The Infomercial Impostor with Tawny Newsome

Summary

Scam Goddess Podcast: "The Infomercial Impostor with Tawny Newsome"

Release Date: June 9, 2020
Host: Laci Mosley
Guest: Tawny Newsome

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Episode Overview

This lively, hilarious episode of Scam Goddess centers on the wild world of infomercial scams, focusing on infamous multi-level marketing (MLM) guru Don Lapre. Host Laci Mosley is joined by comedian and actress Tawny Newsome, with both sharing stories of vigilance against scams, dissecting historic and modern fraud, and delighting in the creative and chaotic nature of con artists. They also share a listener's counterfeit currency story, lament celebrity scam victims like Jennifer Lewis, and celebrate the funny, strange ways scams intersect with our lives.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Scam Awareness & Upbringing

[02:28 – 06:10]

• Tawny discusses how her "tough mom" and "paranoid dad" instilled a hyper-awareness of scams and the importance of keeping her "head on a swivel," especially while traveling.
• She shares a hilarious story about her mom calmly catching a child pickpocket in Barcelona ("Why did you put your hand in my purse?" [04:15]).
• Both agree growing up Black often means a natural suspicion of being targeted or conned.
• Laci lays out her "Scam Spectrum" from naïve mark to mastermind scammer and claims everyone falls somewhere on the line.

Notable Quote:

"My head is on a swivel, honey, to the point where I look crazy. When I travel, I'm the paranoid friend you want with you." — Tawny Newsome [03:10]

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2. Light Scamming and Everyday Manipulation

[06:10 – 09:08]

• Laci admits that a psychology class made her think, "I can just start cheating people," and shares a scheme about cutting in line using plausible excuses ("People don't want confrontation").
• She describes using someone else's anger about line-cutting to advance her own scam — a play within a play.

Notable Quote:

"Anytime I've come—if you come up to me and go, 'Hey, my car's running,' can I get in front of you? I will let you, but I will always be like, this is a scam." — Tawny Newsome [07:19]

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3. Listener Letter: Counterfeit Cash and Teenage Schemes

[11:31 – 17:19]

• "Teddy Riley" (alias) recounts printing fake $20 bills using years-old bills and Barbie fabric printing kits, passing them at gas stations and to high-school drug dealers. The scam morphs from counterfeiting to swapping contraband; ends (shocking both hosts) with "By then we were old enough to move on to armed robbery."
• Both hosts react with disbelief and laughter as the casual escalation is revealed.

Memorable Exchange:

"By then we were old enough to move on to armed robbery."
Laci: "Whoa, my God, this took a turn." [16:59]
Tawny: "Teddy, HOW you gonna slip that in?" [17:14]

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4. Historic Hoodwink: The Rise and Fall of Don Lapre

[18:17 – 47:14]

• Who Was Don Lapre? Multi-level marketing and infomercial king; made millions with "money-making secrets" and vitamin scams.
• Scam Timeline:
  • "Unknown Concepts" credit repair business shut down for fraud.
  • Sold get-rich booklets and tapes; TV infomercials claimed “placing tiny classified ads" net him $50k/wk from his one-bedroom apartment ("You never gonna know," [27:00]).
  • Upsold victims with costly “business opportunities,” psychic 900-number lines, and “the greatest vitamin in the world.”
  • Repeatedly fined and sued for fraud (e.g. $45,000 in Arizona, $957k IRS lien), filed bankruptcy; scammed 220,000+ people out of $50 million.
  • Vitamins claimed to cure everything from diabetes to cancer, drawing FDA ire ("You tryin' to treat too many diseases, Don," [40:23]).
• Contextualizing the Scam:
  • TV's perceived legitimacy in the ‘90s enabled scammers ("It was legitimized by television," [27:31]).
  • Now scams have moved online, adapting to new platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and even OnlyFans.
  • Both hosts riff on scammy health products and the persistent seduction of “miracle cures.”

Notable Quotes:

• "No one's running scams on television because it's just too hot. You do it on Instagram, you do it on Twitter, you email people from fake email addresses." — Laci [29:37]
• "You can't just be like, my pill works for diabetes, rashes, eczema, restless leg syndrome..." — Laci [40:23]
• "He just has a kind of face that you would kind of trust...when your despo meter is high, when you're not being rewarded by this country..." — Laci [46:05]

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5. Debrief & Reflection on Scams and Society

[47:01 – 47:29]

• Both hosts note the allure of such scams for working-class people failed by the system; participants may know it’s a scam but see it as a chance to "join the hustle."
• Laci ties Don Lapre's working-class appeal to the failures of capitalism and contemporary government, especially highlighting misallocated budgets during national crises.

Memorable Moment:

"They want to join the scam a little bit, which I don't blame people for...they want something that seems a little easier." — Tawny [47:11]

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6. Scammer of the Week: The Romance Fraudster Who Betrayed Jennifer Lewis

[48:12 – 54:08]

• Case: Antonio Marriott Wilson scammed Black-ish's Jennifer Lewis and three other women out of $387,000 through fake businesses and a romance fraud ("He also, like, Dirty John-ed her" — Tawny [50:14])
• Wilson posed as an Oscar winner, Oxford professor, and Navy SEAL—while working at LA Fitness—to build trust.
• The emotional impact is strong: both hosts register outrage that anyone would target Jennifer Lewis, “every Black person’s auntie, mama and grandma.”
• Lewis sued the gym for his employment and settled; Wilson faces up to 20 years in prison.

Standout Quotes:

"You better get Jennifer Lewis—absolutely not. Absolutely." — Tawny [48:23]
"You ain't right. You ain't right." — Laci [54:38]

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7. Closing Banter & Plugs

[54:51 – 57:14]

• Laci and Tawny plug their current shows, encourage listeners to support Black creators, and appreciate the Scam Goddess community.
• Tawny: "I'd like to be found safe in my house. And I'd like you to all be found there as well. Just safe and inside." [55:41]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Paranoia as Protection:

• "He loves to send me an article about the KKK, like, you know, often...what it's just done for me is kept me aware of scams, even when they're a little...not that threatening." — Tawny [05:09]

On Health Scams and Self-Delusion:

• "I take a handful of pills every day I got from a woman I met in Santa Monica and she had glowing skin...and I still take those pills." — Tawny [37:38]

On Scam Culture & Class:

• "Capitalism is fucked. As we've seen over the past few weeks, America's been scammed by our government, by our political leaders..." — Laci [46:05]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening Banter & Scam Philosophy: 00:00 – 06:10
• Line Cutting & Small-Time Scamming: 06:10 – 09:08
• Listener Letter: Counterfeit Adventures: 11:31 – 17:19
• Historic Hoodwink (Don Lapre): 18:17 – 47:14
• Scammer of the Week (Jennifer Lewis scam): 48:12 – 54:08
• Final Reflections and Plugs: 54:51 – 57:14

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Summary

This episode is a rollicking tour through the wild creativity of scammers from the past and present, scrutinized with love, suspicion, and biting humor by Laci and Tawny. They tackle audience confessions, dissect infamous MLM frauds, and stand up fiercely for scam victims—especially Black women icons—while keeping the tone witty and empowering. The show remains a must-listen for true crime fans seeking funny, sharp, and culturally aware conversations about deception, desperation, and the urge to "stay schemin'."

