Advertise on podcast: Not Another True Crime Podcast

This week, Sara and Danny cover the viral story from The Cut's own financial advice columnist, Charlotte Cowles, who was the unlikely victim of a scam that cost her $50,000. They get into Cowles' article, which details how over the course of just one day, the scammers - posing as Amazon employees and and FTC agents - successfully convinced her that she was the victim of extensive identity theft, with multiple warrants out for her arrest for cybercrimes, money laundering, and drug trafficking. Cowles withdrew and handed the scammers $50,000 from her bank account, before realizing it had all been a lie. SOURCES: https://www.thecut.com/article/amazon-scam-call-ftc-arrest-warrants.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sara and Danny are joined by Sky Borgman, director and producer of the new documentary series The Truth About Jim, now streaming on MAX. The documentary follows 32-year old Sierra Barter, as she investigates whether or not her step grandfather, Jim Mordecai, was a serial killer. Skye shares her storytelling approach, how Jim might have flown under the radar for so long, and why there was such a serial killing spike in the Bay Area at that time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sara and Danny are joined by Emmy Award-winning television host, veteran journalist, and bestselling author Tamron Hall, to talk about the latest book in her Jordan Manning series Watch Where They Hide. Tamron shares the real life cases that inspired the novel, how she identifies with the character of Jordan, and the emotional process of writing the book. They get into the media phenomenon of Missing White Woman Syndrome, and the way crime reporting has evolved from the start of her career to now, especially when it comes to racial profiling of suspects. https://www.tamronhall.tv/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Sara and Danny cover the civil fraud case of Denver pastor Eli Regalado and his wife Kaitlyn, who claimed they were directed by God to sell millions in fake crytocurrency through the Kingdom Wealth Exchange. They're accused of pocketing $1.3 million for their own extravagant lifestyle that included a Range Rover, vacations, luxury handbags, and more, in what the Denver District Court Judge called "a case of just unmitigated greed." SOURCES: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/01/23/crypto-pastor-colorado-god-eli-regalado/ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68072665 https://people.com/denver-pastor-says-the-lord-told-us-to-steal-from-christians-8548486 https://www.denverpost.com/2024/01/30/eli-kaitlyn-regalado-cryptocurrency-scam-accounts-frozen-indxcoin/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sara and Danny are back this week with another con artist from Down Under: Samantha Azzopardi. They get into the innumerable fake identities (including that of a 14 year old girl, and the actress Dakota Johnson) that she adopted along her way from the Sydney suburbs, to Dublin, to Calgary, to prison, and back to Australia, where she once again encountered trouble with the law. SOURCES: https://www.womensweekly.com.au/news/samantha-azzopardi-true-story/ https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/international-con-artist-arrested-on-fraud-charges-in-northcote-20231026-p5effh.html https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-57284621 https://www.9news.com.au/national/melbourne-news-alleged-con-artist-samantha-azzopardi-withdraws-bail-application/1aa9adac-602d-4d36-a8f0-495c133720e7 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Danny covers the mysterious story of Australian conwoman Melissa Caddick. After falling victim to a romance scam in her early 20s, she pivoted to becoming a scammer herself, cheating friends and family out of millions. As the law began to catch up with her, Melissa mysteriously disappeared, only for a disembodied foot matching her DNA to wash up on the beach months later. Danny gets into the ins and outs of Melissa's scams and disappearance, as well as the theories about whether or not she faked her own death. SOURCES: https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/25/australia/australia-melissa-caddick-fraud-coroner-death-intl-hnk/index.html https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/26/the-lady-vanishes-fraudster-melissa-caddick-is-dead-but-the-intrigue-lives-on https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-forever-friend-the-former-boss-the-ex-husband-the-early-victims-of-fraudster-melissa-caddick-20210304-p577wo.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sara is joined by Betches News director Amanda Duberman to unpack the 2nd season of MAX's docuseries The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, which focuses on Natalia's side of the story. Sara and Amanda get into it all: Natalia's traumatic experiences with the Barnett family, how things unfolded with her new family, the Mans, the "twist" ending, and and why this style of docuseries is so manipulative. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ahead of Netflix's American Nightmare, dropping on January 17th, we're taking a look back at Sara and Danny's interview with Denise Huskins & Aaron Quinn, the subjects of this three-part docuseries . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sara and Danny are back with some top-of-the-year crime updates. First, Gypsy Rose Blanchard is out of prison after 8 years, and making waves on social media with comments about her husband Ryan. Next, the first batch of long-awaited court documents pertaining to Jeffrey Epstein have been released, with a number of high profile names mentioned. And finally, Andy Cohen claps back at Jen Shah's IG post from prison. SOURCES: https://www.eonline.com/news/1392322/gypsy-rose-blanchard-defends-husband-ryan-anderson-from-jealous-haters https://www.yahoo.com/news/names-more-170-jeffrey-epstein-235431140.html https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/03/business/jeffrey-epstein-documents-list-names/index.html https://www.yahoo.com/news/clinton-trump-named-jeffrey-epstein-002504706.html https://apnews.com/article/jeffrey-epstein-ghislaine-maxwell-virginia-giuffre-3af500d4788ad45301be426628846d71 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/03/jeffrey-epstein-list-names-released https://people.com/andy-cohen-reacts-after-jen-shah-slams-rhoslc-finale-8422054 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ahead of The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks, dropping tonight on MAX, here's a look back to Sara and Danny's recap of the previous 6 part series in 2023. The Curious Case Of Natalia Grace dives into the Barnett family and the strange events that unfolded starting from Natalia's adoption, to the suspicions about her age, police involvement, Natalia's birth family in Ukraine, and the child abandonment trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sara and Danny are back with some holiday scams you should be aware of: gift cards, QR codes, "Smishing," ChatGPT, and a pyramid scheme gift exchange. SOURCES: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/shopping/2023/12/11/gift-card-scam-card-draining-holiday-shoppers-christmas/71876923007/ https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2023/12/scammers-hide-harmful-links-qr-codes-steal-your-information https://www.axios.com/2023/12/12/beware-chatgpt-holiday-scams https://bucks.crimewatchpa.com/newbritaintwppd/34878/post/gift-card-tampering-card-draining-scam?fbclid=IwAR2UjH5BtX7_7N0gz0Sbm49SLwsK5uV9uBH4EtHUUafZt7VNlDmEEdTAeOk https://www.bbb.org/article/scams/18854-bbb-warning-secret-sister-gift-exchange-is-illegal Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sara and Danny are joined by Ashley Randele, co-host of the new podcast Smokescreen: My Fugitive Dad. At 38 years old, Ashley learned that her father, Thomas Randele, was a bank robber and fugitive by the name of Ted Conrad. Ashley shares her experience of making this docuseries, what it was like investigating her own father's past, and what listeners can look forward to in upcoming episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices