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The Last Podcast Network

Fraudsters is a true-crime comedy docuseries. Comedians Seena Ghaznavi, JD, Justin Williams, PhD, and Ariel Leaty bring you the scams you love from the fraudsters we hate. Our show merges the chat-cast and the deep-dive to take a humorous look at fraudsters that abuse trust, distort reality, and take advantage of vulnerable people financially. 

Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of Fraudsters ad-free. 
Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

Fraudsters

What, you thought we were done talking about The War on Drugs?! Well, think again! We’re back with a special epilogue and we're diving into Operation Pipe Dreams, the infamous federal investigation that led to the arrest of Tommy Chong. Join us as we explore how this operation led by John Ashcroft and Mary Beth Buchanon targeted businesses selling drug paraphernalia across the country. We sit down with journalist Brian Conway for an in-depth look at the operation's impact, and Tommy Chong himself alongside his son, Paris, who share their experience getting busted and reflect on the evolving war on drugs. It's a wild ride through one of the most notable moments in the history of drug enforcement.

Follow The Show: 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/fraudstersLPN

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fraudsterslpn/

Discord: https://discord.gg/WRZ8zgusPT

Website: https://fraudsters.fm/

 

Follow the Hosts: https://www.instagram.com/seenanow/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/justin_williams_comedy

https://twitter.com/arielleaty 

 

Follow our Guests:

https://www.instagram.com/heytommychong/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/paristchong/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/elbrayanmiguel/

https://www.instagram.com/pghindependent/

 

 

Sources:

https://www.laweekly.com/chong-family-values/

https://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/pr/2003/February/03_crm_106.htm

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/operation-pipe-dream-10-y_b_2745740

https://collider.com/the-wolf-of-wall-street-jordan-belfort-tommy-chong/

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/real-wolf-wall-street-lived-190304316.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAALUINWjWcu9pmFFwl1XO5zewBMO7I0sXu_qS8YEWYEixh5aJ4UDIIqFJdR06DFb2gbD5B6i09_gPwroh-Z6gvveQYz2JQMzRKxBYKyTtQKjnya-3ud1iCd6YPnkTIzjIKrkT8MC94tyWOl1vH0xVd2-vAjm1HMR1xk70YEw7Mmh2&guccounter=2

https://www.legistorm.com/stormfeed/view_rss/385742/organization/95775/title/operations-pipe-dreams-and-headhunter-put-illegal-drug-paraphernalia-sellers-out-of-business.html

https://www.c-span.org/program/news-conference/anti-drug-initiatives/123135

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihDXmNzc9JA&t=40s

Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of Fraudsters ad-free. 
Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

Operation Pipe Dreams and the Take Down of Tommy Chong

In the final episode of our series on the war on drugs, we take a look at the present and future of this crisis with some help from Montel Williams and Dr. Sheila Vakharia. Yasmin Cader (ACLU) and Kris Henning (Georgetown Law) return for a roundtable discussion to offer their insight on the current state of the war on drugs and offer a hopeful outlook. From policy failures to glimmers of reform, we wonder, where do we go from here?

Stay tuned for bonus content with full interviews!

Follow The Show: 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/fraudstersLPN

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fraudsterslpn/

Discord: https://discord.gg/WRZ8zgusPT

Website: https://fraudsters.fm/

 

Follow the Hosts: https://www.instagram.com/seenanow/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/justin_williams_comedy

https://twitter.com/arielleaty 

 

Check out The Harm Reduction Gap by Dr. Sheila Vakharia and Let’s Be Blunt with Montel Williams 

 

Follow our Guests:

https://www.instagram.com/montel_williams/?hl=en

https://x.com/Montel_Williams

https://www.instagram.com/myharmreduction/?hl=en

https://x.com/myharmreduction

https://www.instagram.com/yasmin_cader/?hl=en

https://x.com/profkrishenning

Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of Fraudsters ad-free. 
Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

Where Are We Now?

