Verdict day in Karen Read's second trial. A courtroom twist in South Carolina. And tariff scammers.

Summary

Dateline NBC Podcast Summary Episode: Verdict Day in Karen Read's Second Trial. A Courtroom Twist in South Carolina. And Tariff Scammers.
Release Date: June 19, 2025
Host: Andrea Canning, NBC News

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Introduction

In this gripping episode of Dateline NBC, host Andrea Canning delves into a series of riveting true-crime stories, beginning with the highly anticipated verdict in Karen Read's second trial. The episode also touches on a dramatic courtroom twist in Dedham, Massachusetts, updates on other high-profile cases, and exposes new scams exploiting tariff confusion.

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Verdict Day in Karen Read's Second Trial

Background

Karen Read, a resident of Dedham, Massachusetts, has been embroiled in a legal battle since 2022, facing charges including second-degree murder. Her case has captivated national attention, with intense public interest in her fight for freedom after years of legal turmoil.

The Trial Proceedings

The retrial assembled a substantial lineup of witnesses—31 days of testimony featuring 49 witnesses, with 38 for the prosecution and 11 supporting the defense. For the first time, the jury delivered a verdict, a milestone not achieved in her initial trial.

Closing Arguments

Defense Attorney Alan Jackson emphasized the principle of "reasonable doubt," stating, “[...] none of those meets the extraordinary burden of beyond a reasonable doubt. And to a moral certainty” (04:02). Jackson argued that the investigation was compromised from the outset, pointing fingers at lead investigator Michael Proctor for misconduct that tainted the entire case.

Prosecutor Hank Brennan countered by painting Karen Read as a manipulative figure who left her husband, John O'Keefe, injured and abandoned after a drunk driving incident. Brennan highlighted new evidence, including blood alcohol levels and cell phone battery data, to argue Read’s guilt. He admitted, “She made a decision in her Lexus with the shattered taillight... and she left him to die” (06:40).

The Verdict

After four days of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict of Not Guilty. The courtroom erupted in mixed emotions, with John O'Keefe's mother breaking down in tears and Karen Read expressing gratitude to her supporters. Read stated, “I could not be standing here without these amazing supporters who have supported me and my team financially and more importantly, emotionally for almost four years” (10:01).

Aftermath

The case remains shrouded in mystery, particularly concerning the events of January 2022. Dateline NBC promises an in-depth report titled "Center of the Storm," featuring exclusive interviews with key figures, including disgraced former trooper Michael Proctor.

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Courtroom Twist in Dedham, Massachusetts

The Michael Colucci Case

In a separate story, Michael Colucci, a renowned jeweler from South Carolina, faced charges for the alleged murder of his wife, Sarah Lynn, in 2015. Initially, Colucci maintained that his wife’s death was a suicide. However, inconsistencies in his account led to his arrest and trial.

Recent Developments

During the retrial in 2025, a pivotal motion was filed concerning undisclosed evidence—a Brady violation. The judge responded by dismissing the charges “without prejudice,” effectively freeing Colucci and halting the retrial process (20:41). The courtroom scene was emotional, culminating in a heartfelt embrace between Colucci and his daughter.

Prosecutors hinted at the possibility of pursuing further action through a grand jury, leaving the door open for future legal battles.

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Dateline Roundup: Updates on High-Profile Cases

Corey Richens

Corey Richens, a children's author accused of murdering her husband with fentanyl, is preparing for a new trial set to begin on February 23. Originally slated for an earlier trial, delays occurred as the court considered relocating the case. Richens maintains her innocence despite prosecutors presenting evidence of financial motives and attempted cover-ups.

Jennifer Doulos

The mysterious disappearance of Jennifer Doulos in 2019 continues to haunt her family. Her estranged husband, Fotus Doulos, was charged with her murder but passed away following a suicide attempt. Recently, Fotus's friend Kent Mawinney, initially charged with conspiracy, had his charges reduced. Mawinney accepted an Alford plea and was sentenced to 11 months, which he had already served, resulting in his release (26:35).

Lori Valo Daybell

Lori Valo Daybell received a guilty verdict for her role in the conspiracy to murder her niece's former husband, Brandon Boudreau (29:27). This conviction follows her earlier guilty verdict for conspiring to kill her husband, Charles Vallow. Both convictions may result in life sentences, with sentencing scheduled for July 25.

