Shows
Crimes & DimesE12: Gerald Payne. The Unholy Truth Behind Religious Ponzi SchemesReligious Ponzi schemes have been on the rise both in America and abroad, reminding us of the dangers of exploiting people’s need to feel part of a chosen community while simultaneously appealing to their greed. In this episode, we explore the story of Gerald Payne and Greater Ministries International, a fraudulent Christian ministry that conned over 18,000 people out of over 500 million dollars.
Payne and his co-conspirators used elements of prosperity gospel teachings and fictitious social proof generated by elaborate investments in African diamond mines and bogus cancer treatments to seduce innocent investors into an unholy union of...
2021-08-0330 min
Crimes & DimesE11: Dave Aronberg. Palm Beach State Attorney Discusses Miss Cleo, Sober Homes Task Force, Tiger Woods, and Robert Kraft.This week Josh and the gang are honored to welcome Dave Aronberg to the show. Dave is the State Attorney for Palm Beach County Florida and a former member of the Florida Senate who has made it his mission to protect and advocate for addicts and mentally unwell citizens who have been exploited by big pharma and abusive insurance scammers who have exploited loopholes in the insurance system to literally traffic addicts for profit.
In addition to the state-wide work he and his offices do to protect vulnerable citizens, Dave has worked on a number of high...
2021-06-2930 min
Crimes & DimesE10: Port St. Lucie Ponzi Scheme. Preying on Senior Citizens.Josh, Rob, and Andy explore the details of a Ponzi scheme involving the disgraced Port St. Lucie broker, Darrel Bank who was recently convicted of conspiracy, mail & wire fraud, selling unregistered securities, and money laundering. Bank targeted over 300 victims, mostly senior citizens in a scheme that saw him garnering outrageous 20 to 70 percent fees from unsuspecting clients. Seniors appear to have failed in their due diligence in researching Banks' shady past, which included a barring from the industry in 2010 for selling unregistered securities.
The politically savvy Bank’s ingratiated himself to clients through a bolstered sense of credibility, se...
2021-06-0823 min
Crimes & DimesE9: Perry Kalmus. Netflix Operation Varsity Blues Testing Expert on the College Admissions Scandal in LA.In 2019, the world first became aware of Rick Singer, a supposed “mastermind” behind the now infamous College Admissions Scandal. Singer’s web of deceit entangled everyone from high-powered CEOS to Hollywood stars, capitalizing on the rising fever and fraud endemic in higher education. Singer, a slender yet brash ex-basketball coach ingratiated himself with dozens of families, coaches, and administrators in an attempt to exploit loopholes and oversights, ultimately rewarding his wealthy clients with what he called a “side door” into higher education.We now know that untold numbers of these marks were complicit or even conspiratorial in their cooperation with Singe...
2021-05-0429 min
Crimes & DimesE8: Jeff Andrews. Ex-Con Shares Stories of His Criminal Past.Ex-Con Artist Jeff Andrews, a man of many past identities, sits down with us to share stories from his astonishing criminal past. He’s been categorized as a ”criminal genius" and recounts moments from his outrageous life, including 10 years on the run as a fugitive from justice.
Today, Jeff is a man of God, and shares his story to provide hope to inmates; inspiring them to take the road less traveled and get their lives back on track.
2021-03-1639 min
Crimes & DimesE7: 1920’s Boom. What Ignited the Great Depression?The Florida land boom of the 1920's was Florida's first real estate bubble, which burst in 1925. The land boom left behind entire new cities, such as Coral Gables, Hialeah, Miami Springs, Opa-locka, Miami Shores, and Hollywood.
The boom eventually fizzled out as disaster followed in the shape of the September 1926 Miami Hurricane, which drove many developers into bankruptcy.
In 1925, some 7,000 people seeking a new life and perhaps a new fortune entered Florida each day. In Massachusetts alone, owners of more than 100,000 bank accounts used their savings to invest in Florida land. Deposits in Florida banks increased...
2021-03-0923 min
Crimes & DimesE6: GPB Capital. Fraud of Over 1.7B in Ponzi-like Scheme.GPB Capital Holdings LLC is a private-equity firm that is facing criminal fraud and conspiracy charges for deceiving thousands of investors in what is described as a $1.7 billion Ponzi-like-scheme.
The three men tied to this criminal activity are David Gentile, the owner and chief executive of GPB; Jeffry Schneider, the owner and CEO of Ascendant Capital LLC; and Jeffrey Lash, a former GPB managing partner.
All three were arrested and are expected to appear for arraignment in federal court.
GPB Capital promised steady 8% dividends from investment gains to lure in investors. The Justice...
2021-03-0218 min
Crimes & DimesE5: Robinhood. Class Action Lawsuits Hitting the Popular Trading App.Investors are taking action against Robinhood after alleging that the trading app engaged in unlawful market manipulation. Robinhood now faces over 90 federal lawsuits.
Could their user agreement clause that requires disputes by users to be settled in arbitration be enough to save them?
2021-02-2322 min
Crimes & DimesE4: Den of Thieves. Inside Look of 1980’s Scandal Involving Martin Seigel, Ivan Boesky, and Michael Milliken.The Den of Thieves scandal took place in the 1980's and included the biggest names on Wall Street; Michael Milken, Ivan Boesky, Martin Siegel, and Dennis Levine. They created the greatest insider-trading ring in financial history and almost walked away with billions...until a team of detectives & expensive attorneys finally brought them to justice.
2021-02-1522 min
Crimes & DimesE3: Does Social Security Have the Same Elements as a Ponzi Scheme?One of the most common accusations about Social Security is that it's nothing more than a Ponzi scheme destined for bankruptcy. But is it defrauding Americans? Do we have reason to believe that Social Security will not keep its promise to future generations and continue to pay benefits for years to come?
2021-02-0915 min
Crimes & DimesE2: Yilishen Tianxi Group. How Ants Lead To a Trail of Risky Investments.The Yilishen Tianxi Group was a Chinese company established in 1999 which sold traditional Chinese medicine products made from ants. More than one million people invested in the company, purchasing and raising boxes of ants with the promise that they could sell the ants back for a profit, before it was exposed in 2007 as a ponzi scheme.
2021-02-0216 min
Crimes & DimesE1: Charles Ponzi. Could He Have Been a Legitimate Businessman?Do you think that Charles Ponzi could have been a legitimate businessman?
Share this episode with your friends for an entertaining discussion about where this famous financial fraudster went wrong.
2021-01-2612 min
Crimes & DimesAn Intro to Crimes & DimesWelcome to Crimes & Dimes with Joshua Krafchick, Andrew Saltman, and Rob Tamburri. We're here to entertain you with stories about famous financial fraud, discussing where white collar criminals went wrong.
2020-11-0604 min