Big Crime Energy w/ Jordan Carlos (Re-Release)

Summary

Scam Goddess Podcast Summary: "Big Crime Energy w/ Jordan Carlos (Re-Release)"

Episode Information:

• Title: Big Crime Energy w/ Jordan Carlos (Re-Release)
• Release Date: January 21, 2025
• Host: Laci Mosley (AKA Scam Goddess)
• Guest: Jordan Carlos
• Platform: Earwolf & associated with Team Coco

---

Introduction and Guest Background

In this re-released episode of Scam Goddess, host Laci Mosley welcomes Jordan Carlos, a renowned comedian, actor, writer, and producer known for co-hosting the Adulting podcast with Michelle Buteau. Laci introduces Jordan with enthusiasm, highlighting his extensive presence on television and his multifaceted career.

Laci Mosley [00:55]:
"First Wives Club on BET and the God's Honest Truth with Charlamagne. Congregation Like, I feel like the next Samuel L. Jackson, where you win a Guinness Book of World Records of just being on so many TV shows and being in so many things. That is Jordan Carlos."

Jordan humbly downplays the comparison but appreciates the warm welcome, accepting flowers from Laci as a gesture of camaraderie.

Jordan Carlos [02:30]:
"Thank you very much, lady. That is, I am definitely not. I will. You know what? I'm just gonna take those flowers."

Personal Experiences with Scams

The conversation delves into personal anecdotes and perspectives on scams. Laci expresses her love-hate relationship with scammers, emphasizing that scamming is a learned profession akin to any other skilled trade.

Laci Mosley [05:21]:
"I always say, and y'all, I know the congregation is tired of me saying this, but scamming is a job. It is a profession. It is a learned practice."

Jordan shares his fascination with scams, admiring their complexity and the thin line between scammers and legitimate CEOs. They discuss how modern businesses often operate on foundational scam-like principles, such as selling emotions and feelings rather than tangible products.

Jordan Carlos [07:55]:
"There’s a very thin line between scammers and CEOs anyway. So I'm just like, yeah, so I'm, I'm really kind of like delving into that. Because I'm like that really, that puts me in total awe."

Advertising as Scams: A Discussion

Laci and Jordan pivot to discussing the manipulative nature of advertising, likening it to scamming consumers by exploiting their emotions and insecurities. They critique how brands like Peloton use emotional storytelling to sell products that may offer limited real value.

Laci Mosley [09:00]:
"It's Giving vibes. I'm acting like I own a Peloton. I don't right now. I mean, I said right now. Cause I might get roped into that scam."

Jordan draws parallels between advertising strategies and scamming tactics, emphasizing how both aim to sell feelings rather than just products.

Jordan Carlos [13:39]:
"If you think about it, that's a beautiful scam. I mean, every slogan is a scam, right."

Listener Letters: Car Recalls and Rental Scams

The episode features listener-submitted letters warning about scams prevalent in the automotive industry. One such letter discusses the frustrations with Ford's recall process and deceptive practices by rental car companies.

Laci Mosley [23:11]:
"What good does that do me? I know. And I'll pause here just for one second because I want to say I had a Ford Focus, and the one that I had was a lemon, basically."

Another letter highlights unexpected charges and misleading terms imposed by rental agencies, prompting Laci and Jordan to offer practical advice on navigating such scams.

Jordan Carlos [23:37]:
"Could it be better for this person to just sell a car for parts? They get that cash and try to get a new car."

Deep Dive: The ABSCAM Operation

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to a historical analysis of the ABSCAM operation, an FBI sting targeting political corruption in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Laci recounts the origins of ABSCAM, detailing how initial efforts to catch art thieves evolved into a massive operation involving con men and undercover agents.

Laci Mosley [37:55]:
"I hate it because I've been ticketed so many times. But I low key also love it because I be seeing them sons of bitches waiting at me for the shit."

They explore the ethical complexities of the operation, including the use of entrapment by FBI agents posing as wealthy sheikhs to solicit bribes from politicians.

Jordan Carlos [46:07]:
"That's what the ABSCAM worked because he was a true criminal. So no one ever thought he was working with the government because he gives crime energy."

Laci and Jordan critique the operation's methods, asserting that breaking the law to catch criminals undermines legal integrity and fosters distrust in governmental institutions.

Laci Mosley [73:56]:
"They didn't think about the clear signs of, like, what is going on here?"

They also discuss the aftermath of ABSCAM, including the convictions of several congressmen and the broader implications for political accountability.

Modern Scams: Data Brokers and John Oliver's Critique

Shifting focus to contemporary issues, Laci highlights a segment from John Oliver criticizing data brokers who collect and sell personal information, often targeting vulnerable populations. The discussion underscores the sophistication of modern scams and the ethical breaches involved in data manipulation.

Laci Mosley [83:07]:
"John Oliver's like, I love it, but..."

Jordan praises John Oliver's approach to exposing scams, likening it to a form of comedic arbitrage that brings critical issues to public attention without direct scamming.

Jordan Carlos [81:20]:
"Arbitrage is like when you... if you're within the letter of the law but not the spirit of it, meaning you have zero morals."

They emphasize the importance of awareness and legal reforms to protect individuals from data exploitation and identity theft.

Closing Remarks

As the episode concludes, Laci and Jordan reflect on the complexities of fighting scams within a system that often enables them. They encourage listeners to stay vigilant, educate themselves about common scams, and advocate for greater transparency and accountability in both governmental and corporate practices.

Laci Mosley [89:47]:
"We not gonna drag you, sis. We're not gonna make fun of you. We've all been conditioned and lied to to think that police and people in the police state can break the law to catch criminals."

Jordan Carlos [89:40]:
"Visit scamgoddesspodmail.com and scam goddess pod on all platforms. If you want to see all of the photos and the things that we were talking about in person."

Both hosts sign off with a commitment to continuing their mission of exposing fraud with humor and integrity, inviting listeners to stay engaged and informed.

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Notable Quotes:

• Jordan Carlos [05:54]:
  "Scammers often look at the work of other scammers to learn and study. And I was like, oh, they talk about me."

• Laci Mosley [09:58]:
  "But Peloton had the last laugh. Because during the pandemic, when all the gyms closed, they were like, aha, bitch, where you gonna work out now?"

• Laci Mosley [14:17]:
  "A lot of advertisement is like telling you you don't have enough. Telling you you need more things."

• Jordan Carlos [44:37]:
  "That processing fee is too high. But Mel look like he got hands. He look like he in the mob."

• Laci Mosley [72:37]:
  "The law is literally something that was made up by a bunch of old white dudes, and it changes all the time."

• Jordan Carlos [81:20]:
  "Arbitrage is like when you... it's unethical but not immoral. That's called arbitrage."

This episode of Scam Goddess offers an insightful and humorous exploration of scams, blending personal anecdotes with in-depth analysis of historical and modern fraudulent schemes. Laci Mosley and Jordan Carlos provide listeners with both entertainment and valuable lessons on recognizing and understanding the mechanics of fraud in various forms.

Transcript

[Jordan Carlos]

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[Lacey Mosley]

USAA Scams.

[Jordan Carlos]

Robbery and Fraud.

[Lacey Mosley]

Scam CA and Fraud Goddess. What's poppin? Congregation we're back with another installment of Scam Goddess. It's me, Lacey Mosley, AKA Scam Goddess. This is a podcast dedicated to robbery, fraud, connery, all those who practice it. Sometimes we love them, sometimes we hate them. I'm very. Yes. Excited. Y'all know the deal. Y'all been here. Congregation, pull up. Very excited for today's guest. Someone who I've seen on television so much that when I saw his face, I was like, oh, okay. Yes. Love this. Y'all know I be. I have too many jobs. I have more jobs than a Jamaican and so I be tired a lot, but so happy to be here. He is a comedian, an actor, a writer, a producer. His credits include the co hosting of the Adulting podcast with Michelle Biteau. Love, Michelle Bhutto. Love the adulting podcast. Get into it. Everything's trash is coming out on Freeform. Okay? So get into the Freeform moment. First Wives Club on bet and the God's Honest Truth with Charlamagne. Congregation Like, I feel like the next Samuel L. Jackson, where you win a Guinness Book of World Records of just being on so many TV shows and being in so many things. That is Jordan. Carlos. Like, Jordan is out here and in all the things. Welcome, Jordan. What's up?

[Jordan Carlos]

Thank you very much, lady. That is, I am definitely not. I will. You know what? I'm just gonna take those flowers. Thank you very much. That's very kind of you to be said.

[Lacey Mosley]

We get the flowers when you were living and when you breathing and you alive, like I always talk about, I want to be at my funeral. Like I Gotta have a fake funeral so I can see people crying and being sad about me and saying nice things like, I need to be there. Like, we gotta give people flowers while they're alive. Like, I don't want no Instagram comments when I'm dead. I don't know if I'll be able to see those. I don't know if they got Instagram in heaven. Am I going to be able to check my feed when I'm dead? I don't know.

[Jordan Carlos]

I don't know. That's a. That's a great question. Is there Instagram in heaven? Probably not. I think people just say to your face what they love about you in heaven instead of just, like, dashing off a little something.

[Lacey Mosley]

Because, like, we'd be like, oh, my relatives watching over me. And I think about that, and yes, I hope that my grandparents are watching over me. I love them so much. I hope that all my relatives who pass are watching over me. But then I'd be thinking, like, when do they get to watch? Like, are they going to be watching when I'm using my rose masturbator? Like, I don't want them to watch over me. Then if I'm at an award show, y'all watch over me. But don't be watching over me if I'm getting it in. Like, I feel like I hope that there's limits in heaven where you can't watch over people.

[Jordan Carlos]

I'm sure there are windows and there's. There's some things that they don't want to watch.

[Lacey Mosley]

You know what I mean?

[Jordan Carlos]

Like, probably. They're probably watching Gilded Age or something like that. What if it's like your.

[Lacey Mosley]

Your day relatives are like, oh, we. We want to pull up on Lacey. They're like, not right now. She. Fuck.

[Jordan Carlos]

That's when they watch Bad Girls Club. No, that's when they watch. They watch something else. They watch 90 Day Fiance the other way. They watch other things.

[Lacey Mosley]

Don't watch over me when I'm doing bad shit. Watch over me when I'm winning an award or, you know, doing something that she would be proud of. Don't be watching over me when I'm doing hood rat shit. They like, you don't want to go down there right now. She's.

[Jordan Carlos]

I think my. My relatives are definitely in heaven watching over me when I put pitted dates in the blender and forget to take the pits out. So I think that that's kind of my mo.

[Lacey Mosley]

That's nice. Speaking. I hope the ancestors, because I do feel them when I Cook. So I hope that they are watching when I cook. Like, they, like, let's go into the kitchen. Y'all pull up all the ancestors, but don't pull up when I'm doing mess, please.

[Jordan Carlos]

Like, yeah, they're there. They're there at all times. Just remember that. That's how they. That's why it's like, you gotta act right all the time, all the time. You know what I'm saying? So.

[Lacey Mosley]

But come on, now. We all need our private moments. That's why I'm like. But at the same time, though, I feel like if I'm the ancestor, I would be trying to look and see the mess. Like, not my relatives having sex, but I do want to see the mess. Like, absolutely.

[Jordan Carlos]

You want to see the mess of these parts. You know, I know at family unions, it's like, we get together. It's great. It's just. It's. It's. You know, it's. It's almost like you're not even broaching the surface. It's just kind of small talk. I want to get to the nitty gritty gritty I want to get to the nitty gritty.

