Axl Rose & Sweet Crooked Cousins O’ Mine w/ Gayle King

Summary

Scam Goddess Episode Summary: "Axl Rose & Sweet Crooked Cousins O’ Mine w/ Gayle King"

Episode Details:

• Title: Axl Rose & Sweet Crooked Cousins O’ Mine w/ Gayle King
• Release Date: July 1, 2025
• Hosts: Laci Mosley (Scam Goddess) and Guest Gayle King
• Duration: Approximately 41 minutes

---

1. Welcome and Introduction (00:31 – 04:27)

Laci Mosley kicks off the episode with her signature high-energy introduction, humorously engaging the audience and urging them to "stand up" whether they're listening in a car or otherwise. She enthusiastically welcomes the esteemed guest, Gayle King, lauding her accomplishments and playful anecdotes about scheduling conflicts involving space travel.

Notable Quote:

• Laci: “This queen went to space and let me tell you, she did that for the team, honey… Please welcome the incomparable Gayle King to the show.” [02:27]

Gayle King responds with her characteristic warmth and humor, joking about waking a "baby up" to join the conversation, setting a lighthearted tone for the discussion.

---

2. Personal Experiences with Scams (04:28 – 11:17)

The conversation shifts to scams, with Laci inquiring about Gayle's experiences. Gayle shares a recent encounter with a potential scam involving a fake utility shutdown message threatening to cut off electricity unless a call is made immediately.

Notable Quotes:

• Gayle: “I got a thing on my phone that said, please call this number where... Your easy pass was spotted its own. So that's not true.” [05:57]
• Laci: “But that is a scam. And they usually.” [06:37]

They delve into the mechanics of such scams, discussing tactics like creating a sense of urgency and fear to prevent victims from scrutinizing the details.

Laci emphasizes the increased sophistication of digital scams and the vulnerability of emotionally or financially stressed individuals.

---

3. The Impact of Digital Age on Scamming (11:18 – 16:07)

Gayle and Laci explore how the digital transformation has facilitated the rise of online scams. They discuss how ubiquitous technology and online interactions have normalized deceptive practices, making it easier for scammers to exploit unsuspecting individuals.

Notable Quotes:

• Laci: “Because so many things have been digitized… it's just so easy for scammers.” [10:23]
• Gayle: “And I just feel like a human being. I would want to physically see a human being.” [09:52]

They also touch upon the importance of skepticism and the dangers of oversharing personal information online, advising listeners to protect their digital footprints.

---

4. Listener Letters and Comedic Scam Stories (16:08 – 37:19)

The episode transitions into a segment featuring listener-submitted scam stories. Laci reads out letters from listeners adopting fake identities to narrate their scams, blending real-life fraud scenarios with humor.

a. Wikeba's Pregnancy Scam (18:00 – 25:25)

A listener named Wikeba recounts orchestrating fake pregnancies to extract money from multiple men. This elaborate scam involved:

• Collecting urine samples from her pregnant cousin to create convincing pregnancy tests.
• Convincing men to co-sign payments for fake abortions at Planned Parenthood, sharing the proceeds with her cousin.

Notable Quotes:

• Laci: “Wykeva says, one day, I was at my cousin's, an idea came to me.” [19:17]
• Gayle: “Sassy blackness never goes out of style.” [14:37]

Gayle reacts with a mix of disbelief and amusement, critiquing the ethical and emotional ramifications of such scams while joking about the elaborate nature of the deceit.

b. Norma and the Fake Axl Rose (27:00 – 33:59)

Another listener, Shonteria, shares a story about Norma, a bartender, who was approached by someone pretending to be Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses. The scam involved:

• Impersonating Axl to build trust within a fan group.
• Offering false financial opportunities, including fake W2 forms to claim hefty tax refunds.
• Resulting in Norma spending significant money on a defective food truck under the guise of business expansion.

Notable Quotes:

• Laci: “So this is a real story… A Portland couple were sentenced to five years...” [37:20]
• Gayle: “It doesn't sound like the man is actually Axl Rose.” [29:05]

Laci and Gayle dissect the scam mechanics, highlighting how initial acts of generosity are used to lower victims' defenses before extracting money illicitly.

---

5. Real Scam Case: Portland Couple's Embezzlement (37:20 – 40:35)

In a departure from the imaginative scam stories, Laci introduces a real-life fraud case involving a Portland millionaire couple, Sergey and Galena, who misused their chauffeur and limousine business to embezzle $34 million from a single client over five years.

Case Details:

• Sergey served as the primary driver, while Galena handled personal tasks and financial management.
• Lack of formal contracts allowed them to charge exorbitant fees directly to the victim’s credit card without detailed billing.
• The stolen funds financed a lavish lifestyle, including the purchase of multiple properties, vehicles, and luxury items.
• Ultimately, the couple was apprehended and sentenced to five years in federal prison.

Notable Quotes:

• Laci: “...accounts for $17,900 in a single day for minor tasks.” [38:46]
• Gayle: “How do you not miss $34 million on your credit card?” [38:45]

Gayle humorously criticizes the victim’s oversight while emphasizing the audacity and scale of the couple’s deception.

---

6. Closing Remarks and Final Thoughts (40:36 – End)

Laci and Gayle wrap up the episode by reflecting on the various scams discussed, combining humor with sobering insights into the emotional and financial toll of fraud. They encourage listeners to remain vigilant and share their own scam experiences to foster a community of awareness.

Notable Quotes:

• Laci: “We do not encourage.” [25:25]
• Gayle: “It's wrong on so many levels.” [22:08]

They close with promotional mentions for the podcast's social media channels and upcoming content, maintaining the episode's engaging and light-hearted atmosphere despite the serious subject matter.

---

Key Insights and Takeaways:

1. Evolving Nature of Scams: The digital age has transformed scamming methods, making them more sophisticated and pervasive. Scammers exploit technology to create believable narratives that prey on emotional vulnerabilities.

2. Psychological Manipulation: Scams often rely on creating a sense of urgency and fear, limiting victims' ability to think critically about the legitimacy of the request.

3. Community Awareness: Sharing scam stories, whether real or dramatized, serves as a valuable tool for educating and protecting the community from similar fraudulent schemes.

4. Ethical Considerations: While discussing scams can be humorous, it underscores the severe ethical breaches and personal harm caused by such deceitful practices.

5. Vigilance and Skepticism: Listeners are encouraged to maintain a healthy skepticism, especially in online interactions, to safeguard against potential fraud.

---

Conclusion:

This episode of Scam Goddess masterfully blends humor with critical discussions on fraud, featuring a notable guest, Gayle King, who shares personal insights and engages in entertaining scam-related skits. The highlight on a real-life embezzlement case adds gravity to the conversation, reinforcing the importance of awareness and caution in today's digital landscape. Listeners are left both entertained and informed, equipped with knowledge to better protect themselves against the ever-evolving landscape of scams.

