5: Who Do You Trust?

Summary

Kingdom of Fraud – Episode 5: “Who Do You Trust?” (June 9, 2026)
Podcast by iHeartPodcasts, hosted by Michele McPhee

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Episode Overview

This episode delves into the inner collapse of trust within the billion-dollar fraud conspiracy orchestrated by Jacob Kingston (of Utah’s secretive polygamist “Order”) and Levon Termendzhyan, his Armenian LA-based underworld partner. The episode focuses on how growing paranoia, whistleblowers, and the tightening grip of federal investigators are fracturing their alliance—and how a single young woman from inside the Order, Priscilla Tucker, became a pivotal witness. Through gripping first-person accounts, legal analysis, and fascinating undercover insights, the host and her interviewees shed light on the personalities, pressures, and pivotal betrayals at the heart of the largest tax fraud in U.S. history.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Loyalty Test: Paranoia and Power Plays

Segment: 02:00–07:00

• March 2014: Jacob Kingston and Levon Termendzhyan visit Houston for a high-stakes meeting.
• Levon demands an upgrade from a minivan to an Escalade for their airport pickup to make the “right impression.”
• At a private steakhouse dinner, Levon confronts Darryl Leone, Kingston’s logistics man, accusing him of being “too flashy” and potentially talking to investigators.
  • Memorable moment: Levon grabs Darryl’s gold Rolex, scoffing at its $22,000 price tag, then pushes further when Darryl reveals he owns two Lamborghinis.
  • Arthur Aventik (former DOJ prosecutor):

    “Lavon goes up to Darrell Leon and tells him, you're being too flashy.” [05:21]

  • Levon’s intimidation escalates—he has Darryl put in a car with bodyguards for a menacing loyalty interrogation.
  • The underlying tension: Lavon suspects imminent danger from law enforcement and is swift to test the loyalty and discretion of everyone in the operation.
  • Darryl’s charisma manages to navigate the confrontation, but everyone senses the "Feds are hot on their heels."

2. Inside the Order: Priscilla Tucker's Journey

Segment: 08:07–15:59

• Priscilla Tucker, a 28-year-old former member of the Order, shares her story.

• At 17, Priscilla is recruited by Jacob Kingston for an office job at Washakie Renewable Energy (WRE)—immediately embroiled in fraudulent practices.

  • Priscilla, describing her confusion as she’s told to falsify tax figures:

    “He would be like, just say zero. Just say zero. Just say zero.” [10:34]

  • She’s offered rapid promotions and personal attention by Jacob and his wife Sally, including attempts to move her into their mansion.
  • Priscilla senses inappropriate motives—suspects a potential marriage arrangement.
  • Jacob shows off by walking her through his “fudged” accounting spreadsheets, brazenly telling her about stealing from the government:

    “He just thought that I was going to be like, oh wow. He thought it was so cool.” [13:18]

  • Jacob boasts about powerful friends and escape plans (“compound in Turkey, no extradition”).

• Priscilla’s inner struggle:

  • She’s never felt at home in the Order; attempts running away multiple times as a child.

    “I tried running away when I was like 8, 10, 12... I had a loaf of bread in my backpack.” [15:04]

  • Describes the oppressive, sometimes abusive family and church environment.
  • Details the pressure to conform, matchmaking dances, and the physical/psychological abuse endured for being “rebellious.”

3. From Insider to Whistleblower

Segment: 18:46–21:57

• Determined to finally escape, Priscilla plans a filmed flight for the reality show Escaping Polygamy.
• As she’s showered with courtside Jazz tickets and gifts by Jacob, she’s secretly in contact with producers and planning her exit.

  • “We sat like right next to courtside and he was like, oh, these are the things you could do all the time... But I was already talking to the producers of Escaping Polygamy.” [19:02]

• After leaving, Priscilla reconnects with other ex-Order members; her firsthand account provides crucial, previously unknown details on Kingston’s fraud for investigators.

  • “I got together with Amanda and everybody that kind of left before me and I was just telling them about my story and told them like what Jacob said and they’re like, what?” [21:00]

• Priscilla agrees to speak with the IRS, becoming one of the key witnesses.

  • “They did reach out to the IRS and told me like, hey, we want you to talk to this guy if you’re open to it. And I’m like, yeah, sure.” [21:32]

4. The Federal Chase: Investigators Close In

Segment: 25:52–29:45

• Special Agent Steven Washburn (IRS):
  • Explains suspicions raised by WRE’s extraordinary tax credit filings given the remote location and unlikely production volumes.

    “No one’s creating this stuff in the mountains, light years away from ports, right? It doesn’t make any sense.” [26:31]

  • Describes how an agent silently monitored WRE’s biodiesel plant, observing nowhere near the trucking activity that should match the scale of the operation.

    “He just watched trucks... They should have so many trucks a day coming in. Yeah, there should be a train, a truck. Yeah, there should be trucks constantly.” [27:05]

  • Priscilla’s testimony provides inside confirmation of fraud.
• Meanwhile, Jacob Kingston and Levon escalate the fraud to a new level, simply wiring money back and forth to simulate real biofuel transactions.

