Scam Goddess: "The Dark Knight of Brentwood" w/ Jenny Slate, Gabe Liedman, & Max Silvestri

Release Date: November 4, 2025
Host: Laci Mosley
Guests: Jenny Slate, Gabe Liedman, Max Silvestri

Episode Overview

In this episode of Scam Goddess, host Laci Mosley is joined by comedians Jenny Slate, Gabe Liedman, and Max Silvestri. Together, they delve into outrageous personal scam stories, swap comedic life mishaps abroad, and break down the lurid tale of Steve Farzum, a notorious serial cop-impersonator and all-around conman dubbed "The Dark Knight of Brentwood." The show balances hilarious anecdotes about travel fails, scamming, and groupchat energy with a play-by-play of Farzum's escalating pseudo-heroics—and their often dangerous consequences.

Opening Banter: Global Travels & Group Chat Vibes

[02:00–13:00]

• Laci introduces herself from Ireland, discusses the kindness of the Irish, and shares how it lulls her into "a false sense of security" as a Black queer woman traveling alone.

  • Memorable quote:
    "Irish people are the nicest white people that I've ever met in my life. And they have lulled me into a false sense of security. I forgot I was black." – Laci Mosley [01:40]

• Jenny, Gabe, and Max are introduced with much fanfare, and Jenny revels in the exuberant introduction.

  • Notable moment:
    Jenny: "Now every other intro I get is just going to sound like a total queef compared to what that was." [04:25]

• The group jokes about driving in Ireland and shared ineptitude with travel logistics, specifically the perils of being a "type B traveler."

• Laci's recent European misadventures, including a TikTok-fueled trip to Berlin’s infamous KitKat Club, encountering "naked lady coat check," club culture shocks, and missing three consecutive flights due to a cybersecurity breach, poor planning, and missed connections.

  • Memorable moment:
    Laci: "I missed three flights...My dumbass type B traveling ass was like, well, I don't need to check in on Thursday for a Saturday flight." [11:34]
    Max: "Ryanair...the spirit of Europe." [13:08]

Scamming for Survival: Fake Fainting & Everyday Capers

[13:00–21:00]

• Laci recounts her absolute desperation in a German airport, leading to her fake fainting to get help navigating customs. Fellow guests validate the move as a form of "emotional performance art":
  • Jenny: "Isn't that how you felt emotionally?...Almost performance art." [19:30]
  • Key insight: Sometimes you have to "scam" to survive the bureaucracy of travel—everyone has those moments where logic and decorum break down.

Scam Confessions: Personal Histories with Fraud

[21:00–32:00]

Max Silvestri's Story

• Max and his wife have both been scammed:
  • His wife fell for a "fake Amazon Kindle support" tech support scam, installing malware after googling a suspicious number ("Amazon with a zero, not a O" [23:09]).
  • Max himself once responded to a Craigslist ad from a scammer posing as a Dutch artist roommate, nearly wiring money before recognizing the ruse.
    • Laci: "Your scam was different. That lady was basically being like, I'm safe. I'm blonde, white, long hair."' [24:57]

Gabe Liedman's Story

• Gabe claims he's such an easy mark people don’t usually need to scam him: he's just an "open softy book" who spent the Philadelphia '80s getting mugged and losing things.
• Gabe: "I spent like the first 18 years of my life just being mugged like weekly." [27:04]
• A family friend lost fortunes to "Nigerian prince" scams, requiring relatives to repeatedly change his email passwords.

Jenny Slate's Story

• Shares a "small family scam": As a kid, her mom had her fake vomiting during a police stop to help her dad avoid a ticket.
  • Jenny: "My mom took a handful of snow and wiped it on my face, pretending she was wiping barf off..." [33:08]
  • Laci: "I think it was humiliation. I think she was maybe doing it for the plot." [33:14]
• Jenny also reveals a relative lost money to Bernie Madoff:
  Jenny: "I have a relative who is now dead who was formerly, like, traditionally Madoffed by Madoff. He was Madoffed." [29:56]

Main Scam Breakdown: The Dark Knight of Brentwood (Steve Farzum)

[35:46–68:00]

Early Obsessions & Criminal Escalation

[35:50–43:30]

• Steve Farzum, a Brentwood-raised hotel nepo baby, routinely impersonated police, feds, and even firefighters.
  • Max: "At the end of the day, I love having a gun and telling people what to do." [37:55]
• Farzum’s over-the-top attempts to belong:
  • Drives a 1996 Crown Vic with fake law enforcement plates, carries badges, directs traffic, even does a citizen's arrest on his 21st birthday.
  • Group consensus: Farzum is "annoying," "narc-y," and fulfills purely bossy impulses.

