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Fraudsters

Fraudsters

Fraudsters is an all-you-can-eat buffet of liars, cheaters, and scammers. We cover every flavor of fraud you can imagine from fake psychic hotlines to corporations cookin’ the books. This podcast is a collaboration between Zerocool Media and the Last Podcast Network. Hosted by Seena Ghaznavi and Justin Williams. Produced by Hazel Bryan. Theme music by Simon TaufiQue. Find us on Instagram or Twitter @FraudstersLPN Email us with your thoughts at [email protected]

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1 hr, 11 min•
Tuesday

Where Are We Now?

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/fraudstersLPNInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/fraudsterslpn/Discord: https://discord.gg/WRZ8zgusPTWebsite: https://fraudsters.fm/ Follow the Hosts: https://www.instagram.com/seenanow/?hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/justin_williams_comedyhttps://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=enhttps://x.com/Montel_Williamshttps://www.instagram.com/myharmreduction/?hl=enhttps://x.com/myharmreductionhttps://www.instagram.com/yasmin_cader/?hl=enhttps://x.com/profkrishenning Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to ad-free new episodes.

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57 min•
7 Jan

Operation Pipe Dreams and the Take Down of Tommy Chong

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/fraudstersLPNInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/fraudsterslpn/Discord: https://discord.gg/WRZ8zgusPTWebsite: https://fraudsters.fm/ Follow the Hosts: https://www.instagram.com/seenanow/?hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/justin_williams_comedyhttps://twitter.com/arielleaty  Follow our Guests:https://www.instagram.com/heytommychong/?hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/paristchong/?hl=enhttps://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.htmhttps://www.huffpost.com/entry/operation-pipe-dream-10-y_b_2745740https://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=2https://www.legistorm.com/stormfeed/view_rss/385742/organization/95775/title/operations-pipe-dreams-and-headhunter-put-illegal-drug-paraphernalia-sellers-out-of-business.htmlhttps://www.c-span.org/program/news-conference/anti-drug-initiatives/123135https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihDXmNzc9JA&t=40s Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to ad-free new episodes.

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1 hr, 9 min•
3 Dec 24

A Tale of Two Fraudsters: John Kapoor and The Sacklers

It’s the season finale of Fraudsters, and we’re reluctantly exploring the grim origins of America’s opioid crisis. From the Sackler family’s OxyContin empire, built on shameless marketing, fake science, and philanthropy-as-image-laundering, to John Kapoor’s Insys Pharmaceuticals, a scrappy underdog peddling fentanyl sprays, we unravel the fraud that fueled this epidemic. With half a million deaths, shattered communities, and contrasting fates for these corporate villains, it’s a class war in a pill bottle. Who paid the price—and who walked free?Follow The Show: Twitter: https://twitter.com/fraudstersLPNInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/fraudsterslpn/Discord: https://discord.gg/WRZ8zgusPTWebsite: https://fraudsters.fm/Follow the Hosts: https://www.instagram.com/seenanow/?hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/justin_williams_comedyhttps://twitter.com/arielleaty Sources:https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/13/meet-the-sacklers-the-family-feuding-over-blame-for-the-opioid-crisishttps://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/business/01sackler.htmlhttps://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a12775932/sackler-family-oxycontin/https://theconversation.com/a-dangerous-method-in-defence-of-freuds-psychoanalysis-5989#:~:text=According to Freud's theory%2C mental,caused by early childhood trauma.https://www.bmj.com/content/suppl/2005/07/18/331.7509.DC1https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/12-napp-pharmaceutical-holdings-rhmq8hnpfgxhttps://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sackler-family-oxycontin-opioid-drug-scandal-british-connection-q3wd30s35https://lithub.com/on-terminal-pain-and-the-origins-of-the-end-of-life-movement/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/05/27/obituaries/dr-arthur-sackler-dies-at-73-philanthropist-and-art-patron.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/19/business/raymond-sackler-dead-of-purdue-pharma.htmlal-health-data/https://casetext.com/case/kottayil-v-insys-therapeutics-inc/https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1516479/000143774915019892/R12.htmhttps://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/page/file/947866/dl?inlinehttps://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/page/file/1010246/dl?inlinehttps://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/10/health/insys-opioid-bankruptcy.html?searchResultPosition=6https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/14/business/doubts-raised-about-off-label-use-of-subsys-a-strong-painkiller.html?action=click&module=RelatedCoverage&pgtype=Article®ion=FooterLinks to clips:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaxlJXpwkzshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTR3R2jYw4Q&t=1127shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkeQifzvSNE&t=80shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtwFZwjCSTEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w327H5VNT9Ahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s8kybr-YFU Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to ad-free new episodes.

