Episode 8 - Nobody Knows Which End is Up

Summary

Once Upon A Con Season 1, Episode 8: "Nobody Knows Which End is Up" Release Date: March 26, 2025

---

Introduction

In Episode 8 of Once Upon A Con, titled "Nobody Knows Which End is Up," host Caroline D'Amore and co-producer Jonathan Walton delve deeper into the intricate web spun by David Bloom—a self-proclaimed power player and "Wall Street Whiz Kid." This episode chronicles the group's determined effort to confront Bloom, recover their lost investments, and seek justice amidst bureaucratic hurdles.

---

The Unfolding Betrayal

[02:22 – 03:17]

The episode picks up with a flashback to Caroline and Jonathan’s initial realization of Bloom’s deceit. Jonathan recounts his first impressions of David Bloom:

Jonathan Walton [02:26]: "When he first started working for me he hit us within a month of, oh, I'm so connected. I know everybody. My wife, she's doing all these things politically. She's connected to Gavin Newsom. And he dropped so many names."
[02:26]

Despite Bloom's impressive network claims, Jonathan invested a substantial sum:

Jonathan Walton [02:39]: "I invested 40 grand total."
[02:39]

Caroline reveals that more victims emerged, including Bloom’s former employer, prompting the group to unite and confront him directly.

---

The Confrontation

[02:44 – 12:43]

In August 2021, an angry group of six victims confronts David Bloom at his residence. Jonathan shares his shock upon Bloom’s unexpected return:

Jonathan Walton [03:42]: "I was personally, I was shocked. I was like, wow, he's walking back into this."
[03:42]

As the group demands accountability, Bloom remains unnervingly calm:

Caroline D'Amore [05:16]: "We've all heard a lot of different stories, David."
[05:16]

Tensions escalate when inconsistencies in Bloom’s stories surface, particularly regarding his supposed connections and business dealings. Caroline challenges Bloom on fabricated relationships and fraudulent claims:

Caroline D'Amore [07:06]: "You do not know Ron Burke. You do not text him every day. It's all based."
[07:06]

The confrontation intensifies as victims present evidence of Bloom’s deceit, leading to a stand-off where Bloom reluctantly hands over his passport, wallet, and cell phone after the threat of involving the police.

---

The Aftermath and Partial Recovery

[12:43 – 18:39]

Following the confrontation, the group retrieves Bloom’s personal items and proceeds to Wells Fargo to secure certified checks. Jonathan describes the surreal experience at the bank:

Jonathan Walton [17:43]: "Probably looked like you guys were walking this poor old man to rob him."
[17:43]

Despite obtaining $22,000 to be divided among the victims, the majority of the funds remain unrecovered. Caroline shares her personal relief yet frustration:

Caroline D'Amore [18:39]: "There was one person that lost about 70,000, and that's just one person, so you can imagine that was pennies."
[18:39]

---

Legal Struggles and Delays

[18:39 – 22:12]

The victims report their cases to the LAPD, who take their claims seriously but struggle to build a substantial case against Bloom. Caroline expresses her disillusionment with the slow legal process:

Jonathan Walton [19:50]: "The District Attorney's office still has not brought a case."
[19:50]

Eight months after Bloom’s arrest, he remains free on bail, raising concerns about his potential to continue scamming others. Caroline recounts a recent encounter where Bloom was spotted at a bus stop, further fueling fears of his ongoing manipulations:

Caroline D'Amore [21:28]: "The look of nervous terror on David's face is priceless as he quickly darts off in the opposite direction."
[21:28]

---

Protest for Justice

[22:12 – 31:07]

Frustrated by the lack of legal action, Caroline and Jonathan decide to take matters into their own hands by organizing a protest outside the Los Angeles District Attorney's office. Jonathan encourages Caroline to make her voice heard:

Jonathan Walton [24:34]: "Have you thought about staging a protest outside the DA's Office downtown."
[24:34]

On March 2, 2023, the group rallies approximately ten individuals, including Bloom’s ex-wife, Nancy, who bravely shares her own experiences of Bloom’s scams. The protest garners attention, with onlookers and officials noticing their determined chants:

Caroline D'Amore [27:15]: "Charge David Bloom. Charge David Bloom."
[27:15]

Their unified stance brings a temporary spotlight to Bloom’s actions, but significant legal repercussions remain elusive.

---

Current Status and Ongoing Battle

[31:07 – 37:35]

Despite partial financial recovery and community support, David Bloom remains at large. Caroline discusses her continued efforts to expose Bloom and prevent further scams:

Caroline D'Amore [34:23]: "It's April 2nd now to 2023, ... David Blum will be charged in the next few weeks."
[34:23]

Jonathan draws parallels between Bloom and other con artists, emphasizing the sophistication and emotional manipulation employed by scammers:

Jonathan Walton [22:45]: "By going public with your story and by getting over the shame and the worry of what people are going to think and just outing this mother to people, I think that's important."
[22:45]

The episode concludes with Caroline celebrating her business's success, finding solace and motivation in her endeavors while vowing to continue the fight against Bloom:

Caroline D'Amore [37:30]: "Unless we make noise and protest, which we have a right to, right, nothing will change."
[37:30]

She dedicates the podcast to her late mother, solidifying her resolve to seek justice and prevent others from falling prey to similar cons.