Serial Impersonation: Cop, Paramedic, Firefighter

[44:00–61:00]

• Steve continues escalating: failing police academy, pretending to be an EMT, taking every “tactical” or weapons course he can find (NRA, batons, Krav Maga).
• Repeatedly fails at legitimate entry, so makes fake companies and buys cop cars outfitted with gear to up his game.
• Even scams onto The Tyra Banks Show as a faux expert, dispensing survival tips ("You need sugar in your kit," [55:07]).
  • Jenny: "His face while she was introducing him was like, I can't believe that this actually worked, that I'm on this show." [55:51]

Peak Chaos and Consequence

[61:00–69:30]

• Steve involves himself (and others) in "citizen’s arrests," trains in bomb response, and even stars in a porn while wearing police uniforms (Dog Fart Network).
  • Laci: "Chris wore an LAPD uniform and watched as several men had sex with his wife on the roof of a car." [60:29]
• Eventually, multiple law enforcement agencies raid his home, finding firearms, fake badges, emergency radios, and a police cruiser.
  • Laci: "43 forged law enforcement badges and a fully marked California Highway Patrol cruiser." [63:20]
  • Serious discussion about the real dangers of fake cops, especially for women—advice to seek well-lit, public places if pulled over.

Final Arrests & Diagnosis

• Even after jail time and probation, Steve is busted again for impersonating first responders, fraud, and shining lasers at helicopters.
• His defense cites a “hero complex addiction”—the group mocks this as a diagnosis aligned with “affluenza”.
  • Jenny: "How are you addicted to your complex too? Isn't a complex enough?" [66:15]
• Farzum receives further jail time but, after release, continues involvement in his family's lucrative hotel business.

Notable Quotes & Comedy Highlights

• Jenny Slate on Laci’s Intro: "Now every other intro I get is just going to sound like a total queef compared to what that was." [04:25]
• Max Silvestri on Craigslist Scam: "My name is Fraudiana." [23:51]
• Laci on Real-World Advice: "If you get pulled over and it's dark and there’s no cameras, take your ass to a gas station, put your hazards on so they know you’re not running from them." [64:14]
• Gabe Liedman on Childhood: "I spent like the first 18 years of my life just being mugged like weekly." [27:05]
• Jenny on "Hero Complex Addiction": "How are you addicted to your complex too? Isn't it complex enough?" [66:15]
• Max on Farzum’s Trainings: "Trying out for a hockey team when you can’t skate. Just biffing it over and over." [52:37]

Key Insights

• Pathology of the Perpetual Pretender: Steve Farzum exemplifies a compulsive need for authority and heroism, enabled by privilege and systemic gaps—ultimately endangering the public.
• Group Chat as Emotional Support: The episode demonstrates how we all need a "group chat" to validate crazy life moments and shared trauma.
• Scam Spectrum: Scamming runs the gamut from fake fainting to avoid travel delays, tech support phishing, to more nefarious impersonation with real public safety impacts.

Important Timestamps

• [01:40] Laci on Irish hospitality and false sense of security
• [04:25] Jenny on best-ever podcast intro
• [11:34] Laci, Berlin misadventure & the KitKat Club story
• [18:30] Laci's fake fainting "scam"
• [21:06] Start of personal scam stories
• [29:56] Jenny Slate: Family member scammed by Bernie Madoff
• [33:14] Jenny fakes vomiting for family police scam
• [35:50] Historic Hoodwink: Steve Farzum’s saga begins
• [44:00] Farzum’s cop impersonations escalate
• [52:00] Farzum’s endless first responder course-taking and failures
• [63:30] The big raid: 43 badges, police car, arsenal found
• [64:14] Laci’s safety advice for police stops

Conclusion

Laci and her guests highlight the universality of scams—whether for survival, by blunder, or through con artistry like Farzum’s. The comedic tone underscores real safety lessons, while wrapping the absurd saga of one man’s desperate quest for respect and adventure in layers of humor, empathy, and side-eye judgment.

Stay schemin’!