Fraud Friday: Queen Coin w/ Amy Aniobi & Grace Edwards

Summary

Scam Goddess Podcast Summary
Episode: Fraud Friday: Queen Coin w/ Amy Aniobi & Grace Edwards
Release Date: August 8, 2025

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Introduction to Fraud Friday

In this special episode of Scam Goddess, host Laci Mosley welcomes returning guests Amy Aniobi and Grace Edwards for a deep dive into the world of fraudulent schemes. Known for their comedic flair and sharp insights, Amy and Grace bring personal anecdotes and expert analysis to uncover the layers of deceit in modern scams.

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Best Mobile Network Debate

• Laci Mosley (00:01): Opens the episode by challenging the long-held belief that Verizon has the best network.

• Grace Edwards (00:03): States, “But now the best mobile network in the US is T Mobile” (00:03).

• Laci Mosley (00:10): Highlights T Mobile’s advanced 5G infrastructure, emphasizing its extensive tower network and superior signal reach (00:10).

• Grace Edwards (00:18): Adds, “So you can text an insta talk” (00:18), underscoring the practical benefits of T Mobile’s network.

Insight: The discussion sets the stage for evaluating what makes a service reliable, drawing parallels to how scams can masquerade as trustworthy entities.

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Cultural Appropriation in Beauty Standards

• Grace Edwards (03:31): Critiques the trend of rebranding Black beauty practices, saying, “Why y' all always gotta rebrand it?” (03:49).

• Amy Aniobi (04:22): Shares her frustration with high-priced silk bonnets, stating, “But I won't tell nobody who it is” (04:27).

• Discussion on Same Practices, Different Branding: The guests explore how traditional Black beauty practices are often co-opted and sold at premium prices to unsuspecting consumers.

Notable Quote:

• Grace Edwards (04:25): “Why you gotta rebrand it? It's just called smearing. Smearing Vaseline on your face. Black mothers have been doing this since birth” (04:25).

Insight: This segment highlights the exploitation inherent in certain marketing strategies, where authentic cultural practices are repackaged for profit without proper acknowledgment or fair pricing.

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Personal Experiences with Scams

Dating Site Fraud

• Amy Aniobi (07:17): Narrates her encounter with a scammer on a dating site who falsely claimed to work on an oil rig: “So I was just like, so I reported him to Coffee Meets Bagel” (08:55).

• Grace Edwards (10:00): Emphasizes the importance of trusting one’s intuition in online interactions: “You really do have to go with your gut” (10:00).

Notable Quote:

• Amy Aniobi (08:37): “I dodged that one. I dodged that one” (08:37).

Insight: Amy’s story serves as a cautionary tale about the prevalence of catfishing and the importance of vigilance in online dating.

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Restaurant Scams: The Floating Technique

• Grace Edwards (29:00): Introduces the concept of "floating" as a common scam in the restaurant industry: “I would calculate their change and give it to them, and then I'd wait for them to leave” (30:04).

• Amy Aniobi (32:17): Describes her experience with aggressive patrons and how servers cope with difficult tips.

Notable Quote:

• Grace Edwards (30:02): “Most restaurants will fire you if they catch you doing this. So keep your head on a swivel and don't push your luck” (30:02).

Insight: The segment sheds light on how seemingly small fraudulent actions can cumulatively impact workers’ livelihoods and the ethical dilemmas faced by individuals in service industries.

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Historic Hoodwinks: The OneCoin Scam

Introduction to OneCoin and Dr. Ruja Ignatova

• Grace Edwards (41:00): Introduces Dr. Ruja Ignatova, the mastermind behind OneCoin, a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme: “Through the currency, she took nearly $4 billion from people and disappeared in 2017” (41:18).

• Amy Aniobi (43:16): Criticizes the deceptive marketing tactics used by OneCoin: “It's giving 4 billion for giving lip injections” (41:44).

The Rise and Fall of OneCoin

• Grace Edwards (43:34): Explains how OneCoin was marketed as a safer alternative to Bitcoin, misleading investors about its legitimacy and technological foundation.

• Discussion on Blockchain Misrepresentation: The guests dissect how OneCoin manipulated blockchain concepts to appear legitimate, despite lacking real technological backing.

Notable Quote:

• Grace Edwards (44:15): “She referred to this as the bitch of Wall street meets mlm. That's what she would tell people. That was her sales pitch” (44:17).

Insight: The OneCoin case exemplifies how sophisticated fraudsters exploit emerging technologies and multi-level marketing strategies to amass large sums of money, leaving investors vulnerable and unprotected.

Dr. Ruja Ignatova’s Lavish Lifestyle and Disappearance

• Grace Edwards (47:20): Describes Dr. Ruja’s extravagant expenditures, including multimillion-dollar properties and luxury yachts: “She wasn't even saving none of this money from the Ponzi scheme. She's blowing it as soon as she gets it” (47:33).

• Events and Image Manipulation: The discussion covers how Dr. Ruja used high-profile events and manipulated media appearances to build trust and attract more investors.

Notable Quote:

• Grace Edwards (49:10): “It's all made up. That's a good point. We had one minor issue. It was all fake” (50:24).

Insight: Dr. Ruja’s ability to project wealth and success played a crucial role in perpetuating the OneCoin scam, illustrating the power of image manipulation in fraudulent schemes.

Legal Consequences and Ongoing Impact

• Grace Edwards (58:55): Details the legal actions taken against Dr. Ruja’s brother, Constantine, and her ongoing status as a fugitive: “They never gonna find her” (67:03).

• Discussion on Ripple Effects: The guests contemplate the broader implications of such scams on communities and individual lives.

Notable Quote:

• Grace Edwards (60:35): “Save her. You better take some of that money and go down to Fendi” (60:35).

Insight: The OneCoin saga underscores the enduring challenges in prosecuting high-profile fraud cases and the extensive harm inflicted on countless investors worldwide.

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Scammer of the Week: Jen Mao’s Wikipedia Fraud

The Scheme

• Grace Edwards (67:50): Introduces Jen Mao, an individual who fabricated Russian history on Wikipedia for over a decade: “She wrote elaborate war stories and economic histories as detailed like Game of Thrones” (69:20).

• Impact on Information Integrity: The guests discuss how Jen’s false contributions misled researchers and the public, damaging Wikipedia’s credibility.

Notable Quote:

• Grace Edwards (70:20): “Show of hands, which we feel like it's $12 today. It's 13” (61:22).

Insight: This scam highlights the vulnerability of online information platforms to deliberate misinformation and the importance of rigorous verification processes.

Consequences and Aftermath

• Amy Aniobi (70:38): Expresses disbelief at the lengths to which Jen went to fabricate history: “Why did you do this?” (71:10).

• Grace Edwards (72:00): Criticizes the lack of accountability and the ease with which scams can be perpetrated online.

Notable Quote:

• Grace Edwards (70:38): “So the now banned author published an apology letter saying that she only wanted to learn about history and that she was a full time housewife in China with only a high school degree” (71:10).

Insight: Jen Mao’s actions demonstrate how personal motives and talents can be twisted into harmful scams, emphasizing the need for vigilance in digital content creation and consumption.

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Conclusion

In this episode of Scam Goddess, Amy Aniobi and Grace Edwards expertly navigate through various layers of fraud—from personal encounters with online scammers to large-scale cryptocurrency deceptions like OneCoin, and even misinformation on platforms like Wikipedia. Through engaging storytelling and insightful commentary, they reveal the multifaceted nature of scams, their impact on individuals and communities, and the importance of awareness and skepticism in safeguarding against fraud.

Final Notable Quote:

• Grace Edwards (73:05): “Stay scheming” (Final nod to the podcast’s motto, encouraging listeners to remain vigilant and informed).

Takeaway: Understanding the mechanics and motivations behind different scams equips listeners with the knowledge to recognize and avoid falling victim to fraudulent schemes, embodying the true spirit of the Scam Goddess community.

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Additional Resources:

• Follow Amy Aniobi & Grace Edwards:
  • Amy: Twitter, Instagram
  • Grace: Twitter, Instagram
  • Podcast: The Antidote

Subscribe to Scam Goddess:

• Available on Apple Podcasts, SiriusXM Podcasts+, and other major platforms.

Stay Updated:

• Follow Scam Goddess on Instagram, Twitter, and other social media for the latest episodes and updates.

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Summary created by ChatGPT based on the provided transcript and podcast information.

Transcript

[Lacey Mosley]

For years everyone thought Verizon had the.

[Grace Edwards]

Best network because they did. But now the best mobile network in the US is T Mobile.

[Lacey Mosley]

T Mobile's network has the most advanced 5G with more towers and their signal reaches further than ever.

[Grace Edwards]

So you can text an insta talk.

[Lacey Mosley]

And say, you won't believe where I am. T Mobile has the best mobile network in the US based on analysis by Ookla of speed test intelligence data 1H2025CT mobile.com network y' all know I got.

[Grace Edwards]

Too many jobs and sometimes I get tired and I have a lot of hair. So we might not have time to get it washed before we have to go show up somewhere cute. Introducing Batiste Lite, the lightest dry shampoo from Batiste. I love it because you can remove crease from your hair, get that bounce back, get that movement back without having to spend so much time cleaning it. New Batiste Lite Dry Shampoo is lightweight, non gritty, leaves no white residue. It's great on your hair, easy on your wallet and giving you that blowout look without the blowout price. Buy Batiste Dry Shampoo online or in store at your nearest retailer. What's Poppin Congregation? It's your girl, Lacey Mosley, AKA Scam Goddess. Welcome to an episode of Fraud Fridays where we release older episodes from the Scam Goddess vault. That's right, Fraud Fridays is where we bring back your favorite episodes from behind the Paywall. Enjoy this episode from behind the Paywall. And as always, stay, stay scheming Robbery and Fraud Scam Goddess what's Poppin Congregation? It's your girl, Lacey Mosley. And we're back with another installment of Scam Goddess. The show all about robbery, fraud and those who practice it. Maybe we love them, maybe we hate them. Y' so I'm along for the ride just like you guys. I'mma get right to it. The nitty gritty with sugar. I put sugar in my grits. I don't want to fight about this guys.

[Amy Aniobe]

We have.

[Grace Edwards]

You know what? Y' all know what I am. Go ahead and say it with me. Say it to your radio. Say it to your headphones. Say it with your baby who's hopefully streaming this episode at the same time in another room. Give me them streams. I am so excited for today's guest and I truly am. They are two queens and this is such a great get on the show. One of our guests is a writer, director, producer best known for her work on the NAACP award winning Emmy nominated HBO comedy series Insecure. The other Guest is a prolific writer, actor, producer, who's the creator of Jody, a spinoff of the iconic series Daria, and she's also currently working on the upcoming Netflix series Survival of the Thickest. Come on, thicky. Thick, Thick. Together they host the podcast the Antidote, which is real cute, y'. All. And I just did an episode, and you need to get into their podcast. It's so, so cute. So funny and uplifting. Congregation, please welcome Amy Aniobe and Grace Edwards to the show. Hello. Hello, girl. Hey. Oh, this is so great. I love having black queens on the show. Y' all look so moisturized.

[Amy Aniobe]

Thank you.

[Grace Edwards]

What y' all got on, y' all skin? Oh, just. Just.

[Amy Aniobe]

Just like every black person. I just dip myself in coconut oil every morning.

[Grace Edwards]

What y' all been drinking? Holy water?

[Constantine]

Oh, yeah, Definitely from Jesus himself.