[Lacey Mosley]

I guess I got to speak of the nitty gritty. Jordan, I have to ask you, what is your relationship with scams? Do you love them? Do you hate them? Have you ever been scammed? It could literally be anything.

[Jordan Carlos]

I am. I'm more in awe of scams. You know what I'm saying? Like, I observe from afar. One of my favorite shows of all time is American Greed. I watch American Greed, like, all the time. It's so sad. I was like, why not watching so much American greed? And then they said, scammers often look at the work of other scammers to learn and study. And I was like, oh, they talk about me. They talk about me.

[Lacey Mosley]

Not they talk about me. No. Why am I in this photo? Attack me. Yes. I love this. I always say, and y'all, I know the congregation is tired of me saying this, but scamming is a job. It is a profession. It is a learned practice. If you are really doing it, you are. Charles Ponzi led to Bernie Madoff. You know, like, the girls got the blueprints, and they ran it up. So scamming is definitely something that has to be, like, apprenticed. Like, absolutely.

[Jordan Carlos]

I mean, let's talk about the pantheon of great scammers. I mean, even, like, I was just really happy that Elizabeth Holmes kind of made it in.

[Lacey Mosley]

Oh, I love this.

[Jordan Carlos]

Yeah. That she made it in. Because you know, it's just an all boys club. It is.

[Lacey Mosley]

And she lowered her voice and she was Silicon Valley hot and she wore the turtlenecks and she dropped out of an expensive college. She did the A, B, C and the D of scams. And she also did the tiny thing. Like all technology, we kind of oscillate between, oh, it's tiny and technology that makes it fancy. Because remember when our phones were so little that you could barely like put your fingers on them to like flip phones. Nokias, like our phones used to be very little and then they were like, okay, this is too little. A little bit, yeah.

[Jordan Carlos]

Now we say no to Nokia. Like it used to be back in the day, like a Sony Flip or a Nokia was everything that was like, that was the apex of cool.

[Lacey Mosley]

A Sidekick, that dumbass bootleg BlackBerry that you slide up. Paris Hilton had one. And I was like, I need me a Sidekick. What's going on? T Mobile.

[Jordan Carlos]

Jay z said, Motorola 2 way pager. Like all these things. I was like, I need that in my life. You know what I'm saying? Like, yeah, it's important that I have these things. And now it's big. But I feel that scammers, there's a very thin line between scammers and CEOs anyway. So I'm just like, yeah, so I'm, I'm really kind of like delving into that. Because I'm like that really, that, that puts me in total awe. Like I'm so enamored of that. The way that like rogue CEOs can like build a corporation, but really it's kind of like a scam. But aren't we just all fed on scams anyway? Like, is it so much of our life just a scam? Like, I mean, I love Coca Cola, but Coca Cola is just like sugar water. And like I like that more than Pepsi. Like, what, like what am I really like? Isn't it all just. Yes, you're selling on a feeling. And that's what a confidence person does, right? The confidence person just sells you on a feeling. Like wasn't Peloton was valued at 51 bill, right? And then they had to knock it down to nine bill because somewhere along the line somebody said, these are just stationary bikes, you know, like that's with an iPad attached.

[Lacey Mosley]

Okay. But it's a stationary bike with an iPad. You got a friend with you, working out with you in your office, in your living room, in your closet. Like, it's, it's vibes.

[Jordan Carlos]

I feel you.

[Lacey Mosley]

It's Giving vibes. I'm acting like I own a peloton. I don't right now. I mean, I said right now. Cause I might get roped into that scam. But I love especially Peloton, because that always makes me think of that commercial that went viral, because it was the Peloton commercial where they gifted this beautiful, very thin white woman. Her husband gifts her a Peloton. Then she takes all these videos, like, working out day three. And she looks like she's trapped. She look like she don't want to be doing it. And we like, girl, do you need help? Blink twice. Blink three times. Like, Peloton got you like this. What happened, sis? Like. But then Peloton had the last laugh. Because during the pandemic, when all the gyms closed, they were like, aha, bitch, where you gonna work out now? How you gonna have a workout instructor if you can't go to the gym, bitch? Huh? Yeah. You go get on this iPad motorcycle, and you go pedal away in your home. You're going to get on a bike and go nowhere, bitch.

[Jordan Carlos]

You think Peloton started the Wuhan virus? Is that what you say?

[Lacey Mosley]

Loki? That's my conspiracy theory right there. Is that Peloton is the whole reason that Covid started. Because they were like, oh, bitch, we're going to get y'all. You're going to be on a bike going nowhere. Can you imagine, like, any other thing than a stationary bike that's mobile? Being stationary, you would be like, this is insane. If you just got into a car, you just was, like, pedaling like the Flintstones, but it didn't go nowhere. If you got on a lime scooter and you wasn't going nowhere, it's dumb. It's very dumb to be on a bike that does not move. And I love it.

[Jordan Carlos]

You're absolutely right. You're absolutely right. They have those for, like, swimming pools. It's like you can do a lap pool. It's like a lap, and it's just the. The water moving.

[Lacey Mosley]

The water pushes against you. Yeah. So you can't go far because of the tension. Yes. Yeah, I know those pools also.

[Jordan Carlos]

You could just go to the. Why?

[Lacey Mosley]

Right? Listen, my favorite thing before the pandemic was I would always feel like Olivia Pope, like a black girl icon, because I would go to the wave pool, and I'd do my lapses, swim. And I was like, look at me. Look at me.

[Jordan Carlos]

Oh, yeah. Oh, sure. As a black woman.

[Lacey Mosley]

Fucking the President. The President. Fucking the President.

[Jordan Carlos]

Fucking the President. It's Handled. It's handled.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yes. I was handling it in the pool, thinking about my life. Just like Kerry Washington. Love that for us. That bitch got me on wine, popcorn, and swimming laps, and I loved it.

[Jordan Carlos]

I think it's more or less like this. It's like we love to be sold on a kind of like an idea or a notion or a feeling. So if you can sell a feeling to us, then we don't worry about anything else.

[Lacey Mosley]

You know, honestly, it's getting a little too deep, though. Like, the commercials, they be selling feelings where it's like, oh, a family. And then the mom had a miscarriage, and then her second baby came out. And then at the end, they'd be like, tide for your laundry. And I'm like, wait. Wait a minute.

[Jordan Carlos]

Exactly. Exactly.

[Lacey Mosley]

I mean, this is a laundry detergent commercial. There's a Tide commercial that literally made me cry when I went to college. It was a black family, and they're playing this song. It was like, take me home to my family. I was crying, and I was like, I am crying at a Tide commercial. What is happening? This doesn't feel right.

[Jordan Carlos]

I used to write commercials for a living, so I can tell you right now. Yeah, we'd have to tie in. The first was, like, we would try to go for the heart. Go for the heart, the heartstrings. Something that universalizes. Then we. Then we try to personify and make sure that whatever we're selling, the product or service is like a person, like a good neighbor.

[Lacey Mosley]

Same thing.

[Jordan Carlos]

You're in good hands, you know?

[Lacey Mosley]

So you try to. You in good hands. I'll say, drop me. Oh, that's not too many accidents, okay? And then the black man from Allstate showed up and said, you're not in good hands anymore.

[Jordan Carlos]

I'm handing you off. Like, I feel like. But that's. That's what. What people do if they make a product or service, they got to make it so that there's, like, a human connection. So you make that human connection that might be missing in somebody's life and think that that product or service will fill.

[Lacey Mosley]

And now feelings about Tide.

[Jordan Carlos]

Oh, yeah, Absolutely. I got tied. Every time I get tired, I'm like.

[Lacey Mosley]

Ty is my mama.

[Jordan Carlos]

Yeah.

[Lacey Mosley]

Ty is my granny. Todd is watching over me.

[Jordan Carlos]

Ty got you. Todd got you. Ty was those other pair of feet on the shore when Jesus was carrying.

[Lacey Mosley]

That's the next commercial. Jordan. You might have to hop back in and throw him a few ideas. I know you booked him busy, but you might have to go back and Be like, ty, got you.

[Jordan Carlos]

I got you. Like you spilling ragu on your shirt.

[Lacey Mosley]

I got you tied, got you tired. Got you.

[Jordan Carlos]

I mean, that's it exactly. If you think about it, that's a beautiful scam. I mean, every slogan is a scam, right? So if you're talking about like you talk to people's heartstrings, like their insecurities, right? Insecurities about health, wealth, all that kind of stuff, right? So it's like an appearance and I.

[Lacey Mosley]

Beauty health that I have a marketing degree and I learned all of that in school. Like taking marketing classes, taking classes where we made ads and ad campaigns. I learned that all. A lot of advertisement is like telling you you don't have enough. Telling you you need more things.

[Jordan Carlos]

Absolutely.

[Lacey Mosley]

Guys, we're gonna take a quick break for some non scam advertisements scams. New year, new drip start 2025 in style with true Religion because your look deserves a glow up too. From iconic denim to bold fits that turn heads, we've got the deals to level up your wardrobe without breaking the bank. Find your next fit. Check@True Religion.com. look, y'all, I might be an expert in scams, but I am not an expert in everything, okay? And that's why I love Acorns. Because they will recommend a diversified portfolio that fits you and your money goals. Don't we all have money goals? I know we all making money moves. You don't need to be rich. Acorn lets you invest with the spare money you've got right now. You can start with $5 or even just your spare change. You don't need to feel like financial wellness is impossible because it's not. Acorns gives you small, simple steps to get you and your money on track. Basically, Acorns does the hard part so you can give your money a chance to grow. I actually use Acorns and I love it. And sometimes I forget that it's there and I'll go look and I'll be like, ooh, money. But then I'll leave the money alone because that's what investment is about. Head to acorns.com goddess or download the Acorns app to start saving and investing for your future. Today, paid non client endorsement compensation provides incentive to positively promote Acorns Tier 2 compensation provided investing involves risk. Acorn Advisors LLC and SEC registered investment advisor. View important [e-mail] Goddess and we are back. And what's hot? And fraud. This is where we warn our listeners about popping scams in the zeitgeist and more often than not, these days, y'all know we get a listener letter. As always, snitch on your friends and [e-mail]. just make sure the scam is retired, because we don't want to. What? Yes. Fuck up your bag. Okay, so run it up, and then when you're done running it, call me because I want to know about it. And we're talking about cars, and that perfectly goes into this story or this letter. I need a fake name for this person. Gender, doesn't matter. Come up with anything.

[Jordan Carlos]

Sure, sure. Nebuchadnezzar.

[Lacey Mosley]

Nebuchadnezzar.

[Jordan Carlos]

I'm very biblical.

[Lacey Mosley]

Is that what you said?

[Jordan Carlos]

Yeah, yeah. I'm very biblical like that. I'm very biblical.

[Lacey Mosley]

Amen. So you were raised in the church?

[Jordan Carlos]

Yeah. Oh, stop, please. I was there. Like, we used to go back. We do one service in the morning on Sunday, then come back in the evening for evening service.

[Lacey Mosley]

Now, wait, was any of your family in the clergy? Because my papa was a deacon, so I was always at church as a kid. Y'all was just picking it.

[Jordan Carlos]

We was just fans of Jesus.

[Lacey Mosley]

We. We are Jesus. Number one stands. And we gotta wait outside the church after the service so we can. Wow, my.

[Jordan Carlos]

It's so hard for you.