---

Conclusion

Episode 8 of Once Upon A Con is a compelling narrative of betrayal, resilience, and the fight for justice against white-collar crime. Caroline and Jonathan’s relentless pursuit highlights the challenges victims face in holding sophisticated con artists accountable. Through personal testimonies, strategic confrontations, and community action, the episode underscores the importance of vigilance and collective effort in combating financial fraud.

Notable Quotes:

• Jonathan Walton [03:42]: "I couldn't think he would walk in the door, actually. I thought, there's no way."
• Caroline D'Amore [07:06]: "You do not know Ron Burke. You do not text him every day."
• Jonathan Walton [24:34]: "Have you thought about staging a protest outside the DA's Office downtown."
• Caroline D'Amore [37:30]: "Unless we make noise and protest, which we have a right to, right, nothing will change."

---

Once Upon A Con Episode 8 offers a gripping exploration of deceit and the arduous path to seeking justice. For those who have not listened, this episode provides invaluable insights into the tactics employed by con artists and the power of community solidarity in overcoming fraud.

Transcript

[Caroline D'Amore]

In a world of economic uncertainty and workplace transformation, learn to lead by example from visionary C Suite executives like Shannon Schuyler of PwC and Will Pearson of iHeartMedia, the Good Teacher explains the great teacher inspires.

[Jonathan Walton]

Don't always leave your team to do the work. That's been the most important part of how to lead by example.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Listen to Leading by Example executives making an impact on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jonathan Walton]

We live in a divided country and our media couldn't be more polarizing. That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices not from the extremes, but from the vast middle into the national conversation. Each week we hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country. And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one item from the avalanche of news. Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Welcome to Pod of Rebellion, our new Star Wars Rebels Rewatch podcast. I'm Vanessa Marshall, voice of Harrison duelist Spector 2. I'm Tia sir Car Sabine Wren, Spectre 5.

[Jonathan Walton]

I'm Taylor Gray, Ezra Bridger, Spectre 6 and I'm Jon Lee Brody, the Ghost Crew Stowaway moderator.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Each week we're gonna rewatch and discuss an episode from the series and share some fun behind the scenes stories.

[Jonathan Walton]

Sometimes we'll be visited by special guests like Steve blume voices Zabarelio's Spectre 4, or Dante Bosco voices Jaquel and many others.

[Caroline D'Amore]

So hang on because it's going to be a fun ride.

[Jonathan Walton]

Cue the music. Listen to Potter Rebellion on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Ever wonder what it would be like to be mentored by today's top business leaders? My podcast this Is Working can help with that. Here's some adv advice from Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, on standing out from the leadership crowd. Develop your EQ A lot of people have plenty of brains, but EQ is do you trust me? Do I communicate well? Develop the team, develop the people. Create a system of trust. And it works over time. I'm Dan Roth, LinkedIn's editor in chief. On my podcast this is Working, Leaders share strategies for success. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Previously on Once Upon a Con.

[Jonathan Walton]

When he first started working for me he hit us within a month of, oh, I'm so connected. I know everybody. My wife, she's doing all these things politically. She's connected to Gavin Newsom. And he dropped so many names.

[Caroline D'Amore]

How much money did you invest with him?

[Jonathan Walton]

I invested 40 grand total.

[Caroline D'Amore]

I uncover more victims of David Blum, including his former employer, and we all band together and show up at David's front door to get our money back.

[Jonathan Walton]

David, how are you? Let's go to the Circle. Let's go downstairs. No, we're going to do it right here. I think it's time that I talk some shit to you. The world knows what you pull me through. I cooked your words. Salt in the.

[Caroline D'Amore]

I'm Caroline De Mor, and this is Once Upon a con. Episode 8 Nobody knows which End Is Up.

[Jonathan Walton]

How does it take? I was the only one who couldn't be there. Had eye surgery. I just had eye surgery that day. We prearranged that I would record everything on my iPhone.

[Caroline D'Amore]

I'm talking to my business partners, Beck and Aaron, who are instrumental in the planning and execution of this confrontation. David Blum was actually out of town for a couple weeks, and we were scared. Maybe somebody tipped him off that we were coming for him.

[Jonathan Walton]

We didn't even know whether he really was in London and really was coming back. Everyone was texting him and saying, david, you're on your. He goes, yeah, I'm on my way back. I didn't really think he would walk in the door, actually. I thought, there's no way. And he's leading everybody on and saying. And we were checking, you know, was his stuff still in his apartment or was. Was he really gonna come back? So when he walked in the door on a Sunday night about 7pm and went up to his apartment, I was. Personally, I was shocked. I was like, wow, he's walking back into this.

[Caroline D'Amore]

We're an angry group of six. That night, back in August of 2021, all victims of con artist David Blume. Even Harry, his former boss at that credit repair company, is there.

[Jonathan Walton]

I was enraged because I, at the time, I had trusted this man. I actually cared about him and the things that he did to help me, like make me really believe he was genuine. And then to realize all of that was a lie. It felt like being cheated on. It was like confronting a cheater while catching them in the act.

[Caroline D'Amore]

So when we knock on his door, David actually opens it, sees us all standing there angrily, snapping, staring him down. He takes a beat and says, what's going on?

[Jonathan Walton]

Scared.

[Caroline D'Amore]

But Harry speaks Up for all of us.

