Fraud Friday: The Prolific Ponzi Schemer w/ Bridger Winegar

Summary

Scam Goddess Podcast Summary Episode: Fraud Friday: The Prolific Ponzi Schemer w/ Bridger Winegar
Release Date: May 30, 2025

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of Scam Goddess, host Laci Mosley is joined by guest Bridger Winegar. Together, they delve into the intricate world of fraud, sharing personal anecdotes, dissecting historical scams, and highlighting modern-day scammers. This episode, titled "Fraud Friday: The Prolific Ponzi Schemer," offers listeners a blend of humor, insightful analysis, and cautionary tales about the ever-evolving landscape of scams.

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Personal Perspectives on Scamming

The episode begins with Laci and Bridger discussing everyday interactions that border on fraudulent behavior, particularly focusing on services like Uber.

• Uber Safety Tips:
  Laci humorously addresses the frequent mispronunciation of names by Uber drivers, using her own experience as an example.
  “You could just go with Lassie or Lakai... Sometimes they get close and it's like lazy.”
  (03:50)
  Bridger adds his perspective, admitting his own laissez-faire approach:
  “I do none of those things.”
  (03:50)

• Scamming Corporations vs. Individuals:
  The conversation shifts to the ethics of scamming large corporations versus individuals. Laci advocates for targeting big businesses, suggesting that they “scam you all the time,” thereby justifying minor fraudulent acts against them.
  “You should absolutely be scamming big business because they're scamming you.”
  (07:09)
  Bridger concurs, emphasizing the relentless tactics corporations employ:
  “They absolutely would take it. And they do constantly.”
  (07:23)

• Best Buy Anecdotes:
  Bridger shares his negative experiences working at Best Buy, highlighting internal practices that feel exploitative rather than customer-focused.
  “They wanted me to scam people into signing up for free magazine subscriptions...”
  (24:22)
  Laci contrasts this with her observations of Best Buy employees’ reluctance to engage with customers genuinely:
  “If you try to make eye contact with them...they immediately look away.”
  (25:12)

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Historic Hoodwinks: The MMM Ponzi Scheme

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to a deep dive into one of the most notorious Ponzi schemes in history—the MMM scam orchestrated by Sergey Mavrody in Russia.

• Origins and Operation:
  Sergey Mavrody founded the MMM Cooperative in Moscow in the early 1990s. Initially involved in importing technology, MMM swiftly transitioned into offering exorbitant returns on investments, promising over 3,000% returns to attract investors.
  “In 1994, MMM shares were issued for sale for the first time with a promise that investors would get a return of over 3,000%.”
  (37:08)

• Government Involvement and Collapse:
  Despite being popular among certain government circles, MMM's operations were marred by accusations of tax evasion, leading to Sergey's arrest in 1994. Nevertheless, his audacious tactics, such as registering as a parliamentary candidate while incarcerated, allowed him temporary immunity and continued fraudulent activities.
  “At his arrest, he stated, 'What taxes?'”
  (56:08)
  The scheme eventually collapsed, leaving over 15 million investors worldwide with significant losses, and Sergey eventually disappeared with the amassed funds.

• Comparisons to Bernie Madoff:
  The hosts draw parallels between Sergey's MMM and Bernie Madoff’s infamous Ponzi scheme, highlighting the stark differences in legal repercussions. While Madoff was sentenced to 150 years for his crimes, Sergey received a mere four years and six months, illustrating the disparities in justice systems.
  “In America we care a lot more about tricking rich people. 150 years is an obscene amount of time...”
  (60:51)

• Impact and Legacy:
  The fallout from MMM was devastating, with reports indicating that at least 50 individuals took their own lives upon realizing their life savings were irretrievably lost.
  “The money invested in the MMM was never found. And it's reported that at least 50 people took their lives after realizing they would never see their life savings again.”
  (61:22)

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Scammer of the Week: Jeanne’s Sting Operation

In the "Scammer of the Week" segment, Laci and Bridger highlight the impressive efforts of a 73-year-old woman from Long Island, Jeanne, who played a pivotal role in capturing a local scammer.

• The Scam Attempt:
  Jeanne received multiple calls from a scammer pretending to be her grandson in distress, ultimately asking for $8,000 to post bail. Recognizing the red flags, Jeanne devised a plan to apprehend the scammer.
  “She arranging to have him come to her home to pick up the money, Jean called the police and waited.”
  (68:38)

• Execution of the Sting:
  When the scammer arrived, police were already stationed at Jeanne’s residence. They swiftly tackled and apprehended the individual, charging him with attempted grand larceny.
  “The police then tackled and handcuffed him... he was arrested and charged with third-degree attempted grand larceny.”
  (70:31)

• Analysis and Commentary:
  Bridger commends Jeanne’s proactive approach, though Laci playfully critiques the necessity of such an elaborate setup for what could have been quickly identified as a scam.
  “You don’t need that many calls for this scam. You can cut one of those people out almost immediately.”
  (67:56)
  “This is somebody who is just excited about the different accents they can do.”
  (68:17)

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Conclusion

This episode of Scam Goddess seamlessly blends humor with sobering insights into the world of fraud. From personal anecdotes about everyday scams to an in-depth exploration of one of history's largest Ponzi schemes and a commendable modern-day sting operation, Laci Mosley and Bridger Winegar provide listeners with both entertainment and valuable lessons on the importance of vigilance against fraudulent activities.

As always, the hosts encourage their audience to stay informed and cautious, embodying the spirit of the "Scam Goddess" community dedicated to understanding and combating fraud in all its forms.

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Notable Quotes:

• “Bridge, I don't know if I would be messing with you, you know, but yes, women have a whole 12 point checklist.”
  Lacey Mosley
  (04:02)

• “I truly do love a scam. I love to watch a scam unfold.”
  Bridger Winegar
  (06:05)

• “A Ponzi scheme. Because that's exactly how they work...”
  Lacey Mosley
  (50:15)

• “Jean, you sound like a hater. I feel like you could have just hung up.”
  Lacey Mosley
  (71:24)

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Stay Scheming!
Join the Scam Goddess "Con-gregation" for more insightful and funny discussions on fraud, scams, and everything in between. Don’t forget to subscribe to Scam Goddess on your favorite podcast platform and tune in every Tuesday for new episodes, with classic episodes re-released every Friday.

Transcript

[Lacey Mosley]

Y' all know how Amazon was just previously used to, you know, go on and get something very specific. Like you want some earrings that look like Michelle Obama or something like, just very specific that you can't buy in a store. Well, now, Amazon is a great place to get all your essentials. You can get your toiletries. You can have them scheduled to deliver your toiletries, which I do because I've been running out of toilet paper. And that's very embarrassing. Like, to be on the toilet and you don't have no paper. Like, that's. That's very sad and embarrassing. Can't believe I told y' all that. But next time you run out of coffee or realize you out of light bulbs, don't be in the dark. Amazon has you covered. Save every day with deals from Amazon.

[Bridger Winegar]

How many discounts does USAA Auto Insurance offer? Too many to say here. Multi vehicle discount. Safe driver discount. New vehicle discount. Storage discount.

[Lacey Mosley]

How many discounts will you stack up? Tap the banner or visit usaa.com autodiscounts restrictions apply. What's poppin, Congregation? It's ya 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 scheming. Scams Cause robbery and Frau. Scam. Cause robbery and fraud. Scam Goddess. What's poppin Congregation? It's ya girl Lacey Mosley, AKA Scam Goddess. And we're back for another installment of, you guessed it, Scam Goddess. The podcast all about robbery, fraud, grifting, and all those who practice it. Maybe we love them, maybe we hate them. We'll find out along the way. Today, guys, you know, I am so, yes, excited. Don't you guys love this parasocial relationship we have? Stop. You so crazy. No, you so crazy. I love you. It's so good for both of us. But today I am. I'm super excited for our guest. We have an amazing writer, podcaster, and actor on the show. Check out his podcast, I said no gifts, which is super duper fun. I've done it. I had a blast. It's where his invited guests bring gifts unsolicited by Bridger, of course. He said no gifts. Spurring fun and interesting conversations and kind of a genius scam. Cause you give him things to go on there and he got me. I did it. Also, he wrote for the after party on Apple plus tv. Excuse me, Apple tv. Plus, why can't I say Apple's name? But the after party with Sam Richardson. There's a ton of great comedians in that show. Alana Glaser. It's popping. Which you can watch, right? Neil Congregation, please welcome Bridger. Bridger, I'm gonna say your last name wrong. Why do I not know how to say your last name?

[Bridger Winegar]

Give it a shot. Oh, it's so hard. Winger Weiniger.

[Lacey Mosley]

Winegar. Damn it. It's just like it's spelled.

[Bridger Winegar]

No, it smells like vinegar.

[Lacey Mosley]

Winegar. But, you know, I normally check. But Bridger, since I, like, feel like I know you, like, we've spoken a few times. We follow each other on socials. I don't know why I just assumed I was gonna know how to say it until I got to it and was like, oh, Lacy, there are so.

[Bridger Winegar]

Many people in my life, like close friends, who still don't know how to pronounce my last name. I like, there was a period when I just stopped correcting people, and now it's just a problem for me. But what are you going to do?

[Lacey Mosley]

You know, it's bizarre. The only place that my name gets mispronounced is Ubers. And it's like almost every single Uber and it doesn't matter the nationality of the person in the Uber. Whenever I open the door and I'm like, who is this for? Because I had to learn, y' all. It's a scam. Don't ever open the door and tell the Uberman who you are. You're supposed to ask who the Uberman is. In addition to checking the license plate. You're supposed to be like, hey, who are. Who are you here for?

[Bridger Winegar]

I do none of those things.

[Lacey Mosley]

Must be nice to be a man.

[Bridger Winegar]

I'm a very small man. Look, I could. I'm in constant danger.