[Lacey Mosley]

At least my papa was a deacon. I had to wait after church so he could count the money. And I sang in the choir. And one week, the choir director, Ms. Pat, who was married to our preacher, was like, oh, well, we gotta let somebody else sing this week. Like, you can't sing every week. The lead. And I was like, but why not? I was like, God gotta use us, and we all gotta be used with our individual gifts. And y'all trying to let Sherman sing. And his gift is passing out the pamphlets. His gift is walking around with the offering tray. But his gift is not singing. Like, if we're doing. Jesus is bubbling in my soul. Like, let me sing it, because it's gonna bubble down. Like.

[Jordan Carlos]

I mean, hold on. Where did you. Where are you from?

[Lacey Mosley]

I am from Dallas, Texas. And the church that I grew up in is called Oak Grove Missionary Baptist Church.

[Jordan Carlos]

Baptist Church. Yeah, I know.

[Lacey Mosley]

I'm a Missionary Baptist.

[Jordan Carlos]

I'm from Dallas.

[Lacey Mosley]

Oh, you're from Dallas.

[Jordan Carlos]

I'm from Dallas, yeah. I went to Munger, and I went to New Hope Baptist Church in Sunny stuff. Yeah.

[Lacey Mosley]

Okay.

[Jordan Carlos]

Take 45 is right there.

[Lacey Mosley]

Okay.

[Jordan Carlos]

I know, girls.

[Lacey Mosley]

My first introduction to a scam church was going with my cousins to the Potter's house. And I remember being a kid. Whoa, whoa.

[Jordan Carlos]

This is the end of the podcast.

[Lacey Mosley]

You can't be out here.

[Jordan Carlos]

What you not gonna do? What you not gonna do?

[Lacey Mosley]

Listen, I love TD Jakes.

[Jordan Carlos]

It's no shade.

[Lacey Mosley]

I was just very alarmed as a child when people came around for the.

[Jordan Carlos]

I gotta tell my video. No.

[Lacey Mosley]

When people came around for the offerings.

[Jordan Carlos]

Yes.

[Lacey Mosley]

You know you got the love offering on pastor's anniversary. You got. There's like tithing and then you also have another offering. Right. But when the credit card swiper came around, I was like, oh, wait a minute. And yeah, it's technology. You don't got cash to give to Jesus, you gotta give Jesus. Crypto, I get it.

[Jordan Carlos]

But people in Dallas could hear this, Lacey. People in Dallas can hear this. So we love you. We love you, T.D. jakes. We do love T.D. jakes. Yeah, we love you, Jordan. Carlos loves you. T.D. jakes didn't talk no mess about you. I love that you own that house on White Rock Lake, bruh.

[Lacey Mosley]

I'm glad that we're bringing this up too, because I had Jacquees Neal on another episode in the past and we got dragged because they. I thought that the preacher's anniversary was them celebrating their wedding anniversary. And I was always like, why we gotta pay for them to have a honeymoon? Why are we bringing them chocolate covered strawberries for them to like get it on in his name. What's going on? And it's the anniversary of the pastor at the church. And I don't know how I grew up in the church for that long and never understood that pastor's anniversary was his anniversary for being at the church and not his anniversary with his wife.

[Jordan Carlos]

Right, right, right.

[Lacey Mosley]

As an adult, I go on high holiday.

[Jordan Carlos]

You're a CME Christian?

[Lacey Mosley]

Yes, I am now. Cause it's like Easter Sunday, Christmas, like in certain times. Mother's Day. Yup. Like it's certain times where I gotta have my black ass in the church. Cause that's just how I was raised. I gotta. We gotta get into this. Hot and frozen.

[Jordan Carlos]

Get into this.

[Lacey Mosley]

Give me the name again. I already forgot it. Never gonna. Okay, so never, never says hello, hello. Oh, giving us a church greeting. Hello, hello. Yes. Never.

[Jordan Carlos]

Hello, hello.

[Lacey Mosley]

So to kind of explain without over explaining. I appreciate that because I done told y'all these letters sometimes are too long for me to read on the main podcast. I need y'all to tap it down, like give me the points. Like it's giving novel. And what we need is Tweet, you know, 240 characters. Stop. You know?

[Jordan Carlos]

Yeah.

[Lacey Mosley]

So not to over explain. I'm getting scammed by corporate America. Of course you are, because that's what always happens to all of us. My vehicle is a 2010 Mercury, which is made by Ford and uses the same parts. There was a recall issued on the steering system briefly, and basically it explained that the steering wheel power on my car will suddenly turn off while driving, making it extremely hard to turn the wheel. After finally finding a dealer that would accept my vehicle in an attempt to do the recall and repair that Ford promised to pay for, I'm left waiting for the critical parts and carless for over two months. Now, the dealer keeps telling me that the repair cost is 100% covered, but there is not available parts to perform the repair. Eye roll. That's what they wr. What good does that do me? I know. And I'll pause here just for one second because I want to say I had a Ford Focus, and the one that I had was a lemon, basically. And look for it. I'm not shading y'all, if y'all sponsor this podcast. I love Ford, but when I had a Ford, I got recall notices all the time. And you better than me. Cause I would get a recall notice in the mail, and I would open it up and be like, hey, the doors might fly off your car real quick. Just want to let you know. And I'm not even playing. It literally said, like, the door might fly off. And I was like, well, I'm not going to get that checked on. Like, I'm just, wow. Put my seatbelt on and hope for the best.

[Jordan Carlos]

Please tell me that you have a cover on your phone.

[Lacey Mosley]

I do. I have phone cases all over my phone. I have all the phone cases. I got the case. I got the screen protector. I dropped my phone constantly.

[Jordan Carlos]

But you ain't Ford. You're not worried about that. You just gonna keep rolling?

[Lacey Mosley]

Just like, why would I keep going? You better than me, sis. I'm glad you did this. So they said I dropped off the vehicle in January, and it's now early April, and I've been calling to receive updates. On the last call I had with the service manager, I asked him to give advice on what he would do if he was in this situation. And his words verbatim were in quotes. I would curl up into a ball and cry. What?

[Jordan Carlos]

Interesting. Helpful.

[Lacey Mosley]

That's not service. And that's literally what they said. This is not helpful at all. So beware if you ever have a recall specifically for a forward recall. Make sure that there is available parts for your vehicle repairs. Or you might be in the same boat as me without a car or feeling very stressed out.

[Jordan Carlos]

Could it be better for this person to just. Just sell a car for parts? They get that cash and try to get a new car.

[Lacey Mosley]

Ooh, that might be the move.

[Jordan Carlos]

Because you sell it for parts. Yeah, I'm just saying you sell it for parts. Absolutely. Get those parts, those essential parts. The chassis, this, that third. And then, like, you sell that, then you should have enough for a down payment on another car.

[Lacey Mosley]

That might be the move, y'all. Because don't sell your car back if the girls aren't trying to give you another car.

[Jordan Carlos]

Exactly.

[Lacey Mosley]

So in addition, they say when I first dropped off of my vehicle to get repaired, I rented a car for two weeks because I thought that that would be a sufficient time frame to allow for the work to be done, which it should have been two weeks. Fix my steering wheel also for y'all. Come on now for it. Like, we try to buy American, but it's very ghetto. And it's like, look, I love Detroit. I. I want the auto business to boom. But I need y'all to do better, cuz I got so many recall notifications on my American made car.

[Jordan Carlos]

Oh, for real.

[Lacey Mosley]

It's like, oh, the door's gonna fly off. Oh, hey, sis, the brake might stop working. Do you need brakes? Like, would you like to stop when you go? Is that something that you want? Cause we didn't think when you had bought it that you needed to stop. We just thought you wanted to go and I'm sorry.

[Jordan Carlos]

Keep going.

[Lacey Mosley]

I think we all wanna be able to stop. I just think that's.

[Jordan Carlos]

What if you could just accelerate forever.

[Lacey Mosley]

I don't want to get to my destination and fly past it. Cause I can't stop. I'm not trying to tuck and roll out the car to get to the destination.

[Jordan Carlos]

All you gotta do to pull up is just get that emergency brake going. You get the emergency brake, you fishtailing, like, Fast and the Furious 10.

[Lacey Mosley]

I don't want to have to crash every time I need to park.

[Jordan Carlos]

You gotta do. You gotta do it like Vin Diesel.

[Lacey Mosley]

I don't wanna do Tokyo Drift.

[Jordan Carlos]

You gotta Tokyo Drift. It's great. That's great.

[Lacey Mosley]

Just run into the wall. Tell your homie who you driving. Like, unlock that door, girl, because we almost there and we gonna have to hop out.

[Jordan Carlos]

Just do a nice ninja roll. Just tap and roll.

[Lacey Mosley]

You're good. I don't like that for me. Ford. I Don't like that for me.

[Jordan Carlos]

I think this is great advice to give this person.

[Lacey Mosley]

They said when I fell victim to the scummy practices of a rental company, so she got the two week rental thinking that was all it was. Now she falling into another scam at Hertz. She says I paid for a 470 rental through Priceline online prior to receiving my car. And then once I picked it up and signed for the car, I was also charged an additional $560 plus a 200 deposit. That's another $760. Like SIS, that price line crazy. How am I renting a car? And you like hey girl, so good that you're here we go need another.

[Jordan Carlos]

G. What we gonna need to hold that? Was she paying with a debit card? She's not saying. So maybe she was paying.

[Lacey Mosley]

Maybe. I explained to the counter agent that I was using my own auto insurance but somehow was tricked into signing up for their coverage as well. I was under the impression that my signature was for me waiving my right of coverage if I did damage to their car. I also thought this $760 charge was the deposit and would fall off of my credit statement. But only the $200 fell off. I am disputing the charge with my credit card and looking into legal action to present prevent this from going into my credit report. Another scam itself because credit came up in the 80s. Like a bunch of old white dudes were like, let's make credit. You know.

[Jordan Carlos]

I feel so bad for this person.

[Lacey Mosley]

I do too. But I do want to say this person is saying rental car insurance is a scam. And I used to think that because you can put, if you have car insurance a lot of covered like plans will let you put your rental car on them so you don't have to pay that extra money. If you are a good driver, go up, do that. I'm a bad driver. I did it once. Where my mama, my mom calling you out. I was on the phone with my mama and she was like, we have good insurance. Like just put it on the insurance. And she forgot that I'm a terrible driver. I got into a fucking car accident and totaled a rental car and had to be out. And it was like I ran up on a curb and like hit some city property on my way to shoot single parents. And I was like, well I still got to get to work. So I'm a call an Uber and be out like y'all deal with the car, take it away. I don't know like. And I Had. And then that went on my insurance and I had to pay for it. And then my insurance was like, girl, we actually don't fuck with you anymore. Oh, God, you a bad driver. Like, girl, we already had your car in the shop because of the transmission just stopped on the Ford that I had. It was like, we good. We actually don't want to move no more. So I already had a car in the shop and then I wrecked a rental car and they were like, all right, yeah.

[Jordan Carlos]

Here on Demolition Derby, first of all, they made you self report on single parents. That is a hate crime. I don't like that at all. Okay, they need to get the. Get the Teamsters down here. I'm talking to the Teamsters right now. Hold up, T.D. jakes. You know what I'm saying? Those teams just love to come early. Way before your call time. They're like, we coming at five.

[Lacey Mosley]

Like, yo, I should not be on the road. It's just. It's not fair to everyone, including me.

[Jordan Carlos]

It's all a scam, you know? I mean, I feel like this person, they just seem like, really, I bet they have kind eyes and work with children. You know what I'm saying?

