https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/scam-nation--7497205enTrue CrimeCopyright USRavenshttps://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/9077fd3e6c73785d732cca2cecde645a.jpghttps://www.spreaker.com/podcast/scam-nation--7497205Mon, 09 Nov 2026 02:10:01 +0000USRavensUSRavensfeeds@spreaker.comScam Nation — America's wildest cons, frauds and rip-offs, told as gripping true stories. From fake heiresses and billion-dollar unicorn frauds to Ponzi kings and phishing empires: how the con worked, how it fooled everyone, and how it finally fell...false2a4572f6-3d24-5f48-9732-179a362335c8episodichttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/orange-county-robert-citron-and-the-1-7-billion-bet--76254643https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76254643Mon, 09 Nov 2026 02:08:04 +0000USRavensTreasurer Robert Citron turned Orange County's public cash into a twenty point five billion dollar leveraged bet on interest rates — and lost one point seven billion when the Fed raised rates in 1994. Harper and Cole tell the story of the largest...513falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/shell-the-3-9-billion-barrels-that-never-existed--76254640https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76254640Mon, 09 Nov 2026 02:07:57 +0000USRavensIn January 2004 Shell admitted that nearly a quarter of its proved oil reserves — three point nine billion barrels — didn't exist. Harper and Cole unpack the reserves overstatement, the one hundred twenty million dollar SEC fine, and the chairman's...489falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/global-crossing-the-12-billion-fiber-optic-fraud--76254634https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76254634Mon, 09 Nov 2026 02:07:50 +0000USRavensGlobal Crossing built a worldwide fiber-optic network and faked its revenue with capacity swaps — selling network capacity to rivals and buying it straight back. Harper and Cole trace the January 2002 bankruptcy, the fourth largest in US history, and...499falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/fannie-mae-the-9-billion-restatement--76254624https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76254624Mon, 09 Nov 2026 02:07:40 +0000USRavensFannie Mae told the world its earnings were smooth and growing — while hiding seven point nine billion dollars in derivatives losses. Harper and Cole follow the 2004 regulator report, the nine point one billion dollar misstatement, and the fall of...532falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/freddie-mac-the-5-billion-earnings-smoothing-scandal--76254611https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76254611Mon, 09 Nov 2026 02:07:27 +0000USRavensFreddie Mac hid five billion dollars of profit to make its earnings look smooth and steady. Harper and Cole explain the derivatives smoothing, the firing of the top three executives in June 2003, the one hundred twenty-five million dollar fine, and...524falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/aig-the-1-64-billion-insurance-accounting-scandal--76254596https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76254596Mon, 09 Nov 2026 02:07:17 +0000USRavensHank Greenberg ran AIG for forty years and never missed a target — until investigators found sham reinsurance deals and sixty-six improper transactions behind the streak. Harper and Cole trace the General Re deal, the forced resignation, and the one...520falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/xerox-the-3-billion-copier-fraud--76254578https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76254578Mon, 09 Nov 2026 02:07:11 +0000USRavensXerox booked years of copier lease revenue up front to close a three billion dollar gap with Wall Street. Harper and Cole unpack the SEC's 2002 case, the six point one billion dollar restatement, and the twenty-two million dollar settlement that...532falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/waste-management-the-1-7-billion-trash-fraud--76254563https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76254563Mon, 09 Nov 2026 02:06:59 +0000USRavensHow did America's biggest garbage company hide one point seven billion dollars in fake profits? Harper and Cole retrace Dean Buntrock's five-year accounting fraud — inflated truck values, unrecorded landfill costs, and an auditor, Arthur Andersen,...513falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/qwest-joseph-nacchio-and-the-3-billion-accounting-fraud--76245208https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76245208Sun, 08 Nov 2026 18:06:08 +0000USRavensHarper and Cole dig into Qwest and CEO Joseph Nacchio, who booked one-time fiber-optic capacity sales as recurring revenue to hit Wall Street targets, improperly reporting about three billion dollars between 1999 and 2002. As the stock collapsed from...496falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/bcci-the-20-billion-bank-of-crooks-and-criminals--76245203https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76245203Sun, 08 Nov 2026 18:06:03 +0000USRavensHarper and Cole unravel BCCI, the Bank of Credit and Commerce International — a globe-spanning bank founded in 1972 by Agha Hasan Abedi that grew to more than 400 branches in over 70 countries before regulators in seven nations shut it down in a...506falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/rita-crundwell-the-53-million-theft-from-a-small-town--76245200https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76245200Sun, 08 Nov 2026 18:05:58 +0000USRavensHarper and Cole tell the story of Rita Crundwell, the trusted comptroller of Dixon, Illinois, who stole $53 million from her small hometown over 22 years through fake invoices and a secret bank account, funding a championship quarter horse empire...497falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-london-whale-jpmorgan-s-6-2-billion-trading-loss--76245196https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76245196Sun, 08 Nov 2026 18:05:53 +0000USRavensHarper and Cole unpack the London Whale scandal: how JPMorgan trader Bruno Iksil built a giant synthetic credit derivatives position inside the bank's supposedly safe Chief Investment Office, how CEO Jamie Dimon dismissed it as a 'tempest in a...516falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/fifa-the-150-million-bribery-scandal--76245192https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76245192Sun, 08 Nov 2026 18:05:48 +0000USRavensOn May 27, 2015, Swiss police arrested seven FIFA officials at the Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich as the US Justice Department unsealed a 47-count indictment alleging more than one hundred and fifty million dollars in bribes over twenty-four years. The...522falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/cendant-the-3-billion-accounting-fraud-nobody-audited--76245189https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76245189Sun, 08 Nov 2026 18:05:43 +0000USRavensCUC International's Walter Forbes built Cendant from a 1997 merger with HFS into a travel and real estate giant, but behind the perfect earnings lay about five hundred million dollars of invented income. When the fraud surfaced in April 1998, Cendant...512falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/sunbeam-chainsaw-al-dunlap-and-the-2-billion-accounting-fraud--76245187https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76245187Sun, 08 Nov 2026 18:05:38 +0000USRavensChainsaw Al Dunlap was hired to save Sunbeam, and his miracle turnaround sent the stock to fifty-two dollars — but it was built on cookie-jar reserves, bill-and-hold sales, and channel stuffing. Harper and Cole unpack how the SEC found at least sixty...540falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/societe-generale-jerome-kerviel-and-the-4-9-billion-rogue-trade--76245183https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76245183Sun, 08 Nov 2026 18:05:33 +0000USRavensHow did a quiet thirty-one-year-old junior trader at Société Générale secretly bet fifty billion euros and lose four point nine billion? Harper and Cole retrace Jérôme Kerviel's fictitious offsetting trades, the frantic January 2008 unwind, and the...529falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-nigerian-prince-the-advance-fee-scam-that-never-died--76241527https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76241527Sun, 08 Nov 2026 10:09:07 +0000USRavensThe Nigerian Prince email is the oldest scam on the internet, and it still steals billions through advance fees, romance scams, and business email compromise. The FBI reported two point nine billion dollars in business email compromise losses in 2023...485falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/abacus-the-550-million-mortgage-deal-the-sec-called-fraud--76241526https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76241526Sun, 08 Nov 2026 10:09:02 +0000USRavensGoldman Sachs built a two billion dollar mortgage deal called Abacus, with help from hedge fund manager John Paulson, who was betting it would fail. Investors lost about a billion dollars, and the SEC settled with Goldman for five hundred and fifty...486falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/boesky-the-insider-trader-who-said-greed-is-healthy--76241525https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76241525Sun, 08 Nov 2026 10:08:57 +0000USRavensIvan Boesky made hundreds of millions trading on inside information, then told Berkeley graduates that greed was healthy. His 1986 guilty plea and hundred million dollar settlement brought down Michael Milken and Drexel Burnham Lambert. Harper and...485falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/valeant-the-drug-company-that-faked-its-pharmacy-sales--76241524https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76241524Sun, 08 Nov 2026 10:08:50 +0000USRavensValeant Pharmaceuticals raised drug prices by hundreds of percent while its share price soared, then a short seller exposed its secret ties to the Philidor pharmacy. The company restated earnings and settled with the SEC for forty five