The NYC Collision Con with Steven Ray Morris

Summary

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Scam Goddess: "The NYC Collision Con" with Steven Ray Morris

Podcast: Scam Goddess
Host: Laci Mosley
Guest: Steven Ray Morris
Date: March 3, 2020

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Episode Overview

In this energetic and comedic episode, Laci Mosley (the Scam Goddess) welcomes Steven Ray Morris (podcaster: My Favorite Murder, See Jurassic Right, The Purrrcast) to share stories, laughs, and their thoughts on the wild world of scams. The main feature dives into an elaborate, multi-year insurance and ambulance scam that rocked New York City, with tangents on family paranoia, the economics of scams, and a spotlight on counterfeit Legos. Laci and Steven hilariously dissect how and why people get caught up in frauds—both as victims and sometimes as unknowing accessories. The tone is playful, self-aware, and rooted in empathy for everyday people navigating a scam-filled society.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Scam Culture and Paranoia (00:00–04:56)

• Intro Banter: Laci and Steven bond over generational paranoia—Steven raised by a “paranoid granny” who instilled lock-your-doors-instantly habits, to which Laci exclaims, "You just grew up with the paranoia of a black woman!" (01:54)
• Family and Scams: Laci jokes about hiding her success from relatives ("Y'all want bitches to know I got healthcare" - 02:27), highlighting the often blurry lines between familial support and low-level opportunism.

Scamming Systems vs. Scamming People (03:10–04:56)

• Both hosts agree there's something “almost heroic” when scammers target big, exploitative corporations rather than individuals.
• Laci: "The system is a scam. Everything that we made up isn't real." (03:27)

What's Hot in Fraud: Ring Recall Scam (05:07–16:27)

• Listener Letter ("Wanda's Ring"): A listener narrowly avoids an "engagement ring recall" scam after receiving a suspicious call right after posting her engagement online.
  • The scammer claims her ring is "recalled," but when pressed, changes stories, even pretending to be from the Steve Harvey Show (09:13).
  • Insights into how scammers personalize attacks using social media sleuthing and faux intimacy.
• Analysis: Steven highlights his fear of scammers leveraging familiarity and social engineering ("That kind of faux intimacy really scares me" - 07:31).
• Mirroring & People-Pleasing: Laci and Steven discuss how scammers exploit politeness and people’s desire not to upset strangers (08:10–08:43).

Notable Quotes:

• Laci: “If anybody tries to present something on the up and up, it's not.” (04:29)
• Steven: "That's how, you know, they've really infiltrated. Next thing you know, they're a part of your family." (08:49)

Historic Hoodwinks: The NYC Collision Con—Ambulance & Insurance Fraud (16:27–45:12)

• The Scam Unpacked:
  • For years, NYPD 911 operators, a police officer, nurses, and others collaborated to funnel accident victims to “preferred” doctors, clinics, and lawyers in exchange for kickbacks, affecting up to 60,000 people and netting $18 million (24:13, 24:53).
  • Victims’ data was passed from accident reports to fraudsters, targeting especially low-income and vulnerable communities, while avoiding “Manhattan—because those people got attorneys.” (31:42)
  • The network included call centers, bribed hospital staff, and complicit legal professionals.
  • Laci and Steven liken the operation to "Ocean's 911"—a huge, organized ensemble scam.
• Ambivalent Sympathy: While they acknowledge the negative effects (higher insurance premiums, exploitation of suffering), both come back to the notion that “insurance is a scam” and there’s a twisted satisfaction in seeing the system get gamed by everyday people (45:32).

Notable Quotes:

• Laci: “New York is a scam. Living there is a scam. Everything about New York is a scam.” (18:41)
• Steven: “You don't get 27 employees randomly into all...if everyone's working together, there has to be...blackmail style situation to kind of, like, hold the whole thing together?” (29:43)
• Laci: "If you married to a scammer, you are doing the scams." (36:09)

Tangents on Counterfeit Money & Everyday Scams (38:18–44:44)

• Laci shares first-hand stories about working unwittingly for mob/drug fronts in bars, encountering counterfeit money, and the surprising frequency of people passing fake $20s (39:53).
• Both reflect on how people can fall into participating in scams without full awareness, and how systems built on “fake authority” allow for this (42:49, 43:52).

