it happened: a 16x20 framed print labeled "Denali, Central Summit, twenty thousand three hundred and ten feet - Michelle Green, June two thousand fourteen" showed machine-groomed resort snow-impossible at 20,310 feet. Who was the woman presenting herself as a certified Denali guide, and how long did her fabrication go unnoticed?

In this episode, you will hear the sequence of discoveries that followed a single photograph and the career built around a false resume. The episode covers the framed photo, the biography Michelle Green created, her role at Summit Meridian and later Green Summit Consulting, and the moment climbers and clients began to question what had been presented as true.

Person: Michelle Green (later used name Michelle Green)
Location: Redeemer Lutheran Church annex (pegboard display)
Photo size: 16 by 20 inches
Date on photo: June 2014
Period of fabrication observed: nearly five years

- The handwritten caption on the framed photo claimed "twenty thousand three hundred and ten feet - Michelle Green, June two thousand fourteen."
- The photograph measured sixteen by twenty inches and was framed in pine.
- Carol Vickers noticed the groomed, herringbone pattern in the snow and photographed the frame on her phone.
- Michelle's documented prior high-altitude experience peaked at twelve thousand feet under recreational circumstances.
- Michelle left Summit Meridian in January 2016 and began operating independently as Green Summit Consulting.

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.]]>1407falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-buried-his-fake-life-in-the-woods-the-howard-nelson-case--73071058
The discovery of a dry, taped envelope wedged under a sweetgum tree after three days of sleet exposed a laminated medical diploma, DEA paperwork and a single typed note reading "These are no longer needed" - but no body, no weapon, and no clear answer about why a physician's entire professional identity was buried forty minutes from his home. How did a man who became the most requested doctor at a fertility clinic leave behind a trail of documents in the woods, and what did a spiral notebook written by a colleague reveal about seven years of hidden practice?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from the morning Beverly Sharp and her dog Cleo found the envelope to the months of investigation that uncovered discrepancies in credentials, prescribing records, and workplace roles, asking whether the truth was written in a notebook or buried alongside the documents.

Person: Howard James James
Location: Pinecrest Nature Loop
Date: December, 2019 (first week)
Occupation: Fertility clinic physician at Lakeview Reproductive Medicine
Colleague: Amy Draper, nurse practitioner, spiral notebook started spring 2012

- The envelope was found on a Thursday morning after three days of sleet.
- The diploma was from Carver School of Medicine at Dunmore University, class of 1991.
- The single typed letter in the envelope contained seven words: "These are no longer needed."
- Howard James had been the most requested physician at Lakeview for eight years.
- Amy Draper began a dated spiral notebook in spring 2012 and wrote in it repeatedly for seven 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/73071058Fri, 28 Aug 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Buried His Fake Life in the Woods: The Howard Nelson Case The discovery of a dry, taped envelope wedged under a sweetgum tree after three days of sleet exposed a laminated medical diploma, DEA paperwork and a single typed note reading "These are...
The discovery of a dry, taped envelope wedged under a sweetgum tree after three days of sleet exposed a laminated medical diploma, DEA paperwork and a single typed note reading "These are no longer needed" - but no body, no weapon, and no clear answer about why a physician's entire professional identity was buried forty minutes from his home. How did a man who became the most requested doctor at a fertility clinic leave behind a trail of documents in the woods, and what did a spiral notebook written by a colleague reveal about seven years of hidden practice?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from the morning Beverly Sharp and her dog Cleo found the envelope to the months of investigation that uncovered discrepancies in credentials, prescribing records, and workplace roles, asking whether the truth was written in a notebook or buried alongside the documents.

Person: Howard James James
Location: Pinecrest Nature Loop
Date: December, 2019 (first week)
Occupation: Fertility clinic physician at Lakeview Reproductive Medicine
Colleague: Amy Draper, nurse practitioner, spiral notebook started spring 2012

- The envelope was found on a Thursday morning after three days of sleet.
- The diploma was from Carver School of Medicine at Dunmore University, class of 1991.
- The single typed letter in the envelope contained seven words: "These are no longer needed."
- Howard James had been the most requested physician at Lakeview for eight years.
- Amy Draper began a dated spiral notebook in spring 2012 and wrote in it repeatedly for seven 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.]]>1451falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/fisherman-pulls-a-dead-man-s-id-from-the-river-the-troy-slater-case--73071057
Cold river water, a laminated UNHCR card, and a retired roads worker who says only "I was good at it" - this episode opens on a startling discovery: a refugee registration card issued in Amman, Jordan, found snagged on a trotline on November 9, 2014. How did that folder, full of fabricated identity documents for "Tariq Osman," drift only as far as the trotline - and why did Troy Slater carry it to the county sheriff instead of discarding it?

In this episode, we trace the documents, the lies, and the everyday routines that let a man pass as a humanitarian aid worker for six years. You will hear how the fake identity was built, used in resettlement work for more than 300 refugee families, and ultimately exposed - but what drove a forgettable Midwestern man to invent an entire life?

Person: Troy Slater
Date: November 9, 2014
Location: Cutter River, grain elevator road
Role: Intake coordinator at New Roots Crestfield (as Tariq Osman)
Case: Fraudulent humanitarian identity used for six years

- The UNHCR registration card was found dry inside lamination on November 9, 2014.
- Troy Slater worked under the false identity for roughly six years, handling over 300 refugee families' cases.
- Slater told federal agents his explanation in one sentence: "I was good at it."
- He arrived at the Cutter River access just after first light with hip boots already soaked from bank mud.
- He walked a four-mile route each morning, leaving at 6:45 for a pause at a memorial bench by the river.

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/73071057Thu, 27 Aug 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaFisherman Pulls a Dead Man's ID From the River: The Troy Slater Case Cold river water, a laminated UNHCR card, and a retired roads worker who says only "I was good at it" - this episode opens on a startling discovery: a refugee registration card...
Cold river water, a laminated UNHCR card, and a retired roads worker who says only "I was good at it" - this episode opens on a startling discovery: a refugee registration card issued in Amman, Jordan, found snagged on a trotline on November 9, 2014. How did that folder, full of fabricated identity documents for "Tariq Osman," drift only as far as the trotline - and why did Troy Slater carry it to the county sheriff instead of discarding it?

In this episode, we trace the documents, the lies, and the everyday routines that let a man pass as a humanitarian aid worker for six years. You will hear how the fake identity was built, used in resettlement work for more than 300 refugee families, and ultimately exposed - but what drove a forgettable Midwestern man to invent an entire life?

Person: Troy Slater
Date: November 9, 2014
Location: Cutter River, grain elevator road
Role: Intake coordinator at New Roots Crestfield (as Tariq Osman)
Case: Fraudulent humanitarian identity used for six years

- The UNHCR registration card was found dry inside lamination on November 9, 2014.
- Troy Slater worked under the false identity for roughly six years, handling over 300 refugee families' cases.
- Slater told federal agents his explanation in one sentence: "I was good at it."
- He arrived at the Cutter River access just after first light with hip boots already soaked from bank mud.
- He walked a four-mile route each morning, leaving at 6:45 for a pause at a memorial bench by the river.

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.]]>1378falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-paper-was-wrong-the-valerie-ford-case--73071056
A forged doctorate hung on a principal's wall for a decade while federal databases, a human resources amendment, and local trust all missed the same detail - how does a fake diploma printed at a copy shop survive ten years in an American school? What happens when checks stop being checks and a busy signal becomes proof?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that led a county surveyor's fleeting curiosity to unravel a ten-year fiction: the creation of a fake Meridian College of Education diploma, a failed verification in 2004, a manual HR amendment in 2006, and the records that by 2011 listed Valerie Ford as a Doctor of Educational Leadership. How did routine procedures and small assumptions allow a counterfeit credential to stand for so long?

Person: Valerie Ford
Location: Crestline Elementary, Parrish, Indiana
Date hired: June 2001
Detected anomaly photographed: second morning on site
Year records listed doctorate: 2011

- The fake diploma listed Meridian College of Education, Harlan, Ohio, with a founding date of 1953.
- Valerie Ford earned a real Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Weller State University in May 1997.
- The diploma was printed on 65-pound cardstock at a copy shop in Muncie and two copies were made.
- In spring 2004 Connie Wilson found no record of Meridian in Ohio Board of Regents or accreditation databases and did not report it.
- In 2006 HR clerk Sherry Bates manually amended Ford’s personnel record to reflect a doctorate, which propagated into three state databases.

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/73071056Wed, 26 Aug 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Paper Was Wrong: The Valerie Ford Case A forged doctorate hung on a principal's wall for a decade while federal databases, a human resources amendment, and local trust all missed the same detail - how does a fake diploma printed at a copy shop...
A forged doctorate hung on a principal's wall for a decade while federal databases, a human resources amendment, and local trust all missed the same detail - how does a fake diploma printed at a copy shop survive ten years in an American school? What happens when checks stop being checks and a busy signal becomes proof?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that led a county surveyor's fleeting curiosity to unravel a ten-year fiction: the creation of a fake Meridian College of Education diploma, a failed verification in 2004, a manual HR amendment in 2006, and the records that by 2011 listed Valerie Ford as a Doctor of Educational Leadership. How did routine procedures and small assumptions allow a counterfeit credential to stand for so long?

Person: Valerie Ford
Location: Crestline Elementary, Parrish, Indiana
Date hired: June 2001
Detected anomaly photographed: second morning on site
Year records listed doctorate: 2011

- The fake diploma listed Meridian College of Education, Harlan, Ohio, with a founding date of 1953.
- Valerie Ford earned a real Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Weller State University in May 1997.
- The diploma was printed on 65-pound cardstock at a copy shop in Muncie and two copies were made.
- In spring 2004 Connie Wilson found no record of Meridian in Ohio Board of Regents or accreditation databases and did not report it.
- In 2006 HR clerk Sherry Bates manually amended Ford’s personnel record to reflect a doctorate, which propagated into three state databases.

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.]]>1192falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-stole-a-lanyard-and-became-a-michelin-critic-for-years--73071055
The thrill of being exposed collides with the dread that a trusted industry can be fooled: a lost press lanyard led to fourteen laminated credentials, four Michelin letters, and nearly a decade of deception - so why did no one stop her sooner? What pushed April Roberts from picking up a stray badge to building a phantom publication that fooled editors and restaurants?

In this episode, we tell how a single found lanyard at a culinary trade show turned into Continental Table Review, how credentials and letters carried the weight of authority, and how institutional gaps allowed a constructed persona to thrive - what finally broke the story and why?

Person: April Roberts
Event: Midwest Culinary Exposition, September 2003
Document: Fourteen laminated press credentials
Item: One business card reading "Senior Correspondent, Continental Table Review"
Finding: Portfolio placed within 36 to 48 hours before discovery

- The portfolio contained fourteen laminated press credentials and four letters on Michelin Critic letterhead.
- The portfolio was found wedged between a septic tank lid and concrete collar in early September 2011.
- A county materials consultant estimated the portfolio had been placed no more than 36 to 48 hours before discovery.
- April Roberts left the house 18 days before the portfolio was placed.
- April registered the domain Continental Table Review within a month after taking the lanyard in September 2003.

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/73071055Tue, 25 Aug 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Stole a Lanyard and Became a Michelin Critic - For Years The thrill of being exposed collides with the dread that a trusted industry can be fooled: a lost press lanyard led to fourteen laminated credentials, four Michelin letters, and nearly a...
The thrill of being exposed collides with the dread that a trusted industry can be fooled: a lost press lanyard led to fourteen laminated credentials, four Michelin letters, and nearly a decade of deception - so why did no one stop her sooner? What pushed April Roberts from picking up a stray badge to building a phantom publication that fooled editors and restaurants?

In this episode, we tell how a single found lanyard at a culinary trade show turned into Continental Table Review, how credentials and letters carried the weight of authority, and how institutional gaps allowed a constructed persona to thrive - what finally broke the story and why?

Person: April Roberts
Event: Midwest Culinary Exposition, September 2003
Document: Fourteen laminated press credentials
Item: One business card reading "Senior Correspondent, Continental Table Review"
Finding: Portfolio placed within 36 to 48 hours before discovery

- The portfolio contained fourteen laminated press credentials and four letters on Michelin Critic letterhead.
- The portfolio was found wedged between a septic tank lid and concrete collar in early September 2011.
- A county materials consultant estimated the portfolio had been placed no more than 36 to 48 hours before discovery.
- April Roberts left the house 18 days before the portfolio was placed.
- April registered the domain Continental Table Review within a month after taking the lanyard in September 2003.

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.]]>1516falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-taught-under-a-dead-man-s-name-the-gloria-snyder-case--73071054
A dead teacher's license stayed active for twelve years while a woman used his identity to teach for nearly a decade - all because a photocopy and a public database check were enough to fool a distracted system. How did no one notice a badge with a woman's photo and the name THOMAS CREEL walking into classrooms for 9 years and 10 months?

In this episode, we tell what happened when a routine audit file check set off a chain of discoveries about personnel records, a quiet records annex, and the choices that let the fraud persist; why a substitute lane and a laminated badge kept verification at arm's length is the central question driving the story.

Person: Gloria Snyder
Person: Thomas Creel
Date: August 7, 2019
Period: October 2009-summer 2019
Location: Crestfield Unified School District

- Thomas Creel died in March 2007 at age 43 and his certificate remained listed as valid for twelve years.
- Gloria Snyder entered the records annex for approximately 20 minutes on a Friday afternoon in August 2009 and photographed documents.
- Gloria taught under the name Thomas Creel from October 2009 through summer 2019-9 years and 10 months.
- Gloria worked across two middle schools and Crestfield vocational high school as a substitute in industrial arts, basic computing, and seventh-grade science.
- An administrative assistant laminated a badge using the photographed documents in October 2009 without making a verification 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.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73071054Mon, 24 Aug 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Taught Under a Dead Man's Name: The Gloria Snyder Case A dead teacher's license stayed active for twelve years while a woman used his identity to teach for nearly a decade - all because a photocopy and a public database check were enough to...
A dead teacher's license stayed active for twelve years while a woman used his identity to teach for nearly a decade - all because a photocopy and a public database check were enough to fool a distracted system. How did no one notice a badge with a woman's photo and the name THOMAS CREEL walking into classrooms for 9 years and 10 months?

In this episode, we tell what happened when a routine audit file check set off a chain of discoveries about personnel records, a quiet records annex, and the choices that let the fraud persist; why a substitute lane and a laminated badge kept verification at arm's length is the central question driving the story.

Person: Gloria Snyder
Person: Thomas Creel
Date: August 7, 2019
Period: October 2009-summer 2019
Location: Crestfield Unified School District

- Thomas Creel died in March 2007 at age 43 and his certificate remained listed as valid for twelve years.
- Gloria Snyder entered the records annex for approximately 20 minutes on a Friday afternoon in August 2009 and photographed documents.
- Gloria taught under the name Thomas Creel from October 2009 through summer 2019-9 years and 10 months.
- Gloria worked across two middle schools and Crestfield vocational high school as a substitute in industrial arts, basic computing, and seventh-grade science.
- An administrative assistant laminated a badge using the photographed documents in October 2009 without making a verification 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.]]>1030falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-comforter-who-lied-how-a-fake-counselor-haunted-a-small-town--73071053
Fear that the person who calmed a neighborhood might be a liar is immediate when you hear a crooked framed certificate, a fake institute name, and a $14.99 embossing tool-how did Pamela Anderson practice without a license for six years in a tight-knit Crestfield subdivision, and why did three people who noticed never stop her? Who benefits when comfort is real but credentials are not?

In this episode, we tell what happened the morning fourteen-year-old Gina Wallace found an open door and a crooked certificate, how Pamela Anderson set up Clearwater Counseling above a pharmacy, and why investigators kept returning to a small printed program and a penciled question mark. Was the line between genuine help and fabricated authority clearer the day she disappeared?

Person: Pamela Anderson
Date: July 9, 2014
Location: Fenwick Court, Sycamore Bluff, Crestfield, Ohio
Topic: Fake credential from the Hartwell Institute for Grief and Trauma Studies
Status: Practiced counseling without a real license for six years

- Gina Wallace, age 14, discovered the open front door and the crooked framed certificate at 6:40 AM on July 9, 2014.
- Pamela Anderson moved to Crestfield in summer 2008 at age 32 and lived on Fenwick Court for six years.
- The Hartwell Institute named on the certificate never existed; its printed address matched a family dry-cleaning business in Akron operating since 1988.
- The gold embossed seal on the certificate was made with an embossing tool purchased online for $14.99.
- Brian Crawford, a hospital chaplain of 12 years, attended a September 2011 grief conference where Pamela presented and wrote a question mark next to the Hartwell Institute in the program.

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/73071053Sun, 23 Aug 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Comforter Who Lied: How a Fake Counselor Haunted a Small Town Fear that the person who calmed a neighborhood might be a liar is immediate when you hear a crooked framed certificate, a fake institute name, and a $14.99 embossing tool-how did...
Fear that the person who calmed a neighborhood might be a liar is immediate when you hear a crooked framed certificate, a fake institute name, and a $14.99 embossing tool-how did Pamela Anderson practice without a license for six years in a tight-knit Crestfield subdivision, and why did three people who noticed never stop her? Who benefits when comfort is real but credentials are not?

In this episode, we tell what happened the morning fourteen-year-old Gina Wallace found an open door and a crooked certificate, how Pamela Anderson set up Clearwater Counseling above a pharmacy, and why investigators kept returning to a small printed program and a penciled question mark. Was the line between genuine help and fabricated authority clearer the day she disappeared?

Person: Pamela Anderson
Date: July 9, 2014
Location: Fenwick Court, Sycamore Bluff, Crestfield, Ohio
Topic: Fake credential from the Hartwell Institute for Grief and Trauma Studies
Status: Practiced counseling without a real license for six years

- Gina Wallace, age 14, discovered the open front door and the crooked framed certificate at 6:40 AM on July 9, 2014.
- Pamela Anderson moved to Crestfield in summer 2008 at age 32 and lived on Fenwick Court for six years.
- The Hartwell Institute named on the certificate never existed; its printed address matched a family dry-cleaning business in Akron operating since 1988.
- The gold embossed seal on the certificate was made with an embossing tool purchased online for $14.99.
- Brian Crawford, a hospital chaplain of 12 years, attended a September 2011 grief conference where Pamela presented and wrote a question mark next to the Hartwell Institute in the program.

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.]]>1412falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-three-weddings-that-exposed-a-fake-doctor-s-life-of-lies--73071052
Fear and fascination collide: a three-ring binder found in a drainage ditch held three embossed wedding invitations for the same nonexistent Dr. Tracy Harrison, and the woman behind the cards had fabricated a forty-one-page CV and a laminated hospital credential to move through charity boards and fundraisers for roughly ten years. How did a fake doctor nearly marry three men across three counties before a freezer bag and a county road-grader operator ended the illusion?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from Tracy Harrison's arrival in Mossgate in 2008 through the autumn of 2018 and into spring 2019, detailing the relationships she formed with three men and the documents she used to sustain her identity - and ask how her lies went unchecked until the binder surfaced in a ditch?

Person: Dr. Tracy Harrison
Event: Binder with three embossed wedding invitations found in a drainage ditch
Date: June 2019 (second Tuesday of June, 2019 at 4:53 AM)
Location: Route 9 near Tillman Creek bridge, Kellner County area
Period: Identity built over roughly ten years (arrived 2008, unravelling by 2019)

- The binder contained three wedding invitations for three consecutive Saturdays, all naming Dr. Tracy Harrison.
- Tracy arrived in Mossgate in 2008 driving a leased Volvo and carrying two rolling suitcases.
- Her CV was forty-one pages long and included degrees and appointments later found to be fabricated.
- In autumn 2018 she met Martin Chu (64) at a library fundraiser, Douglas Ferris (61) in November 2018 at a charity auction, and exchanged messages with Thomas Wray (67) via an online grief-support forum.
- Douglas Ferris wired $42,000 into an account in spring 2019 described as a pension-transfer gap.

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/73071052Sat, 22 Aug 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Three Weddings That Exposed a Fake Doctor's Life of Lies Fear and fascination collide: a three-ring binder found in a drainage ditch held three embossed wedding invitations for the same nonexistent Dr. Tracy Harrison, and the woman behind the...
Fear and fascination collide: a three-ring binder found in a drainage ditch held three embossed wedding invitations for the same nonexistent Dr. Tracy Harrison, and the woman behind the cards had fabricated a forty-one-page CV and a laminated hospital credential to move through charity boards and fundraisers for roughly ten years. How did a fake doctor nearly marry three men across three counties before a freezer bag and a county road-grader operator ended the illusion?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from Tracy Harrison's arrival in Mossgate in 2008 through the autumn of 2018 and into spring 2019, detailing the relationships she formed with three men and the documents she used to sustain her identity - and ask how her lies went unchecked until the binder surfaced in a ditch?

Person: Dr. Tracy Harrison
Event: Binder with three embossed wedding invitations found in a drainage ditch
Date: June 2019 (second Tuesday of June, 2019 at 4:53 AM)
Location: Route 9 near Tillman Creek bridge, Kellner County area
Period: Identity built over roughly ten years (arrived 2008, unravelling by 2019)

- The binder contained three wedding invitations for three consecutive Saturdays, all naming Dr. Tracy Harrison.
- Tracy arrived in Mossgate in 2008 driving a leased Volvo and carrying two rolling suitcases.
- Her CV was forty-one pages long and included degrees and appointments later found to be fabricated.
- In autumn 2018 she met Martin Chu (64) at a library fundraiser, Douglas Ferris (61) in November 2018 at a charity auction, and exchanged messages with Thomas Wray (67) via an online grief-support forum.
- Douglas Ferris wired $42,000 into an account in spring 2019 described as a pension-transfer gap.

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.]]>1428falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-upside-down-diploma-that-toppled-a-rising-engineer--73071047
A casual electrical inspection exposed an impossible detail: an Ohio State diploma on a lobby wall with its embossed seal pressed inward instead of raised - a tiny inversion that nobody else had noticed for months. That single photograph, sent between two graduates in eleven minutes, set in motion a cascade that unraveled two years of work and a carefully constructed life; how did one mispressed seal trigger so much fallout?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from the third week of May when Stanley Pruitt spotted the seal to the administrative response at Vantage Systems, tracing how a fabricated diploma, real workplace skill, and months of deception intersected to create a consequential dilemma: could craft and competence survive the discovery of a single flipped detail?

Person: Stanley Pruitt
Person: Lauren Anne Berry
Location: Newcomerstown, Ohio
Event: Diploma discovered during electrical inspection in the third week of May
Date: January 2017 (application), March 2017 (hired)

- The diploma’s embossed seal was inverted (pressed inward) rather than outward, noticed by Stanley Pruitt.
- Pruitt photographed the diploma and sent it to his brother-in-law; the reply "That's backwards." arrived in eleven minutes.
- Lauren Berry withdrew from Ohio State in spring 2014 and later worked at a plastics plant under supervisor Ted Carlin.
- Between 2014 and 2016 Berry took two online engineering courses that were non-credit and non-degree.
- Berry spent approximately four months fabricating the diploma, sourcing heavyweight parchment, a custom embossing seal from Indiana, and adjusting font kerning twice.

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/73071047Fri, 21 Aug 2026 13:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Upside‑Down Diploma That Toppled a Rising Engineer A casual electrical inspection exposed an impossible detail: an Ohio State diploma on a lobby wall with its embossed seal pressed inward instead of raised - a tiny inversion that nobody else...
A casual electrical inspection exposed an impossible detail: an Ohio State diploma on a lobby wall with its embossed seal pressed inward instead of raised - a tiny inversion that nobody else had noticed for months. That single photograph, sent between two graduates in eleven minutes, set in motion a cascade that unraveled two years of work and a carefully constructed life; how did one mispressed seal trigger so much fallout?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from the third week of May when Stanley Pruitt spotted the seal to the administrative response at Vantage Systems, tracing how a fabricated diploma, real workplace skill, and months of deception intersected to create a consequential dilemma: could craft and competence survive the discovery of a single flipped detail?

Person: Stanley Pruitt
Person: Lauren Anne Berry
Location: Newcomerstown, Ohio
Event: Diploma discovered during electrical inspection in the third week of May
Date: January 2017 (application), March 2017 (hired)

- The diploma’s embossed seal was inverted (pressed inward) rather than outward, noticed by Stanley Pruitt.
- Pruitt photographed the diploma and sent it to his brother-in-law; the reply "That's backwards." arrived in eleven minutes.
- Lauren Berry withdrew from Ohio State in spring 2014 and later worked at a plastics plant under supervisor Ted Carlin.
- Between 2014 and 2016 Berry took two online engineering courses that were non-credit and non-degree.
- Berry spent approximately four months fabricating the diploma, sourcing heavyweight parchment, a custom embossing seal from Indiana, and adjusting font kerning twice.

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.]]>1242falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-pastor-who-wore-stolen-vestments-how-connie-faked-a-pulpit-life--73071045
A wooden wine box, ministerial vestments in dry-cleaning plastic, and a laminated ordination certificate from a seminary that never existed - left forty feet off the path in Crestfield Park. Connie preached to about 160 families for nearly two years under a false name and fabricated credentials; why did she pack the robes and leave them where a runner would find them?

In this episode, you will hear how a church search committee, trusting in paper and prayer, called a woman they knew as Connie Fitzgerald to lead Calvary Lutheran, and how small discrepancies - a missing seminary online, a Louisville routing number, an unverifiable chaplaincy - began to add up into a larger question about identity and trust. What did Connie Fitzgerald build with forged documents, and what finally made her leave the vestments behind?

Person: Connie Fitzgerald
Age: 47
Location: Crestfield (Calvary Lutheran Church)
Congregation size: roughly 160 families
Pulpit vacancy length before hire: eleven months

- Vestments found: folded in dry-cleaning plastic inside a wooden wine-shipping box with lid pried loose
- Distance from path: approximately forty feet off the path at Crestfield Park against a memorial oak tree
- Tenure at Calvary Lutheran: nearly two years before the vestments were left
- Search committee members: five (Agnes Volk, Ted Mundy, Sonia Park, Marcus Webb, Frank Tillis)
- First anomaly discovered: a Louisville routing number on Connie Fitzgerald’s direct-deposit records in mid-April of her first year

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/73071045Thu, 20 Aug 2026 13:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Pastor Who Wore Stolen Vestments: How Connie Faked a Pulpit Life A wooden wine box, ministerial vestments in dry-cleaning plastic, and a laminated ordination certificate from a seminary that never existed - left forty feet off the path in...
A wooden wine box, ministerial vestments in dry-cleaning plastic, and a laminated ordination certificate from a seminary that never existed - left forty feet off the path in Crestfield Park. Connie preached to about 160 families for nearly two years under a false name and fabricated credentials; why did she pack the robes and leave them where a runner would find them?

In this episode, you will hear how a church search committee, trusting in paper and prayer, called a woman they knew as Connie Fitzgerald to lead Calvary Lutheran, and how small discrepancies - a missing seminary online, a Louisville routing number, an unverifiable chaplaincy - began to add up into a larger question about identity and trust. What did Connie Fitzgerald build with forged documents, and what finally made her leave the vestments behind?

Person: Connie Fitzgerald
Age: 47
Location: Crestfield (Calvary Lutheran Church)
Congregation size: roughly 160 families
Pulpit vacancy length before hire: eleven months

- Vestments found: folded in dry-cleaning plastic inside a wooden wine-shipping box with lid pried loose
- Distance from path: approximately forty feet off the path at Crestfield Park against a memorial oak tree
- Tenure at Calvary Lutheran: nearly two years before the vestments were left
- Search committee members: five (Agnes Volk, Ted Mundy, Sonia Park, Marcus Webb, Frank Tillis)
- First anomaly discovered: a Louisville routing number on Connie Fitzgerald’s direct-deposit records in mid-April of her first year

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.]]>1114falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-medals-on-the-porch-that-never-belonged-to-her--73071044
Cold medals on a porch and a retired ribbon that should have belonged to someone at least fifty-six years old: a single photograph unravels a six-year identity built in plain sight. How did a thirty-one-year-old accumulate uniforms, speeches, and the trust of a Gold Star mother with documentation that failed the first simple checks?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that unfolded after a meter reader photographed seven military medals and a nephew recognized an impossible ribbon, tracing the community ties, forged paperwork, and the moments that revealed the deception. What did the DD-214 and one retired ribbon expose about who she really was?

Date: March 6, 2020, 08:20
Location: 414 Ashgrove Drive, Kellerman Park, Dorado Falls
Person: Carol Powell, age 31 on arrival in 2014
Person: Patrick Gould, age 26, former Army Reserve soldier
Document: DD-214 submitted spring 2017 with three identified errors

- Seven military medals were photographed unattended on the front porch on March 6, 2020 at 08:20.
- The disputed service ribbon was a retired citation requiring at least 25 years' service, implying a minimum age of 56 to have legitimately earned it.
- Carol Powell arrived in Dorado Falls in winter 2014 at age 24 and rented room at 414 Ashgrove Drive.
- By 2015 she attended the Consolidated Service League; by 2016 she marched in Memorial Day and Veterans Day parades in assembled uniform pieces.
- The DD-214 filed in spring 2017 had three specific errors: a misplaced hyphen in the control number, an inconsistent separation code, and reference to a non-existent "34th Logistics Support Battalion."