Transcript

[Experian Advertiser]

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[Lacey Mosley]

There's a new psychological thriller from Audible you've just gotta check out Curse of the Mbiri. It stars Caleb McLaughlin from Stranger Things, was written and directed by Nyasha Hatendi and is presented in spectacular Dolby atmos. Here's the setup. The Wallace family's vacation at a luxury game reserve in Zimbabwe unravels when Deshawn Wallace, played by McLoughlin, unwittingly desecrates hallowed ground and unleashes the Imbirwe, a vengeful entity born from centuries of colonial oppression. Listen to sacrilege, the curse of the Mburi by going to audible.com sacrilege. Scams, robbery and fraud. Scam. Cause robbery and fraud. What's poppin? Congregation? Today we have a queen. Royalty. Y' all look like truly, I am gagged at the guests that we have today. And I'm gonna need you all to just like wherever you're listening to this, stand up. You know, if you're in your car, stand up in your car. Like, you know, park at the light. Yes, stand up. Because we have the prominent award winning journalist, the co host of the CBS mornings, a lady who has shown us what friendship should look like through her long standing friendship and collaboration with Oprah Winfrey and y' all, this queen went to space and let me tell you, she did that for the team, honey, because I'm not going to space. And I was very proud on the ground looking up and I was like, nothing can happen because they took our queen to space, so she's got to come back down. Also very hilarious trying to schedule with this queen's team. And they're like, oh, yes, she's coming. But she got to go to space first. I was like, okay, well let me know when she's back in the stratosphere, which is amazing. Congregation, please get up. Get up out of your cars. Get up out of your seats. Get your baby up. Stand your baby up. They can stand now and please welcome the incomparable Gayle King to the show. Hi, Gayle.

[Gayle King]

Hi, Lacey. Don't stand the baby up. Maybe the baby's napping. Don't stand the baby up.

[Lacey Mosley]

Wake him up. Wake him up. Wake your baby up. It's Gayle King. Wake your baby up. Your baby doesn't want to miss this.

[Gayle King]

Hello, Lacy. Hello, hello, hello, hello.

[Lacey Mosley]

It's so good to see you again. You look fantastic. I was so excited to get you on the show because I really want to know your opinions about scams and anything. Just what is your relationship with scams? I mean, you've worked in industry for a long time.

[Gayle King]

Well, but first we do that. I know when I went to space, you went rot. Ro. Hope she come back. I know. That's what. I know that's what you were thinking. I know that's what you were thinking. And listen, you always. Because I was terrified and I was exhilarated at the same time. It's interesting to hold the duality of those two feelings at the same time. I don't think I've felt like that since before giving birth, where you're. For the first time, you're very excited, but you hear all the horrors. It's going to hurt. Da da da, da, da, da da. But I really felt at peace. I honestly did not think that I was gonna go out like that. I did not. I did not. That said, you know, in the back of your mind, the unthinkable could happen. You know that. But I really. The night before, Bishop T.D. jakes did a prayer with me. He led me in prayer. So I felt, you know, I surrendered and I was ready. But I didn't think that I was not gonna come back. I didn't. And then people were saying, well, you know, you gotta wear a diaper. I go, why? Why do you have to wear a diaper?

[Lacey Mosley]

Oh, no, I didn't know that.

[Gayle King]

And I said, why? And then people said, well, sometimes when you're really afraid, you pee even when you don't want to. And I'm happy to tell you I was very afraid, but I didn't pee.

[Lacey Mosley]

Okay, you didn't pee.

[Gayle King]

Diaper.

[Lacey Mosley]

Amen.

[Gayle King]

Cause if I did, I would tell you. And I came back with all my body parts working and everything was fine, but it was great. It was great, great, great. I feel very proud and very brave.

[Lacey Mosley]

You were very brave. I will say the last thing, though, Gayle. I wasn't. If you hadn't been on that ship, I think that I would have been a Little more concerned. I was like, I don't know. The girls could. Something could happen to the girls. But I was like, not our queen. I was like, they're taking our queen up there. It has to be very safe. She's gonna make it back.

[Gayle King]

And you know why I felt good? Because Lauren. Lauren Sanchez, who is Jeff Bezos's fiance, they're getting married in June. I knew that they would cross every T and dot every. I. You know, I just. I didn't believe that anything would happen, to be honest with you. I'm not. I don't think I would have gone if Lauren wasn't on this. I don't. I don't.

[Lacey Mosley]

Right. That's like, one time I was. I was walking into a flight, and I saw Tina Knowles, and, like, I was, like, sitting across from her, and I was like, oh, this plane is definitely gonna land Beyonce mama on it. Okay, great. I'm good.

[Gayle King]

You know what?

[Lacey Mosley]

I don't even have to worry.

[Gayle King]

That's how I feel. That's how I feel when I get on a plane and you're sitting next to a priest with a collar or a nun. I go, oh, we good? We good. Yeah.

[Lacey Mosley]

Right?

[Gayle King]

But I just did Tina the other night. I just did something with her because she's on a book tour for her book matriarch.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yes.

[Gayle King]

So she came to Brooklyn. So I was one of the people that got to interview her. I just adore her.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yes. I mean, she's T. And that book is T. I was like, yes, Queen.

[Gayle King]

It's Tina. Yes. Yes.

[Lacey Mosley]

What can't she do?

[Gayle King]

But let's talk about scams. Nothing. There's nothing she can't do.

[Lacey Mosley]

So, talking about scams, have you ever been scammed? Or have you. Do you know anyone who's been scammed? Like, what's your relationship with, Like.

[Gayle King]

Well, you know, someone. But I mean, I was thinking. I was really trying to think, have I ever been scammed? Not knowingly. I must have. But two weeks ago, and I said, it's so funny. I never got. Never would have paid any attention to this. I got a thing on my phone that said, please call this number where. It's Con Edison. They're about to turn off your lights. Your electricity is going to be shut off. Please call right away. And I just thought, now, how could that be? Because I know I paid the bill. I know I did, but you're supposed to call this 800 something something. And I said, I'm not even going to call it. I'm not even going to Call it. Was that a scam? I don't know. My lights are still on. My lights are still on the lights.

[Lacey Mosley]

Not scamming you, but that is. That is a scam. And they usually.

[Gayle King]

That is a scam with. With the utilities.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yes, they've been doing the utilities lately. I'm also getting text messages now about running through a toll where it's like your car drove.

[Gayle King]

I got the easy pass. I got the thing about easy pass. Your easy pass was spotted its own. So that's not true.

[Lacey Mosley]

And they always want to add a time stipulation, because the less time you have to think about something, the less time that you're going to clock weird details, weird things that are happening, because they're pressuring you with this time. You know what I mean?

[Gayle King]

That's why they say, call right away.

[Lacey Mosley]

And they try to make their messages very menacing and very, like, scary. And they've honestly ramped that up. I recently got an email, or actually, this was almost a year ago. I was in Ireland. I'm going back to Ireland. But I got an email.

[Gayle King]

Wait, stop for a second. I've never been to Ireland.

[Lacey Mosley]

Oh, really?

[Gayle King]

I would love to go. Why are you going? Are you doing a scam story there?