[Lacey Mosley]

You look like, sinewy. You look like you might have some hands. Bridger, I don't know if I would be messing with you, you know, but yes, women have a whole 12 point checklist. Like we like a driving exam. I gotta walk around the car, you know, check for the locks, see if anybody's in the trunk, kick the tires. Yes, check the license plate, then ask, who are you here for? And they always say, lassie, Lakai. What?

[Bridger Winegar]

Those don't even cross my mind.

[Lacey Mosley]

It's either Lassie or Lakai. Sometimes they get close and it's like lazy. Like, they're right there.

[Bridger Winegar]

What?

[Lacey Mosley]

La chai. La chai as well. And I'm like, There's not an H. I don't know how we got here. So Bridger, I get it. And I, you know, I used to correct them. I used to be like, yeah, it's Lacy. But I'm like, it's an Uber. I'm gonna be in here for like 10 to 30 minutes tops. Like right now I'm just like, yeah, that's me, Lassie.

[Bridger Winegar]

Yeah. I am not precious about my name at all. I will just let people absolutely abuse my name. My name is two words that are in no one's vocabulary. So I don't. Why would I expect someone to know how to say them?

[Lacey Mosley]

It's so iconic, that Bridger, Winagar, it works together and it sounds so fancy.

[Bridger Winegar]

Like, it is a bizarre name.

[Lacey Mosley]

I just feel like it's one of those society names. Like, oh, there's Bridger. You know, the Winagar's recently came into even more money.

[Bridger Winegar]

Oh, my God, I wish.

[Lacey Mosley]

Bridgerton.

[Bridger Winegar]

Bridgerton. There we go. Bridgerton is really up to my cachet. As far as class goes. I'm sitting here drinking a Dr. Pepper. I'm as far from class as you possibly can get.

[Lacey Mosley]

Are you kidding me? You sip sodas that are medical professionals. That sounds like class to me. Your soda went to so much college. You had to go to college at a residency.

[Bridger Winegar]

You had to get a residency. Yes.

[Lacey Mosley]

Before it could even touch your lips. That's class. Bridger, we always ask on this show, what is your relationship with scams? Do you love them? Do you hate them? I mean, obviously we talk about. I said no gifts. You got a whole podcast where people bring you gifts. I brought your gift.

[Bridger Winegar]

I am running a full time, year round scam. My home is full, full of gifts. I, I love a scam. I truly do love a scam. I love to watch a scam unfold. I love to read about a scam. Occasionally I like to be involved in a scam. I am a huge advocate of scamming corporations. I tell anyone within earshot, if you get a chance to scam any, any business that's traded on the nasdaq, if you have a chance to scam them out of anything, go for it. They're scamming you all the time.

[Lacey Mosley]

Absolutely. You have to. And look, they're writing off their scams. Like, you should always be scamming big business because they're scamming you. Like, you know, they work their employees to death. And even when productivity is up, you know, who benefits from that? Not the employees, the shareholders. So you should Absolutely. Be scamming Moneybags and the Winegars.

[Bridger Winegar]

If you have the opportunity to scam a corporation, like, if they had a chance to scam you, they absolutely would take it. And they do constantly. So I. I have no qualms with. If an opportunity opens up to scam somebody, to scam, you know, your Walmarts, your Amazons, your whoever's.

[Lacey Mosley]

And listen, that's just called shrink. I used to work in retail.

[Bridger Winegar]

Me too.

[Lacey Mosley]

Shrink. Like, they. The companies, they allot a certain amount of money for theft, for breakage, for disappearances. I'm not telling y' all to steal. I'm just saying, you know. You know, right. I'm just saying.

[Bridger Winegar]

I mean, that's the thing. I'm not, you know, I'm not encouraging anyone to shoplift. It is a dangerous line to walk because if they catch you, then they're gonna destroy you.

[Lacey Mosley]

But destroy Bridge, I don't know if they can just. They might put your face up with a little picture. I don't know about destroy.

[Bridger Winegar]

I feel like these companies will destroy you. You take. You're stealing $10. What are we talking about? What's. What costs $10? Some batteries? They will probably ruin your life. But if the opportunity presents itself and it feels like a clean getaway, go for it.

[Lacey Mosley]

And honestly, this is more encouragement for people who are not black or a person of color. Because y' all, we can buy the stuff and still get gunned out. So maybe purchase your things. Okay, but if. If you're out there and you want to pull a Winona girl and you get in the car and you just have a sleep stiff cigarette, which is so many lip smackers in your pockets, just feeling alive, you know, I'm not mad at that.

[Bridger Winegar]

That's why, like. And shoplifting is not the only way to scam one of these corporations.

[Lacey Mosley]

Oh, right, of course.

[Bridger Winegar]

Look, in high school, I ran a whole scam of. I won't name the corporation, but I was returning. I would go to one big box retailer, purchase things on sale, and then return them to another retailer for much more. The amount of money I was getting on gift cards was absurd. You know, wow. This is how, you know, I would buy a Game Boy. This is how I was buying a Game Boy.

[Lacey Mosley]

The little toy machine with games.

[Bridger Winegar]

That's what a Game Boy is, Lacy. That's.

[Lacey Mosley]

You can tell I'm not a gamer. I was like, yeah, look, toy machine. I almost got a switch, but I couldn't even find one. I wanted to play Animal Crossing with my friends. I wanted to pick up the rupees and the bebops. I don't even know what it is, but I wanted to join and I couldn't even get a switch. They were like, no, girl, those are sold out. I'm like, I'm gonna have to fight a. I'm about to fight a six year old.

[Bridger Winegar]

Well, that's the other. The other end of scamming that I don't like, which is like these like Internet scammers who are running bots to buy up like switches to scalp. And then people like you and me are getting ripped off. I don't like a scam among. Amongst us, amongst person to person. We're all getting scammed by these giant companies. Let's aim the scam energy at them.

[Lacey Mosley]

Robinhood Energy. I'm with you on that. Because the one thing I do hate about those bots is like, I know people hate the stockx bots and they're trying to get the sneakers, but for me, it's concert tickets. It's so ridiculous that if you wanna go see Beyonce, whenever she decides to breathe in a room very far away from you, but close enough that you can see her, the tickets are already pretty expensive. Cause it's Beyonce. And Beyonce knows. She's like, okay, y' all, do y' all want to pay your rent or do you want to see Beyonce? And we're like, beyonce, Okay, I be, I mean, I be. I can, you know, deal with not having a home, but I got to see Beyonce if she's in concert. So then they run the tickets up even more, buying them with bots and credit cards. And so the resellers are making a.

[Bridger Winegar]

Killing on tickets money. And those tickets. By the way, there's another scam, like the. What are we talking about, a Ticketmaster or whatever the price is. What, for a Beyonce ticket, it probably is like, what are we? $200 to start and then probably in the parking lot.

[Lacey Mosley]

You could be in the parking lot for $200. You know, they'll let you. They'll let you park. Not close, but they'll let you park. And you could drive through the city. Yeah, that's if you want to think about Beyonce at home. It's $200.

[Bridger Winegar]

How much is a Beyonce ticket? Just like face value?

[Lacey Mosley]

I don't know. Actually, I feel like I definitely went once in college, so they couldn't have been crazy when I saw her then. That was in Connecticut. And I want to say those tickets were like two. They probably were like 200. We weren't super. It was also Connecticut. Depends on where you go. You know what I mean? If you see Beyonce at Chickasaw county, which she probably not going there, but, you know, like, if you go to LA, I've gone in LA, and I feel like that was more like 500.

[Bridger Winegar]

Oh, my God. That's a vacation.

[Lacey Mosley]

They were, like, kind of good tickets, but they weren't. Like Beyonce was gonna sweat and then it was gonna land on me.

[Bridger Winegar]

Those floor seats are probably. People are probably paying thousands of dollars, right?

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah, they're paying thousands of dollars. And what's wild, too, is, like, a lot of corporations, like, you know, if the certain venue is, like, they own it or whatever, they'll get their big wigs and suits, like, free tickets, and they'll just be sitting down there, not even understanding how good life is.

[Bridger Winegar]

They don't even wanna be there.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah. But Marina says that currently the average is about $167. But also, you have to realize that that's like, on the website when Beyonce drops them, and they said the first row tickets are around $1246. That's when Beyonce gives them to the Internet. This is what we're seeing on SeatGeek. But whenever I look, it's usually way more than that.

[Bridger Winegar]

I think for $167, that's to get a job at the concessions at the arena.

[Lacey Mosley]

Right. Which is a good scam, y' all. If you can't afford to go to the concert, go on Craigslist or go on one of those server websites, you know, where you can sign up to do, like, temporary jobs, like at Dodger Stadium and stuff. Get a free concert.

[Bridger Winegar]

There you go. That's not a bad idea, actually.

[Lacey Mosley]

I would get in there and just disappear. They're like, lacey's supposed to be serving these beers. We haven't seen her in hours. I got a whole different outfit in my purse. Absolutely. Absolutely.

[Bridger Winegar]

Yeah. I mean, I do love a scam, though. I just watched the Tinder Swindler over the weekend, which I'm sure you watched.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yes. And everybody's talking about it. I thought it was a little boring.

[Bridger Winegar]

You thought it was boring?

[Lacey Mosley]

Yes, I was bored. I was like, yeah, he robbing them. And like, yeah, he's taking the money from one. And maybe it's just because I scams is like, a whole part of my life, but I was just like, yeah, I've seen this a billion times. Like, they're like, this is so shocking. I'm like, no, it's not the thing.

[Bridger Winegar]

To me, it was like, the scam was just so obvious from moment one. It was like, I mean, I don't want to blame anyone that got scammed by this guy, but it's like this. You met this person a week ago, and he's asking for thousand. Like, if my boyfriend asked to borrow $15 from me, I would be on the phone to the FBI. If somebody asks you for any. Yes. Let alone, like, a stranger who is like, something's clearly going on there.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah, he was not sexy enough for none of that. And I wish some man would be calling me on my phone, threatening me on my phone. Bro, I don't take threats via phone. Oh. You know, I just hang up. I hit end, bro. Like, what do you mean? I'm so, like, ah. Over the phone.