  • “At the end of the year of 2014, the plan was that we was not going to use any product. We was just going to file financial backing and transactions to back up the claims.” [30:10]

• By 2014-15, their false tax credit claims have reached nearly half a billion dollars.

5. Paranoia and Retaliation: Jacob’s Downward Spiral

Segment: 32:26–38:14

• Jacob becomes increasingly paranoid, believing Priscilla may have betrayed him.
• He orchestrates an awkward, high-pressure encounter in Las Vegas, attempting to extract information:

  “He just sat me down and he was like, you need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me and what do they know? Who is it? And I’m like, I don’t know what you’re talking about. And he’s like, who is it? Because I know.” [34:24]

  • Jacob slips from bribing Priscilla (offers, designer bags) to threats.
  • Tries to intimidate her further by threatening prison over a fabricated scenario.

  “If you don't tell me, you are going to go to prison.” [35:17]

• Priscilla refuses to give in, protecting herself and those helping her. She flees the encounter with help from her new support system.

6. Personal Fallout: The Cost of Escaping the Order

Segment: 37:13–38:14

• Priscilla is shocked to discover her sister has become Jacob’s third wife, highlighting the emotional and personal toll:

  “I was honestly really scared because I knew all of this stuff. And I was like, he's gonna bring her down with him, but I can't tell her anything because what now I'm gonna be an accessory to whatever they're doing, right? Because they're already watching them now.” [37:53]

7. Criminal Investigation Turns Public: The Tip-Off

Segment: 38:14–39:26

• In February 2016, as Jacob sits in a management meeting, he receives a series of phone calls from an IRS number, warning that a raid will happen the next Wednesday.

  “According to Jacob, the voice introduces itself as Mr. Green. Mr. Green says he's calling from the IRS field office in Salt Lake City with some important information. 'There would be a raid on our office that next Wednesday. On February 10th.'” [39:21]

• The episode ends on the note that someone has tipped Jacob off about the impending raid, a hint at further corruption and insider leaks—setting up the stakes for the next episode.

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Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• Arthur Aventik (DOJ prosecutor):

  “Lavon goes up to Darrell Leon and tells him, you're being too flashy.” [05:21]

• Priscilla Tucker:

  “He would be like, just say zero. Just say zero. Just say zero.” [10:34]
  “I tried running away when I was like 8, 10, 12. ... I had a loaf of bread in my backpack.” [15:04]
  “We sat like right next to courtside and he was like, oh, these are the things you could do all the time... But I was already talking to the producers of Escaping Polygamy.” [19:02]
  “If you don't tell me, you are going to go to prison.” [35:17]
  "I was honestly really scared because I knew all of this stuff. And I was like, he's gonna bring her down with him, but I can't tell her anything..." [37:53]

• Special Agent Steven Washburn:

  “No one’s creating this stuff in the mountains, light years away from ports, right? It doesn’t make any sense.” [26:31]

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Important Segment Timestamps

• 02:00 – Detailing the Houston meeting and Levon’s loyalty tactics
• 08:07 – Introduction to Priscilla Tucker and her recruitment
• 13:00 – Priscilla exposed to Jacob’s fraudulent “confidence”
• 18:46 – Priscilla’s escape and contact with investigators
• 25:52 – IRS begins surveillance and investigation details
• 30:10 – Escalation of the fraud and Ponzi-like schemes
• 32:26 – Jacob’s threats during Las Vegas encounter
• 38:14 – The IRS tip-off and looming office raid

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Tone and Language

• The episode retains a suspenseful, confessional tone—gritty, genuine, and sometimes darkly comic (“soccer-mommobile;” “he’s going to run to Turkey”).
• Priscilla’s narrative infuses vulnerability, resilience, and dry humor.
• Criminal actors display both bravado and paranoia, vividly captured in quotes and anecdotes.

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Summary Conclusion

Episode 5 of "Kingdom of Fraud" masterfully unpacks the instabilities that arise when massive cons, cult dynamics, and egos collide—focusing on the unraveling trust between key players and the extraordinary courage of a young whistleblower from inside the Order. The stakes for everyone involved mount as law enforcement closes in, paranoia festers, and past secrets begin to surface, setting the stage for dramatic exposés and further betrayals.

Next episode preview: The fallout from the IRS raid—and the question: who is tipping off the fraudsters from inside law enforcement itself?

Transcript

[Jonas Brothers]

Number one hits, millions of records sold awards, sold out tours. You think the Jonas Brothers are satisfied?

[Priscilla Tucker]

Nope.

[Jonas Brothers]

It's podcast time.

We get to ask other people questions

[Michelle McPhee]

because we're sick and tired of being asked questions.

[Jonas Brothers]

A Jonas is available now and their first guest is a big one, Paul Rudd.

You know, Steve Carell is a great singer. Didn't he tell you not to audition the Office or something? I told him, whoa, we were filming Anchorman. Clearly I was the idiot. Thank God he didn't listen to me, right?