[Jonathan Walton]

No, we're gonna be right here, David. I want to know the truth. Be honest. Look me in the eye. You've told me a lot of things that are different than the stories I'm hearing from these people. I'd like to know the truth.

[Caroline D'Amore]

We've all heard a lot of different stories, David.

[Jonathan Walton]

Everyone's in all one room right now. Everyone's all. Everyone's talking.

[Caroline D'Amore]

David is weirdly calm, acting like this is all just one big misunderstanding, which strikes us as odd. Another neighbor speaks up.

[Jonathan Walton]

He's basically swindled thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands. He hasn't swindled anything from anyone. Okay, then. Let's get the money back. Certified checks.

[Caroline D'Amore]

One of the victims confronting him is out $70,000. Another one gave David 40,000. Suddenly, Harry starts up again, asking about his employee, Terry, who we now know pretended to be The Whole Foods CEO, A.C. gallo, on the phone with me that day.

[Jonathan Walton]

You've involved Terry in some of these dealings. Has Terry been an accomplice in some of your deals? Has he ever made a phone call for you on your behalf? No. You never wrote him a script? No. You never called anything? How did the trip to Texas happen? Do you even have it contacted Whole Foods? Yeah. No, you don't.

[Caroline D'Amore]

So who was the voice that spoke to me as if they were the president of Whole Foods?

[Jonathan Walton]

Was the guy from Whole Foods?

[Caroline D'Amore]

No, it was not. And I've actually confirmed that it was not. And I've actually confirmed that you don't know Ron Burkel, who you used to let all of us believe that the money that we were giving you came from an ipo.

[Jonathan Walton]

I do actually know Ron Burkel. He does. He denies when people reach out to him. He never says anything about his relationship.

[Caroline D'Amore]

His best friend knows the story of what's going on right now. And extra confirmed that you do not know Ron Burke. You do not text him every day. You do not do any of that. It's all based.

[Jonathan Walton]

Let's just have David call him right now, since they're such good friends. It's here. You call your guy. I don't call him in the middle of the day.

[Caroline D'Amore]

You text him all the time. You show me text messages all the time. David, come on. I've confirmed that you do not know him. And it's very scary because all of us have given you money for an IPO based on your relationship with Ron. I asked Sylvie when you said you were at the CEO of Netflix, where you were, and you were by the fucking pool and you were not leaving. And you called Amanda and you invited her to a barbecue that day, knowing that you were not getting on a flight, coming to see us, letting us sit in Texas. What was the point of that?

[Jonathan Walton]

You know what? She.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Now that I'm completely broke. You know, when I have a little daughter, I have zero of anything, and you allow me to spend my last. That was my salary, my whole salary. Going to Texas to have a meeting that didn't exist. I cooperated with Whole Foods that the meeting didn't exist. AC Gallo doesn't know who you are. This is a lie. Why lie to me? Why? I want to know why. I am so enraged at this point, I am literally turning red. Part of me wants to punch David Bloom into next week. I'm inches from his face right now, and he's just calm and emotionless. He's got a real Dexter vibe going on.

[Jonathan Walton]

I apologize to you.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Why would you do that to me when I thought we were friends?

[Jonathan Walton]

We are friends. Well, I've not been, but.

[Caroline D'Amore]

What did you gain from that?

[Jonathan Walton]

Nothing.

[Caroline D'Amore]

What was the purpose?

[Jonathan Walton]

Nothing.

[Caroline D'Amore]

I almost lost everything. Everything. You know what you said to me? You said, use your last dollar, Caroline. Stay on the couch. Because this is so big for you as a business woman. Stay. Spend your last dollar for this meeting because so big for you. It's life changing. Stay on the couch. Live on people's couches until you get to the place where you need to go. Why would you say that shit to me? Why?

[Jonathan Walton]

Why?

[Caroline D'Amore]

Tell me now. Why?

[Jonathan Walton]

I am sorry.

[Caroline D'Amore]

He says he's sorry, but I'm way past believing anything he says anymore. It's truly a surreal scene. The six of us standing in that hallway, exposing David Bloom for what he really is. A despicable con man. Harry, in a lot of ways, is the most vulnerable because David was his employee for three years.

[Jonathan Walton]

I can lose my company over this. 15 years I've worked to build that company. How could you lose your company? How couldn't I? You're committing crimes. How couldn't I. Committing crimes.

[Caroline D'Amore]

David actually told me and everyone else that he's the one who owns Harry's credit repair company.

[Jonathan Walton]

You're part owner of my company, I hear. Who's the owner? Who's the owner? 100%. I'm glad you guys got to hear that, okay? Because I'm shocked to hear that. I'm not.

[Caroline D'Amore]

There's also a woman who comes out of David's apartment. His girlfriend. Nearly 20 years younger than him. Not that that matters. We've all hung out with her at different times, and we think we know her. But now we realize David's been telling each of us different stories about her. Harry turns and looks her in the eye.

[Jonathan Walton]

He told me that you were his mistress. His wife was okay with you guys having an affair.

[Caroline D'Amore]

And then so with his wife, in reality. David's been divorced from his former wife, Nancy for a couple years now.

[Jonathan Walton]

I chose to tell a different story because I didn't. They're called lies when they're a different story.

[Caroline D'Amore]

This entire confrontation goes on for more than a half an hour. Again and again, we all keep demanding our money back. And David keeps saying, you all have your money back.