million...484falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/refco-the-2-4-billion-fraud-behind-the-brokerage-collapse--76241523https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76241523Sun, 08 Nov 2026 10:08:44 +0000USRavensOne of the world's biggest futures brokers went public in August 2005 and was bankrupt by October, after chief executive Phillip Bennett admitted hiding a four hundred and thirty million dollar debt. Prosecutors later put the fraud at two point four...496falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/steinhoff-the-7-billion-fraud-that-fooled-the-world--76241522https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76241522Sun, 08 Nov 2026 10:08:38 +0000USRavensSouth African retail giant Steinhoff reported smooth profits for years, until auditors refused to sign off in December 2017 and the share price fell more than ninety percent. A PwC investigation found six and a half billion euros of fictitious...496falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/greensill-the-10-billion-supply-chain-finance-collapse--76241521https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76241521Sun, 08 Nov 2026 10:08:31 +0000USRavensLex Greensill promised to make supply chain finance safe and profitable, selling ten billion dollars of funds through Credit Suisse. Behind the marketing, the lending was concentrated in Sanjeev Gupta's steel empire and backed by insurance that...488falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/archegos-bill-hwang-and-the-36-billion-margin-call--76241518https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76241518Sun, 08 Nov 2026 10:08:25 +0000USRavensBill Hwang built a thirty six billion dollar family office on borrowed money and total return swaps, misleading nine banks about the size of his bets. When ViacomCBS fell in March 2021, Archegos collapsed in days, costing banks more than ten billion...535falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/trump-university-the-25-million-fraud-settlement--76238416https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76238416Sun, 08 Nov 2026 02:12:51 +0000USRavensTrump University promised the secrets to real estate riches for as much as thirty five thousand dollars, and more than six thousand students sued. Harper and Cole trace the three lawsuits, the twenty five million dollar settlement ten days after the...497falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/michael-milken-the-junk-bond-king-who-pled-guilty--76238414https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76238414Sun, 08 Nov 2026 02:12:42 +0000USRavensMichael Milken built the junk bond market and became the most powerful financier in America, then pleaded guilty to six counts of securities violations. Harper and Cole trace the ninety eight count indictment, the six hundred million dollars in fines,...492falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/scott-tucker-the-3-5-billion-payday-loan-empire--76238410https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76238410Sun, 08 Nov 2026 02:12:31 +0000USRavensScott Tucker built a three point five billion dollar payday lending empire on loans designed to never be repaid, then spent the proceeds on a championship race team. Harper and Cole follow the FTC's one point three billion dollar judgment, the five...488falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/galleon-raj-rajaratnam-and-the-insider-trading-ring--76238407https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76238407Sun, 08 Nov 2026 02:12:23 +0000USRavensRaj Rajaratnam ran a seven billion dollar hedge fund on tips from insiders at Goldman Sachs, Intel, and IBM, until the FBI's wiretaps brought him down. Harper and Cole trace the fourteen counts, the eleven year sentence, and the largest insider...517falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/barings-bank-nick-leeson-and-the-1-4-billion-trade--76238404https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76238404Sun, 08 Nov 2026 02:12:18 +0000USRavensNick Leeson hid his losses in account 88888 until they reached eight hundred twenty seven million pounds and destroyed Britain's oldest merchant bank. Harper and Cole follow the Kobe earthquake, the note that said I'm sorry, and the bank sold for one...481falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/lincoln-savings-charles-keating-and-the-3-4-billion-collapse--76238400https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76238400Sun, 08 Nov 2026 02:12:12 +0000USRavensCharles Keating bought Lincoln Savings for fifty one million dollars and turned it into the most expensive failure of the savings and loan crisis. Harper and Cole trace the junk bond bets, the Keating Five, the three point four billion dollar cleanup,...524falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/crazy-eddie-the-80-million-electronics-fraud--76238396https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76238396Sun, 08 Nov 2026 02:12:08 +0000USRavensCrazy Eddie's prices were insane, and so was the fraud behind them. Harper and Cole follow Eddie Antar's