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/73071044Wed, 19 Aug 2026 13:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Medals on the Porch That Never Belonged to Her Cold medals on a porch and a retired ribbon that should have belonged to someone at least fifty-six years old: a single photograph unravels a six-year identity built in plain sight. How did a...
Cold medals on a porch and a retired ribbon that should have belonged to someone at least fifty-six years old: a single photograph unravels a six-year identity built in plain sight. How did a thirty-one-year-old accumulate uniforms, speeches, and the trust of a Gold Star mother with documentation that failed the first simple checks?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that unfolded after a meter reader photographed seven military medals and a nephew recognized an impossible ribbon, tracing the community ties, forged paperwork, and the moments that revealed the deception. What did the DD-214 and one retired ribbon expose about who she really was?

Date: March 6, 2020, 08:20
Location: 414 Ashgrove Drive, Kellerman Park, Dorado Falls
Person: Carol Powell, age 31 on arrival in 2014
Person: Patrick Gould, age 26, former Army Reserve soldier
Document: DD-214 submitted spring 2017 with three identified errors

- Seven military medals were photographed unattended on the front porch on March 6, 2020 at 08:20.
- The disputed service ribbon was a retired citation requiring at least 25 years' service, implying a minimum age of 56 to have legitimately earned it.
- Carol Powell arrived in Dorado Falls in winter 2014 at age 24 and rented room at 414 Ashgrove Drive.
- By 2015 she attended the Consolidated Service League; by 2016 she marched in Memorial Day and Veterans Day parades in assembled uniform pieces.
- The DD-214 filed in spring 2017 had three specific errors: a misplaced hyphen in the control number, an inconsistent separation code, and reference to a non-existent "34th Logistics Support Battalion."

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.]]>1421falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-lived-on-swiss-letterhead-the-woman-who-bought-a-town--73071043
A quiet Ohio town was paying nine-figure attention to a woman who never owned a bank account in Geneva; for fourteen months she lived in a ninth-floor corner suite paid by a phantom Swiss trust she fabricated from forty-six cream-and-sage sheets of letterhead. How did a copy-shop printout, a practiced accent, and one soft tire keep a deception alive long enough to buy trust - and what finally unraveled it?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from the moment a volunteer finds a leather portfolio in a hotel parking lot to the discovery that every monthly payment cleared for fourteen months despite there being no Halloway-Voss trust in any Swiss registry. What did Linda Hill create, who aided her, and how did the community respond when the façade collapsed?

Person: Linda Hill
Person: Dennis Tate
Location: Dennison Grand, Kellerton, Ohio
Duration: 14 months
Document count: 46 sheets

- Linda Hill checked into the Dennison Grand in early December 2021 at age 52.
- She printed forty-six sheets of cream-and-sage Hotel Beaumont-Voss letterhead at a copy shop on Prescott Street in Columbus.
- Payments for her ninth-floor corner suite were made every month for fourteen months with no bounced payments.
- Dennis Tate, age 47, practiced a Mid-Atlantic/European accent for six weeks before calls to the hotel.
- A leather portfolio containing the forty-six sheets was found by Ruth Rafferty on a February morning when the temperature was eleven degrees.

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/73071043Tue, 18 Aug 2026 13:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Lived on Swiss Letterhead: The Woman Who Bought a Town A quiet Ohio town was paying nine-figure attention to a woman who never owned a bank account in Geneva; for fourteen months she lived in a ninth-floor corner suite paid by a phantom Swiss...
A quiet Ohio town was paying nine-figure attention to a woman who never owned a bank account in Geneva; for fourteen months she lived in a ninth-floor corner suite paid by a phantom Swiss trust she fabricated from forty-six cream-and-sage sheets of letterhead. How did a copy-shop printout, a practiced accent, and one soft tire keep a deception alive long enough to buy trust - and what finally unraveled it?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from the moment a volunteer finds a leather portfolio in a hotel parking lot to the discovery that every monthly payment cleared for fourteen months despite there being no Halloway-Voss trust in any Swiss registry. What did Linda Hill create, who aided her, and how did the community respond when the façade collapsed?

Person: Linda Hill
Person: Dennis Tate
Location: Dennison Grand, Kellerton, Ohio
Duration: 14 months
Document count: 46 sheets

- Linda Hill checked into the Dennison Grand in early December 2021 at age 52.
- She printed forty-six sheets of cream-and-sage Hotel Beaumont-Voss letterhead at a copy shop on Prescott Street in Columbus.
- Payments for her ninth-floor corner suite were made every month for fourteen months with no bounced payments.
- Dennis Tate, age 47, practiced a Mid-Atlantic/European accent for six weeks before calls to the hotel.
- A leather portfolio containing the forty-six sheets was found by Ruth Rafferty on a February morning when the temperature was eleven degrees.

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.]]>1354falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-fake-doctor-who-kept-a-town-alive-then-was-exposed--73071040
Fear that the person who saved a community might be a fraud: Briar Fork relied on one clinician for eleven years, yet his diploma was found sealed in a satchel under a pine tree - preserved as if someone planned to recover it. How did Donald Ray Hughes sustain a medical practice for nearly a decade in a town with no hospital, and what happens when a community must reckon with care provided by a man who never completed medical school?

In this episode, we tell what happened when a man opened Briar Fork Family Medicine, who he treated, what documents he forged, and how the truth finally surfaced - and we ask whether the harm done can be measured by outcomes alone.

Person: Donald Ray Hughes
Location: Briar Fork, Whitmore County, western Virginia
Period: 2003-2014 (eleven years of practice)
Count of patients seen: roughly 800
Nearest hospital distance: about 80 kilometers to Alderton

- Hughes opened Briar Fork Family Medicine in spring 2003 in the former dentist's office on the main road.
- He made weekly appearances at a café every Tuesday at 7:45 a.m., then drove to the clinic.
- The forged diploma bore a UVA School of Medicine seal with a graduation date of May 1997 and was laminated by Hughes.
- The Virginia medical license number used by Hughes belonged to Donald Harmon, who surrendered it in 2001.
- The diploma sat sealed inside a leather satchel wedged between the roots of a pine tree on a frozen mountain trail and was found the morning after Hughes's arrest.

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/73071040Mon, 17 Aug 2026 13:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Fake Doctor Who Kept a Town Alive - Then Was Exposed Fear that the person who saved a community might be a fraud: Briar Fork relied on one clinician for eleven years, yet his diploma was found sealed in a satchel under a pine tree - preserved...
Fear that the person who saved a community might be a fraud: Briar Fork relied on one clinician for eleven years, yet his diploma was found sealed in a satchel under a pine tree - preserved as if someone planned to recover it. How did Donald Ray Hughes sustain a medical practice for nearly a decade in a town with no hospital, and what happens when a community must reckon with care provided by a man who never completed medical school?

In this episode, we tell what happened when a man opened Briar Fork Family Medicine, who he treated, what documents he forged, and how the truth finally surfaced - and we ask whether the harm done can be measured by outcomes alone.

Person: Donald Ray Hughes
Location: Briar Fork, Whitmore County, western Virginia
Period: 2003-2014 (eleven years of practice)
Count of patients seen: roughly 800
Nearest hospital distance: about 80 kilometers to Alderton

- Hughes opened Briar Fork Family Medicine in spring 2003 in the former dentist's office on the main road.
- He made weekly appearances at a café every Tuesday at 7:45 a.m., then drove to the clinic.
- The forged diploma bore a UVA School of Medicine seal with a graduation date of May 1997 and was laminated by Hughes.
- The Virginia medical license number used by Hughes belonged to Donald Harmon, who surrendered it in 2001.
- The diploma sat sealed inside a leather satchel wedged between the roots of a pine tree on a frozen mountain trail and was found the morning after Hughes's arrest.

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.]]>1455falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/from-the-left-a-laminated-chaplaincy-badge-with-lanyard-and-ring-intact--73071038
A single laminated badge, intact with a clear photo and a craft-store ring, washed up on a trotline forty yards from shore - and it traced back to a woman who had spent three years as a hospice chaplain using a credential she made at her kitchen table. The credential named "Reverend Sarah Owens" and an organization that does not exist; why would someone who quietly excelled at sitting with the dying invent an entire identity instead of opening the door that was offered? What drove her to fake the paperwork when no patient was harmed?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the morning the badge was found to the discovery that the Interdenominational Pastoral Care Alliance did not exist, covering the hiring, the daily work in the hospice, and the questions that followed; can a fabricated credential change how we judge someone who did the real work?

Person: Sarah Owens
Location: Sable River Hospice
Event: Badge found on trotline forty yards from shore
Date: December (early dark of December; badge valid through December 2020)
Status: Employed at Sable River Hospice from spring 2016 to three years later

- The badge was found on the third hook from the left, forty yards from shore on the east bank of the Sable River.
- Investigators estimated the badge traveled roughly 600 yards downstream before snagging.
- The badge read "Reverend Sarah Owens," credentialed by the Interdenominational Pastoral Care Alliance, valid through December 2020.
- Sarah Owens applied and was hired in March 2016, starting at age 25 and paid $14 per hour.
- For approximately six months she self-studied clinical pastoral education materials and printed the badge at a copy center, assembling the laminate pouch and craft-store ring at her kitchen table.

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/73071038Sun, 16 Aug 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at Obomediafrom the left: a laminated chaplaincy badge with lanyard and ring intact A single laminated badge, intact with a clear photo and a craft-store ring, washed up on a trotline forty yards from shore - and it traced back to a woman who had spent three...
A single laminated badge, intact with a clear photo and a craft-store ring, washed up on a trotline forty yards from shore - and it traced back to a woman who had spent three years as a hospice chaplain using a credential she made at her kitchen table. The credential named "Reverend Sarah Owens" and an organization that does not exist; why would someone who quietly excelled at sitting with the dying invent an entire identity instead of opening the door that was offered? What drove her to fake the paperwork when no patient was harmed?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the morning the badge was found to the discovery that the Interdenominational Pastoral Care Alliance did not exist, covering the hiring, the daily work in the hospice, and the questions that followed; can a fabricated credential change how we judge someone who did the real work?

Person: Sarah Owens
Location: Sable River Hospice
Event: Badge found on trotline forty yards from shore
Date: December (early dark of December; badge valid through December 2020)
Status: Employed at Sable River Hospice from spring 2016 to three years later

- The badge was found on the third hook from the left, forty yards from shore on the east bank of the Sable River.
- Investigators estimated the badge traveled roughly 600 yards downstream before snagging.
- The badge read "Reverend Sarah Owens," credentialed by the Interdenominational Pastoral Care Alliance, valid through December 2020.
- Sarah Owens applied and was hired in March 2016, starting at age 25 and paid $14 per hour.
- For approximately six months she self-studied clinical pastoral education materials and printed the badge at a copy center, assembling the laminate pouch and craft-store ring at her kitchen table.

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/he-faked-fire-credentials-9-convictions-three-fish-one-secret-tank--73071037
There is a quiet horror in finding a humming ten-gallon aquarium and three healthy cichlids in a truck while the owner’s credentials turn out to be fake - a Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator number that was never assigned and went unchecked for seven years. How did a man with a 60-dollar certificate, a notebook, and a habit of setting fires become the trusted expert on cause and origin for insurers across lower Michigan?

In this episode, we lay out the timeline from a 1991 arson conviction to the truck at a gravel access road in November 2011, showing how procedural oversights and a convincing persona let one man operate as an expert while his credential went unverified. What does it take for a fake certificate to persist for years, and who finally noticed?

Person: James M. Wells
Date: November 2011
Location: Foley Township gravel access road, Michigan
Event: Unassigned CFEI number found on reports
Status: Operated Lakeshore Fire Consulting, LLC with forged certificate

- Wells was 56 years old when deputies found his truck in November 2011 with keys in the ignition and a running ten-gallon aquarium on the passenger seat.
- He kept three cichlids named Marvin, Pete, and Dot, which he had owned for eleven years by 2011 and fed twice daily at 6 AM and 6 PM.
- In 1991 Wells filed a false insurance claim after a storage-unit fire, pleaded guilty to insurance fraud, and served 14 months at a minimum-security facility, released in spring 1993.
- He paid $60 to a Traverse City graphic design shop to produce a counterfeit CFEI certificate and began accepting paid fire investigation work in autumn 2004, charging $400 for his first report.
- The IAAI credential number printed on his reports remained unassigned and unchecked from 2004 through 2011, despite the registry reflecting format changes discontinued in 2001.

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/73071037Sat, 15 Aug 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Faked Fire Credentials - 9 Convictions, Three Fish, One Secret Tank There is a quiet horror in finding a humming ten-gallon aquarium and three healthy cichlids in a truck while the owner’s credentials turn out to be fake - a Certified Fire and...
There is a quiet horror in finding a humming ten-gallon aquarium and three healthy cichlids in a truck while the owner’s credentials turn out to be fake - a Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator number that was never assigned and went unchecked for seven years. How did a man with a 60-dollar certificate, a notebook, and a habit of setting fires become the trusted expert on cause and origin for insurers across lower Michigan?

In this episode, we lay out the timeline from a 1991 arson conviction to the truck at a gravel access road in November 2011, showing how procedural oversights and a convincing persona let one man operate as an expert while his credential went unverified. What does it take for a fake certificate to persist for years, and who finally noticed?

Person: James M. Wells
Date: November 2011
Location: Foley Township gravel access road, Michigan
Event: Unassigned CFEI number found on reports
Status: Operated Lakeshore Fire Consulting, LLC with forged certificate

- Wells was 56 years old when deputies found his truck in November 2011 with keys in the ignition and a running ten-gallon aquarium on the passenger seat.
- He kept three cichlids named Marvin, Pete, and Dot, which he had owned for eleven years by 2011 and fed twice daily at 6 AM and 6 PM.
- In 1991 Wells filed a false insurance claim after a storage-unit fire, pleaded guilty to insurance fraud, and served 14 months at a minimum-security facility, released in spring 1993.
- He paid $60 to a Traverse City graphic design shop to produce a counterfeit CFEI certificate and began accepting paid fire investigation work in autumn 2004, charging $400 for his first report.
- The IAAI credential number printed on his reports remained unassigned and unchecked from 2004 through 2011, despite the registry reflecting format changes discontinued in 2001.

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.]]>1289falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-girl-who-fabricated-a-town-inside-heather-crawford-s-lie--73071035
Suspicion and awe collide when a 22-year-old from a town of 4,000 convinced 400,000 listeners that a 1989 disappearance happened - and hid proof in a septic tank. A concrete-sealed filing-drawer held 211 pages, a cracked recorder, a USB, and a laminated press credential from an LLC that had never published a story. How did one digit in a case number and a pile of meticulously staged details finally unravel a nationwide hoax?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of actions, documents, and audio that built a fake cold case into a media phenomenon and then collapsed it. You’ll hear how local records, production notes, and a single noticed error raised the central question: what happens when production craft becomes believable enough to replace reality?

Person: Heather Crawford
Location: Aldercroft, Missouri
Population: 4,000
Pages found: 211
Subscribers at peak: 400,000

- The drawer recovered from the septic tank was four inches too wide to have entered through the tank opening.
- The filing-drawer contained 211 printed pages, a portable audio recorder with a cracked screen, a USB drive taped with electrical tape, and one laminated press credential.
- Heather Crawford was born around 1996, graduated Aldercroft Regional High School in 2014, enrolled at Farwell Community College and withdrew after 18 months.
- By the end of season one, "The Aldercroft Files" had 90,000 subscribers and grew to 400,000 by season two.
- In spring 2018, at age 22, Heather Crawford signed a distribution deal with Meridian Audio after creating the podcast.

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/73071035Fri, 14 Aug 2026 13:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Girl Who Fabricated a Town: Inside Heather Crawford's Lie Suspicion and awe collide when a 22-year-old from a town of 4,000 convinced 400,000 listeners that a 1989 disappearance happened - and hid proof in a septic tank. A concrete-sealed...
Suspicion and awe collide when a 22-year-old from a town of 4,000 convinced 400,000 listeners that a 1989 disappearance happened - and hid proof in a septic tank. A concrete-sealed filing-drawer held 211 pages, a cracked recorder, a USB, and a laminated press credential from an LLC that had never published a story. How did one digit in a case number and a pile of meticulously staged details finally unravel a nationwide hoax?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of actions, documents, and audio that built a fake cold case into a media phenomenon and then collapsed it. You’ll hear how local records, production notes, and a single noticed error raised the central question: what happens when production craft becomes believable enough to replace reality?

Person: Heather Crawford
Location: Aldercroft, Missouri
Population: 4,000
Pages found: 211
Subscribers at peak: 400,000

- The drawer recovered from the septic tank was four inches too wide to have entered through the tank opening.
- The filing-drawer contained 211 printed pages, a portable audio recorder with a cracked screen, a USB drive taped with electrical tape, and one laminated press credential.
- Heather Crawford was born around 1996, graduated Aldercroft Regional High School in 2014, enrolled at Farwell Community College and withdrew after 18 months.
- By the end of season one, "The Aldercroft Files" had 90,000 subscribers and grew to 400,000 by season two.
- In spring 2018, at age 22, Heather Crawford signed a distribution deal with Meridian Audio after creating the podcast.

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.]]>1434falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-diploma-in-the-reeds-how-a-fake-doctor-fooled-a-town--73071034
Fear that someone you trust might not be who they say-this episode begins with a barely damp doctoral diploma found in an Ohio marsh at 5:45 AM on September 4, 2019, and traces how that single document unraveled eleven years of a fabricated clinical career. How did a forged diploma and four signed letters convince a state board, insurers, journals, and parents that a woman was a licensed clinical psychologist?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the discovery of the diploma through the institutional failures that allowed the deception to persist, and we ask what the diploma’s presence in the reeds finally proves about verification systems.

Person: Nicole Anne Anne
Date: September 4, 2019
Location: Aldermoor Reservoir, Ohio
Institution: Hargrove University (doctoral program)
Duration: Eleven years of practiced deception

- The diploma was found at 5:45 AM and was “barely damp” at the corners, indicating it arrived within hours.
- The nearest road to the marsh is 1.5 miles away and reachable only past a locked service gate.
- Nicole withdrew from Hargrove University after one week of supervised sessions; her file recorded a voluntary withdrawal in February 2007.
- Between 2008 and 2010 Nicole submitted four letters from Leonard Marsh, a retired psychologist whose license had expired in 2006, to the Ohio State Board of Psychology.
- The Ohio State Board of Psychology granted her a license based on the fabricated diploma and the four letters without checking the original documents.

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/73071034Thu, 13 Aug 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Diploma in the Reeds: How a Fake Doctor Fooled a Town Fear that someone you trust might not be who they say-this episode begins with a barely damp doctoral diploma found in an Ohio marsh at 5:45 AM on September 4, 2019, and traces how that...
Fear that someone you trust might not be who they say-this episode begins with a barely damp doctoral diploma found in an Ohio marsh at 5:45 AM on September 4, 2019, and traces how that single document unraveled eleven years of a fabricated clinical career. How did a forged diploma and four signed letters convince a state board, insurers, journals, and parents that a woman was a licensed clinical psychologist?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the discovery of the diploma through the institutional failures that allowed the deception to persist, and we ask what the diploma’s presence in the reeds finally proves about verification systems.

Person: Nicole Anne Anne
Date: September 4, 2019
Location: Aldermoor Reservoir, Ohio
Institution: Hargrove University (doctoral program)
Duration: Eleven years of practiced deception

- The diploma was found at 5:45 AM and was “barely damp” at the corners, indicating it arrived within hours.
- The nearest road to the marsh is 1.5 miles away and reachable only past a locked service gate.
- Nicole withdrew from Hargrove University after one week of supervised sessions; her file recorded a voluntary withdrawal in February 2007.
- Between 2008 and 2010 Nicole submitted four letters from Leonard Marsh, a retired psychologist whose license had expired in 2006, to the Ohio State Board of Psychology.
- The Ohio State Board of Psychology granted her a license based on the fabricated diploma and the four letters without checking the original documents.

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.]]>1367falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-fake-lawyer-next-door-twin-s-diploma-two-decades-of-lies--73071032
A framed University of Michigan Law School diploma with the wrong first name hung in plain sight for nineteen years - visible from the open door at 412 Westerfield Drive - while a man practiced as an arbitrator under his twin’s credentials. How did a single altered digit on a bar card and an oak frame sustain a two-decade deception that produced over 200 arbitration decisions?

In this episode, you will hear how Grant Hansen built a nineteen-year arbitrator career using his twin Gerald’s identity, the sequence of events from a family split to a cash purchase of documents in Chicago, and the small administrative checks that eventually began to unravel the story. What does it mean that the work was real but the name was stolen?

Person: Grant Hansen
Person: Gerald Hansen
Location: 412 Westerfield Drive
Event: Hired by Tri-County Manufacturing Coalition in spring 1992
Number of cases: More than 200 arbitration cases

- The diploma from the University of Michigan Law School hung at eye level in the front room of 412 Westerfield Drive for nineteen years.
- Grant and Gerald Hansen were born in March 1949, eleven minutes apart.
- In 1991 Grant paid $800 in cash in Chicago for documents including a University of Michigan Law School diploma in Gerald’s name.
- Grant was hired within six weeks by Vincent Prater in spring 1992 with a starting salary of $62,000.
- For nineteen years Grant issued over 200 arbitration decisions with zero appeals lost and three citations in Ohio labor law publications between 2000 and 2009.

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/73071032Wed, 12 Aug 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Fake Lawyer Next Door: Twin's Diploma, Two Decades of Lies A framed University of Michigan Law School diploma with the wrong first name hung in plain sight for nineteen years - visible from the open door at 412 Westerfield Drive - while a man...
A framed University of Michigan Law School diploma with the wrong first name hung in plain sight for nineteen years - visible from the open door at 412 Westerfield Drive - while a man practiced as an arbitrator under his twin’s credentials. How did a single altered digit on a bar card and an oak frame sustain a two-decade deception that produced over 200 arbitration decisions?

In this episode, you will hear how Grant Hansen built a nineteen-year arbitrator career using his twin Gerald’s identity, the sequence of events from a family split to a cash purchase of documents in Chicago, and the small administrative checks that eventually began to unravel the story. What does it mean that the work was real but the name was stolen?

Person: Grant Hansen
Person: Gerald Hansen
Location: 412 Westerfield Drive
Event: Hired by Tri-County Manufacturing Coalition in spring 1992
Number of cases: More than 200 arbitration cases

- The diploma from the University of Michigan Law School hung at eye level in the front room of 412 Westerfield Drive for nineteen years.
- Grant and Gerald Hansen were born in March 1949, eleven minutes apart.
- In 1991 Grant paid $800 in cash in Chicago for documents including a University of Michigan Law School diploma in Gerald’s name.
- Grant was hired within six weeks by Vincent Prater in spring 1992 with a starting salary of $62,000.
- For nineteen years Grant issued over 200 arbitration decisions with zero appeals lost and three citations in Ohio labor law publications between 2000 and 2009.

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.]]>1271falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-sommelier-who-built-a-cellar-of-lies-then-a-bottle-betrayed-her--73071031
Cold fear: a wine bottle found at 6:40 AM in a Chicago alley was 55°F in 81°F air - cold enough to fog and cold enough to have been in a cellar minutes earlier. A forged Court of Master Sommeliers certificate and a library-bought Oxford Companion to Wine powered three years of flawless service at a three-Michelin-star restaurant - so how did a single misdated vintage and tightening cellar choices lead to exposure?

In this episode, you’ll hear how a 26-year-old sommelier assumed a professional identity, how small factual slips and purchasing patterns flagged her, and why a discarded bottle became the final clue that unspooled everything. What compounding errors finally forced the truth into the open?

Person: Brenda Wallace
Location: Chicago
Found: 6:40 AM on July 14th
Air temperature: 81°F
Bottle temperature: 55°F

- Brenda was 23 when hired as head sommelier at Ardent.
- She read the 1998 Oxford Companion to Wine in four days and bought one bottle per week to study.
- The Court of Master Sommeliers had no record of Brenda at any level.
- A food writer, Rhonda Reed, identified a misdated Barolo (1997 vs. claimed 1996) 14 months before the bottle was found.
- A supplier, Morris Galvin, noticed the wine list narrowing over three years, clustering around the same producers and vintages.

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/73071031Tue, 11 Aug 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Sommelier Who Built a Cellar of Lies - Then a Bottle Betrayed Her Cold fear: a wine bottle found at 6:40 AM in a Chicago alley was 55°F in 81°F air - cold enough to fog and cold enough to have been in a cellar minutes earlier. A forged Court of...
Cold fear: a wine bottle found at 6:40 AM in a Chicago alley was 55°F in 81°F air - cold enough to fog and cold enough to have been in a cellar minutes earlier. A forged Court of Master Sommeliers certificate and a library-bought Oxford Companion to Wine powered three years of flawless service at a three-Michelin-star restaurant - so how did a single misdated vintage and tightening cellar choices lead to exposure?

In this episode, you’ll hear how a 26-year-old sommelier assumed a professional identity, how small factual slips and purchasing patterns flagged her, and why a discarded bottle became the final clue that unspooled everything. What compounding errors finally forced the truth into the open?

Person: Brenda Wallace
Location: Chicago
Found: 6:40 AM on July 14th
Air temperature: 81°F
Bottle temperature: 55°F

- Brenda was 23 when hired as head sommelier at Ardent.
- She read the 1998 Oxford Companion to Wine in four days and bought one bottle per week to study.
- The Court of Master Sommeliers had no record of Brenda at any level.
- A food writer, Rhonda Reed, identified a misdated Barolo (1997 vs. claimed 1996) 14 months before the bottle was found.
- A supplier, Morris Galvin, noticed the wine list narrowing over three years, clustering around the same producers and vintages.

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/she-wrote-their-obituaries-while-they-were-still-alive-the-crystal-patterson-case--73071030
A chill of violated trust: a small-town obituary writer published approximately 31 obituaries over 14 years for people who were still living, including fabricated family members and memorials placed at real venues that had already passed. How did a paper's most trusted page become a ledger of invented deaths, and what finally cracked the quiet web she spun?

In this episode, we tell what the episode covers and how a photograph and a spreadsheet unspooled the story: from a utility technician who recognized a retired hospital logo to an accountant who noticed a wrong relative listed in print - who was Crystal Lynn Patterson, why did she write these obituaries, and what did investigators find when they followed the paper trail?

Person: Crystal Lynn Patterson
Location: Prosper, Darnell County, Ohio
Period: 2003-2017
Event: Approximately 31 obituaries published for living people
Financial gain: $4,200 above legitimate income over 14 years

- Patterson worked as the Public-Register obituary writer from 2003 and volunteered every Tuesday for nine years at the Prosper Public Library reading program from 6-8 PM.
- The state press association awarded Patterson for community journalism in 2008 and 2012 for her obituary work.
- The badge photographed on June 4, 2017 showed a blue wave logo retired by Darnell County General Hospital in 2009.
- Wayne Gray, a 61-year-old accountant, first noticed a discrepancy in April 2015 when an obituary named a son instead of known daughters.
- Editors recorded that Patterson produced approximately 31 fabricated obituaries over a 14-year span, often choosing elderly or isolated subjects with thin social networks.

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/73071030Mon, 10 Aug 2026 13:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Wrote Their Obituaries While They Were Still Alive: The Crystal Patterson Case A chill of violated trust: a small-town obituary writer published approximately 31 obituaries over 14 years for people who were still living, including fabricated...
A chill of violated trust: a small-town obituary writer published approximately 31 obituaries over 14 years for people who were still living, including fabricated family members and memorials placed at real venues that had already passed. How did a paper's most trusted page become a ledger of invented deaths, and what finally cracked the quiet web she spun?

In this episode, we tell what the episode covers and how a photograph and a spreadsheet unspooled the story: from a utility technician who recognized a retired hospital logo to an accountant who noticed a wrong relative listed in print - who was Crystal Lynn Patterson, why did she write these obituaries, and what did investigators find when they followed the paper trail?

Person: Crystal Lynn Patterson
Location: Prosper, Darnell County, Ohio
Period: 2003-2017
Event: Approximately 31 obituaries published for living people
Financial gain: $4,200 above legitimate income over 14 years

- Patterson worked as the Public-Register obituary writer from 2003 and volunteered every Tuesday for nine years at the Prosper Public Library reading program from 6-8 PM.
- The state press association awarded Patterson for community journalism in 2008 and 2012 for her obituary work.
- The badge photographed on June 4, 2017 showed a blue wave logo retired by Darnell County General Hospital in 2009.
- Wayne Gray, a 61-year-old accountant, first noticed a discrepancy in April 2015 when an obituary named a son instead of known daughters.
- Editors recorded that Patterson produced approximately 31 fabricated obituaries over a 14-year span, often choosing elderly or isolated subjects with thin social networks.

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.]]>1242falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-placed-the-badge-and-walked-away-the-lauren-jenkins-case--73071029
There is a laminated, playing-card-size badge leaning against a pond pillar in Dunbar, Ohio that names "DR. LAUREN JENKINS, FIELD OPERATIONS DIRECTOR" - and that badge led to a web of fabricated degrees, holographic seals bought from office suppliers, and international deployments. How did a woman from Dunbar move from a $3 estate-sale vest to coordinating relief in Dhaka, Kenya, Peru and Lebanon without a single institutional verification stopping her?

