4: Friends in High Places

Summary

Kingdom of Fraud — Episode 4: Friends in High Places

Date: June 2, 2026
Host: Michele McPhee
Producer: Novel for iHeartPodcasts

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Overview

This gripping episode traces how Jacob Kingston—a devout polygamist from a secretive Utah sect—teams up with Levon Termendzhyan, a flamboyant Armenian tycoon, to orchestrate one of America's largest fraud cases. Through interviews and personal testimonies, host Michele McPhee delves into their growing web of financial crime, corruption, laundering, and the personal and political fallout along the way. The episode especially focuses on the men’s tactics for moving and hiding their illicit wealth—from Salt Lake City, to Belize, to Turkey, involving dirty cops, compromised politicians, and reluctant family members.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Unlikely Alliance: Jacob and Levon

• Background: Jacob Kingston is trying to prove himself within "The Order," a secretive Utah polygamist group. Levon Termendzhyan (aka Lev Dermen) is a mysterious LA-based Armenian business figure.
• Scale of Fraud: By 2013, their criminal ambitions supercharge. Levon demands the fraud ramp up—$50 million a month from the IRS using biofuel credits ([08:26]).
  • The checks start pouring in—large IRS refund checks, including one for $25 million.
  • Jacob’s company, Washakie Renewable Energy (WRE), starts living large—employees get perks, and Jacob sets out to live up to his new “kingdom.”

"50 million a month. That would come to over half a billion dollars a year."
—Michele McPhee, paraphrasing Jacob's testimony ([08:38])

2. The High Life & Deep Corruption

• Lavon’s Influence: Lavon draws Jacob into a new lifestyle, advising extravagant spending (e.g., buying a mansion, luxury cars).
  • Lavon even asks about keeping a real lion at the property ([12:21]).
  • Public displays: executive suite at the Utah Jazz, flashy vehicles.
• Familial Tension: Jacob struggles to balance devotion to his wife Sally and his alliance with Levon. Sally's experiences and pregnancy amplify tensions ([10:10]–[13:09]).
• Order Dynamics: Inside the Kingston family, lavish spending creates resentment—while some, including Jenny Kingston, are dazzled by new wealth, others see little benefit or are disturbed by the transformation.

"He kind of just had the attitude of, I have divine protection."
—Andrew Robinson, Jacob’s half brother ([16:26])

3. Belize: Fraud Goes Global

• Political Corruption: Jules Vasquez (Channel 7 News, Belize) recounts how Levon infiltrated Belizean politics, befriending government minister John Saldivar and making lavish promises to the national soccer team ([04:33]–[05:39]).
• Casino & Money Laundering: Jacob and Levon funnel fraud proceeds into a Belizean casino (Lion Gaming), bribe officials, and angle for citizenship—culminating in Levon getting a Belizean passport.

"We have a system of governance where there are no checks and balances on ministerial power."
—Jules Vasquez ([24:53])

• Ultimate Fallout: Text leaks in 2019 show payments to Minister Saldivar, triggering a historic political scandal and loss for his party ([29:23]).

4. International Money Laundering: Turkey & Beyond

• Lavish Turkish Business: Jacob and Levon launder millions via Turkish fixer Baran Korkmatz. They invest in hotels, a resort, an airline, and more, with Jacob’s name as the foreign “white boy face” on paperwork ([46:01]).
  • Jenny Kingston, after marrying Jacob Jr., experiences this luxury firsthand (a wedding on a yacht in Turkey, a stay at an opulent resort).
• Risks & Manipulation: Jacob is often sidelined linguistically and institutionally by his partners. Levon and Baran negotiate the deals; Jacob fronts the money and signs the documents ([34:13]–[34:54]).

“I was told they needed a white boy face to be the owner. As a foreign investor.”
—Jacob Kingston, in court testimony ([46:01])

• Federal Scrutiny: Baran Korkmatz has now been indicted in Utah on fraud and laundering charges.

5. The Human Cost: Inside the Family

• Discontent & Dysfunction: Jenny Kingston, now Jacob Jr.’s wife, describes the emotional abuse and dysfunction she witnesses and experiences within the Kingston household—contrasting sharply with the image projected externally ([48:14]–[50:43]).
  • Emotional neglect and even alleged physical abuse surface, with Jenny feeling trapped by social and religious pressures.

"Like, now I'm sealed for time and all eternity to this man. How is this little boy gonna take me to the highest degree of glory? ... He can't clean up after himself."
—Jenny Kingston ([50:17])

• Jacob’s Deteriorating Control: Jacob’s own employee, Brad Dennis (originally his Turkish language tutor), recalls Jacob’s increasing paranoia and fear even as the fraud balloons around him ([41:20]).