Listen to hey Jonas on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Michelle McPhee]

Hi listeners, I'm Michelle, host of the Kingdom of Fraud podcast and I'm excited to share this incredible story with you. I'm also excited to tell you that you can get access to all episodes of Kingdom of Fraud 100% A.D. free in one week early through the I Heart True Crime plus subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts plus you'll get access to other chart topping true crime shows you love, like the Girlfriends Betrayal, the Godmother, Paper Ghosts, Piketon Massacre, Murder Homes, Unrestorable, and more. So don't wait. Head to Apple Podcasts, search for I Heart True Crime plus and subscribe today.

[Joseph Scott Morgan]

If you're seeking to try to understand the forensic science behind these cases that we hear about in the news, Body Bags is where you need to turn. There's no fluff. We do a deep dive into the forensics. Listen to Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Open your free iHeart app and search Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan and start listening.

[Michelle McPhee]

Novel. All right, we ready?

[Arthur Aventik]

Yeah.

[Michelle McPhee]

So can you please introduce yourself, your name and your former job title?

[Arthur Aventik]

Sure. My name is Arthur Aventik. I prosecuted tax crimes, money laundering, fraud on behalf of the Department of Justice.

[Michelle McPhee]

Arthur and I are speaking through a video call. I'm back home in Venice beach while he's on the hill in D.C. these days, he works as chief legal counsel for the Democrats. But I'm talking to him because a few years ago he was neck deep in our story and there's one game changing moment I really want to talk to him about. It's March 17, 2014, and Daryl Leone has rented a minivan. He. He's heading to the airport in Houston, Texas to pick up two very important clients. Then he gets a text from one of them, Jacob Kingston.

[Arthur Aventik]

Jacob texts and says, what car do you have to come pick us up? And Darryl says, oh, we have a minivan. And Jacob's like, no, no, no, no, no, that's not gonna work. We're not picking up Levon in a minivan. You have to go back and go get some Escalades.

[Michelle McPhee]

Daryl turns the soccer mommobile around and heads back to swap it for an Escalade. Then he rushes to the airport. Jacob and Levon are about to land in a private jet. They're all going out for dinner.

[Arthur Aventik]

They're meeting with a potential buyer of biodiesel. Chinese guy

[Michelle McPhee]

Darrell Leone is a dorky seeming Miami guy. His true passion has always been making music. But when his label didn't take off, he switched to doing logistics. At this point in 2014, Darrell has been working for Jacob for a few years, handling many of the fraudulent fuel cycles for which he's been getting paid millions of dollars. Darrell is both a contractor and an accomplice, but he doesn't seem to be aware of one crucial thing.

[Arthur Aventik]

At this point, the EPA is starting to criminally investigate what's going on. And so they're all a little bit. Someone's talking, and Lavon thinks that it might be Daryl.

[Michelle McPhee]

It's not long ago that EPA agents broke the news to Jacob that they're launching a criminal investigation into Washakie Renewable Energy. Jacob immediately tells Levon, who, as he's done so many times before, tells Jacob the boys are going to sort it out. But this time, Lavon himself isn't feeling so confident. This is the first time they know for certain they're being looked at by criminal investigators. And Lavon starts getting suspicious. After Daryl picks Lavon and Jacob up at the airport, they all go to dinner with that client.

[Arthur Aventik]

They go to the steakhouse. The whole restaurant is shut down. It's just Lavon and Jacob's table.

[Michelle McPhee]

Once everyone's done with their meal, Lavon asks Darryl to step outside. They huddle away from the valet area so no one can overhear.

[Arthur Aventik]

Lavon goes up to Darrell Leon and tells him, you're being too flashy.

[Michelle McPhee]

He grabs Darryl's wrist, decorated with a gold Rolex and asks him how much he paid for it. Daryl proudly says, 22 grand. Wrong answer. Lavon keeps pressing him.

[Arthur Aventik]

I hear you've bought a Lamborghini. And Daryl says, actually, I have two Lamborghinis.

[Michelle McPhee]

Lavon is not amused. He gets in Daryl's face. Someone is watching us and I'm worried about you because you're weak. After they leave the restaurant, Lavan's tirade is far from over.

[Arthur Aventik]

Lavon makes Daryl Lyonne get into his car and he has Darryl Leone sit in the front passenger seat and Lavon sits in the back seat.

[Michelle McPhee]

Two of Lavon's bodyguards ride with them. Lavan keeps grilling Daryl, are you willing

[Arthur Aventik]

to lie, cheat and steal to protect us? This is basically a loyalty test. And Darrell Leone thought he may never come out of that car alive. He thought, Lavon Termingian thinks I'm a loose piece of the puzzle that he needs to tie down and so he may just off me. But, you know, Daryl is also this very charismatic guy and so he talks to Lavon and Lavon decides that he can trust him.

