Lawless Planet

Episode: "A Polygamist Cult-Leader’s Billion-Dollar Biofuel Scam"

Host: Zach Goldbaum
Date: August 25, 2025
Podcast: Wondery

Overview:

This explosive episode investigates a jaw-dropping intersection of religious extremism, organized crime, and America's climate crisis. Host Zach Goldbaum uncovers how Jacob Kingston—a high-ranking member of the secretive polygamist sect "The Order"—and his unlikely partner, Lev Aslan Dermen ("The Lion"), orchestrated one of the biggest renewable energy frauds in U.S. history. Through enticements of family, faith, and fraud, they manipulated government biofuel subsidies to the tune of half a billion dollars, leaving environmental destruction and broken lives in their wake. The story is propelled by brave insiders like Mary Jacobs (now Nelson), whose whistleblowing helped dismantle the empire.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Order: Polygamy, Power, and Poverty

• The secret world of the Kingston clan:
  • The Order (Davis County Cooperative Society) is a polygamist offshoot, operating 300 businesses and even its own bank (04:18–08:40).
  • Members are paid in credits and forced to tithe, barely scraping by—meanwhile, leaders like Jacob Kingston wield immense wealth and power.
  • "Instead of paychecks, they get statements where they're credited with minimum wage salaries, and a 10% tithing is deducted." (08:01, Zach Goldbaum)
  • Doctrine of "Bleeding the Beast": Scamming the government is seen as virtuous retaliation for being persecuted.

2. Biofuel Policy: Well-Intentioned, Widely Abused

• Genesis of the scam:
  • The 2005 Energy Policy Act and its Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) offered huge subsidies for biofuel production (09:35–12:43).
  • Producers, including fraudsters, could claim lucrative tax credits for every gallon of biofuel produced (or claimed).
  • "What if some fat cat helicopter parent swoops in and says, look, for every cup you sell I'll give you a dollar. ...That's pretty much how the US government props up the biofuel industry." (11:17, Zach Goldbaum)
• Regulatory vulnerability:
  • Doug Parker, EPA Criminal Investigations Director, notes early on that the sector is ripe for fraud (13:04, Doug Parker).
  • Example: previous "ghost loads," fake paperwork, and IRS tanks filled just for inspections.

3. Jacob Kingston’s Rise—and the Web of Deceit

• Early ambitions & pressure:
  • Jacob, an engineering PhD, tries to build Utah’s biggest clean-burning biodiesel business, but quickly discovers honest profits are unattainable (04:18–17:41).
• First forays into fraud:
  • When the EPA inspects and finds no real production, Washakie concocts schemes like "ghost loads" and "rotations"—moving existing biofuel around, forging paperwork, and double-counting subsidies.

4. Enter ‘The Lion’—Mob Connections and Global Laundering

• Lev Aslan Dermen ("The Lion") arrives:
  • LA Armenian mobster with a taste for showy excess and alleged connections at high levels.
  • The Lion proposes laundering Jacob’s bad biofuel and finessing the subsidies through a "rotation" scam, looping the same fuel between U.S. ports and even internationally (19:04–25:16).
  • "Once, Jacob and the Lion rotated the same 15 million gallons of biofuel so many times that they were able to claim $250 million in tax credits." (29:01, Zach Goldbaum)
• Flashy spending & mafia protection ("the Umbrella"):
  • Partnership fuels lavish lifestyles: jets, Lamborghinis, watches, parties, and purported CIA operations via laundered funds in Turkey.
  • Jacob is told, "they were protected by something the lion calls the Umbrella. A network of cops and powerful international figures who are on the take." (26:44, Zach Goldbaum)

5. Mary Jacobs’ Escape and Whistleblowing

• A personal account of indoctrination and courage:
  • Mary grows up running accounts for the Order since age 7, later handling the group’s banking as millions flow in from Washakie’s fraud (24:57–25:16).
  • Faced with a forced marriage, she flees the Order in a risky pre-dawn escape (00:00–01:09).
  • Begins new life with Brian Nelson and ultimately becomes a critical FBI informant.
  • "From the time I was seven years old, I was preparing these financial statements for every single member of the Order." (24:57, Mary Jacobs / Nelson)