[Grace Edwards]

Have y' all seen that trend? It's called sledging. Where now, apparently, the white girlies on TikTok have discovered putting Vaseline and oil on your skin. Oh, they think they know keep it soft and moisturized. And then they gave it a new name. I said, so what we. So what we been doing? Why y' all always gotta rebrand it?

[Constantine]

Why you gotta rebrand it? It's just called smearing. Smearing Vaseline on your face. Black mothers have been doing this since birth.

[Grace Edwards]

That's my favorite scam, or least favorite scam, obviously from our white brothers and sisters. Oh, God, from wip. They love to take something that Negroes have been doing forever and then act like it's new and give it a new name. Boxer Braids. Boxer Braids. On the braids. I'm like, why'd you do that? Why'd you do that?

[Amy Aniobe]

Also, did you hear that this white woman invented silk bonnets?

[Grace Edwards]

Oh, she was charging, like, $100.

[Constantine]

I'm looking for five bucks from Sally.

[Grace Edwards]

Beauty Supply, and I have a mixed girlfriend who, God bless her soul, you know, she has, like. She has very. Her hair is curly, but it's not kinky. You probably describe it as like 3C, but it looks like fine, like, white folks hair. But it tangles a lot because it's still got a lot of different textures in it. So she'd been wrestling with that hair her whole life. She had to fight, like, Miss Sophia. And so she had broke down and tried out a $100 silk bonnet. I said, baby, I could have gone to the side.

[Amy Aniobe]

Just go down to the hood.

[Grace Edwards]

Got you this.

[Amy Aniobe]

Just go down to the hood.

[Grace Edwards]

I was like, we ain't never gonna tell nobody about This. I guess I just said it. But I won't tell nobody who it is.

[Constantine]

Only the listeners, only the entire congregation. But nobody else.

[Grace Edwards]

Nobody else wa hundreds of thousands of people down on the show. But that's it.

[Constantine]

Everybody else is secret, safe with us.

[Grace Edwards]

Ain't nobody.

[Amy Aniobe]

It costs $2 at the Beauty supply girl.

[Grace Edwards]

That's it. I mean, but I can't be mad at that grift that she got some people to buy them bonnets, you know.

[Constantine]

I mean, yeah, she's at home just, like, wise, like, sad that her husband's not fucking her. Sad that her kids hate her. Sad that, like, all her best friends talk about her at church. So she's here being like, what can I do to feel great? And she made that bonnet.

[Grace Edwards]

She made up on it, you know, and ran it up on the girls, you know.

[Amy Aniobe]

No, I feel like, you know what my theory is that she went on a vacation. One black girlfriend saw that the black girlfriend wore about it and was just like, wow, why do you do that? And then the black girlfriend explained it to her, and she's like, huh, Business idea. Woke up the next morning, bought some silk from what, Michael's craft store and mocked her up, a little thing. And, you know, next thing you know, $100 bonnets, she's out of business for labor, right?

[Grace Edwards]

Cause of the labor, she's like, this is from the finest silk. I pulled this right out. The silk boot. The worm. Booty hole, okay? Fresh.

[Constantine]

They pooped it out and I sewed it right.

[Grace Edwards]

Literally, I pulled it out myself. Like, that's why it costs so much. But, ladies, I have to ask you individually, either of you can volunteer to go first. But we always ask on this show, what is your relationship with someone? Scams. You can love them, you can hate them. It could be as simple as that. If you've ever been scammed, feel free to share. This is a judgment free space. Except for me. The, the listeners will judge me. And that's. I, I, I've accepted it now. The bullying. But, yeah, it could literally be anything, a story, not. Are you a scammer? If it's without the statute of limitations or, you know, outside of it. Please share.

[Constantine]

Oh, yeah, yeah. Wait, wait, wait. Grace, what were you gonna say? You seemed ready.

[Grace Edwards]

You seemed ready.

[Amy Aniobe]

Oh, yeah, Yeah. I, yeah, I thought about this. Well, I am very good at recognizing scams. People have tried to scam me, but guess what? They can't get me. Okay? So I have two short examples.

[Grace Edwards]

So right now, yes, it's a challenge. Don't say it's a challenge.

[Constantine]

I literally just bragged.

[Grace Edwards]

And I'm like, don't say that to this.

[Constantine]

I'm a Virgo. I like to figure things out.

[Amy Aniobe]

So I was on a dating site called Ko Fi Meets Bagel. Oh, yeah, it's like a one. And so this handsome white man messaged me and was just like, hey, girl. And I was just like, oh, he's kind of cute or whatever.

[Constantine]

I'll talk to him.

[Amy Aniobe]

And so next thing you know, he's telling me that he works on an oil rig. And because he works oil rig, he says that. So, you know, when he's in town next, he wants to take me on a date. And I don't know, something sit well with me about him talking about working on an oil rig. So I did a reverse Google image search. Turned out that this dude was scamming women all over the Internet. Talk about working on an oil rig. Because then what he'll do is he'll, like, start messaging you back and forth and then building intimacy and everything like that. And then what he does is eventually, like three or four months in, he asks you for money.

[Constantine]

Oh, why is the oil rig.

[Grace Edwards]

But oil riggers get paid a good amount. He's scooping out of the oil up, taking it home, selling his own gas.

[Amy Aniobe]

Okay. So I actually have. I know people that work on oil rigs, and you have to be on the oil rig for, like, three, four months at a time. So when the dude is saying, oh, I can't see you, or whatever, he's catfishing you with somebody else's picture or whatever. Oh, I can't see you. I'm on this oil rig. I'm on the rig.

[Grace Edwards]

I'm rigging at the rig.

[Amy Aniobe]

And then when I came back, when I come back, I'm gonna take you on a date. So I was just like. So I reported him to Coffee Meets Bagel, and I added to the story that was on Reddit about him.

[Grace Edwards]

And so it was on Reddit.

[Constantine]

This man was out there like that.

[Amy Aniobe]

Yeah, Yeah, I dodged that one. I dodged that one.

[Constantine]

Wow, he's sloppy with it.

[Grace Edwards]

That's a new technique, though. Reverse image search. Girls, theys, thems.

[Constantine]

I've only done that for furniture. I've never done that for scammers.

[Grace Edwards]

I've never done that for people.

[Constantine]

Never done that for.

[Grace Edwards]

And I'm on the Coffee Meets Bagel website because I was always trying to figure out what their vibe was. And they say bad. What we.

[Amy Aniobe]

Damn.

[Grace Edwards]

They say what we do. We create meaningful Connections that spark hearts and inspire people to share themselves authentically and enthusiastically. Every day at noon, receive quality matches created just for you by an ever going algorithm. Not the algorithm giving. I don't know if that algorithm has love for me.

[Constantine]

I don't trust that rhythm.

[Grace Edwards]

They.

[Amy Aniobe]

They direct me straight into a scammer. You know what I'm saying?

[Grace Edwards]

Yeah. The algorithm might be on the 1 and the 3. I don't know if it's really giving.

[Constantine]

Rhythm, if it's really giving beats.

[Grace Edwards]

You know, the algorithm sounds like a PWI at a stadium, all clapping, trying.

[Constantine]

To stay on beat from real wrong.

[Grace Edwards]

It's just never gonna happen.

[Amy Aniobe]

It sounds like the white team in Bring it on. You know what I'm saying?

[Constantine]

Exactly. Exactly. Kirsten does has the algorithm down. I'm like, that's not okay. That's not okay.

[Grace Edwards]

Oh, well, I'm sorry that happened. But I'm also glad that you had the intuition to search this person and see if they were really. Yeah, you really do have to go with your gut. And also, if they were working on oil rig, they weren't in the same state as you. Right. Because aren't those like in Texas? And like.

[Amy Aniobe]

Well, I was in New York at the time, so I mean, I guess it could have been off the coast.

[Grace Edwards]

Of New York, but I got. Wait.

[Constantine]

But I'm curious, like, what was I kind of missed. Like, what was the tell? Was it that he said, I work on an oil rig? That you were like suspicious let me find you, or like you were already like, peaked?

[Amy Aniobe]

I was already peaked. Cause he's like, I'm gonna be on this oil rig for three to four months. And I was just like, then why.

[Constantine]

Are you messaging me? Okay, I see, right.

[Grace Edwards]

You're not available.

[Constantine]

I just asked a question.

[Amy Aniobe]

Yeah, I'm just like, so I just gotta be having a pen pal for three to four months. Let me see, you know.

[Grace Edwards]

Yeah. Why are you trying to like establish a relationship and then give it ample opportunity for us to have what feels like a connection, but not actually meet in person to verify that this is, you know.

[Amy Aniobe]

Exactly. It's a catfish. You know what I'm like, he. That guy's picture has been used in many different scams because he's.

[Grace Edwards]

Oh, so that's not even his phone.

[Amy Aniobe]

No, no, no. It's not his picture.

[Constantine]

So that's. It's literally giving. What's that Netflix show with the scammers?

[Grace Edwards]

Tinder Swindler.

[Constantine]

Yes, it's giving. Tinder Swindler.

[Amy Aniobe]

Tinder Swindler.

[Grace Edwards]

Exactly. The guy kind of looked like was actually taking his girls on a jet. At least he was. He was seeing them in person.

[Amy Aniobe]

Yeah, he did meet them in person. Yeah.

[Constantine]

They at least got something out of it. That first girl was like, we fucked on night one.

[Grace Edwards]

Yes. You better get you some. What is it? Mile high? You better get you some mile high D. Okay.

[Amy Aniobe]

She at least got some dinners, some nice dinners, you know what I'm saying?

[Grace Edwards]

Like, she got some Instagram posts, like on the PJ and my PJs. Exactly.

[Amy Aniobe]

And then later she got to sell all his shit.

[Grace Edwards]

True.

[Constantine]

That was the other girl. That was the other girl. Because that was a smart one. The first girl was a little too dumb for me. No offense. Like, I didn't never want to blame the victim, but she was like, I was looking for romance on Tinder. And we fucked on night one. And then he didn't call me for weeks. And then he asked me for money and I figured it was true love. And I was like, wait, oh no.

[Grace Edwards]

Didn't call you for weeks and then asked you for money? Look, I understand. Get a dick down at 35,000ft. Okay. Okay. Do it. Okay, Sounds great.

[Amy Aniobe]

Sounds like a hero.

[Grace Edwards]

Put your cabin pressure, like up there, you know? Put your cabin pressure.

[Constantine]

I want it easier to call my bed because, you know, it's light air. You know, you get excited quicker, right? Flowing. It's first class.

[Grace Edwards]

It doesn't even count if I'm not like, if I'm above a stratosphere. Like, did we even really.

[Constantine]

No, I'm sorry.

[Amy Aniobe]

You know how you cry more on planes? I wonder if.

[Grace Edwards]

What?

[Constantine]

What?

[Amy Aniobe]

You know, like.

[Grace Edwards]

Wait, no planes over that. What are you talking about?

[Amy Aniobe]

That is like a scientifical fact or whatever.

[Constantine]

What?

[Grace Edwards]

Scientifical, okay.

[Amy Aniobe]

That people end up crying more on planes. It has something to do with the air pressure.

[Grace Edwards]

So I wonder if their eyes are watering or they're crying or they're weeping. I've never cried on a plane.

[Amy Aniobe]

Yeah, I cry on every plane I've ever been.

[Grace Edwards]

Wait, maybe is this your own research study?

[Constantine]

I'm like, I think you think you're a scientist because you discovered this camera. Now you're belie your own hype.