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Exposing Tariff Scammers

Vicki Wynn, NBC News chief investigative consumer correspondent, sheds light on emerging scams exploiting confusion around tariffs. Scammers pose as legitimate retailers, claiming additional tariffs must be paid for online orders to be released. They also offer fraudulent "tariff relief," promising government payments that do not exist.

Key advice from Wynn includes:

• Verify Retailers: Research unfamiliar retailers and check for reviews or scam reports.
• Watch for Red Flags: Look for website inconsistencies, such as misspellings or prices that seem too good to be true.
• Avoid Suspicious Links: Do not click on unsolicited messages promising tariff relief.
• Report Fraud: If scammed, contact your bank, credit card company, and report to authorities like the FTC and FBI.

Wynn emphasizes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” (32:37).

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Conclusion

This episode of Dateline NBC masterfully intertwines intense courtroom drama with broader criminal investigations, offering listeners a comprehensive overview of ongoing cases and consumer protection insights. Whether it's the final verdict in Karen Read's trial or the latest scam strategies, Andrea Canning ensures that audiences remain informed and engaged with each developing story.

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Notable Quotes:

• Alan Jackson (Defense Attorney): “Courage is what this moment, this moment demands. Not just to listen, but to stare directly at injustice and say, not here, not now, not on our watch” (03:59).

• Hank Brennan (Prosecutor): “And that one person who could help him that morning was this defendant right here, Karen Clee” (07:11).

• Karen Read (Defendant): “I could not be standing here without these amazing supporters who have supported me and my team financially and more importantly, emotionally for almost four years” (10:01).

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Stay tuned for more updates and in-depth coverage on upcoming episodes of Dateline NBC.

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Timestamps

• 03:59 - Alan Jackson's Courage Statement
• 04:02 - Alan Jackson on Reasonable Doubt
• 06:40 - Hank Brennan on Karen Read's Actions
• 07:11 - Prosecutor's Summary
• 10:01 - Karen Read's Statement Post-Verdict
• 20:41 - Judge Dismissing Michael Colucci's Charges
• 26:35 - Update on Kent Mawinney's Case
• 29:27 - Lori Valo Daybell's Guilty Verdict
• 32:37 - Vicki Wynn on Tariff Scams

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Note: This summary excludes advertisements and non-content segments to focus solely on the podcast's core material.

Transcript

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[Reporter]

Good morning.

[Andrea Canning]

It's the start of another workday for the DATELINE team here at 30 Rockefeller Center. Prosecutors saying she is a master manipulator.

[Reporter]

She is a evil woman.

[Andrea Canning]

Our producers are catching up on breaking crime news around the country, swapping tips and story ideas.

[Reporter]

Gosh, could we have a verdict tomorrow? That seems unlikely. I know they're not deliberating on the weekend. We will see what happens tomorrow.

[Andrea Canning]

Welcome to DATELINE True Crime Weekly. I'm Andrea Canning. It's June 19th and here's what's on our docket. A massive courtroom twist at the retrial of a South Carolina businessman accused of staging his wife's murder to look like suicide.

[Reporter]

Everyone was stunned. It took a moment for people even to realize they could stand up in.

[Andrea Canning]

DATELINE Roundup, the late in the trial of children's author Corey Richins. And in Connecticut, a plea deal for someone connected to the case of murdered mom of five Jennifer Doulos.

[Kent Mawinney]

Authorities alleged that he helped FOTUS create an alibi for the time of Jennifer's disappearance.

[Andrea Canning]

Plus, NBC News chief investigative consumer correspondent Vicky Wynn on a whole new scam to watch out for involving tariff. But before all that, we're heading back to dedham, Massachusetts. Since 2022, Karen Reed has been fighting for her freedom, facing a potential sentence of life in prison on charges including second degree murder. We were there in court as she finally Learned her fate. 31 days of testimony and 49 witnesses, 38 witnesses for the prosecution, 11 for the defense. Yesterday afternoon, after more than three years, we finally got something we didn't get in the first trial, a verdict.

[Foreman]

Mr. Foreman, on docket number 2282 CR117001, murder in the second degree, what say you? Is the defendant at the bar guilty or not guilty?

[Andrea Canning]

Not guilty. We'll tell you everything you need to know about the dramatic conclusion to this case. But first, before the verdict came down, I talked to DATELINE producer Sue Simpson about how the lawyers on both sides made their final pitch, the jury, and what was happening outside the courtroom as the jury went off to deliberate. Sue, let's start with closing arguments. Alan Jackson was first up for the defense. Let's take a quick listen.

