Built on a Liehttps://www.spreaker.com/podcast/built-on-a-lie--7279335Each episode examines a real case of financial fraud, corporate misconduct, investment scams, fake entrepreneurs, white collar crime, or business deception. The series follows how the scheme began, how credibility was manufactured, where the money went, which warning signs were ignored, and what finally caused the story to collapse.
Some frauds begin with greed. Others begin with ambition, pressure, status, or the need to keep one lie alive for just a little longer.
Built on a Lie asks the question at the center of every case.
How much can be built before the truth brings everything down?
]]>enBusinessCopyright Steve Byershttps://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/5e2df29cb91d42168718f9077d53bcfe.jpgBuilt on a Liehttps://www.spreaker.com/podcast/built-on-a-lie--7279335Thu, 20 Aug 2026 01:55:35 +0000Steve ByersSteve Byersfeeds@spreaker.comBuilt on a Lie is an investigative documentary podcast about businesses, fortunes, reputations, and entire empires constructed on deception. Each episode examines a real case of financial fraud, corporate misconduct, investment scams, fake...Each episode examines a real case of financial fraud, corporate misconduct, investment scams, fake entrepreneurs, white collar crime, or business deception. The series follows how the scheme began, how credibility was manufactured, where the money went, which warning signs were ignored, and what finally caused the story to collapse.
Some frauds begin with greed. Others begin with ambition, pressure, status, or the need to keep one lie alive for just a little longer.
Built on a Lie asks the question at the center of every case.
How much can be built before the truth brings everything down?
]]>falsed335d5be-6b70-5787-985d-081e5f220b6aepisodicThe Billion Dollar Telehealth Dream Built Around Thirty Second Prescriptionshttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-billion-dollar-telehealth-dream-built-around-thirty-second-prescriptions--74352445But federal prosecutors said the company's technology, compensation system, and clinical policies were designed to encourage unnecessary stimulant prescriptions while keeping subscribers paying every month. Clinicians who resisted could lose work, while those producing prescriptions quickly could earn extraordinary amounts.
Built on a Lie examines what happened when the pressures of startup growth entered a place where growth was supposed to remain secondary to medical judgment.
]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74352445Thu, 20 Aug 2026 01:55:12 +0000Steve ByersDone Global promised a faster and easier way to receive mental health treatment. Patients could meet clinicians online, pay a subscription fee, and receive medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder without the friction of traditional...But federal prosecutors said the company's technology, compensation system, and clinical policies were designed to encourage unnecessary stimulant prescriptions while keeping subscribers paying every month. Clinicians who resisted could lose work, while those producing prescriptions quickly could earn extraordinary amounts.
Built on a Lie examines what happened when the pressures of startup growth entered a place where growth was supposed to remain secondary to medical judgment.
]]>756adderall,adhd,brody,business,corporate,david,deception,digital,done,fraud,global,he,health,healthcare,model,prescription,ruthia,startup,subscription,telehealthfalsefullThe Green Fintech Company With Customers That Did Not Really Payhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-green-fintech-company-with-customers-that-did-not-really-pay--74352247But federal prosecutors said co founder Joseph Sanberg secretly supplied money to customers so those customers could appear to generate real revenue for Aspiration. He also participated in schemes involving falsified bank and brokerage statements and misleading financial materials that exaggerated the company's financial strength.
This episode examines what happens when a company's mission becomes part of its credibility and when investors begin trusting not only the numbers, but the values surrounding them.
]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74352247Thu, 20 Aug 2026 01:49:56 +0000Steve ByersAspiration Partners presented itself as a financial technology company built around environmentally conscious products and sustainability services. Investors saw a business connected to climate action, tree planting, financial innovation, and rapid...But federal prosecutors said co founder Joseph Sanberg secretly supplied money to customers so those customers could appear to generate real revenue for Aspiration. He also participated in schemes involving falsified bank and brokerage statements and misleading financial materials that exaggerated the company's financial strength.
This episode examines what happens when a company's mission becomes part of its credibility and when investors begin trusting not only the numbers, but the values surrounding them.
]]>810aspiration,collar,corporate,customers,deception,fake,finance,fintech,fraud,green,joseph,lender,partners,revenue,sanberg,securities,sham,startup,sustainability,whitefalsefullThe Billion Dollar Fashion Startup That Had Almost No Cashhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-billion-dollar-fashion-startup-that-had-almost-no-cash--74352043But behind the valuation was a company under severe financial pressure. Prosecutors said investors were shown fabricated audits, false income statements, fictitious bank records, and even screenshots suggesting CaaStle had nearly two hundred million dollars in cash when it actually had less than two hundred thousand.
Built on a Lie begins with a company whose most valuable product may not have been its technology. It was the appearance that everything was going extraordinarily well.
]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74352043Thu, 20 Aug 2026 01:43:36 +0000Steve ByersCaaStle was presented as a rapidly growing fashion technology company worth more than a billion dollars. Its founder, Christine Hunsicker, had the reputation of a successful entrepreneur and was raising enormous amounts of money from sophisticated...But behind the valuation was a company under severe financial pressure. Prosecutors said investors were shown fabricated audits, false income statements, fictitious bank records, and even screenshots suggesting CaaStle had nearly two hundred million dollars in cash when it actually had less than two hundred thousand.
Built on a Lie begins with a company whose most valuable product may not have been its technology. It was the appearance that everything was going extraordinarily well.
]]>756audit,business,caastle,capital,christine,collapse,corporate,deception,fake,fashion,financial,founder,fraud,hunsicker,securities,startup,statements,technology,venture,whitefalsefull