[Amy Aniobe]

I'm just saying, like, every.

[Grace Edwards]

Like any movie on a plane, it.

[Amy Aniobe]

Could be, I don't know, some action.

[Grace Edwards]

Movie with the rock.

[Amy Aniobe]

Like five minutes in, I'm just sobbing.

[Constantine]

Wait, what?

[Grace Edwards]

Wait, so now you're watching.

[Constantine]

Why don't I know this about you?

[Grace Edwards]

Are you on the plane watching a movie? No. Yeah. Okay.

[Amy Aniobe]

Watching a Movie. Like, any movie can just get me, like, I'm slow to cry on the ground. You know what I'm saying?

[Constantine]

Ground tears dry.

[Grace Edwards]

Tears dry. I'm a thug on the ground. But that ins. On the ground. Like, listen, I'm emotional in the sky, you know, but in the sky. Shit.

[Amy Aniobe]

What did I watch this last time? Encanto.

[Grace Edwards]

Just. That makes sense. That's a sad movie.

[Amy Aniobe]

But I'm saying on the ground, it.

[Grace Edwards]

Wouldn'T have made me cry.

[Constantine]

Like, so you're saying if you watch, like, Top Gun in the sky, you'd just be, like, weeping?

[Amy Aniobe]

Yep.

[Constantine]

I, like, don't understand. I've watched sad things in planes that make me cry. But there are always things that I'm like, were I grounded, I would also cry. I'm only, like, therapy.

[Grace Edwards]

She gets on the plane and watches.

[Constantine]

She travels.

[Grace Edwards]

I'm just saying, I think there's no. I'm gonna fly right back. I'm actually gonna get back on. I'm gonna stay on the plane.

[Constantine]

Need a good cry.

[Amy Aniobe]

Just releasing my emotions in the sky.

[Grace Edwards]

Grace is sick of us. Like, literally.

[Amy Aniobe]

Literally, like, my mask is just soaked with my tears.

[Constantine]

Gross.

[Amy Aniobe]

By the way, the only one wearing a mask on the plane now.

[Constantine]

That's why I'm. That's literally why I'm crying. I'm on the plane, terrified for my life. I'm like, I'm getting Covid from all of you hoes, and my mask is wet.

[Grace Edwards]

Literally. Fighting for our lives on the planes. Fighting for our lives. I love that. I love that you didn't get caught. But listen, if you've been caught up by a romance fraud, it happens to the best of us out there. Because that's elevated, you know, when you're looking for love, like, we all. That's why we call red flags. And I've said this a billion times before. We might ignore some things that normally we wouldn't because we're like, oh, I really. This person seems nice. Or I really want a connection, or I'm lonely. And then, you know, you miss signs that you normally. You know, if you're dating multiple people, then you're not really as concerned about the one and what they're up to. And, you know, yeah, you got 2, 3, 4. You're not as invested. That's why you gotta keep.

[Amy Aniobe]

Keep a rotation. You know what I'm saying? So you don't get invested, you know?

[Constantine]

Yeah.

[Grace Edwards]

Scout Eddie Murphy.

[Lacey Mosley]

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[Constantine]

All set for your flight?

[Grace Edwards]

Yep.

[Amy Aniobe]

I've got everything I need. Eye mask, neck pillow, T mobile, headphones.

[Grace Edwards]

Wait, T Mobile?

[Constantine]

You bet.

[Amy Aniobe]

Free in flight.

[Constantine]

Wi Fi.

[Amy Aniobe]

15% off all Hilton brands.

[Grace Edwards]

I never go anywhere without T Mobile.

[Amy Aniobe]

Same goes from a water bottle, chewing gum, nail clippers.

[Grace Edwards]

I'm gonna leave you to it.

[Lacey Mosley]

Find out how you can experience travel better@t mobile.com travel qualifying plan required. WI Fi were available on select US airlines. Deposit and Hilton Honors membership required for 15. Discount terms and conditions apply.

[Grace Edwards]

And we're back. And now let's. Okay, so, Amy, we have to ask you as well before we the what's hot and fried portion of the show. What is your relationship with scams?

[Constantine]

Well, here's the crazy thing, Lacey. Like, I'm Nigerian. Like, scams are part of my culture. So it's just like, literally that part of me, like, we grew up, literally, I would get 519 letters or 419 letters. Sorry. And I would, like, send them to my parents. Like, do we know him? You know, I was always checking. I was like, is this a cousin? Is this an uncle? Like, oh, no, they could be fam. And my dad would remember, respond. Like, honestly, he'd be like, like obi kawaia. Oh, yeah, that. That might be on the father's side, but we're not close, so don't respond. And I'm like, okay.

[Grace Edwards]

And I'm like, okay.

[Constantine]

And then after a while, you learn that they're scams. And I think my relation to scams is that because I'm Nigerian, I should not get caught up. But every person in my family has been scammed. Everyone has been scammed. And I. I feel like I'm the last to go. I get scammed on low level. I recently got scammed On a low level. And I'm like, we all get scammed. And I'm like, what is it? We're Nigerian.

[Grace Edwards]

We should have all the branches in the family tree. Low level scam. What happened? Well, are you at liberty to say?

[Constantine]

This one's too close. It hasn't concluded. So I'll share my family scams, though. I'll put my family on blast.

[Grace Edwards]

Okay, we all snitch on your friends and family. Exactly.

[Constantine]

I'm gonna snitch on everybody. So literally, both of my parents have sold Amway. My mom has sold Mary kay, all the MLMs. You know, they're all basically scammed. My brother once told me about a new type of Internet that I needed to explore. And all I needed to do was get five of my friends online, and then he would be elevated. And I was like, you ain't elevated nowhere.

[Grace Edwards]

This is a whole new Internet. It ain't ww. We actually. We doing vvv. It looks like WWE type it.

[Constantine]

Exactly. It's wv. I was like, what?

[Grace Edwards]

It's six V's.

[Constantine]

And the hardest part is when you're listening to a family member tell you something that you immediately know is a scam. You don't want to be. You don't want to cut them off and, like, treat them wrong. So you have to just listen. And you're hearing that, and I'm like, how does the Internet work? Well, the thing is, the thing is because, like, you know, because the cord. So like, basically we send you a box, and inside the box and you're like, you are saying nothing that makes sense. You are stringing words together, but it doesn't make any sense.

[Grace Edwards]

And that's one of the easiest ways to tell if something is something suspect is if someone can't explain a concept to you, like you're a five year old, then either they don't know what they're talking about or what they're talking about is fraudulent. Because people who are trying to convince you to get into something that is as confusing as they can make it sound, the easier it is to rope you in. But everything can be explained pretty simply, even if it's a complex thing like, oh, okay, if you're a heart surgeon, you're like explaining how you repair an artery. You can tell people, like, we open up someone's heart, we use a vein from somewhere else, we replace something that's blocked. I don't know all the details of heart surgery. I can. You know, you can explain it to somebody in a way that's Tangible and understandable. But I have friends who work in crypto who have been like, explain crypto to me like a child, over and over and over again. I'm like, simpler, simpler, simpler. And they're like, well, then when you get into these kind of stratospheres in the blockchain, and then what we should really do and is you're doing. And I'm like, you got a mind. This is so confusing. Is because you're like, purposefully being obtuse. Yeah.

[Amy Aniobe]

So, yeah, yeah.

[Grace Edwards]

Even though I don't think that your family member was trying to be obtuse, I'm sure that they were explaining it to them the way that it was. Was explained to them.

[Constantine]

Yes.

[Grace Edwards]

Which didn't make no damn sense.

[Constantine]

That. And so, I mean, that's the thing. I'm like, if you can't explain it clearly to me, then it means it was not explained clearly to you. Which. Why didn't that give you a red flag? Why didn't you have a red flag at that moment?

[Grace Edwards]

That's my financial freedom.

[Constantine]

Would you like to work for yourself? Like, that's how it always starts too. They're always like, would you. Could I give you an opportunity as your own boss?

[Amy Aniobe]

Nobody ever works for themselves off of an ad. Like, it's just never happened in human history.

[Grace Edwards]

You know what I'm saying? Working for yourself sounds so sexy. And yes, there are perks. Half the time I'm working for myself, and then I also work for companies. But working for yourself also means, like, you never stop working. Like, you could be working at 8pm, you could be working at night. You gotta just get shit done when it needs to be done, which isn't always fun. Sometimes it's great to just like. Like, I. I get envious of nine to fives all the time. You go to work, you do your shit, you leave and you don't have to think about it no more.

[Amy Aniobe]

You clock out.

[Grace Edwards]

That's the thing about scams, is, like, if people are just trying to sell you the dream, why are they trying to sell it to you? Think about that too. Because if the money's that good, if they're that independent. When has anybody in America been selfless enough to get somebody else involved in something that's making them tons of money when they could just make more money?

[Constantine]

Oh, I want to share with you. I want to bring you into the family. I still remember when I first moved to la, Mona V. That, like a side drink was like a huge scam that everyone was doing. They're like, come to a party, they're gonna be celebrities there. And then, you know, you just gotta leave with a case of Monavie. And then you sell it to your friends. And I'm like, wait, that's a scam. They're like, don't you want to come to the party? And you do want to go to the party. You do want to go to the party.

[Grace Edwards]

Katy Perry gonna be there. I always find if there's a scam going on, Katy Perry somehow and booked.

[Amy Aniobe]

That reminds me of like, I don't know if you guys were living in New York at this time, but in New York, sometimes they used to, like, hang out outside of, you know, when I was in grad school, they used to hang out outside of the college campuses and they would sell you like a package to get your hair done, your nails done, your makeup done, all for like, what?

[Constantine]

What?

[Amy Aniobe]

That's a lot.

[Constantine]

Is this a scam?

[Amy Aniobe]

All for a set price. But I'm sure it wasn't a scam for white girls, but for black girls, I was just like, do you have someone that does black hair? And they're like, like, yeah, I show.

[Grace Edwards]

Up at the fucking style. I'm so confident. Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally. We do everybody's hair.

[Constantine]

Yeah, that's a color we know.

[Grace Edwards]

So I show up at the thing or whatever.

[Amy Aniobe]

You know, I was doing my natural hair at the time or whatever, doing little twist outs and stuff. I loved.

[Constantine]

You tried it.

[Grace Edwards]

I had her.

[Amy Aniobe]

She literally washed my hair. My hair. I didn't even know my hair could feel like a Brillo pad, but it did.

[Grace Edwards]

Whatever products they used.

[Amy Aniobe]

My poor little black scalp and my poor little black strands. It took.

[Grace Edwards]

She had you with that. Like, you could have took a. You could have took it to a pan that really needed, like, scrubbing, like.

[Constantine]

Dial soap to her hair and just.

[Grace Edwards]

Rub it this way.

[Amy Aniobe]

I did scrub out my kitchen a little bit, you know, because that's my hair. Might as well take advantage of this. But yeah, it was wild. I was just like, they scammed me.

[Grace Edwards]

They got like $200.

[Amy Aniobe]

I could get my nails done and stuff like that.

[Grace Edwards]

The hair thing.

[Amy Aniobe]

Yeah. I had to pay all this money.

[Grace Edwards]

For them as a college student.

[Constantine]

That's a million dollars.

[Amy Aniobe]

Yeah. I mean, because they made it seem like, oh, you get your hair done, you get a massage, you get. You get your nails done, you get a facial.

[Constantine]

Did you get those other things?