[Lacey Mosley]

Are you going Dutch? So that's Dennis Leary's show on Fox. So we shot the first season in Ireland. We just found out that we're going back to Ireland to shoot season two. So I've spent a lot of time in Ireland, like, a little outside of Dublin. I lived in one of those, like, it was called Greystones, and it was like a very fancy sea town where, you know, like, the kind of. The town where, like, somebody definitely did a murder and everyone has a secret, you know? Yes.

[Gayle King]

I like Dennis Leary a lot. I like Dennis Leary.

[Lacey Mosley]

Dennis Leary.

[Gayle King]

But I don't get the. I think so, too. But I don't get the impression, Lacey, there are a lot of black people in Ireland. Were they staring at you? Were this.

[Lacey Mosley]

They're very polite. Like, I. I think Irish people are like the black people of white people. Like, they just seem to get oppression a little bit better than everybody else. And the black people of white people, they very. They're very down. I didn't have any kind of racial issues. It was very much. I'm with my peoples. I really love the Irish. But, you know, every now and then, somebody would be like, oh, are you from Nigeria? Like, they were really trying to figure out where the hell I was from. They were like, we know you're not from here.

[Gayle King]

Are you from Nigeria? Why can't I be from Idaho?

[Lacey Mosley]

Right? I mean, that's my favorite joke that makes them uncomfortable all the time is I'm like, well, you know, I was on this, like, Carnival cruise ship, and there was, like, this whole unpaid internship for 300 years that happened in America. So I don't really know where I'm from. Maybe West Africa. Wherever you could dock a boat, probably.

[Gayle King]

Yes. That's good.

[Lacey Mosley]

They're like, ma' am. And I'm like, what? You asked me. I don't know.

[Gayle King]

I was calling. That's good. That's good. But to my knowledge, I don't know that I've been scammed where I said, oh, my God, I can't believe I fell for it. I don't think I've had that. I don't think I have.

[Lacey Mosley]

Well, I feel like with your background in journalism and everything that you do, like, there is a little bit more credence that you probably give even to the scam that you just told me about, where it was like, oh, your lights are being turned off. You were like, y. I'm not even gonna call you. Cause this doesn't seem like it's actually true. But they get people. They do get people a lot with these different things. Especially if you're in a more. And this is what sucks about those types of scams, is like, the more financially vulnerable you are, the more likely you are to fall for something like that because you are scared. You are like, are they gonna turn my lights off? Like, I can't deal with this.

[Gayle King]

Or finances, or the more heart, emotionally available you are. I'm always amazed by people that fall for someone who they've never seen, you know, I just can't imagine falling for someone who I haven't seen, you know, or that I haven't met, you know, if. You know, I know they give fake pictures and all that stuff, but I would want to physically see a human being. And so I don't understand how you fall for somebody that you've never physically seen.

[Lacey Mosley]

Well, I feel like.

[Gayle King]

But I know it happens all the.

[Lacey Mosley]

Time because, like, yeah, because so many things have been digitized. And so much of our interactions, especially if you grew up with a smartphone, tablet, like, in your hand, you know, watching movie. Like, your whole life you've had, you know, online interactions. They started to seem more commonplace and normal. So then you're like, well, this is how we interact. This is how we do business. This is how we do things. Oh, you know what I mean? And then Older people who are trying to, like, get into the digital age, like, they take things a little bit more face value, too, online. Like, that's why I'm always like, call your grandparents, call your family. Like, get all of your Facebook relationships. Take those off. You don't. No one needs to know who your cousin is on Facebook. Take all of that off. It's just so easy for scammers. Like, you don't need that.

[Gayle King]

And, yeah, I find I don't. I never post in real time. I never post in real time.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yep. I had to stop doing that, too, because it's like, then people know exactly where you are, where you are.

[Gayle King]

As I'm sitting here going, you know, Lacey, I can't imagine how anybody falls. I hope I'm not one day calling you going, lacy, you not gonna believe what happened.

[Lacey Mosley]

No, no, no.

[Gayle King]

And then I have to have that. What it was. I. I hope I never have to have that conversation with you about a scam, because then you would feel so foolish and you would feel so stupid with two O's. But I see very intelligent people. It.

[Lacey Mosley]

It.

[Gayle King]

It's not about your. Your education. It's not about your education or your race. It's just some. Some of these con people I hear are so good that they can. They can get you.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yes. I. I always say. And I said this on Good Morning America, but I was like, scammers are fishermen. I just don't want to see you on the hook because for everybody. Because we all have needs, and so there's always going to be somebody who's willing to exploit those needs. And I don't shame people for being scammed. I've been scammed. And sometimes now I'll see something scamming, and I'll try to just, like, walk into it a little bit, because I'm like, what are y' all doing over here? I'm just curious. Yeah.

[Gayle King]

How is this working? Yes.

[Lacey Mosley]

Right? Like, no, tell me more, Tell me more. So by 5 o' clock, I gotta send the payment and my lights get turned off. Okay. And where and what. What else? Like, and sometimes it's a turn off. The scammers, they're like, you seem a little too interested. We actually are not gonna try to scam you. I've had. I've had scammers ghost me.

[Gayle King]

Okay. We're gonna stay away from her.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah, right. They're like, what are you. You're a little too interested. You're too invested. I was like, yo, tell me more. How did you come up with this?

[Gayle King]

You seem to know too much, right?

[Lacey Mosley]

And they're like, okay. I was very bummed out because some of the scammers who I've been ghosted by, which is such an insane sentence. I was really trying to figure out what the scam was. There's one scam that's been happening to everyone recently via text, too. And it's like, someone will reach out and say, hi, or, oh, we have this appointment, or, oh, are you gonna meet? Or whatever. And they act like they know you, and then, like, they know you're going to be like, oh, who is this? I don't know this number. Like, I don't know you. And then they'll be like, oh, I'm a friend of so and so's. And they try to keep the convo going. And I don't know what the scam is, but it's happened to me and a few of my friends. And so I was trying to engage in the conversation. I messed up. I posted on. I took a screenshot of. Posted on Instagram. I was like, on my stories. I was like, y' all, I think I'm finally gonna get to the bottom of this. And then immediately after that, they stopped talking to me.

[Gayle King]

Now, now, why did you post it when you're that close? Why did you do that?

[Lacey Mosley]

I didn't think they were gonna be looking at my Instagram like.

[Gayle King]

I was like, well, they're paying attention to you. And when you said that, you were scammed. How old were you when you were scammed? Were you a grownup?

[Lacey Mosley]

Oh, I've been scammed so many times in adulthood and in childhood. Yes, especially. Cause I work in, you know, the entertainment industry, so, you know, you get your scammy headshot, photographers, you get your. You get. You sign up and pay people to scam you, basically. And got it. Got it. Like, yeah, meetings with casting directors and stuff. All that stuff was a scam. It's like, you're not even casting anything that I could be in right now. I'm paying you, what, like, $90 for me to read a fake audition and you to lower my self esteem. What are we doing here?

[Gayle King]

But, Lacey, I bet you did a good read. I bet you did a good read.