[Bridger Winegar]

No, no, he's not threatening. He's a huge dork. He's sending threatening messages over WhatsApp. Like, no element of that was that scary.

[Lacey Mosley]

WhatsApp? You threatening me over WhatsApp? Bro, this is the third party app. You can't even imessage. Threaten me, loser. No, no, you don't threaten me over WhatsApp. That's like threatening me over Facebook DM. Really? This is what we doing? This is so ghetto scams. Okay, let's talk about hair. Y' all know when your hair kind of gets, like, greasy and. And you need to wash it, but you don't have time to wash it, especially if you have a lot of hair. Y' all know that's a whole day. Enter Batiste Light. It's Batiste Lightest, driest shampoo. Batiste Light blends in seamlessly with your hair, leaving none of residue. And your hair looks clean. And it feels clean. Okay. Plus, Batiste Light effectively absorbs oil and grease without weighing it down. It's a total game changer for amazing second or third day hair. Okay. And if you're black, you know, might be a little longer, because, hello, I like Batiste Light because whenever my hair is feeling, like, greasy or oily, you know, when I've wrapped it too many times or whatever, I can put that in my hair, and it kind of wakes it back up, you know what I mean? Without it looking white or powdery or, you know, like, I just put a bunch of baby powder in my hair or something. You know what I mean by Petite's Light Dry Shampoo online or in store at your nearest retailer. Mm. The temperatures are climbing, y' all. And when the temperatures climb, it's easy to fall into the same old routine. Familiar tanks worn in Shorts. Y' all know quints are my girlies. I literally wear them all the time and get so many compliments. And I know y' all girlies love to go to the discount, discount discount places to get your replicas. But don't you want something that's going to survive a wash? Don't you want something that is going to be qualite? That's why I love quince. Everything with quince is priced 50 to 80% less than what you would find at similar brands. By working directly with top artisans and cutting out the middleman, we know the middleman is a scam. Quince gives you luxury without the markup. I've recently been wearing my like long linen quince dresses. I have one in olive green that I always get compliments about. Treat your closet to a little summer glow up with quince. Go to quince.com for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com goddess. To get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com goddess. God. So guys, let's get into our first segment here. What's hot in fraud? As always, snitch on your friends and [e-mail]. just make sure your scam is retired so we don't what? Yes. Fuck up your bag. This is where we get like, you know, a letter or we see what's popp the streets and we warn you about new scams. I was going to do a little warning about a scam, but I think I'm going to save that for next week. Y' all be fine for a week. I won't get.

[Bridger Winegar]

Oh my God.

[Lacey Mosley]

I did find a little letter that seems to be along the lines of what we were already talking about. Like big box stores and scams like that. Bridger. I just need a fake name for this person. Gender doesn't matter.

[Bridger Winegar]

Let's go with Daniel.

[Lacey Mosley]

Damn, Daniel.

[Bridger Winegar]

There you go.

[Lacey Mosley]

So Daniel says:15 years ago I worked at Target. Oh, well, okay. It was 15 years ago. So Daniel, you good? And you know how many Daniels work at Target? Like, they won't. That's not even your real name, so it's fine. So Daniel says Target is hilariously big. Well, Target for scammers, they are an easy mark because they're obsessed with quick checkouts for customers. Even though they keep like two registers open, cashiers get penalized for taking too long. So they will overlook almost anything to finish the Transaction. Wow.

[Bridger Winegar]

Oh, I love this.

[Lacey Mosley]

I didn't know that cashiers got penalized for taking too long. That's kind of wild to me. Now, I will say that there have been studies, and I don't know where this was done, and maybe it's a lie, but it's something that stuck in my head for the rest of my life. But supposedly women cashiers are always faster than men. So if I see a line and there's like, three people in one line, and then there's five people in one line, and the line with five people has a woman checking out, and the line with three people has a man, I'm gonna get in the five person line. Oh, my God. What a great tip. Almost always I'm out faster than if I had gone to the man.

[Bridger Winegar]

I had no idea.

[Lacey Mosley]

And I feel like women, we need to level the playing field. Start checking out slower. Okay, like, what do you get for checking people out fast? Queen. Nothing. And that's what that man knows. That's why he's over there. Like, boop, boop. He got to scan it under the thing, like, 12 times. It's not going. I'm like, the barcode's right there, sir. The bar. Hello. The barcode's right there. Boop. Oh, so. And now they make us check out, like, Target. Y' all owe me a coin. Why do I have to come to the Target and work?

[Bridger Winegar]

Total scam.

[Lacey Mosley]

And I should have stole something when I was in the Target, now that I think about it. Because I bought an air fryer, and they had this little thing around it that, like, you know, had to be removed by a checkout person. But I didn't realize. So I rang it up, put it back in my cart, left the store. No alarms went off. Then when I got home, I realized this thing was around the box, and so I cut it, and it just started making noise. It was like, meow, meow, meow. And I just stabbed it a bunch of times with the scissors, and then it died. But I was thinking to myself, like, why did I even pay for this? Like, no one would have ever known.

[Bridger Winegar]

Just walked out.

[Lacey Mosley]

No one would have ever known. But, you know, I paid. I be trying to be a Samaritan to big Target. I know they need my money, but. Yeah, so now we gotta pay. Do our own checkout. Like, we work at the store. Like, I want a discount for that. Cause that's work. Okay. So at our daily team huddle, we were briefed on which scams to look out for. It was like a bad 70s cop show. It was hilar. Hilarious. Being given grainy printouts of Target's most wanted and being expected to care enough to look for them on our shifts. What? You've heard of America's most wanted? We're talking about targets most wanted. I'm dating a real badass.

[Bridger Winegar]

I would be honored to be on that list.

[Lacey Mosley]

Right. I feel like I want to be on Target's most wanted, like, just right next to spot. Y' all thought he was the mascot. No. They looking for that dog. They looking for that dog. Okay, so a few quotes I still remember because they were batshit are. One quote is, we got someone hitting stores and trying to sneak out of emergency exits. He's cutting the wires, thinking it disables the alarm, but it activates. It should be easy to catch.

[Bridger Winegar]

Well, you haven't caught him yet.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah. How often is he doing this? And it seems like you haven't. He's not easy.

[Bridger Winegar]

He's doing a very obvious crime and setting off alarms, apparently everywhere he goes.

[Lacey Mosley]

And also, you've heard of the dude, so if you heard of him and you know what he does and he's not in Target custody, He's not easy to catch.

[Bridger Winegar]

Yeah. If this is an issue at the team huddle, then I'm sorry. He's gotten away. You're not catching him Right.

[Lacey Mosley]

And Daniel's right. I wish somebody. I wish I was working at a corporation and we had a team huddle where he was trying to tell me I got to be paw patrol at the target. Y' all out of y' all damn mind. What do I get out of. Of wrestling down the target's most wanted? What wasn't that for me? Like, let's talk about it. Is there, like, a $10,000 bonus? Like, is there something like. Or just the pride of keeping target? Save you? Kiss my ass.

[Bridger Winegar]

Absolutely not. The only thing in it for you is probably that the person is going to attack you. You're probably going to get shot in Target.

[Lacey Mosley]

You know what's in it for you? Bruises.

[Bridger Winegar]

Right. No, thank you.

[Lacey Mosley]

Maybe death. Definitely bodily harm. That's what you get.

[Bridger Winegar]

And this is. He said it was 15 years ago.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yes.

[Bridger Winegar]

This person was probably getting $6 an hour.

[Lacey Mosley]

Oh, hell, yeah. You're right. Oh, absolutely.

[Bridger Winegar]

No, thank you.

[Lacey Mosley]

No, no, thank you. Not even thank you. Just no disrespectfully. Absolutely not. So another quote was, a man in a wig is going to pharmacies trying to sell steal stuff. Not sure how the wig plays into things.

[Bridger Winegar]

It plays into It. Because he looks fantastic.

[Lacey Mosley]

Right?

[Bridger Winegar]

And he's giving.

[Lacey Mosley]

Right. And I feel like you're spending too much time judging his wig and not enough time stopping him from stealing the pharmaceuticals. Okay, okay, this is another quote. Make friends, make money. This was security telling us about cash bonuses. Oh. For turning coworkers in, ratting people out.

[Bridger Winegar]

What's the make friends part of that?

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah, it feels like you would be making less friends, making enemies, betraying the.

[Bridger Winegar]

People who trust you.

[Lacey Mosley]

Make enemies, make money. Like, that feels more like, along the lines of what's happening here? Or do they want you to befriend people and then be like, yeah, so you ever steal anything, Tom? It'd be so crazy if you ever, like, stole anything. And, like, what was it? And like, what day and time near what part of the store? We're buds. What?

[Bridger Winegar]

Oh, my God. That does remind me. I worked at Best Buy for a while, and one of my friend co workers who was fantastic. After I quit, I came back, she had been fired because she had been taking people. People would pay with a gift card, and then she would, like, hand them a blank gift card and take their. What was left on their gift card, which is. Look, it's a good scam. Kind of. Kind of shitty.

[Lacey Mosley]

Is it, though? I feel like if I took the gift card and then I go home and I realize, like, the rest of my Best Buy coin ain't on it, then I'm just gonna go back to Best Buy and be like, hey, that's true. Y' all messed up. Give me the money.

[Bridger Winegar]

Best Buy has to pay for it. And then she. Everybody wins there, actually.

[Lacey Mosley]

And then everybody will win. Except for if you don't keep the receipt, probably. Cause Best Buy customer service is. Bridget, were you, like, a good Best Buy guy? Were you a bad Best Buy guy? It's okay.

[Bridger Winegar]

Bad.