[Lacey Mosley]

But also, like, we all have this kind of social contract when it comes to businesses where when you go in, we all sign the contract without reading every line item. We all get the update on Apple. Apple be like, we got new terms. And honestly, the new terms could be like, also, we can have your kidney, like, if you on life support. And we decide to pull the plug at Apple, we gonna get your organs. And I've signed it. Like, I can't read all of that. No one reads it all. So we all have a social contract of not reading the contract because we trust that it's not going to be no wild shit in it. And so this person is saying, like, read those rental car contracts and like, I'm with you. I'm with you, miss.

[Jordan Carlos]

How can you do that when you're at the counter? That's really hard to do, but it is important.

[Lacey Mosley]

What's the thing about scams is that a lot of times we get scammed because of our desperation level. We call it the despo meter. Like, if you need a car, you don't have a car. If you need something, it's like, I'm leaving with something. I gotta. I gotta do this. And so then you sign your life away.

[Jordan Carlos]

Oh, Lord. I mean, you know, that's true. That's true.

[Lacey Mosley]

Or if you're broke, you might click on a Link that's like, oh, you gonna make a thousand dollars turn into $10,000? And you're like, I could really use 10,000. I'm gonna click on this link and then they'll sell your whole identity.

[Jordan Carlos]

I feel like. Listen, I think that OnlyFans is always available for people with nice feet. You know what I'm saying? Like, you could do. You can do a lot of things without having to show what's your toes looking like?

[Lacey Mosley]

Because you might have to become a toe professional.

[Jordan Carlos]

You get the foot deal out here.

[Lacey Mosley]

If you've listened to this podcast. You know, I used to bartend foot fetish parties.

[Jordan Carlos]

Oh, no. Oh.

[Lacey Mosley]

In New York at Karma Lounge on First Ave. Yeah.

[Jordan Carlos]

And you know what? I don't even mind feet, but that's too much feet.

[Lacey Mosley]

It was a lot of feet, but the foot community was very nice. They tipped very well, and I love them. Shout out to the foot, the foot.

[Jordan Carlos]

That's amazing.

[Lacey Mosley]

Girls and thems and they's. And men. The foot community was very kind to me. So I'm not mad. I never busted my toes out, but honestly, it's just because my feet in person, like, not that good. I always tell y'all, please boost my Wikifeet, keep me at 4.5 stars, because it's a lie. It's a scam. My feet look like I've been dancing in bricks and playing in glass and, you know, kicking walls. You know, they don't. They're not. They're utility feet. Of course I get a feet.

[Jordan Carlos]

All feet are utility. What are feet like? Feet keep you up.

[Lacey Mosley]

Some people got feet that are sexy feet. They look good.

[Jordan Carlos]

I actually have. I actually have nice feet. Like, I have nice feet.

[Lacey Mosley]

I was about to say, I feel like you have nice feet.

[Jordan Carlos]

I have nice feet. I have nice feet. They're nice. They're veiny, but not too veiny.

[Lacey Mosley]

It's good. Oh, I like a little veininess. That means you're healthy and then strong. Oh, man. I look at what she put your feet on. The zoom. I might be a feet person myself.

[Jordan Carlos]

For me to explain it in. Hate to see a doe foot. A doe foot is the worst. You know, a doe foot, just like. It's like somebody's just. Foot is just like dough. It just looks like pounded pizza dough.

[Lacey Mosley]

With just kind of like a doe foot. I like when the foot looks soft. I like all the feet. I might be a foot person. Maybe that's why I enjoyed bartending.

[Jordan Carlos]

I think you might be a foot better.

[Lacey Mosley]

Shit, this is good. For me, I'm having a good time. I get to see some great feet and make money. Why not?

[Jordan Carlos]

But I think the scam is that sometimes people can be apologists, right? So it's like, if we want to buy American, if we want to go for it. I'm with that, too. I'm with that, too. You know what I'm saying? I try to do that as much as possible, but you can't be an apologist to the point of a fault where it's like, now you're like a sucker, right? So I feel like you have to use that agency, like, get out of the scam. Get out. You know, my friend just got hacked on Instagram, and I. Right. And so, like, that person, all they wanted to do right away with a lot of broken English was to scam all the people's friends and, like, and they were sending me these weird messages.

[Lacey Mosley]

And trying to get you to click on a link, trying to be like, oh, this is me, your friend. Hello, this is me, you, friend, and I need you friend to click on Lanka. It's supposed to be link, but it's spelled like Lanka. Like, yeah, there it's. It's wild. And so, yeah, this person said that I felt pressured to sign something I thought I understood, but clearly did not understand, which we've all been in that position. And even more scummy was the verbal agreement from the counter agent. It was completely different than what was written and what I actually signed. And then in a little quote, she has face palm. I know, I know. No, listen, if you write into this podcast, I will not judge you. There is no judgment. I've been scammed, I've run scams. We not judging over here. I understand you needed a rental car and times was hard, and I get it. And also, like, your car was in the shop to no faults of your own. The girls hit you up and said, do you need to stop? Do you need to turn your wheel? Like, is wheel turning important to you and your vehicle?

[Jordan Carlos]

You find that to be fundamental to you driving? You know, I feel like I will say that this person has, like, heavy Aquarius energy and doesn't like conflict. Heavy Aquarius energy doesn't like conflict.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yo, tell us which side you are when you hear this. And then at the end, it says, please, all young, experienced people ask 101 questions about a contract that you're signing. Even if you think you understand, make sure I know everyone doesn't have a trusted, experienced person to help them out. So just make sure you can Educate yourself as much as possible. And then they said, please don't make fun of me too much. It's been a stressful 2022 for me so far, but I thought my story might bring awareness to some other young person. We not gonna drag you, sis. We're not gonna make fun of you. I absolutely have been there. I signed the rental car agreement and it went down bad.

[Jordan Carlos]

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[Lacey Mosley]

Put in unlimited effort to unlock the unlimited possibilities of your small business. Get Internet, mobile phone and TV services to connect all aspects of your business and see your business made limitless. Learn [e-mail] business and fraud. And we're back and talking about American Hustle. SC American Hustle. Let's get into historic hoodwinks. I'm going to regale Jordan with a famous Connor caper group of criminals. We're going to get his opinions all throughout and let's see what the vibes are. So we're throwing it back. We're throwing it back. I want to note that the story is heavily sourced from Ted Sherman's NJ.com article Jersey Hustle the Real Life Story of AB Scam. Okay, so y'all get into that. Go on over there. See what Ted was talking about after this. Cause it's good. What started as a routine operation to catch art thieves turned into a massive FBI operation that employed a con man and shady operators to tackle some of Washington's biggest politicians. Years later, it would become the loose inspiration for the movie American Hustle. So the beginning go ab scam started in July of 1978. We weren't alive with a routine operation to catch prominent figures from the New York City undercover world in illicit dealings. So they were like, we are going to. We're doing our hater job and we're gonna stop the people from getting their bags. Because that's what government institutions do. They're haters meeting maids. The biggest haters in the world. Honestly.

[Jordan Carlos]

Wow. It's true.

[Lacey Mosley]

I hate it because I've been ticketed so many times. But I low key also love it because I be seeing them sons of bitches waiting at me for the shit.

[Jordan Carlos]

Just lurking. Lurking. Yeah. You never take in quarters. I sometimes just do like a quarter like a meter angel. And I'll Just, like, put quarters on for fun.

[Lacey Mosley]

Oh, I love you, Jordan. You're a meter angel.

[Jordan Carlos]

Sure. Ruin people's. You ruin the meter maid's day.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yes. Cause, look, they trying to get them markups, especially at the end of the month. Like, whenever they got to turn in their quotas. I see them become more aggressive now. Sometimes. I understand. Cause I'm like, yeah, it's traffic. We do need these cars out of the way. But a lot of times they be hating, and they always be like, straight, boo boo. I already started writing the ticket. That's their favorite line. You walk up to your car, you run up to your shit out the restaurant, and they're like, I already started. I'm like, bitch, no, you didn't. No, you didn't. You're still writing down my VIN number right now, you raggedy bitch. Leave. Walk away.

[Jordan Carlos]

Like, they're like, I can't. I can't. Once I start writing, I can't stop. I can't stop writing. I can't do it. I will say this. That scan, that. That racket, that. That kind of like what they were trying to do, that operation. I thought that was amazing. And, you know, more amazing was the movie. I mean, like, hey, Jeremy Renner. You got Christian Bale and Amy Adams. I love that movie. I didn't even know what it was about, really. At the end of it, I was like, what happened? You know what I mean?

[Lacey Mosley]

But no need to. And that's what we love about it. I love. I love leaving a motion picture. Being like, huh?

[Jordan Carlos]

Yeah. You're like, yeah, Real American Hustle did take place.

[Lacey Mosley]

I had a good time. But what, like, what happened then?

[Jordan Carlos]

I guess, Lacey, I scammed you because, guess what? I was alive in July of 1978. I was born in February of 1978. That's all right. I do a lot of cardio. I got good knees. And I got a very. Boy. I got a boyish head of hair. That's what it is.

[Lacey Mosley]

Boyish face. I definitely didn't think you were alive in 78.

[Jordan Carlos]

That's a lot of get my eight hours a night. Try to get my eight hours a night water.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yes, well, my people come from Mississippi.

[Jordan Carlos]

You know what it is? You know it is. We don't.

[Lacey Mosley]

Hey, you from Mississippi, too? I have a lot of family in Mississippi. Jackson and Biloxi. A lot of family. Yeah.

[Jordan Carlos]

It's getting really weird. This is getting weird.

[Lacey Mosley]

We might be cousins. And now we both in Dallas. Are we cousins? Yeah. I'm glad that we might be cousins. We really.

[Jordan Carlos]

That's a weird thing because isn't it weird about Mississippi where you have to actually be like, are we cousins?

[Lacey Mosley]

Oh, bro. People didn't understand that my. The only relationship I've ever had in my life was in college. And I brought him home because I told my family I was in a relationship. I said, I told him I was like, if I tell them I'm in a relationship with you, they don't want me to bring you home. You're going to have to come home. So my parents flew him out and my mom threw a party for August birthdays. My mom's a big Leo. She gonna throw an August birthdays party just so she could have everybody put their ey on them. And it was also because it was like, we got to make sure we're not cousins. Like, come home, let's do the family tree and make sure we're not cousins. We going. We going to figure we going to have the ancestry. We go ancestry. Because it might be. So this is the story of them, the FB and the eye, hiring all of these people to help them uncover these illicit dealing art people, Right? In order to pull off this extensive operation, the FBI hired a bonafide convicted con man. That con man was Mel Weinberg. Oh, okay. Weinberg. For reference, Mel was depicted by Christian Bale in American Hustle. So now we're looking at Mel got a cigar in his mouth. He looks like he does crime, yo.

[Jordan Carlos]

That is that if you just constantly.

[Lacey Mosley]

Have anything in your mouth, a toothpick, a cigar. If you have an orification, you are a criminal. I have one if you need.

[Jordan Carlos]

You're admitting to your criminality?

[Lacey Mosley]

I am. If you got something in your mouth all the time, you do crime. That's what this guy.

[Jordan Carlos]

Oh, my God. Oh, yeah. That is Christian Bale in the movie. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Lacey Mosley]

I seen in the movie.

[Jordan Carlos]

He was just drinking olive oil the whole time. God damn, look at him.

[Lacey Mosley]

He's that thick. You know, I just love to, like, get thick or lose a bunch of weight to be like. I'm really dedicated to the role. Not me. You'll never see me changing my physical appearance for a role. No, thank you. I'm good.

[Jordan Carlos]

No, come on. You don't want to be like. What's his name? De Niro. You don't want to be like De Niro.