Transcript

[A]

Scams C. Robbery and frauds. Scams cos. Robbery and fraud. Scam Goddess. What's poppin Congregation? We are back for another installment of Scam Goddess. And yes, we are at home on our couches in the cribs. And that's all we're gonna say about that. We. I'm your host, Lacey Mosley, AKA Scam Goddess. And I'm super thrilled. Look, I gave y' all a new word. I know, I know. I say excited a lot today. I'm saying thrilled. Okay. Even more excited for our guest. She's a queen. You've heard her on her podcast, yo, is this racist? Which is so amazing and popular and fucking dope. Also, you can see her starring in the new Netflix show with Steve Carell called Space force. We have Ms. Tawni Newsome. Tawni, did I say your last name right?

[B]

Oh, Lacey. Thank you so much.

[A]

I think so.

[B]

I don'. There's a weird delay. It could have been wrong, but you probably got it.

[A]

It's Newsome. I just feel like I never say your last name. Like I know you. We are just always tawny. Like I never really say your last name.

[B]

Yeah, you don't really need. I don't really know many other Tawnies, so we don't need it.

[A]

It's a good name. It's a really. It's like Lacey. We're pretty rare. I rarely meet a Lacey. There's like Lacey Duvall. She be fucking. And then Lacey Peterson. That was sad. People used to call me Lacey Peterson.

[B]

I know a Lacey. I know a. A white Lacey who used to teach spin classes in my old neighborhood. But then she got fired for yelling at a white man. And that's all I'm gonna say about that.

[A]

I think I like that Lacey. I think I like that Lacey. She sounds like we would be cool.

[B]

I was on her side. She did, she did yell at him real hard, but also like he was wild. So I'm with that Lacey. All the Lacey's I know personally, I'm with.

[A]

Yes I can. I've only gotten to really yell at somebody real hard like twice in my life. And boy can I tell you, it's liberating. Have you ever just cut somebody out real good either because they deserved it. They deserved it. I did it once and unfortunately the circumstances weren't great because I was outside of a theater, we won't say which, and there was a valet line and. And I started cursing these heifers out so bad. The valet lies started clapping at the end I was like, oh, I need to go home.

[B]

Hell yeah.

[A]

So first I wanna ask you just a little question, like, do you have any relationship with scams? Have you ever been scammed?

[B]

You know, I was raised by a very tough mom who always taught me to be on the lookout for shenanigans and taught me to keep my wits about me. I will say this. I have never been pickpocketed. I have never been mugged. I have no. And a lot of that is luck. A lot of that is my height and my stature. I'm not a small woman, so I am less likely to be grabbed or to be for people to try and pull some shit with me. But also like, my head is on a swivel, honey, to the point where I look crazy. When I travel, I look, I'm just. I'm the. I'm the paranoid friend you want with you on a crowded train in a country you've never been to before.

[A]

Like, if you were in taken, they

[B]

would have been spotted.

[A]

If you weren't taking your car with him. Oh, damn, you would have been Liam. You would even have been the friend Tommy.

[B]

I would have Tommy on your neck chopping. I would have.

[A]

I am a little like, I'm a

[B]

little bit of a vigilante in that way. Just because, like, I can see. My mom just taught me to recognize behaviors of just people who meant you harm, even if it's, you know, mild harm, even if it's just like pickpocketing or whatever. So I will say that I have been lucky and I've been strategic and that's never happened to me. I will recall one time I went with my mom to Barcelona. And you know, a lot of European cities have a lot of just like petty pickpocketing. That's not even any shade. America has way bigger problems. But just in Europe, the pickpocketing game is rampant.

[A]

It's cute. It's a little cute there. It's like the lake.

[B]

It's a little Oliver Twist.

[A]

Hello, May I rub your pockets? You know, it feels a little cute. I'm like, yeah, why not?

[B]

Why not? And I will never forget coming down some steps in a subway and I turn around to look for my mom and my mom has a 12 year old child by the wrist and she's just looking her in the eyes and going, why did you put your hand in my purse? And the kid's like. And then just breaks free and runs away. I was like, okay, we're going to. We're gonna be all right. Because I was a little nervous, like, traveling. I was traveling with my mom, my husband's mom. It was like we had all these moms with us, and I was like, oh, I'm dragging them through Europe. They're gonna get their ass pickpocketed or something. But no one did, so. Yeah.

[A]

I love how calm your mom was also.

[B]

She was like, why are you mad?

[A]

My mom was very.

[B]

Cause she was also like, it's a child, right? Like, she was.

[A]

Tell me why.

[B]

She was just like, hey, we don't do that. I will also say my dad is a very paranoid person, and he has always raised me to be paranoid.

[A]

Yeah, that's a black people thing.

[B]

It's a real black people thing. He loves to send me an article about the kkk, like, you know, often, so. And most of the time, he's right. But what. What it's just done for me is it's kept me. It's kept me aware of scams, even when they're a little. Even when maybe they're not that, you know, threatening. I. I think I'm.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Stuff pretty well.

[A]

I appreciate that. So you're definitely not a mark. So you're probably closer to maybe one day being a scammer, because that's, you know, that's how the. The scale goes. It goes. We have hardcore marks and empathizers on one side, and then we have people who are real, real alert towards the middle. And then the far right is, like, really bad scammers. And then the middle of the right is, like, people who just like, a little. You know, just like a little light fraud. You know, just like a little taste of chicanery.

[B]

Mm.

[A]

You know, every now and then, we skip a lot.

[B]

I would love a little bit of. I'd love to do some light fraud. I wonder if it's just never occurred to me, but I think I would be good at it. Is that a bad thing to say?

[A]

No, I think that's an excellent thing to say. And I also think you would be excellent at it, as you are at most things. All things, really, that I know that you do, Tani, are excellent. So I. I fully believe that you would also succeed at this. You know what's funny about scamming is, like, a lot of times it's just shit that nobody thinks of to do. Like, I took a psychology class, which really, in college, which really, really started being interested in scams because they were teaching me stuff in the psych class about, you know, bystander effect and ways that, you know, social Communities interact with one another as a whole. And then I was reading it and started to realize that I was like, oh, I can just start cheating people. That's not what they were trying to teach me. But I was like, that's what I took from it. Shout out to the University of Pittsburgh College. Like, for example, if you're in a line and you give anybody an excuse in front of you for why you need to cut them, and unless, like, it's like a concert or something that people are real thirsty for, like, a sneaker release or whatever, they'll normally let you in front of them. So if you're just in line at the grocery store and you're like, hey, my car is running. People will let you in front of them. Like, what does that even mean, your car is running? See, because people don't want confrontation.

[B]

Turn it off.

[A]

And, like, anytime I've come.