[Lacey Mosley]

Listen, I don't know. One lady told me that my sassy blackness was out of vogue and they're looking for real, like, people who are normal now. I don't know. She said something very weird to me that obviously did not work.

[Gayle King]

Sassy blackness is out of vogue?

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah. She was like, we're not doing that no more. And I was like, this is me. What do you mean?

[Gayle King]

Clearly, she's uninformed. Sassy blackness never goes out of style. Never.

[Lacey Mosley]

Right? Also, the word sassy is very triggering for me. Like, if anyone gives me the note is like, do it a little sassier. I'm like, oh, my God, yes. Don't say that scam.

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[Gayle King]

That's cool.

[Carvana Advertiser]

But financing through Carvana was so easy. Financed, Done. And I get to pick up my car from their Carvana vending machine tomorrow. Financed. Right.

[Lacey Mosley]

That's what they said.

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[Lacey Mosley]

But let's. Let's get into it. I'm so excited for those of you who have emailed us@scamgodespot gmail.com to snitch on your friends, family, and your enemies. Because if you were chosen today, Gail is going to be able to weigh in on your.

[Gayle King]

Oh, I get to weigh in.

[Lacey Mosley]

I get to weigh in.

[Gayle King]

Okay, good, good, good.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yes.

[Gayle King]

Because this is the thing. You know, when I went to school, I never thought I was going to be in television. I never thought that because my grand. My. My grandmother said to me once, you know, Gail, Mother Nature wasn't as kind to you as other little girls. You know, that's why you should wear makeup like your friend Opry. That's what my grandmother said to me when I was 21. And so I majored in psychology, always intending to be a child psychologist or I was gonna be a lawyer. Cause I thought it'd be good standing in front of a court, in front of a jury arguing my case or. I've always liked listening to people's problems, always. And giving unsolicited advice. Ask my Favorite son and favorite daughter. I still do that today. I was just saying to Kirby, you know, are you sure you want to do fill in the blank about whatever it is? So I love. I love giving unsolicited advice, so. Good. This is right up my alley.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yes.

[Gayle King]

Thank you for asking me.

[Lacey Mosley]

Also hilarious, though, that you're like, I love giving unsolicited advice. Like, very specific. Like, you know, they did not ask me. I. I wanted to intervene.

[Gayle King]

Exactly. Exactly. Right.

[Lacey Mosley]

Exactly.

[Gayle King]

Right.

[Lacey Mosley]

Well, I do need a fake name from you. We never use people's real names here, so it could be any fake name that you want to come up with for this first person.

[Gayle King]

Wow.

[Lacey Mosley]

You would give me something challenging. Wow. Okay. Wikeba.

[Gayle King]

Because I know a woo. So. Wow.

[Lacey Mosley]

Okay, listen. She's the only W. It must be nice. She got that email locked down. She got everything locked down. She is one of one. Okay. I don't know a wife either.

[Gayle King]

It's Kiva, not Fuh. Keeva with a B. Kiva Wykeeba.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yes. Okay. Not you about the pronunciation, too, for this fake name. Wykeeva. Excuse me, y' all?

[Gayle King]

Well, it sounded like you were saying wykeefa with an F, and it's Wykeeva with a B.

[Lacey Mosley]

I feel like that's what Wyclef Jean should have named one of his daughters. Wykeeva. But Wykeeva with a V is.

[Gayle King]

Be clear.

[Lacey Mosley]

I am very clear. So she writes us. She says, I allegedly ran a scam on a few men a while back. I was getting annoyed by my situationship disrespect. So I love that. Wkeba, first of all, you're saying you allegedly ran a scam, so, yes, you did.

[Gayle King]

But you know what, Lacey? I love the word situationship. I love that.

[Lacey Mosley]

And situationships are a scam, babes. We're in a relationship. It's just that nobody wants to commit. It's like the lowest of states. Yeah, but it's like, once you put anything on it, it is a relationship. It's just that neither of us want to commit to this because we don't think it's the right person. But we're like, it's right for now. It's right for the bedroom, Chaz. Right for what?

[Gayle King]

You need it. It's right for right now. Yeah.

[Lacey Mosley]

So Wykeeva says, one day, I was at my cousin's, an idea came to me. So my cousin was pregnant at the time, and I asked her if she could give me some of her urine. Now, Wykeba oh, already, already, already.

[Gayle King]

We've taken a bad turn. Okay, go ahead, give her her urine.

[Lacey Mosley]

You were running a scam. Cause why do you want this pregnant lady urine? Why? Why? So she peed in a small container. Good cousin. They didn't ask you what for? They didn't ask you.

[Gayle King]

They were just like, sure, you asked.

[Lacey Mosley]

Me for my urine. I'm like, sure, like immediately.

[Gayle King]

I would have some questions. Okay, so she peed in the cup. Okay.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yes. So then knowing that this is w talking, we never. This is kind of explicit. Good lord. But knowing we've never used condoms, nor was I on birth control. I thought this was going to work. So what I did was I had the situationship come over and right before we did the deed. Thank you for cleaning that up. Wow. Okay. This is family programming.

[Gayle King]

Yes. Yes.

[Lacey Mosley]

I would go and pee in quotes on a pregnancy test showing them it's positive and all excited. I love the look that a few of them had. Now, okay, first of all, wykeba, how many situationships did you have going on?

[Gayle King]

I was just gonna say you. Yes. And she said them.

[Lacey Mosley]

Them. The cohort of situationships you have. How are you keeping up with this? Why, Keeva, I know you have to have a job and employment too. You had a lot of free time to have all these fake relationships.

[Gayle King]

Yes.

[Lacey Mosley]

So I made them think. Wykeeva said. I made them think that I wanted to keep the baby or that I simply could not afford an abortion. I would call planned parenthood acting as if I needed an abortion, and I'd have it on speaker so that the guy could hear. The flat price out here in Portland is around 700 dol dollars. Men are fast to pay without any question.

[Gayle King]

Gosh, what is her question? I'm curious to see what her question is.

[Lacey Mosley]

I mean, this. This doesn't. It's giving like this person is just snitching on themselves. Cuz I don't. I'm not seeing a question. It says one of my situation ships had me walk into the plant parent, not you over here, larping. You went to the place with them knowing that full well that you were not pregnant.

[Gayle King]

That you were not pregnant.

[Lacey Mosley]

Oh, my lord. I walked out from the back entrance where he couldn't see me. A few hours later, I came back as if I had forgot my wallet and we left together so he could take me home and care for me.

[Gayle King]

So she could recover. Yes.

[Lacey Mosley]

I allegedly did this to four guys and split the money with my cousin. She gave birth and that Scam ended, so. Okay. Well, at least you cut the cousin in.

[Gayle King]

Wykeba. Not nice. Not nice.

[Lacey Mosley]

Wykeva.

[Gayle King]

Yeah.

[Lacey Mosley]

This is wrong. This is fraud.

[Gayle King]

It's wrong. It's wrong on so many levels too. Lacey. Where does she live? What city is she in?