Scammer of the Week: Chinese "Lepin" Fake Legos (48:21–55:05)

• Case Study:
  • Lepin, a Chinese company, illegally copied LEGO products, producing compatible (but much cheaper) sets—even mimicking the logo. A police raid seized $30 million in counterfeit goods (48:40).
  • Sets like “Planet Fights” (for Star Wars) were priced at $313 compared to $799 for authentic LEGO—raising questions about value, IP, and accessibility.
• Discussion: Both see knock-offs as a double-edged sword: bad for IP holders, but offering children and families with fewer means the chance to enjoy toys otherwise out of reach.
• Laci: “This is what you fucking get...you outsource your labor and you think that they're not going to figure out how to make your product and sell it online. That's what you fucking get.” (53:32)

Notable Quotes:

• Steven: "It's literally just a pile of plastic...specialty pieces, branding...you're paying $130 for a pile of plastic." (51:00)
• Laci: “Legos and baby toes. Enemies since day one. The ultimate rivalry.” (52:43)

Reflections on the System & Wellness (45:12–47:04)

• Laci and Steven rant about American work culture, “dream jobs” as a scam, and how overwork is normalized (45:49).
• Steven: "If you know that you're getting a three day weekend, I for certain would work harder to enjoy that weekend…"
• Laci: "Everything about this country is a scam. People are living so much better in so many other countries." (46:22)

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Memorable Moments & Quick Highlights

• Mirroring Scam Training: Laci explains telemarketer “mirroring” and how politeness enables scams (08:10)
• Fake Engagement Ring Recall Call: Scammer panic-shifts from being a jeweler to "the Steve Harvey Show" (09:13)
• Ocean's 911 Analogy: The hosts reimagine the insurance scam ring as a slick movie plot (26:33)
• Money Is a Scam: Laci’s advice on checking for “George Washington’s penis” on bills as a marker of legitimacy (39:42)
• Legos & Baby Toes: Hilarious riff on the universal pain of stepping on Legos (52:43)
• Dream Jobs Are a Scam: Laci: “Bitch, my dream ain't a word that Ain't who don't go to sleep, think about work. That's not what I'm dreaming about.” (45:49)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–04:56: Intro & Family Paranoia/Relationship to scams
• 05:07–16:27: "What's Hot in Fraud"—Listener engagement ring recall scam
• 16:27–45:12: Historic Hoodwinks—NYC Collision Ambulance & Insurance Fraud
• 38:18–44:44: Tangents on counterfeit bills & being unwitting scam participants
• 45:12–47:04: Rants on capitalism & the "dream job" scam
• 48:21–55:05: Scammer of the Week—Lepin (Fake Legos) and the economics of knockoffs

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Conclusion

This episode is a perfect example of Scam Goddess’s potent blend of humor and critical reflection on fraud—both from street-level hustles and institutionalized American capitalism. Laci and Steven balance admiration and pragmatic critique, never losing sight of the human cost, and always keeping the comedy sharp.

Final words from Laci:

"As always, congregation—stay schemin’!"

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Transcript

[A]

Scams Cos, Robbery and Frauds. Scams Cos, Robbery and frauds. Scam Goddess. Welcome back, congregation. It's YA girl Lacey Mosley, AKA Scam Goddess, here for another edition. I'm so excited to have my guest. You've heard him on his very amazing, so informative, so cool, so funny. Podcast my favorite murder Purrr cast and see Jurassic, right? Yes. Stephen.

[B]

Hi. Hi.

[A]

How are you?

[B]

I'm good. I'm feeling good.

[A]

I like this periwinkle that you have. I know.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

That's cute.