[Lacey Mosley]

I don't want to be like Charlize Theron and Monster Shout out to her movie's fire. But I'm not gaining weight and plucking out my eyelashes from my eyeballs for a role.

[Jordan Carlos]

No, but she got the Oscar for that.

[Lacey Mosley]

She did.

[Jordan Carlos]

That's what it takes. I would like to do that for, like, they didn't even ask me.

[Lacey Mosley]

I want us both to get the Samuel L. Oscar where they're just like, you've been in so many movies. We owe you one. And then they just give it to me like, you made motherfucker iconic. Here's your statue. Like, that's what I want. I'm not trying to change my appearance and pull out my eyebrows and cut my hair like Fontaine and Les Mis. I ain't trying to do that.

[Jordan Carlos]

Do you think Sam could win it? Cause I feel like Sam is almost too much of a stage actor because he started stage. That it's hard sometimes to translate to the screen exactly what people want on the screen.

[Lacey Mosley]

I don't know. It's all a scam. Cause, like, there's just entertainers who are entertaining and we know who the girls are, and Sam is one of the girls. So it's like, if y'all not gonna throw him his gold statues, y'all playing like, yeah, absolutely.

[Jordan Carlos]

They gave Will Smith the statue I didn't get to see. Yeah.

[Lacey Mosley]

Woo. Yep.

[Jordan Carlos]

Yeah.

[Lacey Mosley]

And now he can't come back for 10 years. Child.

[Jordan Carlos]

Oh, Lord, oh, Lord. What did they do? What'd they do?

[Lacey Mosley]

Too much. So Mel was such a legendary con man that even one of his victims, a Pittsburgh laundry owner, said in quotes, oh, he was good. It was worth the money to watch him. He was very smooth. I love that you got robbed. You said, I had a good time, and I love that. I want you to have a good time getting robbed. Among the many scams he committed, Mel sold cheap Italian glasses to Italian Americans by sticking Made in Italy stickers on them. They was trying to support their community. Love it. He offered loans to people with bad credit for a thousand dollar processing fee and would tell them they weren't approved and refused to give the feedback. Now.

[Jordan Carlos]

That'S gonna make a lot of enemies.

[Lacey Mosley]

That processing fee is too high. But Mel look like he got hands. He look like he in the mob. I don't think I would ask for my thousand dollars back. I'd just be like, wow, Mel, this hurts.

[Jordan Carlos]

He got big old sausage hands. He would fuck you up.

[Lacey Mosley]

Mel, you look like you've definitely killed several people. And I don't want to be on that list. I don't want to be in that number. When the saints go marching in Marching in I'm not trying to march right now to the kingdom and to the king. Take me to the king. But not right now. Later.

[Jordan Carlos]

Right, right, right. So let me ask you this. So. So this is. So that's Christian Bale. But what about the. What about the Jeremy Renner character? Who was that?

[Lacey Mosley]

So we're gonna see. So the setup is an elaborate fake investment company.

[Jordan Carlos]

Okay?

[Lacey Mosley]

He. And he earned a million dollars untaxed annually from this investment company. Mel said it was the biggest, sweetest con game ever born. And a hell of a moneymaker. I was very democratic. No matter who sent him, I scammed him. Wow. He got a million dollars from being like, I am going to give you a loan and you gonna pay me $1,000. And then the loan never came. And then he took their money. Wow. I've never seen a business like this. Your business is robbery. You literally just robbed people and made a million dollars.

[Jordan Carlos]

That not a rocket mortgage. I have no idea.

[Lacey Mosley]

According to Mel, he operated on the philosophy of hope. Okay. Obama, hope and change.

[Jordan Carlos]

Getting people's change.

[Lacey Mosley]

He was hoping that people would give them their change.

[Jordan Carlos]

Love it. Love it.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yes. So when his victims were got, they were still hoping for the real deal. So the victims would get got. And they were like, no, he gonna come through. Mel's gonna do this. He's actually gonna give us the money. And he was like, no, I'm not. I'm literally running on vibes. Just vibes.

[Jordan Carlos]

Turns out. Turns out this vibes.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah, that's it. The FBI arrested Mel in 1977 when a Pittsburgh real estate agent who was scammed finally went to the F, the B, and the I, and then he got arrested. He managed to get out of it by agreeing to help the FBI in exchange for not serving the three years in prison he had been sentenced to, which is something that is so common in America. If you're a good criminal, if you're an expert. Excellent. Top notch. A student criminal. The government will be like, oh, girl, can we. You all gotta go to jail. Can you just teach us? Can you just tell us the ways?

[Jordan Carlos]

You're too good. You're too good.

[Lacey Mosley]

You're too good for prison. We actually need to be like, do you wanna do a TED Talk for the FB and I? We would just love your feedback. So that's what he became. And I love that he was like, I'm too good of a criminal. You want me to ride in jail with all these skills?

[Jordan Carlos]

Like, you can't. Yeah. You can't put, like, LeBron.

[Lacey Mosley]

No, you don't put LeBron in prison.

[Jordan Carlos]

Yeah. You don't do that.

[Lacey Mosley]

You have him teach youth basketball.

[Jordan Carlos]

You know.

[Lacey Mosley]

Tell the girls how to do the layups and the lay downs. I know basketball. Like, do good. Yes. So the agreement also came with a hefty payday, about $150,000, as well as a promise that they weren't going to go after his English mistress, Evelyn Knight, as his accomplice. Oh, I saw. I know you doing scams. You got a bad bitch with an accent. Let's see, Evelyn, because I need to know, is she a baddie with an accent?

[Jordan Carlos]

About the ride or die. It's about the ride or die. Okay.

[Lacey Mosley]

Oh, yes, Evelyn, you better lay down. You better lay down. In this photo, Evelyn was a baddie. This is before retouching. This is before we had airbrush. This is before we had Facetune. So Evelyn was a certified baddie, and she was British. And I feel like I trust British people more. Like, if you start talking to me like this and I'm like, give me your Social Security number. I would be like, oh, absolutely. Like, you can absolutely have my Social Security number, you bad bitch.

[Jordan Carlos]

Absolutely. Because down deep in our reptilian brains, because we were once ruled by England.

[Lacey Mosley]

We'Ll do whatever they say, right? We, like, that's our aunties.

[Jordan Carlos]

Yeah. Yeah. They're like, oh, oh, please give me more money.

[Lacey Mosley]

And that's how you know America's a scam country because we were Brits. And then the Brits was like, let's go colonize. And they came over to America and stole everything and killed everybody and was like, actually, we don't want to pay our taxes no more. We feel too far away to pay taxes. It's giving distance.

[Jordan Carlos]

Yeah, it's giving distance. It's giving. Yeah. Yeah. We're not connected anymore. No, we're not connected.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah, we gonna throw your tea in the harbor. And the girls are not participating in the UK Anymore.

[Jordan Carlos]

Can I just say that if I'd had this kind of lecture when I was in high school, I really would have passed AP History.

[Lacey Mosley]

If instead of the Boston Tea Party, they were just like, we gonna throw your tea in the harbor. And, girls, we will not be giving you coins.

[Jordan Carlos]

Yeah, the drunk black history that you're giving right now is very helpful.

[Lacey Mosley]

Taxes? No, thank you.

[Jordan Carlos]

Yeah.

[Lacey Mosley]

So the FBI employees, John Good and Anthony Amoroso posed as representatives of the wealthy sheikh that owned the Abdul Enterprises. That's where AB from Abscam comes from. A fictitious man named Kambir Abdul Rahman acted as a middleman. They even got a bank to Back up claims that they made. Mel would invite targets to meetings, hoping that the broker would be able to create a deal between them and the sheik and the seller. And then they would catch them on tape. So they're doing these illegal art dealings, and they're like, okay, we got the candid cameras. We're giving Chris Hansen for the girls who know To Catch a Predator. We gonna pop out with eliminated cookies and be like, why are you here?

[Jordan Carlos]

Yeah, well. Too Mr.

[Lacey Mosley]

Predator. Love it, though. Mel was barely controlled by his FBI handlers and a quote, this thing worked. And within a couple months, they recovered two 17th century paintings, one worth a million dollars that had been missing from 1966.

[Jordan Carlos]

What?

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah.

[Jordan Carlos]

This shit worked, huh?

[Lacey Mosley]

Mel worked because he was a true criminal. So no one ever thought he was working with the government because he gives crime energy. You saw those photos.

[Jordan Carlos]

He's giving crime BCE Big crime energy, right?

[Lacey Mosley]

Big crime energy. Yes.

[Jordan Carlos]

Yeah.

[Lacey Mosley]

They also arrested the criminals they caught on tape during the deal. This was despite the fact that Mel had a penchant for ordering corned beef sandwiches from a Jewish deli to. To a meeting that was supposed to be with an Arab prince. So you. Not me. Wow. Mel reminisce. He said in quotes, this is Mel talking. Not me. Arabs don't eat kosher food. I couldn't believe what was going on. I said to myself, if we get away with this, we can get away with anything. So Mel was riding high on being a scammer for the government. Love that.

[Jordan Carlos]

He knew what was up. He was just playing with his food. After a while, like, he was just.

[Lacey Mosley]

Now you making risky choices for no reason. Like, you just. Like, I know I'm eating with the shake, right? But I'm also gonna have the sweetie meal from McDonald's.

[Jordan Carlos]

Well, you're saying. But to your point, when you're so desperate and you want that. That money, you, like, ignore what's in front of you to get the money.

[Lacey Mosley]

And all of these shakes were ignoring the clear signs of, like, what is going on here?

[Jordan Carlos]

Absolutely.

[Lacey Mosley]

Exactly. When that thing went well, they decided to go after sellers of illegal securities. The agent ended up preventing the sale of $600 million worth of fraudulent stock. So now they upgraded. They were like, okay, we're doing art paintings. We're catching those people. Now we're going to upgrade to, like, what are the girls doing in the SEC room? Like, interesting. The success, right? The success of the latest thing marked the beginning of the ABS scam. And this was their most audacious operation yet. They Went after high level government officials.

[Jordan Carlos]

You know, drag them.

[Lacey Mosley]

Drag them. Because honestly, I think that we talk about diversity and representation and we're both people of color, but I think that we have to go deeper. It can't just be, oh, we need people who look like us or who identify how we identify gender queerness, whatever color. We also need broke people. Like, there needs to be an economy of brokeness in the government. I'm tired of it all being rich people. I think if you get too rich, they gotta kick you out of the Senate. They got to kick you out because the Senate is where all the rich motherfuckers are making so much money, they got to kick you out of Congress. You too rich. I think we have to walk around and be like, how much does a banana cost? And if they can't say it real fast, how much is milk? And if you can't say it real quick, you got to leave.

[Jordan Carlos]

I love that. But, like, yeah, you're right. So you're saying the day that AOC is, like, fumbles with their words, it's.

[Lacey Mosley]

Time to go, right? AOC actually is one of the people that I think of when I make this reference, because they used to drag her. They were like, oh, she was a waitress. She can't even afford to live in D.C. and I was like, and I know that's right. I love that she's broke. I wanted to stay broke because she got broke mentality, and we need more broke mentality. People in office who can be like, this is fucked up for broke people. Like, broke people should be.

[Jordan Carlos]

They should totally be represented. I feel that. But you know what? I just feel like rich people, it's like they need. And, you know, it's like, because I want to be one someday, and I just don't want them to be mad at me. So it's like, you know, you are.

[Lacey Mosley]

Really giving the billionaire stand hilarious commentary. It's almost like you're cosplaying as a billionaire stand right now, giving their opinions.