“He just didn’t seem in control.”
—Brad Dennis ([41:20])

6. Epilogue & Cliffhanger

• Criminal Case Looms: The EPA converts a civil probe into a criminal investigation. Jacob’s lavish lifestyle—and the fragile illusion of “divine protection”—are about to collapse as federal agents target the largest tax fraud in American history ([51:21]).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Lavon’s Outlandish Tastes:

  “Are there any ordinances that would prevent me from keeping a lion on the property?”
  —Lavon Termendzhyan, via Jacob Kingston ([12:21])

• On Political Scandal in Belize:

  “It was explosive, irreversible.”
  —Jules Vasquez, on texts implicating John Saldivar ([29:23]) “The corruption inside the party was laid bare. ... It was a death knell.”
  —Jules Vazquez ([29:34])

• On Family Disintegration:

  “They were mean to each other ... I struggled with it a lot because I don’t know ... how can you guys be so mean to each other...?”
  —Jenny Kingston ([48:14])

• On Being Set Up as a Fall Guy:

  “It’s Jacob who will front the 10 million bucks... his name is all over the dirty money. ... It’s a pretty crafty move by Lavon.”
  —Michele McPhee ([34:54])

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Important Timestamps & Segments

• [03:31] — Introduction of Jules Vazquez; Belize soccer scam and rumors about “Lev Dermen.”
• [08:26] — Jacob and Levon agree to escalate the IRS fraud to $50 million/month.
• [13:01] — Lavon chooses Jacob’s $3 million mansion in Utah; gift of a Lamborghini.
• [15:16] — Andrew Robinson (Jacob’s half brother) describes the impact on Order families.
• [19:03] — Jenny Kingston and Jacob Jr. wedding; pressure and luxury on display.
• [24:53] — Belize: From money laundering to political scandal; bribing officials with designer bags full of cash.
• [29:23] — John Saldivar texts scandal erupts in Belize.
• [32:04] — Jenny’s second, extravagant wedding in Turkey.
• [34:54] — Jacob’s role in laundering money in Turkey becomes clear.
• [38:23] — Brad Dennis hired as Jacob’s “relationship manager,” noting Jacob’s fear and lack of control.
• [43:48] — Baran Korkmatz’s powerful connections in Turkey and the US (including ex-CIA head).
• [46:01] — Jacob’s role as “white boy face” in international laundering (his own testimony).
• [48:14] — Jenny’s perspective on dysfunction in the Kingston family.
• [51:21] — The coming criminal investigation, foreshadowing the fall of Jacob’s empire.

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Tone and Style Highlights

• The episode weaves together investigative reporting, courtroom testimonies, and direct personal accounts, maintaining a tense, cinematic tone.
• Michele’s narration is brisk, laced with cutting humor, action-movie analogies, and moments of moral outrage.
• The show spotlights Jacob’s simultaneous megalomania and deep insecurity—caught between the pressure to impress Levon and The Order and the existential threat of his own scheme.

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Conclusion

“Friends in High Places” dissects the anatomy of a crime empire: the combustible blend of privilege, criminal ambition, and institutional corruption at every level—from Utah to Belize to Istanbul. As federal agents close in, personal and political betrayals multiply. The cost is not just financial, but severely human, as the tentacles of fraud and dysfunction unravel both the Kingston family and the governments they touch.

Next episode: The federal crackdown begins—the largest tax investigation in American history is about to explode.

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For further listening, visit Novel Audio.

Transcript

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Novel. No one thought Belize would make it. They are the perpetual underdog. But to everyone's shock, in 2013, they qualify for their first and ever major international soccer tournament, the 2013 Gold cup, played right here in the USA. Their opening game against the US national team is played in Portland, Oregon. Belize is a small country on the Central American coast with just 400,000 residents. People are huddled around TVs all over the nation that night, but there's no real drama on the field that night. As predicted, the Belizean Jaguars get thumped by the US national team. Off the field, though, that's an entirely different matter.

[Jules Vazquez]

I was at the Gold cup and I was embedded with the team in Portland.

[Michelle McPhee]

Jules Vazquez is the news director of Channel 7 News, a Belizean television station. Normally, he covers political scandals and corruption. He's that guy that dirty politicians run from when they see him coming with his microphone. But he couldn't miss out on the opportunity to follow his team's historic appearance at the Gold cup, which is why he's in the US Covering the tournament. He's hanging around the squad, reporting from the team bus, the training facilities, and he starts hearing some weird rumors about a strange character.

[Jules Vazquez]

He was a whisperer, almost like this fucking unicorn, right? Just kept hearing about Lev. You know, all the players are from very average backgrounds, average to poor, and all of them were like, if I score a goal, Lev say, give me $10,000.

[Michelle McPhee]

Wait, did he just say, if I score a goal, Lev says he will give me Ten grand.

[Jules Vazquez]

We knew him as Lev Dermen.

[Michelle McPhee]

Lev Dermen is just another version of a name you and I know very well. Lavan Termenzian. But what the hell is Levan doing with the Belizean soccer team? Soon, Jules realizes that this Lev Dermen is pals with their de facto mascot, a Belizean bigwig, a government minister.