[Lacey Mosley]

I mean, Wykeva said Portland. We don't want to get more specific than that. Cause we can't air Wykeva out. Cause she's snitching on herself. But Wykeva, you did this to four people. Four. I just hope that these were bad men. Maybe they were bad dudes and they deserved it. I don't know.

[Gayle King]

I don't even think they're bad dudes because she was having sex a relationship with them, so on some level, she must have been interested.

[Lacey Mosley]

And the last one sounds very nice. He walked. He came with you. He was. And now what do you have eating ice chips from this man and, like, pretending that you. You just had a very real procedure.

[Gayle King]

Care for you. And I'm doing care in finger quotes. No, no, ma' am. She needs to sit down and take several seats. No, no, no, no, no.

[Lacey Mosley]

Okay. Jail on many.

[Gayle King]

No, I do not.

[Lacey Mosley]

Gail said you need to have several C's. And she's right.

[Gayle King]

And she's gonna pay too. You're not. You don't know how, but you can't do that to people and nothing happens to you. I also really do believe that I'm not being Pollyanna or anything, but that is so deliberate, so sneaky, so wrong. You just can't do that to people. And nothing happened to you.

[Lacey Mosley]

And it's like you had the phone call with the clinic on speaker. Like, sis, normally when people do this, they just shoot a little text message having a full production. You had this man go to the Planned Parenthood with you, and you snuck out a back door. Like you in Spy vs Spy. I am need you to.

[Gayle King]

And also, Lacy, while we're talking about it, I'm also looking at the cousin. I don't know if. If. If I knew my cousin was doing this, I would want no part of that money, and she would not get any fee from me. So the fact that I took the money and I split it with the cousin, and the cousin was like. Like she's doing something noble, a little bit more ethical.

[Lacey Mosley]

At least she didn't take all the money for herself. The cousin was providing the evidence.

[Gayle King]

No, but I'm looking at the cousin going, why would you co. Sign on this? Nope, nope, nope, nope.

[Lacey Mosley]

I mean, look, I'm just Saying that at least Wikeeba gave her cousin a little bit of the coin. Like, you know, she could have kept it all for herself.

[Gayle King]

Yeah, but if I was the cousin.

[Lacey Mosley]

Kept it.

[Gayle King]

But if I was the cousin, I would want no part of money like that. I would not. I would not.

[Lacey Mosley]

Look, sometimes we love them. Sometimes we don't like it. This is par for the course. This person snitched on themselves and their cousin a little bit.

[Gayle King]

Yes. But I'm giving w. No props for anything. Nothing. I'm giving her. No. No props or accolades for anything. No, no, Listen.

[Lacey Mosley]

Gail's not giving you no props for this. Wow. I'm gonna give you. The only thing that I'm giving her props for is that I'm glad that she shared the money with her cousin. Like, I think that's nice. I disagree with you, too.

[Gayle King]

I disagree with you too, because I think the cous said, nope, I want no parts of it. Nope.

[Lacey Mosley]

Well, the cousin. If the cousin hadn't provided the pee, none of this would happen. So, you know, but obviously not something that we would recommend. Very traumatic. Very traumatic for these men. They think that they had a baby out in the world and, you know, not.

[Gayle King]

And then they lost the baby. Yes. Lacy, Lacey and I agree this is a terrible thing. We are not in favor of this pregnancy scam.

[Lacey Mosley]

No, we do not encourage.

[Gayle King]

But I do have to say this, though. All kidding aside, I'm not encouraging this, but I have to say it's very elaborate and quite clever. She put a lot of time in that. I wonder what she does for a living. She should devote more time to whatever she does for a living on something like that. Rather than that.

[AllTrails Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Lacey Mosley]

Gail is saying, use these skills for good instead of for evil. Use these skills because clearly you're a great performer. Like you on the phone with these people. You're acting like you're overjoyed about this fake baby. You're in the bathroom cooking up the pee test. There's some. There's some production elements here that we could use this in a more positive way. Wyke. But we don't have to use this to trick men and take small amounts of money from them.

[Gayle King]

And you know what was interesting to me about this story? When you first started telling it, I wasn't sure where it was going. I asked my pregnant cousin for some urine. I thought, what in the world? I didn't know. I thought it was to get out of a drug test. That's what I thought.

[Lacey Mosley]

Oh, no. I immediately knew where it was going. It Was given pregnancy. I was like, okay, because, like, why are you.

[Gayle King]

So. You have more experience with. With scams than I do?

[Lacey Mosley]

Yes. Because, I mean, why would you. I mean, you're living a very, like, honest life, so I. I'm glad you don't have a lot of experience. We have one more letter here. Or actually, if time permits, we might have two. But we might have one, so. Okay, I need another fake name. Can you go easier on me than Wyke?

[Gayle King]

Okay. God, I love W. Because I had another great name for you, but.

[Lacey Mosley]

No, no. Give it to me. Give it to me. I'm going to do it. I accept the.

[Gayle King]

Someone else. Someone else I know know. Shonteria.

[Lacey Mosley]

Shawn Terrier. Okay. See, Shonteria is that rolls off the tongue. Sha.

[Gayle King]

Okay, yes.

[Lacey Mosley]

So Sha says, I ran into a weird story over the weekend. I have a friend who lives in Florida, and her dad is in his 70s. All right, we're hearing older dad. Okay, okay. He. The. The dad has a lady friend. Let's call her Norma. Norma, who is 65 years old and is just a regular old gal who bartends at the. Why can't I call Norma a regular old gal? Like, dang.

[Gayle King]

Because, Lacey, can't you picture Norma number one? The fact that you use the word gal. Can't you just picture Norma? Go ahead, go ahead.

[Lacey Mosley]

You're right. You're right. Norma got a bar rag in her back pocket. Always. And she always wipes something. And probably giving unsolicited advice.

[Gayle King]

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

[Lacey Mosley]

So Norma is a big fan of Guns N Roses and was a regular contributor to a Guns n Roses fan group. On Facebook book. And this is in Florida. One day, two years ago, she received a private message from a person claiming to be Axel Rose of Guns and Roses. Okay. On Facebook, talking to Norma.

[Gayle King]

Norma, the regular old gal at the bar.

[Lacey Mosley]

The regular old gal at the bar. He's like, I gotta talk to Norma. Me, Axl Rose.

[Gayle King]

So far, it makes sense. Go ahead.

[Lacey Mosley]

So Axl in quotes explained that he was impressed and touched by Norma's posts about the band. Axl in quotes also explained how famous people have a hard time meeting us normies because they never know what the fans motivations may be. Now I listen to your podcast. This is Shunteria saying this. Now, I listened to your podcast about the Brad Pitt scam. So I went right into asking my friend how much money Axl in quotes had scammed her out of. Imagine my surprise when I learned that not only had Axl not asked Norma for money, he had also paid off 2 of her credit cards.

[Gayle King]

Oh, my God. Okay, turn. Yes. Where's the plot twist? Where's this going?

[Lacey Mosley]

Right?

[Gayle King]

Okay.

[Lacey Mosley]

So recently though, things took an odd turn, and Axl had a money making idea for Norma and presented her with a W2 form for one of his many companies showing that Norma had earned $2 million working for him in 2024. Norma didn't work and didn't get any paycheck. So this is taking a turn.

