The Con - General Discussion

[DanaK]

Season finale tonight

[mamadrama]

20 minutes ago, DanaK said:

Season finale tonight

What's the topic? 

[DanaK]

2 minutes ago, mamadrama said:

What's the topic? 

"The Hollywood Con" - Someone pretends to be a Hollywood executive http://thefutoncritic.com/listings/20210326abc03/&date=03/31/2021&filter=premieres

[EtheltoTillie]

This is really interesting so far. What’s the scam?  Just an insane catfish?

[Madding crowd]

This Con episode was kind of confusing and they didn’t have many answers. Was the screenwriter rich that he could spend $80,000 flying to Jakarta all those times? Wouldn’t he realize something was wrong after the first time? Was the makeup artist going to be kidnapped? How was the scammer getting the money from the Jakarta trips? Too much unknown for this to be truly satisfying.

[mamadrama]

1 hour ago, Madding crowd said:

This Con episode was kind of confusing and they didn’t have many answers. Was the screenwriter rich that he could spend $80,000 flying to Jakarta all those times? Wouldn’t he realize something was wrong after the first time? Was the makeup artist going to be kidnapped? How was the scammer getting the money from the Jakarta trips? Too much unknown for this to be truly satisfying.

In the Vanity Fair article with the podcasters the screenwriter said that his parents fronted most of the money. Because he was actually meeting the guy in person it felt more real. I'm wondering about the kidnapping myself. 

[eel21788]

On 3/31/2021 at 11:16 AM, DanaK said:

Season finale tonight

I hope we at least get some reruns. I missed the episodes that aired last fall.

[DanaK]

29 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

I hope we at least get some reruns. I missed the episodes that aired last fall.

It appears to be streaming on Hulu if you have that, as well as at ABC.com

[eel21788]

Just now, DanaK said:

It appears to be streaming on Hulu if you have that, as well as at ABC.com

Thankx, but that involves too much effort on my part. I just want to turn the TV on and maybe change the channel.

[DanaK]

18 hours ago, eel21788 said:

Thankx, but that involves too much effort on my part. I just want to turn the TV on and maybe change the channel.

A Roku or something similar may allow you to stream on your TV if it's not too old

[TVbitch]

I wish I could say I was shocked to find out the skeevy con artist masquerading as a woman was actually a man ....but I was not. I know there are a lot of egregious female cons too, but when the power/sex stuff seemed to be the big payoff, I just figured....

He really put in a lot of work to get his jollies. 

 

[OoogleEyes]

On 3/25/2021 at 6:00 PM, mamadrama said:

 

Wine dude, though, may have had a future in wine making. He seemed good at it.

Honestly. He apparently had some talent, why not go legit? 

This Hollywood Con guy....it was just for jollies? That was confusing. I've been pretty bored at times over the past year, but....geeze.  Get help.

[DanaK]

Season 2 premieres Thursday July 28 at 10pm ET on ABC with Whoopi Goldberg returning as narrator. It will be shown on demand and stream on Hulu the next day. Based on the below press release, it sounds like there might be 6 episodes for the season. I rather look forward to the episode on former televangelist Jim Bakker, who has gone off the deep end preaching end of the world stuff and selling crap

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2022/07/25/whoopi-goldberg-takes-viewers-on-a-guided-tour-of-some-of-the-most-stunning-tales-of-deception-when-abc-news-studios-primetime-series-the-con-returns-for-season-two-623524/20220725abc01/

Edited July 26, 2022 by DanaK

[DanaK]

Interesting premiere episode on a pastor turned financial advisor who ran a Ponzi scheme and then faked his own death. Never invest your entire life savings and maybe don’t invest with your minister. People were way too trusting in him, which was especially sad because some trusted him over more professional folk because he was a Christian like them 

[patty1h]

This story was painful - it's devastating to see the people who lost their life savings to the greed of this Aubrey Lee Price pig.  On the other hand, this reminds me of those folks who get into those internet scams - the ones where they want you to pay to get funds out of some Nigerian bank and they'll pay you some astronomical amount for your "help".  They had some greed going on on their side too and they turn a blind eye to the signs that something isn't kosher.

I'm not the forgiving type, so it's always weird when I see people, like the older woman in this episode, say she forgave him.  If I got an apology letter from Price, my blood pressure would spike and send me to the hospital... his apology ain't shit to me.   I'd want him to suffer.

Sidenote:  that "scam expert" Laci Mosley was too extra for me.

[TVbitch]

The wise-cracking, over-amped Laci Mosley was also too extra for me, and I hope she is not going to be a regular on every episode.