[B]

You know what, Lacey? I get this so hard because I am terrified of consequences. So I guess I'm not a scammer because I don't want to get caught doing shit like this. But you know what makes me a. A super head on a swivel person is if you come up to me and go, hey, my car's running. Can I get in front of you? I will let you. But I will always be like, this is a scam. I will always be like, okay, I'm gonna let you have your scam. But even people who are, like, trying to do legitimate things, I'm usually like, this is a scam. They're running, right?

[A]

And a lot of times they are, because my ass be out here scamming. I remember one time I was going to, like, a Barry Jenkins film festival.

[B]

Some.

[A]

Some shit that. Where he was speaking, and they were, like, playing one of his movies, and it's pretty exclusive. I got there way too late. The line was wrapped around the block, and I was like, I don't be doing lines like that. So I walked right up to almost the front, like, maybe six people behind. And then I just started standing on the corner, and then I just started leaning in closer and just leaning in closer all the time on my phone or, like, pretending to talk on the phone. Like, I was distracted, and then I was good. But it was a black event, right? It's Barry Jenkins and Ryan Coogler. These six white people come up, and they get in line right in front of me with somebody who had been holding their place. Now there is this little Latina woman, Afro Latina woman, and she was not having it she said, we will not have it. And she was like, I know y' all didn't all just get in front. And I was like, damn, they really did get in front of y', all, huh? You know, actually, how about you go up there? I was like, you skip all of them, and then I'm going to get behind you, knowing damn well I cut her, too.

[B]

Ooh. So you used someone else's failed scam to advance your own. Now, that. That is some Inception level scamming. And I applaud you.

[A]

I was like, damn, sis, I know how you feel. I can't believe they did that to you. You've been here since 3 o'. Clock. It's 8pm

[B]

See, this is a boldness that I don't possess.

[A]

It's mostly panic. Cause I'm like, I can't lose. Something comes over me and it's like, I cannot lose. And then I'm like, I got to keep going. Scams, cunts. But yes, Tani. So let's get into our first segment. What's Hot and Fr? Listener letter for you, Tawny. And this listener letter really intrigued me because when I first opened it, it says, I didn't want to send this until I checked the statute of limitations. And I said, yes, yes. Okay, whatever. This is spicy, flavorful, delicious. I will imbibe and we will call this person. You know, I'm going to call this person Teddy Riley. And that's just a deep cut for y' all black folks. Teddy Riley, I love your.

[B]

I love your aliases you be giving people. They crack me up, right?

[A]

Like, y' all white folks. Google Teddy Riley vs Battle so y' all can get the gifs and the memes. That was so funny. Who Teddy Riley was doing the most?

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

Shout out to a king.

[B]

That was, like, wild.

[A]

I can't believe that. That was, like, months ago. It's crazy.

[B]

So Teddy Riley said that was early Teen.

[A]

Damn. It was. The Teen is. The time is starting to fly by. Which I'm okay with. Cause I'm like, let's get to November. Cause we got work to do. So the Teen can keep flying. Although my birthday is coming up the 4th of July. And if I gotta be inside on my birthday by myself, like, I'm gonna really be sad. My city voice.

[B]

You're gonna loot your own house.

[A]

My city girl's voice came out. I was like, I' ma really be sad because I was supposed to be having a hot girl summer, and instead I'm having an condition lonely girl. Summer, like, no. Aw, it's not hot at all.

[B]

Oh, no.

[A]

Say a little.

[B]

We'll plan you a little social distancing hang like we did for Producer Emeritus Zig.

[A]

I don't want that shit. I love Zig and I went to it. But I want a party. I want to rent a mansion.

[B]

You throw this in my face. I planned that soiree. I had to.

[A]

No, I loved it.

[B]

What I have to do, I had to send a zoom link. I had to. What I have to do, I had to get myself a drink. It was hard planning.

[A]

I had to. What I had to do, I had to.

[B]

What I had to do.

[A]

Having to recall what you had to do.

[B]

Guys, whenever I had to have the Zoom Pro account.

[A]

Yeah, you do have to have an account to send the links. I just click on links. I ain't never started a zoom in my life, honey. That's my scam, y'. All, don't start the zoom. Just have people invite you. But, guys, you know, when I have

[B]

and see, I recognize my inherent privilege, and so I say, I can afford the Zoom Pro account.

[A]

You guys. Zoom Pro coins, Miss Space. Okay, okay, okay. Miss Space Force. So, guys, I just have to say, you know, when I have a friend on the show, we gonna be making tangents, okay? So don't be tweeting me about these. Okay, but like we were saying, Teddy Riley. So Teddy Riley told us I need to make sure I didn't send this in before the feds could watch. And we appreciate that, Teddi. We're not trying to get you arrested. Teddy said, please don't use my name. Anyway, if you must call me, call me Slick from Seattle. Oh, Teddy had already come up with a name. Okay, well, Teddy. I like Teddy better, but Slick from Seattle is cute. Anyway, anyone that deserves to know will know. Anywho, this was all back about 18 to 20 years ago. The first new 20s with the big faces were the norm, and old 20s were still very common. This was also right when Laserjet printers got good. My cousin and I tried printing off some $20 bills, and they looked very convincing, but they didn't feel like real money. You know what I mean? Oh, you know, I know what you mean. I used to work at bars where I had to rub the money because there's parts on the money that's like,

[B]

on me too, right?

[A]

That has that, like, kind of surface on it. Yeah, that's textured. And then we would mark it with a pen. We'd hold it up to the light because the fake twenties in New York were flying. So I know what you talking about. He says, we tried to pass off fake bills at some convenience stores. And it worked a couple times, But a couple times we had to run away from a suspicious clerk. After this, we just used fake bills to burn corny high school drug dealers. We were still young at the time. We weren't beating up little kids. Okay, I guess, Listen, high school drug dealers need.

[B]

That's his.

[A]

I guess they need their money the least.

[B]

I'm just confused about. Yeah, that's true. I'm just confused about his range of bad things to do. Give fake money to corny drug dealers, to beating up little kids. I don't really understand.

[A]

You thought we were going to A to C. You thought we were going to go from, oh, he's giving fake money to high school children to he's beating them up. I wasn't going to go there. Were you beating them up? I think you might have been beating them up, Teddy Riley. I think you might have been beating them up. So one day I saw a TV ad that gave me an idea. And here I have a photo. And it's Barbie. Mattel's Barbie guys. And it's called the fashion designer refill kit. It says make more real clothes for your Barbie doll. So Barbie is making these like printout, like digital printer kind of things so that kids can, you know, give Barbie a new fit. Honey, did you ever have a Barbie doll?

[B]

Yeah, I had a. I had a bunch of Barbie dolls.

[A]

Did you ever tear their hairs off?

[B]

Tear their what? Tear their hair off?

[A]

Yeah. Is that weird? Who does?

[B]

Why. Why would I do that?

[A]

You ain't never get your Barbie a shape up?

[B]

I mean, no, I guess I was just like so fucking brainwashed and covetous of the long straight hair they all had. I was like, oh, beauty.

[A]

Oh, damn. I guess something was wrong with me. Cause I was giving my Barbie spades and shit.