[Amy Aniobe]

Yeah, I got the other things, but the.

[Grace Edwards]

Oof.

[Amy Aniobe]

The hair. The hair.

[Grace Edwards]

Was the massage given? Was the facial.

[Amy Aniobe]

Facial in or the massage was fine.

[Constantine]

But by that point your hair was ruined, so you couldn't even enjoy it. Yes.

[Amy Aniobe]

It was like I was angry, so.

[Grace Edwards]

I was like, I gotta get the rest of this value. So I just come into the salon.

[Constantine]

Just, you better rub my shoulders.

[Amy Aniobe]

And then just like my shoulders up to my neck.

[Grace Edwards]

Just trying to be like, you're really tense, Grace.

[Constantine]

I wanna know why. It's cause I was recently scammed.

[Grace Edwards]

Right. I love getting scammed. But then being like, no, but I need to get my money's worth. So I am gonna go back for the other procedures. Gotta get the other procedures for my whole $200 that I got for my.

[Amy Aniobe]

Whole refund for my student loan.

[Grace Edwards]

Not the Denzel, I'm leaving with something. Yeah.

[Constantine]

Even if it hurts me, right?

[Grace Edwards]

No, the massage was. I was bleeding a little bit after the massage. But listen, I was gonna get it. I was gonna get it, you know.

[Amy Aniobe]

I thought I was gonna look fire. I had a little boy I had a crush on. I was just like, ooh, I'm gonna.

[Grace Edwards]

Get this hair done.

[Constantine]

No, no. But it's one of those things that while you were in the seat, as your hair was brillo padding up, you were like. Like the way she said, yeah in that part. I should have known. I should have known. When I asked, can you do my hair? And she blinked and went, yeah, I should have known.

[Amy Aniobe]

Yeah, that was that.

[Grace Edwards]

20 years old and the year was too fast. She didn't have any follow up questions like, oh, what are you trying to get? You want braids? You want a press? Do you want. She, no. You want to twist out nothing? She was just like, yeah, all of that.

[Amy Aniobe]

Yeah, yeah.

[Constantine]

Blacker the better.

[Grace Edwards]

The blacker the better.

[Amy Aniobe]

And the thing is, I called before, too. I called and I was just like, so y' all have somebody black to do my hair?

[Grace Edwards]

And she's like, yeah.

[Amy Aniobe]

And then I showed up.

[Grace Edwards]

It was like too many of these short.

[Constantine]

It was a very tan white woman.

[Amy Aniobe]

Like the straightest hair I've ever seen in my life.

[Grace Edwards]

Not a little bend.

[Amy Aniobe]

There is nothing back in her ancestry.

[Grace Edwards]

Humidity. Don't do shit to her.

[Amy Aniobe]

Scandinavia.

[Constantine]

She's like, I once walked through Bed Stuy. Does that count?

[Grace Edwards]

Yeah. I have. Have a black friend.

[Constantine]

I have eaten hot sauce and chicken wings.

[Grace Edwards]

Right.

[Constantine]

I'm qualified, right?

[Grace Edwards]

Oh, goodness gracious. And it's time for what's hot and fried. This is where we warn our listeners about scams that are popping in the zeitgeist. But you know, these days we Just get a letter from you guys. As always, snitch on your friends and family and enemies@scamgoddesspod Gmail.com. just make sure the scam is retired so we don't. What? Yes. Up your bag, Amy. Grace. I need a fake name for this person. We don't care about gender. It's a construct. It could be anything.

[Constantine]

Corona.

[Grace Edwards]

Oh, no.

[Amy Aniobe]

Virus.

[Grace Edwards]

Not. Not Coco. Oh, yeah, Coco.

[Constantine]

Coco is the dope.

[Grace Edwards]

Coco. All right. So it says, I waited tables for several years in my hometown of Austin, Texas. And since I lived in North Dallas and Richardson for a year. And since then, I've been filled with Central Texas chauvinism. What does that mean? I don't know what that means. So Coco said they waited tables live in North Dallas. As you know, waiting tables itself is a scam. Yes, literally. Tipping comes from slavery. The restaurant only gives $2 an hour, and every table is a gamble on whether or not you get paid. And then tipping out half of the staff, the most blatant kind. Yes, we know. I busted and Wait. Not busted, but I waited tables and busted my ass doing so and bartended. I. I switched over to. Because then you don't have to be as, like, nice. Like, wait tables. Everybody can just spit on you and shit on you. You just gotta take it. Cause you want your tips. But when I'm the alcohol, man, when I'm between you and the alcohol, we used to be in there like, shut up, bitch. The rock. Oh, you act crazy as hell. If people didn't tip, we'd be like, that motherfucker didn't tip. Don't serve him no more. I was bartending in New York, and we was crazy.

[Constantine]

That's amazing.

[Grace Edwards]

I worked at nicer places after that. I got it together, but we were still. We were still, you know, owner of the drink. So everyone had to suck up to us if they wanted a cocktail. Just stand at the bar like, please, sir. And I'd be like, in a minute, you can wait. And you better tip. Oh, like, yes, we were. Love it. Love that. So every now and then, I would do something that's fairly common in the industry, a little scam called called floating. However, when telling newer servers about it, I just called it a life hack. I would preface it by saying that most restaurants will fire you if they catch you doing this. So keep your head on a swivel and don't push your luck. Now I will say, coco, you are really nice. Because if I'm running a scam, I'm definitely Not training no new people to do it. When they just.

[Amy Aniobe]

That's how you up the bag, you know?

[Grace Edwards]

Wait, what if they throw me? What if they throw me under the.

[Amy Aniobe]

Bus when they get caught?

[Grace Edwards]

What if they're like, oh, I was taught this was a part of the business, And Lacey told me to do.

[Constantine]

Like, nah, nuh, I don't want that. But then I'd be like, where you have that in writing? I told you nothing, Right? I'm like, I didn't. I never said that. I never told them to scam.

[Grace Edwards]

But it's too much in a POS system that can be tracked. So what you not gonna do is catch me up in it. So basically, the floating. This is what floating is basically. If a table paid with cash, I wouldn't cash them out on the POS system, which is point of service system for you guys who don't know. It's just where they type in all the stuff and ring it up and send it to the kitchen, et cetera. So I would calculate their change and give it to them, and then I'd wait for them to leave. Once they left, I'd open up their ticket on the system, split an item off of their bill, and then cash them out, keeping the difference as a part of the tip. And now floating is just called theft. But I do appreciate the rebrand. Yeah.

[Constantine]

I'm like, wait a second. That's a rebrand. That's a rebrand.

[Grace Edwards]

I floated their money to me.

[Amy Aniobe]

So if you do that, like, 10 times a night, you could get, like, extra $200 or something like that.

[Constantine]

Wow.

[Grace Edwards]

So this only works if an item that you split off of something that the kitchen doesn't make, like coke, coffee, soup, dessert, et cetera. That way, another table. Because if you sit, if it's something that the kitchen makes, if you refire it, it's gonna go to the kitchen, and they're gonna get the ticket, and they're gonna make the item again. So you can't do it for things that are going to the kitchen. But if it's going to the bar and you just moving it over, no one none's the wiser. Right. Especially if it's something that you could get yourself. So coffee, tea, soda, all that stuff. A lot of restaurant servers go get that themselves, and then anything alcoholic would be made behind the bar.

[Constantine]

And it's not something they're counting. It's not like whole chicken, and it's like, well, we knew we had 140 of those, so.

[Grace Edwards]

Exactly. It's like soda Pop and coffee and things that we would just get for ourselves during our shifts. Anyway, so this was one great scam because the customer had already parted ways. With that money, the restaurant gets paid for their goods, which are already overpriced. And I got another inch closer to making rent for my shoebox apartment. I hate Austin very much is in parentheses. Yeah.

[Constantine]

Oh, no, I like Austin.

[Grace Edwards]

I like Austin. But I will say they brag too much about the food. I tried so much food there and I was like, this is not good.

[Constantine]

No, it's limited. It's limited. It's really like the breakfast tacos at Torchy's and then the barbecue. Cute. Like everything else is like, forget it.

[Grace Edwards]

They just putting sauce on a lot of stuff. And I'm like, this is just a lot of sauce.

[Constantine]

I agree.

[Grace Edwards]

So if anyone else ordered that item and I couldn't float it, I would just go ahead and pay for it with cash. So okay. That the original customer left. So if they couldn't steal, they were like, ah, well, take the L, I guess I get the money back to the company. Okay, so that's how you keeping it clean.

[Constantine]

Wow. That involves a lot of work.

[Amy Aniobe]

Right, but it was stressful.

[Grace Edwards]

Yeah, right. But at the end, Coco says that, I mean, I would just be back to where I started originally if I had to pay the difference. And so nothing to lose, Everything to gain, baby. As a quote, since it was mostly lower priced items, the reward would only be two to five dollars at a time. But sometimes I would get bold and split off a whole entree, wait until the end of my shift and then tell my manager that I messed up and needed to comp it. And then bam. An extra $20 coming my way.

[Amy Aniobe]

Wow.

[Grace Edwards]

Money aside, the real reward was getting won over on my rich ass employees who paid their waiters next to nothing to do grueling and often thankless work. Smiley face. Tip your waiters 20% and pay in cash if you can and then order a coffee and give them a knowing wink.

[Constantine]

I'm gonna do that. I can do that. I can do that. I wanna help outweigh staff. I used to work in a restaurant too, and it is a thankless job.

[Grace Edwards]

And I do not drink coffee.

[Amy Aniobe]

But I will give, I will order it and then be like, wink, wink.

[Grace Edwards]

Let me get a coffee.

[Constantine]

They're like, why are you blinking at me like that? I'm like, oh, you an honest one. Get away from me.

[Grace Edwards]

Get away.

[Constantine]

Send your friends.

[Grace Edwards]

Send. Bring that shady looking waiter over here. We want them waiting on us. Yeah, the one who keep looking side.

[Constantine]

To side, who's got money falling out of their pockets, right?

[Grace Edwards]

Bring him over here. He gonna do us, right? He gonna scam it up with the shifty ass. So if you're scamming big companies and you're scamming up, especially if they're paying you $2 an hour, which is criminal. I'm assuming this was like, not now, because I'm pretty sure you have to pay more than that. Dear Lord, I hope so. I'm never gonna be mad at that.

[Amy Aniobe]

That, no, I'm not gonna be mad with weights.

[Grace Edwards]

You go, Coco.

[Amy Aniobe]

They put up with so much bullshit. Like, I've seen people be so mean to, to them and you know, they're often on their feet like all day, you know.

[Grace Edwards]

Yeah, I, I, my ankles would be swollen after double shifts, like working concrete floors and we had to wear heels. Like it, it was, yeah, it was crazy. But a lot of times too, people feel like when they go to restaurants, this is their one opportunity to be like the Lord over the surfs. And so they' extra and constantly sending things back and complaining and being rude and it's like, stay your ass home. Like, this is a mutually beneficial situation. You are not better than this person who's waiting your table and they're not better than you. You are each helping each other get something that you need and that's how you need to look at it. So if you come in here trying to flex and be an asshole and I'm the worst, I call your shit out. I hate when people try to pay for big tabs and flex in front of everybody and then short me on the tip. And I, I will come back and be like, hey, I saw that there was. And I'd be loud too. One time somebody threw money at me. Me.

[Constantine]

Wait, wait, tell the.