[Jules Vazquez]

I heard that the minister was hanging out with Lev. I just knew that he was this super rich guy, that he had some fancy vehicle that the minister would be arriving with him in.

[Michelle McPhee]

Jules never sees Levan with his own eyes, though.

[Jules Vazquez]

These guys are moving in much more rarefied circles than I was.

[Jacob Kingston]

Right?

[Jules Vazquez]

I was thinking of fucking Motel 6.

[Michelle McPhee]

It's only long after the Gold cup is over, years later, that Jules hears about Lavon again. This time, he's the linchpin in one of Belize's most explosive political scandals.

[Jules Vazquez]

It was viscerally repugnant, a grotesque violation of every ethic in how a public official should comport him or herself.

[Michelle McPhee]

In Belize, Jacob and Lavon's fraud escalates to a high stakes transnational operation, one surrounded by powerful political figures around the globe. But the higher the circles Jacob is elevated to, the higher the pressure. My name is Michelle McPhee, and from the teams at Novel and I Heart podcasts, this is Kingdom of Fraud. Episode 4 Friends in High Places. It's the spring of 2013, and Jacob Kingston is back in LA to meet Lavon. But this meeting is different because according to Jacob's testimony, Lavon isn't satisfied with the millions upon millions they're raking in anymore. Jacob says Lavon wants more, a lot more. Here is me and my producer Jake reenacting an exchange between Jacob and and a prosecutor in court about what is agreed to in this 2013 meeting. Were you planning to claim more than $10 million from the IRS?

[Brad Dennis]

Yes.

[Jacob Kingston]

How much Lavon talked about 10 or no. It was about $50 million a month.

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[Michelle McPhee]

Zero.

[Brad Dennis]

Yes,

[Michelle McPhee]

50 million a month. That would come to over half a billion dollars a year. Jacob is anxious. He's never committed fraud on this scale before. Not to mention the feds are still sniffing around wre there had been that IRS auto we talked about in the previous episode. And remember a few years back, the EPA also targeted Jacob as he meets with Levon in 2013. He's still negotiating a settlement with them at first, at least according to Jacob. He resists Levon's idea to inflate the fraud. Eventually, though, he gives in, because, let's be real, this will mean a Huge payday for Jacob, too. Plus, he believes this whole thing is being protected from the IRS and the EPA by Laban's boys, those crooked cops surrounding him. So the next question is, how do you steal $50 million a month? To them, it was simple. You've heard it all before. They come up with ways to move around a lot of biofuel, and they pretend they produced it by faking paperwork, only on a much bigger scale than ever before. And just like that, checks from the IRS start coming in every few weeks, literally. Paper checks that come in the mail. But this time, they're big ones. 11 million here, 11 million there. One of them is made out for $25 million. This means boom time for Jacob's company, Washakie Renewable Energy. Jacob rents a fancy new downtown office space. His roughly 200 employees get free smoothies, a salad bar, lake parties. It's kind of like Utah Google. But it's not all Rosie. In Jacob's kingdom of God, he's always with Lavon. And Sally, his first wife, is getting pissed. The final straw is when she becomes pregnant again. And Jacob nearly misses the birth of his own child. Some people I've spoken to say Jacob really loves Sally, but he's struggling to balance the two most important relationships in his life. Sally and Lavon. So much so that he ends up confiding in Lavon about his marriage woes. And Lavon gives Jacob some relationship advice. Here is my amazing producer, Jake, helping me out by reading Jacob's testimony.

[Jacob Kingston]

We was going to get her a house. Lavon told me that I needed to get her a big house because he said, that's our style.

[Michelle McPhee]

Sally finds a place she likes, and in July 2013, Lavon flies to Utah to handle the couple's sale. Naturally, he arrives in style. He's dressed to the nines. He flies in his bodyguards, and even brings his chrome Lamborghini.

[Jacob Kingston]

He put it on a truck and shipped it here, and I rented an Escalade and I picked him up at the airport, and he flew in a private jet to Salt Lake. Me and Levon traveled to the house in the Lamborghini.

[Michelle McPhee]

Lavon and Jacob look around the property.

[Jacob Kingston]

Levan did all the negotiating. That's just what he did. He always took control of the meetings.

[Michelle McPhee]

And then Levan has a question. He asked the real estate agent, are there any ordinances that would prevent me from keeping a lion on the property? As in a real roaring lion? To be honest, I don't even know how you'd respond to that. It might be the reason? The owner of the house asked for so much money that Lavon turns it down on the spot and walks away. But as they drive off, Jacob says they go past a different house, a mansion.

[Jacob Kingston]

Lavon said, this is the house you need to buy because this is our style.