[B]

I was like, I bet they looked great. No, my Barbies were corny. They stayed in the outfits they came in. They didn't have other outfits. I had to build them a dream house. I wasn't allowed to have a house for it. Cause I guess my parents thought you can have 37 Barbies. But if you have. If they have any, if the Barbies own any property, then you're too bougie. So I had to build them. I had to take scarves and clothes and build them little tents so my Barbies look like they live in a little refugee camp most of the time.

[A]

Oh, no. Your Barbies was hippies. They out here in yurts. We love to see it.

[B]

Barbies were a little bit burning, man.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, right, right. Yo, Barbie's out here trading shit for, like, Ken, I can trade you this. This dirt for the sports car. That's a lot. I love it. So this product's available for kids to design and print out Barbie outfits. The ad said something about it being real fabric, and I figured something. We got a pack and printed a bunch of twenties on them. And they looked right and they didn't quite feel like real money, but they didn't feel like paper you would use, you know, like from a printer. The old twenties didn't have the color change thing, so we didn't need to worry about that. Plus, at this point, people were used to new twenties, so an old one feeling a little different didn't freak people out. We made it look worn. Seriously, all that shit that they did in the wire to stain money is hella real. He says in parentheses.

[B]

Uh huh.

[A]

And then my cousin, who looked like an. Like, older than she was, would buy cartons of cigarettes from the gas station and we'd sell them out of our trunk or trade cigarettes for weed and sell that. This was very reliable hustle for about a year until people got so used to new twenties that the old ones started tripping them up. By then we were old enough to move on to armed robbery. So fucking. Oh, my God.

[B]

Whoa, my God, this took a turn.

[A]

Teddy.

[B]

Armed robbery.

[A]

Teddy is a criminal. Teddy,

[B]

I like discovering this in real time with you. Teddy.

[A]

How you gonna slip that in? Teddy, how you gonna slip that in in the end? Like that.

[B]

I love that he has emailed an entertainment podcast and been like, hey, please don't use my name. Cause, like, I'm just not sure about some of the statute of limitations. And we think he's just gonna talk about some little counterf. And then he's like, and then we had guns and we're robbing people.

[A]

Teddi.

[B]

What?

[A]

And like. But I will say this about Teddi that I fuck with. He trusted me enough to send me this from a real email account. Like, I would never snitch on nobody. And honestly, I might just delete this email after we record this show. So I have no record of where it came from. So just in case any feds is listening, they can't call you, Girl, I am going to delete the email. Y' all can't call me looking for Teddy. Cause I don't know where he at. Okay.

[B]

No.

[A]

And I'LL never know him.

[B]

We don't know him.

[A]

For all we know, Teddy could be lying. You know, Teddy could be lying. This could be all a lie. So that's true.

[B]

Maybe he's one of those little, like, halfway criminals who's like, dang, this Barbie money story makes me look kind of soft. I better throw in some armed robbery at the end.

[A]

Bitch, I'm about to be a character witness at Teddy trial. Teddy was a good man. He was a kind man. He ain't never did nothing to nobody. Teddy, you slipped this armed robbery in here. Oh, my God. You crazy? All right, it's time for Historic Hoodwinks, my favorite segment of the show, where I will regale Tawny with the historic hoodwinks. And she will interrupt as she pleases freely with opinions and questions and whatever she likes. She is a queen. So, Tani, I love this. Today we're talking about Dawn Lapre. So Don Lapre was a multi level marketing and infomercial guru, honey. He sold packages that would teach people to make money or any other number of things that simply did not work. His infomercials were so familiar, they were parodied by David Letterman and Saturday night Live. All eventually came to a halt in 2011 when Lapre was convicted on 41 charges of fraud, curious conspiracy, and money laundering. Arrested and indicted, he allegedly scammed more than $50 million from at least 220,000 people from 2004 to 2007. Wow. I'm trying to think. Don Lapre, was he that shamwow? No, he wasn't that guy who was.

[B]

Dawn,

[A]

I'm trying to look up right now.

[B]

I think this was maybe before our. Before our, like, real cognitive time. Is that the word I'm trying to say? Like before we were old enough to be watching Letterman and stuff, Right?

[A]

I'm looking him up now. And he used to do, like, the greatest vitamin in the world and making money secrets. He was popping in, like the 90s and the nine nines and the 2000s, as cash money would say. He said, give me all your cash app. I won't give it back yet.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Dollar prank.

[B]

Somebody needs to remake. Remake one of his commercials with that.

[A]

Yes. Girl, you looking good once you open that wallet up. Come on now. Wallet didn't work, but, you know, why

[B]

don't you open that cash app, girl, you look good. I guess there were no cash apps.

[A]

That's right. That's what it is. Girl, you looking good. Once you open that cash up, you's a big fine woman. Once you Open that cash up Call me rich daddy when you open that cash up Don, we love you already. Lapre moved to Phoenix with his family when he was a child. In 1988, he married Sally Redondo. Ooh, Sally Redondo. Did you have some money? Did you own Redondo Beach? And two years later, the pair started a credit business called Unknown Concepts. Let me tell you something about Scammer name. What for businesses?

[B]

What?

[A]

Your business? Yes, I'm saying business. Your business is called Unknown Concepts. What y' all do over there?

[B]

Unknown. It's unknown. Mm.

[A]

Don't worry about what we do over here.

[B]

Unknown. It is not known. Yeah, you don't need to have a concept of. We do is unknown. Like, what? You're not even trying to make this sound legitimate?

[A]

Like, right, this has Scams Incorporated. Can you give yourself a real business name? Like something that's going to garner some kind of trust in the public? But anyway, the Attorney General's office charged the couple with violating the state's Consumer Fraud act and obtained a consent judgment permanently assisting or participating in any credit services from engaging. So basically, they. I was trying to read this. This is very complicated law language, but to break it down to layman's terms, they said y' all are violating the Fraud act, and you can no longer engage or participate in any credit services because you're basically being deceptive as fuck. So Unknown Concepts, which really seems like.

[B]

Judge. Yeah, Judge, I'm not. Okay. But may I please start up my new organization, which is called Unintelligible Dreams? That has nothing to do with credit. We think

[A]

we have a new business. It's called Vague Incorporated. It has nothing to do with anything.

[B]

Yeah,

[A]

basically, the judge.

[B]

Nothing.

[A]

So please let us. The judge said you cannot, because in Credit Repair, you have to be able to run people's credit scores. So people do have to trust you with a bit of personal information. And this is why, you know, a lot of credit bureau kind of online liaisons got sued, and a lot of people got restitution because when they got hacked, they released a lot of people's personal information. And, you know, freecredit.com, a lot of these places exist online. I'm not saying it was free credit, but this is a common practice. We all use these sites to check our credit. So they came up with Unknown Concepts, which was like, y' all put your credit information in here, and we gonna. We gonna make sure it's 1, 800, 800. That's what. That's a good score, right? 800. We're gonna make sure it's 800. So the judge said, y' all can't bring that nobody's credit.

[B]

Yeah, I always get it confused with SAT scores. I think it's. They're both. 800 is what you're shooting for.