[Michelle McPhee]

Darryl thinks he's talked Lavon down. There's no doubt, though the criminal investigation has Levan agitated. With the Feds hot on their heels, there can be no fuck ups. But that's easier said than done. My name is Michelle McPhee and from the teams at Novel and iHeart podcasts, this is Kingdom of Fraud. Episode five, who do you trust? I'm in a hotel room in Salt Lake City. I look out the window and I see snow capped mountains framing this small city which was built around its majestic Mormon temple. I'm sitting opposite a young woman. She's quiet and shy and like most of the girls who've come out of the Order, very pretty. She seems a little nervous to talk to me.

[Priscilla Tucker]

My name is Priscilla Tucker. I'm from the Order, or people like to call them the Kingstons.

[Michelle McPhee]

Priscilla is 28. She doesn't come back to Utah often. She says it's hard for her, but she's made the journey today to tell me her story. When she was just 17, Priscilla was put on a collision course with Jacob Kingston and the burgeoning federal investigation into his fraud. Back then, Jacob and Lavon were on high alert, knowing full well the Feds were on their tail. Priscilla was just another teenager in the Order. Like most others, she was well aware of Jacob's reputation.

[Priscilla Tucker]

I know that he went on this very long journey of trying to make a successful business and had all these trials and tribulations. And then after he was successful, everybody was like, can I have money to buy a house? Can we have money to fix the church? And he definitely felt very powerful.

[Michelle McPhee]

One day in early 2015, Priscilla goes to the Order's weekly church service.

[Priscilla Tucker]

I was there with my grandma.

[Michelle McPhee]

Church takes place in a packed warehouse belonging to one of the Order businesses. Brother Paul's voice booms as he regales everyone about building the Kingdom of God. After the service, Priscilla and her grandmother mingle, which is when Jacob and Sally approached Me. And totally out of nowhere, Jacob makes Priscilla a proposal.

[Priscilla Tucker]

Jacob said, I want you to work for me. What will it take? I'll give you $18 an hour, which I had never heard of that.

[Michelle McPhee]

Priscilla is dumbstruck. She barely knows Jacob. But in the order 18 bucks an hour is an outrageously good salary. So Priscilla says she doesn't think too hard about it and accepts the job.

[Priscilla Tucker]

I went and worked for him at WR and they started having me file their taxes for them at 17. They told me exactly what to do. I'm like, okay.

[Michelle McPhee]

Priscilla says that sometimes a supervisor at WRE would tell her that, yeah, technically we should pay tax for this thing, but we can work around that.

[Priscilla Tucker]

He would be like, just say zero. Just say zero. Just say zero.

[Michelle McPhee]

Priscilla doesn't really know what the paperwork even relates to. But remember in the order, you do what the one above you tells you to do, especially if you're a woman.

[Priscilla Tucker]

I just did exactly what they said.

[Michelle McPhee]

After a few weeks, Jacob pulls Priscilla aside at the office and makes her another unexpected proposal.

[Priscilla Tucker]

Jacob started being like, oh, I want you to be my assistant. We're going to get you your passport. You're going to go on all my business trips again.

[Michelle McPhee]

Priscilla agrees Jacob is giving her a shot at a bigger life and some freedom, which is rare for many young women in the Order. But then another even stranger offer comes in from Jacob.

[Priscilla Tucker]

Him and Sally tried to move me into their house.

[Michelle McPhee]

So the big house, the mansion, yeah. Priscilla has become the focal point of Jacob's attention.

[Priscilla Tucker]

I didn't know if Jacob wanted to marry me or he wanted one of his sons to marry me, but it was just giving the vibes of like, you're doing too much.

[Michelle McPhee]

But it isn't just Jacob. Sally also seems intent on bringing Priscilla into their family.

[Priscilla Tucker]

There was one day where Sally was just like, yeah, just, just come stay with us for one night, see how you like it. And she put me in the guest house. And I just remember I was so uncomfortable because I don't even really know these people or what they want.

[Michelle McPhee]

Priscilla has always wanted to go to cosmetology school. And Jacob tells her they'll pay for it and buy her a car and even her own salon.

[Priscilla Tucker]

He wanted me to be the freaking head of marketing. I was like, what?

[Michelle McPhee]

Jacob even talks to her about Lavon.

[Priscilla Tucker]

Yeah, that's my best friend. And we, like, make money together. He just hyped up that relationship.

[Michelle McPhee]

And then Priscilla says she even starts having one on one meetings with Jacob in his office in one of Those meetings. Jacob is trying very hard to impress her.

[Priscilla Tucker]

It was like filling out an Excel sheet.

[Michelle McPhee]

Priscilla thinks Jacob is teaching her how to budget money.

[Priscilla Tucker]

And he pulled out his, his own spreadsheet and he was like, look, this is what we're making and what I'm saying we're making. And he's just showing me all of the numbers. He's fudging.

[Michelle McPhee]

Fudging or in other words, defrauding. Jacob, now almost 40 and with two wives, is showing off to the 17 year old, boasting about how much money he's stealing from the government.

[Priscilla Tucker]

His confidence was up here. He just thought that I was going to be like, oh wow. He thought it was so cool. This is how I'm making money, right? I have all of these things and you could have them too.