[Gayle King]

So why would she think. Yes, yes, yes.

[Lacey Mosley]

Because remember.

[Gayle King]

And also, also, Norma knows she hasn't worked for Axel. We're doing Axel in finger quotes. She knows she hasn't worked. So even if he showed her something, that was $2 million. But go ahead. Go ahead.

[Lacey Mosley]

Exactly. But I'm like, where is this going? So Axel told Norma that she could file this W2 with her tax return and receive a refund for 300k. Isn't that nice? Is what shunt is written here. LOL. I told my friend it sounded like money laundering or a scam of some sort. And maybe Norma shouldn't participate in these shenanigans, but she has already filed.

[Gayle King]

Wow.

[Lacey Mosley]

Norma has quit her job, bought herself an $80,000 car while she waits for her refund. Not sure what the file out will be, but I will keep you updated. I'm figuring that she gets the refund and Axl takes most of the cash. And if the tax man comes and knocking, that Norma will on the hook. Have you heard anything like this before?

[Gayle King]

No, but how can she get. How. How can she get a refund or even the fake Axel? Because she never worked. She never had this job. So I'm trying to figure out what the benefit is. I don't get how anybody gets any money out of this situation because she didn't want to.

[Lacey Mosley]

Essentially, it's tax fraud.

[Gayle King]

But. But how, though, Lacy? You file a fake thing that you don't. That. But you didn't work there. There. You didn't work there.

[Lacey Mosley]

Exactly. But if he has this fake company and he's the one who's given her all the information to file for this W2, then it is a little bit of money laundering here, and it's tax fraud. Sometimes you can get away with this. But the thing is, is like, I know we all get excited when we hear the IRS is being defunded, but in reality, we need to fund the IRS because they can't go after the mega rich people when they're not funded because they get inundated with paperwork. Like there's some people are so rich who can literally pull up like several U hauls to the IRS of paperwork, and it's like a needle in a haystack. It takes so much manpower, so much time to audit one person. So they typically go after the middle and lower class people because you don't have as much paperwork, you don't have.

[Gayle King]

Information, you don't have the resources to really dig into it either.

[Lacey Mosley]

Exactly. So.

[Gayle King]

Got it.

[Lacey Mosley]

So normal girl, they. They will find you. They will find you. Like, so do we.

[Gayle King]

Do we know how this ends? Do we know what happens? Or it's just one of those open ended? Her friend is asking.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yes.

[Gayle King]

You know, Chaunteria is asking. But we don't know how it ends. Right.

[Lacey Mosley]

We don't know yet. And I think Shonteria is going to update us. So we will be reaching back out to Shonteria. But I picked this because I thought it was fascinating because in this case, obviously this man is not Axl Rose. We know that. That's number one for certain. And then also, this man paid off her credit cards. And in scamming, we talk a lot about.

[Gayle King]

But he was setting that. But he was setting her up, though. Yeah, yeah. So you think, what a nice guy.

[Lacey Mosley]

They give a little to get a lot.

[Gayle King]

Exactly, Exactly.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah. So they'll give you something so that you're not on the hook, but it's like immediately following them paying off these bills. They're asking you to file a fake W2, so clearly.

[Gayle King]

Yep. So they pay off your bills, say it's $250, but then they ask you for 1500 just. But you're thinking, but he's so nice. He already paid this for.

[Lacey Mosley]

Right. They've shown that they have money. Or like in Ponzi schemes, where when you get new investors, you pay back the first investors with that new income. And it's like you're not actually making any kind of returns or dividends. It's just that you're getting new money and you're paying people with that new money. So.

[Gayle King]

Lacey, this is not a criticism of you because I just think you're terrific. But why are we doing this story? I like a story where we know how it ends. Now I'm sitting here not knowing what happened to Norma. So I like something where we know exactly.

[Lacey Mosley]

We were crazy. We didn't know how much time we were gonna have you for. Okay? So we couldn't give you the full hoodwink story because we did not know if you were gonna have to disappear or Go back to space.

[Gayle King]

I do have to disappear. Not going back to space anytime soon. I would, actually, but. Not going anytime soon. But I'm sitting here now, I'm wondering what happened to Norma. What happened? Because she's ought up $80,000 for a.

[Lacey Mosley]

Car, and she's waiting to see what this tax return is gonna be. Norma's on the hook. Sometimes that's life. We don't know.

[Gayle King]

Is she still at the bar with the towel tucked in, you know, wiping up the counter?

[Lacey Mosley]

She quit before the money even came.

[Gayle King]

She quit. That's right. Oh, God.

[Lacey Mosley]

And we don't know. You're gonna have to pray for her. I don't. That's all I can tell you about Norma right now. We will get enough. But I mean, because we're gonna. We're gonna have a little update on that later. I. I'll let you know. I'll hit you up. I'll let your people know what happened to Norma. Okay? Robbery.

[Carvana Advertiser]

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[Gayle King]

Whoa. When did I get here?

[Carvana Advertiser]

What do you mean?

[Lacey Mosley]

I swear it was just moments ago.

[Gayle King]

That I accepted a great offer from Carvana online.

[AllTrails Advertiser]

I must have time traveled to the future.

[Carvana Advertiser]

It was just moments ago. We do same day pickup. Here's your check for that great offer.

[Gayle King]

It is the future.

[Lacey Mosley]

It's.

[Carvana Advertiser]

It's the present and just the convenience of Carvana. Sorry to blow your mind.

[Gayle King]

It's all good. Happens all the time.

[Carvana Advertiser]

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[Lacey Mosley]

And from.

[Gayle King]

Yes, I'm very big on prayers because I just came back from Rome. Oprah and I and Maria Sharver went to see the first inaugural Papal mass that he had done.

[Lacey Mosley]

Oh, wow. For Chicago Pope.

[Gayle King]

Yeah, for Chicago Pope.

[Lacey Mosley]

For Chi town Pope.

[Gayle King]

Chi town Pope. He drove right by us in the Pope Mobile, and Pope was going, chicago, Chicago. It was great because we're very classy.

[Lacey Mosley]

Listen, it's the Chicago Pope. We all have to act a fool. I have never seen Chicagoans act more of a fool. They have Already remixed all of his, like, Pope waving moments with Chicago. Famous Chicago music. Like, they're not letting the deep dish Pope is out here, and everyone's proud.

[Gayle King]

Yeah, but he spent more time in Peru. The Peruvians are the ones that are saying, oh, no, he's ours. And in Chicago and in the States, they're going, oh, no, he's ours. Which it may. And then there was stories that there was some Haitian blood in his family. Stop. Yep.

[Lacey Mosley]

I knew it was a matter of time before they started saying he was black.

[Gayle King]

I did an interview with his brother, and he goes, well, we're not aware of that side of the family. It was kind of funny. So everybody is claiming him, which isn't that sort of a nice thing?

[Lacey Mosley]

It is a nice thing. I love that everybody's throwing a ring in. Cause, like, I'm not from Chicago. I mean, I've been there. So I'm like, how do I get involved? I'm, like, American. I have to go broader.

