A narrative true-crime podcast that uses immersive storytelling, archival audio, and cinematic sound design to explore the world of white-collar crime, con artists, and corporate evil. From Ponzi schemes and financial fraud to environmental disasters and political scandals, each story reveals how greed, deception, and the pursuit of power have shaped our world—often with devastating consequences. Become a ValuedListener™ at ValuedListener.com
Originally published November 29, 2025. An imposter uses a stolen name for 30 years, sparking a bizarre struggle between two men to prove who truly owns the identity. –––-–---------------------------------------- BECOME A VALUEDLISTENER™ Spotify Patreon Apple Podcasts –––-–---------------------------------------- CONSUME : Shop.Swindled.com –––-–---------------------------------------- MUSIC : Deformr –––-–---------------------------------------- FOLLOW : SwindledPodcast.com Instagram TikTok Thanks for listening. :-)
A self-proclaimed visionary's promise to revolutionize the trucking industry is revealed to be an "intricate fraud." Prelude: The arrival of Lordstown Motors revitalizes a small Ohio town. –––-–---------------------------------------- BECOME A VALUEDLISTENER™ Spotify Patreon Apple Podcasts –––-–---------------------------------------- CONSUME : Shop.Swindled.com –––-–---------------------------------------- MUSIC : Deformr –––-–---------------------------------------- FOLLOW : SwindledPodcast.com Instagram TikTok Thanks for listening. :-)
Originally published September 11, 2021 A Virginia-based peanut processing company unleashes one of the most massive and lethal food-borne contamination events in United States history. Prelude: The Jensen brothers are charged with crimes after a deadly listeria outbreak. –––-–---------------------------------------- BECOME A VALUEDLISTENER™ Spotify Patreon Apple Podcasts –––-–---------------------------------------- CONSUME : Shop.Swindled.com –––-–---------------------------------------- MUSIC : Deformr –––-–---------------------------------------- FOLLOW : SwindledPodcast.com Instagram TikTok Thanks for listening. :-)
A small Missouri town faces a compounded catastrophe as a devastating flood follows the discovery of toxic contamination. Prelude: A mysterious illness attacks the horses and humans at Shenandoah Stables. –––-–---------------------------------------- BECOME A VALUEDLISTENER™ Spotify Patreon Apple Podcasts –––-–---------------------------------------- CONSUME : Shop.Swindled.com –––-–---------------------------------------- MUSIC : Deformr –––-–---------------------------------------- FOLLOW : SwindledPodcast.com Instagram TikTok Thanks for listening. :-)
An offshore maintenance job in Trinidad & Tobago turns into a deadly catastrophe when divers are violently sucked into an oil pipeline. Prelude: Trinidad's oil industry is scrutinized after fourteen men are killed in an offshore explosion in 1985. –––-–---------------------------------------- BECOME A VALUEDLISTENER™ Spotify Patreon Apple Podcasts –––-–---------------------------------------- CONSUME : Shop.Swindled.com –––-–---------------------------------------- MUSIC : Deformr –––-–---------------------------------------- FOLLOW : SwindledPodcast.com Instagram TikTok Thanks for listening. :-)
Indianapolis' most prominent businessman scrambles to preserve the elaborate financial fraud that funds his lavish lifestyle. Prelude: The CEO of National Lampoon orchestrates a scheme to manipulate the company's stock price. –––-–---------------------------------------- BECOME A VALUEDLISTENER™ Spotify Patreon Apple Podcasts –––-–---------------------------------------- CONSUME : Shop.Swindled.com –––-–---------------------------------------- MUSIC : Deformr –––-–---------------------------------------- FOLLOW : SwindledPodcast.com Instagram TikTok Thanks for listening. :-)
A modern faith healer's scandal-plagued ministry faces accusations of forced labor and money laundering. Prelude: Kathryn Kuhlman's miracle healings are analyzed and imitated. –––-–---------------------------------------- BECOME A VALUEDLISTENER™ Spotify Patreon Apple Podcasts –––-–---------------------------------------- CONSUME : Shop.Swindled.com –––-–---------------------------------------- MUSIC : Deformr –––-–---------------------------------------- FOLLOW : SwindledPodcast.com Instagram TikTok Thanks for listening. :-)
Twin brothers in Florida become pioneers of a pain clinic industry that fuels a nationwide opioid epidemic. Prelude: Purdue Pharma introduces its new, extended-release painkiller called OxyContin. –––-–---------------------------------------- BECOME A VALUEDLISTENER™ Spotify Patreon Apple Podcasts –––-–---------------------------------------- CONSUME : Shop.Swindled.com –––-–---------------------------------------- MUSIC : Deformr –––-–---------------------------------------- FOLLOW : SwindledPodcast.com Instagram TikTok Thanks for listening. :-)
Originally published April 17, 2022. The quest to build the world's tallest water slide ends in tragedy. Prelude: A 14-year-old boy dies after falling from an amusement ride in Florida. –––-–---------------------------------------- BECOME A VALUEDLISTENER™ Spotify Patreon Apple Podcasts –––-–---------------------------------------- CONSUME : Shop.Swindled.com –––-–---------------------------------------- MUSIC : Deformr –––-–---------------------------------------- FOLLOW : SwindledPodcast.com Instagram TikTok Thanks for listening. :-)
The leaked files of a Panamanian law firm offer a glimpse into the offshore economy used by politicians, criminals, and celebrities to hide wealth, evade taxes, and launder money. Prelude: The assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, Malta's most feared investigative journalist. –––-–---------------------------------------- BECOME A VALUEDLISTENER™ Spotify Patreon Apple Podcasts –––-–---------------------------------------- CONSUME : Shop.Swindled.com –––-–---------------------------------------- MUSIC : Deformr –––-–---------------------------------------- FOLLOW : SwindledPodcast.com Instagram TikTok Thanks for listening. :-)