Welcome to the land of bonus episodes, where we release long-form interviews with a variety of guests about the war on drugs that we recorded in the summer of 2024. Here is our interview with Montel Williams. Now the host of Let’s Be Blunt, the number one rated Cannabis podcast in 2023, Montel Williams was a Marine and Navy officer where he undertook rescue missions and earned multiple medals of distinction. He then transitioned into the world of television where he became a household name with The Montel Williams Show, winning an Emmy in 1996 for Outstanding Talk Show Host. As you’ll hear in this interview, his show often tackled tough, controversial subjects, including the war on drugs and CIA involvement. We’ll hear about his transition from military service to talk show host, how his MS diagnosis led him to become an advocate of cannabis, and how the US used racism to perpetuate the war on drugs.

 

Follow The Show: 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/fraudstersLPN

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fraudsterslpn/

Discord: https://discord.gg/WRZ8zgusPT

Website: https://fraudsters.fm/

 

Follow the Hosts: https://www.instagram.com/seenanow/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/justin_williams_comedy

https://twitter.com/arielleaty 

 

Check out Let’s Be Blunt with Montel Williams: www.letsbebluntmontel.com

 

Follow our Guests:

https://www.instagram.com/montel_williams/?hl=en

https://x.com/Montel_Williams

Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of Fraudsters ad-free. 
Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

'The Boogeyman' with Montel Williams

This week, we’re talking all things drug policy, harm reduction, and the lingering effects of the War on Drugs with our special guest, Dr. Sheila Vakharia. Dr. Vakharia is the Deputy Director of Research and Academic Engagement at the Drug Policy Alliance, which is a fantastic organization that addresses the harms of drug use and drug criminalization through policy solutions, organizing, and public education. Dr. Vakharia is also a harm reductionist, social worker, and author of “The Harm Reduction Gap”. Listen as Dr. Vakharia shares stories from her book and personal experiences, including working at a Syringe Service Program and the challenges of advocating for harm reduction in a system designed to perpetuate stigma. And we take a look at what’s next: progressive decriminalization efforts, lessons from Oregon’s missteps, and how the average person can make a difference.

Follow The Show: 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/fraudstersLPN

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fraudsterslpn/

Discord: https://discord.gg/WRZ8zgusPT

Website: https://fraudsters.fm/

 

Follow the Hosts: https://www.instagram.com/seenanow/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/justin_williams_comedy

https://twitter.com/arielleaty 

 

Follow our Guest:

https://www.instagram.com/myharmreduction/?hl=en

https://x.com/myharmreduction

 

Check out The Harm Reduction Gap by Dr. Sheila Vakharia: https://www.routledge.com/The-Harm-Reduction-Gap-Helping-Individuals-Left-Behind-by-Conventional/Vakharia/p/book/9781032294735

Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of Fraudsters ad-free. 
Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

‘The Harm Reduction Gap’ with Dr. Sheila Vakharia

In this week’s bonus interview, we sit down with Yasmin Cader, Deputy Director of the ACLU and Director of the Trone Center for Justice and Equality, to explore the lasting impact of the War on Drugs on the U.S. criminal justice system. Yasmin shares what led her to become a public defender and her experiences practicing in D.C., NYC, and L.A. at the height of mass incarceration. We dive into the role of punitive drug laws, racial disparities in enforcement, police militarization, and the myths surrounding mass incarceration. Finally, we discuss the critical work being done to challenge the prison industrial complex and explore real solutions for drug policy reform.

Follow The Show: 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/fraudstersLPN

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fraudsterslpn/

Discord: https://discord.gg/WRZ8zgusPT

Website: https://fraudsters.fm/

 

Follow the Hosts: https://www.instagram.com/seenanow/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/justin_williams_comedy

https://twitter.com/arielleaty 

 

Follow our Guest:

https://www.instagram.com/yasmin_cader/?hl=en

Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of Fraudsters ad-free. 
Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

Policing, Prisons, and Policy with the ACLU’s Yasmin Cader

Blume Professor of Law and Director of the Juvenile Justice Clinic and Initiative at Georgetown Law, Kris Henning, sat down with us over Zoom in the summer of 2024 to talk about the War on Drugs. She spoke about what led to her writing her book, “The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth,” how drug policies have affected kids in juvenile court and detention centers, the importance of language, and the role dehumanization plays in the War on Drugs.