cash skimming, the Panama Pump, the eighty million dollar hole in the inventory, and the eight year prison sentence.485falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/marc-dreier-the-700-million-lawyer-fraud--76238392https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76238392Sun, 08 Nov 2026 02:12:01 +0000USRavensMarc Dreier ran a respected New York law firm with more than two hundred seventy lawyers, and behind it he sold more than seven hundred million dollars in fake promissory notes. Harper and Cole trace the forged documents, the hired impersonators, the...488falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/reed-slatkin-the-593-million-ponzi-hiding-in-plain-sight--76235232https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76235232Sat, 07 Nov 2026 17:55:08 +0000USRavensReed Slatkin, co-founder of EarthLink, promised investors returns of twenty four percent or more from an exclusive investment club. About five hundred ninety three million dollars flowed in, much of it from people who trusted him through their...507falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/miles-guo-the-1-billion-fraud-of-the-exiled-tycoon--76235231https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76235231Sat, 07 Nov 2026 17:55:02 +0000USRavensExiled tycoon Miles Guo raised more than one billion dollars from his followers through a media stock sale, a loan program, and a cryptocurrency he said was backed by gold. Harper and Cole follow the 2024 racketeering conviction and the thirty year...536falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/lou-pearlman-the-boy-band-mogul-s-300-million-ponzi--76235230https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76235230Sat, 07 Nov 2026 17:54:55 +0000USRavensLou Pearlman created the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC, then used his pop empire as cover for a three hundred million dollar Ponzi scheme that ran for more than twenty years. Harper and Cole trace the fake investments, the flight to Bali, and the twenty...502falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/frank-abagnale-the-con-man-who-may-have-conned-us-all--76235228https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76235228Sat, 07 Nov 2026 17:54:47 +0000USRavensFrank Abagnale's memoir says he cashed seventeen thousand fake checks worth two point five million dollars as a teenage pilot, doctor, and lawyer. The paper trail tells a smaller, stranger story. Harper and Cole separate the legend from the documented...507falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/aequitas-the-350-million-fraud-that-fooled-oregon--76235226https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76235226Sat, 07 Nov 2026 17:54:40 +0000USRavensAequitas Management of Oregon sold promissory notes promising up to ten percent, supposedly backed by healthcare and education receivables. In reality the money paid old investors and kept the firm afloat. Harper and Cole follow the SEC charges, the...501falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/nirav-modi-the-2-billion-diamond-fraud--76235225https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76235225Sat, 07 Nov 2026 17:54:33 +0000USRavensCelebrity jeweler Nirav Modi allegedly used fraudulent bank guarantees to borrow about two billion dollars, bypassing his bank's own systems for seven years. Harper and Cole trace the letters of undertaking, the employee who finally said no, and the...498falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/woodbridge-the-1-3-billion-ponzi-that-preyed-on-retirees--76235221https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76235221Sat, 07 Nov 2026 17:54:26 +0000USRavensRobert Shapiro promised retirees safe, high-yield real estate investments. Behind the pitch was a one point three billion dollar Ponzi scheme built on sham loans to his own companies. Harper and Cole follow the SEC case, the bankruptcy, and the twenty...505falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/1mdb-jho-low-and-the-4-5-billion-heist--76235220https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76235220Sat, 07 Nov 2026 17:54:17 +0000USRavensMalaysia's 1MDB fund was meant to develop the country. Instead, about four point five billion dollars vanished through shell companies, funding a superyacht, fine art, and a Hollywood film. Harper and Cole trace Jho Low, the Goldman Sachs bond deals,...506falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/countrywide-the-67-5-million-subprime-settlement--76230964https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76230964Sat, 07 Nov 2026 10:23:13 +0000USRavensAngelo Mozilo built Countrywide into America's biggest mortgage lender, calling its subprime loans toxic in private emails while praising them in public, and selling a hundred thirty nine million dollars of his own shares before the collapse. Harper...519falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/shkreli-the-pharma-bro-s-10-million-fraud--76230962https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76230962Sat, 07 Nov 2026 