[Gayle King]

Exactly.

[Lacey Mosley]

We're still there. We're still there.

[Gayle King]

Exactly.

[Lacey Mosley]

Exactly. I'll give you one tiny scammer story that has an ending just to satisfy you before you go.

[Gayle King]

Okay, good, Good, good, good.

[Lacey Mosley]

So scammer of the week. This is when we highlight a char who may or may not be worthy of our praise. We don't know yet, but today we're talking about.

[Gayle King]

Do I get. Do I get to pick a name?

[Lacey Mosley]

So this is a person. This is a person. This is a real per. Well, these are all real people, but those people were emailing us, so we don't want to say their real names. This is a real story. So, I mean, they're all real stories, but you know what I mean? Like we say this person's name. So Portland limousine businesses. That's where we're going here. So a Portland couple were sentenced to five years in federal prison for stealing $34 million dollars from two former clients through their chauffeur and limousine business, Astra Car Service, llc. So Sergey and Galena, the criminal couple, met their victim in two. They're a couple. They're a duo. Okay. We do everything together. Including crime.

[Gayle King]

Yes. Yes.

[Lacey Mosley]

So they met their victim in 2007, where Sergey was hired as a driver. Ten years later, Sergey was driving the client almost daily, while Galena managed their personal tasks, including bill payments and pet care. But they didn't have a writt contract in place, and the couple charged the victim's credit card directly, often without detailed invoices. The fraud included exorbitant. Excuse me, exorbitant spurges, like $17,900 in a single day for minor tasks. The stolen funds financed a lavish lifestyle, including the purchases of 14 properties, seven vehicles, and luxury items like jewelry and gold bars. Not y' all buying gold bars with this man's groceries, credit card.

[Gayle King]

Right.

[Lacey Mosley]

They got caught. But $34 million. How do you not miss $34 million on your.

[Gayle King]

On your credit card? On your credit card. He must have been so wealthy, he wasn't paying attention.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah, clearly, if you're wealthy enough to miss millions of dollars over five years, then you're pretty wealthy. And it sounds like they kind of got their hooks into him. Like, the husband was the driver, and then all of a sudden, the wife is now doing all of the personal.

[Gayle King]

And the wife is running in the home so they can coordinate, and then they know where everybody's whereabouts, too. You're looking at the bills coming in. You're driving him. So you know what the schedule is. So are they. Are they behind. Are they behind bars?

[Lacey Mosley]

Yes, they were sent. They're now guests of the state. And yes, they. They were sent to the prisons. Five years in federal prison. There is an ending there. They did get caught. They did steal $34 million before they got caught, though. And they were buying gold bricks. Yeah.

[Gayle King]

Living five years to think about what they done done done wrong. That's good.

[Lacey Mosley]

Okay.

[Gayle King]

I done did wrong.

[Lacey Mosley]

I'm sad for you, Gail, because I feel like this was not a satisfactory episode for you. One, we didn't give you any scams that you could love. They're all bad, and it was satisfactory. Some of them don't have finish. They don't have endings.

[Gayle King]

Yes. Note to self. Note to self. I would like to have a beginning, a middle, and an end. But, Lacy, it's not about the scams. You are so much more fun. You are so much fun. So I could trust you if you.

[Lacey Mosley]

Had a scam you could love. Though sometimes you will love them. Sometimes you'll be like, oh, I, I, I. This is admirable. And these people are smart, but, you know, today we got some kind of just, like, run of the mill.

[Gayle King]

Today was not the day. No, today was not the day. I go, you know, that's pretty damn good. It's wrong, but it's good.

[Lacey Mosley]

No, I know. Now I'm like, oh, my goodness. Remember me different, Gayle. Remember me different.

[Gayle King]

Okay.

[Lacey Mosley]

But thank you so much for being on today. We really appreciate it. Anywhere you want people to do anything you want to plug here at the end, you Can. And then other than that, like, thank you so much.

[Gayle King]

No, you can find. You can find me at CBS Mornings. I always say your favorite morning show.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yes.

[Gayle King]

And then. Then I'm at Sirius xm. I have a radio show. And then I'm here in the offices of Oprah Daly, my other job. So I'm living life at full gallop.

[Lacey Mosley]

You truly are. You have many jobs. I do, too. I love my.

[Gayle King]

You do, too.

[Lacey Mosley]

Serial entrepreneur. Love that for you. You too.

[Gayle King]

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

[Lacey Mosley]

And.

[Gayle King]

And if you have. And if you have a nice guy to fix me up with, you can do that, too. I'm alert and available and. And quite delightful.

[Lacey Mosley]

You truly are. Very delightful. Let me. Let me put my peepers out there.

[Gayle King]

Okay, I might put them out, but thank you, Lacy. Thank you for having me.

[Lacey Mosley]