[Alan Jackson]

There was no collision. There was no collision. There was no collision.

[Andrea Canning]

This was almost identical to how Alan Jackson began his opening statement. What was the argument that he laid out for the jury in his closing?

[Sue Simpson]

Well, Andrea, as you know, I mean, this is his final sales pitch, right? And he started off smartly by thanking them for their attention and their patience and also for their courage.

[Alan Jackson]

Courage is what this moment, this moment demands. Not just to listen, but to stare directly at injustice and say, not here, not now, not on our watch. That's what you're being asked to do, stare down injustice. You folks are the last line of defense, the last line of defense between an innocent woman and a system that has tried to break her, that falsely accused her, that tried mightily, mightily to bury the truth.

[Sue Simpson]

So Jackson said the case was corrupted from the start. You know, he pointed at the lead investigator, Michael Proctor, and he said his misconduct infected every single part of the case. Alan Jackson also wanted to talk about reasonable doubt and how it is, in his words, the bedrock on which the entire system of justice is built. So from the start, he's really laying out this idea that Karen Reid was entitled to the presumption of innocence, of course, and that the heavy burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt was on the state, not the defense.

[Alan Jackson]

You think about one or more of the charges, you think, you know what, maybe, maybe that's true, it might be true. Then you vote not guilty. If you think it's possibly true or probably true, your vote must be not guilty. If someone among you thinks it's likely true or even very likely to be.

[Andrea Canning]

True.

[Alan Jackson]

Your vote is not guilty. It's because none of those standards maybe might be possibly, probably, likely, very likely, none of those meets the extraordinary burden of beyond a reasonable doubt. And to a moral certainty. A moral certainty means a level of confidence so strong, so incredibly unshakable, that you could go home. You would go home, look your loved ones in the eye and say, I am certain.

[Andrea Canning]

The prosecutor sue was up next. And he began by talking about John o' Keefe. He spoke about how he spent his life helping people and what a good man he was. And you'll remember, he was selflessly raising his niece and nephew.

[Sue Simpson]

That's right. As we know, the niece and nephew were orphaned and John stepped in as single uncle and became their. What they called their funkle, their fun uncle. Prosecutor Hank Brennan wanted to drive home the message that this was a good man who died. And on the morning of January 29, 2022, John O' Keefe, who had helped so many, was the one who needed help himself.

[Prosecutor]

And that one person who could help him that morning was this defendant right here, Karen Clee. And she made a decision in her Lexus with the shattered taillight. Debris failed all over the front yard, and John o' Keefe lying helpless like a child on the front yard. She made a choice. She drove away. She was drunk. She hit him, and she left him to die.

[Andrea Canning]

What else did Hank Brennan focus on, Sue?

[Sue Simpson]

Well, you know, like the defense, Hank Brennan went back over a lot of the evidence during his closing argument. He talked about how blood samples indicated Karen was two to three times over the legal limit. He also talked about the battery temperature of the cell phone. Andrea. And this was a whole new piece of the state's case as compared to the first trial. He really honed in on the data surrounding the temperature of the phone battery to try to show that John o' Keefe was outside versus inside the house all night, as the defense had suggested. He also spoke about physical evidence at the scene. Those tail light pieces.

[Prosecutor]

There's no doubt there's a collision because her tail light's all over the yard. It's all over the yard. And when he falls back, he hits the back of his head, his basal fracture. He's then lying there helpless. When Ms. Reed leaves, she leaves behind tons of her tail light all over the yard.

[Andrea Canning]

Brennan. Sue also had audio and videos that he played during the closing argument.

[Sue Simpson]

That's right. He played those angry voicemails that Karen left John that night. And Hank Brennan played clips from Karen re own media interviews, including the one she did with Dateline. And some of the statements she made really were sort of. It seemed to be her. Her admitting that maybe she had, for instance, a bit too much to drink.

[Andrea Canning]

All right, so, sue, what was the atmosphere like around the courthouse as deliberations gone underway? You know, this. This has really gotten worldwide attention.

[Sue Simpson]

It is Big and boy, I can tell you, Andrea, outside the courthouse these past couple of days, the crowd has been growing and growing and growing and. And it's all sea of people in pink, you know? Supporters of Karen Reid.