[Jonathan Walton]

There's no trust anymore. It has to happen now. Why don't you just wire it? I can't wire the money now. What are you talking about, though? I can wire money all day long. It's on the Internet. 100. I don't have a wiring app for my bank account. I will get you all certified. You can go into Wells Fargo and you can do wire 100 and you.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Can do Zell and you can do anything. And if you have all the money that you've been telling all of us that you have, all they want is something back that we've given you tonight, right now, before we leave, because I don't trust that you won't be on the first plane.

[Jonathan Walton]

I'm not going anywhere. I'm waking up here and I will go to the bank. You can come with me tomorrow and get certified checks.

[Caroline D'Amore]

David keeps insisting he'll go to the bank first thing in the morning and get us all our money back.

[Jonathan Walton]

Why don't you give us something that we can hold as collateral so we can get the money for this wallet? Why don't you get your whole wallet with all of your travel? Can't fly. Just give us. No, we want your passport and we want your wallet.

[Caroline D'Amore]

David bristles at the idea of surrendering his passport and wallet to us and walks back into his apartment, shutting the door. We're all thinking he might never come out again. Then suddenly, a minute later, it is, here's my wallet.

[Jonathan Walton]

And here is my passport and my driver's license, all in there. Have you got enough money in the bank to pay them all back what you took from them? Initially, yes, I do.

[Caroline D'Amore]

But for good measure, we asked to hold on to his cell phone, too.

[Jonathan Walton]

I'm not getting my phone. I'm going to keep my phone and I'm going to be here. You don't have those privileges to decide anymore. If you want to. If you want to, we can call the police. You want me to call police? You want to take my phone? Yeah.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Yeah. The mere threat of calling the police scares David into handing over his iPhone to us.

[Jonathan Walton]

So you have everything. I will make it right for everyone. I'll see you at 8 o'clock in the morning.

[Caroline D'Amore]

We eventually leave David's place with his wallet, passport, and cell phone. A few minutes later, a message from Terry pops up on David's phone. Remember, he's the guy who pretended to be Whole Foods CEO A.C. gallo. On the phone with me now, he's responding to a message titled Urgent that David must have sent in that 60 seconds. He walked back into his apartment while we were waiting outside. We don't know David's passcode, so we can't read the rest of the message, but it's clear they're obviously working together. Anyway, we all eventually walk back to our own apartments. I don't sleep at all that night. My adrenaline is pumping. When morning comes, my business partner Aaron and a couple other victims escort David to the Wells Fargo down the street.

[Jonathan Walton]

I don't know what the security footage would have looked like. I mean, it must have looked like some sort of crazy heist or something. We all walk in and I'm just sitting there just thinking, this is as weird as it gets. We live in a divided country. I am a lifelong Republican with all kinds of different people. You know, I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother. That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices not from the extremes, but from the vast middle into the national conversation.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Anna, I'm calling from Las Vegas.

[Jonathan Walton]

Each week we bring together an all star panel. Mark Cuban, so great to have you on the Middle. Thanks for having me, Jeremy. Neil Degrasse Tyson, welcome to the Middle. Thanks for having me. And hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country on the most important issues. Hi, my name is Venkat.

[Caroline D'Amore]

I'm calling you from Atlanta, Georgia.

[Jonathan Walton]

And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one one item from the avalanche of news. We should be examining what our government spends its money on and are these jobs necessary? And what are we doing here? But that doesn't seem to be what we're doing in this situation. Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Welcome to Pod of Rebellion, our new Star Wars Rebels Rewatch podcast. I'm Vanessa Marshall. Hi, I'm Tia Sircar.

[Jonathan Walton]

I'm Taylor Gray. And I'm John Lee Brody.

[Caroline D'Amore]

But you may also know us as Harrison Dullah, Specter 2, Sabine Wren, Specter.

[Jonathan Walton]

5, and Ezra Bridger, Specter 6 from Star Wars Rebels. Wait, I wasn't on Star Wars Rebels. Am I in the right place?

[Caroline D'Amore]

Absolutely. Each week we're going to rewatch and discuss an episode from the series and.

[Jonathan Walton]

Share some fun behind the scenes stories. Sometimes we'll be visited by special guests like Steve bloom voices Zaborillio Spectre 4, or Dante Bosco voices Jaquel and many others.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Sometimes we'll even have a lively debate.

[Jonathan Walton]

And we'll have plenty of other fun surprises and trivia too. Oh, and me, well, I'm the lucky ghost crew Stowaway who gets to help moderate and guide the discussion each week. Kind of like how Kanan guided Ezra in the ways of the Force. You see what I did there?

[Caroline D'Amore]

Nicely done, John.

[Jonathan Walton]

Thanks, Tia.

[Caroline D'Amore]

So hang on cause it's gonna be a fun ride.