[Michelle McPhee]

That is the house Jacob ends up getting, the one Lavon picks out for him. It cost Jacob $3 million. But Lavon's visit to Utah doesn't end there. The day of the house viewing happens to be July 24, 2013. Pioneer Day. An entourage comprised of Jacob, Sally, Lavon and The bodyguards build two SUVs in the chrome Lamborghini. They drive to Bountiful outside of Salt Lake City, where Jacob's family is celebrating. You might remember what happens next.

[Jacob Kingston]

I introduce Lavon to my dad. I introduce him to my uncle.

[Michelle McPhee]

Lavon meets and greets. The Kingstons. Order members stare at this stranger who's shown up at their private family function. The shiny Lamborghini causes pandemonium.

[Jacob Kingston]

And then as we was leaving, Lavon handed me the keys and says, here, it's yours. And I drove away in it.

[Michelle McPhee]

This is the moment when Lavan pulls Jacob into his fold and does it in front of all of his relatives. Initiates him into a new kind of life. The high life. During this year, 2013, Jacob starts to change. He ditches his shitty old Toyota and starts driving around in the chrome Lambo. Levan even gifts him another car, this one a golden Ferrari. Jacob starts wearing $600 shirts, spends thousands on shoes, and even buys a $40,000 watch. Jacob now has a public profile wre starts to sponsor the local NBA team, the Utah Jazz, which gets him an executive box at the arena.

[Andrew Robinson]

It was crazy to see him raised to that level, especially with how fast he did it.

[Michelle McPhee]

Andrew Robinson is one of Jacob's half brothers.

[Andrew Robinson]

A lot of the money he brought in, I didn't really see it benefiting a lot of people. And I was thinking, well, I'm just hoping eventually some of this can benefit families like mine and my mom's.

[Michelle McPhee]

At a family meeting organized by their dad, Daniel, Andrew hears where some of Jacob's money has gone.

[Andrew Robinson]

My dad had a lot of debts with the order bank, so we was told that Jacob paid off all of that debt.

[Michelle McPhee]

Based on what prosecutors allege in court records, it seems that Jacob repaid $17 million of his father's debt. In these family meetings, Andrew gets to see the effect the money has had on his brother.

[Andrew Robinson]

Jacob would show us all these tax return checks from the IRS and it was like 23 million, 22 million. He just had a binder full of these checks. He was just showing them off to us, saying this is only possible here in this group. He kind of just had the attitude of, I have divine protection.

[Michelle McPhee]

Jacob's dad is proud of him. The powerful men at the top of the Order are impressed by him too. But his high flying lifestyle doesn't play so well with those order members who often struggle to to just feed their families.

[Jenny Kingston]

When he did get these nice cars and the big house, then most everyone was upset. And that's when I kind of learned about their family,

[Michelle McPhee]

that is Jenny Kingston. Before the Pioneer Day picnic in 2013, Jacob and Sally were just a distant family on the periphery of the Order to her. But soon she gets pulled into their world. As WRE expands, Jenny gets a job there. And on her very first day, she gets seated right next to the boss's teenage son, Jacob Kingston Jr.

[Jenny Kingston]

Tall, super skinny, dark hair, like he was smart. Played a lot of video games, just little dork.

[Michelle McPhee]

They don't really have anything in common. They barely even talk to each other at work. But then Jenny starts hearing rumors that Jacob Jr. Wants to marry her. She realizes that's probably the only reason she's even working at wre. Jenny is absolutely not interested, though. There's another boy she's been secretly dating. But Jacob Kingston Sr. Is. Is determined to get his son what he wants. He sets up an unforgettable first date for the two teenagers.

[Jenny Kingston]

His dad planned this whole trip to Las Vegas with a private jet. So we pull up to the airport, I see the private jet, and I was like, what? Like this has never happened before in the Order. And I was really excited.

[Michelle McPhee]

Jenny is dazzled, sure, but she still doesn't like Jacob Jr. Even being whisked off to Vegas won't change that. But it seems everyone around her wants this marriage to happen, except for Jenny. She resists for a long time, which gets her into trouble with her family. But the pressure to marry Jacob Jr. Is unrelenting. All these important people in the Order are telling her it's God's will. It becomes too much.

[Jenny Kingston]

We got married in Jacob's mansion. The wedding ceremony was indoor in the main room because it was huge. And then he did have like a pool outside. So we did go out there for like the dance, the reception part of it.

[Michelle McPhee]

They marry in 2015. They're both just teenagers. After the wedding, they move into the big family mansion, the one that Lavon

[Jenny Kingston]

picked out when I first saw it. Then I was like, what the fuck? Like, this is so beautiful. It was so big. Like, it. The ceilings were super tall. I feel like I was excited at this point because they have money. A lot of families in the order don't have money, and so I was excited for that. Just having a better life, I guess.

[Michelle McPhee]

Jacob and his company have surpassed everyone's expectations. He has status and influence now, and he's not afraid to throw it around. But outside of the order, it's a completely different story. More on that after the break.