[Andrea Canning]

As jury deliberation stretched into a fourth day, Karen's supporters were still there in the streets, waiting. Then word came. The jury had a verdict. The prosecutor and defense teams filed back into the courtroom, and Karen stood before the judge.

[Foreman]

Mr. Foreman, on docket number 2282 CR 117001, murder in the second degree. What say you? Is the defendant of the bar guilty or not guilty?

[Andrea Canning]

Not guilty.

[Foreman]

So say you, Mr. Foreman. So say you?

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No.

[Foreman]

No. Do you agree?

[Alan Jackson]

Yes.

[Foreman]

002. What say is the defendant at the bar? Not guilty or guilty?

[Manufacturing Engineer]

Guilty.

[Advertiser]

Not guilty.

[Foreman]

003. What say is the defendant at the bar leaving the scene after accident resulting in deaths? Defendant. Not guilty or guilty. So say you, Mr. Foreman?

[Reporter]

Yes.

[Foreman]

So say you all?

[Manufacturing Engineer]

Yes.

[Andrea Canning]

Not guilty. On the most serious charges of second degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. A roar came from outside the courthouse. John o' Keefe's mother broke down in tears. Karen was found guilty of operating a vehicle under the influence and immediately sentenced to one year of probation. Moments later, she spoke on the courthouse steps. I could not be standing here without these amazing supporters who have supported me and my team financially and more importantly, emotionally for almost four years. With that, the case that has transfixed the nation for more than three years was at an end. The mystery of what happened to John O' Keefe in a snowstorm back in January 2022 still lingers. It's a case we've been covering here at Dateline since the beginning. And tonight, on Thursday's edition of Dateline, you can watch our in depth report, center of the Storm. We'll bring you the whole story, including one of Karen Reid's first television interviews. I didn't know what the hell. What the hell happened. And I'll talk to a man at the center of the case, disgraced former trooper Michael Proctor. What do you want to say to anyone who believes that you framed Karen Reed? It did not happen. As well as his wife Elizabeth.

[Manufacturing Engineer]

But he did say, there's some really embarrassing text messages that I have to read. And I said, okay, well, own it.

[Andrea Canning]

We'll dive into the case files, the theories, the evidence, and you'll also hear from John o' Keefe's family about their journey and what they wish people knew.

[Manufacturing Engineer]

She has put my family through hell to save herself.

[Andrea Canning]

That's airing at a special time of 98 Central this Thursday on NBC. Coming up, seven years after a jury deadlocked in the trial of a South Carolina businessman accused of killing his wife, his retrial is stopped in its tracks. We'll take you inside the courtroom.

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[Andrea Canning]

For our next story, we're headed to a South Carolina courthouse where a prominent jeweler was set to go before trial this week for allegedly murdering his wife. Before we continue, we should warn you there is some discussion of self harm in this case. On the evening of May 20, 2015, Michael Colucci called 911 from outside a warehouse he was renting for his business. He said he found his wife, Sarah Lynn, hanging from a fence with a garden hose wrapped around her neck and begged them to hurry.

[Advertiser]

Be now the first.

[Prosecutor]

They're on the way, sir.

[Andrea Canning]

Paramedics got to the scene within minutes, but it was already too late. Sarah Lynn was dead. Michael told investigators that she had been depressed and suspected it was a suicide. But a year later he was arrested and charged with her murder. He pleaded not guilty and stood trial in 2018, but the jury was unable to reach a verdict. This week, Colucci was in the courtroom getting ready to stand trial again when a last minute twist changed everything. DATELINE producer Carol Gable is here to tell us more. Carol, welcome back to the show.

[Reporter]

Good to be here.

[Andrea Canning]

So, Carol, before we get to that big twist, let's go over some of the basics of this case. Who was this couple?

[Reporter]

Well, they were two people who were thrilled to get that elusive second chance at love. They were each a single parent to a daughter. They met on a blind date. They, from all accounts, pretty much fell instantly in love and got married.

[Andrea Canning]

The two of them ran this jewelry business together.

[Reporter]

Yes. I don't think Sarah really was there full time, but she certainly was in some ads you can still see on the Internet for the jewelry store. She was tall, blonde, beautiful, very personable. And so she did work at the store from time to time.

[Andrea Canning]

What were Michael and Sarah doing at the warehouse that night?

