Scam Goddess – "Fields of Deceit and Cons" w/ Andy Richter

Podcast: Scam Goddess (Earwolf)
Host: Laci Mosley
Guest: Andy Richter
Release Date: October 21, 2025

Episode Overview

In this lively and hilarious episode, Laci Mosley welcomes comedian and television personality Andy Richter for a deep (and deeply funny) dive into the world of scams—from their personal brushes with fraud to a wild, true historic scam involving multi-million dollar tomato and strawberry crop insurance fraud. The conversation weaves personal anecdotes, sharp comedic banter, and thoughtful reflections on systemic issues, showing both the comedic and tragic sides of scams and those who perpetrate them.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Welcoming Andy Richter and Canine Icebreakers (00:00–06:44)

• Laci gives Andy a raucous introduction, calling him an icon and listing his credits.
• Andy riffs on being humbled by the realities of dog ownership:

  "When I'm picking up dog shit, I don't feel like an icon." — Andy Richter (02:43)

• Both share about their dogs, advocating for rescue over buying pets, and expose a "youthening" scam at some shelters (shelters shaving years off dogs’ ages to make them more adoptable).

2. Scam Experiences: Texts, Calls, and the Relentless Scam Economy (06:44–15:25)

• Andy shares about frequent scam texts from the Philippines regarding "Easy Pass" tolls; Laci commiserates about scam fatigue:

  "I'm getting at least 10 phone calls a day from scammers… at this point, we gotta fight. Meet me in the parking lot!" — Laci Mosley (08:01)

• Andy recounts almost falling for a refund scam during COVID—revealing classic tactics: urgency, legitimacy through seeded personal details, and attempts to gain access to his computer and bank account. He manages to back out before losing money.

  "You're getting got because they're calling right after something real...When people call you, it’s a little different. It’s a little more urgent." — Laci Mosley (11:09)

3. Utility Bills and "In-Person" Scams (13:26–15:26)

• Andy tells a harrowing story of a struggling actor friend who fell victim to a fake "utility bill" scam that required an in-person cashier's check payment at a legit-looking office—revealing the scam's sophistication and targeting of vulnerable people.
• Their take: police are apathetic about white-collar scams but quick to respond to protests or visible events:

  "God forbid you do some real police work. It was like, no, the Black people are right outside.” — Laci Mosley (15:09)

4. Subscription, Return, and Membership Scams in Daily Life (19:21–26:44)

• Laci and Andy rail against manipulative store return policies (e.g. 11-day or 8-day returns that trick you into missing the window); they recommend setting reminders for returns/cancellations (20:00).
• The pain of inescapable subscription services: Laci hates clothing subscriptions that are hard to quit; Andy is similarly frustrated by a trampoline park membership that seems "impossible to cancel."

  "You have to go down and say, 'Take me off...!' Even while I'm doing [the membership] I'm thinking, they're just counting on people forgetting!" — Andy Richter (25:01)

• Laci's riff on hard-to-cancel subscriptions:

  "They make it really difficult… you gotta write a handwritten letter, send pictures of an obituary, do all this stuff to get out of it!" — Laci Mosley (23:24)

Main Segment: Historic Hoodwinks – The Tomato Crop Insurance Scam (27:03–69:13)

Story Summary & Key Moments

27:03–38:36: Setting the Scene

• Laci recounts the tale of Robert and Vicki Warren, Eastern US tomato farmers who, from 1997–2003, orchestrated the largest crop insurance scam in US history, totaling over $9 million.
• Their methods: falsifying paperwork, faking crop losses, and forging documents with liquid paper ("whiteout"), PVC pipes, and copy machines.

38:49–53:53: The Scam Deepens—Strawberries, Fake Hail, and More

• The Warrens escalate their scam by not only exaggerating losses but physically staging disasters—buying bags of ice and mothballs to mimic hail damage on their tomato plants, and taking photos to "prove" crop loss.

  "They picked up wooden tomato stakes and attacked the plants...to simulate the damage the hail would attack. Because you know how hail be attacking the plant, in July, in a clear sky." — Laci Mosley (52:24)

• Farmhand Bobby Chambers testifies:

  "The way we did it, we was down taking pictures out this row, and then we just stood behind it and threw the ice up. Over to me, it looked like a hail storm." — Bobby Chambers, as relayed by Laci (51:25)

53:53–69:13: Collapse, Investigation, and More Crimes

• Insurance agents and adjusters were complicit, with one testifying his supervisor told him to lie for the Warrens.
• The US Department of Agriculture prosecuted—Warrens forfeit $7.3M and pay $9.15M in restitution, serving six years each. But the crime spree doesn’t stop:
• Post-prison, Robert Warren hides restitution money by making $9,000 deposits (just under the $10k threshold that triggers IRS review), using cold, foil-wrapped, musty-smelling bills kept in PVC pipes underground.
• Laci and Andy discuss the ethics and real effectiveness of “restitution” as a punishment, agreeing that prison should be a deterrent, but wrestling with the critique of mass incarceration and profit incentives of the penal system.

Notable Quotes & Banter

• On the scam economy:
  "Scamming is so predatory now, it’s such an onslaught, I can’t imagine what it feels like to be someone else." — Laci Mosley (11:46)

• On ‘historic hoodwinkers’:
  "For six years, Robert and Vicki had been running a $9 million crop insurance scheme, the biggest farm fraud in the history of the US—and this is 90s $9 million. That was $9 million. Was $9 million." — Laci Mosley (30:08)

• On subscription services:
  "We don’t need to subscribe to clothes." — Laci Mosley (24:10)

• On victim-blaming (and paper straws):
  "I still hate that turtle to this goddamn day. That turtle with the straw in his snout. But you never saw the turtle?" — Laci Mosley (45:30)

Laci & Andy’s Takeaways – Scams, Consequences, and the System

• The episode blends sharp comedic asides with real observations on the structures that enable scams—from banking loopholes, to subscription traps, policing priorities, and federal insurance policies.
• Andy draws a line between restitution and real deterrence—questioning both the effectiveness and ethics of criminal justice responses.
• Laci calls out hypocrisy in government and business, peppering the episode with quips about how scam prevention often falls hardest on the little guy, while big institutions suffer little consequence for their own misdeeds.

Key Timestamps for Notable Segments

• 00:00–06:44: Introduction and dog chat
• 07:20–15:26: Current scam stories and scam fatigue
• 19:21–26:44: Subscriptions, return policies, and everyday scams
• 27:03–69:13: Historic Hoodwinks: The Largest US Crop Insurance Scam
  • 30:06: $9 million fraud revelation
  • 51:25: The “fake hailstorm” scam details
  • 56:08: Insurance agents and company complicity exposed
  • 62:29: The foil-wrapped, buried cash post-prison scheme

Where to Find Andy Richter

• Podcast: The Three Questions
• Radio: SiriusXM’s "Andy Richter Calling"
• TV: An unnamed upcoming television show (details embargoed, but "you may see me shaking my ass.")

Closing Notes

• Laci encourages listeners to check out photos of this episode’s scams on Instagram (@scamgoddesspod) and follow her (@divalaci). She also reminds fans to support her book and watch Scam Goddess and Going Dutch on Hulu.

Episode Vibe

Fast-paced, irreverently funny, and sneakily insightful, this episode is a perfect Scam Goddess microcosm: an expert blend of scam breakdowns, personal stories, exposés of structural hypocrisy, and congenial, unfiltered comedy. Laci and Andy are in top form—keeping the "Con-gregation" laughing and learning.

As Laci always says, "Stay schemin’—don’t get convicted, have conviction!" (69:20)