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[Michelle McPhee]

With each new paper check hitting the mailbox, Jacob and Lavon's pile of hot money grows. They're taking in tens of millions of dollars every month. The problem is it can't just sit around in their bank accounts. That would be suspicious. So Jacob says Lavan comes up with a solution.

[Jules Vazquez]

We have a system of governance where there are no checks and balances on ministerial power.

[Michelle McPhee]

Belize is a democratic country, but Jules Vazquez, the Belizean reporter from earlier, says it's riddled with corruption.

[Jules Vazquez]

There are no regulations on campaign financing and there is a lot of dark

[Michelle McPhee]

money, unregulated money that gives political donors a lot of big swing.

[Jules Vazquez]

They expect the ability to get permits to facilitate enterprise, for maybe mining or extraction. They want to move like a greased fist through all the government bureaucracy.

[Michelle McPhee]

It's October 2012 when Jacob first gets an invite from Levon to visit Belize. They want to open a casino down there, among other things. The casino operation is going to be called Lion Gaming. Obviously Jacob and Levon become frequent flyers to Belize and are welcomed by a cast of infamous political figures with open arms. Most prominent of all, active government minister John Saldiver, Lavon's buddy from the soccer tournament in the U.S. during these trips, everyone gets chummy. For example, one time Jacob claims his high ranking minister takes them all out for a boat ride. But not just any boat ride. They sail along the tropical Belizean coast aboard two gunships belonging to the Belizean Coast Guard.

[Jules Vazquez]

It was really grotesque. How much can you be in the pocket of these people when you will use the professional staff of the Coast Guard and you will take this guy on a pleasure tour of the islands?

[Michelle McPhee]

Jacob spent years living in that snake infested shack. It's wild that he's now part of this high stakes nautical pageantry. All these escapades are under the guise of doing business. Jacob claims he and Lavon are trying to get licenses and buy property for their casino. But Jacob says he's sidelined in these discussions, that it's Lavan doing all the negotiating. Just like with Jacob's own house. Jacob agrees to shell out all the money for the new Belizean business ventures, like their planned casino, Lion Gaming. First, he pays for the physical property. Then Jacob's company wires $742,000 to a former Belizean official. Jacob claims for getting a signature on the casino licenses. Jacob is also sending money to John Saldivar, the active and powerful government politician. Jacob claims that he and Lavon repeatedly hand him tens of thousands, sometimes stuffed in designer bags. To be clear, John Saldivar has not faced corruption charges and he denies any allegations of wrongdoing. But in 2022, the United States State Department formally designated him for, quote, his involvement in significant corruption, which bans him from entering the country. Whatever Jacob and Lavon are up to in Belize, it has its benefits. In 2013, Levan becomes a Belizean citizen. But he has even loftier aspirations.

[Jules Vazquez]

Lev had tried to become a diplomat. Various ministers had entreated the Minister of Foreign affairs to make him a consular representative.

[Michelle McPhee]

Levan wants to be the Belizean Consul in Las Vegas. A government official, the Belizean government puts his name forward, but American officials reject their application. Still, the way Jacob sees it, Lavan seems to have big sway in Belize. And a few years later, all these backroom deals become public. A slew of texts John Saldivar sent to Jacob requesting cash payments get released.

[Jules Vazquez]

It was explosive, irreversible.

[Michelle McPhee]

When these texts get out, it's an election year in Belize. The timing could not be worse.

[Jules Vazquez]

The corruption inside the party was laid bare. They had a historic loss, the worst electoral loss at that point in Belize's history. It was a death knell.

[Michelle McPhee]

Lavan and Jacob have wreaked havoc in Belize. These guys just inadvertently upended the entire political landscape of a small Central American country. But for them it's just a warm up. Lavon couldn't make it to Jenny Kingston's big order wedding in Salt Lake City. Remember, she married Jacob's son Jacob Jr. But he was going to make it up to the couple lion style.

[Jenny Kingston]

We went to Turkey and had another wedding there because Lavon wanted to celebrate, wanted to pay for it.

[Michelle McPhee]

Jenny flies to Turkey with her new family. They stay on the Aegean coast With its evergreen pines, shimmering waters and jagged rocky coastlines. The place they're staying at is nothing short of spectacular.

[Jenny Kingston]

It was like a huge resort hotel. It was right next to the ocean.

[Michelle McPhee]

Inside it looks a little like Trump's white house. Ornate, plush red chairs, massive chandeliers and lots of gold. On arrival, Jenny watches her father in law Jacob take charge.

[Jenny Kingston]

When we first got there he had them open the kitchen back up to make us all dinner because it was late and it was closed at the time.

[Michelle McPhee]

Jacob is giving orders to the hotel staff and they snap to it. They cook up a feast for the family after the kitchen is closed for the night, which she thinks is kind of weird. Turns out Jacob owns this place, a five star oceanside resort in Turkey. He and Levan bought it with their fraud money. But this is only the first of many signs of Jacob's extensive links to Turkey. After a few days of uber luxury that Jenny to used to read about and travel in leisure.