[Michelle McPhee]

Priscilla has no idea how to react. She just asks him, how are you getting away with this?

[Priscilla Tucker]

He's like, I'll never get caught because we have all of these people and they'll be tipped off and if anything is ever going to happen to me, I, I'm just going to run to Turkey because I have a compound and they can't extradite me from there. Which as a 17 year old I didn't know what any of this meant, but I was like, oh, wow, okay.

[Michelle McPhee]

Jacob also tells Priscilla he has some powerful people in his pocket, including a prominent Utah politician. How long in total did you work at wre?

[Priscilla Tucker]

Literally only like a month.

[Michelle McPhee]

All of this happens extremely fast. And seriously, I don't know what possessed Jacob. He knows there's an ongoing federal investigation into wre. Even more importantly, he knows Lavon is worried about leaks, but he just can't help himself in front of Priscilla. This time he's royally fucked up. They never thought that you would have the guts to go to the FBI.

[Priscilla Tucker]

No, I really think that they thought she's gonna think we're so cool, that she's just gonna wanna join our family.

[Michelle McPhee]

A huge miscalculation because Priscilla isn't interested in the destiny promised by the Order. She wants more than working and marrying within the Kingston clan. Priscilla has always wanted to get out.

[Priscilla Tucker]

I tried running away when I was like 8, 10, 12.

[Michelle McPhee]

Where did you run to?

[Priscilla Tucker]

Down the street. No shoes. I had a loaf of bread in my backpack. I would just do things like that where I'm like, I need to get away.

[Michelle McPhee]

Her life up to this point has been a pressure cooker of reasons to run fast and far away. Starting with what those weekly church services were like for the Kids, the church

[Priscilla Tucker]

had these foldable chairs, and sometimes when these little children would sit on them, they would flip back and the child would fall and smack their heads and cry. And the parents didn't want their child to be the one interrupting church. So they're taking them to the back, they're slapping them, or they're beating them or telling them to stop crying. And it was just normal.

[Michelle McPhee]

Then there are the dances the order puts on to essentially Matchmake, where Priscilla describes the disturbing attention from much older men aimed at much younger girls.

[Priscilla Tucker]

I was about 8 is when they took us to dances. Yeah. And immediately everybody's asking you to dance. Sometimes it'll be like, the kids your age, kids a little older, and then like creepy old men that are like, I knew your dad. And I'm like, cool. That's good for you.

[Michelle McPhee]

In addition to this unwanted attention, Priscilla says she's also experienced physical abuse for being rebellious.

[Priscilla Tucker]

I definitely did get the majority of the abuse because I was more stubborn and I was more vocal to the point where I think they eventually just beat it out of me. So by the time I was mid teens, I was a people pleaser. I didn't know how to stand up for myself.

[Michelle McPhee]

Although she certainly keeps trying over and over again, Priscilla runs away, gets found, and is forced to return home. Then she just tries again. She's 15 when she attempts her first serious escape. But it doesn't go anywhere. At 17, just months before getting that job at Wreath, she tries again. This time, she actually makes it out. For a month, she's away from the order until she says her mom calls.

[Priscilla Tucker]

She said, can we just have lunch one last time before you're not my daughter anymore. Like, basically, I'll talk to you one last time.

[Michelle McPhee]

Priscilla agrees. But as they eat, something feels really off.

[Priscilla Tucker]

The doorbell rang, and there was just these two huge people, and they started walking towards me. And all my mom said was, I told them they could take you. And I'm like, where?

[Michelle McPhee]

The men grab her, shove her in a car, and drive her to an inpatient rehab facility. According to Priscilla, her mom has her committed, telling the facility that her daughter is an addict, which Priscilla adamantly denies. She says it's a control tactic. After a long three months, she gets out. And right after that is when Jacob offers her that job at wre. She takes it. But Priscilla knows that the first chance she gets, she's out of there.

[Priscilla Tucker]

Jacob had taken me to a Jazz game.

[Michelle McPhee]

The Utah Jazz is the state's NBA team. WR is a big money sponsor. It's not long after Jacob told Priscilla about all the money he's stealing.

[Priscilla Tucker]

We sat like right next to courtside and he was like, oh, these are the things you could do all the time. It's going to be so amazing. I was like, oh yeah, wow, wow. But I was already talking to the producers of Escaping Polygamy.

[Michelle McPhee]

Escaping Polygamy is a scripted reality show about, well, I think the title says it all. Sitting in these expensive courtside seats, close enough that they could be sprayed with the player's sweat, Priscilla has already scheduled her high stakes escape, one that will be filmed by a TV crew. Just days after this game. March 1, 2015.

[Priscilla Tucker]

I was at my grandma's house and the producer messaged me and she's like, okay, go outside, we're almost there. So I go outside and I shut the door and it's kind of loud. My grandma was upstairs and then my uncle and his family were downstairs. And I'm like, somebody's going to hear something or just have a feeling from the Lord that I was out there.