In this episode, we follow the timeline of Lauren Jenkins' movement from local oddities to global field reports, tracing the materials, methods and minor oversights that allowed her credentials to become official in every published record. What single gap in credentialing and verification made each step possible and why did it go unanswered even when colleagues praised her work?

Person: Lauren Jenkins
Location: Dunbar, Ohio
Date found: third week of May, 2017 (Tuesday morning)
Organization: ICCN
Deployment destinations: Dhaka (Oct 2013), Kenya (Mar 2014), Peru (2015), Lebanon (spring 2016)

- Badge description: laminated, playing-card size with holographic seal and staff number found leaning against a drainage pillar
- Vest origin and cost: khaki cotton field vest from Norwood estate sale priced at $3 with "ICCN" stenciled
- Timeline of deception: six weeks to research and fabricate credentials before applying in August 2013
- Fabricated credential detail: public-health degree listed from University of Edinburgh during a suspended curriculum period
- Early verification failure: application processed by logistics manager Dwight Coburn who issued a deployment packet without verification

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/73071029Sun, 09 Aug 2026 13:00:04 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Placed the Badge and Walked Away: The Lauren Jenkins Case There is a laminated, playing-card-size badge leaning against a pond pillar in Dunbar, Ohio that names "DR. LAUREN JENKINS, FIELD OPERATIONS DIRECTOR" - and that badge led to a web of...
There is a laminated, playing-card-size badge leaning against a pond pillar in Dunbar, Ohio that names "DR. LAUREN JENKINS, FIELD OPERATIONS DIRECTOR" - and that badge led to a web of fabricated degrees, holographic seals bought from office suppliers, and international deployments. How did a woman from Dunbar move from a $3 estate-sale vest to coordinating relief in Dhaka, Kenya, Peru and Lebanon without a single institutional verification stopping her?

In this episode, we follow the timeline of Lauren Jenkins' movement from local oddities to global field reports, tracing the materials, methods and minor oversights that allowed her credentials to become official in every published record. What single gap in credentialing and verification made each step possible and why did it go unanswered even when colleagues praised her work?

Person: Lauren Jenkins
Location: Dunbar, Ohio
Date found: third week of May, 2017 (Tuesday morning)
Organization: ICCN
Deployment destinations: Dhaka (Oct 2013), Kenya (Mar 2014), Peru (2015), Lebanon (spring 2016)

- Badge description: laminated, playing-card size with holographic seal and staff number found leaning against a drainage pillar
- Vest origin and cost: khaki cotton field vest from Norwood estate sale priced at $3 with "ICCN" stenciled
- Timeline of deception: six weeks to research and fabricate credentials before applying in August 2013
- Fabricated credential detail: public-health degree listed from University of Edinburgh during a suspended curriculum period
- Early verification failure: application processed by logistics manager Dwight Coburn who issued a deployment packet without verification

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.]]>1334falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-cassette-that-built-a-lie-how-rebecca-became-someone-else--73071027
Fear that the person sitting across from you is an expert - and yet built everything on a twenty-five-cent cassette - clicks into your chest the moment you hear this story: a Maxell tape found on a Philly curb named Rebecca Sheridan, credited with three Broadway credits and twelve hundred dollars a day, but the voice on the tape belonged to someone else. How did a single thrift-store cassette become the foundation for a two-decade identity that unraveled in one meeting?

In this episode, we tell what happened from the tape on Delford Lane to an Upper West Side conservatory classroom, tracing the steps Rebecca Sheridan took, the choices she avoided, and the unanswered question that ended her career: could the identity she built survive scrutiny?

Person: Rebecca Sheridan
Event: Cassette found on Delford Lane, Philadelphia
Date: April 2019
Location: Hesswick neighborhood, Philadelphia
Case: Tape labeled Tisch School of the Arts - Voice Faculty

- The cassette was purchased for $0.25 at a Salvation Army on Penn Avenue in April 1997.
- The tape label on Side B read "Property of Sharon Ewell. Carnegie Mellon University. Drama Department."
- Rebecca practiced the tape's fourteen dialect exercises daily for two years before moving to New York in spring 1999.
- By 2004 she had a stable client list and a shared Midtown office; by 2009 she was credited as dialect coach on a regional production.
- She taught the Monday Lab at an Upper West Side conservatory for eight years without missing a single session.

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/73071027Sat, 08 Aug 2026 13:00:04 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Cassette That Built a Lie: How Rebecca Became Someone Else Fear that the person sitting across from you is an expert - and yet built everything on a twenty-five-cent cassette - clicks into your chest the moment you hear this story: a Maxell...
Fear that the person sitting across from you is an expert - and yet built everything on a twenty-five-cent cassette - clicks into your chest the moment you hear this story: a Maxell tape found on a Philly curb named Rebecca Sheridan, credited with three Broadway credits and twelve hundred dollars a day, but the voice on the tape belonged to someone else. How did a single thrift-store cassette become the foundation for a two-decade identity that unraveled in one meeting?

In this episode, we tell what happened from the tape on Delford Lane to an Upper West Side conservatory classroom, tracing the steps Rebecca Sheridan took, the choices she avoided, and the unanswered question that ended her career: could the identity she built survive scrutiny?

Person: Rebecca Sheridan
Event: Cassette found on Delford Lane, Philadelphia
Date: April 2019
Location: Hesswick neighborhood, Philadelphia
Case: Tape labeled Tisch School of the Arts - Voice Faculty

- The cassette was purchased for $0.25 at a Salvation Army on Penn Avenue in April 1997.
- The tape label on Side B read "Property of Sharon Ewell. Carnegie Mellon University. Drama Department."
- Rebecca practiced the tape's fourteen dialect exercises daily for two years before moving to New York in spring 1999.
- By 2004 she had a stable client list and a shared Midtown office; by 2009 she was credited as dialect coach on a regional production.
- She taught the Monday Lab at an Upper West Side conservatory for eight years without missing a single session.

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.]]>1400falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-lawyer-who-never-graduated-a-fake-degree-240-lives-at-risk--73071026
A law degree from a school that closed thirty years earlier sat face-up in a storage unit - embossed with an archival seal copied exactly from 1950s photos - and it enabled a woman to practice law for eleven years. Two hundred and forty active immigration cases, weekly rituals, and a meticulously maintained office hid a single impossible document; how did that fake transcript slip past the bar and into permanent record?

In this episode, we trace the facts in the record: the discovery of the 1997 diploma from Carver-Hollins School of Law, the transcript that entered a bar admission file, and the colleagues who began to notice oddities - all building toward the central question of responsibility and risk for two hundred and forty clients.

Person: Judith Albright
Institution: Carver-Hollins School of Law, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Document Date: 1997 (degree) / transcript submitted during bar admission
School Closure: 1967
Case Load: approximately 240 active cases

- The Carver-Hollins law degree bore an embossed seal that matched archival photographs of the school's correspondence from the 1950s and early 1960s exactly.
- Carver-Hollins School of Law closed permanently in 1967, thirty years before the 1997 degree was issued.
- Judith Albright practiced immigration law for eleven years and maintained roughly 240 active cases at any given time.
- The fake transcript contained course listings such as Evidence law, Contracts, Constitutional procedure, and Civil rights litigation on slightly aged paper.
- A colleague, Gina Shepherd, received a Tuesday afternoon call in spring 2014 when Albright asked how to locate a Ninth Circuit decision, which later struck Shepherd as an odd detail.

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/73071026Fri, 07 Aug 2026 13:00:04 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Lawyer Who Never Graduated: A Fake Degree, 240 Lives at Risk A law degree from a school that closed thirty years earlier sat face-up in a storage unit - embossed with an archival seal copied exactly from 1950s photos - and it enabled a woman to...
A law degree from a school that closed thirty years earlier sat face-up in a storage unit - embossed with an archival seal copied exactly from 1950s photos - and it enabled a woman to practice law for eleven years. Two hundred and forty active immigration cases, weekly rituals, and a meticulously maintained office hid a single impossible document; how did that fake transcript slip past the bar and into permanent record?

In this episode, we trace the facts in the record: the discovery of the 1997 diploma from Carver-Hollins School of Law, the transcript that entered a bar admission file, and the colleagues who began to notice oddities - all building toward the central question of responsibility and risk for two hundred and forty clients.

Person: Judith Albright
Institution: Carver-Hollins School of Law, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Document Date: 1997 (degree) / transcript submitted during bar admission
School Closure: 1967
Case Load: approximately 240 active cases

- The Carver-Hollins law degree bore an embossed seal that matched archival photographs of the school's correspondence from the 1950s and early 1960s exactly.
- Carver-Hollins School of Law closed permanently in 1967, thirty years before the 1997 degree was issued.
- Judith Albright practiced immigration law for eleven years and maintained roughly 240 active cases at any given time.
- The fake transcript contained course listings such as Evidence law, Contracts, Constitutional procedure, and Civil rights litigation on slightly aged paper.
- A colleague, Gina Shepherd, received a Tuesday afternoon call in spring 2014 when Albright asked how to locate a Ninth Circuit decision, which later struck Shepherd as an odd detail.

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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.]]>1339falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-answered-her-own-reference-calls-the-connie-carlson-fraud--73071025
The thought that someone could quietly steal $241,000 while everyone praised her diligence is chilling: a dog found a leather portfolio with twelve forged Ohio Board of Accountancy certificates, one stamped 14 months in the future, and the woman on those certificates had been trusted for nearly three years. How did she answer her own reference calls, build a vendor to siphon funds in small transfers, and leave a trail of calm, timestamped voicemails that read like proof of competence?

In this episode, we present the facts of the case and what unfolded at Verity Consultants, laying out the sequence from hiring to detection and the unusual evidence investigators recovered. What made a routine hiring process blind to fabricated credentials, and why did the very records that looked like diligence become the clearest signs of deception?

Person: Constance R. Carlson
Location: Dunnfield, Ohio
Event: Leather portfolio found in culvert on February 11
Amount: $241,000 moved over three years
Vendor: Roper Administrative Services registered in Cincinnati

- Twelve laminated certificates bearing an Ohio Board of Accountancy seal were found in the portfolio.
- One certificate carried a verification stamp dated 14 months in the future.
- Connie arrived in Dunnfield at age 26 and worked at Verity Consultants for nearly three years.
- She kept transfers between $800 and $3,000 across fourteen client engagements to total $241,000.
- Investigators recovered thirty-seven Wednesday 4:45 a.m. voicemail recordings summarizing her account activity.

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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/73071025Thu, 06 Aug 2026 13:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Answered Her Own Reference Calls: The Connie Carlson Fraud The thought that someone could quietly steal $241,000 while everyone praised her diligence is chilling: a dog found a leather portfolio with twelve forged Ohio Board of Accountancy...
The thought that someone could quietly steal $241,000 while everyone praised her diligence is chilling: a dog found a leather portfolio with twelve forged Ohio Board of Accountancy certificates, one stamped 14 months in the future, and the woman on those certificates had been trusted for nearly three years. How did she answer her own reference calls, build a vendor to siphon funds in small transfers, and leave a trail of calm, timestamped voicemails that read like proof of competence?

In this episode, we present the facts of the case and what unfolded at Verity Consultants, laying out the sequence from hiring to detection and the unusual evidence investigators recovered. What made a routine hiring process blind to fabricated credentials, and why did the very records that looked like diligence become the clearest signs of deception?

Person: Constance R. Carlson
Location: Dunnfield, Ohio
Event: Leather portfolio found in culvert on February 11
Amount: $241,000 moved over three years
Vendor: Roper Administrative Services registered in Cincinnati

- Twelve laminated certificates bearing an Ohio Board of Accountancy seal were found in the portfolio.
- One certificate carried a verification stamp dated 14 months in the future.
- Connie arrived in Dunnfield at age 26 and worked at Verity Consultants for nearly three years.
- She kept transfers between $800 and $3,000 across fourteen client engagements to total $241,000.
- Investigators recovered thirty-seven Wednesday 4:45 a.m. voicemail recordings summarizing her account activity.

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.]]>1360falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-fake-guide-how-christine-cox-fooled-an-entire-mountain-town--73071024
A laminated “Tier One Expedition Leader” card-crisp, undamaged, and bearing the name Christine Cox-was pulled from a frozen river eleven miles from the nearest road on January 14, 2019. For seventeen years Cox presented herself as a Tier One guide with a professional website, a binder of client testimonials, and a twice-yearly master class; so how did a mountain-town landmark keep a fake credential hidden for nearly two decades?

In this episode, we lay out the timeline and the key discoveries about Christine Cox’s apparent career as a mountain guide, the evidence that supported her reputation, and the discrepancies that eventually unraveled it; what did forensic photography and parking records reveal about the true locations and frequency of her climbs?

Date: January 14, 2019
Person: Christine Cox
Location: Cullen River, eleven miles from nearest road
Status: Sentenced at age fifty-four after living in Dellfield for twenty-two years
Organization: American Alpine Federation (credential presented)

- The laminated card found in the Cullen River read "Tier One Expedition Leader" and bore Christine Cox’s name.
- Christine lived in Dellfield for 22 years and was 54 at the time of sentencing.
- Her portfolio contained roughly 30 photographs that forensic analysis traced to Breckenridge Mountain Resort, Tenmile Range, Colorado.
- Parking records confirmed Christine drove to Breckenridge at least six documented dates and she made the trip at least nine times over 17 years.
- She taught a master class twice a year at Glenfield Community College using the credential she submitted to the American Alpine Federation.

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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/73071024Wed, 05 Aug 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Fake Guide: How Christine Cox Fooled an Entire Mountain Town A laminated “Tier One Expedition Leader” card-crisp, undamaged, and bearing the name Christine Cox-was pulled from a frozen river eleven miles from the nearest road on January 14,...
A laminated “Tier One Expedition Leader” card-crisp, undamaged, and bearing the name Christine Cox-was pulled from a frozen river eleven miles from the nearest road on January 14, 2019. For seventeen years Cox presented herself as a Tier One guide with a professional website, a binder of client testimonials, and a twice-yearly master class; so how did a mountain-town landmark keep a fake credential hidden for nearly two decades?

In this episode, we lay out the timeline and the key discoveries about Christine Cox’s apparent career as a mountain guide, the evidence that supported her reputation, and the discrepancies that eventually unraveled it; what did forensic photography and parking records reveal about the true locations and frequency of her climbs?

Date: January 14, 2019
Person: Christine Cox
Location: Cullen River, eleven miles from nearest road
Status: Sentenced at age fifty-four after living in Dellfield for twenty-two years
Organization: American Alpine Federation (credential presented)

- The laminated card found in the Cullen River read "Tier One Expedition Leader" and bore Christine Cox’s name.
- Christine lived in Dellfield for 22 years and was 54 at the time of sentencing.
- Her portfolio contained roughly 30 photographs that forensic analysis traced to Breckenridge Mountain Resort, Tenmile Range, Colorado.
- Parking records confirmed Christine drove to Breckenridge at least six documented dates and she made the trip at least nine times over 17 years.
- She taught a master class twice a year at Glenfield Community College using the credential she submitted to the American Alpine Federation.

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.]]>1293falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-faked-a-medical-degree-and-nobody-checked-the-julie-doyle-case--73071023
An unsettling discovery - an Ohio State University medical diploma tucked in a utility corridor - revealed that a woman named Julie A. Doyle had been practicing at a fertility clinic with no medical degree, no board certification, and no DEA registration. How did a forged diploma hang on a consultation room wall for over two years while patients trusted the care they received?

In this episode, you will hear how a county surveyor’s curiosity led to a referral, how a clinic with no independent credentialing accepted documentation without verification, and how an attentive nurse quietly corrected clinical errors for twenty months before the truth surfaced - but what ultimately exposed Julie Doyle?

Person: Julie A. Doyle
Location: Sycamore Trace Road, Calhoun County, Ohio
Clinic: Lakeview Reproductive Medicine
Physician: Dr. Howard Steck, age 61
Timeline: Diploma found December 4, 2019; investigation began January 2020

- The diploma had hung on a consultation room wall for over two years before being moved to a utility corridor.
- Julie had completed three semesters at Indiana State University before withdrawing and had worked 18 months at an OB-GYN front desk.
- Fourteen stimulation cycles were completed at Lakeview over two years while Julie worked there.
- Nine of those fourteen cycles resulted in clinical pregnancies.
- Julie was 22 years old when she arrived at the clinic in September 2017, driving a silver Nissan Altima with Indiana plates.

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/73071023Tue, 04 Aug 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Faked a Medical Degree and Nobody Checked: The Julie Doyle Case An unsettling discovery - an Ohio State University medical diploma tucked in a utility corridor - revealed that a woman named Julie A. Doyle had been practicing at a fertility...
An unsettling discovery - an Ohio State University medical diploma tucked in a utility corridor - revealed that a woman named Julie A. Doyle had been practicing at a fertility clinic with no medical degree, no board certification, and no DEA registration. How did a forged diploma hang on a consultation room wall for over two years while patients trusted the care they received?

In this episode, you will hear how a county surveyor’s curiosity led to a referral, how a clinic with no independent credentialing accepted documentation without verification, and how an attentive nurse quietly corrected clinical errors for twenty months before the truth surfaced - but what ultimately exposed Julie Doyle?

Person: Julie A. Doyle
Location: Sycamore Trace Road, Calhoun County, Ohio
Clinic: Lakeview Reproductive Medicine
Physician: Dr. Howard Steck, age 61
Timeline: Diploma found December 4, 2019; investigation began January 2020

- The diploma had hung on a consultation room wall for over two years before being moved to a utility corridor.
- Julie had completed three semesters at Indiana State University before withdrawing and had worked 18 months at an OB-GYN front desk.
- Fourteen stimulation cycles were completed at Lakeview over two years while Julie worked there.
- Nine of those fourteen cycles resulted in clinical pregnancies.
- Julie was 22 years old when she arrived at the clinic in September 2017, driving a silver Nissan Altima with Indiana plates.

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.]]>1494falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-invented-a-country-she-built-a-life-on-a-fake-refugee-past--73071022
A routine septic call turned up a laminated identity card reading DIANELA WHITAKOVA issued by the Democratic Republic of Vethora - a nation that does not exist on any atlas, UN registry, or United Department list. How did a woman born in Youngstown, Ohio, build four years of trusted refugee-resettlement work on a completely fabricated homeland, and what does that reveal about her real identity?

In this episode, we follow the discovery in a Portsmith transitional house and trace Diane Whitaker’s path into the Portsmith Resettlement Partnership, the documents she presented, and the colleagues who trusted her - then the moments that began to unravel her story. How did a graduate student’s quiet doubt, a sealed file, and a card above an old tank finally expose the invention at the center of her life?

Person: Diane Whitaker
Birthplace: Youngstown, Ohio
Year of birth: 1981
Organization: Portsmith Resettlement Partnership
Date of discovery: November 14, 2019

- A laminated identity card with the name DIANELA WHITAKOVA was found above a secondary riser on November 14, 2019.
- The card listed the issuing authority as the Democratic Republic of Vethora, a country absent from all atlases and official registries.
- Diane Whitaker was hired by Frank Overbee in spring 2015 after presenting a folder including a naturalization certificate naming Vethora and a recommendation from a Pittsburgh resettlement office.
- Kevin Strand, a graduate student, searched for Vethora, Kethali district, and Orval in February 2019 and found no records but did not report his findings.
- Diane worked at the Partnership for four years and was praised by colleagues like Patricia Odum for her presence and casework before the fabrication was uncovered.

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/73071022Mon, 03 Aug 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Invented a Country - She Built a Life on a Fake Refugee Past A routine septic call turned up a laminated identity card reading DIANELA WHITAKOVA issued by the Democratic Republic of Vethora - a nation that does not exist on any atlas, UN...
A routine septic call turned up a laminated identity card reading DIANELA WHITAKOVA issued by the Democratic Republic of Vethora - a nation that does not exist on any atlas, UN registry, or United Department list. How did a woman born in Youngstown, Ohio, build four years of trusted refugee-resettlement work on a completely fabricated homeland, and what does that reveal about her real identity?

In this episode, we follow the discovery in a Portsmith transitional house and trace Diane Whitaker’s path into the Portsmith Resettlement Partnership, the documents she presented, and the colleagues who trusted her - then the moments that began to unravel her story. How did a graduate student’s quiet doubt, a sealed file, and a card above an old tank finally expose the invention at the center of her life?

Person: Diane Whitaker
Birthplace: Youngstown, Ohio
Year of birth: 1981
Organization: Portsmith Resettlement Partnership
Date of discovery: November 14, 2019

- A laminated identity card with the name DIANELA WHITAKOVA was found above a secondary riser on November 14, 2019.
- The card listed the issuing authority as the Democratic Republic of Vethora, a country absent from all atlases and official registries.
- Diane Whitaker was hired by Frank Overbee in spring 2015 after presenting a folder including a naturalization certificate naming Vethora and a recommendation from a Pittsburgh resettlement office.
- Kevin Strand, a graduate student, searched for Vethora, Kethali district, and Orval in February 2019 and found no records but did not report his findings.
- Diane worked at the Partnership for four years and was praised by colleagues like Patricia Odum for her presence and casework before the fabrication was uncovered.

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.]]>1345falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-dropped-the-diploma-in-the-ditch-the-tammy-lawson-case--73071021
You will feel the cold pull of a near-miss: a framed graduate diploma, glass unbroken and gold seal glinting, abandoned in a roadside ditch - and the name on it belonged to a university that had not existed for twenty-one years. Tamara Jean Lawson removed that same frame from her office, drove it to Pickett Road, and set it in the drainage three days before a passerby found it; why would a longtime principal deliberately discard the paper that seemed to justify her job?

In this episode, the story follows how a working life was built around an unverified credential and the institutional blind spots that made it possible, asking whether a fake diploma changed what Tammy Lawson actually did as principal and why she chose a closed university’s name when fabricating her record.

Person: Tamara Jean Lawson
Date: October 14, 2019
Location: Pickett Road, outside Solverton
Institution: Bellhaven University (closed 1998)
Students served: 341

- On October 11, 2019 Tammy Lawson took down a framed diploma she had hung in 2008 and placed it in a roadside ditch.
- Bellhaven University had closed in 1998 and its alumni records were moved to the Tennessee state archive.
- Tammy’s verified credential is an associate’s degree from Wabash Valley Community College earned in 1986.
- Tammy worked in public education roles from 1994 to 2008 including classroom aide, curriculum consultant, and school secretary.
- Solverton Elementary employed 341 students at the time Tammy was hired as principal in fall 2008.

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/73071021Sun, 02 Aug 2026 13:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Dropped the Diploma in the Ditch: The Tammy Lawson Case You will feel the cold pull of a near-miss: a framed graduate diploma, glass unbroken and gold seal glinting, abandoned in a roadside ditch - and the name on it belonged to a university...
You will feel the cold pull of a near-miss: a framed graduate diploma, glass unbroken and gold seal glinting, abandoned in a roadside ditch - and the name on it belonged to a university that had not existed for twenty-one years. Tamara Jean Lawson removed that same frame from her office, drove it to Pickett Road, and set it in the drainage three days before a passerby found it; why would a longtime principal deliberately discard the paper that seemed to justify her job?

In this episode, the story follows how a working life was built around an unverified credential and the institutional blind spots that made it possible, asking whether a fake diploma changed what Tammy Lawson actually did as principal and why she chose a closed university’s name when fabricating her record.

Person: Tamara Jean Lawson
Date: October 14, 2019
Location: Pickett Road, outside Solverton
Institution: Bellhaven University (closed 1998)
Students served: 341

- On October 11, 2019 Tammy Lawson took down a framed diploma she had hung in 2008 and placed it in a roadside ditch.
- Bellhaven University had closed in 1998 and its alumni records were moved to the Tennessee state archive.
- Tammy’s verified credential is an associate’s degree from Wabash Valley Community College earned in 1986.
- Tammy worked in public education roles from 1994 to 2008 including classroom aide, curriculum consultant, and school secretary.
- Solverton Elementary employed 341 students at the time Tammy was hired as principal in fall 2008.

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.]]>1509falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-michelin-card-in-the-trash-how-a-teen-exposed-a-fake-critic--73071020
A 14-year-old found a laminated Michelin Guide credential in a recycling bin four days after it had been replaced - a flawless card with a holographic seal that should never have existed in a one-bedroom apartment in Fenwick Hill. How did a twenty-five-year-old build a two-and-a-half-year professional identity out of borrowed clips, a nonexistent culinary education, and a fake inspector’s card, and why did it take a discarded badge and a teenager to unravel it?

In this episode, we tell how a small-town newspaper hire, unsigned verification, precise writing samples, and an unchallenged industry culture let a fabricated food critic flourish - until a recycling bin raised the question that everyone had avoided: who was Nancy Armstrong really?

Person: Carol McCarthy
Person: Nancy Armstrong
Date: September 12, 2011
Location: 44 Ardmore Terrace, Fenwick Hill, Ohio
Person: Thomas Reidy

- Carol McCarthy was fourteen years old when she retrieved the laminated credential from the recycling bin.
- The Michelin Guide credential had been discarded four days after it was issued.
- Nancy Armstrong was approximately twenty-five years old when she wrote the "Armstrong on Eating" column.
- Thomas Reidy, the prior food writer whose style Nancy copied, died in January 2009 at age sixty-one.
- Nancy registered a limited liability company in Delaware in the summer of 2011 with a filing number and mailing address but no clients.

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/73071020Sat, 01 Aug 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Michelin Card in the Trash: How a Teen Exposed a Fake Critic A 14-year-old found a laminated Michelin Guide credential in a recycling bin four days after it had been replaced - a flawless card with a holographic seal that should never have...
A 14-year-old found a laminated Michelin Guide credential in a recycling bin four days after it had been replaced - a flawless card with a holographic seal that should never have existed in a one-bedroom apartment in Fenwick Hill. How did a twenty-five-year-old build a two-and-a-half-year professional identity out of borrowed clips, a nonexistent culinary education, and a fake inspector’s card, and why did it take a discarded badge and a teenager to unravel it?

In this episode, we tell how a small-town newspaper hire, unsigned verification, precise writing samples, and an unchallenged industry culture let a fabricated food critic flourish - until a recycling bin raised the question that everyone had avoided: who was Nancy Armstrong really?

Person: Carol McCarthy
Person: Nancy Armstrong
Date: September 12, 2011
Location: 44 Ardmore Terrace, Fenwick Hill, Ohio
Person: Thomas Reidy

- Carol McCarthy was fourteen years old when she retrieved the laminated credential from the recycling bin.
- The Michelin Guide credential had been discarded four days after it was issued.
- Nancy Armstrong was approximately twenty-five years old when she wrote the "Armstrong on Eating" column.
- Thomas Reidy, the prior food writer whose style Nancy copied, died in January 2009 at age sixty-one.
- Nancy registered a limited liability company in Delaware in the summer of 2011 with a filing number and mailing address but no clients.

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/she-taught-ten-years-as-a-dead-man-why-she-never-took-it-back--73071019
A quiet deception hid in plain sight for a decade: a forged teaching certificate bearing a dead Ohio man’s name, a living woman’s face, and classrooms full of fourth and fifth graders who never knew. How did Emily Patterson keep R.C. Fenwick alive on the payroll for ten years, and why did she walk past the culvert where she later stashed the fake certificate every morning without ever retrieving it?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a September 2003 school entrance to the February 9, 2014 discovery in a frozen culvert, outlining the steps that let a woman teach under another person’s identity and the one question that remained with investigators: what was she protecting by holding onto that name?

Person: Emily Patterson
Person: R.C. Fenwick
Date: September 2003 (school start) and February 9, 2014 (discovery)
Location: Pitcher Mill Elementary School, Granton Township; Pitcher Mill Road culvert
Event: Ten years of teaching under a forged certificate

- Emily Patterson taught fourth and fifth grade at Pitcher Mill Elementary for ten years starting in September 2003.
- The forged certificate bore the name R.C. Fenwick, a man who died in 1997 at age 29 from appendectomy complications.
- Patterson was born August 1962 and attended Wetherton State College for nearly three years without finishing her degree.
- The forged certificate was found frozen inside a gallon zip-lock bag, 15 feet from the culvert mouth on Pitcher Mill Road on February 9, 2014.
- Patterson had been placed on administrative leave five months before the certificate’s discovery and never returned for the document.

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/73071019Fri, 31 Jul 2026 13:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Taught Ten Years as a Dead Man - Why She Never Took It Back A quiet deception hid in plain sight for a decade: a forged teaching certificate bearing a dead Ohio man’s name, a living woman’s face, and classrooms full of fourth and fifth graders...
A quiet deception hid in plain sight for a decade: a forged teaching certificate bearing a dead Ohio man’s name, a living woman’s face, and classrooms full of fourth and fifth graders who never knew. How did Emily Patterson keep R.C. Fenwick alive on the payroll for ten years, and why did she walk past the culvert where she later stashed the fake certificate every morning without ever retrieving it?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a September 2003 school entrance to the February 9, 2014 discovery in a frozen culvert, outlining the steps that let a woman teach under another person’s identity and the one question that remained with investigators: what was she protecting by holding onto that name?