[Jonathan Walton]

Cue the music. Listen to Potter Rebellion on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Bob Pippman, chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia. I'm excited to introduce a brand new season of my podcast, Math and Stories from the Frontiers of Marketing. I'm having conversations with some interesting folks across a wide range of industries to hear how they reach the top of their fields and the lessons they learned along the way that everyone can use. I'll be joined by innovative leaders like chairman and CEO of Health Beauty, Tarang Amin. The way I approach risk is constantly try things and actually make it okay to fail. I'm sitting down with legendary singer, songwriter and philanthropist Jewel. I wanted a way to do something that I loved for the rest of my life. We're also hearing how leaders brought their businesses out of unprecedented times, like Stephane Bonsell, CEO of Moderna. It becomes a human decision to decide to throw by the window your business strategy and to do what you think is the right thing for the world. Join me as we uncover innovations in data and analytics, the math, and the ever important creative spark, the magic. Listen to math and magic stories from the frontiers of Marketing on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Caroline D'Amore]

We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey.

[Jonathan Walton]

We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only My parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change thing about our lives.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit adoptuskids.org to learn more. Brought to you by Adopt Us Kids, the U.S. department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council.

[Jonathan Walton]

We all walk in, and I'm just sitting there, just thinking, this is as weird as it gets.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Probably looked like you guys were walking this poor old man to rob him.

[Jonathan Walton]

Hand him his license. I was so aware of that. Just. I was really freaking me out. I was just watching, going, this is just crazy. They walk up to the teller, and he doesn't even have his wallet. And then we have it.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Walton]

And then one of the. One of the victims, the other victim pulls out his wallet and hands it to the teller and says, it will draw out everything that's in this account, please. And the teller didn't question it and said, okay. And then one of the other victims goes, and how much is left in that account? And then she said, x amount. And then he said, he'll be back tomorrow for more. And then the transfer was done. And then we all walked out of the bank like nothing. It felt like. I don't even know what it felt like. It was just so surreal. In all, we got about 22,000 back to be divided amongst all the victims.

[Caroline D'Amore]

There was one person that lost about 70,000, and that's just one person, so you can imagine that was pennies. Each of us only got back a couple thousand dollars, a tiny fraction of what David took from us. And I was actually, like, grateful because I was now going to be able to pay my rent. I was that scarce on money that I didn't know how. I was. I literally was counting on this money to pay my next month's rent. And I put everything I had in to this ipo. David promises he'll get us the rest of our money in a few days. We make the mistake of returning his wallet, cell phone, and passport to him. But a few weeks go by, and he never gives us another dime. So one by one, we all go to the police and report. And to the LAPD's credit, they take our case seriously and investigate David Blume. But it takes them nearly an entire year to do something about it. Nevertheless, on August 9, 2022, they arrest him. But he's quickly released after posting a $45,000 bail. Gee, I wonder where he got that money from.

[Jonathan Walton]

I've definitely heard from other People who said they were scammed by him.

[Caroline D'Amore]

LA Times reporter James Quealey wrote a big article about David Blum that was published a month after his arrest.

[Jonathan Walton]

The District Attorney's office still has not brought a case. There's been some frustration, you know, some of the victims that have kept in touch with me, you know, just a concern. There's no suspicion that he actually has much of the money left that he allegedly took from people. Lapd, I think the captain of the division that investigated him actually confirmed to me when they did a financial audit of him, they did not turn up much in his personal case. So, you know, maybe there's a mattress somewhere, stuff with money, I don't know. But by and large, at least what people can see, officially, this guy is not. He's not a flight risk, at least insofar as, like, he could finance a life, well, elsewhere. But people are still afraid. You know, listen, if I was accused of a crime and there was heavy evidence against me, I feel like most people might have an instinct to flee. And there was concern that he might, you know, might bounce. So there's definitely concerns on that level. But, yeah, this has not moved through the legal system much since. Since I wrote about it.

[Caroline D'Amore]

As of this recording on April 2, 2023, it's been more than eight months since David Blume was arrested and then released. He's free as a bird right now, and from what I hear from random people hitting me up on Instagram, he's still out and about. In fact, my best friend Hammy, remember him? I just spotted David Bloom on the.

[Jonathan Walton]

Street at the bus stop, folks.

[Caroline D'Amore]

This was a couple weeks ago. Ironically, David was waiting on a bus near the Whole Foods on Santa Monica in Fairfax when Hammy rolled up on him and hit record on his phone.

[Jonathan Walton]

Hey, what's up, scammer?

[Caroline D'Amore]

You scamming people at the bus stop? That's what's up today, huh? The look of nervous terror on David's face is priceless as he quickly darts off in the opposite direction. No doubt on the hunt for more victims to scam in la, it's hard to believe he's not been charged with a single crime for what he did to all of us. Even with the mountain of evidence and all those recordings we submitted to the police and to the DA's office, bringing a con artist to justice really feels impossible.

[Jonathan Walton]

The overarching similarity between your con artist David Blume, and my con artist, Mare Smith, AKA the Irish Heiress. She was my neighbor, too.

[Caroline D'Amore]

How crazy is that? Yeah, Jonathan Walton has been producing this podcast alongside me from day one. His own story of getting scammed and then bringing his con artist to justice is chronicled in the hit podcast Queen of the Con. After listening, I was stunned to learn how similar my con artist, David Blume, is to Jonathan's con artist, Mayor Smith.

[Jonathan Walton]

I've been investigating these cases now for the past almost five years.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Walton]

And they use the same playbook, even with David Blum. What's fascinating about your case is the fake tears. You said he cried.

[Caroline D'Amore]

He cried.

[Jonathan Walton]

Mine cried too. Like they can cry.

[Caroline D'Amore]

They're actors.

[Jonathan Walton]

They're total actors.