[Grace Edwards]

Story. So it was like a big group of people that's having this big party. They all flashy dress, you know, got on all the dimes, the cardier, the labels and whatever. And this guy's like, I got dinner tonight. And everybody's like, woo. So he pays and then doesn't leave any tip. So I come back and this is what I would do because I was never going to take that ill. I would come back and I'd be a little too loud and I'd be like, hey, I think there was a mistake here because you didn't leave any tip with what you paid and just nothing. Did you drop, did I drop it or where did I just.

[Constantine]

I love this Lacey, I love this.

[Grace Edwards]

And this guy was so embarrassed, wasn't he just, like, threw $200 at me and was like, get out of here. And I was like, okay. Robbery. This is a true story. It happened right here in my town. One night, 17 kids woke up, got out of bed, walked into the dark, and they never came back. I'm the director of Barbarian. A lot of people die in a lot of weird ways. You're not gonna find it in the news because the police covered everything all up on August days. This is where the story really starts. Weapons Rated R Under 17 not admitted without parent.

[Timothy Curry]

Hey there, it's Kelly Ripa. And if you've been listening to my podcast, we are knee deep in season three. And if you haven't heard it, it's time to get on board. After years of interviewing celebs on camera, I finally get to bring you the real conversations that take place when the cameras aren't rolling. Where else are you going to hear Michelle Obama talk about keeping her girls out of Page Six? Hilaria Baldwin's hilarious reaction to Alec running for office? Or Jeremy Renner's lucid hallucinations about Jamie Foxx? Nowhere else. It's raw, it's honest, and best of all, it's off camera. And believe me, that's where you get the good stuff. So download. Let's talk off camera with Kelly Ripa now, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Constantine]

And fraud. Wait, so, like, what. What is your stance on the Jay Z tip? Do you remember this? When Jay Z had, like, a $27,000 dinner and then he tipped the waiter. I can't remember the price. It was like a $27,000 dinner, and he tipped the waiter like, a thousand dollars. And people were like, yo, that's not 20%. And then, no, I think he's tipped 2,000. And then they're like, that's not enough.

[Grace Edwards]

But then some people, that's like less than 10%. That's less than 2,000.

[Constantine]

But some people are like, it's still 2,000. They're like, it's still a lot.

[Grace Edwards]

No, because it needs to be proportionate to the amount that you purchase. Because a lot of times, if you spend $20,000 or $27,000 on a dinner, yes, everything is overpriced and very, very expensive. However, that's indicative of what that person sold to you, who is the server who. A lot of times, depending on how high in the restaurant is. You're a salesperson. You have to know everything about the menu. You have to know what pairs? Well, you have to know what people like, what they want. Also, like, if it's a $27,000 table, I bet you there was more than one server. There was tons of maintenance being done on the table to make sure the experience was good. If you owe 20%, you owe 20%. So if you ball in, then you balling like you can't scale it down.

[Amy Aniobe]

Ballin while you have fallen.

[Constantine]

Jay Z also.

[Grace Edwards]

And a lot of rich people get out of touch.

[Amy Aniobe]

I will never forgive him for what he did to my.

[Constantine]

Exactly. I'm like, so I'm mad. I was like, oh, that is a really big tip. And I was like, jay Z did pay up. I was just mad automatically because I'm like, he a cheater, right?

[Grace Edwards]

It's. Look, we love Beyonce so much that we just. We tolerate that, man. I be going to the on the run concerts, and then when it be just him, I'd be like, then when she come back out, I'd be like, yay. I'm just like, Beyonce.

[Amy Aniobe]

If you like it, I love it.

[Grace Edwards]

I guess, right? A negro who neither likes nor loves it. But we love you. So whatever you say, queen.

[Amy Aniobe]

Whatever you say.

[Constantine]

Whatever.

[Grace Edwards]

We'll do it. You say you forgave that man. I guess we gotta forgive him.

[Constantine]

We forgiving him too, I guess. Okay, Lemonade. Make lemonade out of lemons. Okay.

[Grace Edwards]

Okay. Yeah, we said, now the lemonade tastes good, but, you know, we still know how it was made, except we know more.

[Amy Aniobe]

What was you gonna break my soul about? Okay.

[Constantine]

Yeah, exactly.

[Grace Edwards]

Exactly.

[Constantine]

I really wanna know. I need the answers. Because we were. Grace and I were driving and we put on a Beyonce play. And literally the number of songs that Beyonce has that are like, clearly, like, he's cheating on me, y', all, like, from if I were a boy to jealous.

[Grace Edwards]

So, like.

[Constantine]

And you're just like, oh, she was resentment. Cries for help. They're all cries for help. And we're like, oh, no, our queen is in trouble.

[Grace Edwards]

And we were just.

[Constantine]

We were just like, jiving in the club. I'm like, she's not okay.

[Grace Edwards]

That's why I always love that viral tweet that was, like, about. That song was like, la da dee da da da. And somebody was like, that woman was saying she's homeless. And we were just dancing like, she. She's homeless. Yes, she's homeless. This woman is singing about this woman being homeless. And we're like, it's a bop. She.

[Constantine]

I know this.

[Grace Edwards]

She's homeless. I'mma twerk it down. To the ground.

[Constantine]

Pick it back up.

[Grace Edwards]

We need to help her. We did the same thing to that. What would you do, lady? What would you do if someone said home? We like pride on the float. Cause he hungry and the only way to feed him a sleep With a man with a little bit of money and his dad is gone.

[Constantine]

Yes, yes, yes. I'm like, that song is, like, one of the saddest songs and one of the happiest bops, right?

[Grace Edwards]

And we're like, ay, ay. Oh, my favorite thing is learning what songs are about. That one was pretty clear, but then we had the wrong response. Like, Kiss from a Rose on a Grave was about cocaine.

[Constantine]

Yes. I was like, okay, Seal.

[Grace Edwards]

Wait. People were this song at funerals. We thought it was like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Constantine]

You know, we thinking, this is sentimental.

[Grace Edwards]

Oh, my God. It's about cocaine that was years old.

[Constantine]

Well, let's grow large arms of an angel. Arms of an angel. The Sarah McLachlan song that's on all the dog commercials. That one's also. It's about heroin.

[Grace Edwards]

It's about heroin? Yes.

[Constantine]

It's about addiction to heroin. She's like, I'm in the arms of the angel far away from here. She's high as y'. All.

[Grace Edwards]

Oh, my.

[Constantine]

Literally, like, why is it on those dog commercials?

[Grace Edwards]

I thought that song was about a little Fido and a dog.

[Constantine]

No, wait, y' all are today years old. When y' all found out about.

[Amy Aniobe]

Yeah, I thought it was just like, you know, just like. Oh, the.

[Grace Edwards]

Like, you're.

[Amy Aniobe]

You're spiritual, and you're thinking about angels.

[Grace Edwards]

And the animals are the angels.

[Constantine]

It's about her doing heroin. Or maybe her man doing heroin. Someone. Her life doing heroin.

[Grace Edwards]

Well, we have to move on, because now we are completely derailed. This episode's about to be long as hell. All right, guys, let's get into historic hoodwinks.

[Constantine]

Did I bring it down?

[Grace Edwards]

We flying away from that, and we going into historic hoodwinks. Bejeweled businesswoman Dr. Ruja Ignatova was on the path to become the next famed crypto genius with her new cryptocurrency called. Called One Coin.

[Constantine]

What is that?

[Amy Aniobe]

One Coin.

[Grace Edwards]

Through the currency, she took nearly $4 billion from people and disappeared in 2017. Okay. She's a baddie. Four billion. Yeah, with a B. Holy shit. Okay, and this is her. She.

[Constantine]

Wow. She thick.

[Grace Edwards]

She got a little curve, right? She got a little body. Yada, yada.

[Amy Aniobe]

It's giving 4 billion for giving lip injections. I mean, she looked like it's giving.

[Grace Edwards]

Lip injections aren't cheap. Okay.

[Constantine]

She has to pay for them. Someh. But literally no. She got full hair, she got a rack. She got her nails done. She wearing legs.

[Grace Edwards]

Kardashians.

[Constantine]

She knows how to get that. Money, money, money.

[Grace Edwards]

Kardashian.

[Amy Aniobe]

Light.

[Grace Edwards]

Yeah, Kardashian light. Natural. Yeah, somewhat. So, about ruja.

[Constantine]

Natural.

[Grace Edwards]

Ish. Dr. Ruja. So she a doctor? Born on May 30, 1980. I'm pretty sure that's a Gemini in Bulgaria. She moved to Germany with her family when she was 10 years old. She earned a law degree from Oxford University. Come on. Smart. And a PhD in private international law from the University of International Law, Konstan in Germany. She then went on to work at McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting company that brought her into the world of international finance. Ruja began hearing more about cryptocurrency in the craze in 2014, and that's when she founded her own currency called OneCoin. I'm trying to figure out how she found a currency.

[Constantine]

She went mining. She did the thing like, oh, I got to get my computer.

[Grace Edwards]

No, you can make your own currency and then you can release shares of it and people can. Or not shares, but you can release the coin and people can purchase the coin for whatever the initial offering value is and then get involved with it.

[Constantine]

Here's what I'm going to say. The website says OneCoin Cryptocurrencies is unique, safe, global, and with no risk of inflation. I'm sorry, but if you are safe, you shouldn't have to say you're safe. Safe, I'm sure, and with no risk. Old website that says, I've never known.

[Grace Edwards]

Anything financially to have no risk of inflation.

[Amy Aniobe]

That's bullshit right there.

[Constantine]

That's a lie. That's two lies. It might be unique and it might be global, but the other two, I call bullshit.

[Grace Edwards]

She said, do you want to be your own bank? I didn't know you heard of being your own boss, but have you ever thought of being your own bank? Okay, get involved.

[Constantine]

I made up money. Do you want some?

[Grace Edwards]

You want some? And people are doing this. That's what the original bitcoin is. And we still own Bitcoin is. Yeah, dogecoin people. A lot of people have made up coins. They're making their own money. But essentially you can't, for legal reasons, call it your coin or what you're making. Basically, you're offering a coin to the market, but you cannot say that you own it or that you invented it. There's, like, very tricky language that they're getting around being sued with. Okay, Right. She claimed it was a simpler and safer alternative to Bitcoin and dubbed her currency the Bitcoin killer. Okay. Fashion killer. Bitcoin killer. All right.

[Amy Aniobe]

You better brand yourself bitch.

[Grace Edwards]

Right.

[Constantine]

I'm starting to like her. Ruja, Was that her name?

[Grace Edwards]

Yeah. She a baddie. All you needed to purchase it was some money sent to a bank account, and you'll receive them in a personal online account, which a lot of times are called wallets. Like many other fledging currencies, at the beginning of the crypto gold rush, onecoin took off. Because now, you know, when bitcoin got popping, everybody was like, well, it's too expensive to buy these coins now. Anybody else trying to come up with a hot new coin? You know, that's how we ended up with Dogecoin and how we ended up with. What's that one that starts with an E?

[Constantine]

Oh, electron.

[Grace Edwards]

No, I was gonna call it Experian. That's no.

[Amy Aniobe]

Ethereum.

[Grace Edwards]

Ethereum.

[Constantine]

It was almost Experian. La.

[Amy Aniobe]

You were so close.

[Grace Edwards]

Ethereum. So, yeah, that's how we ended up with coins like this. According to the leaked documents, British people spent almost 30 million euros, which is about 30 point million USD at the time. Because the euro's going down in value. I shouldn't be happy about that, but I've been praying on the euro's downfall. Like, I can go to be selfish now.