[A]

It used to be 16, but then they lowered it. Cause I remember when I did the SATs, I think like a 1200 was the best you could get. So they were like, yeah, we gonna make sure your credit score. Your credit score is Andre 3000. Okay? So just enter your information and we will check on your credit immediately. So the judge ruled that y' all can't check nobody's credit no more. Y' all are doing fraud with their information.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Lest they be deterred, though, okay? The defendants were ordered to pay a civil penalty and more than $5,000 of restitution to complaints. Then they moved on and started selling 36 page booklets explaining how to recover a Federal Home association insurance refund after paying off a home mortgage. I don't even know what that is. I might be interested.

[B]

An FHA loan, as I understand it, is a type of loan that you can get if you're a first time home buyer. And it has a very low down payment, and I think it means you can usually secure a low interest rate. So they're trying to teach people how to pay off the house, but then get an insurance back somehow.

[A]

Yeah, they say you can get an insurance.

[B]

Oh, because your mortgage insurance. Interesting. I don't understand that fully, but it sounds like fraud and scams, Right?

[A]

So on his infamous infomercials, which took off shortly after he began Unknown Concepts, AKA Vague, Incorporated, his trademark sales pitch was, by placing tiny classified ads in the newspaper, I am able to make $50,000 a week from my tiny one bedroom apartment. Lapreur began broadcasting the Making Money show with Dawn LaPre in 1992.

[B]

Whoo.

[A]

Okay. We were very young during this time. So for years, that's where all these

[B]

Instagram make $5,000 a day people came from. This is the forefather. This is the L. Ron Hubbard of those motherfuckers.

[A]

Yes. This guy is on Mount Rushmore of infomercial scammers. Okay, you thought miracle spring water's been around, honey, but my man Don, he paved the way. He is a leader in the movement of chicanery. And I. Stan. So for years, the show was ranked among the 10 most frequently broadcasted cable infomercials. The principal product was his Money Making Secrets, a package of booklets and tapes and common sense tips for placing ads. The product was sold through the New Strategies, whose parent company was Tropical Beaches. Soon after purchasing the package, buyers would be telemarketed by sales representatives who offered additional psychic dating Entertainment and Chat 900 lines plus free websites that together cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. So after you bought the whole booklet about how you can advertise in newspapers and make $50,000 from your one bedroom apartment, which also, like, nobody questioned Don Lepre and was like, how you making $50,000 a month and you living in a bachelor? What? How that?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Where did 50k go on?

[B]

What are you doing with it? Are you making the 50,000? But then you have to pay 48,000 to something.

[A]

I'm confruz. But you know what he said? Unknown. And that's what he means by unknown concepts.

[B]

Hmm.

[A]

You will never know.

[B]

Mm. Also, you will never know the concept of where all this money goes he's supposedly making.

[A]

Honestly, he sounds like an honest man. He was being truthful. He said unknown. You're not gonna or no, you never will know. And I appreciate that. A king.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

A lot of this.

[B]

I mean, as I am a fan of this show, a lot of this stuff, you as the more you listen, you're like, well, the scammer spelled it all right out for you. They said, I am a scam. This is fraud. This is crimes I'm going to do unto you. And you still said, okay, I want in.

[A]

Well, you know what? It's legitimized by television. And in the 90s, television was a legitimate source for information. We didn't have Twitter. We didn't have any other resource to get our information from. I mean, look at all the protests that have been happening. If we had just only had the news, bruh, we would not know what the fuck was going on in America. Because I've seen news reporters straight up lie would have do a voiceover on a video where I have eyes, I have retinas, and I'm looking right with pupils engaged.

[B]

I have to tell you, I just saw a news reporter, and I don't need to put her name out there, because it really was a slip of the tongue. But Lacey, this news reporter, was reporting from a protest, and she turned around and said, you know what's interesting is that it is all types of people out here. Not just color people, but white people too. And I'm like, I did not just hear colored people on the news right now. The news has to go. The television, throw it away, Throw it

[A]

Away, throw it in the trash. That's like when Kobe Bryant passed away. God bless. And the woman was on the news. And I won't say her name either. She said, the Los Angeles Makers. She was about to say, niggas.

[B]

Yes. Oh, the LA Nakers.

[A]

The LA Nakers. So, and specifically what I was talking about was in a protest. I'm watching with my pupils and my retinas, right? Dilated, not dilated. And I see the police shove an old white man with a cane to the ground. And this police officer said, this old white man fell. I said, girl, it's a video playing. We know he ain't fall. We just saw him get pushed. What?

[B]

Also, why are you shouting about the thing that just happened? If I saw an old white man fall in front of me, my words would be, are you okay? Do you need help? Not looka here. This old white man hath fallen. Like, what are you, the town crier? They're clearly lying.

[A]

They're like, look, we came here to report the news, okay? We can't help. We cannot help anybody. Robbery and fraud. So like we're saying in 1992, like, television was this viable resource. It's why stereotypes are so bad. It's why everything, you know, has been so rough for especially Gen X and baby boomers. Because television was the only information people had so they could create the narratives at that point. And that cable wasn't really popping at this time. So all we had was what we were spoon fed by these networks. So something that you see on TV looks legitimate at this time period. Which is why I love going back in the past, because I love scammers and I love talking about the scams of the current, you know, moment. But I also love talking about how we've evolved from them because obviously now no one's running scams on television because it's just too hot. You do it on Instagram, you do it on Twitter, you email people from fake email addresses. You try to tap into personal, more closely related systems to them. You don't just get on television and be like, unless you miracle spring water, which does still air every night at 3am on Adult Swim or actually on BET. And I love it. I almost ordered some of Peter Popov's miracle spring water. I was like, shit, it's 2020. What can it hurt? Let me put some miracle spring water out here.

[B]

I mean, at the very least you'll be hydrated, right? That's good for you.

[A]

By Jesus, or, you know, somebody adjacent. Johnny, Johnny, Jesus. You know Somebody so. And also, they're calling people who have purchased these packages to be like, hey, now, advertise for these other businesses that we have. And at the time, 9, 800, chat or 900 chat lines were still popping. Child, I thank God that in my acting career, I never had to get on TV and be like, we are 18. We is so horny.

[B]

I know.

[A]

Hey, I. Hey, nasty men. We horny. Call us now. Like, I bet you everybody at we are 18 is a strong 37, and that ain't no shade. I'm proud of y'. All. Like, hi.

[B]

Well, I'm proud of the way it's done now, where I feel like women are more empowered doing it in some instances, in some circumstances, they're definitely still being exploited. But I'm just saying I see more and more stuff that's like. Like, no, I want to be a webcam girl. I'm. I'm taking control of this actual content, and I'm selling this purposefully.

[A]

Hell, yeah.

[B]

As opposed to back when we were young and we'd just see those girls on, like, a. On a billboard dressed in nothing, holding a Super Soaker that just says, come on down and buy a tractor or whatever. The. I'm like, oh, no.

[A]

And they will. They would look at the bill. You could see their eyes in the billboard. Like, hell, Hell. Like, now I feel like I'm watching.

[B]

They'd been lied to while the picture was being taken.