[Caroline D'Amore]

They're good actors. Yeah.

[Jonathan Walton]

And then the other thing, the fake emails and texts.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Walton]

That was Mayor Smith's go to. She would show me a text. Look what so and so said.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Right? Like, just like he would show me Ron's text messages in such a way where he would be like, ron remembers you, pizza girl. He's saying hi. Looking back, David Blume checks every box for being a professional con artist. I just didn't know what the signs were. Now I do, and I hope you all listening do too. I want to do to David Blum what Jonathan did to his con artist, Mayer Smith, because he never gave up on his fight for justice. Mayer eventually went to trial where he testified against her, and she was convicted and sentenced to five years in jail for scamming Jonathan.

[Jonathan Walton]

By going public with your story and by getting over the shame and the worry of what people are going to think and just outing this mother to people, I think that's important, and I think you have helped people.

[Caroline D'Amore]

I'm frustrated because he's still out there. You know, he's doing this as we speak. And I'm frustrated that the system does not have a good plan to get these people off the streets, that they know that they can get away with it. David even said it one day, he was like, they're never going to arrest me. He knows and they all know, and that's why they do it.

[Jonathan Walton]

And you know, in a lot of ways, David is right. The system doesn't go after they consider it, quote, white collar crime.

[Caroline D'Amore]

It's non violent, but it's destroying people's lives.

[Jonathan Walton]

It is. I agree 1000%. The problem is Los Angeles. Right. Los Angeles is a big city and there are thousands and thousands of crimes and scams and cases in the DA's office that you're just one of 10,000 cases. So you have to set yourself apart. My advice to you, have you thought about staging a protest outside the DA's? Office downtown.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Oh, my God.

[Jonathan Walton]

That would get attention. If I were you, I would stage a protest, bring signs, you know, charge David Bloom. That's what everyone should tell the DA's office, because this specific DA, George Gascon, I've heard, you know, he's very sensitive about protests and stuff that would get their attention because there's no reason he hasn't been charged yet. And if you stage a protest, I will come down and protest too, and I'll get as many people as I can go.

[Caroline D'Amore]

You will?

[Jonathan Walton]

Yeah. Let's do it. Let's put this fucker behind bars for good.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Oh, my God, I'm so down.

[Jonathan Walton]

Let's make a noise.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Let's do it. I'm down. So on the morning of March 2, 2023, this seems like a good corner.

[Jonathan Walton]

I think the corner. So we get traffic.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Jonathan and I meet up in downtown Los Angeles at the intersection of Temple and Spring street, right in front of the District Attorney's office. We make a bunch of signs and put the word out on social media.

[Jonathan Walton]

Hammy's on the way.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Yep.

[Jonathan Walton]

And who's bringing someone?

[Caroline D'Amore]

He's bringing Isaac.

[Jonathan Walton]

Dad's on the way.

[Caroline D'Amore]

My dad's on his way. Ricky's on his way.

[Jonathan Walton]

Thanks for.

[Caroline D'Amore]

And I have two other people I know for sure. There's no shame in being conned. We are not the ones that need to be ashamed. He needs to be ashamed.

[Jonathan Walton]

That's why I'm amazed by him. It takes balls to just be out there and say, I got scammed. I fell for it.

[Caroline D'Amore]

You know what it takes? Actually, it takes vagina.

[Jonathan Walton]

It takes a big vagina. But is that a compliment?

[Caroline D'Amore]

Vagina? Yes, it actually is. Because you know What? Vagina is 10 times stronger and can do so much more than saggy balls. Okay, so it takes a big vagina to do what I'm doing right now.

[Jonathan Walton]

Okay.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Not balls.

[Jonathan Walton]

True.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Let's change that narrative. In all, a group of about 10 of us carrying signs and chanting, charge David Bloom.

[Jonathan Walton]

Charge David Blue. Charge David Blue.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Stage a protest outside the Los Angeles District Attorney's office. And even David Bloom's ex wife, Nancy, comes down to join our cause. We have a lot of victims here. Nancy was married to David for nine years.

[Jonathan Walton]

Yeah.

[Caroline D'Amore]

And this is her first time coming out, taking her power back. At one point, Nancy starts telling us about a real estate scam David pulled on her that she's never revealed before. He actually tricked her into believing he. He was buying her a house.

[Jonathan Walton]

We had realtors, we had interior decorators.

[Caroline D'Amore]

That had my family go through house.

[Jonathan Walton]

I thought I was fucking moving into.

[Caroline D'Amore]

A, you know, multi million dollar home in Venice. Oh, my God, that gives me such anxiety for Annie. I wish David Blume could see Nancy now protesting in solidarity with us.

[Jonathan Walton]

Charge David Bloom. David Bloom's a scammer. Charge David Blum.

[Caroline D'Amore]

David Bloom's a scammer.

[Jonathan Walton]

Charge David Blum. David Bloom's a scammer. Charge David Bloom.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Our signs and chants get a lot of attention. People dressed in suits come out of the DA's office to observe what we're up to. And passersby are curious too. He's a really bad guy. He steals from everybody. He's a scam artist in la. He pretends to be somebody that he's not, some big savvy investor. Instead, he tries to ruin your life. Oh, wow. Yes.

[Jonathan Walton]

I don't want to meet this guy.