[Lacey Mosley]

I love that for.

[Bridger Winegar]

You know, they wanted me to, like, scam people into signing up for free magazine subscriptions and, like, pay for a warranty on, like, a $10 CD player. A lot of things I just wasn't willing to do, so I was perfectly fine.

[Lacey Mosley]

That feels like you were a good Best Buy employee then, because you were working for the customer. Best Buy was like, you are not scamming enough people in here. Okay? They need a $40 warranty on their Walkman.

[Bridger Winegar]

Truly, that's what they would make you do. It was so insane. So I'm always, always on the side of the customer. I'm a customer advocate.

[Lacey Mosley]

Okay, so you were a good. When I say bad Best Buy Employee. I mean, like, the ones who are there. And you could just tell it's very Marshawn Lynch. It's very much, I'm here so I don't get fired. You know, standing around. If you try to make eye contact with them because they know you need help, they immediately look away that they are dart away super fast. They don't want to talk to you. They don't want to help you. Like, I feel like every time I've ever spoken to an employee at Best Buy, except for once, and he was the kind of employee that he was real nice to me, and then he was trying to put me on all the warranties and all the. Yeah. You know what I mean?

[Bridger Winegar]

He's getting nothing out of it. There's not. They don't even get commission.

[Lacey Mosley]

It's like sexual thrill.

[Bridger Winegar]

It isn't. I mean.

[Lacey Mosley]

I mean, robbing me blind.

[Bridger Winegar]

Just pure ecstasy. Every time you make a sale at.

[Lacey Mosley]

Best Buy, he goes out to his car and he smokes a cigarette real hard. You know, that's what he's getting out of it. The thrill. Thrill of tricking somebody into purchasing things they don't. But every other Best Buy employee is like, please get away from me. Like, please don't talk to me. And, you know, I love that for them. So I guess they're talking about just ratting out your friends and family, which here on this podcast, snitch on your friends. Absolutely. But, like, I won't say their names. I won't say your name. We don't want to do a scam if it's still popping like we want. We just want to enjoy it with you. This is fucked up. You want me to, like, everybody at Target is your enemy, so you can't even steal and tell your friends. Wow.

[Bridger Winegar]

Ooh, that's rough.

[Lacey Mosley]

So best scam award. This is a longer one, but I'm really enjoying it. But, guys, if y' all can truncate these, y' all know it's easier for me to read it on the show, but this one's fantastic. So, Daniel, no notes. Best scam award goes to a man who buys the largest flat screen TV we have in the store. He calls customer service and tells them, when I got home and opened the box, a dinged up TV of a different brand was in the box. I demand a refund. No, he did not. No, he did not put his old TV in the box and said, when I opened the box, it was my old TV in there. I demand a refund. No, you don't. Have to pick it up at my house. I'm gonna leave it on the curb.

[Bridger Winegar]

I am so happy for that man.

[Lacey Mosley]

Right?

[Bridger Winegar]

He deserves just for. Just for the courage to even try that scam.

[Lacey Mosley]

He said, when I opened the box, it was full of spoons. Spoons. I was wondering why it was so light. I want all my money back. And the taxes. Don't forget those. So customer service was not going to touch this. So the guy said he was coming back into the store. Fast forward to the man comes in with a flat screen TV box with a broken down TV that's obviously his old tv. Shows the manager the old TV and demands a refund. The manager pulls, politely suggests that this is his old TV and no refund will be issues he issued. He becomes so enraged that she would suggest something like that. The manager. So now he's mad. He was like, why would you even suggest that this is my old Samsung tv. Why would you even say that to me? You know, he's bringing in an emotional argument, gaslighting her, which, you know, this man is a menace. Like, this man Definitely read 48 laws of power. This man probably listens to those podcasts with the nasty men about how to pick up women. It's giving gaslight. And in a scam, love that for him, the only place maybe you should do it. He tells her he will call his credit card company and stop payment if he's not given a refund. And then he introduced the manager to his lawyer who would sue them for emotional distress and damages.

[Bridger Winegar]

My God.

[Lacey Mosley]

Emotional distress and damages if they aren't given a refund. The lawyer was an old older woman wearing a tracksuit that was clearly his significant other. She stood there, arms folded, and nodded authoritatively. That's how you know you got a ride or die with shoe.

[Bridger Winegar]

This is the man. What we're talking about here is the man who wore the wig to the pharmacy. That is his lawyer. He was never present when the lawyer was present. He goes to the pharmacy, throws the wig on and comes back with legal advice. That's what's actually going on.

[Lacey Mosley]

I wonder if this man is actually every criminal they needed to look out for. The one cutting the alarm.

[Bridger Winegar]

Same guy.

[Lacey Mosley]

It's just him wearing different wigs and just being a menace to this target. That's how he knows he can get away with it. He's like, I robbed this Target every Thursday afternoon. Are y' all really not gonna give me money back for my old tv? Really?

[Bridger Winegar]

You people love me.

[Lacey Mosley]

Y' all know the deal. Y' all see all my wigs. Come on now.

[Bridger Winegar]

Part of the family.

[Lacey Mosley]

So the manager was beyond over this and said, Target policy, we can do one return per year without a receipt using your license. He immediately agreed and left with his refund. The manager was like, why did he so quickly agree with giving me his license? It's like he knew that Target policy. Because she's right. If I'm stealing, why am I going to be so cool with giving my ID unless I know this isn't a trap and that it's the real policy. Well, you know where this thing is going. Broken down TV man was a former Target employee and took note of the insane policy and decided he was going to test the limits and get a brand new tv.

[Bridger Winegar]

I'm so happy for him.

[Lacey Mosley]

I'm happy for him too. I love this.

[Bridger Winegar]

I mean, also, I mean, let's just benefit of the doubt. Maybe I, I actually stand by his. He's not scamming. He really did have a broken tv. Maybe. What if he. Imagine being in that situation and it. You really did open a TV and it's a. I mean, he should have picked the same brand. I mean, come on, at least pick the same brand.

[Lacey Mosley]

I feel like he didn't choose the same brand. I feel like he didn't even try to be that thorough. Like, sir, this is your otv. He's like, how dare you. That hurt my neck. I'm suing for emotional distress. And the tv. Where's my lawyer? Cheryl? Cheryl. Yeah, this is my lawyer. No, don't mind her. Tracksuit with Juicy on the butt. She is definitely my lawyer. Esquire Incorporated. Like, I love this. I love that he just threw a fit. And honestly, it's giving Caucasian just because I just don't think that black people can throw fits in stores without the police getting called. Like, he threw a fit. He used. He used every tool in his arsenal and got. Got the job done.

[Bridger Winegar]

And he probably felt great driving home.

[Lacey Mosley]

Oh, absolutely amazing. Probably again, sucking that one hard cigarette. Doesn't even smoke. Just.

[Bridger Winegar]

Never even used the tv. He was just in it for that.

[Lacey Mosley]

Thrill, for the sexual thrill. And I love this scam a lot because if you were a former employee, I mean, obviously they wanted y' all to be out here acting like y' all were mini Target popo, asking you to do things way outside of the realm of your job and to destroy any chance of having friendships built at work because they want you snitching on each other. You know, like, doesn't sound like the greatest Work environment. So maybe you are owed.

[Bridger Winegar]

Oh, absolutely owed. I mean, why else work for Target if not to find the ins and outs of how to scam the company?

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah, it feels like that's what, you're just there to case the joint, right? So. You know what? I'm proud of you, Daniel. Well, actually, you were just observing these scams, but maybe, I guess you don't work at Target anymore. I was gonna say, maybe when you leave, you also go and buy a TV in the box, you know, just full of toilet paper.

[Bridger Winegar]

Yeah. I hope Daniel picked up a thing or two. If he is squeaky clean, then he did it wrong, right?

[Lacey Mosley]

Danielle, it looks like you weren't snitching, but I hope that at least if you were watching, you were learning you had a pen and paper, you were getting the info down. Robbery. Y' all know how Amazon was just previously used to, you know, go on and get something very specific. Like you want some earrings that look like Michelle Obama or something like just very specific specific that you can't buy in a store. Well, now, Amazon is a great place to get all your essentials. You can get your toiletries. You can have them scheduled to deliver your toiletries, which I do because I've been running out of toilet paper. And that's very embarrassing. Like, to be on the toilet and you don't have no paper. Like, that's. That's very sad and embarrassing. Can't believe I told y' all that. But next time you run out of coffee or realize you out of light bulbs, don't be in the dark. Amazon has you covered. Save every day with deals from Amazon.

[Adam Pally]

Adam Pally here, and I'm John Gabris. We're a couple actors and best friends who you may know as the host of the TV show 101 Places to Party before youe Die. Now we're bringing you a comedic look at health and wellness with our new show, Staying Alive. We'll have guests like our friend, actor Jerry O' Connell, ketamine therapist, Dr. Stephen Radowitz, Paul Scheer, Ego Wodem, Gillian Bell, Dr. Dolittle. Staying alive with John Gabrison. Adam Pally is out right now. Get them a week early and ad free with Sirius XM Podcast plus on Apple Podcasts.

[Lacey Mosley]

And Frog. It's time for my favorite part of the show, Historic Hoodwinks. This is where I will regale Bridger Wanaga with a harrowing tale, and we'll see what he thinks and get his opinions all throughout. Are we excited? I am I want to note up top, a lot of the information was derived from Russia's beyond article. It's called mmm, the biggest fraud in history in modern Russia. And it. The author of this is Yekaterina Selnaskovya. Yekaterina Selna Scovia, shout out to you. Content warning. There is a mention of suicide in this episode. We won't linger on it. And if you want to catch Katarina's article and read it for yourself, it'll be in the footnotes of this episode along with all the other articles and resources, as per usual. So let's get into it. In the 1990s, a man named Sergei Mavrody perpetrated one of the world's largest, largest Ponzi schemes through a company that imported tech equipment into former Soviet Russia. Years later, the MMM's legacy lives on through cryptocurrency, of course, naturally.