[A]

You could tell they showed up and they thought it was an acting job. And they was like, where this. It's like, this is floss. This is dental floss. And now, you know Onlyfans, which Onlyfans is starting to be shady because after celebrities got involved, now they're trying to boot off the sex workers who made the website what it is. And I do not fucking appreciate that shit. I have friends who are sex workers. Like, fuck that shit. Like, let the sex workers get their coins. And I love women being able to get their money from home by being fine. Okay? I love it. I remember I used to always joke in college about how, like, if shit didn't work out, I was gonna become a stripper. Then I saw strippers stripping, and I said, oh, bitch. Oh, so y'.

[B]

All.

[A]

Gabby Douglas. Oh, so I can't do this, huh? This is a real talent here. I was the whole time thinking I just had to get out here and shake my ass and look a little sad, but y' all are strong. Like, I can't do this.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It really thwarted me. I was like, wow.

[B]

There's too much strength involved.

[A]

Like, strength, beauty, charisma. You got to be able to talk to everybody, honey, and have the energy. Like, that's a talent. And I don't care what y' all say, because a lot of us have gone to strip clubs, but then we still want to be shady towards strippers. And I don't believe in it. Honey. Get that money anyways.

[B]

Let them have it. I don't even wear high heels walking around on the earth, let alone. Can you imagine dancing or being on a pole with them? I tell every costume designer I'm 5 foot 10, and I never learned to walk in heels. And I just accept my little sad pair of loafers and my feet don't hurt. Your loafers are cute, girl. I can't. I just. I would be a mess.

[A]

Your flash earths are very cute.

[B]

I know. I try to just.

[A]

You be giving fashions, and I try

[B]

to make it sound like I'm.

[A]

I wear heels. Cause I have a tall personality, but I'm five feet tall. So every time I take a picture, everybody.

[B]

And you're good at me. You look good.

[A]

They'd be like, why you so short? Like, what you mean? You heard my voice. You thought I was tall. That's my scam.

[B]

That is a scam, and that's a scam that you're running, and you're doing it well.

[A]

So obviously, they upsell these people after they bought this package, and they're like, go sell these we are 18 ads and go sell all this other shit. But they would rarely even receive what they paid for. And many customers, like, complained that the opportunities were minimal and they were being ripped off. In 1994, LaPierre was forced to pay the state of Arizona $45,000 for unemployment and withholding taxes that he neglected to file in 1993 and 1990. In 1999, Lepre had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on behalf of himself. New strategies, Tropical beaches, Dolphin Media. Don's making money, Another one of his businesses, and the National Reminder Service, which I don't even. What is that? These businesses that you.

[B]

What is that?

[A]

I don't know, but I love these businesses. The names that Don gave them are just delicious. So his filing listed his assets.

[B]

The National Reminder Service is almost like, too specific. Like uncertain times or whatever. You know, unknown Vortex. That one is, like, too vague. But, like the reminder company. I'm like, okay, I guess I know what you do, but I still don't understand.

[A]

You gonna forget. So we here to remind you, nationally, I Love it. I don't even know what it means. I never know what Don Leprechau's businesses mean, and I love it. So his filing listed assets of $9 million and liabilities of 12.5 million. In 1997, the Internal Revenue Service issued a lien of $957,000. Excuse me, it's $957,909.49 against Donald and Sally Lapre for failing to pay delinquent taxes. So now he's in tax trouble. And that's where you don't want to be, because Uncle Sam is the pettiest motherfucker alive. I don't know how Uncle Sam does it. It's crazy, because I've talked about this before, but people lobby the IRS to make sure that they never are funded enough to be able to audit billionaires. So if you're in the class or the upper middle class, like Don the prey, you are going to get that smoke. Because they can't come after the Jeff Bezos of the world because they're offshoring their money. They have money in too many different places. It's too expensive to audit them. Which is why fuck billionaires, guys. They're not paying proportionally what you're paying in taxes. They don't have to. And we don't have the physical capabilities to make them. So instead, they're going after Don Lapre. And they said, we saw you on tv. Uncle Sam was like, we saw you on tv, girl. And last time I checked, I did not get my coins. So this is when Don enters the vitamin world. Don is busy. He is busy. So now he said, you know what?

[B]

So many things.

[A]

We're not doing advertisements from home anymore. We're selling vitamins. Which is also another scam, because health industries are a scam, guys. We all know that when you're born, it's like this weird trap where you're like, damn, I gotta die someday. I ain't even had wanted to be alive. But then you're like, being alive is cool, and I don't know what comes after. So I want to stay alive, you know? So health is one of the biggest scams in every industry because you're trying to buy more life. And to a certain extent, you feel better about yourself when you drink something. Grass. I've drank wheat grass and bluegrass and any type of grass they tell me to drink. I say, okay, it's scratching my throat, but I feel alive.

[B]

I take a handful of pills every day that I got from a woman. Who I met in Santa Monica and she had glowing skin. And I said, I want this life. And I still take those pills. Cause I paid for it.

[A]

Your skin do look good.

[B]

Your skin looks good.

[A]

I don't.

[B]

That's it.

[A]

Your skin looks like it's glowing, girl. Thanks.

[B]

But I think it did both.

[A]

Well, yeah, it probably did, but no harm in keeping it up. Maybe. Here's what I have to say about it, right? Yeah.

[B]

And what's the harm I'm doing by

[A]

swallowing these little fish oil?

[B]

I'm putting a little too much, right, you know?

[A]

No, I absolutely agree with you. I also have to say that even though a lot of health stuff is a scam, placebo effect is real. So if you feel better about the way that you're living your life, if you feel good about the crystals you buy, if you feel better when you wave some sage up in your house, honey, because I be doing that, honey, then it's worth what you paid. Because really what you want is calm and peace and things that reduce stress and cortisol. And even if it's not directly from the product that you've purchased, if you're. See, I'm. I'm a scammer because I'm over here trying to convince y' all to buy.

[B]

What's interesting is you're a scammer, but you're. In this instance, you're a proud mark. Like you, you accept your markness, but only in this instance because otherwise you're a very scammer. You know, we're all multifaceted.

[A]

You're right. And I, I have been duped, been scammed, which is why I love scams. And I can love them from both sides because I've been hurt by scams. Absolutely. And I want to keep you guys from being hurt, but also, like, there's some scams that I'm like, this ain't so bad. So he starts selling vital means. Eventually, authorities started to notice one of La Prairie's newer projects, the greatest Vitamin of the World. Customers were being told that they could earn commission checks of $1,000 or more by getting people to buy vitamins through customized websites that sold Internet advertising packages. So now he's just combining two scams. He was telling people to buy newspaper ads and he was sending them advertisers. And now he's like, sell vitamins and also sell them on the Internet. So according to federal prosecutors, the marketing was mostly ineffective and full of pop up banner ads, which in the 90s, if you got a pop up, it will ruin your whole computer. That's before we had Macs. And Macs have kind of been the most fortified when it comes to viruses. So you got a HP or a desktop like honey, those pop ups were.

[B]

Yeah. You had a gateway, you had to throw it away.

[A]

That's the rhyme. When you got a gateway, you gotta throw it away. Everybody knows a gateway. You got two years out of that bitch before every pop up is coming up like penis enlargement, and you gotta just put it in the trash.