[Constantine]

Yes.

[Amy Aniobe]

Oh, my God. I was just in Amsterdam. I cleaned up, because if you cleaned up the same, it's the same, right?

[Grace Edwards]

Because it used to be very. It used to be double. Yeah. Close to. The pound's always been close to double. And then when I was living in the UK, the euro was like 1.3 to the $$. So now. Now we're even. So between August 2014 and March 2017, more than 4 billion euros, about 4 billion USD, were invested in dozens of countries across the world. It was marketed as one of the most accessible currencies in the world. And Ruja claimed that it was on track for everyone to make payments everywhere. Now, I will say that decentralized banking has been beneficial and also predatory because decentralized, like, everybody doesn't have a bank. Like, you know, in America, like, we have banks, like, and even people in America, a lot of people don't have banks here. You know, there are barriers to entry. There's poverty tax. There's, you know, overdraft fees. Like, there's a lot of ways for banks to take your money before you even use it. So bitcoin allowed for everybody to have a currency that wasn't in a bank where they were taking interest or they were taking. I mean, you know, potentially not giving you interest or potentially giving you fees and maintenance fees and shit. It's like. Like bank of America. What are you doing online that you need to charge me a maintenance fee for my account?

[Constantine]

Literally? What? Yeah, it's all automated, right?

[Grace Edwards]

Just finding ways to take your money. So rich American investors wire tens of thousands of dollars while small families in Ugandan villages sold their family animals to open OneCoin accounts. So decentralized is supposed to mean it's accessible to everyone who has Internet. No, no. Yeah.

[Amy Aniobe]

And that makes me sad.

[Grace Edwards]

And obviously, obviously, the people with the least resources always end up taking the most risks in these situations and usually don't get the benefits. So. Ruja herself held glamorous events across the world to promote her crypto, including Lundy's Wembley Arena. She just rented out Wembley.

[Constantine]

Is that where Wimbledon is?

[Grace Edwards]

Yeah. She said, move over, Serena. Yeah. Y' all done playing titties? Put them. Put them rackets up. We got a bitcoin event. Tell them little boys from Shag the Balls they can stay put. Kato, wedding uniforms on. We got an event tonight. Oh, Lord Jesus.

[Constantine]

Oh, my God.

[Grace Edwards]

She was known for dressing in expensive ball gowns, jewels, and bright red lipstick to drive up the point that she represented luxury. And you could have some, too. Okay. She's. That's an ugly ass dress.

[Constantine]

That is not luxury. And also, her face is a different color than her arms. So.

[Grace Edwards]

Yeah, that looks like a quinceanera dress. Yeah. She was like, maybe if I just wear a cloth dress.

[Constantine]

We really turned on Ruja.

[Grace Edwards]

One bad outfit.

[Amy Aniobe]

We're just like, you know what? But we're over. It's over.

[Constantine]

We see one bad outfit, and we're.

[Grace Edwards]

Like, we should get out of here.

[Constantine]

Literally. But also, what's with the earrings?

[Grace Edwards]

Yeah, the earring girl. The full representation of, like, celebrity. We were like, oh, yeah, she's everything. Now we're like, get out of here. She looked like Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

[Constantine]

Exactly.

[Grace Edwards]

It's giving Beauty and Beast, right? Discount bell. It's giving great value bells. You be talking to silverware. She be talking to plastic wear. Yes.

[Constantine]

Talking to chinatte.

[Amy Aniobe]

Well, you better take some of that money and go down to Fendi.

[Grace Edwards]

Right. Hire a stylist, baby boo. Cause I don't know where you're shopping but this ain't it.

[Constantine]

This ain't it. This ain't it. And it's wrinkled. I don't know.

[Grace Edwards]

Yeah, this look like a bridesmaid gown you give to like, women you hate, but put it in your wedding.

[Constantine]

I require that you wear yellow. That's like really rude.

[Grace Edwards]

So investors were wooed by her numerous degrees and copies of Forbes magazine with her portrait on the front cover cover. The Forbes cover she touted was actually an inside cover paid for by AD from Forbes Bulgaria. So she was like, oh yeah, this is a cover. It was the inside and she had paid for it.

[Constantine]

Everyone was like, why can't I find that issue? Why can't I find that issue?

[Grace Edwards]

Right?

[Constantine]

Oh, it's a limited issue for the rich. Of the rich. The richest people, right?

[Grace Edwards]

It's on my Instagram. What you mean? It's right here. Look at it. You can't see the cute again.

[Amy Aniobe]

She look cute again here.

[Constantine]

You can't see the spine on the spine.

[Grace Edwards]

Oh yeah, you can't see see the spine.

[Constantine]

That's how you know it's on the inside look. Right, Next there's a blueberry watch.

[Grace Edwards]

It's not giving shiny either. Yeah, you can actually see that it's the inside of the magazine. She's like cropping it up. Oh, man, I love a good Photoshop moment. So few understood blockchain at the time, and even fewer questioned it. The blockchain is a type of database that differs between like typical databases and the way that it stores information. The way that I always say this is like, think of blockchain like a long CVS receipt. So when you buy and sell coins, people can make commission off of the blockchain from selling it. And like, it's bad for the environment because computers require a lot of energy to constantly be printing out these long, long receipts and keeping track of all this information. With Dr. Rouge's help, the price of OneCoin jumped from 43 pence in 2015, or 58 US cents to about 10 pounds or 12 USD by 2017. So in three years she had made a jump. The jump. That's why.

[Constantine]

So she's rich enough to buy a different dress. Like, she doesn't have to wear that yet.

[Grace Edwards]

It's not giving the jump. So the problem was, is that it was all made up and the numbers didn't matter. Oh yeah, that's a big problem. It's all made up. That's a good point. We had one minor issue. It was all fake. It's a little issue.

[Constantine]

None of the money was real.

[Grace Edwards]

So miracle. Cryptocurrencies are predatory in a number of ways with promises that you'll get rich fast or that even the most discerned. So, like, even discerning users fall victim to this because this is a new frontier. It either could be amazing and work really well, or it could just be fraudulent. And scammers know that. OneCoin was no exception, except it also sold itself as a multilevel marketing scheme.

[Constantine]

Oh, so it was one of those, like, oh, you just bring in five friends, just like I was talking about. My parents were falling for this. Damn.

[Grace Edwards]

Well, now you can tell them now that now they'll never. Yeah. And if you don't remember what MLMs are, basically how you make money in MLM is you bring more people in. So the more people that you can get an invest, you get a commission off of everybody that you can rope into the scheme. So Ruja recruited some of the top MLM sellers in the world with a 10% commission incentive. One of these was Igor Alberts. And we have a picture of Igor with his wife.

[Constantine]

Oh, let's see.

[Grace Edwards]

Simbala.

[Constantine]

His wife's name is Simbala. That's beautiful.

[Amy Aniobe]

Oh, no.

[Constantine]

Oh, no. His child bride. Like, wait a second.

[Grace Edwards]

Oh, no. Let's zoom in. Oh, no. There.

[Constantine]

She looks very young.

[Amy Aniobe]

Why does everyone dress?

[Constantine]

He looks very.

[Grace Edwards]

So poorly.

[Amy Aniobe]

Yeah.

[Grace Edwards]

Andrea Sambala.

[Constantine]

What is. Also, why is he wearing wrapping paper like gift wrap as his outfit?

[Grace Edwards]

It's like, if we're going to do crypto, we got to dress like 2,000 rappers and.

[Amy Aniobe]

Oh, it's so.

[Grace Edwards]

Yeah.

[Constantine]

What dreams are these? This place looks like a nightmare. It says house of dreams.

[Amy Aniobe]

It's all red and black. What the.

[Grace Edwards]

Like, it was drag.

[Constantine]

Scary.

[Amy Aniobe]

Yeah. That looks like the entrance to hell, right, Igor?

[Grace Edwards]

It's like, what if we did it? The mouth of Hell Towel restaurant. But Gothic.

[Constantine]

Yes. Yes, it is Chow in Vegas. It's very that.

[Grace Edwards]

Yes.

[Constantine]

Yeah. But his wife looks very youthful and.

[Grace Edwards]

He looks very not youthful. She's over here posing.

[Constantine]

They don't match. She's wearing fur and he's wearing plastic.

[Grace Edwards]

Like, what weather is it?

[Constantine]

Yeah, winter.

[Amy Aniobe]

And why are the shoes just. Oh, a fur with just some you would not see.

[Constantine]

These people are rich. Oh, no. Some people are not rich.

[Amy Aniobe]

Yeah, Yeah. I don't know what's happening.

[Constantine]

Can't buy style, I'll tell you that much. You either have it or you don't.

[Grace Edwards]

Yeah, that's true. Money can't buy you class, as the counter said. So being at the top of the pyramid. Igor, like many others with a massive downline, became Rich immediately. We made, in our first month, almost 90, €000 out of nothing. Bang. That's a quote. Rich's genius was that she tapped into the massive infrastructure that already existed through little to no effort on her part, because she's recruiting all these people who already been doing this scam. She was like, let me reach out to the criminals in the community.

[Constantine]

Wow.

[Amy Aniobe]

Wow.

[Grace Edwards]

She did it, I imagine. I mean, she is a bad. Right? She had all the friends. I love it. You gotta work across. You gotta work with everybody, you know? So if you know other criminals, you get them involved in your criminal enterprise and lift one another up.

[Constantine]

Know one thing.

[Amy Aniobe]

Women scam together.

[Constantine]

Yes. Girls to the scam.

[Grace Edwards]

Yes.

[Amy Aniobe]

Well, you know, the fact that she's a woman, it doesn't offend me as much, I have to admit.

[Constantine]

I gotta be honest. Same.

[Grace Edwards]

And in private, she referred to this as the bitch of Wall street meets mlm. That's what she would tell people. That was her sales pitch. Oh, wow.

[Constantine]

And people were like, salt, right?

[Grace Edwards]

That's a great one liner. The bitch of Wall street meets mlm. I'm intrigued. I'm like, okay, I would like to see it. Yes. So a woman further down the line named Jen McAdam was brought in via a webinar, which convinced her to invest €1,000 to start. You're not getting it online.

[Constantine]

You don't invest over a webinar. You do not. Do not commit millions over a webinar.

[Amy Aniobe]

Give me gullible.

[Grace Edwards]

Oh, yeah. That bang is. It's not good.

[Constantine]

Oh, my gosh. It's the look.

[Grace Edwards]

And these under lights. I mean, there was a time where the under lights were happening, and we couldn't stop them.

[Constantine]

I do love the bow on her shirt. I'm gonna be honest. Like, she took a white shirt.

[Grace Edwards]

I love the pussy bow.

[Constantine]

She really? Yeah, the pussy bow was cute. I'm like, she tried. She's on tv. She's trying to be impressive.

[Grace Edwards]

She is. It's a whole background behind her.

[Constantine]

She's giving zeros and ones.

[Grace Edwards]

Oh, wow. Wait a minute. So crypto?

[Constantine]

It's crypto.

[Grace Edwards]

You know, we doing it for real. Cause we got zeros and ones behind us.

[Constantine]

Okay.

[Grace Edwards]

That's computer language. We speak computer bitch. We fluent in Macintosh. What about you?

[Constantine]

What about you? Trust us.

[Grace Edwards]

Voula vouse avec computer. Computer. Okay, so.

[Amy Aniobe]

That code is trying to.

[Grace Edwards]

Tell y' all it's a scam, right?