[Michelle McPhee]

Priscilla looks for the car that's supposed to take her away, but it's nowhere to be seen. She waits for what seems like an eternity. And then the car finally drives up to the house. Priscilla hurls her bags in, slips into the back seat seat and speeds away. She's going to Las Vegas, where child runaway laws mean her parents can't force her to come back home. Priscilla's years long odyssey to get away from the Order is finally over. But she isn't finished with them yet. Just weeks later, she meets up with some old friends.

[Priscilla Tucker]

I got together with Amanda who told

[Michelle McPhee]

us all about the Order back in

[Priscilla Tucker]

episode one and everybody that kind of left before me and I was just telling them about my story and told them like what Jacob said and they're like, what?

[Michelle McPhee]

It turns out some of these ex Order members have been gathering evidence against members of the group to share it with law enforcement. But what Priscilla is telling them is totally new and potentially huge information. And it comes with a money trail. Someone suggests getting in touch with the irs.

[Priscilla Tucker]

They did reach out to the IRS and told me like, hey, we want you to talk to this guy if you're open to it.

[Michelle McPhee]

And I'm like, yeah, sure, yeah sure. Hugely undercuts how big of a moment this is. Priscilla, a 17 year old self described people pleaser who says she's dealt with a lifetime of abuse, decides to not only walk away from the source of all her trauma, but to also stand up to it just a few weeks later, Priscilla meets with the IRS and starts talking. More on that after the break.

[Jonas Brothers]

Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers. And guess what? We have some big news.

[Michelle McPhee]

What's the news?

[Jonas Brothers]

Huge news. We created our own podcast called hey Jonas.

We invented a podcast.

Well, we didn't invent it.

[Michelle McPhee]

We.

[Jonas Brothers]

We just contributed to it.

[Jake Otajevic]

First people to do podcasts.

[Jonas Brothers]

Pretty. Yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts, but this one's extra special. So how did we. How do we actually come up with the name hey Jonas? Guys, I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it and well, we were thinking. I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes, I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing a

[Arthur Aventik]

bit for the podcast.

[Jonas Brothers]

People could call in and say, hey Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, hey Jonas. And offered it up as a potential title. Oh, but thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to hey Jonas on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast, just listen. We don't care where you hear it.

[Joseph Scott Morgan]

If you're seeking to try to understand the forensic science behind these cases that we hear about in the news, Body Bags is where you need to turn. There's no fluff. We do a deep dive into the forensics. Listen to Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan on America's number one podcast network.

[Special Agent Steven Washburn]

I Heart.

[Joseph Scott Morgan]

Open your free iHeart app and search Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan and start listening.

[Michelle McPhee]

Hi listeners, I'm Michelle, host of the Kingdom of Fraud podcast and I'm excited to share this incredible story with you. I'm also excited to tell you that you can get access to to all episodes of Kingdom of Frog 100% ad free in one week early through the I Heart True Crime plus subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts Plus. You'll get access to other chart topping true crime shows you love, like the Girlfriends Betrayal, the Godmother, Paper Ghosts, Piketon Massacre, Murder Homes Unrestored and more. So don't wait. Head to Apple Podcasts, search for I Heart True Crime plus and subscribe today.

[Fernanda Echabarri]

I love the sounds, the buzzing from the stadium, the chanting from the fans, the announcers calling the place, soccer, football, it's home.

[Michelle McPhee]

Why do I watch the World Cup? That's like asking me, why do I breed? I inherited that fandom from my mom.

[Priscilla Tucker]

I like watching it with my dad.

[Michelle McPhee]

It's a connecting force From Futuro Studios,

[Fernanda Echabarri]

I'm Fernanda Echabarri and this is American Football, a show about soccer culture in the US and its underdog roots. We go beyond the game to the people and the stories that make it great.

[Arthur Aventik]

A soccer game is a fun festival is not just a game, it's your culture. I took an elbow to my head

[Michelle McPhee]

which cracked my skull. It is an American game.

[Joseph Scott Morgan]

The Brazilians don't like hearing that though.

[Priscilla Tucker]

Are they the only ones that don't like that?

[Jonas Brothers]

Nobody likes that.

[Fernanda Echabarri]

As we get ready for the Men's World cup this summer, listen to American Football as part of the My Cultura Podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Special Agent Steven Washburn]

It was sort of a multifaceted, wide open case. A lot of different angles are being worked. There is a wider berth, the Kingston Group specifically, within that Washakie was a target.

[Michelle McPhee]

This isn't the IRS agent Priscilla met with. He declined our interview request. So instead I'm talking to his colleague, Special Agent Steven Washburn. Stephen jumped onto this case later on, but from what he says, it seems IRS agents have been suspicious of WRE for a long time. For starters, Jacob's production plant was built in an unusual spot.

[Special Agent Steven Washburn]

This little town up in northern Utah. It's just sitting there in the middle of the desert. It's a preposterous place for a fuel plant. No one's creating this stuff in the mountains, light years away from ports, right? It doesn't make any sense.