Speaking of extra, Aubrey writing 50-page apology and suicide notes to everyone was so OTT. What a narcissist! 

[patty1h]

The Hollywood Mogul Con - I must have missed how Zach Horowitz explained to his childhood friend Chris Krebs how he went from humble smoothie maker to actor to wheeler-dealer investor of multimillion dollar movies. 

I don't remember... did Zach take business courses in college or anything that would give him the background to be moving such large amounts of money, or at least a story that he told people how he got in the position to invest?  I think it was just another case of greed - people being dazzled by the Hollywood connection and Zach's promises of big returns and being willfully blind to how Zach got them paid.  Don't these Ponzi schemers know that at some point the money train will go off the tracks and they'll have to answer to the folks looking for answers.  It's sad that some people can't be satisfied with a nice house and car, they need an obnoxious mega mansion and a Lambo off other folks hard work, and he dragged his wife/kids with him.  I'm sure he hid that $200M good.

[TVbitch]

His friend just said Zach explained it to him in a way that made sense. Um, the guy just totally burned you on the restaurant investment! Why are you even still talking to him?! 

Oh no, it looks like Laci Mosley will be a commentator on every episode. Why do we need her, when we have Whoopi narrating and a bunch of talking heads that are actually connected to the case. Ugh! 

[patty1h]

I was not happy to see Laci Mosley again, TVbitch.   Last week, I wondered if she is some protege or has some other connection to Whoopi or something.  That's the only reason I can see to throw this "scam goddess" on a reputable network crime show.

[LuvMyShows]

On 7/29/2022 at 10:59 PM, TVbitch said:

Speaking of extra, Aubrey writing 50-page apology and suicide notes to everyone was so OTT. What a narcissist! 

You haven't begun to see narcissistic from Aubrey Lee Price until you read some of the excerpts from his book.  This article has excerpts and more background info about him.   https://www.atlantamagazine.com/great-reads/the-many-lives-of-aubrey-lee-price/  Interesting to have also found out that he was a real broker and had worked at impressive brokerage firms.

On 7/29/2022 at 10:59 PM, TVbitch said:

The wise-cracking, over-amped Laci Mosley was also too extra for me, and I hope she is not going to be a regular on every episode.

Maybe because I was late to this franchise, only finding it this season and bingeing all of last season's episodes, that I've noticed through last season's episodes and into this season's, that it seems like her amount of air time has increased with each episode.  Also, she's apparently an actress and comedian, which might explain some of the OTT.

[LuvMyShows]

On 7/29/2022 at 1:27 PM, patty1h said:

I'm not the forgiving type, so it's always weird when I see people, like the older woman in this episode, say she forgave him.  If I got an apology letter from Price, my blood pressure would spike and send me to the hospital... his apology ain't shit to me.   I'd want him to suffer.

Not only did she forgive him, but she said she doesn't think he's a con man!  This guy, who for months created fake financial statements for each one of his clients, and who stole HER ENTIRE LIFE'S SAVINGS and then FAKED HIS DEATH, isn't a con man?  So now she's stocking shelves rather than being retired, and she seems fine with it.  Yeah, not me.

On 8/5/2022 at 2:54 PM, patty1h said:

 I think it was just another case of greed - people being dazzled by the Hollywood connection and Zach's promises of big returns and being willfully blind to how Zach got them paid.  

What I don't understand is seeing an investment that will supposedly pay 45% returns guaranteed, and thinking "OK, this is a sound investment for me and doesn't sound skeevy at all. Let me sink my family's entire livelihood and future into it."

[DanaK]

19 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

Not only did she forgive him, but she said she doesn't think he's a con man!  This guy, who for months created fake financial statements for each one of his clients, and who stole HER ENTIRE LIFE'S SAVINGS and then FAKED HIS DEATH, isn't a con man?  So now she's stocking shelves rather than being retired, and she seems fine with it.  Yeah, not me.

What I don't understand is seeing an investment that will supposedly pay 45% returns guaranteed, and thinking "OK, this is a sound investment for me and doesn't sound skeevy at all. Let me sink my family's entire livelihood and future into it."

On the latter, people get greedy or they don’t really understand investing very much and it sounds good to them

The lady who readily forgave the guy and was ok with stocking shelves sounds like the type who too easily forgives, which is to her detriment since she’s stocking shelves instead of being retired

[patty1h]

So happy that The Sweetheart Swindler Desiree Boltos got 85 years!!! for taking advantage of those old folks who were just looking for love/companionship.   I wondered if she did research on her targets because it seems random that she got so lucky to snag 5+ people with large bank accounts.  Did she just go up to random 70+ men in the hopes that they were downlow wealthy or was she scanning obituaries for recent widowers, etc?    I wonder if they were able to confiscate any funds that Desiree still had not spent and gave it back to those surviving people.