Follow The Show: 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/fraudstersLPN

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fraudsterslpn/

Discord: https://discord.gg/WRZ8zgusPT

Website: https://fraudsters.fm/

 

Follow the Hosts: https://www.instagram.com/seenanow/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/justin_williams_comedy

https://twitter.com/arielleaty 

 

Follow our Guest:

https://x.com/profkrishenning

https://www.instagram.com/profkrishenning/

 

Check out ‘The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth’ by Kris Henning here: https://www.amazon.com/Rage-Innocence-America-Criminalizes-Black/dp/1524748900

Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of Fraudsters ad-free. 
Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

The Criminalization of Black Youth, Mass Incarceration, and Undoing the Damage with Kris Henning

This week’s bonus episode is an interview with Marsha Levick, the co-founder and Chief Legal Officer of the Juvenile Law Center. We dive into the infamous Kids for Cash scandal—how it was exposed, the fight for justice, and the larger patterns of corruption that allow people to profit from locking up kids. We also explore the devastating impact of the War on Drugs on juvenile incarceration, the dehumanization of youth in the system, and how policing and policy have evolved from Reagan to today. Where have we made progress, and what work still needs to be done?

 

Follow The Show: 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/fraudstersLPN

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fraudsterslpn/

Discord: https://discord.gg/WRZ8zgusPT

Website: https://fraudsters.fm/

 

Follow the Hosts: https://www.instagram.com/seenanow/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/justin_williams_comedy

https://twitter.com/arielleaty 

 

Follow our Guest:

https://x.com/marshalevick?lang=en

Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of Fraudsters ad-free. 
Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

Diving Deep into the Kids for Cash Scandal with Marsha Levick

For our very last bonus episode of Season 5, we have an interview with Tommy and Paris Chong. And for the kids listening to the show, Tommy Chong is a Canadian-American comedian, actor, and activist, mostly known for his weed humor with comedian Cheech Marin and their classic stoner movies like Up in Smoke and Nice Dreams. In this interview, you’ll hear how Tommy got into comedy, what it was like for Paris to grow up as Tommy Chong’s son, and how they got into the business of selling bongs together, which of course led to Tommy’s arrest in 2003, as part of Operation Pipe Dreams. It’s a wild one, man!

 

Follow The Show: 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/fraudstersLPN

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fraudsterslpn/

Discord: https://discord.gg/WRZ8zgusPT

Website: https://fraudsters.fm/

 

Follow the Hosts: https://www.instagram.com/seenanow/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/justin_williams_comedy

https://twitter.com/arielleaty 

 

Follow our Guests:

https://www.instagram.com/heytommychong/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/paristchong/?hl=en

Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of Fraudsters ad-free. 
Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

Stoned as Can Be with Tommy and Paris Chong

We're kicking off this podcast with a billion-dollar scam that only old-school kids will recall! Miss Cleo and the Psychic Readers Network’s case is so full of questions and hilarious highlights that we decided to cover it for our pilot episode. Are big-time fraudsters sociopaths or psychopaths? Did Miss Cleo take off her false identity veil at some point? We explain how her phone scams worked and why her Jamaican accent and identity were totally fake. We also take a look at Miss Cleo’s last interview on The Gabby Bendel Show and why she couldn’t use her classic alias anymore.

TIMESTAMPS

(0:47) - An epic introduction to the show: Is fraud essentially a human problem? Is this podcast going to help at all? 

(4:30) - Get to know our very first featured fraudster! Are you old enough to know who Miss Cleo is? If not, here’s her complete bio.

(9:36) - ‘Keep these people on the line for as long as possible': This is how the Psychic Readers Network scam worked.

(15:03) - Discussing what might be the most insidious thing about this billion dollar hoax and if real psychics really exist.

(23:14) - Where did Miss Cleo's motivations arised? Life before phone scamming, nonprofits and acting.

(30:50) - Psychic readers, assemble! How Miss Cleo joined the Psychic Readers Network in Florida.

(35:54) - On Miss Cleo’s last interview on The Gabby Bendel Show and why she couldn’t use her classic alias anymore.

(38:51) - Going over Miss Cleo’s book Keepin' It Real - A Practical Guide for Spiritual Living, her political comments and fake Jamaican roots. 