Person: Emily Patterson
Person: R.C. Fenwick
Date: September 2003 (school start) and February 9, 2014 (discovery)
Location: Pitcher Mill Elementary School, Granton Township; Pitcher Mill Road culvert
Event: Ten years of teaching under a forged certificate

- Emily Patterson taught fourth and fifth grade at Pitcher Mill Elementary for ten years starting in September 2003.
- The forged certificate bore the name R.C. Fenwick, a man who died in 1997 at age 29 from appendectomy complications.
- Patterson was born August 1962 and attended Wetherton State College for nearly three years without finishing her degree.
- The forged certificate was found frozen inside a gallon zip-lock bag, 15 feet from the culvert mouth on Pitcher Mill Road on February 9, 2014.
- Patterson had been placed on administrative leave five months before the certificate’s discovery and never returned for the document.

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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.]]>1424falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-credential-on-the-wall-the-rhonda-schmidt-case--73071018
A fake grief-counseling certificate hung on an office wall for years in Ferris Hollow, seen by dozens of clients and hospital staff, produced for a total cost of eleven dollars - so how did no one spot the forged seal until a utility tech photographed it? The discovery led to an official complaint and a board confirmation that no credential had ever been issued to Rhonda A. Schmidt by the Whitmore Institute of Grief and Trauma Studies; what else about her life here was real and what was fabricated?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from the morning the certificate was noticed through the complaint and board confirmation, tracing who Rhonda Schmidt was in town, her connections to referrals and a support group, and the one concrete routine that investigators could verify: why did a beagle’s medication schedule become the only indisputable anchor in a life built around a forged credential?

Person: Rhonda A. Schmidt
Location: Alderman Street, Ferris Hollow, Ohio
Date: summer 2014 arrival; July morning discovery at 7:14
Event: Photograph of forged certificate led to formal complaint within 6 days and board confirmation 48 hours after complaint
Cost: $11 for desktop-published certificate and embossed seal ordered online

- The certificate’s printed address read “Garfield Lane,” one word off from the institute’s actual Garfield Avenue location.
- The forged credential had hung in the second-floor suite since Rhonda’s first week in Ferris Hollow and was seen by dozens of clients and referral physicians.
- Rhonda arrived in Ferris Hollow in spring 2014 at age 31, having graduated high school in 2001 from Canonsburg area, Pennsylvania.
- The Open Hands grief support group she facilitated met Wednesday evenings and drew between 8 and 14 people.
- Rhonda’s beagle Cass, adopted after her arrival, required half a thyroid pill twice daily at 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., a routine neighbors confirmed.

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/73071018Thu, 30 Jul 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Credential on the Wall: The Rhonda Schmidt Case A fake grief-counseling certificate hung on an office wall for years in Ferris Hollow, seen by dozens of clients and hospital staff, produced for a total cost of eleven dollars - so how did no one...
A fake grief-counseling certificate hung on an office wall for years in Ferris Hollow, seen by dozens of clients and hospital staff, produced for a total cost of eleven dollars - so how did no one spot the forged seal until a utility tech photographed it? The discovery led to an official complaint and a board confirmation that no credential had ever been issued to Rhonda A. Schmidt by the Whitmore Institute of Grief and Trauma Studies; what else about her life here was real and what was fabricated?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from the morning the certificate was noticed through the complaint and board confirmation, tracing who Rhonda Schmidt was in town, her connections to referrals and a support group, and the one concrete routine that investigators could verify: why did a beagle’s medication schedule become the only indisputable anchor in a life built around a forged credential?

Person: Rhonda A. Schmidt
Location: Alderman Street, Ferris Hollow, Ohio
Date: summer 2014 arrival; July morning discovery at 7:14
Event: Photograph of forged certificate led to formal complaint within 6 days and board confirmation 48 hours after complaint
Cost: $11 for desktop-published certificate and embossed seal ordered online

- The certificate’s printed address read “Garfield Lane,” one word off from the institute’s actual Garfield Avenue location.
- The forged credential had hung in the second-floor suite since Rhonda’s first week in Ferris Hollow and was seen by dozens of clients and referral physicians.
- Rhonda arrived in Ferris Hollow in spring 2014 at age 31, having graduated high school in 2001 from Canonsburg area, Pennsylvania.
- The Open Hands grief support group she facilitated met Wednesday evenings and drew between 8 and 14 people.
- Rhonda’s beagle Cass, adopted after her arrival, required half a thyroid pill twice daily at 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., a routine neighbors confirmed.

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.]]>1480falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-wedding-dress-on-the-branch-how-jean-built-a-life-of-lies--73071017
Ivory satin on a tree branch at 2:00 AM; a boutonnière still damp from an atomizer-no missing-person report, because the woman had not disappeared, she had remade herself. Jean Morgan, 53, ran three simultaneous long-term romances across counties, collected $75,000 in secret, and a single flower order finally broke the pattern-how did one small detail unravel years of careful deception?

In this episode, we walk through the documented mechanics of Jean Morgan’s life: where she lived, the job that made her scheme plausible, the notebook that mapped each invented widowhood, and the exact stories she told each man. What made her system so convincing, and what was the flower order that exposed it?

Person: Jean Morgan
Location: Ridgecroft, Colorado
Age: 53
Employer: Northgate Solutions
Total money obtained: $75,000

- Jean lived on Pell Street in Ridgecroft for three years and worked remotely in hospital billing for Northgate Solutions at a salary of $31,000 per year.
- Over fourteen months she convinced three men to propose and gave each a different dead-husband backstory recorded in a spiral notebook.
- She made three calls every Wednesday evening between 9:15 and 9:45 PM, one to each man, totaling about thirty calls.
- Phillip Greer, 58, paid $22,000 for alleged attorney fees tied to the late husband's estate.
- David Soto, 62, sent $15,000 for a claimed roof repair on a Scottsdale condo; Ray Cutler, 55, was told about a fraudulent civil lawsuit (amount not completed in transcript).

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/73071017Wed, 29 Jul 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Wedding Dress on the Branch: How Jean Built a Life of Lies Ivory satin on a tree branch at 2:00 AM; a boutonnière still damp from an atomizer-no missing-person report, because the woman had not disappeared, she had remade herself. Jean Morgan,...
Ivory satin on a tree branch at 2:00 AM; a boutonnière still damp from an atomizer-no missing-person report, because the woman had not disappeared, she had remade herself. Jean Morgan, 53, ran three simultaneous long-term romances across counties, collected $75,000 in secret, and a single flower order finally broke the pattern-how did one small detail unravel years of careful deception?

In this episode, we walk through the documented mechanics of Jean Morgan’s life: where she lived, the job that made her scheme plausible, the notebook that mapped each invented widowhood, and the exact stories she told each man. What made her system so convincing, and what was the flower order that exposed it?

Person: Jean Morgan
Location: Ridgecroft, Colorado
Age: 53
Employer: Northgate Solutions
Total money obtained: $75,000

- Jean lived on Pell Street in Ridgecroft for three years and worked remotely in hospital billing for Northgate Solutions at a salary of $31,000 per year.
- Over fourteen months she convinced three men to propose and gave each a different dead-husband backstory recorded in a spiral notebook.
- She made three calls every Wednesday evening between 9:15 and 9:45 PM, one to each man, totaling about thirty calls.
- Phillip Greer, 58, paid $22,000 for alleged attorney fees tied to the late husband's estate.
- David Soto, 62, sent $15,000 for a claimed roof repair on a Scottsdale condo; Ray Cutler, 55, was told about a fraudulent civil lawsuit (amount not completed in transcript).

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.]]>1276falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-one-font-that-toppled-a-federal-contractor-s-career--73071016
A single typeface spotted through a ground-floor window ended a six-year fraud that no one inside a defense contractor had noticed. A meter reader with eleven years on his route recognized Palatino Linotype on a framed diploma - a font the university stopped using in 1991 - and one forty-second glance started questions that would dismantle a career. How did a carefully constructed fake survive federal contracts for so long?

In this episode, we walk through the sequence of events from a meter reading on Fenwick Industrial Drive to the exposure of Melissa Carlson's fabricated credentials, and we track the specific inconsistencies that made the diploma impossible to be authentic. What did the font, the seal, and the timing reveal about when and how the documents were created?

Person: Melissa Carlson
Person: Dale Campbell
Location: Fenwick Industrial Drive
Organization: Ardecco Systems
Institution: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

- The meter reader, Dale Campbell, had worked for Kessler Municipal Utilities for eleven years and walked the route every three weeks.
- The framed diploma used Palatino Linotype, a typeface RPI stopped using in 1991 while the diploma claimed a 1996 graduation year.
- Melissa Carlson was Director of Systems Engineering at Ardecco Systems and forty-four years old in 2019.
- The fake diploma included a digitized RPI seal sourced from a public archive dated 1988 and was printed on cotton-bond paper aged to match.
- Melissa’s genuine credential was an associate's degree in electronic technology from Pima Community College earned in 1997.

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/73071016Tue, 28 Jul 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe One Font That Toppled a Federal Contractor's Career A single typeface spotted through a ground-floor window ended a six-year fraud that no one inside a defense contractor had noticed. A meter reader with eleven years on his route recognized...
A single typeface spotted through a ground-floor window ended a six-year fraud that no one inside a defense contractor had noticed. A meter reader with eleven years on his route recognized Palatino Linotype on a framed diploma - a font the university stopped using in 1991 - and one forty-second glance started questions that would dismantle a career. How did a carefully constructed fake survive federal contracts for so long?

In this episode, we walk through the sequence of events from a meter reading on Fenwick Industrial Drive to the exposure of Melissa Carlson's fabricated credentials, and we track the specific inconsistencies that made the diploma impossible to be authentic. What did the font, the seal, and the timing reveal about when and how the documents were created?

Person: Melissa Carlson
Person: Dale Campbell
Location: Fenwick Industrial Drive
Organization: Ardecco Systems
Institution: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

- The meter reader, Dale Campbell, had worked for Kessler Municipal Utilities for eleven years and walked the route every three weeks.
- The framed diploma used Palatino Linotype, a typeface RPI stopped using in 1991 while the diploma claimed a 1996 graduation year.
- Melissa Carlson was Director of Systems Engineering at Ardecco Systems and forty-four years old in 2019.
- The fake diploma included a digitized RPI seal sourced from a public archive dated 1988 and was printed on cotton-bond paper aged to match.
- Melissa’s genuine credential was an associate's degree in electronic technology from Pima Community College earned in 1997.

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.]]>1395falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-pastor-who-faked-a-seminary-the-town-that-missed-it--73071015
A crooked lamp on a side table revealed a seminary diploma from a town that does not exist - Linden Falls, Ohio - and a retired postal worker’s curiosity unraveled a four-year fraud. How did a forged seminary and a fabricated aunt hold together a beloved ministry for so long, and what finally made the town look closer?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that led from a clogged drain to the exposure of fabricated credentials, tracing the hires, the documents, the routine visits, and the people who kept the illusion alive. What moments of doubt were overlooked until one man pulled a loose thread?

Person: Brenda Ann Ann
Person: Donald Hansen
Person: Howard Griggs
Location: Moorfield, southern Indiana
Institution: Covenant Theological Seminary of Linden Falls, Ohio

- The drain repair on the second Tuesday of April 2011 took forty minutes and led Donald Hansen to notice the framed certificate.
- Brenda Ann was 28 when she was hired after an eleven-month pastoral search that reviewed more than forty applications.
- The fake seminary website had been online for approximately four years and returned contact replies within twenty-four hours.
- Brenda drove forty minutes south on Route Nine every Thursday, leaving at two p.m. and returning by seven p.m., claiming to visit an aunt in Brackett.
- The ordination certificate dated June 2008 was printed on genuine parchment stock with navy calligraphy and gold embossing produced by a printer in Indianapolis.

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/73071015Mon, 27 Jul 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Pastor Who Faked a Seminary - The Town That Missed It A crooked lamp on a side table revealed a seminary diploma from a town that does not exist - Linden Falls, Ohio - and a retired postal worker’s curiosity unraveled a four-year fraud. How did...
A crooked lamp on a side table revealed a seminary diploma from a town that does not exist - Linden Falls, Ohio - and a retired postal worker’s curiosity unraveled a four-year fraud. How did a forged seminary and a fabricated aunt hold together a beloved ministry for so long, and what finally made the town look closer?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that led from a clogged drain to the exposure of fabricated credentials, tracing the hires, the documents, the routine visits, and the people who kept the illusion alive. What moments of doubt were overlooked until one man pulled a loose thread?

Person: Brenda Ann Ann
Person: Donald Hansen
Person: Howard Griggs
Location: Moorfield, southern Indiana
Institution: Covenant Theological Seminary of Linden Falls, Ohio

- The drain repair on the second Tuesday of April 2011 took forty minutes and led Donald Hansen to notice the framed certificate.
- Brenda Ann was 28 when she was hired after an eleven-month pastoral search that reviewed more than forty applications.
- The fake seminary website had been online for approximately four years and returned contact replies within twenty-four hours.
- Brenda drove forty minutes south on Route Nine every Thursday, leaving at two p.m. and returning by seven p.m., claiming to visit an aunt in Brackett.
- The ordination certificate dated June 2008 was printed on genuine parchment stock with navy calligraphy and gold embossing produced by a printer in Indianapolis.

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.]]>1460falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-shadow-box-lie-how-merritt-s-beloved-master-sergeant-vanished--73071013
Dry in the rain, mounted at chest height with screws, a shadow box on a footbridge held medals, a photo and a brass nameplate for "Gail Rice - Master Sergeant - Third Special Reconnaissance Battalion" - a unit that never existed. How did a convincing forged DD-214, eleven years of community rituals, and a researched binder of practiced unit names hide in plain sight, and what finally made that life unravel?

In this episode, you’ll hear the sequence of discoveries from the morning Bruce Whitfield found the dry shadow box on March 11, 2019, to the Merritt Police recovery of a research binder in the Waverly Street rental on March 12, 2019. We trace the tangible evidence found in town, the false DD-214 accepted in 2008, and the questions about why someone would engineer a life like this.

Person: Gail Rice
Location: Waverly Street rental house, Merritt, Ohio
Date: March 11-12, 2019
Event: Discovery of shadow box and recovery of research binder
Document: Forged DD-214 listing "Third Special Reconnaissance Battalion"

- Shadow box found at 7:15 AM on March 11, 2019, was dry despite heavy rain the night before.
- Brass nameplate inside read "Gail Rice. Master Sergeant. Third Special Reconnaissance Battalion."
- Gail Rice arrived in Merritt in spring 2008, in her early forties, driving a Ford pickup with Indiana plates.
- Rice joined VFW Post 114 within a month of arrival and presented a DD-214 that was never verified in 2008.
- Investigators recovered a binder on March 12, 2019, containing printed military manual pages, annotated Reserve history notes, and multiple handwriting practice versions of unit designations.

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/73071013Sun, 26 Jul 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Shadow Box Lie: How Merritt's Beloved "Master Sergeant" Vanished Dry in the rain, mounted at chest height with screws, a shadow box on a footbridge held medals, a photo and a brass nameplate for "Gail Rice - Master Sergeant - Third Special...
Dry in the rain, mounted at chest height with screws, a shadow box on a footbridge held medals, a photo and a brass nameplate for "Gail Rice - Master Sergeant - Third Special Reconnaissance Battalion" - a unit that never existed. How did a convincing forged DD-214, eleven years of community rituals, and a researched binder of practiced unit names hide in plain sight, and what finally made that life unravel?

In this episode, you’ll hear the sequence of discoveries from the morning Bruce Whitfield found the dry shadow box on March 11, 2019, to the Merritt Police recovery of a research binder in the Waverly Street rental on March 12, 2019. We trace the tangible evidence found in town, the false DD-214 accepted in 2008, and the questions about why someone would engineer a life like this.

Person: Gail Rice
Location: Waverly Street rental house, Merritt, Ohio
Date: March 11-12, 2019
Event: Discovery of shadow box and recovery of research binder
Document: Forged DD-214 listing "Third Special Reconnaissance Battalion"

- Shadow box found at 7:15 AM on March 11, 2019, was dry despite heavy rain the night before.
- Brass nameplate inside read "Gail Rice. Master Sergeant. Third Special Reconnaissance Battalion."
- Gail Rice arrived in Merritt in spring 2008, in her early forties, driving a Ford pickup with Indiana plates.
- Rice joined VFW Post 114 within a month of arrival and presented a DD-214 that was never verified in 2008.
- Investigators recovered a binder on March 12, 2019, containing printed military manual pages, annotated Reserve history notes, and multiple handwriting practice versions of unit designations.

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.]]>1431falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-woman-who-bought-a-town-with-a-waterproof-fake-trust--73071012
The town’s trust nearly dissolved over a waterlogged portfolio pulled from Cotter Lake - a certificate claiming a $4.2 million Swiss trust that stayed perfectly dry and bore a hotel watermark; how did a 23-year-old with no bank account convince an entire Tennessee town she was an heiress? What finally unraveled the seal and the story?

In this episode, you will hear how April Celeste White arrived in Fennwick, Tennessee, built credibility through routine kindness and perfect attendance at the arts cooperative, and presented documentary proof that almost secured a $250,000 naming gift - but a few small forensic details raised the question: was any of it real?

Person: April Celeste White
Date: February 9, 2014
Location: Fennwick, Tennessee
Amount: $4,200,000
Gift Proposal: $250,000

- The portfolio was pulled from Cotter Lake on February 9, 2014, when the temperature was 31 degrees.
- The certificate named April Celeste White as beneficiary of a $4.2 million trust and was sealed in a polypropylene sleeve, appearing perfectly dry.
- The paper used for the document carried a Whitmore Grand hotel watermark: a gothic letter W.
- April arrived in Fennwick in September 2013 at age 22 and worked a Tuesday evening shift at the Fennwick Arts Cooperative every week for five months without missing a single session.
- Pamela Padgett identified three problems in under four minutes: atypical font weight on the dollar amount, an incorrect domestic-style routing code for a Swiss private bank, and additional discrepancies noted by a document examiner.

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/73071012Sat, 25 Jul 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Woman Who Bought a Town with a Waterproof Fake Trust The town’s trust nearly dissolved over a waterlogged portfolio pulled from Cotter Lake - a certificate claiming a $4.2 million Swiss trust that stayed perfectly dry and bore a hotel...
The town’s trust nearly dissolved over a waterlogged portfolio pulled from Cotter Lake - a certificate claiming a $4.2 million Swiss trust that stayed perfectly dry and bore a hotel watermark; how did a 23-year-old with no bank account convince an entire Tennessee town she was an heiress? What finally unraveled the seal and the story?

In this episode, you will hear how April Celeste White arrived in Fennwick, Tennessee, built credibility through routine kindness and perfect attendance at the arts cooperative, and presented documentary proof that almost secured a $250,000 naming gift - but a few small forensic details raised the question: was any of it real?

Person: April Celeste White
Date: February 9, 2014
Location: Fennwick, Tennessee
Amount: $4,200,000
Gift Proposal: $250,000

- The portfolio was pulled from Cotter Lake on February 9, 2014, when the temperature was 31 degrees.
- The certificate named April Celeste White as beneficiary of a $4.2 million trust and was sealed in a polypropylene sleeve, appearing perfectly dry.
- The paper used for the document carried a Whitmore Grand hotel watermark: a gothic letter W.
- April arrived in Fennwick in September 2013 at age 22 and worked a Tuesday evening shift at the Fennwick Arts Cooperative every week for five months without missing a single session.
- Pamela Padgett identified three problems in under four minutes: atypical font weight on the dollar amount, an incorrect domestic-style routing code for a Swiss private bank, and additional discrepancies noted by a document examiner.

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.]]>1193falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-fake-doctor-who-delivered-babies-how-dalton-falls-trusted-a-lie--73071011
Cold January light revealed a framed diploma bolted to an exterior brick wall - a purchased fake that kept a town trusting a woman without a medical degree for eleven years. Dalton Falls watched a familiar face deliver two babies and manage 412 patient charts while state archives show no record of her graduation; how did a forged Harlan College diploma become the foundation of an entire medical career?

In this episode, we tell what happened in Dalton Falls and how evidence, silences, and two differing diplomas sustained a decade-long deception - could a community’s need for care be enough to hide a lie?

Person: Carol Ann Stevens
Date: January 9, 2014
Location: Dalton Falls, Tennessee
Event: Diploma photographed on exterior brick wall
Case: Two diplomas dated 2001 and 2002, one purchased from a document service in Florida

- Carol Ann Stevens practiced medicine for eleven years with a Tennessee medical license issued in 2002.
- Investigators found 412 patient charts attributed to Carol Ann Stevens.
- Two babies were delivered by Carol during weather emergencies.
- Crystal Lawson photographed the exterior diploma at 8:52 AM on January 9, 2014 and did not report it for nine days.
- Forensic examiners found the exterior 2001 diploma came from a Florida document service and the interior 2002 diploma was a forgery made from that template.

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/73071011Fri, 24 Jul 2026 13:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Fake Doctor Who Delivered Babies: How Dalton Falls Trusted a Lie Cold January light revealed a framed diploma bolted to an exterior brick wall - a purchased fake that kept a town trusting a woman without a medical degree for eleven years....
Cold January light revealed a framed diploma bolted to an exterior brick wall - a purchased fake that kept a town trusting a woman without a medical degree for eleven years. Dalton Falls watched a familiar face deliver two babies and manage 412 patient charts while state archives show no record of her graduation; how did a forged Harlan College diploma become the foundation of an entire medical career?

In this episode, we tell what happened in Dalton Falls and how evidence, silences, and two differing diplomas sustained a decade-long deception - could a community’s need for care be enough to hide a lie?

Person: Carol Ann Stevens
Date: January 9, 2014
Location: Dalton Falls, Tennessee
Event: Diploma photographed on exterior brick wall
Case: Two diplomas dated 2001 and 2002, one purchased from a document service in Florida

- Carol Ann Stevens practiced medicine for eleven years with a Tennessee medical license issued in 2002.
- Investigators found 412 patient charts attributed to Carol Ann Stevens.
- Two babies were delivered by Carol during weather emergencies.
- Crystal Lawson photographed the exterior diploma at 8:52 AM on January 9, 2014 and did not report it for nine days.
- Forensic examiners found the exterior 2001 diploma came from a Florida document service and the interior 2002 diploma was a forgery made from that template.

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.]]>1439falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-chaplain-who-lied-a-laminated-badge-ten-years-of-trust--73071009
A laminated badge found inside a sewer pipe carried the name Patricia Brooks and a degree from Ashford Theological College - a school that closed in 1993 - and that single object unraveled a decade of trust at a hospice. How did a woman with a forged Master of Divinity become the chaplain who sat with dying patients for ten years, and what happens to the care that followed once the lie is revealed?

In this episode, we tell the story of Patricia Brooks' arrival at Carver Ridge Hospice in January 2001, the credentials she presented, the gaps in verification, and the lives she touched while wearing those papers - asking whether the comfort she provided changes how we judge the fraud.

Person: Patricia Brooks
Location: Carver Ridge Hospice, eastern Tennessee
Date: January 2001 (arrival); December 2011 (badge found)
Institution: Ashford Theological College (closed 1993)
Role: Chaplain for ten years

- A sanitation technician found a laminated badge belonging to Patricia Brooks inside a sewer line before 6:45 AM on a Tuesday in December 2011.
- Patricia presented a Master of Divinity dated 1996 from Ashford Theological College, a school that had closed in 1993.
- Carver Ridge had been without a chaplain for eight months before Patricia walked in as a 52-year-old in January 2001.
- The Interdenominational Ministry Alliance, which certified Patricia, does not appear in any professional directory.
- Patricia allegedly purchased a genuine Ashford document at an estate sale in Corbin, Kentucky in 1998 and used it to fabricate a degree and references.

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/73071009Thu, 23 Jul 2026 13:00:12 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Chaplain Who Lied: A Laminated Badge, Ten Years of Trust A laminated badge found inside a sewer pipe carried the name Patricia Brooks and a degree from Ashford Theological College - a school that closed in 1993 - and that single object...
A laminated badge found inside a sewer pipe carried the name Patricia Brooks and a degree from Ashford Theological College - a school that closed in 1993 - and that single object unraveled a decade of trust at a hospice. How did a woman with a forged Master of Divinity become the chaplain who sat with dying patients for ten years, and what happens to the care that followed once the lie is revealed?

In this episode, we tell the story of Patricia Brooks' arrival at Carver Ridge Hospice in January 2001, the credentials she presented, the gaps in verification, and the lives she touched while wearing those papers - asking whether the comfort she provided changes how we judge the fraud.

Person: Patricia Brooks
Location: Carver Ridge Hospice, eastern Tennessee
Date: January 2001 (arrival); December 2011 (badge found)
Institution: Ashford Theological College (closed 1993)
Role: Chaplain for ten years

- A sanitation technician found a laminated badge belonging to Patricia Brooks inside a sewer line before 6:45 AM on a Tuesday in December 2011.
- Patricia presented a Master of Divinity dated 1996 from Ashford Theological College, a school that had closed in 1993.
- Carver Ridge had been without a chaplain for eight months before Patricia walked in as a 52-year-old in January 2001.
- The Interdenominational Ministry Alliance, which certified Patricia, does not appear in any professional directory.
- Patricia allegedly purchased a genuine Ashford document at an estate sale in Corbin, Kentucky in 1998 and used it to fabricate a degree and references.

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.]]>1465falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-man-who-printed-a-life-how-a-wallet-unmasked-a-fake-fire-investigator--73071007
A single leather wallet found face up on a trail contained one laminated credential card - no ID, no cash - and that card led to a man who had fabricated an entire career with a laser printer. How did a twenty-four-year-old with no furniture and a gray Nissan produce 47 professional fire-investigation reports, 43 of which independent examiners later judged technically sound, before anyone verified his credentials?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from the wallet discovery to the unraveling of a constructed identity, tracing the documents, examinations, and competing investigators that raised questions about credential CF-1184. How could forged papers pass through testing centers and an employer for fourteen months without being checked?

Person: Roger D. West
Age: 24
Location: Wallace, Duplin County, North Carolina
Reports filed: 47
Reports reviewed and found technically sound: 43

- Wallet discovered forty feet off the marked trail at Kessler Creek Wildlife Management Area at 6:47 AM on a November day in 2011
- West passed the National Association of Fire Investigators exam on his first attempt, placing in the eighty-ninth percentile on the written portion
- West was employed by Tidewater Risk Partners and worked for fourteen months from a one-room apartment with almost no furniture
- In total West submitted forty-seven reports across coastal North Carolina, driving a gray Nissan to fire scenes
- Competing investigator Patrick Sloane flagged credential number CF-1184 as already assigned to a retired Tennessee investigator who left the field in 2003

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/73071007Wed, 22 Jul 2026 13:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Man Who Printed a Life: How a Wallet Unmasked a Fake Fire Investigator A single leather wallet found face up on a trail contained one laminated credential card - no ID, no cash - and that card led to a man who had fabricated an entire career...
A single leather wallet found face up on a trail contained one laminated credential card - no ID, no cash - and that card led to a man who had fabricated an entire career with a laser printer. How did a twenty-four-year-old with no furniture and a gray Nissan produce 47 professional fire-investigation reports, 43 of which independent examiners later judged technically sound, before anyone verified his credentials?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from the wallet discovery to the unraveling of a constructed identity, tracing the documents, examinations, and competing investigators that raised questions about credential CF-1184. How could forged papers pass through testing centers and an employer for fourteen months without being checked?

Person: Roger D. West
Age: 24
Location: Wallace, Duplin County, North Carolina
Reports filed: 47
Reports reviewed and found technically sound: 43

- Wallet discovered forty feet off the marked trail at Kessler Creek Wildlife Management Area at 6:47 AM on a November day in 2011
- West passed the National Association of Fire Investigators exam on his first attempt, placing in the eighty-ninth percentile on the written portion
- West was employed by Tidewater Risk Partners and worked for fourteen months from a one-room apartment with almost no furniture
- In total West submitted forty-seven reports across coastal North Carolina, driving a gray Nissan to fire scenes
- Competing investigator Patrick Sloane flagged credential number CF-1184 as already assigned to a retired Tennessee investigator who left the field in 2003

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.]]>1364falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-woman-who-made-a-missing-person-vanish-and-left-a-fake-badge--73071006
A laminated press credential turned up on a Dunbar Creek porch on October 14, 2022, bearing the name Nora Tilden - a name that had no real person behind it and an editor's signature later revealed as a forgery. Four million listeners tuned in to thirty-seven episodes across three seasons built around a disappearance that never happened; who was the woman in the photo and why did someone sustain this fiction for years?

In this episode, we present the sequence of events that connected a physical credential to a long-running audio hoax, describe how the fictional case was constructed and sustained, and ask whether the lines between grief, ambition, and deception can be clearly drawn.

Person: Nora Tilden (nonexistent)
Date: October 14, 2022
Location: 412 Sable Road, Dunbar Creek, Ohio
Creator: Brenda Olson, 48-year-old marketing executive
Audience: Four million listeners across three seasons

- The credential was found laminated on a front porch on October 14, 2022.
- The podcast produced thirty-seven episodes across three seasons presenting Nora Tilden as missing.
- Brenda Olson spent fourteen months building the fictional case before launching The Tilden Files.
- The Tilden Files amassed approximately four million listeners before the fraud was exposed.
- Brenda returned donations from a memorial fund over roughly two years in small incremental amounts.

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/73071006Tue, 21 Jul 2026 13:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Woman Who Made a Missing Person Vanish - And Left a Fake Badge A laminated press credential turned up on a Dunbar Creek porch on October 14, 2022, bearing the name Nora Tilden - a name that had no real person behind it and an editor's signature...
A laminated press credential turned up on a Dunbar Creek porch on October 14, 2022, bearing the name Nora Tilden - a name that had no real person behind it and an editor's signature later revealed as a forgery. Four million listeners tuned in to thirty-seven episodes across three seasons built around a disappearance that never happened; who was the woman in the photo and why did someone sustain this fiction for years?

In this episode, we present the sequence of events that connected a physical credential to a long-running audio hoax, describe how the fictional case was constructed and sustained, and ask whether the lines between grief, ambition, and deception can be clearly drawn.

Person: Nora Tilden (nonexistent)
Date: October 14, 2022
Location: 412 Sable Road, Dunbar Creek, Ohio
Creator: Brenda Olson, 48-year-old marketing executive
Audience: Four million listeners across three seasons

- The credential was found laminated on a front porch on October 14, 2022.
- The podcast produced thirty-seven episodes across three seasons presenting Nora Tilden as missing.
- Brenda Olson spent fourteen months building the fictional case before launching The Tilden Files.
- The Tilden Files amassed approximately four million listeners before the fraud was exposed.
- Brenda returned donations from a memorial fund over roughly two years in small incremental amounts.

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.]]>1289falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-treated-children-without-a-degree-the-heather-lawson-case--73071004
The folder was dry after an all-night rain - a manila file, found at 6:40 AM on September 11, 2019, containing a forged doctoral certificate, references, and a CV that vanished into thin air. Heather Lawson presented as an associate professor and treated roughly fourteen child clients a week, yet her doctorate was fabricated; how did she sustain that double life for eight years without detectable harm to her patients?

In this episode, we walk through the timeline from the drenched campus morning to the emptied office and missing diploma, laying out what was found, who trusted her, and what outcomes were documented for her clients. What did investigators learn about the years between her leaving a legitimate master's program and the day the dry folder appeared in the ditch?

Person: Heather Lawson
Date: September 11, 2019
Location: Aldermoor University north campus maintenance road
Age: 32
Clients per week: approximately 14

- Folder found at 6:40 AM wedged against the edge of a drainage ditch after overnight rain
- Campus security arrived at 7:15 AM and officers examined the folder by 8:00 AM
- Folder contents included a curriculum vitae, three letters of reference, a laminated association card, and a framed doctoral certificate from Brennan University
- Heather Lawson missed a supervision session with two graduate students before investigators reached her office
- Outcomes for evaluated child clients were no worse than population averages, with some measurably better and four families later writing character letters

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/73071004Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:33:41 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Treated Children Without a Degree: The Heather Lawson Case The folder was dry after an all-night rain - a manila file, found at 6:40 AM on September 11, 2019, containing a forged doctoral certificate, references, and a CV that vanished into...
The folder was dry after an all-night rain - a manila file, found at 6:40 AM on September 11, 2019, containing a forged doctoral certificate, references, and a CV that vanished into thin air. Heather Lawson presented as an associate professor and treated roughly fourteen child clients a week, yet her doctorate was fabricated; how did she sustain that double life for eight years without detectable harm to her patients?

In this episode, we walk through the timeline from the drenched campus morning to the emptied office and missing diploma, laying out what was found, who trusted her, and what outcomes were documented for her clients. What did investigators learn about the years between her leaving a legitimate master's program and the day the dry folder appeared in the ditch?

Person: Heather Lawson
Date: September 11, 2019
Location: Aldermoor University north campus maintenance road
Age: 32
Clients per week: approximately 14

- Folder found at 6:40 AM wedged against the edge of a drainage ditch after overnight rain
- Campus security arrived at 7:15 AM and officers examined the folder by 8:00 AM
- Folder contents included a curriculum vitae, three letters of reference, a laminated association card, and a framed doctoral certificate from Brennan University
- Heather Lawson missed a supervision session with two graduate students before investigators reached her office
- Outcomes for evaluated child clients were no worse than population averages, with some measurably better and four families later writing character letters

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.]]>1547falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-twin-who-stole-a-lawyer-s-name-and-the-quiet-collapse-that-followed--73071003
Fear and disbelief: an unlicensed twin used her brother’s Ohio bar number to decide labor disputes for nearly two decades, producing 41 arbitration decisions before anyone stopped to check the credential-so how did a single margin note and an obscure procedural motion finally unravel a career? Discover the slow, precise deception that hid in plain sight and the unanswered question at its center: was this a forgivable shortcut or a structural fraud?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from a Sunday morning sighting to the investigators’ interview, tracing the professional choices, family estrangement, and institutional blind spots that let a paralegal operate as a certified arbitrator under a real attorney’s name; what did the margin note and a review of citation style expose?

Person: Lauren Riley
Person: Leonard T. Riley
Date: August 27, 2019
Event: discovery by investigators
Case: 41 reviewed arbitration decisions

- A utility lineman, Gary Allen, first noticed a woman sorting a laminated card through a cabin window on Carver Road at 6:00 AM on a Sunday in August 2019.
- Lauren used Leonard’s Ohio bar number 0061847 on a 2001 application to a Pelham County consortium, altering a photocopy by changing “Lauren” to “L.” with correction fluid.
- Thirty-seven of forty-one reviewed decisions were found substantively sound by special counsel.
- Bruce Simpson wrote a pencil margin note in 2015 on an annotated pension arbitration decision: “Check bar admission date - style is pre-2000?”
- Lauren resolved a shift-scheduling dispute in Dunmore Township in eleven days with no appeal after being hired as L. Riley.

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/73071003Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:33:38 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Twin Who Stole a Lawyer's Name-and the Quiet Collapse That Followed Fear and disbelief: an unlicensed twin used her brother’s Ohio bar number to decide labor disputes for nearly two decades, producing 41 arbitration decisions before anyone...
Fear and disbelief: an unlicensed twin used her brother’s Ohio bar number to decide labor disputes for nearly two decades, producing 41 arbitration decisions before anyone stopped to check the credential-so how did a single margin note and an obscure procedural motion finally unravel a career? Discover the slow, precise deception that hid in plain sight and the unanswered question at its center: was this a forgivable shortcut or a structural fraud?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from a Sunday morning sighting to the investigators’ interview, tracing the professional choices, family estrangement, and institutional blind spots that let a paralegal operate as a certified arbitrator under a real attorney’s name; what did the margin note and a review of citation style expose?

Person: Lauren Riley
Person: Leonard T. Riley
Date: August 27, 2019
Event: discovery by investigators
Case: 41 reviewed arbitration decisions

- A utility lineman, Gary Allen, first noticed a woman sorting a laminated card through a cabin window on Carver Road at 6:00 AM on a Sunday in August 2019.
- Lauren used Leonard’s Ohio bar number 0061847 on a 2001 application to a Pelham County consortium, altering a photocopy by changing “Lauren” to “L.” with correction fluid.
- Thirty-seven of forty-one reviewed decisions were found substantively sound by special counsel.
- Bruce Simpson wrote a pencil margin note in 2015 on an annotated pension arbitration decision: “Check bar admission date - style is pre-2000?”
- Lauren resolved a shift-scheduling dispute in Dunmore Township in eleven days with no appeal after being hired as L. Riley.

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.]]>1474falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-sommelier-who-faked-a-master-s-seal-but-nailed-every-pour--73071000
A discarded laminated Master Sommelier certificate, placed upright in a storm drain at 5:00 a.m. on July 9, 2014, starts a six-year professional paradox: a man who could distinguish the subtlest vintages but had bought an embossing tool on his own credit card to fake the only credential of its kind worldwide. How did Kenneth Alan Simmons build a celebrated wine program while holding a forged seal that employers never verified?

In this episode, you’ll hear the sequence of discoveries-from a morning route and a daughter who recognized the seal, to a compliance officer’s routine check-that reveal both the fraud and the real skill behind it; can a professional identity survive when its foundation is exposed?

Person: Kenneth Alan Simmons
Date: July 9, 2014
Location: Pelican Terrace, Louisiana
Event: Resignation from Oleander House
Book: Oxford Companion to Wine, third edition (2006)

- Certificate found upright in a rusted storm drain at the corner of Fourth and Delacroix at 5:00 a.m.
- Kenneth Alan Simmons resigned two days after the certificate was discovered, after four years as head sommelier at Oleander House.
- Embossing tool traced to a purchase in Jackson, Mississippi, in October 2008 charged to Simmons’s credit card.
- Investigators recovered an Oxford Companion to Wine (third edition, 2006) bought for $7 from a used bookstore, open to the Alsace chapter.
- Petra Waverly flagged a vineyard designation discrepancy in September 2012; retired professor Walter Fenn tested Simmons in spring 2013 with French, both unreported.

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/73071000Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:33:34 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Sommelier Who Faked a Master's Seal - But Nailed Every Pour A discarded laminated Master Sommelier certificate, placed upright in a storm drain at 5:00 a.m. on July 9, 2014, starts a six-year professional paradox: a man who could distinguish...
A discarded laminated Master Sommelier certificate, placed upright in a storm drain at 5:00 a.m. on July 9, 2014, starts a six-year professional paradox: a man who could distinguish the subtlest vintages but had bought an embossing tool on his own credit card to fake the only credential of its kind worldwide. How did Kenneth Alan Simmons build a celebrated wine program while holding a forged seal that employers never verified?

In this episode, you’ll hear the sequence of discoveries-from a morning route and a daughter who recognized the seal, to a compliance officer’s routine check-that reveal both the fraud and the real skill behind it; can a professional identity survive when its foundation is exposed?

Person: Kenneth Alan Simmons
Date: July 9, 2014
Location: Pelican Terrace, Louisiana
Event: Resignation from Oleander House
Book: Oxford Companion to Wine, third edition (2006)

- Certificate found upright in a rusted storm drain at the corner of Fourth and Delacroix at 5:00 a.m.
- Kenneth Alan Simmons resigned two days after the certificate was discovered, after four years as head sommelier at Oleander House.
- Embossing tool traced to a purchase in Jackson, Mississippi, in October 2008 charged to Simmons’s credit card.
- Investigators recovered an Oxford Companion to Wine (third edition, 2006) bought for $7 from a used bookstore, open to the Alsace chapter.
- Petra Waverly flagged a vineyard designation discrepancy in September 2012; retired professor Walter Fenn tested Simmons in spring 2013 with French, both unreported.

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.]]>1251falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/plantado-114-muertos-que-no-murieron-por-que--73070999
A quiet town’s obituary page hid a staggering secret: over three years the Calloway Courier published 114 deaths that never happened, costing the paper about $41,000 while the obituary writer received no money. Why would a punctual, solitary reporter fabricate funerals, list real neighbors’ details, and stitch together lives-some real, some invented-into a ledger of the dead?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the morning Sandra Stroud nearly walked into a living man listed as dead to the discovery that sixty percent of the notices named real, often elderly people and forty percent were wholly invented, and we ask what motive fits a pattern that gained nothing financially but preserved stories. What was Robert Cook building with these faux obituaries, and who did they truly memorialize?

Person: Robert Cook
Date: June 14, 2022
Location: Calloway, Ohio
Amount lost: $41,000
Proportion real vs invented: 60% real, 40% invented

- At 10:40 AM on June 14, 2022 Sandra Stroud spotted Warren Holt alive, though his obituary had said he died in February.
- The Calloway Courier ran obituary pages on Wednesdays and Saturdays and had served the area for 60 years.
- From winter 2018 onward, Robert Cook produced the obituary column after the previous writer retired in November 2018.
- Over three years the paper absorbed roughly $41,000 in unrecovered complimentary placement charges for Cook’s obituaries.
- About 60% of Cook’s subjects were real people, mostly elderly and connected to the Orchard Street Shelter; 40% were entirely invented names and lives.

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/73070999Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:33:31 +0000Creator at Obomediaplantado: 114 muertos que no murieron. ¿Por qué? A quiet town’s obituary page hid a staggering secret: over three years the Calloway Courier published 114 deaths that never happened, costing the paper about $41,000 while the obituary writer...
A quiet town’s obituary page hid a staggering secret: over three years the Calloway Courier published 114 deaths that never happened, costing the paper about $41,000 while the obituary writer received no money. Why would a punctual, solitary reporter fabricate funerals, list real neighbors’ details, and stitch together lives-some real, some invented-into a ledger of the dead?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the morning Sandra Stroud nearly walked into a living man listed as dead to the discovery that sixty percent of the notices named real, often elderly people and forty percent were wholly invented, and we ask what motive fits a pattern that gained nothing financially but preserved stories. What was Robert Cook building with these faux obituaries, and who did they truly memorialize?

Person: Robert Cook
Date: June 14, 2022
Location: Calloway, Ohio
Amount lost: $41,000
Proportion real vs invented: 60% real, 40% invented

- At 10:40 AM on June 14, 2022 Sandra Stroud spotted Warren Holt alive, though his obituary had said he died in February.
- The Calloway Courier ran obituary pages on Wednesdays and Saturdays and had served the area for 60 years.
- From winter 2018 onward, Robert Cook produced the obituary column after the previous writer retired in November 2018.
- Over three years the paper absorbed roughly $41,000 in unrecovered complimentary placement charges for Cook’s obituaries.
- About 60% of Cook’s subjects were real people, mostly elderly and connected to the Orchard Street Shelter; 40% were entirely invented names and lives.

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.]]>1439falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-woman-who-bought-a-vest-and-became-a-disaster-zone-phantom--73070998
Fear that the quiet neighbor could be living a hidden life - a laminated credential and a two-dollar vest sent shockwaves through a Tennessee town and tied one woman to four international disaster deployments. The vest and folder showed stamped documents from Ecuador 2016, Bangladesh 2017, Mozambique 2018 and Myanmar 2018, but the named organization had no record of her. How did a Hobby Barn employee become a logistics coordinator in real disaster zones without official affiliation?

In this episode, we tell what was found, who confirmed there was no official record, and the gaps that make the case unresolved; did she fabricate credentials to enter real responses, or was something else at work?

Person: Marcia Bauer
Location: Dunnmore, Tennessee
Event: Ecuador 2016; Bangladesh 2017; Mozambique 2018; Myanmar 2018
Organization: Continental Aid Alliance (no personnel record found)
Finder: Megan Edwards

- The vest was purchased for two dollars at a yard sale and later found folded in a storage unit.
- The storage unit belonged to Cheryl Bauer and sat untouched for 14 months before discovery.
- Paul Padgett confirmed with one phone call that Continental Aid Alliance had no record of Marcia within one hour.
- Marcia was 53 years old in spring 2019 and worked at Hobby Barn Tuesday through Saturday.
- Ben Ochoa, a logistics officer, described her as methodical and unnervingly calm while working in Ecuador.

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/73070998Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:33:28 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Woman Who Bought a Vest and Became a Disaster Zone Phantom Fear that the quiet neighbor could be living a hidden life - a laminated credential and a two-dollar vest sent shockwaves through a Tennessee town and tied one woman to four...
Fear that the quiet neighbor could be living a hidden life - a laminated credential and a two-dollar vest sent shockwaves through a Tennessee town and tied one woman to four international disaster deployments. The vest and folder showed stamped documents from Ecuador 2016, Bangladesh 2017, Mozambique 2018 and Myanmar 2018, but the named organization had no record of her. How did a Hobby Barn employee become a logistics coordinator in real disaster zones without official affiliation?

In this episode, we tell what was found, who confirmed there was no official record, and the gaps that make the case unresolved; did she fabricate credentials to enter real responses, or was something else at work?

Person: Marcia Bauer
Location: Dunnmore, Tennessee
Event: Ecuador 2016; Bangladesh 2017; Mozambique 2018; Myanmar 2018
Organization: Continental Aid Alliance (no personnel record found)
Finder: Megan Edwards

- The vest was purchased for two dollars at a yard sale and later found folded in a storage unit.
- The storage unit belonged to Cheryl Bauer and sat untouched for 14 months before discovery.
- Paul Padgett confirmed with one phone call that Continental Aid Alliance had no record of Marcia within one hour.
- Marcia was 53 years old in spring 2019 and worked at Hobby Barn Tuesday through Saturday.
- Ben Ochoa, a logistics officer, described her as methodical and unnervingly calm while working in Ecuador.

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.]]>1329falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-badge-the-lie-and-the-night-she-tried-to-disappear--73070997
A found badge in mud exposed a life built on performance: a laminated ID from the New York Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, handled daily for 18-24 months, turned up 90 miles from where it should have been-so why drive that far to toss it? What did one card unravel about the woman who carried it?

In this episode, we trace the physical trail of the badge and the paper trail of a fabricated academic career, following how a single object connected a borough in Pennsylvania to an adjunct instructor role in New York and raised the question: how much of a person can be true when the credentials are lies?

Person: Janet Murphy
Location: Dunmore, Pennsylvania
Event: Badge found at Kettleton Reservoir on April 9, 2011
Institution: New York Conservatory of Dramatic Arts
Period: Badge issued September 2010

- The badge showed opacification along the lower laminate edge consistent with 18-24 months of regular handling.
- The reservoir where the badge was found sat 90 miles from the Conservatory's campus.
- Janet graduated from Dunmore High School in June 2006 and moved to Astoria, Queens in spring 2008 with approximately $4,000 saved.
- In autumn 2008 Janet presented herself as a doctoral candidate at a non-existent Bellmere University using a fabricated transcript and a $32 copy-shop business card.
- Paul Deegan paid Janet $800 in spring 2009 for private voice work in Hoboken, confirming her skill despite fabricated 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/73070997Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:33:25 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Badge, the Lie, and the Night She Tried to Disappear A found badge in mud exposed a life built on performance: a laminated ID from the New York Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, handled daily for 18-24 months, turned up 90 miles from where it...
A found badge in mud exposed a life built on performance: a laminated ID from the New York Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, handled daily for 18-24 months, turned up 90 miles from where it should have been-so why drive that far to toss it? What did one card unravel about the woman who carried it?

In this episode, we trace the physical trail of the badge and the paper trail of a fabricated academic career, following how a single object connected a borough in Pennsylvania to an adjunct instructor role in New York and raised the question: how much of a person can be true when the credentials are lies?

Person: Janet Murphy
Location: Dunmore, Pennsylvania
Event: Badge found at Kettleton Reservoir on April 9, 2011
Institution: New York Conservatory of Dramatic Arts
Period: Badge issued September 2010

- The badge showed opacification along the lower laminate edge consistent with 18-24 months of regular handling.
- The reservoir where the badge was found sat 90 miles from the Conservatory's campus.
- Janet graduated from Dunmore High School in June 2006 and moved to Astoria, Queens in spring 2008 with approximately $4,000 saved.
- In autumn 2008 Janet presented herself as a doctoral candidate at a non-existent Bellmere University using a fabricated transcript and a $32 copy-shop business card.
- Paul Deegan paid Janet $800 in spring 2009 for private voice work in Hoboken, confirming her skill despite fabricated 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.]]>1157falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-faked-a-law-degree-saved-lives-stole-justice-drowned-proof--73070995
A small-town lawyer with a forged diploma ran asylum cases, kept a diabetic client’s cat alive, and got a real Alabama bar number-until a waterlogged tote bag revealed her secret. How did Sarah Anne Stewart turn a diploma from a school closed in 1971 into a functioning law practice that helped hundreds, and what should happen to victories won on a fake foundation?

In this episode, you’ll hear how Stewart built a legal career from a forgery and what unfolded when a routine complaint set a chain reaction in motion. The episode covers her early life, the construction of the fake credentials, the growth of her immigration practice, and the complaint that triggered the investigation-so who decides the fate of her clients’ wins?

Person: Sarah Anne Stewart
Date: March 11, 2014
Location: Coosa River near Gadsden, Alabama
Case: Complaint filed by Ray Alcott to the Alabama State Bar
Document: Law degree dated May, 2002 from Southwestern College of Law and Justice (school closed 1971)

- The tote bag with the law degree was pulled from the Coosa River on March 11, 2014 by fisherman Glenn Nelson.
- Sarah was 38 years old and had practiced immigration law in Etowah County for eleven years before the discovery.
- She enrolled at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1994 but left after two years because money ran out.
- Between 2003 and 2007 her client base grew from 40 to more than 200 clients at Stewart Immigration Law Office.
- A spiral notebook contained 412 entries documenting care for a detained client’s diabetic cat named Pepper.

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/73070995Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:33:22 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Faked a Law Degree - Saved Lives, Stole Justice, Drowned Proof A small-town lawyer with a forged diploma ran asylum cases, kept a diabetic client’s cat alive, and got a real Alabama bar number-until a waterlogged tote bag revealed her secret....
A small-town lawyer with a forged diploma ran asylum cases, kept a diabetic client’s cat alive, and got a real Alabama bar number-until a waterlogged tote bag revealed her secret. How did Sarah Anne Stewart turn a diploma from a school closed in 1971 into a functioning law practice that helped hundreds, and what should happen to victories won on a fake foundation?

In this episode, you’ll hear how Stewart built a legal career from a forgery and what unfolded when a routine complaint set a chain reaction in motion. The episode covers her early life, the construction of the fake credentials, the growth of her immigration practice, and the complaint that triggered the investigation-so who decides the fate of her clients’ wins?

Person: Sarah Anne Stewart
Date: March 11, 2014
Location: Coosa River near Gadsden, Alabama
Case: Complaint filed by Ray Alcott to the Alabama State Bar
Document: Law degree dated May, 2002 from Southwestern College of Law and Justice (school closed 1971)

- The tote bag with the law degree was pulled from the Coosa River on March 11, 2014 by fisherman Glenn Nelson.
- Sarah was 38 years old and had practiced immigration law in Etowah County for eleven years before the discovery.
- She enrolled at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1994 but left after two years because money ran out.
- Between 2003 and 2007 her client base grew from 40 to more than 200 clients at Stewart Immigration Law Office.
- A spiral notebook contained 412 entries documenting care for a detained client’s diabetic cat named Pepper.

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.]]>1362falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/surveyor-digs-up-the-identity-he-buried-the-john-fleming-fraud--73070994
A county surveyor driving a stake into frozen clay in Dellwood, Tennessee, pulled out a laminated credential eight inches down: a perfectly preserved Certified Fraud Examiner card for John R. Fleming with an expiration of February 2015, buried on a property licensed under the same name. How did a dead man’s active professional membership enable a decade-long fraud that siphoned approximately $240,000 while producing defensible forensic reports?

In this episode, the story unfolds from the moment the card is found through the construction of a stolen professional identity and the operation it enabled, tracing the credential, the fake college transcripts, the forged letterhead, and the steady payments that hid in plain sight. What gaps in verification let a dead man’s registry entry become a living impostor’s credential?

Person: John R. Fleming
Date: Early February 2014
Location: Dellwood, Tennessee
Event: Discovery of a laminated ACFE card buried eight inches in soil
Amount: Approximately $240,000

- The laminated ACFE card found had an expiration date of February 2015 and belonged to John R. Fleming.
- The real John R. Fleming was born March 4, 1951, credentialed in 1994, and died in 2004; his widow notified the ACFE of his death.
- Ardent Verification Group began in 2004 in Dellwood and used the live ACFE registry entry showing Fleming as a dues-paying member.
- By 2012, Ardent billed approximately $800,000 per year in contracts across the region.
- From around 2007 over seven years, four vendors received quarterly payments just under $3,000, totaling about $240,000.

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/73070994Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:33:19 +0000Creator at ObomediaSurveyor Digs Up the Identity He Buried: The John Fleming Fraud A county surveyor driving a stake into frozen clay in Dellwood, Tennessee, pulled out a laminated credential eight inches down: a perfectly preserved Certified Fraud Examiner card for...
A county surveyor driving a stake into frozen clay in Dellwood, Tennessee, pulled out a laminated credential eight inches down: a perfectly preserved Certified Fraud Examiner card for John R. Fleming with an expiration of February 2015, buried on a property licensed under the same name. How did a dead man’s active professional membership enable a decade-long fraud that siphoned approximately $240,000 while producing defensible forensic reports?

In this episode, the story unfolds from the moment the card is found through the construction of a stolen professional identity and the operation it enabled, tracing the credential, the fake college transcripts, the forged letterhead, and the steady payments that hid in plain sight. What gaps in verification let a dead man’s registry entry become a living impostor’s credential?

Person: John R. Fleming
Date: Early February 2014
Location: Dellwood, Tennessee
Event: Discovery of a laminated ACFE card buried eight inches in soil
Amount: Approximately $240,000

- The laminated ACFE card found had an expiration date of February 2015 and belonged to John R. Fleming.
- The real John R. Fleming was born March 4, 1951, credentialed in 1994, and died in 2004; his widow notified the ACFE of his death.
- Ardent Verification Group began in 2004 in Dellwood and used the live ACFE registry entry showing Fleming as a dues-paying member.
- By 2012, Ardent billed approximately $800,000 per year in contracts across the region.
- From around 2007 over seven years, four vendors received quarterly payments just under $3,000, totaling about $240,000.

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.]]>1246falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-summit-that-wasn-t-how-a-septic-tank-exposed-a-climbfaker--73070993
A quiet morning retrieval from a septic tank produced a laminated summit certificate so clean it looked staged - and the name on it linked the fake to a neighbor who lived ninety seconds away. The certificate, a photograph, and three years of carefully curated stories built a false mountaineer identity that collapsed in five days; how did a single sheet of paper unravel an entire persona?

In this episode, we tell the episode's narrative from the moment Kimberly Patterson pulled the certificate to the community responses that followed, showing how visual proof, local credibility, and small-town trust created the conditions for the deception - and asking what happens when a community's social currency is weaponized by a skilled photographer?

Person: Ralph Parker
Date: January 16, 2020
Location: Aldenvale, Washington
Event: Summit certificate recovered from septic tank
Period: three years of fabricated climbing identity

- The certificate found was laminated, clean, and dry at the edges despite being retrieved from a septic tank at 7:40 AM.
- Ralph Parker was 26 years old and lived at 14 Suncrest Terrace, Aldenvale, Washington.
- Parker arrived in Aldenvale in autumn 2018 and had been building an outdoor persona since spring 2017.
- A published photograph of Parker praised by guide Aaron Whitt was actually taken at Meadow Creek Ski Area at 4,200 feet, not on Mount Baker.
- The false identity persisted for nearly three years and was dismantled within five days after the certificate was discovered.

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/73070993Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:33:16 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Summit That Wasn't: How a Septic Tank Exposed a Climbfaker A quiet morning retrieval from a septic tank produced a laminated summit certificate so clean it looked staged - and the name on it linked the fake to a neighbor who lived ninety...
A quiet morning retrieval from a septic tank produced a laminated summit certificate so clean it looked staged - and the name on it linked the fake to a neighbor who lived ninety seconds away. The certificate, a photograph, and three years of carefully curated stories built a false mountaineer identity that collapsed in five days; how did a single sheet of paper unravel an entire persona?

In this episode, we tell the episode's narrative from the moment Kimberly Patterson pulled the certificate to the community responses that followed, showing how visual proof, local credibility, and small-town trust created the conditions for the deception - and asking what happens when a community's social currency is weaponized by a skilled photographer?

Person: Ralph Parker
Date: January 16, 2020
Location: Aldenvale, Washington
Event: Summit certificate recovered from septic tank
Period: three years of fabricated climbing identity

- The certificate found was laminated, clean, and dry at the edges despite being retrieved from a septic tank at 7:40 AM.
- Ralph Parker was 26 years old and lived at 14 Suncrest Terrace, Aldenvale, Washington.
- Parker arrived in Aldenvale in autumn 2018 and had been building an outdoor persona since spring 2017.
- A published photograph of Parker praised by guide Aaron Whitt was actually taken at Meadow Creek Ski Area at 4,200 feet, not on Mount Baker.
- The false identity persisted for nearly three years and was dismantled within five days after the certificate was discovered.

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.]]>1398falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-wasn-t-a-doctor-the-frances-novak-case--73070992
Fear and fascination: a woman practiced fertility medicine for over a decade without a medical degree, working in a clinic where 47 patient files ended up propped against a dumpster - and the fake gold seals she used were convincing enough to fool patients and officials for years. How did Frances Novak sustain that identity from 2000 to 2014, and what finally unraveled her life as a clinician?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the discovery of the folder on December 9, 2014 through the background that allowed Novak to assume a physician’s role, and we follow the moments that raised doubts about her credentials and practice. What combination of billing discrepancies, attentive coworkers, and small inconsistencies led investigators to conclude she had never earned a medical degree?

Date: December 9, 2014
Location: Dunmore, Ohio
Person: Frances Novak
Event: 47 patient files found in a manila folder
Period: 2000-2014

- At 7:42 AM on December 9, 2014, Alice Patterson found a manila accordion folder wedged between a dumpster and a concrete block wall.
- The folder contained 47 patient files from Lakeview Reproductive Associates, each bearing a gold embossed seal from the American Board of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility.
- Frances Novak had been practicing at Lakeview Reproductive Associates since spring 2002 and running it alone for three years before 2005.
- Novak was born in spring 1966 in Muncie, Indiana and enrolled as a pre-med student in autumn 1984 but left in her second year.
- The Caribbean medical school Novak listed as her alma mater had closed in 1994, five years before her supposed graduation.