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1 hr, 19 min•
26 Nov 24

Profiting Off Punishment: The Kids for Cash Scandal

Get ready for one of the most sinister and heartbreaking frauds this week – the Kids for Cash scandal. Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan turned Pennsylvania’s juvenile justice system into their very own cash cow, sentencing kids to private detention centers they secretly profited from. How else are you gonna clear $330,000 of credit card debt…? From denying legal representation to forcing minors into facilities over petty offenses, their scheme destroyed lives for kickbacks. Join us as we unravel their twisted web of greed and power with guests Marsha Levick co-founder of the Juvenile Law Center and Corene Kendrick of the ACLU.Follow The Show:Twitter: https://twitter.com/fraudstersLPNInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/fraudsterslpn/Discord: https://discord.gg/WRZ8zgusPTWebsite: https://fraudsters.fm/ Follow the Hosts: https://www.instagram.com/seenanow/?hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/justin_williams_comedyhttps://twitter.com/arielleaty Follow Our Guests:https://x.com/ck94117https://x.com/marshalevick?lang=en Sources:https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/volume-152/issue-30/extensions-of-remarks-section/article/E330-1https://ursdayton.org/about/https://thearc.org/https://www.timesleader.com/archive/330195/news-local-news-523246-ciavarellas-wife-files-for-divorce-2https://www.timesleader.com/top-stories/816416/ciavarella-denied-compassionate-releasehttps://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/21/us/21judge.html?searchResultPosition=1https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/us/12brfs-JUDGESARECHA_BRF.html?searchResultPosition=13https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/28/us/28judges.htmlhttps://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/national/20090328_judges_charges.pdfhttps://www.newspapers.com/image/535978548/https://www.newspapers.com/image/508543336/https://jlc.org/news/lessons-kids-cash-part-2-all-children-must-have-access-legal-representation-courthttps://jlc.org/cases/am-v-luzerne-county-juvenile-detention-centerhttps://www.newspapers.com/image/504007342/ Clips:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO-bXCdZpMwhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jdhsf1u3JVY Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to ad-free new episodes.

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1 hr, 10 min•
19 Nov 24

It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s the Superpredator Myth!