(47:50) - How Miss Cleo mastered the art of taking advantage of systematic vulnerabilities to sell stuff.

(52:58) - Taking a look at Comedy Central’s branded content with Miss Cleo for a cosmetic company.

(58:07) - The alternate reality idea that some people can create around them, Miss Cleo’s last attempt to profit and this episode’s conclusions.

RESOURCES

Miss Cleo’s last interview on The Gabby Bendel Show (video)

Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of Fraudsters ad-free. 
Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

The Psychic Readers Network Part I – CLEO 2020

In this second part of the Psychic Readers Network series we go deep into how the Federal Trade Commission addressed these phone frauds with an expert guest who joins the show to detail PRN’s false advertising and abusive marketing practices. We also invited a retired phone actor who wanted to be a phone psychic as a summer job in 2001. He actually wrote an article for the New York Times about it. He shares everything about the wonderful work environment and why it’s almost like being a cheap therapist. Why did people call in? What is behind the power of attraction behind charming characters like Miss Cleo? Listen and find out, we promise we won’t charge you a single penny (for the first three minutes).

TIMESTAMPS

(0:47) - Miss Cleo’s case recap: The right to work in the spirit-psychic world and lie to yourself ad-nauseam.

(8:40) - The FTC’s verdict: PRN abusive marketing techniques and how the State manages expenses and penalties 

(16:03) - What was it like to be a psychic for the PRN? A retired phone psychic’s testimony of how easy it is to get in this world.

(25:04) - A long time before the first call: How a day in the office for a new phone physic looks like. 

(32:44) - Fake voices, made-up personas, the moral consequences of making harm and how to actually make money out of this hoax.

(42:17) - Why did people call in? What is behind the power of attraction behind charming characters like Miss Cleo?

(49:00) - Episode conclusions: Ms. Santa’s Hotline, classic psychic tricks and final Miss Cleo clips on broke callers and legal implications.

RESOURCES

I Was a Hotline Psychic for Miss Cleo (read)

Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of Fraudsters ad-free. 
Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

The Psychic Readers Network Part II - Great Fraud, Bad Psychics, Rich Dudes

Is the Second Amendment, a fraud? For this episode, we discuss how the Second Amendment has been distorted throughout the years. Also, we go through the NRA’s evolution and recall some of Wayne LaPierre's most memorable fraudster moves! Our guest is none other than writer, host and co-creator of Studio 360, and super New Yorker, Kurt Andersen, who shares with us how his book, Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire, became a reality. Tune in as we address how America got armed, how it happened, and when exactly did we lose control.

TIMESTAMPS

(3:30) - What is the NRA? How did it go from a training program for young men at the wake of the civil war to having legislative affairs?

(9:07) - The 60’s, a decade where pivotal events for gun regulation occur. 

(16:07) - People are afraid of armed people! So, what do they do? Buy more guns.

(18:22) - The beginnings of Wayne LaPierre.

(20:51) - The Cincinnati Revolt of 1977 at the NRA convention.

(26:17) - Kurt Andersen shares with us how his book Fantasyland came to be and how the NRA and guns are like a religion or a death cult. 

(33:05) - The evolution of the NRA according to Kurt Andersen.

(38:54) - Take a look at Wayne LaPierre as head of the NRA and a fundraising letter he wrote when the Brady Bill got passed. 

(58:04) - What did the Chief Justice appointed by Nixon mean when he complained that the Second Amendment “has been the subject of one of the greatest pieces of fraud”?

(1:04:28) - Stephen Halbrook and other examples of the type of writing that permeated the entire gun rights community. 

(1:16:13) - The distortion of the Second Amendment and melding with the Supreme Court.

RESOURCES

Jason Bellini on Linkedin

Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History by Kurt Andersen

Kurt Andersen’s website

Kurt Andersen on Twitter

Kurt Andersen on Facebook

Allow Me To Retort by Elie Mystal

Elie Mystal on Twitter

Elie Mystal on LinkedIn

www.oyez.org (visit)

Frontline, NRA Under Fire

Frank Smyth, The NRA: An Unauthorized History

Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of Fraudsters ad-free. 
Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

Wayne LaPierre Part II - The NRA (re)Evolution and Mind Melds with the Supreme Court

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