[Caroline D'Amore]

No, you do not. He needs to be in jail. Charge David Blue. Charge David Blue. We protest on that corner for about two hours straight. A lot of people walking in and out of the DA's office saw us, and I did manage to make a few contacts. Then, lo and behold, three weeks after our protest, I suddenly get invited to attend a Zoom meeting with the District Attorney of Los Angeles himself, George Gascon.

[Jonathan Walton]

There should be a way to be able to overcome some of those hurdles. We live in a divided country. I am a lifelong Republican with all kinds of different people. You know, I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother. That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices not from the extremes, but from the vast middle into the national conversation.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Anna, I'm calling from Las Vegas.

[Jonathan Walton]

Each week we bring together an all star panel. Mark Cuban, so great to have you on the Middle. Thanks for having me, Jeremy. Neil Degrasse Tyson, welcome to the Middle. Thanks for having me. And hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country on the most important issues. Hi, my name is Venkat.

[Caroline D'Amore]

I'm calling you from Atlanta, Georgia.

[Jonathan Walton]

And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one item from the avalanche of news. We should be examining what our government spends its money on and are these jobs necessary and what are we doing here? But that doesn't seem to be what we're doing in this situation. Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Welcome to Pod of Rebellion, our new Star Wars Rebels. Rewatch podcast. I'm Vanessa Marshall. Hi, I'm Tia Sircar.

[Jonathan Walton]

I'm Taylor Gray. And I'm John Lee Brody.

[Caroline D'Amore]

But you may also know us as Harrison Doula's Specter 2, Tabeen Wren, Specter.

[Jonathan Walton]

5, and Ezra Bridger Specter VI from Star Wars Rebels. Wait, I wasn't on Star Wars Rebels. Am I in the right place?

[Caroline D'Amore]

Absolutely. Each week we're going to rewatch and discuss an episode from the series and.

[Jonathan Walton]

Share some fun behind the scenes stories. Sometimes we'll be visited by special guests like Steve bloom voices Zaborill Spectre 4 or Dante Bosco voice a Jai Kell and many others.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Sometimes we'll even have a lively debate.

[Jonathan Walton]

And we'll have plenty of other fun surprises and trivia too. Oh, and me? Well, I'm the lucky ghost crew Stowaway who gets to help moderate and guide the discussion each week. Kinda like how Kanan guided Ezra in the ways of the Force. You see what I did there?

[Caroline D'Amore]

Nicely done, John.

[Jonathan Walton]

Thanks, Tia.

[Caroline D'Amore]

So hang on cause it's gonna be a fun ride.

[Jonathan Walton]

Cue the music. Foreign Rebellion on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Bob Pittman, chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia. I'm excited to introduce a brand new season of my podcast, Math and Stories from the Frontiers of Marketing. I'm having conversations with some interesting folks across a wide range of industries to hear how they reach the top of their fields and the lessons they learned along the way that everyone can use. I'll be joined by innovative leaders like chairman and CEO of Health Beauty, Tarang Amin. The way I approach risk is constantly try things and actually make it okay to fail. I'm sitting down with legendary singer, songwriter and philanthropist Jewel. I wanted a way to do something that I loved for the rest of my life. We're also hearing how leaders brought their businesses out of unprecedented times, like Stephane Bonsell, CEO of Moderna. It becomes a human decision to decide to throw by the window your business strategy and to do what you think is the right thing for the world. Join me as we uncover innovations in data and analytics, the math and the ever important creative spark, the magic. Listen to math and magic stories from the frontiers of Marketing on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Some people won't give you the real talk on drugs, but it's time we know the facts. Fentanyl is often laced into illicit drugs and used to make fake versions of prescription pills. You can't See it, taste it, or smell it. Suppliers mix fentanyl into their products because it's potent and cheap and the dealer might not even know. Keep yourself and others safe by knowing the real deal on fentanyl. Get the facts. Go to real dealonfentanyl.com this message is brought to you by the Ad Council. There should be a way to be able to overcome some of those hurdles.

[Caroline D'Amore]

It's a community zoom, and I'm told that the status of the David Bloom case is a topic he's going to address as one of several issues brought to his attention by the public.

[Jonathan Walton]

We often get accused in the and I get attacked all the time for being soft on crime and, you know, not taking care of the community.

[Caroline D'Amore]

But I sit through that entire meeting and they run out of time before they ever call on me. Thank you everyone for the questions that you submitted that we didn't get to get to. So I'll make sure that we send those to the office and then. And then send back what we hear. Thank you for your time. I know it's precious and we really appreciate. Just doesn't make any sense to me. Why did they arrest David Blum 8 months ago if they weren't going to charge him?

[Jonathan Walton]

It does sound like something got lost in what they call their E filing system. I don't want to speculate as to how that happened, but, yeah, there was confusion.

[Caroline D'Amore]

To put it lightly, Louisiana Times reporter James Quealey wrote one article about David Blum already and plans to write another if and when he's charged. James has spoken to the DA's office and to the LAPD several times, and what they're telling him just isn't adding up.