Picture this: it’s the mid-'90s. Coolio’s Gangsta’s Paradise dominates the airwaves, and America’s crime hysteria is peaking. It’s the perfect time for a new villain to emerge: the “superpredator.” Tune in as we unravel the fear-mongering myth born from flawed statistics, Ivy League arrogance, and moral panic—spearheaded by Princeton professor John DiIulio. We explore how this theory intersected with the 1994 Crime Bill, fueling mass incarceration and devastating policies, with guests Kris Henning (Director of the Juvenile Justice Clinic at Georgetown Law) and Yasmin Cader (Deputy Director at the ACLU). Through stories like Terrance Lewis’s—wrongfully imprisoned for 22 years—we reveal the human cost of a lie that reshaped America’s justice system.Follow The Show:Twitter: https://twitter.com/fraudstersLPNInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/fraudsterslpn/Discord: https://discord.gg/WRZ8zgusPTWebsite: https://fraudsters.fm/ Follow the Hosts: https://www.instagram.com/seenanow/?hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/justin_williams_comedyhttps://twitter.com/arielleaty Follow Our Guests:https://x.com/profkrishenninghttps://www.instagram.com/yasmin_cader/?hl=en Sources:https://www.newsweek.com/did-liberals-put-black-america-behind-bars-297096[↩︎](about:blank#fnref1)Martinson, R. "What works?—questions and answers about prison reform". Public Interest 1974↩︎https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/03/us/politics/bush-willie-horton.html[↩︎](about:blank#fnref3)https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/1992-democratic-party-platform[↩︎](about:blank#fnref4)https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/1994-crime-bill-and-beyond-how-federal-funding-shapes-criminal-justice[↩︎](about:blank#fnref5)https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/6/20/18677998/joe-biden-1994-crime-bill-law-mass-incarceration[↩︎](about:blank#fnref6)Clips:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HY45DY2B8w&t=356shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izRCGHJmg0M&t=1568shttps://www.pbs.org/video/retro-report-on-pbs-season-1-episode-8-correcting-myth-superpredator/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0uCrA7ePno Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to ad-free new episodes.

It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s the Superpredator Myth!
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39 min•
12 Nov 24

One Bag of Crack for Bush Senior, Please!

In the summer of 1989, President George H.W. Bush’s War on Drugs needs a dramatic touch for his first national address: a bag of crack cocaine bought steps from the White House. The DEA zeroes in on Keith Jackson, an unsuspecting young dealer, luring him into a dangerous setup to secure the president’s controversial prop. As Bush’s speech electrifies the nation, Keith faces life-altering consequences, sparking questions about political theater, selective justice, and a deeply flawed system. Tune in now as we dive into the chilling tactics used in America’s zero-tolerance crusade with the help of our guest, journalist Jefferson Morley.Follow The Show:Twitter: https://twitter.com/fraudstersLPNInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/fraudsterslpn/Discord: https://discord.gg/WRZ8zgusPTWebsite: https://fraudsters.fm/ Follow the Hosts: https://www.instagram.com/seenanow/?hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/justin_williams_comedyhttps://twitter.com/arielleaty Follow our guest:https://x.com/jeffersonmorley Sources:https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/tours/scandal/bushdrug.htmhttps://dcplislandora.wrlc.org/islandora/object/dcplislandora%3A347387#page/27/mode/1uphttps://file.notion.so/f/f/35cc2dfe-904c-4092-bad6-96c81acda7c4/dcc370ec-f359-4283-9c22-a5758bb6310a/D.C._STUDENT_IS_GIVEN_10_YEARS_IN_DRUG_CASE_-_The_Washington_Post.pdf?table=block&id=f1fbb853-ea9e-4704-b9ac-aa8350205be6&spaceId=35cc2dfe-904c-4092-bad6-96c81acda7c4&expirationTimestamp=1731456000000&signature=nN7Cu00VPq-ylGpJjuj5KroddB_75ZbPMeXMrcoDxus&downloadName=D.C.+STUDENT+IS+GIVEN+10+YEARS+IN+DRUG+CASE+-+The+Washington+Post.pdfhttps://file.notion.so/f/f/35cc2dfe-904c-4092-bad6-96c81acda7c4/09fe9751-0988-45e8-8b6c-e25736ed042c/isikoff-0922_1989-full-text.pdf?table=block&id=f872be3d-4ad7-40f3-b412-fa8fa2e85de4&spaceId=35cc2dfe-904c-4092-bad6-96c81acda7c4&expirationTimestamp=1731456000000&signature=1wED3CdhQbVdtakW4sOFmGvfGaI2ElYLF9pJx-NjmOs&downloadName=isikoff-0922_1989-full-text.pdfClips:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtlkyBk6rcc&t=1471s Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to ad-free new episodes.

One Bag of Crack for Bush Senior, Please!
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