[Bridger Winegar]

Oh, my God. Just the biggest scam of all.

[Lacey Mosley]

Oh, my goodness. I, like, know a guy who, like, created his own crypto, and we get into fights about if crypto's a scam all the time. Like, for his sake, I hope it isn't. But when I look at it, I'm.

[Bridger Winegar]

Like, he created his own. Is anybody dealing in his. Is that. Is that the word we talk?

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah, it's, like, legit.

[Bridger Winegar]

What is it? Can you say what it is?

[Lacey Mosley]

Well, now, I don't want to say what it is because I've suggested that crypto's a scam. I can't do him like that. But, you know, like. Yeah, they had like, a. Offering. Like a public. Yeah, it's like a whole thing. Yeah. So. So obviously he's not, like, he's in it deep, like, he really gets it versus, you know, the people who are signing up for Squid Game Coin and then getting robbed, like, $3 million overnight. So I guess it's just about, you know, I'll break down a little bit more of the crypto scam and what's hot and fried next week, but would've been perfect to do it here. Chose not to. Chose to dejack it. Chaos. That's what we. That's what we saw.

[Bridger Winegar]

I feel like you keep hinting at scams that could happen to people in the oncoming week, and these people are just now have to be as careful as possible for the next seven days.

[Lacey Mosley]

I know I'm very much giving more at 11. Like, I'm definitely giving news Fear. Oh, no, guys, I'm not scaring y' all into coming back. That's Wrong of me, but, I mean, I don't know what's gonna happen to y' all if y' all don't listen next week. That's all I'm saying. I don't know what's gonna happen to y' all. Maybe something bad. I don't know.

[Bridger Winegar]

It's controlling your audience through fear.

[Lacey Mosley]

I never used to do that. Just used to be about entertainment. But now I need y' all to come back. Mama needs the audience. Okay? So I'm just saying. I'm trying to protect you. I'm thinking about you. Okay, so let's get into this. In 1989, Sergey established the MMM Cooperative in Moscow with his brother and his brother's wife. The M's their collective initials. I just feel like 3M. Well, I guess there is 3M.

[Bridger Winegar]

3M. Oh, that is a company.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah, but they called it 3M. They were like, mmm, Melissa.

[Bridger Winegar]

Melissa. Melissa.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah. I feel like. I don't know, it's just not that catchy of a name. It seems like fraud. It doesn't. I feel like I shouldn't.

[Bridger Winegar]

And there's also something you can't really do with a Russian accent, either.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah, what is M?

[Bridger Winegar]

M, I guess. Yes. Mmm.

[Lacey Mosley]

Im. Im. IM. My Russian accent's terrible. Sorry. But I'm gonna try. I'm still gonna try. Okay, so. Mmm. Right. So initially, the company had nothing to do with finance. It imported tech equipment. But quickly it became very popular in the collapse of, or with the collapse of the Soviet Union. So before. Mmm. Sergei, you know, he was born in Moscow. He was very good at math and engineering from a very young age, which I always find funny. It's just like, are you, like, eight? And you, like, really?

[Bridger Winegar]

What are you, like, what is quote unquote, like, a person who's good at math at 8. How do we know that they're good at math?

[Lacey Mosley]

Right. Are they just counting things? Like, everything's always accounted for. Do they have an abacus that they travel with? Like, what is a year old? Good at math? Giving.

[Bridger Winegar]

I just don't feel like, as good as. You would have to be truly, like the genius of geniuses to be like, oh, that's an eight year old. That's good at math. Otherwise, I'm like, they're kind of smart, right?

[Lacey Mosley]

How would we know? I feel like ars are just trying to do math for us for fun. Like, how would we know you're good at math? I don't. You know, whatever. So he liked math, he liked science. Early in his career, Sergey found success Selling pirated audio and video materials, but was apprehended in the late 80s by the Soviet government. I feel like selling bootleg DVDs is not something that the government should, like, apprehend you for. But this is Russia, right?

[Bridger Winegar]

I'm like, any other country, I'd be like, it's probably not a concern, but Russia, maybe.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah. And also, like, you remember those FBI warnings that would come on before videos, and it would be like, you steal this. The FBI, the F, the B and I, we heard you were bootlegged.

[Bridger Winegar]

Like, honestly, like, the people who were what were seeing that were just normal people at home.

[Lacey Mosley]

Exactly.

[Bridger Winegar]

That wasn't scaring any of us. Like, none of us had the plan to steal any of that.

[Lacey Mosley]

Right. How do you even know I bought this tape? I. I bought it in cash. You can't even account for me purchasing this. I don't have to tell people my name when I go to the video store, you know, unless I'm renting it. But it's funny because, you know, we know in America, we're like, okay, if I bootleg the Lion King or Rush Hour, too, like, what y' all gonna do? Nothing. But I guess over in Russia, they're like, east Russia, we heard you do bootleg. You come with us.

[Bridger Winegar]

I also feel like Russia would be the place you would totally get away with it.

[Lacey Mosley]

It. I mean, I guess not, because they.

[Bridger Winegar]

Said the Soviet government priorities in the Soviet Union.

[Lacey Mosley]

Right.

[Bridger Winegar]

All over the place.

[Lacey Mosley]

I said, skirt. Okay, stratsvutsy. This is the little Russia that I know that I learned from Sex in the City.

[Bridger Winegar]

I will say Vladimir Putin seems like someone who owns a lot of laser discs. I don't know why. He's always struck me as someone who has, like, a huge collection of old laserdisc movies. So. So maybe this does add up to me, right?

[Lacey Mosley]

Or maybe they're not even movies, they're just, like home videos of him doing murders. Let me stop. Cause I don't want. I don't want. It's Russia. Hold on, hold on, hold on. Bridger, I think somebody's at the door. Oh, it's Russia. Oh, no. Nevermind, nevermind. Cut that. Love that man so much. So later, after he was apprehended, he'd go on to import office equipment, allegedly importing the first PCs into the USSR. So apparently, he was the Bill Gates of the USSR. He brought the first. First computers in. Forbes once described him as a little Soviet man at the very bottom of the social ladder with his odd jobs. But one who possessed bold dreams and had illegal alternative occupations that allowed him to live better than most of his fellow citizens. Forbes.

[Bridger Winegar]

He made the Forbes 30 under 30.

[Lacey Mosley]

Right? And Forbes. Why are you. This is. Forbes is shady.

[Bridger Winegar]

What's going on at Forbes? Who's in control of the ship over at Forbes at this point?

[Lacey Mosley]

Because Forbes is getting a little spicier than it used to be. You know, they tell us how much money people had. Little dry article here and there. Little 30 under 30. Little, you know, 50 under 50, whatever. And now, like, they're like, he was like, a little gross little man, and everybody hated him, but he was doing illegal shit and balling out like, this is Forbes magazine. Why are y' all writing about this man like this? This is rude.

[Bridger Winegar]

Gotta take it easy with the adjectives. We're there for the financials and the financials alone.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah, we didn't ask you for no adjectives. We did not ask you for adjectives. Who told y' all y' all could use adjectives? That's not what y' all do over there. We want hard numbers. Numbers and facts only.

[Bridger Winegar]

I want to say I need opinions.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah. With only facts. No editorializing. But now I think Forbes is like every other, you know, outlet is trying to get them clicks, keep them clicks up. Because I saw an article that they posted about Rihanna and ASAP Rocky having a baby. What does that have to do with.

[Bridger Winegar]

Financial things at all?

[Lacey Mosley]

Forbes.

[Bridger Winegar]

And so it was like US Magazine.

[Lacey Mosley]

Forbes was like, billionaire. I think that's how they tried to be like, no, we can talk about this because she a billionaire, remember? So we. We deal in billionaires. Forbes. So y' all get it. Anyway, so billionair philanthropist. It was like, billionaire philanthropist ambassador Rihanna Fenty is having a baby. And then they said she was having a baby with her boyfriend, A$AP Rocky. Like, so shady. So it's like all these compliments to her career and who she is as a human being. And then, like, with her boyfriend, ASAP Rocky. And Brittany Warwick went viral because she retweeted and she said, Forbes really said our angel Rihanna and local man. Hey, separate. They really. Forbes really did call him local man. So maybe Forbes is just out here being shady these days.

[Bridger Winegar]

Something has happened at Forbes in the last, like, five years where it just truly feels like anyone can write for Forbes.

[Lacey Mosley]

Right? I feel like they hired someone from bossip or Bravo. They were like, y' all call E. News and see if we can get one of their interns over here at Forbes. We gotta get these. These articles are cheugy we gotta get them. We gotta get the millennials on board. Let's start dancing. Like, what is going on? So you know he's got mmm. With his brother and his sister in law and the business is doing well. Okay, so in 1993, despite the company being accused of tax evasion, the previous year, Sergey made a New Year's Eve TV address to the people of Russia, something that is usually only done by the country's president.

[Bridger Winegar]

So somehow he like hacked into the TV waves. This is like something that joker does.

[Lacey Mosley]

So we. Right, so we have a video of just a few seconds of seeing Sergey speak. Obviously this is gonna be in Russian. I can say and I can say. So either of those words are said, I will translate it. If not, oh, well, we'll never know. But let's just play a little bit. I just want to see what Sergey looks like. Where is Sergey? Okay, I'm in there.

[Bridger Winegar]

This is him.

[Lacey Mosley]

Okay, enough, enough.

[Bridger Winegar]

That is not who I was picturing.

[Lacey Mosley]

No, I mean, Forbes did tell us. They say he a little tiny man who is not cute. They were so shady. So that's him.

[Bridger Winegar]

That man looks like he would teach you how to play the harp.

[Lacey Mosley]

Can we just get a freeze frame back up of that video where it's on him? This man is wearing a red suit.