[Jonathan Walton]

Something got lost in the mail between the. I mean, for those who don't know, normally the way a criminal case is brought is. Well, the most common way it's brought is a police agency arrests somebody, they do an investigation, they present the case for filing to a prosecutorial agency, city attorney, da, US Attorney, whatever, depending on jurisdiction, and then the DA will make a filing decision. Somewhere between the point where LAPD picks up Bloom and where the DA's office makes a decision. I don't know what happened. The city had been experiencing a pretty significant homicide spike the last two years. It might just not be getting a lot of priority. Bureaucracy in law enforcement is not a problem that's ever going to go away, no matter how much reform you do. They're just massive agencies. You know, the LA District Attorney's office is the probably the largest Non federal prosecutor's office in the United States. LAPD is the second or third, you know, biggest police agency in the country. It's not this small town where, like, the sheriff is also the investigating officer. Everyone's got 18 bosses, and nobody knows which end is up. But, I mean, that's a little bit of. A little bit of speculation, which I'm, you know, not supposed to do. Apologies to the journalism gods, but that's the best I could guess of just the sluggishness of this.

[Caroline D'Amore]

It's April 2nd now to 2023. I've heard whispers from some people in contact with law enforcement that David Blum will be charged in the next few weeks. So I'm hopeful that I'll get my day in court and be able to put that scammer where he belongs, in prison. For years, the police actually said the.

[Jonathan Walton]

Mistake you made was you should never have given him back his phone, because that's our evidence. If you'd given it to us. That's the thing, though, that little fear of we're doing something illegal, even though he's doing something way more illegal.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Beck and Aaron have been along on this whole crazy ride with me from the very beginning. The good news is, through a lot of hard work and hustle, my company is actually doing really well. Pizza Girl pasta Sauce is now available in a bunch of whole food stores, like, for real. And our reach is growing exponentially every month, so it's kind of perfect. Pizza Girl is finally in, like, a really incredible position. And actually, just last week, the real CEO of Whole Foods posted on his LinkedIn page, which is also on my Instagram. He just said that Pizza Girl is one of his top favorite products in the country. He also bought Pizza Girl sauce for all of his acquaintances and their gift baskets for the holidays. So turns out I didn't need you. David Bloom, the real CEO of Whole Foods, is a big fan of Pizza Girl. So that's a really nice, like, full circle moment.

[Jonathan Walton]

But thank you for the motivation.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Yeah. But this story is far from over. I'm not letting David Blum off the hook for what he did to me and what he did to dozens of other victims in Los Angeles, I'm going to keep fighting until justice is served. Charge David Blue. Charge David Blue. Charge David Blue.

[Jonathan Walton]

Unless we make noise and protest, which we have a right to, right, nothing will change.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Thank you.

[Jonathan Walton]

Status quo will remain the same. I appreciate you guys doing all this.

[Caroline D'Amore]

We out here, David. Nowhere to hide now. This podcast is dedicated to the memory of my amazing mother Bonnie Major, who would be super proud of me standing up for myself. Once Upon a Con is a production of AYR Media and 32 Flavors, hosted by me, Caroline D'Amore Executive Producers Aliza Rosen for Ayr Media, Alex Baskin for 32 flavors and Jonathan Walton for Jonathan Walton Productions. Written by Jonathan Walton producer Caroline D'Amore senior associate producer Jill Piesznik Coordinator, Malena Krolejewski Sound design by Tim Mulhern Edited and mixed by Tim Mulhern Supervising Editor Victoria Chang Mastered by Victoria Chang Engineering by Justin Longer Beam Legal Counsel for Ayr Media, Gianni Douglas Our theme song, Freshly Served, was written and performed by the incredibly talented Maddie Noyes and is available on her SoundCloud. In a world of economic uncertainty and workplace transformation, learn to lead by example. From visionary C Suite executive like Shannon Schuyler of PwC and Will Pearson of iHeartMedia, the Good Teacher explains the great teacher inspires.

[Jonathan Walton]

Don't always leave your team to do the work. That's been the most important part of how to lead by example.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Listen to Leading by Example executives making an impact on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jonathan Walton]

We live in a divided country and our media couldn't be more polarizing. That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices not from the extremes, but from the vast middle into the national conversation. Each week we hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country. And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one item from the avalanche of news. Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Welcome to Pod of Rebellion, our new Star Wars Rebels Rewatch podcast. I'm Vanessa Marshall, voice of Harris Syndulla, Specter 2 I'm Tia Sirkar, Sabine Wren, Specter 5 I'm Taylor Gray, Ezra Bridger.

[Jonathan Walton]

Spectre 6 and I'm Jon Lee Brody, the Ghost Crew Stowaway moderator.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Each week we're gonna rewatch and discuss an episode from the series and share some fun behind the scenes stories.

[Jonathan Walton]

Sometimes we'll be visited by special guests like Steve blum voices Zabarelio's Spectre 4, or Dante Bosco voices Jaquel and many others.

[Caroline D'Amore]

So hang on because it's going to be a fun ride.

[Jonathan Walton]

Cue the music. Listen to Potter Rebellion on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts Ever wonder what it would be like to be mentored by today's top business leaders? My podcast, this Is Working can help with that. Here's some advice from Jamie Dimon, the CEO, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, on standing out from the leadership crowd. Develop your EQ A lot of people have plenty of brains, but EQ is.

[Caroline D'Amore]

Do you trust me? Do I communicate well?

[Jonathan Walton]

Develop the team, develop the people. Create a system of trust. And it works over time. I'm Dan Roth, LinkedIn's editor in chief. On my podcast, this Is Working Leaders Share Strategies for Success. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.