[B]

Yeah. Then it's just. Then it's just a doorstop.

[A]

So in 2005, the Food and Drug Administration cited the entrepreneur for his claims that his vitamins were for diseases like diabetes, stroke, heart disease, insomnia, cancer, and arthritis, warning him in a statement that his products were not generally recognized as safe or effective. So not only were they not effective, they're like, these might kill people. Also. You trying to treat too many diseases, Don. You can't just be like, my pill works for diabetes, rashes, eczema, restless leg syndrome. You got corneas, you got cataracts, you got a bad tooth, you got, like, it can't work for everything, dawn. Pick a lane.

[B]

I feel like that's the hallmark of a fake. That's the hallmark of a fake miracle cure, right? Because, like, you look at aspirin, aspirin cures one, two, three things. Maybe they'll be like, does your head hurt? Does a small thing and your body hurt? Are you maybe having a small heart attack?

[A]

That I'm having a very chill heart attack. Bayer. Don't even go to the doctor. You having a chill heart attack. You just like, ow, my heart. Go ahead and have some Bayer.

[B]

Just like a whisper and take a nap. Right? But, like, all these miracle ones try to. Oh, my God. You know what? I actually remembered my husband and I once, we were in Ecuador, and he got food poisoning. And this is a small tangent, dear readers, but he got food poisoning. And the people we were staying with were like, oh, well, we have this stuff that we can give you. You have to mix it really carefully. And here, you should read this binder to make sure you're okay taking it. And they were these chill, like, Ecuadorian hippie people. So I was like, okay, I'll read their little hippie cure or whatever. And it was that. Mm. MMS stuff, you know, that, like, miracle solution, whatever that they say cures life, autism, but you're drinking bleach. And I was like, no, no, no, no.

[A]

Y' all were like, why does the Bottle say Clorox.

[B]

Cause it. Right. Why? How come something that's good, it's supposed to cure. He ate a bad piece of chicken, and he's taken a drug supposedly that cures autism. Oh, good.

[A]

The company failed to substantiate the following advertisement claims. They said, our company will pay you $1,000 upfront or 200amonth for the rest of your life every single time you get 20 new people to try our amazing vitamins. You know, and this is something that. This is language that's really deceptive when it comes to the type of people who are probably participating in this scam. Or people may have lower income. I've had people in my family take really poor deals because they wanted cash up front. But the interesting thing here is that they're saying 200amonth forever or $1,000 right now. And so, of course, people are going to equate 200amonth forever is more money and go with that. But each week, they say that they pay you on all the revenue earned the week prior. This is the easiest way in the world to start generating $1,000 checks over and over again. This don't make no damn sense. They said our top people have made thousands of thousands of dollars doing this, which very much sounds like Donald Trump. Like, can y' all put a real number on it? Each month, you get just 100 new vitamin clients. Just 100. You know, a chill. Hundred new vitamin clients, and we pay you $5,000 as a bonus. You know how hard it is to get 100 people to buy anything when you're just a person?

[B]

You know how hard it is to get a hundred people to just, like, follow you on social media. If you don't have something specific, you're off, like, to convince a hundred people to do.

[A]

You can't even get a hundred people on Evite to RSVP to your function.

[B]

Like, you can't get a hundred people to come to, you know, a ladies night at a club where, like, the drinks are halfway. Like, there's still gonna be. You're gonna get, like, 58 free before

[A]

11 at the club. Can't get 100 people. Y' all thought we was gonna get 100 people buying vitamins in the 90s. So they told all these lies. And his business was raided by the U.S. postal Inspection Service. By the beginning of 2008, his greatest vitamin of the world sites were no longer functioning. So they did an investigation on my guy on the day he was supposed to appear in court for his arraignment. He was found near a local fitness center in bad physical condition, apparently living inside of a gym for a day and a half before he was found. He underwent emergency surgery and was arraigned at the hospital. Leading up to his death, Lepre posted what seemed to be a farewell statement on his website, saying that he was left to fight a battle that will for sure destroy what energy I have left inside. I mean, he was charismatic. He was a great scammer, I guess. He decided to hide out from the feds in a gym. He went to 24 Hour Fitness and he was like, I'm gonna be here 24 hours, I guess.

[B]

Wait, what did he die of?

[A]

I haven't told you what he died of yet. He actually, this is the only bummer, guys. We try to keep it light here, but Don the prey, unfortunately took his own life in prison. But he added, I tried to create the best product on earth. Paid out millions, made very little trying to make it success. I have been accused of something I did not do. I did not have the perfect company, but never once did I allow one thing to be done that would violate any law. He concluded by thanking his supporters and telling them to never stop dreaming. He has one commercial on YouTube. That's his last commercial. And all the comments are just fans of Don Lapre. He had a following. He had a lot of people who loved him. He was essentially a cult leader and they're charismatic. I mean, I've looked him up online. He just has a kind of face that you would kind of trust because you know what it is when you're in a position where your despo meter is high, like we say on the show, and you may not be making a lot of money. I mean, capitalism is fucked. As we've seen over the past few weeks, America's been scammed by our government, by our political leaders. They're giving more 50% of LA's budget right now, which we all emailed and called, but we don't know if it's going to work. Work at is going to the LAPD 54%. Mind you, they they are outfitted like they are going to war in these protests. Meanwhile, our healthcare providers and professionals don't even have ppe. They're covering themselves in trash bags to treat coronavirus. Like we have fucked up priorities in this country and we everything's fucked up when it comes to where our money goes. And I look at Don and I've looked at his face and he looks like a working class guy. He looks like a guy who's been through shit. I could easily see why people would look at him and be like, he's one of us and he's trying to help us scam the system and get rich, too. Because I don't think anybody looked at unknown concepts and thought that that shit was a legitimate business. They were like, we're entering a scam business, and we happy to.

[B]

Yeah, they want to join the scam a little bit, which you don't. I don't blame some people for they've been working hard, too hard and not being rewarded. So then they want. They want something that seems a little easier.

[A]

Not being rewarded, not being respected by this country. So I absolutely understand why people be like, we might as well go ahead and join the national reminder. I' ma give reminders nationally. That makes sense.

[B]

Oh, I love that name.

[A]

I absolutely adore it. I think it's fantastic. But, guys, this is always the saddest portion of the show. This is what I'm going to have to let my sis Tawny go. But before she goes to live her excellent life. Ugh. I just adore everything about you, Tani. You have no idea. Scammer of the week. So, Tani, we're just going to talk about an infamous charlatan that is worthy of our praise and the scammer of the week. Okay, so I have to caveat this because the scammer of the week this week. I don't like this scammer, but he scammed somebody that we love. A black queen.

[B]

Oh, no.

[A]

Antonio Marriott Wilson is a con artist who targeted Jennifer Lewis of black ish.

[B]

You better get Jennifer Lewis. You. Absolutely not. Absolutely.

[A]

Every black person's auntie, mama and grandma said since I was alive, Jennifer Lewis. And it ain't right.

[B]

The queen of her chin in the air acting.

[A]

The chin in the air and the annunciation acting. How dare you, Antonio.

