CrimeLess: "Le Embezzlement"
Podcast: CrimeLess
Hosts: Rory Scovel (comedian) & Josh Dean (journalist, true crime podcaster)
Release Date: December 17, 2025
Main Theme:
A comedic deep dive into a real-life French embezzlement case where a trusted mayor gets swindled by a local psychic—complete with nudist resorts, imaginary friends, ancient Egyptian past lives, and truly creative corruption.
Episode Overview
This episode explores the wilder side of white-collar crime in the form of a French mayor's downfall at the hands of a town psychic. Rory and Josh recount the story of Mayor Gilles Detour, the colorful town of Agda (famous for its nudist resorts), and Sophia Martinez—a medium who convinced the mayor to lavish her with gifts, jobs, and city funds after allegedly channeling his dead father. The hosts unpack the slippery line between gullibility and criminality, blending sharp humor and genuine insights into the human psyche’s soft spots for the supernatural.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Setting the Scene: Welcome to Agda, the Naked City
- Agda, France: The town swells from 30,000 to 300,000 in the summer due to its reputation as the world’s largest nudist resort—"the Naked City."
- Rory teases: "Get out there, you naked pigs. Go soak up some of that sun. Turn into bacon as fast as you can." (08:36)
- Naturists vs. Swingers: Tension in town arises as traditional nudists clash with sex-party-seeking swingers, leading (allegedly) to arson at local sex clubs.
- Josh: "This is just providing some very important full frontal context for the setting..." (09:51)
2. Mayor Gilles Detour: Local Celebrity Turned Mark
- Gilles Detour: Five-term, deeply-rooted mayor from a family of politicians, highly respected, with underlying “daddy issues” due to the shadow of his deceased father (06:04, 10:48).
- Josh: "He’s celebrating his fifth win when a colleague introduces him to a healer and medium..." (10:48)
3. Enter Sophia Martinez, Psychic Extraordinaire
- Sophia’s Profile: Stylish, 40s, six kids, three marriages, known for cleansing energies and seances. Clients include townsfolk and cops (11:47).
- Gilles’ Vulnerabilities: Struggling with his father’s death, open to spiritual contact—easily susceptible to Sophia’s charms.
- The First Sessions: Sophia impresses Gilles with eerily accurate info about his father, deepening his trust (12:11).
4. The Con: "Papa" Calls from Beyond
- Breakthrough Session: One day, while on the phone with Sophia, Gilles hears a deep, masculine voice introducing himself as "Papa," his dad’s nickname. (17:28–18:10)
- Sophia's Ventriloquism: The “spirit” of Papa contacts Gilles over 3,375 times in a year (over 10 calls a day!), steering him toward lavish generosity. (25:51–26:07)
- Scope of Manipulation: Papa claims Gilles was an Egyptian priestess in a past life and Sophia is the reincarnated child he had with Tutankhamun. Gilles is cosmically bonded to protect her. (20:43)
- "Swinging for the fences with this reincarnated...could have used, like, you know, an old French guy. Nope." – Josh (21:29)
5. Embezzlement in Action
- Misuse of Public Funds: Gilles pays for Sophia’s birthday parties, weddings, and even a comic book, all disguised through creative town bookkeeping (23:18).
- Sophia’s relatives receive town hall jobs. The mayor funds Sophia’s “From Darkness to Light” comic (22:23).
- Josh: "I got to imagine, on some level, embezzlement is happening at every—maybe you’re not paying off the medium who’s the reincarnated form of your daughter with Tutankhamun..." (23:42)
6. The Fall: Discovery & Wiretaps
- Exposed by the Ex-Wife: Gilles' ex Geraldine reports Sophia for “bewitching” the mayor and suspects municipal funds are paying for Sophia’s luxuries. (24:17)
- Wiretapping: French police wiretap Gilles, confirming thousands of calls with Sophia/"Papa."
- Shocking Revelation: Police realize the “Papa” voice is Sophia herself, not a male accomplice or actual spirit. “She was so good at throwing her voice that he thought, not only is this a man, but this is my father.” (27:12)
7. Aftermath: The Legal Tangle
- Sophia Confesses: She admits to making up Papa’s voice, explaining it started as an imaginary friend from childhood and snowballed into a major con. (27:32)
- Sophia: "I’ve entered a role playing game and I can’t get out. Like someone who drinks and can’t stop." (29:50)
- Both charged: Gilles, for embezzlement and corruption; Sophia for embezzlement and tax fraud. Both serve several months before trial. Gilles resigns. (31:40–32:19)
- Sophia is banned from practicing as a psychic, though enforcement is humorously questioned by the hosts. (32:53)
- “How do you stop someone from being a psychic? ...How do you even get that business license?” – Rory (33:11)
8. The Town Today: Pandemic Irony and Social Truce
- Naturists vs. Swingers detente: COVID-19 hits Agda hard, with a 30% positive rate among naturists, forging a truce out of necessity (34:29).
- “The lesson is the naked people learn to wear masks, if not pants.” – Josh (35:05)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On Setting Up a Scam:
"Establish a successful psychic practice and bewitch a city official to lavish you with gifts." — Josh Dean (03:23) - On Gullibility:
“He thinks Sophia is too dumb to be making this up, But I wonder who’s the dumb one?” — Josh Dean (19:25) - On the Sheer Scope of the Con:
“He gave her relatives cushy jobs at town hall. He funded her passion project, which was naturally a comic book.” — Josh Dean (22:09) - On Legal Responsibility:
"I think that her power of persuasion, that's on him to be so gullible, to fall for it." — Rory Scovel (30:23) - On Psychic Regulation:
"How do you even get that business license? ...Go ahead and tell people you can talk to the beyond, but it's 7%." — Rory Scovel (33:17) - On Naked Town Pandemic Response:
"The lesson is the naked people learn to wear masks, if not pants." — Josh Dean (35:09)
Important Timestamps
- 02:29: How do you embezzle from the government? Introducing the French case.
- 07:28: What is a naturist resort? Agda’s claim to fame.
- 10:48: Mayor’s origin story; introduction to Sophia the psychic.
- 12:11: First “spiritual session” between the mayor and Sophia.
- 17:28: The “Papa” voice appears—allegedly Gilles’ late father.
- 20:43: Papa’s wild proclamations about Egyptian priestess past lives.
- 22:03: Payments, projects, and questionable municipal generosity start.
- 23:18: Laundry list of misappropriated funds—veranda, jobs, comic book.
- 24:47: Police wiretap discovery: 3,375 calls in one year.
- 27:07: Reveal: Sophia was “Papa” all along.
- 29:50: Sophia’s addiction to attention and the scheme.
- 31:40: Charges detailed, fall from grace.
- 33:06: Aftermath—bans, questions about enforcing psychic “licenses.”
- 34:29: COVID-19’s impact leads to temporary peace among local naturists and swingers.
- 40:51: The hosts cap the episode with a tarot reading segment.
Closing Segment: Tarot Time
- Producer Lane leads a tarot reading for Rory and Josh, blurting out card meanings and inviting playful banter about fate, fortune, and the reliability of supernatural advice.
Key takeaway from Rory:
"If you're willing to connect dots, they will connect. And if you don't want to, it can feel ridiculous. But...why can't this be a valid way of getting through life?"
Final Notes
The episode blends clever crime analysis with irreverent humor—exploring the psychology of both con artist and victim. It doesn’t just highlight the wild facts of the case, but interrogates why (and how) we fall for so much, especially when it comes from the “other side.” The wild ride concludes with a tongue-in-cheek tarot reading, tying the whole theme of magical thinking, gullibility, and the human craving for answers—no matter how outlandish the source.