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/73070992Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:33:13 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Wasn't a Doctor: The Frances Novak Case Fear and fascination: a woman practiced fertility medicine for over a decade without a medical degree, working in a clinic where 47 patient files ended up propped against a dumpster - and the fake gold...
Fear and fascination: a woman practiced fertility medicine for over a decade without a medical degree, working in a clinic where 47 patient files ended up propped against a dumpster - and the fake gold seals she used were convincing enough to fool patients and officials for years. How did Frances Novak sustain that identity from 2000 to 2014, and what finally unraveled her life as a clinician?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the discovery of the folder on December 9, 2014 through the background that allowed Novak to assume a physician’s role, and we follow the moments that raised doubts about her credentials and practice. What combination of billing discrepancies, attentive coworkers, and small inconsistencies led investigators to conclude she had never earned a medical degree?

Date: December 9, 2014
Location: Dunmore, Ohio
Person: Frances Novak
Event: 47 patient files found in a manila folder
Period: 2000-2014

- At 7:42 AM on December 9, 2014, Alice Patterson found a manila accordion folder wedged between a dumpster and a concrete block wall.
- The folder contained 47 patient files from Lakeview Reproductive Associates, each bearing a gold embossed seal from the American Board of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility.
- Frances Novak had been practicing at Lakeview Reproductive Associates since spring 2002 and running it alone for three years before 2005.
- Novak was born in spring 1966 in Muncie, Indiana and enrolled as a pre-med student in autumn 1984 but left in her second year.
- The Caribbean medical school Novak listed as her alma mater had closed in 1994, five years before her supposed graduation.

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-stole-their-stories-the-case-of-a-fake-refugee-handler--73070991
The cold discovery of a UNHCR card on a porch led police to a woman who had lived a fabricated refugee life for years, deceiving a resettlement agency that helped families from Congo, Somalia, Eritrea and more-how did she build such a convincing false history and what did it cost the real clients? Who did she really take from, and why did no one see it coming?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a morning in Morrow, Ohio to the revelations that followed, detailing the roles, documents, friendships and daily work that allowed the deception to continue-what precisely was the architecture of her fraud?

Date: November 4, 2014
Location: Morrow, Ohio
Person: Rhonda Lyn Edwards
Organization: Hartwell Resettlement Services
Victim community: refugees from Congo, Somalia, Eritrea, Burma, Iraq

- A UNHCR identification card belonging to Amara Diene was found propped on a back step at 6:40 AM.
- Todd Sawyer, age 14, discovered the laminated card during his paper route.
- Police arrived at the Hartwell Resettlement Services parking lot three hours after the card was found.
- Rhonda Lyn Edwards told officers she was born in Ashland, Kentucky and had never been to Senegal.
- Rhonda was hired at Hartwell in summer 2010 at age 28, after presenting a 2009 certificate from a Lutheran-affiliated training program.

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/73070991Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:33:10 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Stole Their Stories: The Case of a Fake Refugee Handler The cold discovery of a UNHCR card on a porch led police to a woman who had lived a fabricated refugee life for years, deceiving a resettlement agency that helped families from Congo,...
The cold discovery of a UNHCR card on a porch led police to a woman who had lived a fabricated refugee life for years, deceiving a resettlement agency that helped families from Congo, Somalia, Eritrea and more-how did she build such a convincing false history and what did it cost the real clients? Who did she really take from, and why did no one see it coming?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a morning in Morrow, Ohio to the revelations that followed, detailing the roles, documents, friendships and daily work that allowed the deception to continue-what precisely was the architecture of her fraud?

Date: November 4, 2014
Location: Morrow, Ohio
Person: Rhonda Lyn Edwards
Organization: Hartwell Resettlement Services
Victim community: refugees from Congo, Somalia, Eritrea, Burma, Iraq

- A UNHCR identification card belonging to Amara Diene was found propped on a back step at 6:40 AM.
- Todd Sawyer, age 14, discovered the laminated card during his paper route.
- Police arrived at the Hartwell Resettlement Services parking lot three hours after the card was found.
- Rhonda Lyn Edwards told officers she was born in Ashland, Kentucky and had never been to Senegal.
- Rhonda was hired at Hartwell in summer 2010 at age 28, after presenting a 2009 certificate from a Lutheran-affiliated training program.

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.]]>1422falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-box-in-the-snow-how-a-fake-degree-built-a-principal-s-life--73070988
Fear and betrayal: a fake master's diploma sat sealed in a cardboard box on a cleared parking lot and, within hours, erased eleven years of a principal's career - but the school had better test scores, three leadership awards, and staff retention peaked under her. How did one forged document create a real life of authority that colleagues and a superintendent trusted for over a decade?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events from the morning the box was found to the months of investigation that followed, showing how a forged degree, community work, and administrative decisions intersected - and ask what counts as legitimacy when outcomes and credentials conflict?

Person: Cynthia Rae Holbrook
Date: February 2019
Location: Farwell Consolidated School District
Event: Box with forged documents found
Status: Principal placed on administrative leave

- A snowplow operator found a sealed, unlabeled cardboard box in a cleared parking lot at 5:40 AM in the second week of February 2019.
- The overnight security guard, Dennis Pruett, signed the box in at 6:15 AM and called the superintendent before most teachers began their commute.
- Cynthia Rae Holbrook, age 52, had been principal of Alderman K-8 for eleven uninterrupted years when she was placed on administrative leave by 9:00 AM.
- Investigators determined Holbrook likely produced a laminated diploma, a four-year transcript, and a recommendation letter in one weekend using a copy shop in Charleston, referencing a real Glenfield University alumna named Cynthia Rae.
- Under Holbrook’s leadership, Alderman’s test scores improved consistently, staff retention was highest in the district, and she won the district’s Excellence in Leadership award three times.

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/73070988Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:33:06 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Box in the Snow: How a Fake Degree Built a Principal's Life Fear and betrayal: a fake master's diploma sat sealed in a cardboard box on a cleared parking lot and, within hours, erased eleven years of a principal's career - but the school had...
Fear and betrayal: a fake master's diploma sat sealed in a cardboard box on a cleared parking lot and, within hours, erased eleven years of a principal's career - but the school had better test scores, three leadership awards, and staff retention peaked under her. How did one forged document create a real life of authority that colleagues and a superintendent trusted for over a decade?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events from the morning the box was found to the months of investigation that followed, showing how a forged degree, community work, and administrative decisions intersected - and ask what counts as legitimacy when outcomes and credentials conflict?

Person: Cynthia Rae Holbrook
Date: February 2019
Location: Farwell Consolidated School District
Event: Box with forged documents found
Status: Principal placed on administrative leave

- A snowplow operator found a sealed, unlabeled cardboard box in a cleared parking lot at 5:40 AM in the second week of February 2019.
- The overnight security guard, Dennis Pruett, signed the box in at 6:15 AM and called the superintendent before most teachers began their commute.
- Cynthia Rae Holbrook, age 52, had been principal of Alderman K-8 for eleven uninterrupted years when she was placed on administrative leave by 9:00 AM.
- Investigators determined Holbrook likely produced a laminated diploma, a four-year transcript, and a recommendation letter in one weekend using a copy shop in Charleston, referencing a real Glenfield University alumna named Cynthia Rae.
- Under Holbrook’s leadership, Alderman’s test scores improved consistently, staff retention was highest in the district, and she won the district’s Excellence in Leadership award three times.

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.]]>1423falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-stole-a-badge-built-a-life-left-only-a-table--73070986
A carefully staged scene - one solid oak table, a half-empty bottle of French Burgundy, a leather portfolio with a gold-foil seal, and seven laminated press credentials - greeted a utilities technician who opened Unit 7 on a Tuesday morning in the second week of September. The woman pictured on every credential, Sharon Andrews, was forty-nine and had not been seen since that night; how did a life constructed over eleven years collapse into a single, deliberate tableau?

In this episode, we trace the public moments and private fabrications that made Sharon Andrews appear to belong to Chicago's culinary world, and we ask how a single stolen press badge and a spoken claim could substitute for a career. What did the investigation find about the credentials, the genuine work, and the moment her deception unraveled?

Person: Sharon Andrews
Date: second week of September (Tuesday morning)
Location: Unit 7, Heron Bluff Apartments, east Dellmere
Age: 49
Period: eleven years

- A utilities technician, Earl Lane, discovered the staged scene and called his supervisor at 9:47 AM.
- Seven laminated press credentials were fanned on the table, all showing Sharon Andrews’s face.
- Andrews attended the Harvest Summit approximately eleven years earlier and pocketed Ellen Marsh’s press badge.
- Andrews earned approximately $1,260 over fourteen months of freelance work for Harvest & Fork, about $90 per piece.
- A leather Michelin Guide portfolio with a gold-foil seal was bought by Andrews at an online auction for $62.

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/73070986Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:33:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Stole a Badge, Built a Life - Left Only a Table A carefully staged scene - one solid oak table, a half-empty bottle of French Burgundy, a leather portfolio with a gold-foil seal, and seven laminated press credentials - greeted a utilities...
A carefully staged scene - one solid oak table, a half-empty bottle of French Burgundy, a leather portfolio with a gold-foil seal, and seven laminated press credentials - greeted a utilities technician who opened Unit 7 on a Tuesday morning in the second week of September. The woman pictured on every credential, Sharon Andrews, was forty-nine and had not been seen since that night; how did a life constructed over eleven years collapse into a single, deliberate tableau?

In this episode, we trace the public moments and private fabrications that made Sharon Andrews appear to belong to Chicago's culinary world, and we ask how a single stolen press badge and a spoken claim could substitute for a career. What did the investigation find about the credentials, the genuine work, and the moment her deception unraveled?

Person: Sharon Andrews
Date: second week of September (Tuesday morning)
Location: Unit 7, Heron Bluff Apartments, east Dellmere
Age: 49
Period: eleven years

- A utilities technician, Earl Lane, discovered the staged scene and called his supervisor at 9:47 AM.
- Seven laminated press credentials were fanned on the table, all showing Sharon Andrews’s face.
- Andrews attended the Harvest Summit approximately eleven years earlier and pocketed Ellen Marsh’s press badge.
- Andrews earned approximately $1,260 over fourteen months of freelance work for Harvest & Fork, about $90 per piece.
- A leather Michelin Guide portfolio with a gold-foil seal was bought by Andrews at an online auction for $62.

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/he-taught-fourth-grade-but-his-name-belonged-to-a-dead-man--73070979
A retired postal worker's morning photo of a parked green Ford pickup unraveled nine years of a fake life and exposed a teacher who used a dead man's identity to stand before 212 children. How did a laminated Ohio certificate, a forged transcript, and administrative oversights let a man with no credential teach from 2010 to 2019 under another person's name?

In this episode, we lay out the timeline from the first application in August 2010 to the discovery on August 9, 2019, showing how documents, a print shop, and routine renewals moved an impostor through a school district - and ask how systems meant to protect students missed the red flags until a stranger made a call.

Person: Scott Schmidt
Person: David Allen Marten
Date: March 14, 2016
Location: Whitmore Lake Elementary, Livingston County, Michigan
Event: License plate photographed on August 9, 2019

- 212 children attended the classes taught by the impostor.
- Schmidt altered Marten's birth date on the real Ohio teaching certificate around 2010.
- Marten died of cardiac arrest on March 14, 2016, at age 39.
- Schmidt applied to Whitmore Lake Consolidated School District in August 2010 using forged documents.
- A retired postal worker called the non-emergency line at 6:41 AM on August 9, 2019, after photographing a parked truck.

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/73070979Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:32:59 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Taught Fourth Grade-But His Name Belonged To A Dead Man A retired postal worker's morning photo of a parked green Ford pickup unraveled nine years of a fake life and exposed a teacher who used a dead man's identity to stand before 212 children....
A retired postal worker's morning photo of a parked green Ford pickup unraveled nine years of a fake life and exposed a teacher who used a dead man's identity to stand before 212 children. How did a laminated Ohio certificate, a forged transcript, and administrative oversights let a man with no credential teach from 2010 to 2019 under another person's name?

In this episode, we lay out the timeline from the first application in August 2010 to the discovery on August 9, 2019, showing how documents, a print shop, and routine renewals moved an impostor through a school district - and ask how systems meant to protect students missed the red flags until a stranger made a call.

Person: Scott Schmidt
Person: David Allen Marten
Date: March 14, 2016
Location: Whitmore Lake Elementary, Livingston County, Michigan
Event: License plate photographed on August 9, 2019

- 212 children attended the classes taught by the impostor.
- Schmidt altered Marten's birth date on the real Ohio teaching certificate around 2010.
- Marten died of cardiac arrest on March 14, 2016, at age 39.
- Schmidt applied to Whitmore Lake Consolidated School District in August 2010 using forged documents.
- A retired postal worker called the non-emergency line at 6:41 AM on August 9, 2019, after photographing a parked truck.

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.]]>1211falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-diploma-on-the-porch-how-a-fake-doctorhood-broke-a-town--73070977
A framed doctorate hung on a Victorian porch for sixteen years, visible to grieving families who trusted the name on the wall; one utility worker’s photograph set off an unraveling that exposed a falsified degree, a fabricated child’s death, and a buried warning that had sat unread for eleven years. How did a six-week certificate and a document printer in Pittsburgh become the foundation of a fake clinical practice that governed people’s worst moments?

In this episode, we walk through the events reported in the transcript: the moment the diploma was discovered, the gaps investigators found in Susan A. Hughes’s professional and personal history, and the archival trail that finally cracked the case. What does the photograph on Marsh Avenue reveal about trust, credentials, and the records that failed to stop her?

Person: Susan A. Hughes
Location: Marsh Avenue, Dellfield, Ohio
Event: Diploma discovery on July 9
Period: Sixteen years of practice at Hughes Bereavement Services
Institution: Whitmore University (dissolved in 2004)

- The diploma was photographed by utility worker Roger Coleman on July 9 and reported as "this seemed wrong."
- Susan A. Hughes displayed a doctorate dated 1996 claiming a PhD in clinical psychology.
- Hughes operated Hughes Bereavement Services from Number 14 Marsh Avenue for sixteen years without required Ohio licensure.
- Her claimed daughter Claire was said to have died at age seven in a January 1993 Marion County, West Virginia car accident, but no records were found.
- Whitmore University, where Hughes had a six-week certificate from 1995, was dissolved in 2004 after a federal review for the sale of degrees.

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/73070977Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:32:57 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Diploma on the Porch: How a Fake Doctorhood Broke a Town A framed doctorate hung on a Victorian porch for sixteen years, visible to grieving families who trusted the name on the wall; one utility worker’s photograph set off an unraveling that...
A framed doctorate hung on a Victorian porch for sixteen years, visible to grieving families who trusted the name on the wall; one utility worker’s photograph set off an unraveling that exposed a falsified degree, a fabricated child’s death, and a buried warning that had sat unread for eleven years. How did a six-week certificate and a document printer in Pittsburgh become the foundation of a fake clinical practice that governed people’s worst moments?

In this episode, we walk through the events reported in the transcript: the moment the diploma was discovered, the gaps investigators found in Susan A. Hughes’s professional and personal history, and the archival trail that finally cracked the case. What does the photograph on Marsh Avenue reveal about trust, credentials, and the records that failed to stop her?

Person: Susan A. Hughes
Location: Marsh Avenue, Dellfield, Ohio
Event: Diploma discovery on July 9
Period: Sixteen years of practice at Hughes Bereavement Services
Institution: Whitmore University (dissolved in 2004)

- The diploma was photographed by utility worker Roger Coleman on July 9 and reported as "this seemed wrong."
- Susan A. Hughes displayed a doctorate dated 1996 claiming a PhD in clinical psychology.
- Hughes operated Hughes Bereavement Services from Number 14 Marsh Avenue for sixteen years without required Ohio licensure.
- Her claimed daughter Claire was said to have died at age seven in a January 1993 Marion County, West Virginia car accident, but no records were found.
- Whitmore University, where Hughes had a six-week certificate from 1995, was dissolved in 2004 after a federal review for the sale of degrees.

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.]]>1398falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-married-three-women-one-binder-unraveled-his-lies--73070974
Fear that the life beside you is a carefully constructed fiction hits when a single binder reveals three wedding contracts, three brides, and one groom - all dated June 20th. A white three-ring binder sat on the front pew of St. Agatha's Lutheran Church in Fennimore on June 4, 2009, and inside were tabs named Debra Nole and Tricia Vogt plus vendor receipts; who was Eric Hansen really, and how did he keep three engagements secret until one person opened a folder?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events that followed Lisa Rafferty finding the binder at a church in Fennimore and how documents, rings, and vendor contracts exposed a constructed life; what decisions and small deceptions allowed Eric Hansen to engage three women with the same wedding date without them meeting each other?

Person: Eric Hansen
Event: Binder found on front pew at St. Agatha's Lutheran Church
Date: June 4, 2009 (binder discovered); June 20, 2009 (wedding date on contracts)
Location: Fennimore, Wisconsin
Counties: Lafayette, Grant, Iowa

- Lisa Rafferty found a white three-ring binder on the front pew on Tuesday, June 4, 2009.
- The binder contained three wedding contracts all dated June 20, 2009.
- Eric Hanson (sic in transcript: Hansen) obtained marriage licenses in Grant County on May 27, 2009, and Lafayette County on May 28, 2009.
- Eric proposed to Debra in April 2008, to Tricia in October 2008, and to Cassie in April 2009.
- Eric purchased three rings from the same estate jeweler in Dubuque, Iowa, across three months before spring 2009.

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/73070974Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:32:53 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Married Three Women-One Binder Unraveled His Lies Fear that the life beside you is a carefully constructed fiction hits when a single binder reveals three wedding contracts, three brides, and one groom - all dated June 20th. A white three-ring...
Fear that the life beside you is a carefully constructed fiction hits when a single binder reveals three wedding contracts, three brides, and one groom - all dated June 20th. A white three-ring binder sat on the front pew of St. Agatha's Lutheran Church in Fennimore on June 4, 2009, and inside were tabs named Debra Nole and Tricia Vogt plus vendor receipts; who was Eric Hansen really, and how did he keep three engagements secret until one person opened a folder?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events that followed Lisa Rafferty finding the binder at a church in Fennimore and how documents, rings, and vendor contracts exposed a constructed life; what decisions and small deceptions allowed Eric Hansen to engage three women with the same wedding date without them meeting each other?

Person: Eric Hansen
Event: Binder found on front pew at St. Agatha's Lutheran Church
Date: June 4, 2009 (binder discovered); June 20, 2009 (wedding date on contracts)
Location: Fennimore, Wisconsin
Counties: Lafayette, Grant, Iowa

- Lisa Rafferty found a white three-ring binder on the front pew on Tuesday, June 4, 2009.
- The binder contained three wedding contracts all dated June 20, 2009.
- Eric Hanson (sic in transcript: Hansen) obtained marriage licenses in Grant County on May 27, 2009, and Lafayette County on May 28, 2009.
- Eric proposed to Debra in April 2008, to Tricia in October 2008, and to Cassie in April 2009.
- Eric purchased three rings from the same estate jeweler in Dubuque, Iowa, across three months before spring 2009.

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.]]>1343falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-man-with-a-master-s-that-never-existed-how-kenneth-vogel-fooled-palladian--73070971
A man who led a division on a $12,000,000 federal contract carried a master’s degree that was entirely fabricated, yet independent reviews found every system he designed technically sound-so how did a forged credential go unnoticed for eight years, and who finally uncovered it? Listen to the moment an unsealed envelope found by a terrier upended an engineer’s hidden life and forced three separate inquiries to collide.

In this episode, you’ll hear the sequence of events that connected a dog-walk discovery, an internal compliance check, and a professional mixer to expose the truth. The episode traces Vogel’s move from Renfield Technical University dropout to Palladian Chief Systems Engineer, and asks whether competence can-or should-excuse falsified credentials.

Person: Kenneth A. Vogel
Date: May 9, 2017
Location: Dellfield, Ohio
Organization: Palladian Dynamics
Contract: $12,000,000 federal infrastructure contract

- An unsealed manila envelope containing three fabricated documents was found wedged behind Palladian Dynamics on May 9, 2017.
- The fake transcript listed 19 completed courses and a GPA of 3.8 with a graduation date of 1999.
- Vogel created forged Renfield Technical University letterhead, a transcript, and a recommendation from a fictitious Dr. Paul Escherich in 2008.
- Vogel worked at Palladian for eight years and led a division of 19 people as Chief Systems Engineer by 2017.
- Three independent engineering firms reviewed every system Vogel designed and declared them technically sound.

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/73070971Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:32:50 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Man with a Master's That Never Existed: How Kenneth Vogel Fooled Palladian A man who led a division on a $12,000,000 federal contract carried a master’s degree that was entirely fabricated, yet independent reviews found every system he designed...
A man who led a division on a $12,000,000 federal contract carried a master’s degree that was entirely fabricated, yet independent reviews found every system he designed technically sound-so how did a forged credential go unnoticed for eight years, and who finally uncovered it? Listen to the moment an unsealed envelope found by a terrier upended an engineer’s hidden life and forced three separate inquiries to collide.

In this episode, you’ll hear the sequence of events that connected a dog-walk discovery, an internal compliance check, and a professional mixer to expose the truth. The episode traces Vogel’s move from Renfield Technical University dropout to Palladian Chief Systems Engineer, and asks whether competence can-or should-excuse falsified credentials.

Person: Kenneth A. Vogel
Date: May 9, 2017
Location: Dellfield, Ohio
Organization: Palladian Dynamics
Contract: $12,000,000 federal infrastructure contract

- An unsealed manila envelope containing three fabricated documents was found wedged behind Palladian Dynamics on May 9, 2017.
- The fake transcript listed 19 completed courses and a GPA of 3.8 with a graduation date of 1999.
- Vogel created forged Renfield Technical University letterhead, a transcript, and a recommendation from a fictitious Dr. Paul Escherich in 2008.
- Vogel worked at Palladian for eight years and led a division of 19 people as Chief Systems Engineer by 2017.
- Three independent engineering firms reviewed every system Vogel designed and declared them technically sound.

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.]]>1324falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-pastor-who-faked-a-calling-found-in-a-river-portfolio--73070968
A zippered leather portfolio pulled from the Sauken River held a complete fake professional identity: ordination papers, a seminary transcript, and a letter of transfer - all for a man who had been preaching less than two hundred yards upstream for seven years. How did a set of forged documents keep a congregational anchor intact for so long, and what happens when a river almost swallows the only evidence?

In this episode, we follow how those documents surfaced, what they contained, and the trail they pulled through decades of small-town institutions and a converted gas station church; could a man perform the role of pastor for thirty years without ever legitimately earning the credentials he claimed?

Person: Jerry Powell
Location: Sauken River / Fennimore, Missouri
Date: April (year not specified)
Age: 54 (when hired at Trinity Covenant)
Event: Portfolio found with fabricated ordination, transfer letter, and seminary transcript

- The portfolio was recovered before six in the morning from Alice Carter’s trotline on the Sauken River.
- Trinity Covenant Church had been without a permanent pastor for fourteen months before hiring Jerry Powell.
- The hiring vote was six to one in favor, with one dissenting vote from deacon Frank Ostrowski.
- The seminary transcript claimed a Master of Divinity conferred in 1989; the named professor, Gerald Bunch, died in 1982.
- Calvary Ridge Theological, named on the ordination certificate, closed in 1984 - five years before the certificate’s stated date.

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/73070968Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:32:47 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Pastor Who Faked a Calling - Found in a River Portfolio A zippered leather portfolio pulled from the Sauken River held a complete fake professional identity: ordination papers, a seminary transcript, and a letter of transfer - all for a man who...
A zippered leather portfolio pulled from the Sauken River held a complete fake professional identity: ordination papers, a seminary transcript, and a letter of transfer - all for a man who had been preaching less than two hundred yards upstream for seven years. How did a set of forged documents keep a congregational anchor intact for so long, and what happens when a river almost swallows the only evidence?

In this episode, we follow how those documents surfaced, what they contained, and the trail they pulled through decades of small-town institutions and a converted gas station church; could a man perform the role of pastor for thirty years without ever legitimately earning the credentials he claimed?

Person: Jerry Powell
Location: Sauken River / Fennimore, Missouri
Date: April (year not specified)
Age: 54 (when hired at Trinity Covenant)
Event: Portfolio found with fabricated ordination, transfer letter, and seminary transcript

- The portfolio was recovered before six in the morning from Alice Carter’s trotline on the Sauken River.
- Trinity Covenant Church had been without a permanent pastor for fourteen months before hiring Jerry Powell.
- The hiring vote was six to one in favor, with one dissenting vote from deacon Frank Ostrowski.
- The seminary transcript claimed a Master of Divinity conferred in 1989; the named professor, Gerald Bunch, died in 1982.
- Calvary Ridge Theological, named on the ordination certificate, closed in 1984 - five years before the certificate’s stated date.

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.]]>1408falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-wore-four-medals-and-nobody-knew-they-were-lies--73070965
The chill of small-town pride met a startling truth: a 24-year-old marched with a Silver Star, Bronze Star with Valor, a Purple Heart, and a Combat Infantryman Badge - all based on a two-page printed document. How did a man with no military service become one of Renville County’s honored veterans, and what single file number unraveled it all?

In this episode, we tell the story of Scott Jenkins and the precise steps that led a community to accept him as one of their own. You’ll hear how a failure at an Army physical, a laser printer, and a spiral notebook converged into an identity that held for four years - and what finally exposed it.

Person: Scott Jenkins
Location: Renville County
Age: 24 (at parade in 2017)
Duration: lived in county less than three years; four years as a recognized veteran
Document: two-page printed DD-214 created from a scanned template

- He arrived in late summer 2014 at age 21 and paid his first two months’ rent in cash.
- By Memorial Day 2015 he coordinated the VFW post’s observance ceremony.
- By fall 2015 he was appointed to the county veterans’ services advisory board.
- He marched as an honored veteran in the Welcome Spring Parade for the fourth consecutive year in 2017.
- Investigators found annotated after-action memoirs, unit histories, veteran blogs, and a spiral notebook with transliterated Pashto in his room.

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/73070965Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:32:43 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Wore Four Medals - and Nobody Knew They Were Lies The chill of small-town pride met a startling truth: a 24-year-old marched with a Silver Star, Bronze Star with Valor, a Purple Heart, and a Combat Infantryman Badge - all based on a two-page...
The chill of small-town pride met a startling truth: a 24-year-old marched with a Silver Star, Bronze Star with Valor, a Purple Heart, and a Combat Infantryman Badge - all based on a two-page printed document. How did a man with no military service become one of Renville County’s honored veterans, and what single file number unraveled it all?

In this episode, we tell the story of Scott Jenkins and the precise steps that led a community to accept him as one of their own. You’ll hear how a failure at an Army physical, a laser printer, and a spiral notebook converged into an identity that held for four years - and what finally exposed it.

Person: Scott Jenkins
Location: Renville County
Age: 24 (at parade in 2017)
Duration: lived in county less than three years; four years as a recognized veteran
Document: two-page printed DD-214 created from a scanned template

- He arrived in late summer 2014 at age 21 and paid his first two months’ rent in cash.
- By Memorial Day 2015 he coordinated the VFW post’s observance ceremony.
- By fall 2015 he was appointed to the county veterans’ services advisory board.
- He marched as an honored veteran in the Welcome Spring Parade for the fourth consecutive year in 2017.
- Investigators found annotated after-action memoirs, unit histories, veteran blogs, and a spiral notebook with transliterated Pashto in his room.

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.]]>987falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-claimed-a-4-6m-trust-he-trusted-her-then-frost-spilled-proof--73070962
Cold frost revealed seven loose pages describing a $4.6 million trust abandoned behind the Calloway Arms in Pryor, Nebraska; a retired paralegal would later recognize the draft language and a pattern that stretched back years. Who was the woman named on every page, and why had she placed those drafts where a sewer worker would find them?

In this episode, you’ll hear the sequence of events that began when Dennis Bell found the torn trash bag, how Amanda Pruitt presented herself to a small town as the administrator of Calvert Meridian Holdings, and the details that connected her to other alleged trust cons - including prior incidents in Hamilton County, Indiana. How did she build trust with a recently widowed grain-storage owner and others, and what did the frost-strewn drafts ultimately expose?

Person: Dennis Bell
Location: Pryor, Nebraska
Date: February 2011
Person: Amanda Pruitt
Event: Found seven-page draft describing a $4.6 million trust

- Temperature at discovery was 19 degrees on a Tuesday morning in February 2011.
- Dennis Bell had 23 years of experience in groundworks when he found the split trash bag.
- The discarded pages were drafts with crossed-out lines, margin notes, and correction fluid used in three different places.
- Amanda Pruitt arrived in Pryor in September 2010 and had been there five months by February 2011.
- By November 2010, Paul Sievers, aged 61, was dining with Amanda twice a week at the Calloway Arms.

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/73070962Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:32:41 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Claimed a $4.6M Trust - He Trusted Her, Then Frost Spilled Proof Cold frost revealed seven loose pages describing a $4.6 million trust abandoned behind the Calloway Arms in Pryor, Nebraska; a retired paralegal would later recognize the draft...
Cold frost revealed seven loose pages describing a $4.6 million trust abandoned behind the Calloway Arms in Pryor, Nebraska; a retired paralegal would later recognize the draft language and a pattern that stretched back years. Who was the woman named on every page, and why had she placed those drafts where a sewer worker would find them?