[Michelle McPhee]

Steven says an agent sees the huge claims WRE is putting through for millions upon millions of dollars every few weeks and smells bullshit. So he mounts a one man stakeout. He dries up the i15 and hides out at the turnoff near the wre plant.

[Special Agent Steven Washburn]

He sat out there in his car and just watched the plant for days. He just watched trucks and he's like, all right, they're claiming so many millions of gallons a year of biodiesel. I'm going to see how much is actually moving around up there. And he determined there's no way they're producing millions. They should have so many trucks a day coming in.

[Michelle McPhee]

Yeah, there should be a train, a truck.

[Special Agent Steven Washburn]

Yeah, there should be trucks constantly. That's what initially garnered the interest in Washakie.

[Michelle McPhee]

And then Priscilla comes in. Was a story from within the heart of the company. But while the IRS is watching from afar, the Environmental Protection Agency's criminal investigators hit Jacob hard. They continue putting pressure on him, ordering him to turn over documents. Jacob is now nervous. One day he texts Levon asking in code, what's going on with the epa. Are the boys taking care of it or not? Here's my producer, Jake, with Jacob's testimony.

[Jake Otajevic]

I asked him how the weather is. Is it cold? Because it's cold here? He says it's a little chilly. I asked him, do you know if Utah is getting warm? He says Utah is cold.

[Michelle McPhee]

Lavon is telling Jacob he's dealt with the investigation, but to Jacob, it doesn't look like it's been fucking dealt with. All this time, Jacob has trusted Lavon to protect him, but now he's thinking, is Lavon just full of shit? Despite any doubts Jacob might have, their fraud has become a hungry beast. The that constantly needs feeding. They're continuing to make obscene amounts of money. In 2013 alone, they bank $300 million in tax credits. A lot of money is coming in, but Jacob says a lot of it goes straight back out. By 2014, I've spent between 30 or

[Jake Otajevic]

$50 million in upgrading our facility in Utah. I had sent almost 100 million to Levon in either cash payments or product.

[Michelle McPhee]

Plus, a lot of Jacob's money is flowing to Turkey. Like we talked about in our previous episode, Jacob also claims he funnels over $30 million to the order, though they say that money was for, quote, legitimate services or to repay money already loaned. Whatever money he has left, he spends on shit like luxury trips and high end clothes and CrossFit instructors. When you add all of that up, in reality, Jacob is essentially broke. So Jacob and Lavon decide to run another scheme. The problem is Jacob can't even afford to pay for the biofuel. To run it around in circles like he's done in the past, he has to come up with a different solution.

[Jake Otajevic]

At the end of the year of 2014, the plan was that we was not going to use any product. We was just going to file financial backing and transactions to back up the claims.

[Michelle McPhee]

They're now at the point they're saying, screw buying real biofuel, screw shipping it around the world. Instead, they're going to wire millions of dollars back and forth between wre and Darrell Leone, the logistics guy, creating an imitation of real biofuel trade. Then in early 2015, Jacob and Levon file a claim for $170 million in tax credits. Sure, the EPA is all over them, but the fraud must go on. Now, I want to pause over all the flabbergasting amounts of money here. Including the payouts from the previous years, Jacob and Lavon have now stolen nearly a half a billion dollars. Only there's a catch for Jacob. Lavon tells him that with all this heat, the boys are taking more risk. That means they'll only keep protecting them from the feds if they get a 50% cut of the entire fraud for this latest scheme that comes out to around $80 million. Just for protection. This is a lot of money for Jacob. But the feds are beginning to close in. He's out of options. What else can he do other than betting it all on the boy's protection and praying for the best? He agrees to Lavon's terms, which means that out of the latest $170 million check, Jacob sends Lavon around 100 million Lavon's cut and the money Lavon is supposed to pass on to the boys. Only even that doesn't assuage Jacob's anxiety. A few months later, Priscilla gets an unpleasant visit from Jacob, whose paranoia has clearly started to take over.

[Priscilla Tucker]

He was like, you need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me?

[Michelle McPhee]

That's after the break. In late spring of 2015, just a few months after her escape, Priscilla is living in Vegas. She's just turned 18, and she's trying to build a new life for herself, when one day her old life comes knocking.

[Priscilla Tucker]

Jacob or Sally reached out to me and they were like, hey, we're coming to Vegas. Like, would you want to, like, come to dinner with us or meet up with us? And then he's like, we're bringing your

[Michelle McPhee]

sister, Priscilla's older sister, Hannah.

[Priscilla Tucker]

That was just so I would agree. Like, I'll meet up with you because my sister's with you. So I was like, okay. So they come, they pick me up, and we go like on the strip.

[Michelle McPhee]

Priscilla, her sister Hannah, Jacob, and Sally are all walking in the kaleidoscopic glow of the hotels and casinos. Priscilla still has no idea what this weird reunion is all about. And Jacob just keeps on offering to buy our shit.

[Priscilla Tucker]

We're like passing designer stores and he's like, do you want a bag? Like, no, I'm good. He's like, do you want something from there? Do you want something from there? I'm like, I'm okay. Then we go to dinner.