The show left this out (unless I missed it) that the husband got the same sentence as Desiree.  I hope these two spend every day suffering for the mess they made out of their childrens lives. 

Edited August 12, 2022 by patty1h

[UMAngela]

On 8/6/2022 at 1:43 PM, patty1h said:

I was not happy to see Laci Mosley again, TVbitch.   Last week, I wondered if she is some protege or has some other connection to Whoopi or something.  That's the only reason I can see to throw this "scam goddess" on a reputable network crime show.

I have been a faithful listener (a member of the “con-gregation”) since discovering  Laci’s Scam Goddess podcast early in the pandemic. She definitely focuses more entertainment / comedy aspect of the scams, and her energy amuses me. I get that she’s not for everyone, but I think this show approaches these stories with a mix of serious crime story and schadenfreude. 
 

What I’ve learned from all my con-tent consumption is that most everything is a ponzi scheme and if an investment opportunity sounds too good to be true… IT IS. 

Edited August 12, 2022 by UMAngela

[LuvMyShows]

2 hours ago, patty1h said:

So happy that The Sweetheart Swindler Desiree Boltos got 85 years!!! for taking advantage of those old folks who were just looking for love/companionship.   

It is inconceivable to me how she can do that without feeling a bit of remorse for what she's doing to their lives.  

The first thing I think of with sweetheart scams is Kirksey Nix, the guy who was running the "lonely hearts" scam from prison where he would con men he had met by advertising in gay magazines.  He was also jailed for life for killing judge Vince Sherry and his wife Margaret, when Biloxi mayor Pete Halat stole from Nix but made it look like Sherry had done it (Sherry and Halat were law firm partners).  I have seen that case on sooo many franchises.

[nokat]

Seriously these men though, so easily conned.

[howiveaddict]

On 8/9/2022 at 10:30 AM, DanaK said:

On the latter, people get greedy or they don’t really understand investing very much and it sounds good to them

The lady who readily forgave the guy and was ok with stocking shelves sounds like the type who too easily forgives, which is to her detriment since she’s stocking shelves instead of being retired

Hopefully someone doesn't see her on this show and scan her again.

[TVbitch]

I am so glad to see these kinds of life-destroying con people get a REAL prison sentence. It seems like they used to get barely any jail time at all. 

It enrages me when cons take advantage of the elderly who are in that  "easily confused but still independent" stage of life. I wish there were greater protections in place to prevent that. My own dad is 86 and still totally independent, but he has a marked reduction in critical thinking skills. He can't deal with complex situations very well and will just go along. It would be easy to take advantage of him, and it makes me nervous, but what are you gonna do?! 

[nokat]

34 minutes ago, TVbitch said:

It enrages me when cons take advantage of the elderly who are in that  "easily confused but still independent" stage of life.

You and me too. If they won't listen to you all you can do is watch them empty their savings. Not incompetent legally.

[LuvMyShows]

Disappointed in episode 4's con.  Considering how epically huge the $ amount was, it was a pretty boring episode and not much of interest about any of the players.  The most interesting part was actually the very end and finding out that Jho Low is a fugitive.

[patty1h]

Besides the despicable actions of the worthless Jho Low, why does it bother me that almost any celebrity can be bought for the right amount of money?  Three of the wealthiest stars (Paris Hilton, Leo DiCaprio and Britney Spears) are shown being pimped out to this Jho Low, no questions asked, probably never wondering where this dude gets his money.  Miranda Kerr blithely accepting diamonds and gaudy crystal pianos from this shlub.   Come on, sis!

Okay, they don't know he's a thief and maybe they give their fees to a charity but it seems crass that even the mega-rich can be bought and it stinks to know that this creep did this and is hiding.   

[LakeGal]

I got bored and turned off the last episode.  I hope they find more interesting cons in the future.  

[TVbitch]

Regarding the end screen update: How did the FBI come to a $700 million settlement with Jho Low when he is still a fugitive? I cannot believe the FBI lost this guy in the first place?! 

I also found it totally odd that Miranda Kerr is accepting all kinds of diamonds from this dude. Wasn't she married to Orlando Bloom (and his Lord of the Rings' money) at this time and with a child. I mean, for pete's sake, I was uneasy when one of my vendors gave me a $50 gift card! 

[Welshman in Ca]

1 hour ago, TVbitch said:

Regarding the end screen update: How did the FBI come to a $700 million settlement with Jho Low when he is still a fugitive? I cannot believe the FBI lost this guy in the first place?! 