In this episode, you’ll hear the sequence of events that began when Dennis Bell found the torn trash bag, how Amanda Pruitt presented herself to a small town as the administrator of Calvert Meridian Holdings, and the details that connected her to other alleged trust cons - including prior incidents in Hamilton County, Indiana. How did she build trust with a recently widowed grain-storage owner and others, and what did the frost-strewn drafts ultimately expose?

Person: Dennis Bell
Location: Pryor, Nebraska
Date: February 2011
Person: Amanda Pruitt
Event: Found seven-page draft describing a $4.6 million trust

- Temperature at discovery was 19 degrees on a Tuesday morning in February 2011.
- Dennis Bell had 23 years of experience in groundworks when he found the split trash bag.
- The discarded pages were drafts with crossed-out lines, margin notes, and correction fluid used in three different places.
- Amanda Pruitt arrived in Pryor in September 2010 and had been there five months by February 2011.
- By November 2010, Paul Sievers, aged 61, was dining with Amanda twice a week at the Calloway Arms.

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.]]>1466falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-doctor-who-never-went-to-medical-school-found-by-a-birdwatcher--73070960
Cold January air exposed a six-year deception when a birdwatcher found a frozen medical diploma at the edge of Calloway Creek - the diploma that ended a fake doctor's life in a town that never looked twice. How did a woman named Amy Louise Louise practice with forged credentials in Parris Hollow for years, visible and trusted, until a cedar waxwing search and a mud-stuck frame unraveled everything?

In this episode, we tell how the discovery unfolded and trace the daily rhythms and paperwork that sustained her charade, from the diploma in the mud to the weekly routine that kept her identity intact. What single mistake finally broke the scheme and who first noticed the inconsistency?

Person: Amy Louise Louise, M.D. (name on diploma)
Date: January 9, 2014 (diploma found at 7:40 a.m.)
Location: Calloway Creek, Parris Hollow, Tennessee
Event: Forged diploma and medical practice uncovered
Duration: Six years (practiced from January 2008 until discovery in 2014)

- Found at 7:40 a.m, on January 9, 2014 by birdwatcher Philip Burke.
- Temperature at time of discovery: 18 degrees.
- Diploma issued by the Carver School of Medicine at Aldren University, name Amy Louise Louise, M.D.
- She worked four days a week and closed Wednesdays for "hospital committee work" for roughly six years (~300 Wednesdays).
- Deputy Marcus Pruitt signed the diploma into evidence the same afternoon it was found.

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/73070960Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:32:37 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Doctor Who Never Went to Medical School: Found by a Birdwatcher Cold January air exposed a six-year deception when a birdwatcher found a frozen medical diploma at the edge of Calloway Creek - the diploma that ended a fake doctor's life in a...
Cold January air exposed a six-year deception when a birdwatcher found a frozen medical diploma at the edge of Calloway Creek - the diploma that ended a fake doctor's life in a town that never looked twice. How did a woman named Amy Louise Louise practice with forged credentials in Parris Hollow for years, visible and trusted, until a cedar waxwing search and a mud-stuck frame unraveled everything?

In this episode, we tell how the discovery unfolded and trace the daily rhythms and paperwork that sustained her charade, from the diploma in the mud to the weekly routine that kept her identity intact. What single mistake finally broke the scheme and who first noticed the inconsistency?

Person: Amy Louise Louise, M.D. (name on diploma)
Date: January 9, 2014 (diploma found at 7:40 a.m.)
Location: Calloway Creek, Parris Hollow, Tennessee
Event: Forged diploma and medical practice uncovered
Duration: Six years (practiced from January 2008 until discovery in 2014)

- Found at 7:40 a.m, on January 9, 2014 by birdwatcher Philip Burke.
- Temperature at time of discovery: 18 degrees.
- Diploma issued by the Carver School of Medicine at Aldren University, name Amy Louise Louise, M.D.
- She worked four days a week and closed Wednesdays for "hospital committee work" for roughly six years (~300 Wednesdays).
- Deputy Marcus Pruitt signed the diploma into evidence the same afternoon it was found.

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.]]>1364falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-chaplain-who-never-graduated-the-frame-behind-her-name--73070959
Fear and trust collide in a quiet hospice hallway: a fallen frame reveals a forty-cent printout that unravels nine years of bedside ministry - but did that paper change everything the patients remember? What happens when the person who held hands through final hours has no formal degree to show for it?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from a December afternoon discovery to the official review that followed, tracing the life choices, volunteer work, and the single document that provoked scrutiny. What does the record of care mean once the credential is shown to be fabricated?

Person: Dawn Olson
Location: Brainerd, Minnesota; Duluth; Sycamore Ridge Hospice
Date: December 4, 2003
Event: Fallen frame revealed a second sheet - a printed certificate template
Investigator: Victor Crane, Minnesota Department of Health

- Dawn Olson printed a seminary certificate from QuickDocs.net at a public library in 1994, costing $0.40 per page.
- She signed the certificate with the invented name "Dr. James Hartley, Dean of Students."
- Dawn began volunteering at St. Agatha's Hospital in 1989 and was suggested for formal ordination around 1993.
- She was hired provisionally at Sycamore Ridge Hospice in February 1995 and made permanent by August 1995.
- Fifteen-year-old Eugene Lawson found the original printout taped to the backing board on December 4, 2003.

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/73070959Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:32:34 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Chaplain Who Never Graduated: The Frame Behind Her Name Fear and trust collide in a quiet hospice hallway: a fallen frame reveals a forty-cent printout that unravels nine years of bedside ministry - but did that paper change everything the...
Fear and trust collide in a quiet hospice hallway: a fallen frame reveals a forty-cent printout that unravels nine years of bedside ministry - but did that paper change everything the patients remember? What happens when the person who held hands through final hours has no formal degree to show for it?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from a December afternoon discovery to the official review that followed, tracing the life choices, volunteer work, and the single document that provoked scrutiny. What does the record of care mean once the credential is shown to be fabricated?

Person: Dawn Olson
Location: Brainerd, Minnesota; Duluth; Sycamore Ridge Hospice
Date: December 4, 2003
Event: Fallen frame revealed a second sheet - a printed certificate template
Investigator: Victor Crane, Minnesota Department of Health

- Dawn Olson printed a seminary certificate from QuickDocs.net at a public library in 1994, costing $0.40 per page.
- She signed the certificate with the invented name "Dr. James Hartley, Dean of Students."
- Dawn began volunteering at St. Agatha's Hospital in 1989 and was suggested for formal ordination around 1993.
- She was hired provisionally at Sycamore Ridge Hospice in February 1995 and made permanent by August 1995.
- Fifteen-year-old Eugene Lawson found the original printout taped to the backing board on December 4, 2003.

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.]]>1359falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/badge-unburned-how-a-fake-fire-investigator-burned-millions--73070958
Cold, precise deception hid inside a blue pickup and a framed certificate: a badge found dry and unsinged at a total-loss fire linked to a man who had billed insurers $240 an hour for seven years. What happens when every credential in a professional identity is fabricated, and three deliberately set fires were ruled accidental by the same investigator-why was he trusted for so long?

In this episode, we unfold the documented sequence that led from a suspicious badge to an unraveling career built on a fake institute, false work history, and unverifiable education, and ask how routine verification failures let it persist. Which specific decisions and delays allowed Jerry Andrews to author 61 reports for 12 carriers before being exposed?

Person: Jerry Andrews
Date: November 15, 2011
Location: Pelham Commerce Park, Bay Seven
Rate: $240 per hour
Reports: 61 reports for 12 carriers

- A badge belonging to the fire investigator was found dry and unsinged under an egress door at a building that suffered total interior loss.
- Andrews billed $240 per hour and worked as a contract investigator from 2004 through 2011.
- The Continental Institute for Forensic Examination website was launched in 2004 and traced to a post office box registered in Andrews's name.
- An adjuster, Dennis Fogle, wrote a memo in 2009 recommending suspension of Andrews's contract after failing to verify CIFE; the contract was nevertheless renewed.
- Fire marshal investigator Judith Harris filed a formal inquiry in spring 2010 that sat without action for 18 months due to understaffing and civil classification.

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/73070958Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:32:31 +0000Creator at ObomediaBadge Unburned: How a Fake Fire Investigator Burned Millions Cold, precise deception hid inside a blue pickup and a framed certificate: a badge found dry and unsinged at a total-loss fire linked to a man who had billed insurers $240 an hour for...
Cold, precise deception hid inside a blue pickup and a framed certificate: a badge found dry and unsinged at a total-loss fire linked to a man who had billed insurers $240 an hour for seven years. What happens when every credential in a professional identity is fabricated, and three deliberately set fires were ruled accidental by the same investigator-why was he trusted for so long?

In this episode, we unfold the documented sequence that led from a suspicious badge to an unraveling career built on a fake institute, false work history, and unverifiable education, and ask how routine verification failures let it persist. Which specific decisions and delays allowed Jerry Andrews to author 61 reports for 12 carriers before being exposed?

Person: Jerry Andrews
Date: November 15, 2011
Location: Pelham Commerce Park, Bay Seven
Rate: $240 per hour
Reports: 61 reports for 12 carriers

- A badge belonging to the fire investigator was found dry and unsinged under an egress door at a building that suffered total interior loss.
- Andrews billed $240 per hour and worked as a contract investigator from 2004 through 2011.
- The Continental Institute for Forensic Examination website was launched in 2004 and traced to a post office box registered in Andrews's name.
- An adjuster, Dennis Fogle, wrote a memo in 2009 recommending suspension of Andrews's contract after failing to verify CIFE; the contract was nevertheless renewed.
- Fire marshal investigator Judith Harris filed a formal inquiry in spring 2010 that sat without action for 18 months due to understaffing and civil classification.

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.]]>1110falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-made-a-fake-cold-case-world-912k-a-laminated-badge-arrest--73070956
The first sound is a laminated badge clipped to a lanyard; by morning it lay in the open bed of a white van on Harlan Road - a badge reading COLD CASE DIVISION - MORROW COUNTY SHERIFF for a division that never existed. Nearly half a million subscribers believed an invented world of missing people, grieving families, and a retired detective while $912,000 flowed through Harlan Road Media - so how did one utility worker end four years of fabrication in under three minutes?

In this episode, we follow the timeline and tangible artifacts that built and sustained the podcast Unworked: the laminated credential, the LLC named after Harlan Road, and the spiral notebooks of invented backstories. What specific acts, documents, and small details kept listeners convinced and what finally unraveled the construction?

Person: Laura Weaver
Show: Unworked
Company: Harlan Road Media LLC
Amount: $912,000
Location: Harlan Road, Findlay, Ohio

- The laminated badge was found in the open bed of a white van on Harlan Road at 7:18 AM.
- The stock photo used for the badge image was purchased for $19 from a site in Bratislava.
- Laura Weaver launched Unworked at age 25 after two years listening to police scanners and withdrew from college after two semesters.
- The first season grew to 60,000 subscribers; by the end of the second season the audience reached 400,000 subscribers.
- The show generated $912,000 over three seasons while all cases it presented were invented according to federal court documents.

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/73070956Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:32:28 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Made a Fake Cold-Case World - $912K, a Laminated Badge, Arrest The first sound is a laminated badge clipped to a lanyard; by morning it lay in the open bed of a white van on Harlan Road - a badge reading COLD CASE DIVISION - MORROW COUNTY...
The first sound is a laminated badge clipped to a lanyard; by morning it lay in the open bed of a white van on Harlan Road - a badge reading COLD CASE DIVISION - MORROW COUNTY SHERIFF for a division that never existed. Nearly half a million subscribers believed an invented world of missing people, grieving families, and a retired detective while $912,000 flowed through Harlan Road Media - so how did one utility worker end four years of fabrication in under three minutes?

In this episode, we follow the timeline and tangible artifacts that built and sustained the podcast Unworked: the laminated credential, the LLC named after Harlan Road, and the spiral notebooks of invented backstories. What specific acts, documents, and small details kept listeners convinced and what finally unraveled the construction?

Person: Laura Weaver
Show: Unworked
Company: Harlan Road Media LLC
Amount: $912,000
Location: Harlan Road, Findlay, Ohio

- The laminated badge was found in the open bed of a white van on Harlan Road at 7:18 AM.
- The stock photo used for the badge image was purchased for $19 from a site in Bratislava.
- Laura Weaver launched Unworked at age 25 after two years listening to police scanners and withdrew from college after two semesters.
- The first season grew to 60,000 subscribers; by the end of the second season the audience reached 400,000 subscribers.
- The show generated $912,000 over three seasons while all cases it presented were invented according to federal court documents.

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.]]>1423falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-built-a-career-on-nothing-the-alice-doyle-case--73070954
A framed certificate in Weston Falls hung for eighteen years with license number 38-4471-C - and Ohio's licensing database showed no such license ever existed. Alice R. Doyle treated forty-one children, testified as an expert in seven custody cases, and listed a doctorate she never completed; how did she maintain that credibility for nearly two decades?

In this episode, we lay out the timeline that led from an unlocked office and two matching framed certificates to a registrar's letter that contradicted her resume, and we ask how a seven-week supervised practicum became the foundation for an eighteen-year career built on an unverified credential.

Person: Alice R. Doyle
Location: Weston Falls, Ohio
Date: September 2022
Case Status: Resolved - probation, restitution, permanent professional bar (spring 2023)
Institution: Brentwood University (record: one semester and seven-week supervised practicum at St. Anselm's Children's Hospital; withdrew January 2002)

- Forty-one active clients, all children aged 4-14, when the fraud was discovered.
- License number 38-4471-C appeared on certificates for eighteen years but returned no results in Ohio's licensing database.
- Doyle testified as an expert witness in seven family court custody cases under oath.
- Her only verifiable clinical training was 49 days of supervised observation at St. Anselm's Children's Hospital in 2001.
- Doyle created a continuing education organization in 2006, issued herself CE transcripts, and dissolved the organization in 2014.

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/73070954Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:32:25 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Built a Career on Nothing: The Alice Doyle Case A framed certificate in Weston Falls hung for eighteen years with license number 38-4471-C - and Ohio's licensing database showed no such license ever existed. Alice R. Doyle treated forty-one...
A framed certificate in Weston Falls hung for eighteen years with license number 38-4471-C - and Ohio's licensing database showed no such license ever existed. Alice R. Doyle treated forty-one children, testified as an expert in seven custody cases, and listed a doctorate she never completed; how did she maintain that credibility for nearly two decades?

In this episode, we lay out the timeline that led from an unlocked office and two matching framed certificates to a registrar's letter that contradicted her resume, and we ask how a seven-week supervised practicum became the foundation for an eighteen-year career built on an unverified credential.

Person: Alice R. Doyle
Location: Weston Falls, Ohio
Date: September 2022
Case Status: Resolved - probation, restitution, permanent professional bar (spring 2023)
Institution: Brentwood University (record: one semester and seven-week supervised practicum at St. Anselm's Children's Hospital; withdrew January 2002)

- Forty-one active clients, all children aged 4-14, when the fraud was discovered.
- License number 38-4471-C appeared on certificates for eighteen years but returned no results in Ohio's licensing database.
- Doyle testified as an expert witness in seven family court custody cases under oath.
- Her only verifiable clinical training was 49 days of supervised observation at St. Anselm's Children's Hospital in 2001.
- Doyle created a continuing education organization in 2006, issued herself CE transcripts, and dissolved the organization in 2014.

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.]]>1075falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-faked-a-bar-card-why-nobody-stopped-crystal-andrews--73070953
Every week for nine years a meter reader found nothing unusual - until August 17, 2011, when a laminated bar card wedged behind a meter revealed a woman claiming 30 years of legal experience who had never sat for the bar; how did Crystal Andrews run a labor arbitration firm for five years while carrying a retired arbitrator’s card in her desk drawer and nobody triggered an alarm? Who knew about the fake credentials, and why did the system keep failing even after discrepancies were noted?

In this episode, we trace the path from a Dayton childhood and two years of community college to a Dunmore office where Tri-County Labor Solutions handled up to eleven simultaneous arbitrations; we follow the discovery of mismatched bar numbers, the archived report that was shelved for three years, and the objects and records that finally unraveled the scheme - but who should have stopped her sooner?

Person: Crystal Andrews
Location: Suite 4-B, Sycamore Industrial Parkway, Dunmore, Ohio
Date: August 17, 2011
Case: Tri-County Labor Solutions impersonation of attorney status
Person: Thomas H. Whitfield

- A laminated bar card with an expiration around the year 2000 was found behind a meter on August 17, 2011.
- Crystal Andrews was 27 years old when investigators arrived at the office that morning.
- Andrews opened Tri-County Labor Solutions at age 22 and ran it for five years handling 17 proceedings.
- By 2009 Tri-County had 11 active arbitrations running simultaneously and a part-time assistant.
- A 26-year-old associate, Kevin Farris, discovered a bar-number discrepancy in summer 2008 and his supervisor archived the report for three 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/73070953Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:32:22 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Faked a Bar Card - Why Nobody Stopped Crystal Andrews Every week for nine years a meter reader found nothing unusual - until August 17, 2011, when a laminated bar card wedged behind a meter revealed a woman claiming 30 years of legal experience...
Every week for nine years a meter reader found nothing unusual - until August 17, 2011, when a laminated bar card wedged behind a meter revealed a woman claiming 30 years of legal experience who had never sat for the bar; how did Crystal Andrews run a labor arbitration firm for five years while carrying a retired arbitrator’s card in her desk drawer and nobody triggered an alarm? Who knew about the fake credentials, and why did the system keep failing even after discrepancies were noted?

In this episode, we trace the path from a Dayton childhood and two years of community college to a Dunmore office where Tri-County Labor Solutions handled up to eleven simultaneous arbitrations; we follow the discovery of mismatched bar numbers, the archived report that was shelved for three years, and the objects and records that finally unraveled the scheme - but who should have stopped her sooner?

Person: Crystal Andrews
Location: Suite 4-B, Sycamore Industrial Parkway, Dunmore, Ohio
Date: August 17, 2011
Case: Tri-County Labor Solutions impersonation of attorney status
Person: Thomas H. Whitfield

- A laminated bar card with an expiration around the year 2000 was found behind a meter on August 17, 2011.
- Crystal Andrews was 27 years old when investigators arrived at the office that morning.
- Andrews opened Tri-County Labor Solutions at age 22 and ran it for five years handling 17 proceedings.
- By 2009 Tri-County had 11 active arbitrations running simultaneously and a part-time assistant.
- A 26-year-old associate, Kevin Farris, discovered a bar-number discrepancy in summer 2008 and his supervisor archived the report for three 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.]]>1242falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-white-paper-that-unraveled-a-fake-master-sommelier--73070952
White paper, bright white, ten-year certificate-those small details triggered a collapse of a carefully constructed identity built around a $2.50 book. A retired office assessor noticed the wrong paper in a folder at Sable Ridge Country Club in July 2019, and six weeks later the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office began pulling a thread that exposed a decade-long deception; how did a single Goodwill purchase enable a false Master Sommelier to run a four-hundred-and-twelve-label program for years without being verified?

In this episode, we follow the discovery and the steps that unfolded after Karen Mueller found the document, tracing how Glenn Mills assembled credentials, employment letters, and a career while avoiding the one test he could not pass. What decisions and small fictions kept the system intact until the right person asked the wrong question?

Person: Karen Mueller
Person: Glenn Mills
Date: July 2019
Event: Discovery of a suspicious certificate at Sable Ridge Country Club
Topic: Fake Master Sommelier credentialing

- The disputed certificate claimed to be ten years old but was printed on bright white paper.
- Karen Mueller was sixty-one years old and a retired office assessor when she discovered the folder.
- Glenn Mills memorized the 833-page Oxford Companion to Wine over fourteen months after buying it for $2.50.
- Glenn ran a wine program of 412 labels as head sommelier at Ardent beginning around 2015.
- The alleged employment letter listed a restaurant, the Haverford Grill in Charleston, that did not exist.

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/73070952Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:32:19 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe White Paper That Unraveled a Fake Master Sommelier White paper, bright white, ten-year certificate-those small details triggered a collapse of a carefully constructed identity built around a $2.50 book. A retired office assessor noticed the...
White paper, bright white, ten-year certificate-those small details triggered a collapse of a carefully constructed identity built around a $2.50 book. A retired office assessor noticed the wrong paper in a folder at Sable Ridge Country Club in July 2019, and six weeks later the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office began pulling a thread that exposed a decade-long deception; how did a single Goodwill purchase enable a false Master Sommelier to run a four-hundred-and-twelve-label program for years without being verified?

In this episode, we follow the discovery and the steps that unfolded after Karen Mueller found the document, tracing how Glenn Mills assembled credentials, employment letters, and a career while avoiding the one test he could not pass. What decisions and small fictions kept the system intact until the right person asked the wrong question?

Person: Karen Mueller
Person: Glenn Mills
Date: July 2019
Event: Discovery of a suspicious certificate at Sable Ridge Country Club
Topic: Fake Master Sommelier credentialing

- The disputed certificate claimed to be ten years old but was printed on bright white paper.
- Karen Mueller was sixty-one years old and a retired office assessor when she discovered the folder.
- Glenn Mills memorized the 833-page Oxford Companion to Wine over fourteen months after buying it for $2.50.
- Glenn ran a wine program of 412 labels as head sommelier at Ardent beginning around 2015.
- The alleged employment letter listed a restaurant, the Haverford Grill in Charleston, that did not exist.

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.]]>1391falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-man-who-published-63-fake-deaths-17-still-alive--73070951
A local paper printed 63 obituaries over seven years that should never have existed, and 17 of those people were later confirmed to be alive in their communities - how did a single reporter turn routine obituary workflow into a decade-long sleight of hand that went unnoticed? What motive could explain fabricated deaths, fake funeral-home submissions, and a counterfeit press credential buried in a drainage culvert?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events that led from a missing staff credential to the discovery of dozens of false obituaries, outline how the obituary pipeline worked at the Courier-Register, and follow the moments when victims learned they had been declared dead - could the newspaper’s trust and a software bug together have enabled this fraud?

Person: Alan Burke
Organization: Courier-Register
Period: 2009-2019
Count: 63 obituaries
Alive: 17 confirmed living residents

- Burke printed a fake press credential with a termination date of May 31, 2019, found in a culvert.
- The Courier-Register upgraded credential software in 2010 that required manual re-entry for hires before the update; Burke was hired in 2009.
- Fabrications began around 2012 and continued for seven years, totaling 63 obituaries.
- Seventeen of those obituaries described real, living residents of the Millhaven area as dead.
- The senior obituaries correspondent position paid $41,000 a year when Burke was hired in 2009.

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/73070951Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:32:16 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Man Who Published 63 Fake Deaths - 17 Still Alive A local paper printed 63 obituaries over seven years that should never have existed, and 17 of those people were later confirmed to be alive in their communities - how did a single reporter turn...
A local paper printed 63 obituaries over seven years that should never have existed, and 17 of those people were later confirmed to be alive in their communities - how did a single reporter turn routine obituary workflow into a decade-long sleight of hand that went unnoticed? What motive could explain fabricated deaths, fake funeral-home submissions, and a counterfeit press credential buried in a drainage culvert?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events that led from a missing staff credential to the discovery of dozens of false obituaries, outline how the obituary pipeline worked at the Courier-Register, and follow the moments when victims learned they had been declared dead - could the newspaper’s trust and a software bug together have enabled this fraud?

Person: Alan Burke
Organization: Courier-Register
Period: 2009-2019
Count: 63 obituaries
Alive: 17 confirmed living residents

- Burke printed a fake press credential with a termination date of May 31, 2019, found in a culvert.
- The Courier-Register upgraded credential software in 2010 that required manual re-entry for hires before the update; Burke was hired in 2009.
- Fabrications began around 2012 and continued for seven years, totaling 63 obituaries.
- Seventeen of those obituaries described real, living residents of the Millhaven area as dead.
- The senior obituaries correspondent position paid $41,000 a year when Burke was hired in 2009.

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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.]]>1190falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-faked-his-way-into-disaster-zones-the-paul-griffin-case--73070949
The idea that a cheap $3 nylon vest and a laminate could open doors into disaster zones is chilling: a fedex-printed badge took a 27-year-old from a Georgia diner into earthquake camps in Ecuador and cyclone-hit villages in Mozambique. How did a man with no formal training convince others he belonged, and what did that badge actually buy him?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that led from local volunteer sandbagging to international field access, tracing the physical evidence and the people who encountered him - and asking whether the real harm was the fraud or the trust it exploited.

Person: Paul Griffin
Date: May 13, 2019
Location: Canby Creek, Varnell, Georgia
Organization: Global First Response Partners
Item: Laminated badge printed at FedEx Office in Chattanooga, Tennessee

- Badge was found face-down on a branch above wet grass and a wet bank on May 13, 2019.
- Badge photograph belonged to a 27-year-old man who was later observed three miles away in a diner.
- Griffin paid $3 for a Global First Response Partners vest at a garage sale in August 2016.
- Griffin used a color laser printer and a commercial laminator at a FedEx Office to produce the badge dated October 2016.
- The forged credentials enabled access to disaster sites in Ecuador, Mozambique, and Bangladesh over a 31-month period.

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/73070949Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:32:13 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Faked His Way Into Disaster Zones: The Paul Griffin Case The idea that a cheap $3 nylon vest and a laminate could open doors into disaster zones is chilling: a fedex-printed badge took a 27-year-old from a Georgia diner into earthquake camps in...
The idea that a cheap $3 nylon vest and a laminate could open doors into disaster zones is chilling: a fedex-printed badge took a 27-year-old from a Georgia diner into earthquake camps in Ecuador and cyclone-hit villages in Mozambique. How did a man with no formal training convince others he belonged, and what did that badge actually buy him?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that led from local volunteer sandbagging to international field access, tracing the physical evidence and the people who encountered him - and asking whether the real harm was the fraud or the trust it exploited.

Person: Paul Griffin
Date: May 13, 2019
Location: Canby Creek, Varnell, Georgia
Organization: Global First Response Partners
Item: Laminated badge printed at FedEx Office in Chattanooga, Tennessee

- Badge was found face-down on a branch above wet grass and a wet bank on May 13, 2019.
- Badge photograph belonged to a 27-year-old man who was later observed three miles away in a diner.
- Griffin paid $3 for a Global First Response Partners vest at a garage sale in August 2016.
- Griffin used a color laser printer and a commercial laminator at a FedEx Office to produce the badge dated October 2016.
- The forged credentials enabled access to disaster sites in Ecuador, Mozambique, and Bangladesh over a 31-month period.

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.]]>1334falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-cassette-in-the-wall-that-built-a-fake-dialect-guru--73070947
A single Sony cassette pulled from demolition rubble in Orville, Ohio, contained a British phonetician’s training tape that helped a woman build a decades‑long career from one improvised lie-how did a Goodwill purchase become the foundation for Broadway credits and regional recommendations? What finally stopped the story after twenty‑eight years?

In this episode, you'll hear the sequence of events that followed the discovery of the tape and how small deceptions, real skill, and unverifiable backstories carried Linda Bishop from community theater to Broadway, raising the question of where authenticity actually lives.

Person: Linda Bishop
Person: David Quarry
Date: April 2019 (tape found)
Date: 1986 (tape produced)
Location: Orville, Ohio

- The cassette label read "STAGE DIALECTS: A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE, VOL, 1" in blue ballpoint ink.
- Linda found the tape at a Goodwill in spring 1991 and moved to Orville by fall 1991.
- David Quarry self-produced roughly 40 copies of the tape in 1986 and distributed them to academic contacts.
- The shuttered building where the tape was discovered had been closed since 2004.
- By 2007 Linda had credits across three Broadway productions after her first Broadway credit in 2001.

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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/73070947Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:32:09 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Cassette in the Wall That Built a Fake Dialect Guru A single Sony cassette pulled from demolition rubble in Orville, Ohio, contained a British phonetician’s training tape that helped a woman build a decades‑long career from one improvised...
A single Sony cassette pulled from demolition rubble in Orville, Ohio, contained a British phonetician’s training tape that helped a woman build a decades‑long career from one improvised lie-how did a Goodwill purchase become the foundation for Broadway credits and regional recommendations? What finally stopped the story after twenty‑eight years?

In this episode, you'll hear the sequence of events that followed the discovery of the tape and how small deceptions, real skill, and unverifiable backstories carried Linda Bishop from community theater to Broadway, raising the question of where authenticity actually lives.

Person: Linda Bishop
Person: David Quarry
Date: April 2019 (tape found)
Date: 1986 (tape produced)
Location: Orville, Ohio

- The cassette label read "STAGE DIALECTS: A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE, VOL, 1" in blue ballpoint ink.
- Linda found the tape at a Goodwill in spring 1991 and moved to Orville by fall 1991.
- David Quarry self-produced roughly 40 copies of the tape in 1986 and distributed them to academic contacts.
- The shuttered building where the tape was discovered had been closed since 2004.
- By 2007 Linda had credits across three Broadway productions after her first Broadway credit in 2001.