10:23:07 +0000USRavensMartin Shkreli became famous for raising a drug's price by five thousand percent, but he went to prison for something else: lying to hedge fund investors and looting a biotech company to cover his losses. Harper and Cole follow the 2017 fraud...494falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/lehman-brothers-repo-105-and-the-50-billion-vanishing-act--76230959https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76230959Sat, 07 Nov 2026 10:23:02 +0000USRavensLehman Brothers used an accounting device called Repo 105 to move fifty billion dollars off its balance sheet at the end of each quarter, making its leverage look healthy while the bank was collapsing. Harper and Cole trace the Valukas report, the...499falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/mf-global-the-1-6-billion-in-missing-customer-money--76230953https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76230953Sat, 07 Nov 2026 10:22:56 +0000USRavensJon Corzine, former Goldman Sachs chief, senator, and governor, bet MF Global on more than six billion dollars of European debt. When the bet failed, the firm used customer money to stay alive, and one point six billion dollars went missing. Harper...500falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/rothstein-the-1-2-billion-fake-settlements-ponzi--76230951https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76230951Sat, 07 Nov 2026 10:22:49 +0000USRavensFort Lauderdale lawyer Scott Rothstein sold investors discounted stakes in confidential legal settlements that never existed, forging judges' signatures to make the fraud look real. Harper and Cole follow the one point two billion dollar scheme, the...490falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/petters-the-3-65-billion-electronics-ponzi--76230950https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76230950Sat, 07 Nov 2026 10:22:44 +0000USRavensMinnesota businessman Tom Petters owned Polaroid and an airline, and behind the empire he ran a three point six five billion dollar Ponzi scheme built on forged purchase orders for electronics that never existed. Harper and Cole trace the...492falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/celsius-the-4-7-billion-crypto-freeze--76230947https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76230947Sat, 07 Nov 2026 10:22:37 +0000USRavensCelsius Network told customers banks are not your friends and paid up to eighteen percent on crypto deposits. Then in June 2022 it froze withdrawals and filed for bankruptcy owing users about four point seven billion dollars. Harper and Cole follow...505falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/terra-the-40-billion-stablecoin-that-wasn-t-stable--76230944https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76230944Sat, 07 Nov 2026 10:22:31 +0000USRavensTerraform Labs promised a stablecoin that could never break. Do Kwon mocked his critics, Anchor paid twenty percent yields, and in May 2022 the whole system collapsed in seventy two hours, wiping out close to forty billion dollars. Harper and Cole...529falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/bitconnect-the-2-4-billion-crypto-ponzi--76225304https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76225304Sat, 07 Nov 2026 02:09:41 +0000USRavensBitConnect promised up to 40 percent monthly returns from a trading bot that never existed, taking about $2.4 billion from investors in a textbook Ponzi scheme. Harper and Cole trace the viral conference, the 2018 collapse, promoter Glenn Arcaro's...519falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/bre-x-the-6-billion-gold-mine-that-never-was--76225302https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76225302Sat, 07 Nov 2026 02:09:34 +0000USRavensBre-X claimed a 71-million-ounce gold deposit at Busang, Indonesia, worth more than C$6 billion, built on about $61,000 of river gold salted into drill samples. Harper and Cole follow Freeport's twin holes, de Guzman's helicopter death, and the fact...534falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/parmalat-europe-s-enron-and-the-14-billion-milk-fraud--76225301https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76225301Sat, 07 Nov 2026 02:09:29 +0000USRavensItalian dairy giant Parmalat hid 14.3 billion euros of debt behind a forged Bank of America document claiming a 4 billion euro account that never existed. Harper and Cole trace Calisto Tanzi's confession, the 150,000 savers left with almost nothing,...535falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/satyam-india-s-enron-and-the-1-47-billion-confession--76225299https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76225299Sat, 07 Nov 2026 02:09:23 +0000USRavensSatyam founder Ramalinga Raju confessed in January 2009 to inflating assets by $1.47 billion over a decade, earning the company the name India's Enron. Harper and Cole follow the whistleblower emails, the seven-year sentences, and the auditors who...515falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/wework-the-47-billion-valuation-that-wasn-t--76225298https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76225298Sat, 