[Bridger Winegar]

He plays the organ at church. This is not someone who scams the ussr.

[Lacey Mosley]

Why are you dressed like Steve Harvey? Why are you dressed like Steve Harvey on Family Feud? On the national airwaves like this? What is going on?

[Bridger Winegar]

He will sell you a satire.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah, it's very much giving. He's got them Saturns and he's got the used ones.

[Bridger Winegar]

Yes, absolutely.

[Lacey Mosley]

And he's giving you the best deal. He's going inside, he's talking to the manager, he's giving you a deal like no other. Meanwhile, he is like, screwing you. This man is definitely a used car salesman. And before he came out and appeared, the logo appeared of the M M M and it looked just as bootleg as you would think it would. Well, in the.

[Bridger Winegar]

Who were those men watching? They looked like Slayer or like a metal band. It was like Van Halen was watching.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yes.

[Bridger Winegar]

What is happening there?

[Lacey Mosley]

What is happening? Also, there's a tiny Christmas tree next to. Next to Sergey. And I don't know why that Christmas tree is there. And it's the tiniest Christmas tree. It's almost like he put it there for scale to make himself seem larger. He was like, people think I'm big man if I put tiny tree next to me, then I say regular sized tree. Tree. And I'm just so large next to the regular size three. Like, what is this tiny Christmas tree doing here? I don't know so much about this is very perplexing. But you know what? Sergey go off king. So by this point, MMM and Sergey's face were known across Russia. So the girls know who MM is. He's wearing his. His fire engine red suits. They know, okay. However, charges of tax evasion collapsed MMM's fight financial support, leaving the company scrambling for funds. So of course everybody knows who MMM is, which means that I call him Daddy Government over here. So I feel like, what is this? Like, Father, Father government. It needs to be more menacing than Daddy.

[Bridger Winegar]

It's like, right, Father, I think is as close as you're gonna get.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yes, Father Government. So Father Government's like, yeah, we know y' all too. And we know y' all owe us money. So get after that. Also, I still don't know what MMM does, but okay. Okay.

[Bridger Winegar]

Also, is there any chance that it's not MMM and it's mmm?

[Lacey Mosley]

Mmm, maybe. I don't know which is better. They both sound awful. But Sergey came up with a solution. In 1994, MMM shares were issued for sale for the first time with a promise that investors would get a return of over 3,000%. So he was like, let's go public. Let's do a little IP&O and let's get the coins from the girls and then tell them that their investment is going to be returned. I still don't know what the company does. It imports tech equipment.

[Bridger Winegar]

So I guess they're like selling desktop computers to people, right? Like, it doesn't seem like they've done anything that. No, I mean, anybody could have done what this company has done up to this point, right? I mean, the Christmas address was gorgeous. But other than that, they said, I'm.

[Lacey Mosley]

An import and exporting a scam. So one share costs a thousand rubles, equal to around US$0.65 US dollars. At the time, due to a massive advertising campaign, the share prices steadily increased arbitrarily, growing in the value by 127 times over just six months. For a very short time, it worked. There were no problems at. Everything was good over at.

[Bridger Winegar]

It's a soup company.

[Lacey Mosley]

Right? They should have pivoted. That's a hard pivot. We went from importing technology to soup. But y' all go see how y' all still get 3,000% return. It's. It's gonna work. So we have an Ad.

[Bridger Winegar]

Oh, yeah. Let's watch this.

[Lacey Mosley]

I don't know if it's a video. I think it's just an ad. What were you gonna say?

[Bridger Winegar]

I just feel like you go from the import export to cryptocurrency. The next step could be soup. Why not?

[Lacey Mosley]

Absolutely. Like, why not? Because at this point, it's all over. So we're looking at an advertisement right here. I do not speak Russian, but I think that that is Sergey. That's supposed to be Sergey in a. Mmm. Logo T shirt. There's like a ball and chain on here. Very. What kind of advertisement is this? Scary.

[Bridger Winegar]

Yeah. This is like, he looks like 1984 Michael Caine. His hair is wild. He's got kind of those weird glasses on that look like you're going to, like, either be an assassin or some sort of sex pervert.

[Lacey Mosley]

And then the hair is definitely giving. Sex pervert. Like, he went into great clips and he said, can y' all give me the. Not allowed. Within 500ft of the school district. Yeah. Number four, no one wants to.

[Bridger Winegar]

I do not want anyone to feel comfortable alone on an elevator with me. But what is this thing with the ball and chain?

[Lacey Mosley]

I don't know. But this is. Now this. I definitely know that this is an advertisement for the ipo. So they're trying to tell people how they can get involved in the company. Am I supposed to look at this and feel confidence?

[Bridger Winegar]

I feel just uneasy.

[Lacey Mosley]

So millions of people across the world invested their money as the company promised shareholders it would buy back their shares immediately upon request. So whenever anybody's trying to give you a deal that seems too good to be true, whenever the risk is lowered significantly, like, oh, yeah, no, y' all give us your money, and then if you want us to buy it back, yeah, we'll do it immediately. But the price is gonna keep going up. You're gonna lose all this imaginary money if you buy it back. Don't do that. You know what I mean? It's a scam. It's a Ponzi scheme. Really? It is.

[Bridger Winegar]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Lacey Mosley]

A Ponzi scheme. Because that's exactly how they work, is like, give us your money and then look at the return on investment you're gonna get. But don't take your money out.

[Bridger Winegar]

Just enjoy looking at the number.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah, just look at that. Look at how good your money. Look how rich you are on the computer.

[Bridger Winegar]

Doesn't matter if you can use it.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah, nobody's a computer.

[Bridger Winegar]

It's the power of imagination.

[Lacey Mosley]

Imagination. Literally selling vibes. Love that. For the them. So herein lay the Ponzi scheme. Payments made to shareholders were actually the money from new investors debt. We knew we saw that coming. We literally just said it. By July 1994, the share price had reached 125 rubles, like $81. So, you know, that's a decent sized stock, especially in the 90s, especially when it started at 65 USD. 65 cents.

[Bridger Winegar]

That's enormous. I mean, to the point that it's a. Larry.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah, you should be scared. The import export company, we still haven't seen Narya import, nary an export. But now they're valued at $81 a share. So in addition to the fast growing share price, the company's success was spurred by the hope that it represented the shadow, or in the shadow, of the collapse of the ussr. So basically, the people were also investing in vibes. They were like, russia's doing great. Look at our One Stop stock. It's up and it's stuck. Obviously, I don't check the nasdaq. Okay, Russia. Russia didn't collapse. Look at our One Stop.

[Bridger Winegar]

We did it. Smooth sailing from here on out.

[Lacey Mosley]

And that's a technology stock. Okay? That's important and exported technology. So I don't know what y' all talking about. Russia's doing great. Cheers.

[Bridger Winegar]

Four PCs, this creepy ad, and one stock. What more could you ask for, right?

[Lacey Mosley]

This creepy little man and. And one stock. So actor Leonoya Golubakov was a face of. Mmm. Advertising campaign. So this guy Sergey gave people hope, right? This is. This is a quote that Leonoa. Gosh, here we go. Leonia Golubakov, who's an actor. He. I know. I don't want. I'm trying to put some respect on your name. Oh, yeah, no, yeah. He said, mavrati, who. That's Sergey's last name, gave people hope. All that time we had lived in poverty, and suddenly an opportunity beckoned. So people are looking at him like he's the people's champ. He's coming out here giving people hope, giving people coins, giving them pride. Cause I will say there's something about national pride that I do remember now. I remember when I lived in London for a little while and I went over and exchanged dollars for pounds. And the first time I did it, they gave me the panels and I was like, okay, but where is the rest of it? They're like, this is it. The dollar is weak. As I was like, hold on. No, no, no. I a. Give you. I ain't give you rupees. No, no, no, I gave you US Dollars. No. Did you think of those as pesos? No, no, no. Those are US Dollars, not Canadian money. Those aren't maple woods. That's what I call Canadian money.

[Bridger Winegar]

Maple woods.

[Lacey Mosley]

I ain't give you no maple woods. That's how I gave you U.S. american dollars. U.S. dollars. And they're like, yeah, we know your country ain't shit. And I was like, damn, this is very embarrassing. Okay, I'll take my little coins and go. Y' all can't give me no paper? No. Okay, okay.

[Bridger Winegar]

The English are very good at making you feel like a bumpkin, just like you fell off of a wagon.

[Lacey Mosley]

I mean, as they should be. So I'm not mad at it, you know? So in just a few years of the Ponzi scheme's existence, over 15 million people across the world had invested in. Almost none of them had received any return on their investments. When MMM shares sold out, the Ministry of Finance refused to issue more. And so MMM created its own currency with Sergei on the face of the bill instead of Lenin. Wow. In reality, the currency held no value outside of MMM saying that it did. Which, I mean, that's kind of how all currency works.

[Bridger Winegar]

It's literally money.

[Lacey Mosley]

But the government is, I guess, supposed to be the only people who can do it. But again, we talk about how, like, a government is just a bunch of dudes. Dudes, right, who were like, let's make infrastructure and laws. You know what I mean? So why not Sergey? Why can't he start his own government, right?

[Bridger Winegar]

Let this nerd give it a shot. I mean, he's got his face on this money that looks wild.

[Lacey Mosley]

I mean, his money looks legit, though. I mean, I think he could have taken the glasses off for the. For the money portrait. That's just me.

[Bridger Winegar]

He put on a nice suit coat.

[Lacey Mosley]

And it's given official. He's staring off into the distance. We don't know what he's looking at. That is a trademark of money. Money. You don't want money where somebody is, like, smiling at you on the bill. That doesn't seem legit. Imagine if the President saw our bills. It was just like, George Washington, like, smiling, like.

[Bridger Winegar]

Yeah, that's so true. I've never thought about that. You never want a happy person on your money.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah, you don't want anybody smiling on your money.