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.]]>1293falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/plumber-finds-the-diploma-that-ends-a-seven-year-lie-the-connie-bishop-case--73070946
Fear that someone you trust has been pretending for years - a framed diploma from a school that closed in 1978 hung openly on a lawyer's wall for seven years before anyone noticed. That single, glowing gold seal contradicted public records and set off a methodical investigation that suspended an otherwise respected attorney; how did she build a life on a document that could not exist?

In this episode, we walk through the sequence of events that followed the March 2011 discovery and the surprising details uncovered about Constance Marie Bishop's background and methods, from legitimate bar exam success to fabricated law school credentials - what does this unravel about identity and trust?

Person: Constance Marie Bishop
Location: 5 Dunmore Avenue, Crestwood, Virginia
Date discovered: March 2011
Institution on diploma: Albemarle School of Law (closed 1978)
Exam result: Passed Virginia bar, 79th percentile

- The diploma hung in a dark wooden frame and bore the name Constance Marie Bishop, J.D., class of 2003.
- Albemarle School of Law had ceased to exist in 1978, 25 years before the date on the diploma.
- Gail Long, a septic technician with 19 years in the trade, found the diploma while looking for a utility shutoff panel.
- Raymond Anderson, a compliance investigator with the Virginia State Bar, had 11 years on the desk when he led the investigation.
- Constance completed an undergraduate degree at Fairmont College in Roanoke in 2001 and was rejected from law school twice before fabricating the diploma.

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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/73070946Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:32:06 +0000Creator at ObomediaPlumber Finds the Diploma That Ends a Seven-Year Lie: The Connie Bishop Case Fear that someone you trust has been pretending for years - a framed diploma from a school that closed in 1978 hung openly on a lawyer's wall for seven years before anyone...
Fear that someone you trust has been pretending for years - a framed diploma from a school that closed in 1978 hung openly on a lawyer's wall for seven years before anyone noticed. That single, glowing gold seal contradicted public records and set off a methodical investigation that suspended an otherwise respected attorney; how did she build a life on a document that could not exist?

In this episode, we walk through the sequence of events that followed the March 2011 discovery and the surprising details uncovered about Constance Marie Bishop's background and methods, from legitimate bar exam success to fabricated law school credentials - what does this unravel about identity and trust?

Person: Constance Marie Bishop
Location: 5 Dunmore Avenue, Crestwood, Virginia
Date discovered: March 2011
Institution on diploma: Albemarle School of Law (closed 1978)
Exam result: Passed Virginia bar, 79th percentile

- The diploma hung in a dark wooden frame and bore the name Constance Marie Bishop, J.D., class of 2003.
- Albemarle School of Law had ceased to exist in 1978, 25 years before the date on the diploma.
- Gail Long, a septic technician with 19 years in the trade, found the diploma while looking for a utility shutoff panel.
- Raymond Anderson, a compliance investigator with the Virginia State Bar, had 11 years on the desk when he led the investigation.
- Constance completed an undergraduate degree at Fairmont College in Roanoke in 2001 and was rejected from law school twice before fabricating the diploma.

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.]]>994falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-faked-his-entire-career-the-roger-marshall-case--73070943
A pristine laminated certification card survives two weeks of freeze and thaw at the edge of Pelham Reservoir while the rest of its owner's leather portfolio is pulped - a card naming a member of the American Board of Forensic Accounting that should not have been there. What did that impossible dry card reveal about a man who, for four years, had presented himself as a trusted forensic accountant in Kenton, Ohio?

In this episode, we tell how Roger D. Marshall set up an office, won clients, and kept a rhythm of weekly calls that made people feel seen, even as the credential behind his desk hid a different truth. How did a certification number from a surrendered Arizona membership end up as the linchpin of a fabricated career?

Date: February 11, 2019
Location: Pelham Reservoir, near Kenton, Ohio
Person: Roger D. Marshall
Event: Discovery of laminated certification card
Period: 2014-2018

- The leather portfolio was found at the waterline with heavy water damage and mud after being exposed to two weeks of Ohio freeze and thaw.
- The laminated certification card inside was perfectly dry with no water intrusion or warping.
- Roger arrived in Kenton in spring 2014 and rented space on the fourth floor of the Lakeview Commerce Building.
- Between 2014 and 2018, Roger completed 12 forensic accounting engagements in and around Kenton.
- The certification number on his card matched a practitioner in Arizona who surrendered membership in 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/73070943Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:32:04 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Faked His Entire Career: The Roger Marshall Case A pristine laminated certification card survives two weeks of freeze and thaw at the edge of Pelham Reservoir while the rest of its owner's leather portfolio is pulped - a card naming a member of...
A pristine laminated certification card survives two weeks of freeze and thaw at the edge of Pelham Reservoir while the rest of its owner's leather portfolio is pulped - a card naming a member of the American Board of Forensic Accounting that should not have been there. What did that impossible dry card reveal about a man who, for four years, had presented himself as a trusted forensic accountant in Kenton, Ohio?

In this episode, we tell how Roger D. Marshall set up an office, won clients, and kept a rhythm of weekly calls that made people feel seen, even as the credential behind his desk hid a different truth. How did a certification number from a surrendered Arizona membership end up as the linchpin of a fabricated career?

Date: February 11, 2019
Location: Pelham Reservoir, near Kenton, Ohio
Person: Roger D. Marshall
Event: Discovery of laminated certification card
Period: 2014-2018

- The leather portfolio was found at the waterline with heavy water damage and mud after being exposed to two weeks of Ohio freeze and thaw.
- The laminated certification card inside was perfectly dry with no water intrusion or warping.
- Roger arrived in Kenton in spring 2014 and rented space on the fourth floor of the Lakeview Commerce Building.
- Between 2014 and 2018, Roger completed 12 forensic accounting engagements in and around Kenton.
- The certification number on his card matched a practitioner in Arizona who surrendered membership in 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.]]>1088falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-choir-contralto-who-faked-cliffs-photos-and-a-mountain-life--73070941
The smell of freezer and old paper led a 14-year-old paper carrier to a zip-lock bag with fake expedition gear and an oven-aged journal - a six-year deception by a choir contralto who passed herself off as a high-altitude guide. How did doctored photos, staged coordinates and practiced language convince an entire town that Donna Erickson had climbed peaks she never touched?

In this episode, you’ll hear how neighbors, choir members, and a seasonal photographer intersected with a false mountaineering narrative, and how small details - a missing callus, a word choice, an unverified alma mater - began to unravel the story. What single discovery finally pulled the thread on Donna’s life of invented ascents?

Person: Donna Erickson
Age: 44 in January 2019
Location: 42 Crestline Drive, Ketterly, Colorado
Date: January 15, 2019 (bag discovered at 8:14 AM)
Event: Journal and climbing gear left in a mail slot

- The zip-lock bag was found at 8:14 AM on January 15, 2019 containing frozen climbing rope, a carabiner, and a handwritten journal.
- Donna had been singing alto/contralto in the Ketterly Civic Choir for six years and lived at 42 Crestline Drive for six years.
- Photographs were taken at Ridgeline Basin by photographer Marcus Webb for $70 plus a $40 tip, with instructions to shoot only upward.
- The journal recorded ascents to 14,300 feet but a state cartographer matched the coordinates to ski runs whose true elevation was 11,200 feet - a 3,100-foot difference.
- Choir member Jennifer O’Brien joined in November 2017, noticed the lack of climber calluses, and later found no records for Clearwater Basin University after 45 minutes of searching.

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/73070941Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:32:01 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Choir Contralto Who Faked Cliffs, Photos, and a Mountain Life The smell of freezer and old paper led a 14-year-old paper carrier to a zip-lock bag with fake expedition gear and an oven-aged journal - a six-year deception by a choir contralto...
The smell of freezer and old paper led a 14-year-old paper carrier to a zip-lock bag with fake expedition gear and an oven-aged journal - a six-year deception by a choir contralto who passed herself off as a high-altitude guide. How did doctored photos, staged coordinates and practiced language convince an entire town that Donna Erickson had climbed peaks she never touched?

In this episode, you’ll hear how neighbors, choir members, and a seasonal photographer intersected with a false mountaineering narrative, and how small details - a missing callus, a word choice, an unverified alma mater - began to unravel the story. What single discovery finally pulled the thread on Donna’s life of invented ascents?

Person: Donna Erickson
Age: 44 in January 2019
Location: 42 Crestline Drive, Ketterly, Colorado
Date: January 15, 2019 (bag discovered at 8:14 AM)
Event: Journal and climbing gear left in a mail slot

- The zip-lock bag was found at 8:14 AM on January 15, 2019 containing frozen climbing rope, a carabiner, and a handwritten journal.
- Donna had been singing alto/contralto in the Ketterly Civic Choir for six years and lived at 42 Crestline Drive for six years.
- Photographs were taken at Ridgeline Basin by photographer Marcus Webb for $70 plus a $40 tip, with instructions to shoot only upward.
- The journal recorded ascents to 14,300 feet but a state cartographer matched the coordinates to ski runs whose true elevation was 11,200 feet - a 3,100-foot difference.
- Choir member Jennifer O’Brien joined in November 2017, noticed the lack of climber calluses, and later found no records for Clearwater Basin University after 45 minutes of searching.

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.]]>824falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-fake-dr-with-a-johns-hopkins-diploma-who-delivered-their-babies--73070940
A Johns Hopkins diploma left in a snowy parking lot led investigators to a fertility clinic with 81 patients who conceived and 46 live births - all under the name Glenn A. Aaron, M.D., yet no record shows he ever passed Ohio’s licensing exam. Who was actually delivering those babies, and how did a forged credential produce four years of real clinical outcomes?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the lost diploma found at 6:15 a.m. on a Tuesday in the third week of December 2011 to the federal arrest on February 19, 2012, and trace the gaps that let an unlicensed man work inside Suite 114; we ask whether institutional checks failed and who inside the clinic enabled the deception.

Person: Glenn Aaron Aaron
Date found diploma: third week of December 2011 at 6:15 a.m.
Arrest date: February 19, 2012
Patients conceived: 81
Live births: 46

- The diploma from Johns Hopkins University was discovered half-buried in pushed snow inside a leather portfolio.
- Keller Township police found no active Ohio medical license for Glenn A. Aaron within 48 hours of the diploma discovery.
- Aaron had applied to ten medical schools across 2003-2004 and never enrolled in medical school thereafter.
- Aaron spent $600 across three transfers to obtain a clean Social Security number history while working fourteen months at a document reproduction shop.
- Aaron was hired by Crestwood Fertility in March 2007 at an annual salary of $112,000 after a 40-minute interview with founder Dr. Margery Cho.

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/73070940Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:31:58 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Fake Dr. with a Johns Hopkins Diploma: Who Delivered Their Babies? A Johns Hopkins diploma left in a snowy parking lot led investigators to a fertility clinic with 81 patients who conceived and 46 live births - all under the name Glenn A....
A Johns Hopkins diploma left in a snowy parking lot led investigators to a fertility clinic with 81 patients who conceived and 46 live births - all under the name Glenn A. Aaron, M.D., yet no record shows he ever passed Ohio’s licensing exam. Who was actually delivering those babies, and how did a forged credential produce four years of real clinical outcomes?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the lost diploma found at 6:15 a.m. on a Tuesday in the third week of December 2011 to the federal arrest on February 19, 2012, and trace the gaps that let an unlicensed man work inside Suite 114; we ask whether institutional checks failed and who inside the clinic enabled the deception.

Person: Glenn Aaron Aaron
Date found diploma: third week of December 2011 at 6:15 a.m.
Arrest date: February 19, 2012
Patients conceived: 81
Live births: 46

- The diploma from Johns Hopkins University was discovered half-buried in pushed snow inside a leather portfolio.
- Keller Township police found no active Ohio medical license for Glenn A. Aaron within 48 hours of the diploma discovery.
- Aaron had applied to ten medical schools across 2003-2004 and never enrolled in medical school thereafter.
- Aaron spent $600 across three transfers to obtain a clean Social Security number history while working fourteen months at a document reproduction shop.
- Aaron was hired by Crestwood Fertility in March 2007 at an annual salary of $112,000 after a 40-minute interview with founder Dr. Margery Cho.

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.]]>1340falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-fake-un-man-how-a-liaison-betrayed-refugee-trust--73070938
In this episode, we present the story of a man who moved from administrative obscurity into a trusted community role with the Valley Welcome Collective, and the consequences that followed when access to cases and paperwork was abused. What did his years of institutional knowledge allow him to do, and how was he finally unmasked?

Person: Clifford Henderson
Date: November 14, 2019
Location: Albemarle Drive, Kessler Valley, Ohio
Organization: Valley Welcome Collective
Role claimed: Senior Regional Liaison, UNHCR Resettlement Division, Geneva

- A laminated United Nations credential with a color photograph was found on a kitchen table during a service call.
- Clifford Henderson was born in 1964 in Columbus, Ohio and completed two years of community college.
- He worked a 14-month contract with an international aid organization in East Africa that ended around 2004.
- By 2016 he was acting as a community liaison at monthly dinners and was unpaid until 2018 when he received a modest stipend.
- Between 2018 and 2019 two families paid him money related to his claimed ability to help with resettlement cases.

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/73070938Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:31:55 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Fake UN Man: How a Liaison Betrayed Refugee Trust In this episode, we present the story of a man who moved from administrative obscurity into a trusted community role with the Valley Welcome Collective, and the consequences that followed when...
In this episode, we present the story of a man who moved from administrative obscurity into a trusted community role with the Valley Welcome Collective, and the consequences that followed when access to cases and paperwork was abused. What did his years of institutional knowledge allow him to do, and how was he finally unmasked?

Person: Clifford Henderson
Date: November 14, 2019
Location: Albemarle Drive, Kessler Valley, Ohio
Organization: Valley Welcome Collective
Role claimed: Senior Regional Liaison, UNHCR Resettlement Division, Geneva

- A laminated United Nations credential with a color photograph was found on a kitchen table during a service call.
- Clifford Henderson was born in 1964 in Columbus, Ohio and completed two years of community college.
- He worked a 14-month contract with an international aid organization in East Africa that ended around 2004.
- By 2016 he was acting as a community liaison at monthly dinners and was unpaid until 2018 when he received a modest stipend.
- Between 2018 and 2019 two families paid him money related to his claimed ability to help with resettlement cases.

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.]]>1251falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-principal-who-faked-her-degree-kids-scores-kept-climbing--73070933
A forged Master of Science diploma was left on a loading dock and photographed at 6:48 a.m. on a third Tuesday in October, triggering a chain that exposed a principal’s fake credentials - yet the elementary school she led posted rising test scores for nine straight years. How do you reconcile the evidence of a deliberate fabrication with the measurable gains children experienced under her leadership?

In this episode, we tell the story of Christine A. Bailey and the sequence of events from the morning the diploma was discovered to the official inquiry, covering her rise from long-term substitute to principal and the tensions that followed; what ultimately had to be decided about trust, legality, and results?

Person: Christine A. Bailey
Location: Eastfield Elementary, Dunnmore City School District, northwestern Ohio
Date discovered: A third Tuesday in October at 6:48 a.m.
Credential: Master of Science in Educational Administration claimed from Whitmore College (department did not exist)
Performance record: Standardized test scores improved every year for nine consecutive years

- The diploma was photographed and emailed to the Dunnmore City School District public contact address by 7:02 a.m.
- By noon the superintendent had called the investigative unit of the Ohio Department of Education.
- By 2:00 p.m. the following afternoon Christine Bailey sat with three officials who demanded answers.
- Christine printed the diploma in spring 2003 at a copy shop in Lima, Ohio using art supply paper and a foil seal from a scrapbooking catalog.
- Christine began as a long-term substitute in fall 2004, became vice-principal by 2007, and principal by fall 2009 at age twenty-eight.

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/73070933Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:31:52 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Principal Who Faked Her Degree - Kids' Scores Kept Climbing A forged Master of Science diploma was left on a loading dock and photographed at 6:48 a.m. on a third Tuesday in October, triggering a chain that exposed a principal’s fake...
A forged Master of Science diploma was left on a loading dock and photographed at 6:48 a.m. on a third Tuesday in October, triggering a chain that exposed a principal’s fake credentials - yet the elementary school she led posted rising test scores for nine straight years. How do you reconcile the evidence of a deliberate fabrication with the measurable gains children experienced under her leadership?

In this episode, we tell the story of Christine A. Bailey and the sequence of events from the morning the diploma was discovered to the official inquiry, covering her rise from long-term substitute to principal and the tensions that followed; what ultimately had to be decided about trust, legality, and results?

Person: Christine A. Bailey
Location: Eastfield Elementary, Dunnmore City School District, northwestern Ohio
Date discovered: A third Tuesday in October at 6:48 a.m.
Credential: Master of Science in Educational Administration claimed from Whitmore College (department did not exist)
Performance record: Standardized test scores improved every year for nine consecutive years

- The diploma was photographed and emailed to the Dunnmore City School District public contact address by 7:02 a.m.
- By noon the superintendent had called the investigative unit of the Ohio Department of Education.
- By 2:00 p.m. the following afternoon Christine Bailey sat with three officials who demanded answers.
- Christine printed the diploma in spring 2003 at a copy shop in Lima, Ohio using art supply paper and a foil seal from a scrapbooking catalog.
- Christine began as a long-term substitute in fall 2004, became vice-principal by 2007, and principal by fall 2009 at age twenty-eight.

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.]]>1345falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-taped-a-fake-michelin-card-then-vanished-before-sunrise--73070932
The morning after she left town, a pristine laminated card reading "Senior Evaluator, North American Division, Michelin Guide" was found taped to a door on Ashby Street in Fennick, Ohio - a document that had existed for five years and never been seriously challenged. How did a former hotel banquet coordinator who taught herself tasting techniques turn a fake credential into a real editorial career, and why did she leave it behind on September 11, 2019?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events from her arrival in Fennick to the morning the card was left on a door, detailing the career Rachel Norris built, the moments the credential opened doors, and the unanswered question of why she vanished before anyone could confront her about it.

Person: Rachel Norris
Date: September 11, 2019
Location: Ashby Street, Fennick, Ohio
Event: Laminated Michelin Guide card found taped to a door
Period: 2013-2019

- At 8:47 AM on September 11, 2019, Marcia Griffin, a utility meter reader, found the laminated card taped to a door.
- Rachel arrived in Fennick in spring 2013 at age 36 and began frequenting Bellamy's bistro.
- Two pieces Rachel submitted to Midwestern Table were accepted in August 2013; by October she was offered a contributing editor title.
- The fake credential was created in February 2014 at a self-service shop in Cleveland and listed an issue date of March 2014.
- Rachel used the credential publicly at the Midwest Hospitality Expo in March 2014 and at the Great Lakes Food Summit in June 2014.

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/73070932Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:31:49 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Taped a Fake Michelin Card - Then Vanished Before Sunrise The morning after she left town, a pristine laminated card reading "Senior Evaluator, North American Division, Michelin Guide" was found taped to a door on Ashby Street in Fennick, Ohio...
The morning after she left town, a pristine laminated card reading "Senior Evaluator, North American Division, Michelin Guide" was found taped to a door on Ashby Street in Fennick, Ohio - a document that had existed for five years and never been seriously challenged. How did a former hotel banquet coordinator who taught herself tasting techniques turn a fake credential into a real editorial career, and why did she leave it behind on September 11, 2019?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events from her arrival in Fennick to the morning the card was left on a door, detailing the career Rachel Norris built, the moments the credential opened doors, and the unanswered question of why she vanished before anyone could confront her about it.

Person: Rachel Norris
Date: September 11, 2019
Location: Ashby Street, Fennick, Ohio
Event: Laminated Michelin Guide card found taped to a door
Period: 2013-2019

- At 8:47 AM on September 11, 2019, Marcia Griffin, a utility meter reader, found the laminated card taped to a door.
- Rachel arrived in Fennick in spring 2013 at age 36 and began frequenting Bellamy's bistro.
- Two pieces Rachel submitted to Midwestern Table were accepted in August 2013; by October she was offered a contributing editor title.
- The fake credential was created in February 2014 at a self-service shop in Cleveland and listed an issue date of March 2014.
- Rachel used the credential publicly at the Midwest Hospitality Expo in March 2014 and at the Great Lakes Food Summit in June 2014.

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.]]>1143falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-substitute-who-stole-a-dead-man-s-teaching-identity--73070931
You will feel the chill of discovery: a photographed certification number ended ten years of silence and exposed a woman who taught for a decade under a name that never existed - borrowing the ten-digit credential of a man dead for eleven years. How could forged transcripts, aged reference letters, and a flawless classroom record hide a decade-long identity theft right in plain sight?

In this episode, we follow the timeline of events that led a retired postal worker to snap a single photo and trigger an investigation, trace how a certification number flagged in one database resurfaced as the foundation of a substitute teacher’s career, and ask the quieter question: why would someone in their fifties build an entire professional life on a borrowed identity?

Person: Crystal Marie Elwood
Date: August 2013
Location: Pineview Elementary School, Dunnford
Case: identity fraud using Roy M. Caster’s certification number
Status: guilty plea and probation

- A ten-digit Virginia certification number belonging to Roy M. Caster, who died in February 2002, appeared on a Dunnford faculty card in August 2013.
- Crystal presented a substitute application 14 months after Roy Caster’s death using the name Crystal M. Harrison with an immaculate file.
- Piedmont Valley College, listed on her transcript, closed in 2006 and its records transferred only incompletely to the state archive.
- Colleagues at Founder's Tap independently described her as "devastatingly precise" with dates and attending trivia nights with three named teammates.
- Lloyd Collins, a 63-year-old retired postal worker volunteering for Crossroads Baptist, photographed the faculty card and later connected the number to a flagged certification mentioned by his nephew.

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/73070931Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:31:46 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Substitute Who Stole a Dead Man's Teaching Identity You will feel the chill of discovery: a photographed certification number ended ten years of silence and exposed a woman who taught for a decade under a name that never existed - borrowing the...
You will feel the chill of discovery: a photographed certification number ended ten years of silence and exposed a woman who taught for a decade under a name that never existed - borrowing the ten-digit credential of a man dead for eleven years. How could forged transcripts, aged reference letters, and a flawless classroom record hide a decade-long identity theft right in plain sight?

In this episode, we follow the timeline of events that led a retired postal worker to snap a single photo and trigger an investigation, trace how a certification number flagged in one database resurfaced as the foundation of a substitute teacher’s career, and ask the quieter question: why would someone in their fifties build an entire professional life on a borrowed identity?

Person: Crystal Marie Elwood
Date: August 2013
Location: Pineview Elementary School, Dunnford
Case: identity fraud using Roy M. Caster’s certification number
Status: guilty plea and probation

- A ten-digit Virginia certification number belonging to Roy M. Caster, who died in February 2002, appeared on a Dunnford faculty card in August 2013.
- Crystal presented a substitute application 14 months after Roy Caster’s death using the name Crystal M. Harrison with an immaculate file.
- Piedmont Valley College, listed on her transcript, closed in 2006 and its records transferred only incompletely to the state archive.
- Colleagues at Founder's Tap independently described her as "devastatingly precise" with dates and attending trivia nights with three named teammates.
- Lloyd Collins, a 63-year-old retired postal worker volunteering for Crossroads Baptist, photographed the faculty card and later connected the number to a flagged certification mentioned by his nephew.

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.]]>1448falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-practiced-grief-without-a-degree-how-eugene-fooled-an-entire-town--73070930
The idea that someone could sit with your worst pain and be lying is terrifying: a man who fabricated a degree, invented a fatal family tragedy, and carried a fake wallet card calling himself a "CERTIFIED GRIEF COUNSELOR" walked into a community clinic and became indispensable. How did a 23-year-old with no license, no supervised hours, and a transcript printed at home convince clients and colleagues he had earned their trust - and did he leave the card on purpose?

In this episode, we tell the story of a person who was hired to handle grief and crisis intervention despite missing credentials, the gaps that allowed him in, and the consequences that followed; can the skill of holding grief exist independently from formal training, or was something else at work?

Person: Eugene Stroud
Location: Drayden, Ohio
Organization: Lakeview Behavioral Wellness Center
Institution: Harmon Graduate Institute of Behavioral Sciences
Date hired: Summer of 2016

- The wallet card displayed "CERTIFIED GRIEF COUNSELOR - CRISIS INTERVENTION SPECIALIST" and a Harmon seal dated six years prior.
- Harmon Graduate Institute had operated for sixty years and, according to records, had never issued a wallet card.
- Eugene applied to Harmon in 2014, was accepted, deferred twice, and never enrolled.
- Eugene was twenty-three years old when hired and had never completed a degree or logged supervised clinical hours.
- The transcript and seal in his file were printed and designed at home; two reference numbers on his application connected to prepaid phones he controlled.

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/73070930Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:31:43 +0000Creator at ObomediaHe Practiced Grief Without a Degree - How Eugene Fooled an Entire Town The idea that someone could sit with your worst pain and be lying is terrifying: a man who fabricated a degree, invented a fatal family tragedy, and carried a fake wallet card...
The idea that someone could sit with your worst pain and be lying is terrifying: a man who fabricated a degree, invented a fatal family tragedy, and carried a fake wallet card calling himself a "CERTIFIED GRIEF COUNSELOR" walked into a community clinic and became indispensable. How did a 23-year-old with no license, no supervised hours, and a transcript printed at home convince clients and colleagues he had earned their trust - and did he leave the card on purpose?

In this episode, we tell the story of a person who was hired to handle grief and crisis intervention despite missing credentials, the gaps that allowed him in, and the consequences that followed; can the skill of holding grief exist independently from formal training, or was something else at work?

Person: Eugene Stroud
Location: Drayden, Ohio
Organization: Lakeview Behavioral Wellness Center
Institution: Harmon Graduate Institute of Behavioral Sciences
Date hired: Summer of 2016

- The wallet card displayed "CERTIFIED GRIEF COUNSELOR - CRISIS INTERVENTION SPECIALIST" and a Harmon seal dated six years prior.
- Harmon Graduate Institute had operated for sixty years and, according to records, had never issued a wallet card.
- Eugene applied to Harmon in 2014, was accepted, deferred twice, and never enrolled.
- Eugene was twenty-three years old when hired and had never completed a degree or logged supervised clinical hours.
- The transcript and seal in his file were printed and designed at home; two reference numbers on his application connected to prepaid phones he controlled.

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.]]>1380falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/fisherman-pulls-a-valid-marriage-license-from-the-river-the-douglas-padgett-case--73070929
A dry, three-day-old Tennessee marriage license bobbed in a zip-lock bag against a river root - and the groom’s real name was on it. What began as a fisherman’s odd find unspooled into a cross-county fraud that involved four women, $25,000 in cash taken in small withdrawals, and a pattern that had run for years; who was Douglas Allen Padgett really, and why did one of his invoices end up in the Sasser River?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that started on June 10, 2019, and trace the documents, phone records, and bank withdrawals that tied three counties and four women together; what the marriage license revealed becomes the hinge for the question that drives the story.

Person: Douglas Allen Padgett
Date: June 10, 2019
Location: Sasser River near Kettle Creek bridge
Amount: $25,000 (from three women in 2018-2019)
Prior payout: approximately $30,000 settled with Vera Sloane in 2014

- A zip-lock bag containing a valid Tennessee marriage license dated June 7, 2019 was found by Roy Hunt on June 10, 2019.
- Douglas Allen Padgett was 48 years old in summer 2019 and rented a house on Fenwick Road in Carver's Bluff for four years.
- Diane Marsh gave Padgett $11,000 by October 2018 for a supposed down payment on a house that did not exist.
- Tina Colwell gave Padgett $8,000 by January 2019 for a supposed storage facility investment that did not exist.
- Susan Frye married Padgett on June 7, 2019 and had given him $6,000 for a supposed venue deposit that did not exist.

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/73070929Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:31:39 +0000Creator at ObomediaFisherman Pulls a Valid Marriage License from the River: The Douglas Padgett Case A dry, three-day-old Tennessee marriage license bobbed in a zip-lock bag against a river root - and the groom’s real name was on it. What began as a fisherman’s odd...
A dry, three-day-old Tennessee marriage license bobbed in a zip-lock bag against a river root - and the groom’s real name was on it. What began as a fisherman’s odd find unspooled into a cross-county fraud that involved four women, $25,000 in cash taken in small withdrawals, and a pattern that had run for years; who was Douglas Allen Padgett really, and why did one of his invoices end up in the Sasser River?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that started on June 10, 2019, and trace the documents, phone records, and bank withdrawals that tied three counties and four women together; what the marriage license revealed becomes the hinge for the question that drives the story.

Person: Douglas Allen Padgett
Date: June 10, 2019
Location: Sasser River near Kettle Creek bridge
Amount: $25,000 (from three women in 2018-2019)
Prior payout: approximately $30,000 settled with Vera Sloane in 2014

- A zip-lock bag containing a valid Tennessee marriage license dated June 7, 2019 was found by Roy Hunt on June 10, 2019.
- Douglas Allen Padgett was 48 years old in summer 2019 and rented a house on Fenwick Road in Carver's Bluff for four years.
- Diane Marsh gave Padgett $11,000 by October 2018 for a supposed down payment on a house that did not exist.
- Tina Colwell gave Padgett $8,000 by January 2019 for a supposed storage facility investment that did not exist.
- Susan Frye married Padgett on June 7, 2019 and had given him $6,000 for a supposed venue deposit that did not exist.

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.]]>1500falsefull