[Michelle McPhee]

They have dinner at the Wynn, the famous five star hotel that looks like a curved pane of honey colored glass. It's Jacob's favorite because it's Lavon's favorite. In a page out of the Lion's Book, he's ordering caviar for the table, showing off for the ladies. So far it's innocuous. But the next day it finally becomes clear what the hell this bizarro visit is all about.

[Priscilla Tucker]

He just sat me down and he was like, you need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me and what do they know? Who is it? And I'm like, I don't know what you're talking about. And he's like, who is it? Because I know.

[Michelle McPhee]

You know, from the way Priscilla remembers it, it sounds like someone from the inside has told Jacob about her meeting with the irs. But I think it's also possible that Jacob is just terrified because he realized how dumb it was to blabber to Priscilla. She could easily turn on him and blow the whistle to the feds, which of course she has. But he doesn't know that, not for certain. And Priscilla isn't telling him. She claims he goes from sweet talking her to threatening her.

[Priscilla Tucker]

If you don't tell me, you are going to go to prison. I was like, what?

[Michelle McPhee]

Priscilla claims Jacob is using a rumor about an older man in the Order preying on her as a threat.

[Priscilla Tucker]

He was acting like because this man preyed on me as a 17 year old, I was going to go to prison.

[Michelle McPhee]

What Jacob is saying makes absolutely no sense. Even Priscilla in the moment is a little like, what now?

[Priscilla Tucker]

Deep down I was like, whatever, Jacob. I was like terrified. But at the same time I was like, I didn't do anything wrong. I was like, oh my God, what am I going to do? But also, I couldn't tell him.

[Michelle McPhee]

She holds strong.

[Priscilla Tucker]

Then he talked to my sister and he was like, you need to get her to tell us or she's going to be in a lot of trouble. She had no idea what was going on. So she came to me crying. She was like, please tell them whatever they need to know. Like he said, you're going to be in a lot of trouble. I don't want anything to happen to you.

[Michelle McPhee]

Now Priscilla just wants to get out of there, away from Jacob. So she calls the woman she's been staying with ever since her televised escape.

[Priscilla Tucker]

I was crying. I'm like, I don't know what to do. Like he's threatening me. Can you guys come get me? So they, they came to come grab me. And as they're walking through the casino, they see Jacob over here gambling a lot of money.

[Michelle McPhee]

They get Priscilla out of the hotel and drive off. Priscilla is upset.

[Priscilla Tucker]

One, I was sad that that's how I got to see my sister. And then two, I was just, I guess Scared, Because I'm like, he just threatened me.

[Michelle McPhee]

I can't help but like Priscilla. She's a feisty badass, especially considering where she came from. Not long after this, Priscilla gets another phone call.

[Priscilla Tucker]

The producer from escaping polygamy called me and was like, did you know Hannah got married? And I'm like, no, she didn't. To who? And she said, jacob. I'm like, you're lying to me. And she's like, no, she did. You didn't know that? I'm like, no, I didn't know that. So I messaged my sister. I was like, you got married to Jacob? And I was like, crying because why am I the last person to hear that my sister got married and to Jacob?

[Michelle McPhee]

Hannah has become Jacob's third wife. It is clear to Priscilla that she has no idea about his life of crime or that the feds are onto him.

[Priscilla Tucker]

I was honestly really scared because I knew all of this stuff. And I was like, he's gonna bring her down with him, but I can't tell her anything because what now I'm gonna be an accessory to whatever they're doing, right? Because they're already watching them now. So I was just like, okay, like, I hope you're happy. Whatever.

[Michelle McPhee]

By talking to the Feds, Priscilla has tried to do the right thing. But did that put her in danger? It's clear the time has come for the authorities to do something. And a few months later, they move in. Jacob is in the middle of a weekly management meeting with his brother Isaiah and his father Daniel. It's early February 2016. In his testimony, Jacob says, at first,

[Jake Otajevic]

my phone rang and I rejected the call. Immediately thereafter, Isaiah's phone rang. It came from the same number. He rejected the call because we was in the same meeting. And about 20 minutes later, the head of my IT also, my cousin, informed me that somebody called from the same number that had called us.

[Michelle McPhee]

According to Jacob, the voice introduces itself as Mr. Green. Mr. Green says he's calling from the IRS field office in Salt Lake City with some important information.

[Jake Otajevic]

There would be a raid on our office that next Wednesday. On February 10th.

[Michelle McPhee]

The IRS is ready to take their investigation public. But someone is tipping Jacob off. That's next week on Kingdom of Fraud. Kingdom of Fraud is produced by Novel for Iheart Podcast. For more from Novel, visit Novel Audio. The show is hosted by me, Michelle McPhee, and produced 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 Fendel 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 Lang, Katrina Norbel and Nikki Etor are the executive producers for IHear podcasts, and the marketing lead is Allison Kantor. Special thanks to Carrie Lieberman, Will Pearson and and the whole team at WME.