[B]

You will hear her consonants and vowels.

[A]

What? Oh, I love her.

[B]

What did this man do to her?

[A]

What's that? My Fair Lady? Is that it? What's that movie where they teach that white lady how to talk? Is she British?

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's some Henry Higgins.

[A]

The knife was landed with the knife or whatever the fuck. Like, she could never. She could never. Okay, honey, nobody has a grasp on consonants like our queenkever, right?

[B]

And I am hearing you. What you're saying is, what you're saying is we need a reboot of My Fair lady with Jennifer Lewis in the lead. And I do sign that petition, and

[A]

honestly, we need it. The culture needs it. So Antonio actually pled guilty a few weeks ago to a federal wire charge for conning Lewis and three other women to invest in a fake business. And this is from KTLA in Los Angeles. The Santa Monica man tricked $387,000 out of these women. Wilson, that's Antonio, is 57. He worked at a LA Fitness gym in Los Angeles where he met Jennifer Louis. Lewis states that Wilson conned $50,000 from her following a three month romantic relationship with him and falsely convinced her that he was an Oscar winner and that the money was an investment in a film project.

[B]

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. So in addition to stealing her money, he also, like, dirty Johned her. Like, he conned her into a romantic relationship too?

[A]

Yes. And I listened to an interview with Jennifer where she was saying that she was very busy at this time. Obviously she was doing Blackish. She was preparing to be an honorary graduate at a university and give a speech at their graduation. She was very kind of overwhelmed in this part of her lifestyle. Like, honey's working, she's booked and busy, and she's a queen. And honestly, Antonio, I have to infer that you got good dick because, you know, it's just. It's just right there. Like, you must be out here really piping it, you know, because otherwise how are we getting so distracted? Also, like, Oscar winner. I love Jennifer. Oscar winner. But now, but now he work at the. At the LA Fitness, right?

[B]

Like, what he did he win an Oscar for stunts? Maybe that would be.

[A]

No, no, no. He wanted for a film.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

He said he had wanted for a film girl. So, you know, and that's not to

[B]

say that she was busy. She was busy.

[A]

She was busy. I'm trying to defend my queen. I'm like, that's not to say you can't get to a certain statue in Hollywood or get to a certain position or make a certain amount of money. And that can change. Actors have to pay aggressive taxes on what we make. We don't get taxes pulled out by the government. So Uncle Sam comes for us for five, six figures at the end of the year, but, you know, nothing that we do is stable. He engaged in a romantic relationship with three other women via the Bumble Dating app and convinced them into giving him money to invest in a software company called Second Life and sound design company called ultimate fx. Now these unlike, what was vague Enterprises. Yeah. That Don had, unlike his names, these sound legitimate. When I hear sound design and I hear ultimate fx, I'm like, that sounds like sound. When I hear second Life, I think software. I'm like, these are good names, but obviously both were shams. Jennifer Lewis sued the gym and settled out of court for $13,000, according to Daily Mail. In addition to falsely claiming. Because basically what she was saying in her interview was that he got the job at the gym because he had targeted Jennifer Lewis because he had found out that she worked out at this gym. So then he went and got a membership because he was trying to get next to her. So in addition to falsely claiming to have won an Academy Award, Wilson also claimed to be an Oxford University professor and a U.S. navy SEAL. Bruh, you were having. You gave yourself a real accomplished life for working at LA Fitness. No shade if you work at LA Fitness. No shade at all. But I am saying, if you went to Oxford in London, and you were a professor and you were a US Navy seal, it just would seem like you have enough other skill sets to not necessarily warrant working at a gym.

[B]

Right? It's like he added too many things. And I know you talk about this a lot like scammers. They just be like, they're giving you too much information because why is he gonna be like all these things? And then, like, it's just too much. It's like, oh, I'm also the Prince of Monaco, and my dad is Desmond Tutu, and I invented Post Its.

[A]

I also have a sailboat. And it's like, why we didn't ask this?

[B]

I have a nut out of the boat.

[A]

I don't know these things about a man, right, that I've dated for three months. I don't know these things. So Wilson used the money to pay for credit card debt and personal expenses. He had previously served four years in prison for tax evasion and wire fraud. So he is a career scam. He faces up to 20 years during this sentence. Antonio, I do not applaud this scam. I know you're scammer of the week, but it's not for a good reason. You scammed our queen. It ain't right.

[B]

It's not right. And I know that brings Lacey no joy to not support one of her good scammers, but you pushed us too far.

[A]

I'm depleted. Not this week.

[B]

Not this week. You're not gonna mess with a black man. Dare you Not a matriarch this week, sir.

[A]

A pillar of the communite, the community. And I made sure to pronounce all of those. Yes, the communite. I pronounced every Cosinanta.

[B]

You heard M's in community.

[A]

I'm going to add Some more continent. Okay. Like, no. I can't believe you, Antonio. You ain't right. You ain't right.

[B]

We don't approve.

[A]

And on that note, we have reached the end of another episode. As always, guys, if you are doing armed robbery, you want to email us, we will never say your name and we will delete your email before the feds come. Scamgoddesspodmail.com if you want to reach out to us. Scam Goddess Pod on Twitter and on Instagram if you want to find me and whatever antics I'm up, up to. D I V A L A C I Diva Lacey on all platforms. Guys, Tawny Newsom's in a hot new Netflix show with Steve Carell and the girls and the late Fred Willard, who is so hilarious. So this is your last time to see him, girls. I'm pretty sure Space Force on Netflix. It is out now. And, Tawny, where would you like to be found? And what else would you like to plug?

[B]

Oh, my Lord. I'd like to be found safe in my house. And I'd like you to all be found there as well. Just safe and inside. Because the world is crazy and bad right now. No, but thank you. Thank you, Lacey. This was delightful. You can find me online. I'm Rondi Newman. Or you can put Tawny Newsome in. There's no other ones. You'll find me. My hair will be different all the time. So if you don't understand that, maybe you won't find me and then you'll learn some things. But I don't know. I feel crazy. But this was really nice to talk to you and to. And to learn about just some cool hoodwink.

[A]

And also, yo, is this racist on Earwolf? Guys, if you enjoy the fact that I'm black on here and you like hearing about black things or want to become more educated about not even just black things. It's also hosted by Andrew T. Who is a Asian man of color. If you want to hear their amazing show on Earwolf. Yo, is this racist as well? So, Tani, I'm doing audio plugs.

[B]

No, it's good. Cause you have better energy than I do. I've been. That's so funny. I've been so looking forward to this episode with you. And then I feel like I came on and I was like, the world. But no. So thank you for doing that.

[A]

You were fantastic. And this is a testament to black women rallying for y'.

[B]

All.

[A]

God. Cause our shit is on fire. But we are still making this content for y' all because we love you and we're here for you. So go ahead and be here for us, honey.

[B]

Especially when we can do it together. That's the whole reason I'm Here is for Ms. Lacey. For yalls Queen. This is one of my favorite shows. You are doing it. You are keeping me entertained on a lot of airplane rides. So thank you.

[A]

Thank you. We love you. Congregation. Stay scheming, Gam goddess.