[Jenny Kingston]

You can go kayaking, jet skiing, scuba diving. They had free ice cream all day long.

[Michelle McPhee]

It's time for her second wedding.

[Jenny Kingston]

The wedding was on a yacht. Lights everywhere, like big huge cake during the dinner part. Then there was like Turkish dancers and we all like stood in a circle dancing.

[Michelle McPhee]

It's like a dream. Jenny didn't want to marry Jacob Jr. But now that she's floating in these beautiful blue waters on a multi million dollar yacht, maybe this spectacular new life isn't that bad. It's on board the yacht at the wedding that Jenny meets Baron Korkmatz, a Turkish guy who's clearly important to Jacob and he's tight with Lavon.

[Jenny Kingston]

They both were really nice. They like gave me a little wedding gift and treated me like family because Jacob was family to them. Baran invited us over to have dinner at his house, and it was, like, on top of the mountain, so there was, like, trees everywhere. You could see a view to the ocean.

[Michelle McPhee]

Baran is wealthy and crucial to this story because he's allegedly at the center of what will become Jacob and Levan's Turkish business empire. That relationship started in 2013, years before Jenny's wedding. Back then, Lavon invited Jacob to Istanbul to meet Baran for the first time. Here's my producer reading Jacob Kingston's testimony.

[Jacob Kingston]

Baran is in the business of buying distressed assets and either selling them or turning them around.

[Michelle McPhee]

Soon after they first meet, Lavon and Jacob start funneling their fraud money into these kinds of investments, and Baran allegedly runs the operation for them. Jacob's role in all of this seems pretty clear from their first deal.

[Jacob Kingston]

The project was that Levan and I and Baran would split the investment in a warehouse, and it would get flipped within 90 days.

[Michelle McPhee]

During one of Jacob and Levan's trips to Turkey, they drive out to see this warehouse. Standing in the vast echoing hall, Levan and Baran negotiate the price. The trouble is, Baran doesn't speak any English and Jacob doesn't speak any Turkish, but Levan does.

[Jacob Kingston]

Levan would translate. I was always on the sideline during the meetings.

[Michelle McPhee]

Jacob doesn't understand a word of what's being said until Lavan turns to him and says, we've got a deal.

[Jacob Kingston]

It was a $5 million investment each. 5 million for me and 5 million for Lavon.

[Michelle McPhee]

But it's Jacob who will front the 10 million bucks, which will come from the shared profits of their ongoing biofuel fraud. This means it's only Jacob who's on all the paperwork. His name is all over the dirty money. If the feds ever catch on to what's really happening here, a sophisticated money laundering scheme. It's a pretty crafty move by Lavon. The question is, will Jacob clock what's happening before it's too late? That's coming up after the break.

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[Brad Dennis]

I was kind of intrigued to see that somebody was interested in a Turkish tutor in the Utah area.

[Michelle McPhee]

It's the summer of 2013 and Brad Dennis has received an email from a potential student at the time. Brad's pursuing a doctorate in languages at the University of Utah and doing some tutoring as a side hustle. This guy looks like a fed. Shaved head and deep set piercing eyes. He doesn't immediately give off linguist vibes, but he speaks fluent Turkish, which is the language his new prospective student wants to learn.

[Brad Dennis]

Jacob Kingston, kind of a soft spoken, he seems like a nice guy, just a little bit shy.

[Michelle McPhee]

At their first meeting, they talk about why Jacob even wants to learn Turkish in the first place.

[Brad Dennis]

So he said he just had all these contacts in Turkey and was trying to communicate with them Better.

[Michelle McPhee]

It sounds like Jacob is fed up with being sidelined and wants to be part of the action. Brad and Jacob agree to do two classes a week. But Jacob makes it to only five or six lessons before he gives up, which means he barely learns any Turkish at all.

[Brad Dennis]

Few phrases. That's it. How are you doing, Autumn? Jacob Kingston. Yeah, my. My name's Jacob Kingston. He was very busy, very occupied, and he just didn't have the time. I mean, you want to learn a language, you have to put your nose to the grindstone.

[Michelle McPhee]

Brad doesn't think twice about it. People quit like this all the time. But a year later, their paths cross again. Brad is finishing up his PhD and not having a lot of luck on the job market. So he's thinking that maybe his old student Jacob could set him up with a gig at his company wre. He reaches out to Jacob, and it turns out he does have a potential opening. They grab a power lunch, and Jacob tells Brad about how WRE is expanding its international reach. But then the conversation takes a turn.

[Brad Dennis]

He said he's working with a lot of really bad people. Just bad people. You could see just kind of the very serious expression in his face when he said that, you know, these people, like, some of them will kill you. You know, it's just like, wow.