[Bridger Winegar]

Basically, funeral attitude, Right? I will say, like, his expression here looks like he's just gotten bad news, which is not. Not a great thing for money.

[Lacey Mosley]

I don't know. It's giving Russia to Me, it's giving Mother Russia, like, stoic, like, strong, you.

[Bridger Winegar]

Know, I feel like his wife is just, like, said, I'm taking the kids and we're not coming back.

[Lacey Mosley]

And he's watching them drive away.

[Bridger Winegar]

Yes, he's absolutely watching his Saturn take off toward St. Petersburg.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah, that's exactly what's happening. The kids, like, in the back of the car, like, on the windshield, like, hands pressed up against.

[Bridger Winegar]

Yeah, this is very what have I done? Face.

[Lacey Mosley]

But truly. But I love the audacity. And also, yeah, they're not going to give you more stocks to issue, bro. Like, nobody's actually made any money. I was like, okay, can we get some more of them stocks? How many more can we sell? No more. Mmm. Because everybody's like, where did my money go? Like, that's what it stands for now. So. Trouble with authorities. As Sergei's success grew, so did his trouble with the authorities. Of course. Despite his popularity among certain members of the government, in 1994, Sergei was arrested for tax evasion. But that didn't slow down his plan for long. At his arrest, he stated, what taxes?

[Bridger Winegar]

Good for him.

[Lacey Mosley]

I know that's right. He said, what taxes? If the authorities claim it's a pyramid scheme, does it mean that I didn't give them their share? Question mark. Oop.

[Bridger Winegar]

He's just acting like he has no idea.

[Lacey Mosley]

I mean, he said, look, if I'm doing crime, then there's no taxes on crime. I certainly don't write off anything I steal. He was like, is the government trying to get involved in crime? Like, how are you gonna gaslight the whole government? Like, if y' all want money from a Ponzi scheme, then that means y' all are involved in crime. So I don't know. It's giving. It's giving ghetto to me. Just went in there and gaslit them. Like, I love that. So while in custody, Sergei managed to register as a candidate for deputy of the lower house of parliament.

[Bridger Winegar]

Oh, my gosh.

[Lacey Mosley]

He's in jail.

[Bridger Winegar]

What a move. It's like, you know what? I actually am gonna run for government.

[Lacey Mosley]

I'm gonna run for office. Can y' all hand me that? Yeah. Can you just slide it through the bars? Yeah. Hand me that application. Okay. And a pen. Thank you so much. Yeah, I know I'm applying to be president. Like, what?

[Bridger Winegar]

Also, I have this banged up TV that was. I thought was going to be a new tv, so if we could deal with that, too.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah, if y' all could just go ahead and fix that. Return that as well. Okay, so he successfully won the election due to investors wanting to get their money back and voting for him. That's a good way to strong arm a whole community. Like, I mean, do y' all want these shares? My back or no, Better let me into the government. So as a new member of parliament, he now had parliamentary immunity and was released from prison. He literally applied for a get out of jail free card.

[Bridger Winegar]

To get that far in so into such trouble, you would literally have to, like, rearrange the government for yourself. I would have a heart attack. But the fact that he could, it's amazing. I mean, truly bless him.

[Lacey Mosley]

He was like, I'm not about to be in jail. I'm finna be the president. Hold on. Give me a pen. Yeah. Okay, I need y' all to mail this. I don't got no stamps in here. Like, what? So there were rumors that the band who he replaced was actually assassinated by Sergei's government supporters in order to free up the space. Wow. What?

[Bridger Winegar]

Russia.

[Lacey Mosley]

Mother Russia. So what if he was, like, applying and they were like, there's no open seats right now? He was like, yeah, there will be. There will be.

[Bridger Winegar]

Give me time.

[Lacey Mosley]

Give me time. There will be free seats. There will be position. Like, what? However, he never turned up for any of his parliamentary sessions and was stripped of the main mandate the following year. So he wanted to just get a get out of jail free immunity card. They were like, he never comes to Parliament. Where is Sergey? He owned a yacht in that same red suit. He never came to parliament. I love that. I love the disrespect for government of just, like, getting a seat and then just, like, not going.

[Bridger Winegar]

Getting a job and not even showing up for the first day. Good for you.

[Lacey Mosley]

Good for you. In 1997, he made a bid for president of Russia.

[Bridger Winegar]

What?

[Lacey Mosley]

What? Bro, you didn't even show up to Parliament. Now you want to be president. You wouldn't even go to your job.

[Bridger Winegar]

They should have given it to him just to find out what would have happened, Right?

[Lacey Mosley]

At this point, I'm just intrigued. But he was caught trying to forge votes and was subsequently banned from politics. So he was caught trying to stuff the ballot box. He probably could have won without doing that. Right Is the wild part. So the same year, MMM declared bankruptcy, and Sergei disappeared with all the money earning him a spot on the international Wall wanted list. Because, remember, he had, like, 15 million investors from all over the world. So this isn't even just Russia's problem now. This is, like, everyone who believed in Sergey and he was like, okay, we filed for bankruptcy. And by he was caught hiding in an apartment in 2003 using a false name and registering a virtual stock exchange in a Caribbean county. So in 2003 he had a fake name and he was trying to get a virtual stock exchange. Popping. Why are you trying to get involved in stocks again when you know that's where they're looking for you?

[Bridger Winegar]

Sorry, you got out. Stay out. Get a job at Blimpy or something and just enjoy the rest of your life.

[Lacey Mosley]

Enjoy the rest of your life with all your money. Why do you need more? Sergei was sentenced to only four years and six months, but was almost immediately released for time served during his pre trial custody. Wow. Sergei still had connections in government. He may have never showed up to his government jobs, but somebody over there liked Sergei. Two years later, Bernie Madoff would be sentenced to 150 years for operating a similar place Ponzi scheme.

[Bridger Winegar]

Here you go.

[Lacey Mosley]

See, in America we care a lot more about tricking rich people. 150 years is an obscene amount of time to put a man in jail for robbing you in a cute way.

[Bridger Winegar]

150. But yeah, I guess that's just the.

[Lacey Mosley]

Difference between Sergey got four and he got time served. So he only did like two.

[Bridger Winegar]

And meanwhile he's committed a bunch of other shitty crimes. And also good for him. He knows how to run the system.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah. I mean, Sergey, we have to stand. The money invested in the MMM was never found. And it's reported that at least 50 people took their lives after realizing they would never see their life savings again. Oh, no. Oh, that's terrible. Oh, and they put their life savings in. I'm thinking people are buying MMM at 65 cents and watching it appreciate people. You should never invest. Invest your entire life savings. I honestly just don't even think life savings should be a word.

[Bridger Winegar]

Like you should never know. It's like it puts a lot of pressure on it.

[Lacey Mosley]

Right. This is.

[Bridger Winegar]

Your life is gone.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah. Though, I mean, it's money at the end of the day. And yes, money is a necessary tool. And people who have money are comfortable, are always talking about how money is and everything. It's like shut the up. A lot of people will be very happy. No. That their bills are paid and they can eat. Like that's the dumbest I've ever heard in my life. Money is definitely connected to happiness. Shut your ass up. You're not enlightened. Madonna. Okay. It's not the great equalizer. You rich? I think I need to get that on My chest. But yeah. Yeah, I feel like, too much pressure to call it life savings. Also, never put life savings in any. Anything. I feel like you should never bet it all.

[Bridger Winegar]

Diversify. And this is. This is coming from a stock expert. Someone who's not. Who downloaded Robinhood and then deleted it.

[Lacey Mosley]

It's coming from a Winegar.

[Bridger Winegar]

Guys, listen, you've got to diversify. No, but I think sinking your money into literally anything, maybe. Yeah, maybe find a few pots to put it in.

[Lacey Mosley]

And maybe one of those pots should still be the bank, Right?

[Bridger Winegar]

Maybe not like a computer salesman from Russia.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah. It just feels like, you know, who wears red suits. Y' all gave y' all money to a man in a red suit. What did y' all think was gonna happen? The only other man I know who walks around in a red suit is Santa Claus. And he breaks into everybody's house and they. And we let him. Cause he's supposed to leave stuff. Does he though.

[Bridger Winegar]

There'S a scam?

[Lacey Mosley]

He's also a criminal. A man who breaks into your house? No. And so people were obviously very, very upset losing all their money. After his final trial, Sergei continued similar schemes in countries across the world, even including cryptocurrency, accompanied by an informational website with chat agents in later years. So in early 2017, the website for a local MMM scheme in Nigeria became more popular than Facebook. He continued to show no remorse and justified his actions by saying he wanted to. To keep people's money with the people. Are you the people, Sergey? Because it feels like he's not keeping.

[Bridger Winegar]

It with the people, though. What is he talking about?

[Lacey Mosley]

He said, I'm people. Yeah. I'm keeping your money with the people. I'm people.

[Bridger Winegar]

The weird thing about any of this is it doesn't feel like he's ever, like, enjoying the money or anything. Like, what is in it? What is he getting out of any of this?

[Lacey Mosley]

The sexual thrill I've yet to see.

[Bridger Winegar]

Like, at least get an expensive haircut or something. You buy some new glasses?

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah, he hasn't done any of that. No new haircut. I mean, his hair is a little different. Here is shorter. It's still kind of sad looking, though.

[Bridger Winegar]

Yeah, it still looks very dorky.

[Lacey Mosley]

And he's still got the saddest look on his face. Like, Sergey, do you ever smile? Like, where does your joy come from, Sergey? Like, it constantly looks like you're watching your own house burn down in photos. Like, everyone you love in it. Like, you don't look happy. Like, I don't know what to Tell you. So he continued to show no remorse, kept doing these things. Sergei passed away in March 2018 from a heart attack at the age of 62. I mean, with all that stress in your life, Sergei in and out of jail, robbing people, I can see how that would happen. None of his relatives wished to take his body after death. And ultimately a former MMM investor paid for his funeral.