6. Federal Investigation and Takedown

• Doug Parker and federal partners coordinate:
  • EPA, IRS, FBI, and Homeland Security build a paper trail. Several failed raids nearly allow the Kingstons and Lion to slip away, thwarted only by insider tips (37:19–42:24).
  • Corruption is rampant: insiders ("the Umbrella") include an actual rogue FBI agent and local detectives.
• Final arrests and convictions:
  • Jacob is snared at SLC Airport on his way to Turkey (44:18).
  • The Lion is detained in LA, stripped of his "protection."
  • "Jacob Kingston and the lion submitted a billion dollars in claims, more than 500 million of which was paid out." (45:51, Zach Goldbaum)
  • Sentences: Jacob (18 years), his brother Isaiah (12 years), wife and mother take plea deals; the Lion gets 40 years; corrupt law enforcement go down too.

7. Reckoning: The Damage of Magical Thinking

• Broken policy and environmental blowback:
  • Despite intent to cut emissions, the RFS increased fertilizer use, water pollution, and habitat loss—while subsidizing scammers and failing climate goals (45:51–48:42).
  • "While it definitely burns cleaner, biofuel has ended up producing even more emissions than regular gasoline." (47:51, Zach Goldbaum)
• The human cost:
  • Mary loses her family and childhood world but is credited by investigators for making the case possible.
  • She reflects: "They're going to feel betrayed, and I know that they are not going to understand why I'm in this position and why we're doing what we're doing. But I know that one day they will." (48:42, Mary Jacobs / Nelson)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "If they caught me, that was it. I would never have another chance to leave."
  — Mary Jacobs/Nelson on fleeing the Order ([01:05])
• "These were bad guys. They were engaged in massive fraud."
  — Doug Parker, EPA ([02:56])
• "EPA's seal, it's a big flower. And we would kind of refer to ourselves as the power behind the flower."
  — Doug Parker, on the EPA’s role in criminal enforcement ([12:43])
• "Jacob and the lion rotated the same 15 million gallons of biofuel so many times that they were able to claim $250 million in tax credits."
  — Zach Goldbaum ([29:01])
• "Scamming isn't looked down upon [in the Order]. It's a way of life."
  — Zach Goldbaum ([25:16])
• "The crooked FBI agent who tipped them off, a Homeland Security agent, a local narcotics detective, all landed in prison for their involvement with the Lion."
  — Zach Goldbaum ([45:51])
• "As much as we may want to place blame solely on the scammers, it may have been the renewable fuel standard itself that screwed taxpayers and the environment the most."
  — Zach Goldbaum ([47:07])

Key Timestamps

• 00:00 – 01:35: Mary's escape from the Order
• 02:56: Doug Parker on the scope of criminal fraud
• 04:18 – 08:40: Background on the Order and their financial operations
• 09:35 – 12:43: Legislative backdrop – Energy Policy Act and RFS explained
• 17:30 – 17:41: Ghost loads and early Washakie fraud
• 19:04 – 25:16: Introduction of The Lion and development of the rotation scheme
• 24:57 – 26:50: Mary’s finance work for the Order and the escalation of fraud
• 29:01: Scale of the rotation scam
• 37:19 – 42:24: Federal investigation and insider informants
• 44:18: Final arrests at SLC and LAX
• 45:51 – 47:51: Sentencing and the legacy of the case
• 48:42: Mary's personal cost and reflection

Tone & Style

• Narrative Rich & Investigative: Hard-hitting but empathetic. Wry, sometimes darkly comic tone from Goldbaum, underlined by firsthand testimony and suspenseful storytelling.
• Quotes are candid and direct—especially from insiders like Mary and investigators like Doug Parker—lending an intimate, human feel to high-stakes fraud.

Summary Takeaways

• The episode deftly combines true crime with urgent questions about environmental policy.
• It exposes how eco-friendly government programs can become lucrative targets for fraud—and why proper oversight matters.
• The personal stories, especially of Mary Jacobs/Nelson, ground the legal and environmental drama in a tale of extraordinary courage and loss.

Highly recommended for listeners interested in crime, cults, and the hidden costs of America’s green energy push.