07 Nov 2026 02:09:19 +0000USRavensWeWork reached a $47 billion valuation on Adam Neumann's vision, then its 2019 S-1 filing exposed $1.9 billion in losses and $47 billion in lease obligations. Harper and Cole trace the six-week collapse, the SoftBank rescue, and the November 2023...534falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/luckin-coffee-the-310-million-cup-of-fake-sales--76225296https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76225296Sat, 07 Nov 2026 02:09:15 +0000USRavensLuckin Coffee faked about $310 million of 2019 sales through a parallel database and altered records, until its own board admitted the fraud in April 2020. Harper and Cole trace the $180 million SEC penalty, the Nasdaq delisting, and the unlikely...520falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/nikola-the-truck-that-rolled-downhill--76225295https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76225295Sat, 07 Nov 2026 02:09:10 +0000USRavensTrevor Milton built Nikola into a company worth more than Ford on the promise of hydrogen trucks, until Hindenburg Research showed the flagship truck rolling downhill in a promotional video. Harper and Cole follow the 2022 fraud conviction, the 2025...515falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/wirecard-the-1-9-billion-euros-that-never-existed--76225294https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76225294Sat, 07 Nov 2026 02:09:07 +0000USRavensGerman payments giant Wirecard claimed 1.9 billion euros sat in trust accounts in the Philippines, money its auditor EY could not confirm and the banks said never existed. Harper and Cole trace the Financial Times warnings, the regulator that chased...526falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/zzzz-best-the-teenage-millionaire-who-faked-it-all--76216656https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76216656Fri, 06 Nov 2026 18:08:29 +0000USRavensAt sixteen, Barry Minkow built ZZZZ Best from his parents' garage into a $200 million public company on the back of restoration contracts that never existed. The collapse cost investors at least $100 million and earned the 22-year-old a 25-year prison...522falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/purdue-pharma-the-sacklers-and-the-oxycontin-empire--76216652https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76216652Fri, 06 Nov 2026 18:08:22 +0000USRavensPurdue Pharma marketed OxyContin aggressively while downplaying its addiction risk, and the Sackler family took about $11 billion out of the company. Harper and Cole trace the $8 billion-plus DOJ resolution, the Supreme Court's 5-4 rejection of the...493falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/dieselgate-the-software-that-lied-to-the-world--76216649https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76216649Fri, 06 Nov 2026 18:08:16 +0000USRavensVolkswagen's Clean Diesel cars carried software that detected emissions tests and cut pollution only while being tested, emitting up to 40 times the legal limit on the road. A small university research team exposed the fraud, and Dieselgate cost VW...497falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/wells-fargo-3-5-million-accounts-nobody-opened--76216645https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76216645Fri, 06 Nov 2026 18:08:10 +0000USRavensUnder crushing sales quotas, Wells Fargo employees opened about 3.5 million accounts customers never asked for, chasing a target of eight products per customer. The scandal cost the bank $3 billion in federal settlements, an unprecedented Federal...526falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-cricket-king-allen-stanford-s-7-billion-ponzi--76216640https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76216640Fri, 06 Nov 2026 18:08:03 +0000USRavensAllen Stanford sold supposedly safe certificates of deposit from his offshore bank in Antigua for twenty years, funding a lavish lifestyle including a private jet fleet. The SEC exposed a $7 billion Ponzi scheme in 2009, and Stanford was sentenced to...525falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/healthsouth-the-2-7-billion-fraud-nobody-could-see--76216631https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76216631Fri, 06 Nov 2026 18:07:56 +0000USRavensHealthSouth inflated its earnings by about $2.7 billion with thousands of small fictitious entries that auditors kept missing, while CEO Richard Scrushy told accountants to just fix it. Harper and Cole follow the first-ever Sarbanes-Oxley indictment,...532falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/adelphia-the-family-that-treated-a-cable-giant-like-a-piggy-bank--76216628https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76216628Fri, 06 Nov 2026 18:07:49 +0000USRavensJohn Rigas built Adelphia from a $300 cable station into one of America's largest cable companies, then treated it like a family bank, hiding about $2.3 billion in debt off the books. A single footnote in an