[Michelle McPhee]

Over that same lunch, Jacob offers Brad a job. It sounds kind of nebulous. Brad would be Jacob's relationship manager for business associates around the world. Some of them, presumably those bad people. Still, Brad takes the job. He has a young family and needs the money. It doesn't take him long to realize things are not going well for Jacob.

[Brad Dennis]

He seems afraid a lot. You could just tell there's something going on or there's something wrong or there's something he's not in control of. He just didn't seem in control.

[Michelle McPhee]

Jacob starts sending Brad out on missions abroad.

[Brad Dennis]

Go check on stuff in Mexico, go check on stuff in Houston, you know, go check on stuff in Turkey, see kind of what's going on and report back to me.

[Michelle McPhee]

After a while, it starts to dawn on Brad what his real purpose might be.

[Brad Dennis]

I think he hired me to be a sort of watchman on these other

[Michelle McPhee]

folks, the business associates. It seems that Jacob can't shake the feeling the people he's doing business with are fucking him over. But what can Brad do about that? Even he doesn't really know. But he keeps on going wherever Jacob sends him. The most interesting of the trips Brad remembers is the one to Turkey, where Brad meets Baran.

[Brad Dennis]

Korkmatz Baran was just absolutely fascinating guy. He's very wealthy. This is a side of Istanbul I'd never seen. Put me in the private car. And his private driver had like a siren, so he'd bypass all the traffic.

[Michelle McPhee]

Baran's status and reach is a world away from suburban Utah.

[Brad Dennis]

Everybody would treat him with extreme deference. He bragged about, oh, I can get Jacob in and out of the country without a passport. Baran had contact with President Erdogan.

[Michelle McPhee]

That might sound far fetched, but I've reported on this. And so have both the Wall Street Journal and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project confirming that Baran is linked to the Turkish President. Now through him. So are Jacob and Laban. But Baran's connections don't stop there. He also has powerful American relationships. His friends in high unlikely places include James Woolsey, the former head of the CIA. What's more, it's well documented that Barran has also been at the center of carefully negotiated backroom diplomatic deals between turkey and shadowy U.S. government officials. one point during Brad's trip, Baron opens up about his feelings regarding Jacob. As a businessman, Jacob's a very scared person.

[Brad Dennis]

You need to be strong to be in business.

[Michelle McPhee]

It doesn't sound like Baran. This supposed close friend and partner of Jacob's has a lot of respect for him. During this period of time, while Brad is working for Jacob, a massive portion of WRE's fraudulent tax credits are being sent straight to Turkey. It all started with that first $10 million warehouse purchase. But then Jacob says Levan wants more and more of their money to be wired to a bunch of different Turkish bank accounts. It's not exactly clear to me why Jacob goes along with all this, but what we do know is that the money is allegedly being used by Baran to buy up a bunch of failing companies in real estate. For example, that fancy hotel in Turkey, another stupidly upscale hotel in Switzerland, a seaside mansion in Istanbul, the yacht where Jenny had her Levon funded wedding. There's a pharmaceutical company called Biopharma, an airline called Borajev. The list goes on and on. All together, Jacob and levan wire over $130 million in stolen proceeds to Turkey. In fact, at one point, Baran, Levan and Jacob make an official joint announcement with the Turkish government where they pledged to invest $950 million in the country. That announcement was solidified with an official presidential photo, one that shows an awkward looking President Erdogan flanked by Baran on one side and the ever uncomfortable Jacob on the other. All of this, of course, is about money laundering. And standing next to a president makes it all look pretty legit. Jacob is appointed as the chairman or director of many of these overseas investments. But in reality, he admits he's just a paper president. This is how Jacob describes the setup in his testimony.

[Jacob Kingston]

I was told they needed a white boy face to be the owner. As a foreign investor,

[Michelle McPhee]

it's important to note that Baron Korkmatz has been indicted on charges of money laundering and wire fraud by federal prosecutors in Utah. But he hasn't been tried yet and he's pleaded not guilty. We've reached out to him for comment, but he hasn't responded. Brad Dennis says he has no idea what's really going on for Jacob in Turkey. And obviously he has nothing to do with the fraud. But he's seen enough to form an impression of Jacob's relationship with his business partners overseas.

[Brad Dennis]

It's almost like they found him and were taking advantage of him in a way. I think Jacob felt taken advantage of by a lot of these folks, but didn't know what he could do.

[Michelle McPhee]

Either way, it won't be Brad's problem for much longer. After about five months of working for Jacob, Brad comes back from a trip to Turkey to some surprising news.

[Brad Dennis]

HR called me in and they're like, okay, well, we're terminating the position that you're in. It's like, nothing against you, just terminating

[Michelle McPhee]

the position just like that. No heads up. Brad gets fired from wre and gets a breakup text from Jacob.

[Brad Dennis]

Yeah, sorry, we couldn't really find anything for you to do.

[Michelle McPhee]

That's the last time they ever talk. From the outside, Jacob's life seems glitzy and successful. But Brad has gotten a glimpse of Jacob's increasingly dangerous reality.