[Reporter]

Well, it was kind of the last stop on a big day of errands. They started out at a lawyer's office and then they ended up at the very famous cemetery here in Charleston called Magnolia Cemetery, where Sarah's first husband, who died of a suicide, was buried at the grave. Sarah got really upset. His death were very stressful, even after all these years. And then they began to drive home. And Sarah had this quirk that if she needed to go to the bathroom, she did not want to go in a public restroom. So she had Michael pull over, according to Michael, so she could go relieve herself behind this warehouse along very busy Highway 17. So she gets out of the car, according to Michael, to go do this. And while she's gone, he says he plays some music. You know, he may have fallen asleep, we don't know. Next thing, he looks up and Sarah is hanging from a garden hose that had been draped over a chain link fence.

[Andrea Canning]

Wow. So awful. What eventually made local investigators suspicious of Michael's story.

[Reporter]

Well, at first they thought it might be a suicide, but Sarah's father, Ronnie, and her mother, Barbara, were uncle absolutely insistent that Michael had something to do with it. So they basically just bombarded the local sheriff, and eventually the sheriff called the state law enforcement division to come in and do their own investigation. And they send a person named David Owen to investigate this. And I say the name because it may sound familiar to DATELINE viewers because he would become the lead investigator in the Alex Murdaugh case years later.

[Andrea Canning]

What motive did prosecutors say Michael might have had for killing his wife?

[Reporter]

In the first trial? It seemed that the prosecutors were painting a picture of this couple being very volatile. So in their scenario, they were having a fight, and somehow it led to her death.

[Andrea Canning]

Carol back in 2018, the jury couldn't agree on a verdict at the first trial. Now here we are, 2025 retrial, and the defense presents a motion filed last week. Tell us about that.

[Reporter]

Well, it centers on a conversation that David Owen had with Barbara Moore, Sarah's mother, in which Barbara said that in the days before her death, she had found Sarah drinking and crying uncontrollably. Her face was swollen, and she was saying that if it were not for the girls coming home, she would commit suicide. And that piece of information did not make its way to the defense, which in legal ease is a Brady violation. You are required to return over to the defense any piece of information that might be in favor of the defendant. And so what the defense said in this case is, had that information been turned over earlier, that even the state's witnesses could have come to a different conclusion and would have testified differently, which would have meant a potential different outcome.

[Andrea Canning]

So what did the judge decide with this motion?

[Reporter]

When he came out and read his decision, it was huge.

[Advertiser]

This court is quashing this indictment without prejudice.

[Andrea Canning]

So the judge dismissed the charges against Michael Colucci.

[Reporter]

He dismissed it as if it had never happened.

[Andrea Canning]

What was the reaction like in the courtroom?

[Reporter]

I think everyone was stunned. I think it took a moment for people even to realize they could stand up. And the judge went further to say, you know, telling Mr. Colucci, you know, you don't have to wear that ankle bracelet anymore, the monitoring device. You're free to go. You're not even on bond anymore.

[Andrea Canning]

That's incredible. And he started crying. Colucci.

[Reporter]

Oh, yeah, he cried for the rest of the time in the courtroom. And it was very poignant, too, because his daughter, who thought she was going to come for opening arguments, was headed up the stairs to the courtroom and Michael Colucci was running down the aisle and they sort of, you know, met in the middle in, you know, one of those embraces.

[Andrea Canning]

It's really unbelievable. So, Carol, this trial is not happening, but this isn't over. The prosecution still has a card to play.

[Reporter]

They do have a card to play. They could go to a grand jury with what they have and a different grand jury could decide to indict him. Again, we don't know what they're going to decide.

[Andrea Canning]

Carol, fascinating case. Thank you so much for bringing this to us.

[Reporter]

You're welcome.

[Andrea Canning]

Up next, it's time for DATELINE roundup. We've got the latest in the Corey Richens case. She's the children's author accused of poisoning her husband. And the final defendant facing charges in the case of Connecticut mom Jennifer Doulos learns his fate. Plus, scammers are taking advantage of consumers confusion around tariffs. How to spot the red flags.

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[Andrea Canning]

Welcome back. For this week's roundup, we're joined by DATELINE digital producer Veronica Mazeka. Veronica, thanks for coming back.

[Kent Mawinney]

Thanks for having me.