Originally published July 9, 2024. A Virginia governor and his wife are indicted after receiving lavish gifts from a local businessman. –––-–---------------------------------------- BECOME A VALUEDLISTENER™ Spotify Patreon Apple Podcasts –––-–---------------------------------------- CONSUME : Shop.Swindled.com –––-–---------------------------------------- MUSIC : Deformr –––-–---------------------------------------- FOLLOW : SwindledPodcast.com Instagram TikTok Thanks for listening. :-)
A tiny Calgary-based exploration company ignites a global market frenzy when it discovers the world's largest gold deposit before collapsing into one of the biggest frauds in mining history. Prelude: The "Bushman of the Shuswap" flees society after uncovering a massive conspiracy. –––-–---------------------------------------- BECOME A VALUEDLISTENER™ Spotify Patreon Apple Podcasts –––-–---------------------------------------- CONSUME : Shop.Swindled.com –––-–---------------------------------------- MUSIC : Deformr –––-–---------------------------------------- FOLLOW : SwindledPodcast.com Instagram TikTok Thanks for listening. :-)
A newly elected congressman is expelled and prosecuted for financial crimes after his elaborate web of personal and professional lies unravels. Prelude: JP Maroney's inventive "digital marketing arbitrage" is revealed to be a Ponzi scheme. –––-–---------------------------------------- BECOME A VALUEDLISTENER™ Spotify Patreon Apple Podcasts –––-–---------------------------------------- CONSUME : Shop.Swindled.com –––-–---------------------------------------- MUSIC : Deformr –––-–---------------------------------------- FOLLOW : SwindledPodcast.com Instagram TikTok Thanks for listening. :-)
Originally published February 11, 2025. A prominent Christian businessman operates a massive, "too-good-to-be-true," charity-based Ponzi scheme. –––-–---------------------------------------- BECOME A VALUEDLISTENER™ Spotify Patreon Apple Podcasts –––-–---------------------------------------- CONSUME : Shop.Swindled.com –––-–---------------------------------------- MUSIC : Deformr –––-–---------------------------------------- FOLLOW : SwindledPodcast.com Instagram TikTok Thanks for listening. :-)
A catastrophic contamination strikes Michigan when an industrial chemical (PBB) is mistakenly mixed into cattle feed. Prelude: Workers at a Texas chemical plant are turned into “zombies" after exposure to the toxic pesticide Phosvel. –––-–---------------------------------------- BECOME A VALUEDLISTENER™ Spotify Patreon Apple Podcasts –––-–---------------------------------------- CONSUME : Shop.Swindled.com –––-–---------------------------------------- MUSIC : Deformr –––-–---------------------------------------- FOLLOW : SwindledPodcast.com Instagram TikTok Thanks for listening. :-)
A proposed libertarian paradise in the Chilean countryside devolves into a spectacle of betrayal and broken promises. Prelude: Lazarus Long's Principality of New Utopia. –––-–---------------------------------------- BECOME A VALUEDLISTENER™ Spotify Patreon Apple Podcasts –––-–---------------------------------------- CONSUME : Shop.Swindled.com –––-–---------------------------------------- MUSIC : Deformr –––-–---------------------------------------- FOLLOW : SwindledPodcast.com Instagram TikTok Thanks for listening. :-)
Originally published June 5, 2022. The untimely death of an outspoken advocate for foster children reveals his despicable double life. Prelude: A tragedy occurs after a woman in Rhode Island adopts eight children with developmental issues. –––-–---------------------------------------- BECOME A VALUEDLISTENER™ Spotify Patreon Apple Podcasts –––-–---------------------------------------- CONSUME : Shop.Swindled.com –––-–---------------------------------------- MUSIC : Deformr –––-–---------------------------------------- FOLLOW : SwindledPodcast.com Instagram TikTok Thanks for listening. :-)
A self-proclaimed “socially conscious” entrepreneur uses church seminars and motivational speeches to lure investors into a nationwide Ponzi scheme. Prelude: "King" Perry Santillo and Chris Parris perpetuate a financial fraud to which they had fallen victim. –––-–---------------------------------------- BECOME A VALUEDLISTENER™ Spotify Patreon Apple Podcasts –––-–---------------------------------------- CONSUME : Shop.Swindled.com –––-–---------------------------------------- MUSIC : Deformr –––-–---------------------------------------- FOLLOW : SwindledPodcast.com Instagram TikTok Thanks for listening. :-)
A tourism industry's ugly past is revealed after a "duck boat" sinks on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri, during a storm. Prelude: The sinking of Miss Majestic in Hot Springs, Arkansas. –––-–---------------------------------------- BECOME A VALUEDLISTENER™ Spotify Patreon Apple Podcasts –––-–---------------------------------------- CONSUME : Shop.Swindled.com –––-–---------------------------------------- MUSIC : Deformr –––-–---------------------------------------- FOLLOW : SwindledPodcast.com Instagram TikTok Thanks for listening. :-)
A Fort Lauderdale lawyer's ostentatious lifestyle is supported by the largest Ponzi scheme in Florida history. Prelude: The body of attorney Melissa Britt Lewis is found in a Florida canal. –––-–---------------------------------------- BECOME A VALUEDLISTENER™ Spotify Patreon Apple Podcasts –––-–---------------------------------------- CONSUME : Shop.Swindled.com –––-–---------------------------------------- MUSIC : Deformr –––-–---------------------------------------- FOLLOW : SwindledPodcast.com Instagram TikTok Thanks for listening. :-)
Producer's note
Steal the structure. Not the show.
Keep the useful structure, then change the audience, point of view, and voice until the idea is unmistakably yours.
