In this episode, Sara and Danny take it all the way back to eighth grade Social Studies and recount the story of the woman who started a Ponzi scheme before it was even a thing. Howe launched a ‘charity’ to help unmarried women (aka Unprotected Females aka millennial Girl Bosses) and got them to make small donations to help her Swanky Bank. Her #gatekeeping was so successful that male reporters literally couldn’t even get inside her building when her business endeavors got suspicious. Unfortunately she wasn’t a #womanhelpingwomen; when her clients demanded their money back, Howe couldn’t pay them back. Then, the NY Times claimed that women shouldn’t be trusted with money. But Howe was anything but stupid. Finally, Sara and Danny finish things off with some trivia: Sarah Howe did it happen?
Sara and Danny are here with a special bonus episode to talk about a few true crime topics hitting the headlines this week! They cover an Austin love triangle with a yoga teacher at the center of it, Jen Shah’s plea in her fraud case, and the verdict of the case agains Sunny Balwani, the former COO of Theranos. Be sure to follow @notanothertruecrime to stay up to date on all of these topics and more as they unfold! RESOURCES: https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/real-housewives-star-jennifer-shah-plead-guilty-fraud/story?id=86601509&cid=social_twitter_abcn https://people.com/crime/sunny-balwani-trial-conclusion/ https://www.oxygen.com/crime-news/kaitlyn-armstrong-capture-costa-rica-details-released https://www.npr.org/2022/05/23/1100721218/cyclist-murder-moriah-wilson-kaitlin-armstrong
Sara and Danny are back to dive into a fundamentalist religion that has been linked to all manner of abuses and scandals: The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The get into the Church’s beginning as an offshoot of Mormonism and all the key players that had a hand in establishing it, including its current leader, Warren Jeffs. No cult is complete without crimes, and they discuss the crimes committed by Jeffs and other members of FLDS, how they were caught, and where the perpetrators are now. To end the show, they play a game of “LDS, or LSD?,” where they try to guess whether certain peculiar situations are either so-called miracles from various religions or acid trips from various pop culture media. RESOURCES: https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/fundamentalist-church-jesus-christ-latter-day-saints https://web.archive.org/web/20100330223759/http://www.fldstruth.org/administration.php?index=8 https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/15/us/mormon-leader-is-survived-by-33-sons-and-a-void.html https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/23/us/23polygamist.html https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/01/us/01polygamy.html https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/26/us/26jeffs.html?ref=warren_s_jeffs
This week, Sara and Danny are joined by Lola Blanc and Meagan Elizabeth from the podcast "Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Beliefs, and the Abuse of Power" to talk all about the scandal that swept through Mormon MomTok. They discuss the Mormon MomToker at the center of it all, Taylor Frankie Paul, and how her unexpected news about her divorce rocked the MomTok world. They also breakdown all details of the scandal, and even explain what "soft swinging" really means. Be sure to check out the Trust Me podcast wherever you get your podcasts! RESOURCES: https://www.insider.com/expert-explains-soft-swinging-how-the-mormon-momtok-drama-unfolded-2022-6 https://www.thecut.com/2022/06/mormon-momtok-swingers-drama-explained.html
This week, Sara and Danny are joined by comedian and writer Dan Perlman to break down the chocolate company whose scandal shook the world of bougie confectionary: Mast Chocolate. They talk all about thecompany used fancy sounding buzzwords like bean-to-bar to fool everyone into thinking that their chocolate was the next big thing, all the while using commercially available chocolate and selling it at a way too high price. Be sure to follow @danperlman and watch Season 2 of his show Flatbush Misdemeanors out now!
Sara and Danny are back to cover a deep cut from 2009, The Hipster Grifter. They talk all about Kari Ferrell’s fraud-fueled journey from Salt Lake City all the way to the hipster capital of the world, Brooklyn. The cover all the scams she did along the way and how on earth she was able to get a job at Vice with just a few simple lies. After that, we’re bringing you all the games from our live show at Union Hall, where Sara and Danny go head to head (with the help of some audience members) to see who will come out on top. Be sure to follow @notanothertruecrime to be sure not to miss our next live show!
Sara and Danny are back to talk about a scam in the 90's that affected over a million people in the US and abroad: the Maria Duval psychic mail scam. They go through all the details of how the scam came to be and how it functioned, and just how it managed to generate over $200 million in revenue by targeting the sick and the elderly. They also get into how the scam was brought down by the US government, and what happened to the fraudsters who perpetrated the scheme. To end the episode, they put their psychic powers of prediction to the test, answering a series of questions about how the rest of the year will unfold! RESOURCES: https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2018/07/investigates/maria-duval-psychic-scam-invs/index.html https://nypost.com/2018/08/25/how-a-psychic-bilked-250m-with-a-simple-mail-scam/ https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/new-york/nyedce/2:2014cv06791/363225/51/ https://money.cnn.com/2016/03/16/news/psychic-maria-duval-chapter-four/index.html https://mon...
Danny and Sara are back to cover the murder of Betty Gore at the hands of Candy Montgomery. They get into all the particulars of the case, and how a quiet neighborhood in Texas was the site of the gruesome murder. They also talk all about the events leading up to the murder, including the affair between Candy and Allan Gore that ultimately led to Betty's murder. They also discuss the bizarrely short trial that followed it, and the Hulu adaptation that just came out. To end the show, they play "I Want Candy!," where they try to name famous candy bars just from their slogans. RESOURCES: https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/love-and-death-in-silicon-prairie-part-i-candy-montgomerys-affair/ https://www.myimperfectlife.com/features/where-is-candy-montgomery-today https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/candy-montgomery-hulu-true-story-jessica-biel-b2082120.html
Sara and Danny are back to talk about a company that's been in the headlines for the wrong reasons: 7M Films, which some allege is a cult. They break down the history of 7M, its church ties, as well as the latest accusations and previous legal troubles. To end the episode, they play a game of "On Pointe!" where they put their knowledge of a very different type of dancing (ballet) to the test. Be sure to follow @notanothertruecrime to find tickets to our upcoming live show on June 5th! RESOURCES: https://www.thecut.com/2022/05/wilking-sisters-7m-allegations.html https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-the-cult-claims-surrounding-miranda-derrick-and-her-tiktok-dance-crew-7m-films
Sara and Danny kick off the episode with some updates on the Brittanee Drexel disappearance, now that we’ve finally gotten some answers. After that, they dive into The Way Down part 2, and talk all about the second installment of the bizarre cult that mixed diet and religion. The get into the new information that was brought to us on the doc, and They also talk about if this second part was even necessary, and why these well known stories get a seemingly endless amount of attention while some other lesser known stories are barely covered. RESOURCES: https://www.foxnews.com/us/georgia-beauty-queen-tara-grinstead-murder-trial https://people.com/crime/georgia-teacher-and-former-beauty-queen-was-killed-17-years-ago-former-student-at-school-is-on-trial/