[Jordan Carlos]

I'm just trying. Yeah, I'm advocating because it could be me someday that needs, like, the. What's it. What's it like if I have, like, a four or five million dollars estate? You know, the estate tax, you know, I mean, they come to stop.

[Lacey Mosley]

Look, y'all, tell your friends, because I don't think people who listen to this podcast are billionaire stands, but please tell your friends they are not going to be billionaires.

[Jordan Carlos]

Wow. Wow. First of all, billionaires, we love you. Billionaires, we love you. I don't know. We love that you scam us. We love over and over again.

[Lacey Mosley]

If you're listening to this, it's too late. You're not.

[Jordan Carlos]

Let me say Eric Newman, we love you. We love you at we work.

[Lacey Mosley]

Don't stand them. No. We love you at we work.

[Jordan Carlos]

Elizabeth Holmes. Everybody needs a second chance.

[Lacey Mosley]

Elizabeth. Get back. Working on the tiny thing.

[Jordan Carlos]

Bernie. Bernie, I see you up there.

[Lacey Mosley]

I can't. But I'm always like, it's too many rich people in government. The fact that we found out about coronavirus. Late as hell. Because they don't want the stock market to drop. Too many rich people in government.

[Jordan Carlos]

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You're set. You're telling me that a small number of rich people have an advantage as far as, like, government is concerned? Resources, opportunity.

[Lacey Mosley]

That's crazy.

[Jordan Carlos]

Everybody's allowed to vote, you know? Everybody's allowed to vote, I think. You know, and it just. It feels to me, Lacy, that you're, like, siding with these people that aren't.

[Lacey Mosley]

Cosplay of abilities, that aren't living up to the American dream.

[Jordan Carlos]

And you know what?

[Lacey Mosley]

And I now aren't living up to the marriage.

[Jordan Carlos]

And me and TD Jakes. I hate what you're saying. Me and TD and Elon.

[Lacey Mosley]

That reminds me of the Lularoe scam when Lularoe was selling all them leggings and having women selling leggings.

[Jordan Carlos]

Oh, that's awesome.

[Lacey Mosley]

They would talk to the women when they complained about the leggings being moldy because they were left outside, or they're ugly and we can't sell them. They'd be like, it's your fault. You're not selling them good. You could be a billionaire if you tried harder. Like, putting that blame on people who were born with less resources.

[Jordan Carlos]

Everything is a scam like that that puts it back on the individual. Like, for instance, I mean, my favorite. When I was a kid, I used to have anxiety because it was like, I watched those Smokey Bear commercials, and I was the only one in the room. And he would be like, only you can prevent forest fires. And I was like, oh, did you prevent them?

[Lacey Mosley]

Cause there's been hella forest fires. And you live in New York, and I feel like you really should be out here putting the fires out. I don't.

[Jordan Carlos]

It's up to. It's true. I got to be a smokejumper. I got to. I got to be there in the fires on the fire line, and I can't be. This is up to me. You know, I'm Saying, why are you.

[Lacey Mosley]

Not putting out the forest fires? It's your fault.

[Jordan Carlos]

I don't know. I mean, we all love to be lied to. We all love to be sold, like, on a fantasy. That's what's up. I love a good fantasy.

[Lacey Mosley]

Accountability. That word is such a scam, because it is weaponized to be like, oh, your accountability. Like, if you want to make money, like, why weren't you born to a family that already had the resources for you to get educated? Why weren't you born in a place where they had good schools? This is your fault. And it's like, none of us asked to be born. Being born.

[Jordan Carlos]

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You're saying birth is an accident? Is that what you're saying? You're saying it's not a willful choice.

[Lacey Mosley]

Listen, I scammed my mama. She was 21, and I popped up in her belly and was like, it's my time.

[Jordan Carlos]

That's right. That's right. You got to do you.

[Lacey Mosley]

I'm here to take your resources. Thank you so much, sis.

[Jordan Carlos]

I just feel. I'm always like. I'm thinking. I'm plotting and thought now here, I'm like, what can I do to. I love. I love my job. I love what I do. It's amazing. But I'm like, what can I. What product or service? Service. So I don't pollute the earth. What can I give that doesn't. That makes me g. Billions, you know, and sells people on the feeling and. Or emotion. I'm thinking about it all the time.

[Lacey Mosley]

I don't know what it is yet, but.

[Jordan Carlos]

I don't know what it is yet, but I'm like, I don't know. I'm not this. I think that I was put on this earth to figure it out because I was like, I'm this young, looking this long.

[Lacey Mosley]

You need to be robbing people. Absolutely. And this is a long episode, guys, but we're winding to the end. No, no, don't apologize. You good? During one deal with a black market dealer, they learn offhandedly that Atlantic City casinos were involved in some shady dealings. So they've upgraded, right? They were like, we started at art fraud. Now we into securities fraud, the stock market, things like that. Now they're like, atlantic City. We go dip a toe as well. We're going after the government girls. We're going to get the government girls, and I love it. Allegedly, someone could get government support to build casinos by bribing corrupt politicians, which opened a can forums. What else could they be bribed? To do. Now why y'all acting like they can't be bribed for everything? Like the girls go up the steps, you know, to Congress, like, woo, I'm a public servant. And then there's somebody waiting on the steps, a lobbyist, like, hey, we do guns. I'm, I'm from the NRA and we do guns. And can you keep voting for us to be able to sell wild ass guns to people for murders? I know, I know it sounds bad, but we gonna give you hundreds of thousands of dollars if you just keep voting for us to have guns for murders. Ignore the murder part.

[Jordan Carlos]

I mean, that's acceptable losses, you know what I'm saying? So it's like, I feel like there is. Yeah, there's always somebody with a price tag. Absolutely, you're right.

[Lacey Mosley]

We can all be bought. We can all be bought.

[Jordan Carlos]

Oh, that's a good question. Have you asked on the show what your number is?

[Lacey Mosley]

Oh, no.

[Jordan Carlos]

Commit a crime.

[Lacey Mosley]

Oh, no.

[Jordan Carlos]

A crime that doesn't hurt, that does not physically hurt somebody.

[Lacey Mosley]

Oh, Jordan, you go first. What's your number?

[Jordan Carlos]

I'm probably gonna need, I'm pretty cheap. I'm probably gonna need it. I'm pretty cheap.

[Lacey Mosley]

I'm easily bought.

[Jordan Carlos]

I'm easily bought.

[Lacey Mosley]

I mean, talking about coupons, like how many.

[Jordan Carlos]

The promo code on my, on my, you know, whatever. On buy me. Like, there was the lieutenant governor of New York just got arrested for bribery. He was, he was, he bribed, like it was like $50,000. So I'm like, I mean, he's just, he's a politician.

[Lacey Mosley]

That's too low.

[Jordan Carlos]

It's way too low.

[Lacey Mosley]

I'm not ruining my career for 50k. That's not lifetime money.

[Jordan Carlos]

But that's okay. I mean like when you're an actor, comedian, it's okay. Like I could do a crime and still come back. That's all right. That's we're talking about. That's, that's like, that's why I'm not in politics. Like, you could do plenty of stuff and still come back. You know what I'm saying? So if it's like a hacking job or let's say I'm like, you know, it's a beanie.

[Lacey Mosley]

You thought about this?

[Jordan Carlos]

It's a beanie. You know what I mean? It's some light. Be any thought about this. I'm a knee, I'm gonna need the whole 75 upfront, you know. Okay, yeah, that's bail money.

[Lacey Mosley]

You know, if I'm Crimean, if I'm, if I'm selling my soul like I May at least. 32 million.

[Jordan Carlos]

32 million dollars. You are wild. And that's why they'll come for you.

[Lacey Mosley]

I want 32 mil. Some with 32 mil. That's what I need for me to be fully compromised and sell out the country. I want 32 mil.

[Jordan Carlos]

I mean, I believe in you. I just feel like you're like, my.

[Lacey Mosley]

Price is too high.

[Jordan Carlos]

No, I know. No, look, you believe you know your own worth, so to know your own worth is really important.

[Lacey Mosley]

Wow. That was such a black way to say it's too high. You're like, you know your own worth. If you like it, I love it. Wow.

[Jordan Carlos]

We must protect black women's worth at all.

[Lacey Mosley]

Absolutely. First up in their new list of targets was Angelo Arichetti, a sinner and a mayor of Camden, New Jersey. So that's the first person they're going after in New Jersey, right? So Mr. Angelo promised to grant gambling licenses to Abdul Enterprises for an intermediate payment of $25,000 and a total payment of $400,000. So he was like, yeah, y'all can have gambling rights. Y'all just slide me my coins. Almost half a mil. He even went above and beyond to offer to connect them with congresspeople who could help the sheik's other business interests for compensation, of course. So he's like, I can even link y'all with the homies. If y'all want to pay a little more, we can do a networking event for crime. You know, we can have some crudite for crime. You know, we can have those small circular tables that are very high up with no chairs.

[Jordan Carlos]

But for robbery, I'm with that.

[Lacey Mosley]

I love that. The list of contacts he offered became the key in catching bigger fish. So now that it took the contacts that he had and were like, y'all are also corrupt. We're gonna dip a toe in y'all as well. Meetings with the congressmen were arranged in airports, rented homes, and an Atlantic City hotel room and also offices. So they were meeting up everywhere. They're like, meet us at the corner of Sunset and Vine. Also, meet us at the Roosevelt Hotel. Are y'all at the Waldorf? Meet us there as well.

[Jordan Carlos]

Like, meet us at the Chuck E. Cheese in Midtown. It's gonna be great.

[Lacey Mosley]

We're meeting up at FedEx. Kinko's for fraud. Pull up. We'll be there. Buy the copier machine. Let's do it. Love this. With these meetings came swag, including chartered jets, limos, and even yachts seized by US Customs to hold parties on decked out with full surveillance gear. So our government coins. Your tax dollars have been going to yachts so that they could catch criminals.

[Jordan Carlos]

I mean, listen, we gotta catch these people. This is white collar crime.

[Lacey Mosley]

And you want do we have to catch these people?

[Jordan Carlos]

The federal BI should have some fun while they catch criminals too. You know what I'm saying?

[Lacey Mosley]

I don't know if the FB and the I need to be on the yacht. I don't know if they need to have a hot girl summer for fraud. Like, I love that the F. The B and the I was like, so in this investigation, we gonna need a yacht. We gonna need 52 bottles of Dom Perignon. We definitely gonna need some sushi from Nobu all day. But it's for crime. It's for the government.

[Jordan Carlos]

If I was a special agent, I'd be real special. That'd be me.

[Lacey Mosley]

I'd be like, I would too.

[Jordan Carlos]

Yeah, yeah. Come on now. I need flash money. We gonna need that new Maybach because I have to impress, right?

[Lacey Mosley]

I have to impress. I'm playing a role. They'd be like, lacey, you are our most expensive f. Why do you always need hundreds of thousands of dollars to catch criminals? I'm like, that's what it takes.

[Jordan Carlos]

Exactly. Do you want to put a dollar amount on results?

[Lacey Mosley]

I need to get my eyelashes done. I need a hydra facial and I need a new weave install to catch the criminals.

[Jordan Carlos]

I also need all these things. I need my tracks, get my tracks right, you know what I'm saying?