[Constantine]

Exactly. If you could really parlay computer, you Would know it's a scam.

[Grace Edwards]

How do we look like we work a computer? Zeros and ones, everyone. Yes. With control, alt, delete behind me. That's gonna let them know.

[Amy Aniobe]

You will give $1, you will get back zero, right?

[Grace Edwards]

Exactly.

[Constantine]

That's what the zeros and ones do.

[Grace Edwards]

That's what the language is.

[Constantine]

Mira for you, one more for me, right?

[Grace Edwards]

You give us ones, we give you zeros. Yes. So then promoters started saying that the larger packages were life changing, which was enough to convince Jen to buy the €5,000 package, which was the tycoon package over the webinar.

[Constantine]

Lacy.

[Grace Edwards]

Yes.

[Constantine]

No.

[Grace Edwards]

Jen soon had €10,000 invested of her own money and convinced friends and family to invest invest €250,000 of theirs.

[Constantine]

I'm disappointed.

[Grace Edwards]

Similar tight knit communities were targeted. British Muslims were told that one coin was compliant with the Islamic law. And ultra Orthodox Jewish groups in London were convinced to invest from their community treasury. Oh, my God. She.

[Amy Aniobe]

So she had tentacles in all communities in religion.

[Grace Edwards]

And how is she saying that this coin is similar? Like, how can she be be like, oh, yeah, this works for the Islamic community or Muslim communities. This also works for, you know, Orthodox Jewish communities, also Christian. Do you. Are you a pagan? Do you worship the devil? This also works for wicked. Y' all in astrology, get on board. This your Saturn return.

[Amy Aniobe]

But to turn it over in your brain for one second, be like, you know what, it might apply to my religion because it was made out up this year.

[Grace Edwards]

You know what I'm saying? I don't think Jesus or Allah or.

[Amy Aniobe]

Anything has to say anything about this thing.

[Grace Edwards]

Because you don't think they were trying to get involved in cryptocurrency in 0 BC. In 0 BC? Doesn't BC just stand for before bitcoin, before crypto, before crypto? Yeah. What do you mean?

[Constantine]

Hold on.

[Grace Edwards]

It makes sense.

[Constantine]

On the cross being thou shalt invest in crypto.

[Grace Edwards]

Crypto.

[Constantine]

I can't believe the 11th Commandment.

[Grace Edwards]

You ain't no. We have enough room on the rack to get the crypto one on there.

[Constantine]

Better ask the crypto one.

[Amy Aniobe]

She like an evil genius. I mean, she just. She exploited like three different alone too.

[Grace Edwards]

Religions who have literally fought each other and still fight each other violently.

[Constantine]

And they agreed about principles.

[Grace Edwards]

What you doing? What brought them together?

[Constantine]

They already got one coin.

[Amy Aniobe]

So I just want to know, when we making our own coins, literally, should.

[Constantine]

We start our own currency?

[Grace Edwards]

Let's start. Coins going to be called. Ooh, Queen coin. Queen coin.

[Constantine]

I like queen coin.

[Amy Aniobe]

Queen coin.

[Constantine]

I like Queen coin. It sounds like the clink of coins hitting a table, you know, like in a bag.

[Grace Edwards]

Queen coin. Queen, queen. And that's what you go hear, where you invest, y'.

[Constantine]

All.

[Grace Edwards]

Oh, queen coin. Yeah. And get on the open sea. We on there.

[Constantine]

Queen, queen, we on there.

[Amy Aniobe]

We'll take your dollars and give you zeros.

[Grace Edwards]

Have you ever wanted to turn your money into nothing?

[Constantine]

Invest in queen coin.

[Grace Edwards]

Everybody always talking about turning your money into something. Something.

[Constantine]

But we're gonna get into.

[Amy Aniobe]

This is how we gonna get reparations.

[Constantine]

This is how. This is how she got money on her webinar. We can get money on a podcast. Yes, guys, invest in queencoin. Just like you scam got us at gmail dot com.

[Grace Edwards]

Oh, goodness. So when a good Samaritan and crypto expert, Timothy Curry, reached out to Jen with bad news, she was obviously dismayed. Turns out, while salespeople were recruited to scam others, Dr. Ruja was scamming them, even though those at the top had no idea that OneCoin didn't have a payment system or possessed a blockchain technology, which is an essential.

[Amy Aniobe]

They didn't even have a blockchain.

[Grace Edwards]

No.

[Constantine]

Nobody checked her math.

[Grace Edwards]

Nobody checked the ones or the zeros. Mm.

[Constantine]

Mm.

[Grace Edwards]

Nobody ever tried to put the ones or the zeros together and see if they made a coin.

[Amy Aniobe]

People just be believing people. I. I don't believe in anybody.

[Constantine]

No.

[Grace Edwards]

So Tim and Jen's first Skype meeting ended in a shouting match. And there's a video. It's kind of indecipherable a little bit, but eventually he was able to convince and share information with her on the reality of the scheme. So he's trying to tell her, like, girl, this ain't what you think it is. We are being robbed, and we're also robbing people. And she was so deeply invested that she didn't want to believe it. And I can only imagine if you rope your fans and family into a scheme that takes $250,000 from them, you're kind of alienated from your friends and family after that, because I'm not talking to you no more. Jen. Don't come.

[Constantine]

Yeah. You can't be here. Yeah, you out the will.

[Grace Edwards]

She's like, I brought the potato salad. We don't want it.

[Constantine]

We don't want it. I'm sure it's got raisins in it. Get out of here.

[Grace Edwards]

Scram, Jen. So Jen reached out to OneCoin asking about their blockchain technology, and the response that she got was, okay, Jen they don't want to disclose that kind of information. And plus, as an application, it doesn't need a server behind it. So it's our blockchain technology and SQL Server with a database, which I don't know what any of that is means.

[Amy Aniobe]

She was just like, bleep, blur, blur, Right.

[Constantine]

Computer, computer.

[Grace Edwards]

Beep, boop, boop, beep, boop. I got a response that just says, beep, boop, beep. It's spelled out beep boop, beep, boop, beep, boop, bop.

[Constantine]

That's how then she said line here to give more money.

[Grace Edwards]

So the problem with that's why you're not making money. You're not putting enough money into the bl.

[Constantine]

Jen, that's on you.

[Grace Edwards]

You sounded broke, Jen. That's what it's giving.

[Constantine]

Oh, you complaining that you l lost 10 million?

[Grace Edwards]

Yeah, we can do that at one coin. Oh, I'm sorry.

[Amy Aniobe]

I didn't know you were on a budget.

[Grace Edwards]

Right, like every company that don't want to pay you. Oh, you need your money now. Oh, that's crazy. You don't got none. Why?

[Constantine]

You don't got none.

[Amy Aniobe]

That sounds like a you problem.

[Grace Edwards]

Right. And the problem with an SQL database, which is an unsecure database for storing and structuring data, is that it could be changed at will by the manager of the data database, meaning that the manager could make the rapid inflation look like whatever they wanted to. So they can make it look like the coin is rising, it's falling, it's oscillating. Because basically the database that everybody's clocking into to see how their money is doing is just somebody on the other side. Like, what do we think the money worth today?

[Amy Aniobe]

Oh, my God.

[Grace Edwards]

Show of hands, which we feel like it's $12 today. It's 13.

[Constantine]

Let's say that we don't want to.

[Grace Edwards]

Make it too much. And then people gonna want to divest. We got to slowly inch it up.

[Amy Aniobe]

Yeah, because then people, if it goes goes high too soon, people want to sell some of it. And she don't want to give the money to them.

[Grace Edwards]

Exactly. So Jen said, I thought, what? And literally my legs just went and I fell on the floor. Not you falling on the ground to your knees.

[Constantine]

On the ground, you weak bitch.

[Grace Edwards]

Yeah. Oh, Lordy. Jesus. So how Ruja spent the money that clearly she steal dealing. So Ruja was traveling the world, hopping from Macau to Dubai to Singapore to grace arenas with lavish ball gowns. We saw the ball gowns. They were not giving lavish, but okay, Luring more investors, she used her fast growing fortune to buy multimillion dollar properties in the Bulgarian capital and the Black Sea. She had shit in the Black Sea. Yep. She wanted to float. In Bulgaria alone, the value of her properties topped $12 million. So she wasn't even saving none of this money from the Ponzi scheme. She's blowing it as soon as she gets it. She bought a luxury 145 foot yacht called the Divina.

[Constantine]

Oh.

[Grace Edwards]

Where she would throw parties and invite pop stars such as BB Reika to perform. Come on, BB Getting a scam coin.

[Constantine]

Go ahead.

[Grace Edwards]

She also purchased a four bedroom flat in Kensington, London, and complete with like a swimming pool. And she had Andy Warhols and all types of shit. Damn. Wow.

[Constantine]

She was spending it.

[Grace Edwards]

And the paintings were stuffed into cupboards, which is a classic sign of money laundering. Okay. Because you.

[Constantine]

You have to spend it. You can't put the money in a bank, so you're just like buying so that.

[Grace Edwards]

That way you can't prove where the money, like you can write off and also where the money came from. So her apartment's porter remembers her lavish shopping trips, describing her two bodyguards. These poor men came in behind her like overloaded donkeys, struggling and out of breath with 20 bags each.

[Constantine]

Not calling the men donkeys.

[Grace Edwards]

Right. Work a man, though. Work a man. So this is how it all comes down. As one coin grew, Dr. Rucha began promising that investors would soon be able to cash in, selling their coins for their accounts for real money on a public exchange, and finally converting their inflating earnings to millions in euros. But the exchange kept being delayed and investors started worrying so people would be like, hey, when are we gonna be able to get our money out? She's like, soon, soon, soon. Come on the yacht. BB record back. She's singing that song. Y' all know that song she sing?

[Constantine]

Get into it.

[Grace Edwards]

Buy another fur.

[Amy Aniobe]

Don't worry, you gonna be able to cover it later. You good?

[Grace Edwards]

So in October 2017, Ruja was scheduled to speak to a large audience for the European onecoin investors in Lisbon and tell them when they would finally get their money. She never came.

[Constantine]

Ah, okay, okay.

[Grace Edwards]

Two weeks before, she had boarded Ryanair.

[Constantine]

Not Ryanair, not ryanair. She has 12 houses. She has kinsing.

[Amy Aniobe]

Why she not fly in private?

[Grace Edwards]

You better put the worry board on the plane.

[Constantine]

Why is she in a crate in the sky? Like, why?

[Grace Edwards]

Because they probably don't keep good flight logs. She was like, who gonna let me fly and not ask no questions? Ryanair.

[Constantine]

Ryanair.

[Amy Aniobe]

Ryanair.

[Constantine]

This flight cost 19 cents. We asked about.

[Grace Edwards]

Ain't nobody gonna check.

[Constantine]

You asked nothing of us.

[Grace Edwards]

Exactly. You don't ask about Ryan or his own.

[Constantine]

I don't ask about Raja.

[Grace Edwards]

Ryan wouldn't ask about Raja.

[Constantine]

Okay.

[Grace Edwards]

We on the same thing. Okay.

[Constantine]

Okay.

[Grace Edwards]

So according to a Ruja, but according to a blockchain expert, ruja never expected OneCoin to take off the way that it did. It grew out of her control too quickly. And when she tried to close it down, dark forces wouldn't let her. Dark forces like a yacht? Dark horses, like mansions?

[Amy Aniobe]

What you even talking about dark forces?