I also found it totally odd that Miranda Kerr is accepting all kinds of diamonds from this dude. Wasn't she married to Orlando Bloom (and his Lord of the Rings' money) at this time and with a child. I mean, for pete's sake, I was uneasy when one of my vendors gave me a $50 gift card! 

Maybe because you have some integrity ?

[LuvMyShows]

On 8/20/2022 at 3:35 PM, TVbitch said:

I also found it totally odd that Miranda Kerr is accepting all kinds of diamonds from this dude. Wasn't she married to Orlando Bloom (and his Lord of the Rings' money) at this time and with a child. I mean, for pete's sake, I was uneasy when one of my vendors gave me a $50 gift card! 

You got me curious so I looked it up...she ended it with Bloom in 2013 and started up with Low in 2014.

[I Want My MBTV]

On 8/19/2022 at 4:40 PM, LuvMyShows said:

Disappointed in episode 4's con.  Considering how epically huge the $ amount was, it was a pretty boring episode and not much of interest about any of the players.  The most interesting part was actually the very end and finding out that Jho Low is a fugitive.

I think part of that was due to not being able to put a 'face' to the victims.  Every other episode (that I've seen) you have the talking heads from the victims but here it was just "the people of Malaysia" which of course does suck but from a viewing perspective is different.  Or the people that invested in the funds and if they had the money to invest and never asked any questions....  but yes, very boring.   They tried to make it exciting with the Hollywood angle and showing Miranda Kerr every 5 minutes but that did not help. 

[patty1h]

I found "The Coupon Con" interesting because I used to pass by that 'Extreme Couponing' show and wonder how someone could shop at a store, get cartloads of products and end up paying like $2 for all that stuff.  However, everybody on that show seemed phony and creepy - so smug on how much they were able to get for pennies on the dollar.  My gut told me that some of this crap was "producer magic".  Also, I hated watching them at the checkout line, gloating over how much they saved.   If it was mentioned that they gave some of all that food, etc. to the poor, I may have not had such dislike of the people the featured each week.  For those reasons, I never stuck around long enough to see how the whole coupon redemption/free stuff process worked.

This episode clarified how coupons are supposed to be used and also how they can get exploited by the likes of the woman exposed here.

Looking forward to next weeks episode on creepy Jim Bakker.

Edited August 26, 2022 by patty1h

[SoMuchTV]

I’m watching the Coupon Con episode because I have a local connection. It’s an interesting story but one of the talking heads is driving me nuts!  She’s a podcaster, I think?  Everything she says is just! Over! The! Top!  I don’t watch too many shows in this genre so maybe that’s just par for the course?

[Whimsy]

On 8/26/2022 at 1:23 PM, patty1h said:

I found "The Coupon Con" interesting because I used to pass by that 'Extreme Couponing' show and wonder how someone could shop at a store, get cartloads of products and end up paying like $2 for all that stuff.  However, everybody on that show seemed phony and creepy - so smug on how much they were able to get for pennies on the dollar.  My gut told me that some of this crap was "producer magic".  Also, I hated watching them at the checkout line, gloating over how much they saved.   If it was mentioned that they gave some of all that food, etc. to the poor, I may have not had such dislike of the people the featured each week.  For those reasons, I never stuck around long enough to see how the whole coupon redemption/free stuff process worked.

This episode clarified how coupons are supposed to be used and also how they can get exploited by the likes of the woman exposed here.

Looking forward to next weeks episode on creepy Jim Bakker.

When that Extreme Couponing show first came out my husband convinced me we needed to do some couponing.  I don’t mean just clip some coupons from your one Sunday paper, but going out and getting stacks of Sunday papers and going through it. That lasted like a month. It’s time consuming and most of the coupons are for stuff we never would’ve bought if it wasn’t for a coupon. I realized it was a waste of time and I never did it like the people on the show where they were paying like $.12 for $800 of groceries or something. What all that made me realize was that we were stocking up on stuff that we didn’t even need. We ended up with tons of stuff we never even used. I did end up donating a lot, but still felt it was a waste of time. 

20 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

I’m watching the Coupon Con episode because I have a local connection. It’s an interesting story but one of the talking heads is driving me nuts!  She’s a podcaster, I think?  Everything she says is just! Over! The! Top!  I don’t watch too many shows in this genre so maybe that’s just par for the course?

She’s been in several of these shows. At least the last  season. Maybe more, but I just really noticed her recently. She is a bit over the top, but she does have some funny comments. 

[howiveaddict]

I used to save coupons, but would always forget to use them.  Or buy something, with a coupon, and never use the product.  