[Andrea Canning]

Okay, so up first, Veronica, we've got an update in a case that will likely be familiar to DATELINE fans. Jennifer Doulos, the Connecticut mom of five. She went missing in May of 2019 after dropping her kids off at school. Her body has never been found, but she's been declared dead. Remind us just a little bit about the case.

[Kent Mawinney]

Yes. So her estranged husband, Fotus Doulos, was charged with her murder. He maintained his innocence and later died after attempting suicide. Investigators had surveillance video of him dumping garbage bags they said contained items connected to Jennifer's murder. And his girlfriend at the time, Michelle Traconis, was found guilty at trial last year of charges of conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution.

[Andrea Canning]

Okay, so what is new in the case now?

[Kent Mawinney]

So Fotus's friend, a lawyer named Kent Mawinney, had also been charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Authorities alleged that he helped Fotus create an alibi for the time of Jennifer's disappearance. What's new is that the state has reduced Mawini's charge to interfering with an officer. They say police athletics him if he had spoken to Fotus on the day of the murder and Moini denied it. But forensic evidence later showed that Moini had spoken to Fotus when he was allegedly disposing of evidence. After the reduction, Moinney took an alford plea and a judge sentenced him to 11 months, which he had already served. So he walked free.

[Andrea Canning]

He spoke afterwards. Kent Mooney with his attorneys. Let's take a listen.

[Reporter]

Obviously, it's tragic, but you know, I.

[Advertiser]

Have as much responsibility for that tragedy as you do.

[Kent Mawinney]

When he was asked if he knew where Jennifer Doulos was, he said, quote, no, if I did, I would tell them.

[Andrea Canning]

Hmm. Wow. Yeah. It's such a shame that they've never been able to find her body. Very sad. Up next, we are headed to Summit County, Utah. We've got an update on the case of Corey Richens. You might remember, she is the mom who wrote a children's book about grief after her husband died in March three years ago. But then she was arrested for his murder and charged with nine felonies, including aggravated murder and multiple counts of forgery and fraud. Veronica, remind us of some more of the details of this case.

[Kent Mawinney]

Yeah. So prosecutors say that Richins allegedly poisoned her husband Eric by putting a lethal dose of fentanyl in his drink in 2022. According to prosecutors, Corey was in financial hot water over some real estate deals and had taken out life insurance policies on Eric. And she pleaded not guil in the past.

[Andrea Canning]

Veronica, we played some exclusive recordings that Richen sent us from jail. We played them on the podcast. Here's a quick clip of one of them.

[Sue Simpson]

I'm anxious to get trial and I'm.

[Advertiser]

Ready to get this one heck of a fight.

[Andrea Canning]

So what is the latest in the case?

[Kent Mawinney]

The trial was supposed to start this spring, but the judge allowed a delay so that the Utah Supreme Court could consider whether the trial should be moved to a different county. Last week they declined to hear the case. So at a hearing on Friday, Richens finally got a new trial date. It's now scheduled to begin on February 23 and is expected to last five weeks. And Richins will be back in court on August 1 for a hearing on trial preparations.

[Andrea Canning]

Okay, we'll keep you posted. Another high profile trial, Lori Valo Daybell. Quick update with her. There has been a verdict in the latest trial in Arizona. She was accused of conspiring to kill her niece's former husband, Brandon Boudreau. What did the jury decide?

[Foreman]

All right. The clerk will read and record the verdict.

[Manufacturing Engineer]

We the jury do find the defendant, Laurie Daybell guilty.

[Kent Mawinney]

And this is her second conviction for murder conspiracy in less than two months. In April, a jury found her guilty of conspiring to kill her husband, Charles Vallow in 2019.

[Andrea Canning]

She will be sentenced for both of her convictions at the same time, even though they were separate trials.

[Sue Simpson]

Yes.

[Kent Mawinney]

So Lori will be sentenced for this conviction as well as the April conviction on July 25, and both carry the possibility of a life sentence.

[Andrea Canning]

All right, Veronica, thank you so much for all this great information.

[Kent Mawinney]

Thank you.

[Andrea Canning]

We have all seen tariffs making headlines in recent months, and it can be confusing at times to know if the things we're buying are affected. And that's the perfect opportunity for scammers, according to my next guest, NBC News chief investigative consumer correspondent Vicki Wynn. She's back to tell us what to watch out for and how to avoid becoming the victim of these new tariff scams. Hey, Vicki.

[Manufacturing Engineer]

Hey, Andrea.