[Lacey Mosley]

Mel is our OG criminal, right? He's the one who was crime and crime and then got employed by the government to continue crimin. And I love him. Mel remembers that when they got the boat, Tony, Agent Omaroso loved that boat. When it came time to name it, he said, I'm left handed. Let's call it left hand. I told him, tony, left hand means the mafia. He put it on anyway on the boat. He was like, yeah, that's what we giving my feel. So the meeting went like this. One of the targets would arrive at the location to meet Mayor Eric Chetty Alonzo, along with Mel and other FBI agents posing as reps of the sheik. The meeting was secretly taped. And often the premise was that the sheik needed a citizenship sponsor in case he needed to enter the country. So they're like leading these criminals. They're like, we got the sheik. He got money. He got that oil long money, you know, that liquid gold. And he also might need some citizenship or Whatever. Often the target left with a bag of $50,000 in cash and their promises that they'd help pass special legislation of some kind or another. So they also gave them the cash.

[Jordan Carlos]

Wow. This is. This is wild.

[Lacey Mosley]

Senator Harrison A. Williams was the shining prize of the operation. He was a member of Congress who had served for more than than 20 years in the U.S. senate as a liberal Democrat and World War II veteran. When you go to wars, you hate to see it. Politics. Like, if you go to some wars, they're like, oh, you're that girl. We will vote for you. You went to the wars. How was the wars? What was the wars like? You should be in office.

[Jordan Carlos]

Yeah. John McCain, that's what he did. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah.

[Lacey Mosley]

I'm not mad at that because Shout out to the veterans, like, if you go to wars, honestly, you should be able to scam for the rest of your life, because war is a scam. So if you go to the wars, rob everybody you deserve.

[Jordan Carlos]

Yeah. What if you grew up in a rough neighborhood? Anything. Anything for that? I don't know.

[Lacey Mosley]

Also that. But like, wars. Yes. So it was discovered that this senator had a secret hand in a titanium mining company in Piney River, Virginia. Undercover agents spread rumors that one of the sheiks was interested in lending $100 million in exchange for Williams using his influence to obtain government contracts for this mine. So now the FBI is setting a trap. They're like, let's spread some rumors and some gossip that, like, this sheik, this fake sheik who is not actually going to give anybody any coins. Like, part of me doesn't fuck with this because y'all are setting up illegal situations and being like, what would you do?

[Jordan Carlos]

Like Ken Yonez, the show on abc where they're like, what would you do? Like, yeah, yeah.

[Lacey Mosley]

How are y'all doing hypotheticals for crime? How am I getting caught in a hypothetical crime? I don't like that.

[Jordan Carlos]

I kind of love that. It's like, would you just leave your money out?

[Lacey Mosley]

Just give me a good lawyer. I need a habeas corpus lawyer because this is entrapment.

[Jordan Carlos]

I love that.

[Lacey Mosley]

No opinion.

[Jordan Carlos]

It's like leaving out a chick fil. A sandwich on a. On a bench or something like that. You know, I might.

[Lacey Mosley]

I might do it box with a little stick underneath it. And I'm gonna go under there. Oh, Lord, I'm gonna go under there. I mean, yes, as a good Christian gay, I. I was like, well, the gays is working in chick fil A I guess I'm still eat these sandwiches because I'm supporting them community. Like, they working out here. If I don't come, then they not gonna have a job. The demand gonna be lower. So that's how I convinced myself to keep eating that chick filling.

[Jordan Carlos]

Absolutely. But isn't that. That's entrapment, though. What they're doing is borderline.

[Lacey Mosley]

It's entrapment. And obviously, this is happening in the 70s, so maybe, like, entrapment was a little more of a vibe and you could just do it. But I'm like, don't catch me in hypothetical crime. Catch me in real crime. I don't know. A meeting was set up to solidify the deal, complete with an agent from Ohio disguised as the Sheik in an Arab headdress and suit. So now we got costumes involved. This is a good scam. They putting on all of the drag. Love it. They also met a second time, during which Williams offered the Sheik permanent residency as well. So Williams really was like, oh, we doing crime. Crime. Like, yeah, I'll offer you things. When the Shake offered money in exchange, Williams rejected it and instead wanted his investment in the Titanium deal. Okay, Williams, you smart. At this point, The New Jersey U.S. attorney Robert Del Tuo had issues with how the operation was heading. Of course, because it's entrapment, I would have had issues, too. It was like, y'all, this is crime. Y'all are doing crime to catch criminals. This is. Yeah, yeah, he said. And we weren't getting information. And there was a lot of things way out of line with the Justice Department guidelines. Yes, because y'all are breaking the law. And that's why I hate Copaganda. And why this show is not like, pro Copaganda is because we've all been conditioned and lied to to think that police and people in the police state can break the law to catch criminals. We've all watched those movies where they're like, turning your badge and your gun, and the person still goes after the criminal when.

[Jordan Carlos]

Yeah, because they have to.

[Lacey Mosley]

Because their tired black sergeant or chief was like, you need to stop. You're in too deep. And they were like, I can't stop. And we've watched these movies. We're like, I can't stop. And then they do a bunch of illegal shit to catch a criminal. And we're like, that's fine. Cause they're in the pursuit of justice. But it's like, I very much believe in cops and robbers. And what I mean by that is, like, if you are a Smart cop. Maybe you catch the robber. If you're not, you don't. And that's the equity of the world. They get away. Like, we can't be breaking the law to catch the robbers.

[Jordan Carlos]

I'm sorry, Lacey. You're saying that like, just if you have to. If you go over the line, that's a bad thing. That's what you're saying to me. You're saying that there's certain rights in the Constitution.

[Lacey Mosley]

That's the restricting rights of being in the police state. If y'all are saying y'all follow laws and y'all enforce laws, then you have to follow laws, catching people breaking them. You can't break the laws to catch somebody.

[Jordan Carlos]

Yeah, but what if you are the law? You know, like, that's like the thing. Yes.

[Lacey Mosley]

No one is the law. The law is literally something that was made up by a bunch of old white dudes, and it changes all the time. And so if you assume that you are the law, which is our issue with the police, and you're not following the law, you're not upholding the law.

[Jordan Carlos]

So I feel like what you're. What you're saying makes sense.

[Lacey Mosley]

Cops and robbers. If the robbers get away, don't. You can't break the law to catch them. They just got away. They were better than you. You got to just let that go.

[Jordan Carlos]

You're saying that. Remember Ronald McDonald? There was, like, that one robber guy.

[Lacey Mosley]

Where's this guy? Hamburglar?

[Jordan Carlos]

The Hamburglar you would kill. Who is a very impractical thief, by the way. You would kill the Hamburgl 2.

[Lacey Mosley]

Wow, way to put words in my mouth. No, I'm saying that if the Hamburglar burgled the hamburgers.

[Jordan Carlos]

Yes. Which he did.

[Lacey Mosley]

And they can't catch him legally, then let my guy eat.

[Jordan Carlos]

Whoa, whoa. Come on. Look, look, Lacey. Chaos.

[Lacey Mosley]

That's cops and robbers chaos. Let him eat.

[Jordan Carlos]

Chaos.

[Lacey Mosley]

Okay. Y'all didn't catch him. Y'all weren't fast enough. I don't know how you didn't catch the motherfucker. Cause because he's in a white and black striped outfit.

[Jordan Carlos]

Coretta Scott King did not march. So the Hamburglar.

[Lacey Mosley]

Coretta don't got nothing to do with the Hamburglar.

[Jordan Carlos]

Whoa, whoa, wow. Wow.

[Lacey Mosley]

That's above her.

[Jordan Carlos]

Wow. She is a citizen of the world. She is everybody. She is me. She is you. She's hamburger. She represents everybody and has everybody's back.

[Lacey Mosley]

But you don't. FBI memos that were normally filed in cases were non existent.

[Jordan Carlos]

Yes.

[Lacey Mosley]

So the mayor was like, remember? Y'all doing too much. And then the memos that the F. The B and the I were supposed to be taking, they were not uploading or downloading the memos. They. They were just doing crime to catch criminals. Additionally, Mel was getting a bounty for each case that he made, which wasn't supposed to be a part of the deal. So Mel done worked it out. So he's like, okay, y'all want to go get so and so Williams? It's gonna be 100,000 ahead for everybody that we get. And I want my coins. When. When you put the cuffs on, the coins need to come to my bank account, and that's illegal and weird.

[Jordan Carlos]

That's. No, that's deputizing. That's being like a sheriff. That's putting a bounty on somebody. That's like, that's. That's great. That's old west stuff.

[Lacey Mosley]

It's. It's hella vigilante. It's hella wanting signs. Yes. Mel was even accused of operating a scam within the scam as it appeared that he was trying to feed the target specific language to say that that would earn an indictment so he could get his bonus. So he's entrapping these people. He's like, oh, yeah, Mr. Williams. Like, we doing this mining situation for titanium. Let's do Simon says, repeat after me.

[Jordan Carlos]

Right, right, right.

[Lacey Mosley]

I would love to do collusion. Can you say that?

[Jordan Carlos]

Kahlua. Do you want Kahlua, Jin with your drink?

[Lacey Mosley]

I am breaking the government's law. Repeat that back to me.

[Jordan Carlos]

Wow.

[Lacey Mosley]

They ain't trapping and trapping. Most of the targets disgraced themselves. But some, it was difficult to decide whether they were genuinely looking for a bribe or simply believe that they were doing business the Arab way, as Mel told them. So Mel is telling them too, like, so the Arab way is where you lie to the government. The Arab way is where we get illegal citizenship for people. That's just the Arab way, and that's terrible. Kenneth McDonnell, vice chairman of the Casino Control Commission, may have always been innocent. There was no evidence that he had taken anything or knew that what was going on or knew about mail or anything. But the lead prosecutor said, still pursued his case, and any objections to his case were buried. So they were like, oh, we don't think that Kenneth, the vice chairman of the casino board, Kenneth didn't know. Kenneth is a family man. He was at the beach with his kids, and they were like, we're still gonna get him. Kenneth will be buried. And poor Kenneth. Justice for kenneth. So Kenneth McDonald passed on from Cancer. Seeking exoneration. Arguably, he was a victim of the government marriage to Mel Weinberg. So they're saying Kenneth was a nice dude, and the government took him down too, because Mel was like, I'm gonna get my coins. I don't care who. I don't care from where. I'm leaving with something. And Kenneth was just, like, looking at the casino board, like, doo, doo, doo, doo. How the slot machines doing? How we doing? Had no idea.

[Jordan Carlos]

I didn't know the level of the game. I mean, it was like the movie's like, oh, cool, they pulled it off. But this, this ninja was doing the most.

[Lacey Mosley]

By any means necessary. They were putting people in jail. By any means. Entrapment. Lying, forcing words in their mouth. They did not care.

[Jordan Carlos]

Forcing and snitching. I love it.

[Lacey Mosley]

So the scam goes public. This is the end. We're winding down. This still ongoing investigation became public in February 1980, when details were leaked by an unknown source to the New York Times. In the following months, Abscam caught Senator Harris Williams and six representatives. Frank Thompson, John Murphy. I feel like I'm reading like the freak. A leak list like Sabrina Keisha. So, yeah, we got Frank Thompson, John Murphy, Michael Myers, Richard Kelly, Raymond Lederer, and johnrette. John Jeannette. Can't say that. Sorry. John. In a network for play to play schemes. Caught all of them. Threw the girls in jail, threw away the key. They were indicted and all later convicted, along with three Philadelphia councilmen and several other political operatives. Congressman Lederer was re elected under the indictment, but resigned when he was later expelled from Congress.

[Jordan Carlos]

So why, why, why?

[Lacey Mosley]

He was running for office when he was getting indicted.

[Jordan Carlos]

Let him be great.