[LuvMyShows]

On 8/26/2022 at 1:23 PM, patty1h said:

For those reasons, I never stuck around long enough to see how the whole coupon redemption/free stuff process worked.

I have watched a few of those shows, and the unique thing that made the insane savings possible, was they were at stores where you could actually get refunded money for coupons.  So if the item was on sale for 85 cents, and you have a $1 coupon, the store will actually refund you 15 cents.  So if you load up on those type of items and savings, for ones that cause greater refund, that's how they got their bill down to such a small amount.  It's not possible any other way if you are doing a real shopping trip where you buy stuff you actually want and need for your house, that includes produce, meats, dairy, etc. for which big-savings coupons are not available.  As opposed to doing a just-for-the-camera shopping trip where you buy only stuff that is on sale, lots of it, with coupons, so that even if you don't get the negative/refund effect, you can still get the price down to under $5 total...as long as you don't mind having loaded up on sh*t that you will never use, and then still will be making your "real" trip later to buy what your family actually uses.

[Sue Anne]

17 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

I have watched a few of those shows, and the unique thing that made the insane savings possible, was they were at stores where you could actually get refunded money for coupons.  So if the item was on sale for 85 cents, and you have a $1 coupon, the store will actually refund you 15 cents.  So if you load up on those type of items and savings, for ones that cause greater refund, that's how they got their bill down to such a small amount.  It's not possible any other way if you are doing a real shopping trip where you buy stuff you actually want and need for your house, that includes produce, meats, dairy, etc. for which big-savings coupons are not available.  As opposed to doing a just-for-the-camera shopping trip where you buy only stuff that is on sale, lots of it, with coupons, so that even if you don't get the negative/refund effect, you can still get the price down to under $5 total...as long as you don't mind having loaded up on sh*t that you will never use, and then still will be making your "real" trip later to buy what your family actually uses.

Yes!  I remember their huge stockpiles of items that didn't always seem like the kind of staples I would need a lot of.  There seemed to be an obsession with bottles of barbeque sauce.  How much of that do most people need?

[Welshman in Ca]

2 hours ago, Sue Anne said:

Yes!  I remember their huge stockpiles of items that didn't always seem like the kind of staples I would need a lot of.  There seemed to be an obsession with bottles of barbeque sauce.  How much of that do most people need?

Nobody said they needed it & from what I've learnt over the years is that a lot do it as a hobby and only keep the things that their extended family would use while giving the rest away to food banks etc and in the case of female products & make up they give most to places that victims of domestic violence run to as they usually are in great need of it and it's expensive.

There was a woman at the start of the pandemic who has now stopped couponing because of the abuse she received for having a huge stock of toilet rolls from shopping trips before the pandemic because people couldn't get any even though she donated almost all of it to charities as soon as there was a shortage. Nobody had even mentioned it before the great toilet roll shortage of  2020 but the hate & abuse she received was ridiculous with people going as far as posting her address & turning up on her doorstep scaring her very young children.

[LuvMyShows]

Jim Bakker, carnival barker and snake oil salesman.  I guess his marks fans have never heard the saying, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them."

[EtheltoTillie]

Wow, glad I randomly saw that this new season was on because someone commented on one of my old posts!  Will start to check it out now. 

[DanaK]

21 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

Jim Bakker, carnival barker and snake oil salesman.  I guess his marks fans have never heard the saying, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them."

Always the con artist I guess, only now he’s more into anti-vax and I think apocalyptic stuff that makes him more dangerous. They really raked him over the coals in this episode

[TVbitch]

I'd love to know what's going on inside this guy. Clearly he has no ethics or morals, and he can't possibly have any kind of religious faith ....or is he totally self-deluded and believes God wants him to lie, steal, cheat, and hurt people. Is he a sociopath? Did he start out this way or get corrupted by cash and power?

[DanaK]

Tonight’s episode has been preempted for a special 20/20 episode on Queen Elizabeth’s passing

[DanaK]

ABC's website and The Futon Critic are indicating that Thursday's preempted episode will be shown tonight (Friday) at 8pm ET

Plus, the Futon Critic is listing it as the season finale. "The Imposter Doctor Con" looks like it will be about a young man who pretended to be a doctor

Edited September 9, 2022 by DanaK

[DanaK]

On the season finale, that was one persistent young man. If he had put all that energy into actually going to medical school or nursing school to become a medical professional, he might have been a decent one. But the theft of that elderly woman's bank account just makes him an outright crook. It's not clear to me whether his pretending to be an osteopath or whatever it was and a holistic medical professional was because that's what he was interested in or because he could just throw a lot of words around and people would believe him and he didn't really have to do real procedures that could harm people