Thank you, Gail. Thank you for being here. I really appreciate it. Yes. Okay. So Gail had to go back to space. I know she said she didn't have to go back to space, but I saw her putting on her space suit, and y' all. Y' all didn't. No, I'm just playing. But I won't leave you with just two letters. I will read the last letter that we had for Gail here. So in 2020, let's all come up with a fake name together. Hive mind. Tracy. That was what y' all were thinking, right? Remember that? That's the thought you had. Okay, power of suggestion. We're all going with Tracy here. Just gonna keep it all as women names. I don't know if they're women. I don't know how they identify, but, you know we're gonna keep your secrets here. Y' all scam got his pod gmail.com stitch on your friends, family, and yourself. Sometimes we love them, sometimes Gail hates them. Okay, But. But we still. We're in support in 2020. Tracy says I reached out to my cousin in law, who recently married my blood cousin. Okay, cousin in law. This is very specific. Tracy, are you white? I have not heard cousin in law. That feels like the. How. How white people name their relatives. So. So Tracy says he had a food truck business in Alabama, and I was a current college student at North Carolina A and T. Okay, so, Tracy, you might be black. So Tracy says, I started a business called Mickey Bowles Selling. Now, Tracy, should I say this name? Remember that different. We'll. We'll bleep it out. I started this business. We're not gonna say the name of the business. Selling fresh fruit and juices on campus. And I wanted to open a Food truck. I done research and met with builders. But one day my cousin announced on his Instagram page that now no longer exists, that he was building out food trucks. I reached out to him and he told me it was divine intervention and that the Lord sent me to him. Okay, Amen. Amen. Amen. So he told me he could do everything for me and that he would be my spiritual guidance and mentor throughout this whole process. As soon as he got my money, money, he started acting different. Now, listen, I just asked you to build me a food truck. I don't need you to pray over me. Like, sir, like, I love the Lord, but we. He wasn't really like, I just wanted to get a food truck. He was like, oh, listen, this is divine timing and the Lord is going to help. Oh, sir, just make the food truck, please. So he started acting different once he got that devilish coin. Okay. So response times would be longer. He started to tell me what I did and didn't want and wasn't trying to hold up his end of the bargain. So basically Tracy's saying, as soon as I gave the coin up, all of a sudden, now he don't got email on his phone. I text him about the food truck. He like, who dis? Amen. Like, he turned. He went from being a part of the Holy Spirit, he turned into the Holy Ghost, basically. He was like, I'm holy Ghosting you. So Tracy says, I wanted to travel to Alabama to see the progress of the truck because I was so excited. And he told me no. He said it was too for me to travel from North Carolina to Alabama. I think traveling to see your investment for something you paid for is pretty normal and something that everybody does. So this cousin is definitely giving me shady vibes. The cousin said I would get the truck sometime in December of 2020. I do want to mark that we are in 2025. So Tracy says out of nowhere, he calls me and tells me he's moving to Florida in a few days and that. That he would be shipping the finished product to me in North Carolina. Now this is January 2021. So now he's saying a year later, I, I got the truck, but I got, I gotta, I gotta ship it to you. I. I'm also moving. Moving is very expensive. Like, that sounds like something that's a you problem. I don't, I don't typically have to tell anybody that I work with business wise, like, oh, well, I have to move. And that's why I can't give you your products and things like what does that have to do with the anything? So Tracy says I told him he would receive his final payment for the truck once it arrived. And he said that's not how it works and not how he does things. The truck arrived and I was instantly disappointed. It was a mess, dirty. The equipment was barely mounted down. He sold me refurbished equipment that stank. Not a stank H. We don't want no stanky ass fruit bowl. No, no, ma' am. The windshield had a two foot crack in it, the gearshift box was broken and it had no horn and the brakes were terrible. Nacho food truck. I'm trying to get my bowl in the truck rolling away. No, ma' am. No, ma' am. Also. So it sounds to me, Tracy, like you could have went to the police auction and got this truck yourself and it probably would have cost you a lot less. And Tracy says that was only the beginning. It has been five years and I have put well over 80 grand into fixing this truck and it still has problems. He took my life savings and I wasn't able to open my business until last year in 2024. So you know what? I am gonna say your business name Tracy. Cause y' all go out here and y' all get these fruit bowls from this now refurbished non stanky truck. O Mickey Bowles. Mickey Bowles, y' all go get a bowl from Tracy because she's been through a lot. So Tracy says I told him about my dissatisfaction and he acted surprised. He told me the crack in the windshield must have happened during transit and offered to send money for the issues the truck had. I found out later the crack had been there the whole time. And he would purposely position pictures so you couldn't see it. So he was sitting, you picked up of this busted truck knowing full well. So is this the cousin or the cousin in law, Tracy? Because if this is your blood cousin, y' all gotta fight at the next family reunion. Like you definitely gotta toss some hands his way. You know what I mean? Like after we have prayer over the hot dogs and stuff and the kids go to the pool or to the playground, then y' all gotta throw hands because this is ridiculous. So during this journey, Tracy says, I connected with someone else that got a truck at the same time as me from him. And she was going through the same issues, except for my cousin was being very rude and completely ignoring her. So I guess he was rude to you, but you got the family special of like he. He was holy ghosting you. But he was like, I will respond every now and then. Cause we are. I will have to see at the family reunion. And I know you're gonna toss those hands my way. So I Tracee says I would fight with myself about leaving it alone and moving forward, but I was depressed and constantly reminded every day that he had scammed me. I even tried to sue him, but I didn't have any more money to try to take him to court. I'm sorry. Tr One day I came across a Google review from a woman in Maryland who had had a terrible food truck experience with my cousin. I found her business page and called the catering number. She answered and I asked her about her experiences with the food truck company. She told me her story and that there were 10 other people that she had connected with across the east coast that had been scammed as well. We have all been in contact, but nothing has moved forward as far as legal matters. We are tired and we want justice and to be served in some way. Some people never received a truck that paid for one. Some got crap trucks like me. Some have car notes on a vehicle they never received. My cousin has filed bankruptcy within the last year and now the business has been completely dissolved. He blocked all of us on social media and is now trying to start a new life in real estate. Oh, the skimmers love to get a little realty, like license. They love it. That's definitely the next move. It's like nobody can look me up. I'm. I'm constantly in homes that are empty and living a shady life. To all y' all real realtors out there shout out to y' all. But we know that real estate is definitely on the scammers, like Q card of like, okay, where. How do we pivot real estate? Yes. Tracy, I'm so sorry that this happened to you. I mean, I'm glad that you at least got a truck, but it sounds like you probably could have just got a new one and not invested all this money in something that rag.

[Gayle King]

How.

[Lacey Mosley]

Where was he even getting these busted ass trucks from? Is is my question. But no brakes is just ridiculous. Like, at least. At least it should have some breaks and he was not. These angles that he was hitting with the crack in the windshield. It sucks when it be your own people. This is your family member who was running this. I don't know if a class action lawsuit is worth it. It sounds like your cousin has already spent that money and so we might have to just move on. Um, I hope you got a horn now. Um, this is just these. These feel like, like necessary things. For cars. It's like he gave you a truck and ain't had no seatbelts, ain't had no brakes, ain't had no horn. Like, did it have an injured girl? Like, was. I'm so sorry. But, I mean, look, it can be your own people sometimes. Tracy, I'm glad that you're snitching on your cousin. Um, I hope that you don't have to catch him at a family reunion, but if you do, like, maybe hit up that Facebook group with them other people who were scammed and y' all just show up to the family reunion together. T shirts, too. Like, make sure they blend in. And then y' all all just like. I. Allegedly, I never said this, but y' all jump your cousin. I. I didn't say that, though, so that's not my advice. I wouldn't recommend jumping your cousin and matching family reunion T shirts with other, you know, grievance filled people. But, you know, it's an idea. I don't know who said it, but it's an idea that you could float out there. But, y' all, thank you so much for listening to this episode. I know this was a diffusion different one, right? Look, Gail did not like these scammers. I'm sorry, y' all. I love y' all out there. Thank you for writing in [e-mail]. you know, give us. Give us better. Like, don't do that, what you did allegedly, or do I don't know your life. So if you want to see photos or anything from the episode, obviously. Scam got his podcast on Instagram. If you want to talk to me, Scam Goddess Pod on Twitter, you can email us at scam goddesspodgmail.com. the first season of Going Dutch and Scam Goddess. They're both available on Hulu right now, and you can pick up my book wherever books are sold. Scam Goddess. We keep the brand real strong over here. And if you want to follow me and my shenanigans. D I V A L A C I Diva Lacey on all platforms. Congregation, get out out there and, you know, be a better cousin. That seems to be a theme this week. Be a Better Cousin. This has been an Airwolf production in association with Team Coco. Scam Goddess stars and is hosted by me, Lacey Mosley, AKA Scam Goddess. Our producer is Jessica Cisneros and our audio engineer is Rich Garcia. Research for the show is conducted by Kate Doyle. Stay scheming. Hey, Congregation Lacey here. Thank you for tuning in to Scam Goddess each week. If you want to hear new episodes ad free and a whole week early, subscribe to SiriusXM Podcast plus on Apple Podcasts or visit siriusxm.com podcastplus to listen with Spotify or any other app of your choice.