[Grace Edwards]

Right? She acted like it's an evil spirit. It was somebody who was just like, rob them in my ear every day. I was hearing voice. Rob them.

[Constantine]

I couldn't stop it.

[Grace Edwards]

Right. I love that. I'm gonna plead insanity. No, I just had a voice in my head, was like, robin. And I had to.

[Constantine]

I had to. I couldn't stop it.

[Grace Edwards]

So the scam grew so big and caught so much unwanted attention that she became scared. In the fall of 2017, she decided to disappear herself. It was later discovered that she had both drugged boyfriend Gilbert Armana's flat and found out that he had been cooperating with the FBI to probe into one point. So her BAE was about to snitch. Double cross.

[Amy Aniobe]

You know what?

[Constantine]

Just psycho, man.

[Amy Aniobe]

That's what I'm saying. He was hating. He couldn't. He couldn't stand.

[Constantine]

He couldn't do this himself. You're exactly. He was jealous. He was like, oh, I want to be the one with the yacht. I don't want to be on her yacht. Yeah, no.

[Grace Edwards]

So you're going to sell her out to the feds? You would have a way better life with Ruja than you would with the feds being the eye. They ain't gonna love you.

[Amy Aniobe]

You supposed to in her, Bonnie. You supposed to be clad in her, Bonnie. You know what I'm saying?

[Grace Edwards]

You couldn't ride. You couldn't ride or die. He was like, I'm not riding. I'm not dying. I'm actually.

[Constantine]

Y' all supposed to be running the world, and instead you lemonade me.

[Grace Edwards]

We don't like that. So when Bruja disappeared, her brother Constantine took over. And even after her disappearance and more people discovered the truth, people still continue to invest and the currency function. On March 6, 2019, Constantine was waiting at LAX to go go back to Bulgaria when he was arrested by the F. The B at the I and charged with fraud. Damn, man. How you going to let Your brother get caught up. You should have just disappeared. With you Ruja.

[Amy Aniobe]

Wow.

[Grace Edwards]

At the time, US Authorities charged Ruja in absentia with eight counts, including wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering. But obviously, she's nowhere to be found. It's reported she disappeared. She disappeared with Approximately.

[Constantine]

I'm just saying.

[Grace Edwards]

462 million in one coin. And continued to denounce all wrongdoing till it defaulted in 2021. Kept going till 2021. Wow. Just seven years.

[Constantine]

Seven years.

[Amy Aniobe]

And she's just, like, living it up. Like, probably like an Argentina or some shit.

[Grace Edwards]

Yup, exactly. I would be. Oh, you would never see me. You never see me again. No.

[Constantine]

I'd be out of here.

[Amy Aniobe]

She probably got full plastic surgery. Like, she probably got a new face.

[Grace Edwards]

Different. Oh, yeah. She doesn't look anything. We'll never see Ruja again. With that kind of money, you can. You can buy several identities. She can be whoever she wants.

[Constantine]

She ain't Ruja no more. She. Rachel. She changed her name, changed her face.

[Grace Edwards]

And so in May 2020, 2022, Europol added her to its most wanted list. They never gonna find her. Y' all just gonna want to find her.

[Amy Aniobe]

Never go back. She been gone too long.

[Grace Edwards]

It's like, Grace. Like, you're never gonna scam Grace. You're never gonna find Ruja.

[Constantine]

It's just.

[Grace Edwards]

It is what it is.

[Constantine]

Look at all her faces. They're like. She could look like any of these, you know?

[Grace Edwards]

Right.

[Amy Aniobe]

She went straight to.

[Grace Edwards]

Got a whole new face. She drew a whole new face.

[Amy Aniobe]

Yeah, she got a whole new face and a bbl.

[Grace Edwards]

Any of us could be Ruja at this point.

[Constantine]

Exactly. Are you Ruja?

[Grace Edwards]

Is this how you chose. And these photos are giving like a child who went missing in the 70s. Yeah. Nobody knows what she looks like, but Ruja. Shout out to an icon, you got away with it. You're keeping quiet. I don't like that you threw your brother under the bus. You should have taken. I don't like that part.

[Constantine]

Constantine.

[Grace Edwards]

Right? Family first. But, you know, we also don't know if Constantine had bad vibes, so.

[Constantine]

Exactly. He might have been about to snitch, too, so. And also, he a man, so I'm glad that she was just like.

[Grace Edwards]

Right.

[Amy Aniobe]

Just.

[Constantine]

Chicks before dicks.

[Grace Edwards]

Right away. Even if they're your brother. Even if it's a genetic. A genetic pain. Leave it. Leave it behind.

[Constantine]

Leave it behind.

[Amy Aniobe]

I hope that she's just somewhere fabulous with, like, 10 pool boys, just gay, getting dick together.

[Grace Edwards]

All right, well, guys, let's get into the saddest part of the show where I have to let Amy and Grace go. It's time for scammer of the week. We're just gonna talk about real quick a Charlotte worthy of our praise. Maybe not. We'll see. We're talking about another woman. A woman known only as the alias Jen. Mao has been writing fake Russian history on wikipedia for over 10 years and has never been caught taught before now. Now do you get paid for Wikipedia?

[Amy Aniobe]

Russian history just like making them seem better than they are or something?

[Constantine]

Just like telling fake stories about Anastasia. Like, why?

[Grace Edwards]

Truly? No idea. A Chinese fantasy novelist was conducting research about the Great Silver Mine of Kashin and the Moscow war when he began to dig deeper and found that extensive references to medieval texts were linked to modern papers or back to themselves. So we have an image here of like ancient writing and whatever. I don't understand why this is appealing at all. She just lied on the Internet. I don't see the. I don't see why we need it.

[Constantine]

Yeah, I don't feel bad about it. I mean, are scholars like now being led astray?

[Grace Edwards]

Was Wikipedia ever supposed to be a legitimate source?

[Constantine]

Isn't it just people?

[Grace Edwards]

Yeah, it's just people. So eventually he realized that there was no such thing as the Great Silver Mine of caution, which is an entirely real talent down in Russia.

[Constantine]

That's hilarious.

[Grace Edwards]

It's poo.

[Amy Aniobe]

It's Putin's on the.

[Grace Edwards]

The Wikipedia. I know you can't be doing be bored. You so evil. I know. You busy.

[Constantine]

Exactly.

[Amy Aniobe]

Now he's just like, you know, watching the destruction of Ukraine and, you know.

[Grace Edwards]

Updating the nasty ass. Man, what a. Yeah. So Wikipedia launched an investigation and found that the contributor had given used at least four puppet accounts to falsify the history. I guess from us donating to Wikipedia, it's like a waste of money.

[Constantine]

Our donations funded this investigation.

[Grace Edwards]

Just take the sites down. So the accounts serve to lend credibility to each other. And for more than 10 years, the author wrote several million words of fake Russian history, creating 206 articles and contributing hundreds more. What do you get out of this?

[Constantine]

Yeah, what does she get out of it?

[Grace Edwards]

She wrote elaborate war stories and economic histories as detailed like Game of Thrones and wove them into real events and language bordering she'd become a novelist Girl. Why would you sell these books?

[Constantine]

What are you doing?

[Grace Edwards]

So the now banned author published an apology letter saying that she only wanted to learn about history and that she was a full time housewife in China with only a high school degree. What?

[Constantine]

I'm shook, sis.

[Grace Edwards]

You could have just written it down. You didn't have to do this. So the letter, real quick. She just says, the trouble I've come cost is hard to make up for. So maybe a permanent ban is the only option. My current knowledge is not enough to make a living. So in the future, I will learn a craft and work honestly and not do nebulous things like this anymore. Since you could have just wrote a book, it sounds like you wrote Game of Thrones, but you put it on Wikipedia. Yeah, you played.

[Constantine]

I'm like, take this. You know what's up?

[Amy Aniobe]

You could have been Dan Brown.

[Grace Edwards]

You know what I'm saying?

[Amy Aniobe]

You could have been like one of the George rr.

[Constantine]

The fan fiction that made Twilight. Who's that lady?

[Amy Aniobe]

Stephenie Meyer.

[Grace Edwards]

I think you're right. Yeah.

[Constantine]

It's like fan fiction of something else. This woman wrote fan fiction for Anastasia in Russia. So I'm like, we could also just.

[Grace Edwards]

Opt into a movie.

[Constantine]

Yeah, she really could have just sold this.

[Grace Edwards]

Sell it, girl. Compile all these papers and sell it, because otherwise I don't understand the scam. And I don't even understand the man who tried to figure you out. Sounds like somebody petty. I hate her. I hate her. Let her make up things on Wikipedia. Who does that?

[Constantine]

She's just trying to live. She's trying to find a way to feel. She's like, I'm a housewife.

[Amy Aniobe]

Yeah, she sounds sassy.

[Grace Edwards]

She said, after the vacuum. What else am I supposed to do but make up Russian history on Wikipedia? I made the lunch boxes for the children and now I write fake Russian history.

[Constantine]

I love her. Oh, I feel bad for her. Someone save her. What's her name? Jeie Ma.

[Grace Edwards]

Right, Jamel. Like, we. We love you, girl. We hope you get a. A book deal, girl.

[Constantine]

I'm.

[Amy Aniobe]

I'm a. I'mma see if I can option that ip. I'm gonna make a movie.

[Grace Edwards]

Right? Let's buy it. Come on. It sounds like it was giving if it went on for tea. I want to see that. Thank you guys so much much for being on the show. We always ask, where do you want to be found? Anything you want to plug? Thank you guys so much for being here.

[Constantine]

Yes, you can find me at amyaniobi. That's a m y a n I o b I on Twitter and Instagram.

[Grace Edwards]

Yes.

[Amy Aniobe]

And you can find me Grace at Graciac G R a C Y a C T. And our podcast is called the Antidote, and you can find that at the Antidote.

[Grace Edwards]

Podcast and that's the with two E's. Yes, we need the spelling, but it's the podcast is fantastic. I just was on it. It's so fun. If you love them on our show, which I know you did, slide on over there and get into it. Very fun as always. Guys, touch on your friends and [e-mail] just make sure your scam is retired because we don't want to wet yes, fuck up your bag if you want to follow me D I V A L A C I D Valacy on all platforms and if you want to see the pictures and everything that we was joking on today. Ruja and these terrible fits Scam got his pod Instagram Scam got his pod on Twitter 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 this has been a Team.

[Lacey Mosley]

Coco production in association with Earwolf. This is Comedy Bang Bang the podcast, the promo, and in 30 seconds I'm gonna tell you why you should check out the show. I, the host Scott Aukerman, have a lighthearted conversation with famous celebrities like Jon Hamm, Alison Williams, Phoebe Bridgers, Jason Alexander, Natasha Lyonne, Bob Odenkirk, just to name a few things. Go a little off the rails when different eccentric characters and oddballs drop by to be interviewed as well. Each week is a blend of conversations and character work from your favorite comedians, as well as some new hilarious voices. Comedy Bang Bang the Podcast Listen every Monday wherever you get your podcasts. Summer's heating up and so is the action with chumba casino and 2311, right. Whether you're trackside with Bubba, Riley and Tyler or cooling off at home, the fun never stops at Chumba Casino, the online social casino packed with free to play games like slots, blackjack and more. Jump into [e-mail] and score your free welcome bonus 2 million free gold coins and 2 free sweeps coins. No purchase necessary. VGW group Void where prohibited by law. CTNC is 21+, sponsored by Chumba Casino.