[Brad Dennis]

When I first started tutoring him, he was hopeful. He had ambitions. And when I started working with him, he's still hopeful, but he's starting to realize, I can tell, you know, there's bad people working around him. He was really stressed out.

[Michelle McPhee]

It appears that much of Jacob Kingston's life is a facade. And it's not just Brad who sees this. Jacob's daughter in law, Jenny Kingston, is about to find out for herself. When Jenny gets initiated into the Kingston household, she realizes they're a turbulent family.

[Jenny Kingston]

They were mean to each other and they like, I come from a family who like gives each other hugs and we like each other and talk to each other nice and they didn't at all like, I struggled with it a lot because I don't know, I was like, how can you guys be so mean to each other and, like, yell at each other all the time and treat each other like that?

[Michelle McPhee]

Jacob's many, many kids act like a pack of wild animals, constantly at each other's throats.

[Jenny Kingston]

They were comparing themselves, like, I do this better. Well, I do this better. I make this much money. Well, I make this much money, like, all the time.

[Michelle McPhee]

Soon she realizes where they get it from.

[Jenny Kingston]

Jacob and Sally never. They never showed affection to their kids, even at work. Then Jacob Sr. Would, like, make fun of people about, like, mostly being fat or being ugly or, like, he just was mean and, like, just the people around him would just laugh and agree with him. Like, nobody stood up to him.

[Michelle McPhee]

Jenny says Jacob Jr. Would tell her about his childhood, back when his parents, Jacob and Sally had no money.

[Jenny Kingston]

He would tell me that they fought all the time and he would listen to them a lot. He said that he remembers only maybe five times that his dad has ever told him he loved him.

[Michelle McPhee]

This rot running through the family, it also starts eating away at Jenny's marriage to Jacob Jr. Yeah, it was rough.

[Jenny Kingston]

We fought a lot. We fought a lot.

[Michelle McPhee]

To be clear, this is Jenny's version of events. She claims Jacob Jr. Is constantly playing video games, lying about going to work or never cleaning up after himself. She quickly starts to feel trapped.

[Jenny Kingston]

I remember, like, thinking, this is the rest of my life. I don't like this person. What did I get myself into? Like, now I'm sealed for time and all eternity to this man. How is this little boy gonna take me to the highest degree of glory? Like, he can't clean up after himself.

[Michelle McPhee]

After about a year of marriage, Jenny claims things get worse.

[Jenny Kingston]

The more we got comfortable with each other and being mean to each other. Then it got worse for sure. There were just certain things that would trigger him. Like, he would just be mad. And then, like, if he got triggered too bad, then it would turn into physical abuse. I kind of knew that I didn't want to be with him. Like, I wanted to leave, but I just didn't see it as an option. I didn't see how I could get out. I still believed the order was right, so I just dealt with it.

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[Michelle McPhee]

We've reached out to Jacob Kingston Jr. For comment about this, but we haven't heard back from him. Jacob's scheme is pulling in hundreds of millions of dollars. He's flying all around the world, closing major business deals and building an empire. One that shows the Order how important he has become. But he's under enormous pressure every day, suspicious about getting cheated by Levon and Baran. Not to mention, his family is in disarray and there are constant fires to put out, including the one started by the epa. Remember when I mentioned that he's been negotiating a settlement with the agency? Well, after five years of back and forth, there's finally movement. Jacob gets called to Denver for another meeting with the civil division. In the middle of it, one of the EPA agents delivers some breaking news. They're pressing pause on their civil case against wre. But this isn't God. Smiling down on Jacob, the agents proceed to tell him that instead of the civil case, he and WRE are now the targets of a criminal investigation. The kingdom he's been carefully crafting is starting to crumble. Next time on Kingdom of Fraud. Federal agents gear up for a blockbuster case, the largest tax investigation investigation in American history. Kingdom of Fraud is produced by Novel for iHeart Podcasts. For more from Novel, visit Novel Audio. The show is hosted by me, Michelle McPhee and produced by by Jake Otajevic. It's reported by me and Jake Otajevic. Our assistant producers are Megan Dean and Amalia Sortland, with additional production from Myron Kaplan and Liz Sanchez. Our editor is Sandra Shmueli. Production management from Cherie Houston, Joe Savage and Charlotte Wolf. Our fact checker is Fendal Fulton. Sound design and mixing by Mark Pittam. Original music composed and performed by Nicholas Alexander and Daniel Kempson. Music supervision from Jake Otajevic, Sandra shmueli and Max O'. Brien. Willard Foxton is creative director at Novel. Our executive producers are me, Michelle McPhee, Max O' Brien and Craig Strachan. The novel and Stephanie lan, Katrina Norbel and Nikki Etor are the executive producers for IHear podcasts and the marketing lead is Allison Kanter. Special thanks to Carrie Lieberman, Will Pearson and the whole team at wme.

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