earnings release exposed the fraud, and...507falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/tyco-the-600-million-shower-curtain-scandal--76216624https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76216624Fri, 06 Nov 2026 18:07:42 +0000USRavensTyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski and CFO Mark Swartz looted about $600 million from their own company through unauthorized bonuses, loans and stock sales, including the infamous $6,000 shower curtain. Harper and Cole trace the 2005 convictions, the...515falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-original-ponzi-charles-ponzi-and-the-1920-coupon-scam--76207190https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76207190Fri, 06 Nov 2026 10:12:11 +0000USRavensIn 1920, Charles Ponzi promised 50% returns in 45 days by trading postal reply coupons. The scheme took in about $15 million before collapsing, and his name became the word for the fraud itself.491falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/onecoin-the-crypto-queen-who-vanished--76207187https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76207187Fri, 06 Nov 2026 10:12:05 +0000USRavensOneCoin promised a cryptocurrency to rival Bitcoin, but prosecutors say there was never a real blockchain behind it. Founder Ruja Ignatova vanished in 2017 and is now on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.493falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/worldcom-the-11-billion-fraud-hiding-in-plain-sight--76207186https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76207186Fri, 06 Nov 2026 10:11:59 +0000USRavensWorldCom hid roughly $11 billion in expenses to fake its profits, until internal auditor Cynthia Cooper uncovered the fraud. CEO Bernie Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years in the largest accounting fraud of its time.530falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-wolf-of-wall-street-jordan-belfort-s-pump-and-dump-machine--76207185https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76207185Fri, 06 Nov 2026 10:11:53 +0000USRavensJordan Belfort's Stratton Oakmont ran a boiler-room pump-and-dump machine that defrauded investors of about $200 million. The Wolf of Wall Street went to prison and paid restitution, then became a celebrity, a second act his victims never got.508falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/fyre-festival-the-luxury-party-that-never-happened--76207182https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76207182Fri, 06 Nov 2026 10:11:48 +0000USRavensFyre Festival promised a luxury weekend on a private Bahamian island and delivered disaster-relief tents and cheese sandwiches. Billy McFarland pleaded guilty to wire fraud, then ran a second ticket scam while out on bail.497falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/ftx-sam-bankman-fried-and-the-8-billion-hole--76207180https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76207180Fri, 06 Nov 2026 10:11:42 +0000USRavensFTX went from crypto darling to bankruptcy in about a week in November 2022, with roughly $8 billion in customer funds missing. Harper and Cole follow the money to Alameda Research, the trial, and the 25-year sentence for Sam Bankman-Fried.498falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/enron-the-house-of-cards-that-crushed-a-giant--76207178https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76207178Fri, 06 Nov 2026 10:11:36 +0000USRavensEnron was named America's most innovative company six years running, and it was hiding its debts in off-balance-sheet partnerships. The collapse wiped out employee retirements, brought down Arthur Andersen, and led to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.506falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-65-billion-lie-bernie-madoff-s-ponzi-empire--76207175https://api.spreaker.com/episode/76207175Fri, 06 Nov 2026 10:11:31 +0000USRavensBernard Madoff ran the largest Ponzi scheme in history, a $65 billion fraud hidden behind steady returns and an exclusive reputation. Harper and Cole trace how the SEC missed years of warnings, how the 2008 crisis brought it down, and what the...520falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-blood-test-that-lied-elizabeth-holmes-and-the-theranos-fraud--75996002https://api.spreaker.com/episode/75996002Mon, 26 Oct 2026 11:26:21 +0000USRavensA nineteen-year-old dropout promised hundreds of lab tests from a single drop of blood, raised more than seven hundred million dollars, and reached a nine billion dollar valuation, on a machine that never worked. Harper and Cole trace the Theranos...472falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-fake-heiress-how-anna-delvey-conned-new-york--75995867https://api.spreaker.com/episode/75995867Mon, 26 Oct 2026 11:12:15 +0000USRavensShe had no money, no trust fund, and no real name, but Anna Delvey tipped in hundreds, lived in SoHo's best hotels, and got New York banks to hand her six figures on forged paperwork. Harper and Cole break down how the fake heiress act worked, who...541falsefull