[Andrea Canning]

Yeah, so, okay, this is one I would not have thought of. I was very surprised.

[Manufacturing Engineer]

Scammers are nothing if not on trend, Andrea. Right. So tariffs in the headlines, major buzzword. And so what these scammers have done is after you place an order for something that you want online, suddenly they'll follow up and say, hey, we've got your item. But there's a delay because of additional tariffs that need to be paid. So if you want to get your item and have it be released and sent to you, we're going to need you to send some more money. You may fall for that because you want this item. And so that's why the Better Business Bureau has put out an alert to say, beware of the retailers with whom you're shopping online. And if anyone tries to ask you for money after the fact, that's a major red flag.

[Andrea Canning]

So you, Vicki, reached out to the Better Business Bureau. What did they tell you as far as what we all can do?

[Manufacturing Engineer]

They want to go back to shopping with reputable retailers and really watching out for something called a sponsored ad. You're going to see a lot of these popping up, especially on social media. And it'll say, oh, check out this new company, this product. It looks really great. Some of those are definitely legitimate new small businesses, but others are absolutely purchased and run by scammers. And so anytime you're going to spend money with a retailer you haven't heard of, I just want you to take the name of that business and put it into an Internet search along with the word scam or along with the word review and just see what are other buyers saying? Have any complaints come up? Also, look carefully at the website itself. Are there misspellings? If anything looks suspicious on that site or the price is too good to be true, that's typically a red flag.

[Andrea Canning]

And Vicki, so you found out that there's another kind of tariff scam. The scammers are promising tariff relief. What's that?

[Manufacturing Engineer]

This is wild. And it's the opposite. Instead of saying, hey, you need to pay us for tariffs that are due, the scammers are saying, hey, the government owes you money for tariffs. We're giving you some relief to offset the extra cost of these tariffs.

[Andrea Canning]

No, run.

[Manufacturing Engineer]

Hear me loud and clear when I say the government is not paying you one single cent for tariff. So just if anyone is contacting you, and usually this comes in the form of some message that you did not ask for in your email as a text on your phone and they say click here to get your tariff relief payment. And really what that link is taking you to is a phishing website. They're going to try to get your name, your payment information, bank account information, even your address to send you a check in the mail. The big picture here, if anyone is offering you any sort of tariff relief, run away.

[Andrea Canning]

And Vicki, if you are one of the unfortunate ones who's fallen victim to one of these tariff scams, what can you do?

[Manufacturing Engineer]

Make sure if you've already made a purchase that you call your credit card company or your bank right away, report it as fraud. If it's very serious and you've lost a lot of money, you can report it to your local police department as well as the ftc, the Federal Trade Commission and the FBI. And that just helps them to keep track of trends and online crimes that are happening so they can put warnings out to the rest of us. Once in a while they are able to help people recover their money. But you know, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, as they say.

[Andrea Canning]

Vicki, this is such good information as always. Thank you for joining us.

[Manufacturing Engineer]

Thank you.

[Andrea Canning]

That's it for this episode of dateline, True Crime Weekly. Don't forget to take a listen to our coverage of the Sean Combs trial. Every day after court, I'll be chatting with NBC News correspondent Chloe Meloss about what she's seen, the witnesses, the evidence and what it all means. And Josh has a new season of his award winning podcast series, Dateline Missing in America. Episodes 1 and 2 are out now wherever you get your podcasts. So listen closely. You could be the key to solving a mystery. To get ad free listening for all of our podcasts, subscribe to DATELINE Premium. And a reminder that DATELINE is on tonight. Thursday, you can watch my in depth coverage of the Karen Reid trial.

[Prosecutor]

Ladies and gentlemen, there is no doubt what happened that night.

[Alan Jackson]

This case should be over right now. Why is she even here?

[Andrea Canning]

That's center of the storm tonight at 9, 8 Central on NBC. Dateline True Crime Weekly is produced by Franny Kelly and Katie Ferguson. Our associate producers are Carson Cummins and Caroline Casey. Our senior producer is Liz Brown Kurloff. Veronica Mazeka is our digital producer. Producer Rick Kwan is our sound designer. Original Music by Jesse McGinty. Bryson Barnes is head of audio production. Paul Ryan is executive producer. And Liz Cole is senior executive producer of Dateline. Anything else, anyone? All right. Thanks very much. See you soon.

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