[Lacey Mosley]

He still won.

[Jordan Carlos]

Exactly. How shitty of an opponent do you have when you're like, this is a criminal.

[Lacey Mosley]

Now you're just throwing shade at Hillary the ho.

[Jordan Carlos]

Oh, oh. Not even. Not even.

[Lacey Mosley]

Donald Trump was a whole criminal. He told us that he only pays $750 in income taxes. And I was like, I would like to do that as well. But also crime.

[Jordan Carlos]

Where's the line for that?

[Lacey Mosley]

Right?

[Jordan Carlos]

Like, I'm in this line. I should be over in that line.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah, he's like a bunch of cases against him. Assault cases, all types of cases. Fraud, laundry, like, and still was president.

[Jordan Carlos]

So paternity case. I think he was on Maury at one point. It's.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah, right.

[Jordan Carlos]

It's messy. It's messy. You're right.

[Lacey Mosley]

All the cameramen around Donald Trump are also like athletes who run marathons because they know they gotta run with the camera because it's giving. Maury, it's giving. Jerry Springer, it's giving. You are not the father. And Trump got to run away, and they got to follow him with the camera like a criminal.

[Jordan Carlos]

They don't quit.

[Lacey Mosley]

Most others served several years in federal prison and were expelled from the institutions that they served. Mel went on to work as a private investigator in Florida before retiring. He died at the age of 93.

[Jordan Carlos]

Mel was a private investigator.

[Lacey Mosley]

What? Mel loves mess. It's messy. Mel. He was like, I love mess. I love to encourage people for mess. Oh, do you think your spouse is cheating? Great. I will be your Florida private investigator.

[Jordan Carlos]

Yes.

[Lacey Mosley]

I saw your spouse at the Sunco with another bitch, and he bought her some Slim Jims and a Mountain Dew. So, you know, she ratchet and I got photos.

[Jordan Carlos]

Oh, my God. Of course. He was a private investigator in Florida. You know, he was like. Like sweating out some Hawaiian shirts and stuff like that with some binoculars.

[Lacey Mosley]

He was perspiring and catching everybody in their lives. Mel, this is how you do criminality. This is a criminal career that I respect. He made it to the age of 93, got caught doing his fraud and told the government, oh, no, I'm that girl. I'm actually the Beyonce of hoodwinks. Well, actually, I'm in bribery of robbery. I'm the Beyonce. So, like, you're not gonna lock me up. You're gonna let me stand. And like. And then he was like, got a little scam going on with the government. Was like, I want a thousand ahead. That's not the figure. But, like, he was like, for as many people as I'm tricking, y'all gonna pay me every time the squad car pull up. Woo, woo. I want my money.

[Jordan Carlos]

Jingle, jingle. I feel like there's. There's only Lacey. I've had such a good time tonight. I want to just tell you one thing that what Mel did, I think ascends to something not. It's not criminal. It's called arbitrage. You know? Arbitrage.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah, go on.

[Jordan Carlos]

Arbitrage is like when you. It's. If you really. Like, if we pull out bird's eye view. Shit is illegal, but, like, if you're within the letter of the law but not the spirit of it, meaning you have zero morals, but. But you're doing ethical stuff. Barely. That's called arbitrage. Okay. Unethical but not immoral. Let's put it that way. Unethical but not immoral.

[Lacey Mosley]

It's also given amoral.

[Jordan Carlos]

Okay, so maybe amoral but there's a word for it, and that word is arbitrage.

[Lacey Mosley]

When you're on.

[Jordan Carlos]

Just when you're a biscuit away from committing a crime. And I think that's exactly what Mel was.

[Lacey Mosley]

This to me, I'm like, look, let the scammers win sometimes. You lost. You played and you lost. This is to me, like, if you're playing Monopoly, which is a long game, and I have an injury, I have a scar from Monopoly for my cousin Jermonica, because Monopoly always ends in fights. It's a violent game because it's capitalism. And so when you start losing, you start losing. Bad people start stealing. They start, you know, hiding money, stealing from the bank and all that.

[Jordan Carlos]

Yeah.

[Lacey Mosley]

But it's like, for me, it feels like you're playing Monopoly with a criminal and you start losing, and instead of just taking your L, you flip the game board over and end it. And that's why I'm like, let the criminals. They won. You should have just let them win. Like, true.

[Jordan Carlos]

But I feel like. I feel like Mel definitely beat them all. That's.

[Lacey Mosley]

Mel won. Shout out to Mel, because Mel really won as a scammer. He was like, I'mma rob everybody. The government, y'all, whoever, the fake shake. Mel got his coins. So a sc.

[Jordan Carlos]

American hero. Is that what you're saying?

[Lacey Mosley]

A sc. American icon, Truly.

[Jordan Carlos]

Yeah.

[Lacey Mosley]

And it's time for Scammer of the Week. This is where we highlight an honorary charlatan who may or may not be worthy of our praise. And let's see how we feel today. Today we're talking about John Oliver. He's trying to scam the scammers of Congress. During a recent show, he described. I love this. During a recent show, he described data brokers or companies that collected everyone's digital data to bundle it and sell it to the highest bidders. So he's telling everybody about how if you have a free app, just know it's not free. Just know that anything that you have on your phone that was free to download or free to anything, Facebook, Twitter, any social media, the reason it's free is because they're gonna steal your whole identity, Right?

[Jordan Carlos]

Absolutely.

[Lacey Mosley]

Everything about you, what you like, your preferences, the things you want to buy. That's the reason why when we talk about shit, our phone be like, hey, girl, Amazon actually got a deal on this thing he was talking about. Yeah, it's data mining. While some of these digital packages group together simple shared characteristics, some group people from vulnerable populations together named, such as help needed. I am 90 days behind with bills or suffering seniors.

[Jordan Carlos]

What?

[Lacey Mosley]

They're. So they're targeting vulnerable groups and being like, here go all the old people whose family don't call them. Here go all the people who are insecure about how they nose look. Here go all the people. You know, like, they're grouping it. It's actually really diabolical. Brokers have been sued for selling these data packages to scammers looking to target those vulnerable people. Because they used to just sell it to advertisement companies and like, here's your demo. And now they're selling it to scammers like you trying to do love fraud. We got some lonely old ladies over here. And they got full bank accounts. Wow. He and his staff purchased data for a group of individuals who shared many of the same traits as a lot of Congressmen. Some of these traits include being age 45 and up. They were online with a 5 mile radius from Congress. And search terms like divorce, massage, hair loss, midlife crisis.

[Jordan Carlos]

Wow.

[Lacey Mosley]

Anything you Google, they go pick up not hair loss and midlife crisis. Now you Googling Corvette. And they're like, we got you.

[Jordan Carlos]

Absolutely hymns, Corvette. What else? Oh, my gosh. Like, probably resistance bands. Pull up bars.

[Lacey Mosley]

No, right? Oh, no. Using information derived from clicks on three ads. One was is yous Marriage a Prison? Another ad was Can I Vote Twice? And the last ad is Ted Cruz Erotic fan fiction. What?

[Jordan Carlos]

What?

[Lacey Mosley]

Who wants to read about Ted Cruz? I don't want to think about Ted Cruz having sexuals. I can't. So they were able to identify several known lawmakers along with their questionable search history. John then posed to lawmakers that might be listening that it might be time to think about passing laws to make releasing such personal information illegal. He ended with, you might want to channel that worry into making sure that I can't do anything. Sleep well. I get it. It's a scam in the scammers because Congress is a scam. And he was like, look, y'all don't care about data mining. Y'all been greenlighting this shit. But also, this you.

[Jordan Carlos]

That's kind of genius.

[Lacey Mosley]

Maybe you should start voting against this because, hey, this you.

[Jordan Carlos]

Yeah, this you out here. Wow.

[Lacey Mosley]

Out here being out here.

[Jordan Carlos]

Yeah.

[Lacey Mosley]

So another scam within a scam to wrap up the episode. Just like Mel was scamming the government and scamming everybody that they entrapped. John Oliver's like, I love it, but.

[Jordan Carlos]

That'S the John Oliver Show. John Oliver knows what he's doing, and.

[Lacey Mosley]

It'S like, so good.

[Jordan Carlos]

He's so good at it. And I just want to. I love when he's like, hold on a minute. You know, it's just like, it's the best. It's like my. I need that little nugget to get through my week. So it's like, I'm not surprised by any of this. I think that John Oliver is. Sometimes when you make comedy like that, and I've written late night comedy with a political bent, you have to be a bit of a scammer in order to bring to light and put in high relief a truth about ourselves. To take that lens and spin it around and show what's up. Right?

[Lacey Mosley]

Because this you gives people. It's like you were fine taking these bribes like these other people when you thought it had nothing to do with you, Right? But now that we can look up you googling penis pills. Ted Cruz, how do you feel? How do you feel that extends nose that Ted Cruz is trying to extend? How do you know?

[Jordan Carlos]

Yeah, I mean, Ted Cruz has it hard anyway, so I don't know if he has any feelings. Whatever feelings he had died a long time ago. His daughter won't even kiss him. You know what I'm saying? He's trying to leave the country when the blizzard hits. New York hits.

[Lacey Mosley]

Listen, he went to Mexico with the power shutdown. He went to Mexico and then blamed it on his family because his family.

[Jordan Carlos]

Made him go to Oaxaca. Those vouchers were irredeemed. You couldn't redeem them. You know what I'm saying?

[Lacey Mosley]

I know his daughters were like, why am I in it? What? I didn't plan a vacation. I didn't book the flights.

[Jordan Carlos]

Non transferable. Can't refund them. You know.

[Lacey Mosley]

You know you're born to who you're born to. That's also a scam. You can't major absolutely.

[Jordan Carlos]

But his. So the to the road to anything through Ted Cruz is go through his daughters and then you can get whatever you want.

[Lacey Mosley]

That's what that's. We've reached the end of this episode. We always ask Jordan, where would you like to be found?

[Jordan Carlos]

Oh, my gosh, where would I like to be found? I am on Instagram. Herealer. Jordancarlos. That's me. You can catch me on Twitter ordancarlos. Yeah, that's it. You know, keep it simple. Keep it simple. Or my podcast or my podcast, please.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yes, and name the podcast again.

[Jordan Carlos]

The podcast is called Adulting. It's with the amazing Michelle Buteau. Look for it wherever podcast. You can stream them. We're really excited about relaunching our podcast. It's gonna be wonderful. So, yeah, it's exciting. Really.

[Lacey Mosley]

It's such a fun show y'all get into. Jordan. You see, like, this is a long episode because we were having mess and it was a fun time. Absolutely.

[Jordan Carlos]

We're cousins.

[Lacey Mosley]

We cousins. We cousins. We. We did Ancestry on the podcast and we're cousins. Guys, if you want to follow me and my mess D I V A L A C I D Valacy on all platforms. If you want to snitch on your friends and family, just make sure the scams retired because we don't want yeah, we don't want to fuck up your bag. Scamgottispodmail.com and scam got us pod on all platforms. If you want to see all of the photos and the things that we were talking about in person. If you want to stream my TV mess iCarly's out now. Season two on Paramount plus get into it congregation Stay Scheming Scam Goddess this has been an Earwolf production in association with Team Coco. Scam Goddess stars and is hosted by me, Lacey Mosley, AKA Scam Goddess. It's produced by Judith Kargbo, engineered by Marina Paiz and researched by Kalen Brandt. Stay Scheming.

[Jordan Carlos]

This has been a Team Coco Productions in association with Earwolf.

[Lacey Mosley]

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[Jordan Carlos]

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