[Bridger Winegar]

That person got scammed one more time.

[Lacey Mosley]

I don't know, I feel like if you're an investor in MMM and you pay for this guy's funeral, maybe he cut you a check.

[Bridger Winegar]

That's true. Or desperate to see him get buried.

[Lacey Mosley]

Right? You're like, yeah, I know I'll pay for his funeral. He's like, why are y' all dragging him to a ditch? Yeah, we, we said it was gonna be a nice funeral. Why y' all taking him to the shark part of the beach? Like, like. So we don't even know if it was a nice. Like if he got a headstone. We don't even know what he's giving for the funeral. But you know, Sergey, you robbed a lot of people. You, you, you're a bad man. And it doesn't even look like you had a lot of fun. That's just upsetting.

[Bridger Winegar]

The most joyless scam of all time.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah. Sergey, what did you do with this money you didn't have? No, come on now. You had to at least, you know, have one night out where you got some vodka, maybe bought some of those little dolls that got other little doll, you know, like, I hope he did something fun.

[Bridger Winegar]

He bought that Christmas tree, right?

[Lacey Mosley]

He bought that Christmas tree that was the source of all of his joy just standing next to it and being so much bigger. Perspective wise. Good.

[Bridger Winegar]

$15 in 1988. And then that was it.

[Lacey Mosley]

And that was the end of his joyous ride right there.

[Bridger Winegar]

This big splurge.

[Lacey Mosley]

It's time for scammer of the week is where we highlight a charlatan who's worthy of our praise. Or maybe not. Like Sergey. We'll see today we're Talking about a 73 year old woman in Long island who helped New York police catch a scammer who chose the wrong victim. All right, who's the scammer? Because 73 year old lady in Long island, you sound petty, said, oh, he messed with the wrong woman. Hello, 91 1.

[Bridger Winegar]

I've got somebody for you.

[Lacey Mosley]

Right, so Jeanne, a former 911 or Jean, probably Jean, Long island here. Okay, so Jean, a former 911 dispatcher, received a call from a man claiming to be her grandson and that she needed to contact his lawyer. Okay. She then received a second call from the person claiming to be said lawyer, saying he needed $8,000 to post bail. So called her once and said, hey, your grandson is in trouble. Then he put on a wig after he left the pharmacy section of Target and called again. So I need $8,000. This is a different person. If you could see the wig, you would know. So then Gene got another call from another man claiming to be the bail bondsman near her home, trying to collect the money. So this is the third phone call. Third call. There's too many calls.

[Bridger Winegar]

You don't need that many calls for this scam. You can cut one of those people out almost immediately. The lawyer didn't need to call.

[Lacey Mosley]

I mean, I think they're just trying to make it legitimate. They're like, we have three people who is really just one person in several wigs. On a phone call, it's gonna seem more legit. Like, I'm the bail bondsman. Hello. I'm the police officer. Hello. Ruff, ruff, ruff. I'm the police dog. Like, everybody calls.

[Bridger Winegar]

This is, like, as many impressions as an SNL audition tape or something.

[Lacey Mosley]

Literally.

[Bridger Winegar]

This is somebody who is just excited about the different accents they can do.

[Lacey Mosley]

Right. Definitely wearing wigs that no one can see. Just enjoying the. So after arranging to have him come to her home to pick up the money, Jean called the police and waited. So, Gene, you knew that this was a scam. Why would you have these people come to your home to pick up the money? This is petty, but also, I don't know, a little dangerous. Like, now they know where you live.

[Bridger Winegar]

Like, she's like, this vigilante energy that she's got. Like, yeah, I guess she was looking for some excitement.

[Lacey Mosley]

Right. She is 73. She's trying to get a little thrill up a leg. Seems to be a common thread in the. So the police were already there by the time the suspected scammer, Joshua Estrella Gomez, 28, arrived, took an envelope from Gene, and attempted to leave. So she done made a sting happen.

[Bridger Winegar]

She fully entrapped him.

[Lacey Mosley]

And she was a former 911 operator, which means she probably is definitely, like, cold in the soul.

[Bridger Winegar]

Oh, yeah. She's hurt it all.

[Lacey Mosley]

She's hurt it all. And I feel like 911 operators shout out to y' all. That's a very difficult job. You have to stay calm. But also, sometimes, like, you call them, they're like, hello, 911 what's your emergency? Okay, you are being chased. Ma' am. Calm down. You are being chased by a man with a knife. Calm down. Ma' am. Where are you? Yeah, okay. Can you stop breathing so hard so I can hear the address?

[Bridger Winegar]

But can you imagine a 911 operator that got really into it? Tell me more. Oh, my God. I. That's how they should operate. Actually, I would love for every operator to just get emotionally involved with the situation.

[Lacey Mosley]

No, too involved. They're asking for digital. Are you sending someone to the house? Yeah. Yeah. So what kind of house you got? It seems nice. Cuz this neighborhood's getting robbed a lot. You're actually like the fourth person this week who told me it was getting robbed. What did they tell take? What do you got over there, girl? What's your. What's your closet looking like? Like, are you sending the police or. No, again, no, I'm sending them, but you got to stay on the line, so we might as well chat.

[Bridger Winegar]

What are you wearing?

[Lacey Mosley]

So the police then tackled and handcuffed him. I feel like tackling is a lot. It's a lot for an envelope of money.

[Bridger Winegar]

For how much money? It's probably $20 bill or something, right?

[Lacey Mosley]

I don't know. She put $8,000 in the envelope?

[Bridger Winegar]

No, I hope not. Otherwise you deserve to lose the eight grand.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah, it just feels like tackling is a lot. You know, everybody seems bored in the situation. If you call the police and they're immediately willing to set up a sting for you and tackle people, everybody's a little too bored. Nobody has enough to do with their day. So they tackled and handcuffed this man. He was arrested and charged with third degree attempted grand larceny. Gene said, I knew he was a real scammer. I just, you know, I'm gonna say it like Gene comes in. I knew he was a real scammer. I just knew he wasn't going to scam me.

[Bridger Winegar]

The buck stops with Jean.

[Lacey Mosley]

Jean. You could have just hung up the phone, sis. I. I don't know if we needed a whole Ocean's 8, you know, 0.5. I don't know if we needed an ocean. 0.

[Bridger Winegar]

Ocean's 1. Ocean's gene. That's the movie I want to watch.

[Lacey Mosley]

Gene, I don't know. You sound like a hater. I feel like you could have just hung up. You knew it was a scary. You didn't have to come out here and get this man like this.

[Bridger Winegar]

I know. We're all getting constantly tried to get phone calls, scam Likely I don't have time to pick it up.

[Lacey Mosley]

Right. You have time to get on the phone with three separate people, arrange a drop, get the police to come, and they got all riot gear for some reason. It's one guy, y' all. And it's not even a violent crime. He's just taking $8,000 and going on his way, minding his business.

[Bridger Winegar]

He was just trying to rob Gene. Give him a break.

[Lacey Mosley]

Yeah, Gene, I don't know. You're not. I don't know if I'm highlighting you. You're not the honorary person in this. I just feel bad for the man who got caught. He obviously has great accent work. He could have had a career in comedy.

[Bridger Winegar]

He's trying to pay off these improv classes that he took.

[Lacey Mosley]

Right. That's all he was trying to do, is pay Second City back. And you did him like that. Disrespectful. Guys. That brings us to the end of the show. Oh, Bridger, this was fantastic.

[Bridger Winegar]

Oh, I had a wonderful time.

[Lacey Mosley]

Oh, I'm glad. We always ask, where would you like to be found on the show? Like, where do you want people to find, do anything you want them to tune into? I mean, obviously we've got Apple TV popping with the afterparty, but what else? Where can they find you?

[Bridger Winegar]

If you feel like listening to my podcast, I said no gifts. You know, I am running a year long scam, as I said. Said before, Lacy kind of scammed me when she came. It was like a. Like a dual scam.

[Lacey Mosley]

It was.

[Bridger Winegar]

But you. And then you can go on Instagram and find at. I said no gifts. Or at bridgerw or do whatever you want. The Internet's horrible. Maybe stay off the Internet. I don't care.

[Lacey Mosley]

Whatever you want to do, guys. And as always, if you guys want to see Sergey in his Kris Kringle suit. Scam got his pod. Instagram will post the photos. Scam got his pod on Twitter. If you just want to chat with me, me guys, if you want to find me D I V A L A C I D Valacy on all platforms. Congregation. Stay scheming. Scam Goddess. This has been an Earwolf production in association with Team Coco. Scam Goddess stars and is hosted by me, Lacy Mosley, AKA Scam Goddess. It's produced by Judith Cargbo, engineered by Marina Paiz and researched by Kalen Brandt. Stay scheming.

[Adam Pally]

This has been a Team Coco production.

[Lacey Mosley]

In association with Earwolf.

[Adam Pally]

Adam Pally here, and I'm John Gabris. We're a couple actors and best friends who you may know as the host of the TV show 101 Places to Party before you die. Now we're bringing you a comedic look at health and wellness with our new show, Staying Alive. We'll have guests like our friend, actor Jerry O. O' Connell, ketamine therapist Dr. Stephen Radowitz, Paul Shear, Ego Wodo, Jillian Bell, Dr. Doolittle. Staying alive with John Gabris and Adam Pally is out right now. Get them a week early and ad free with SiriusXM podcast plus on Apple Podcasts. Some say Odoo business management software is like fertilizer because of the way it promotes growth. Some say Odoo is like a magic beanstalk scaling with you while being magically affordable. And some say Odoo's programs for manufacturing, accounting and more are like building blocks for creating a custom software suite. But I say Odoo is all of it. Fertilizer, magic beanstalk building blocks for business. Yeah, Odoo, exactly what every business needs. Sign [e-mail] that's o d o o dot com.