[B]

I've been. I've been inside the house editing for the last couple days. It feels good to get out, get some air. Even if it is filled with smog and ashes and everything.

[A]

Even though you'll be choking on said air. It is good to have air. Right? Wait, so, Stephen, I have to ask you, what is your relationship with Scams?

[B]

I feel like. And I've been enjoying this show so much. It's. It's funny. I. I feel like as far as. I'm so afraid of getting scammed all the time to the point now where, like, I have a hard time, like, if I don't recognize the phone number, I won't answer it. And I grew up with. I feel like if you were talking about this on an episode, but I've, like, I grew up with a grandma that just always was like, lock your door, like always. Padlock, everything. So I grew up with this paranoid granny. Yes, exactly. With this, like, intense paranoia that somebody was always, like, coming for me at every turn. So, like, I've. I used to, like when I had like a car where you could have the manual locks and stuff like that I would like, lock myself out of my car all the time. Because I would. I was so trained by my grandma to like, lock things that I would just lock my keys in or whatever.

[A]

I love this. I relate to this, like, so heavily. I mean, I feel like you just grew up with the paranoia of like a black woman. Like, that's literally like, my grandma wasn't playing that shit. Every door was always locked. She wasn't even fucking with family like that. She was like, family the first one to rob you. Okay. Like, they know where your shit at. You know what I mean? I be nervous when I go home now. Cause I got a little coin and I be like, you know, people can tell. We start making a little money, you start looking more healthy. Like, bitch, you got health insurance. Why you?

[B]

Family. Family are just like, oh, hey, so you think you can spot me a Little. And you're just like, right, exactly. You're supposed to support me.

[A]

Luckily, my parents are still the family bank, so people go to them for money and have not figured me out yet. I'm trying to keep it that I try to not mention things like, oh, a prescription, because y' all want bitches know I got healthcare. You know what I mean?

[B]

Like, you just show up still just, like, very drab all the time. You're just like, yeah, you still struggling out there in the biz, trying to

[A]

make it, ooh, LA's so hard. I show up in rags. They're like, these. You're wearing 18th century rags. Like, you didn't look like this before.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

I'm like, times have gotten harder.

[B]

It's really hard in la.

[A]

And, Stephen, I did not say your full name at the top. Steven Ray Morris. I'm so sorry about that. If y' all need to find a king, I want you to know where to locate a king. We actually have. We talked, and, like, I met you kind of like, on Instagram, on Twitter. So I was, like, so excited to meet you in person. This is just.

[B]

Well, I mean, it's just such a great topic that, like, we all need to. It's a weird thing of, like, these. Some of these people are like. You have to give props to them for. For the kind of. You know, Because, I mean, scamming individual people is probably not good, but then sometimes the system, you're like, okay. Like, there's something kind of heroic about it.

[A]

And the system is a scam. Everything that we made up isn't real. Like, the rules that we made for ourselves in society, it's all a suggestion, and it is. And if you don't get caught, it was just really just a suggestion.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. So I love to see people scam big corporations because we all know they're evil as fuck. Amazon. Y' all know, y' all evil as fuck. You know, they're doing, like, walkthroughs now of Amazon facilities where you can go on a tour of, like, a. One of those fulfillment centers.

[B]

Oh. Is like. Are they trying to say, like, hey, everything's on the up and out?

[A]

Yeah. They're trying to rebrand it.

[B]

Okay. But I feel like that's just the moment the, you know, the backs are turned. The moment regular people come out, it's going to be business as usual.

[A]

Right. They're like, look, if you want to eat today, you better smile at these tourists. Wave.

[B]

It's like the. Like, the Undercover Boss sort of Thing. Yeah. Where it's. You're not really going to get a real picture of what it's like when the. It's like North Korea, you know, if you ever go on a tour, like when people have been lucky to have access, they're not showing you the real thing. You can't go off the path. Like, if somebody's visiting Amazon, you're not going to see how bad it really is, probably.

[A]

Which is crazy to me because as a scammer, I know that if anybody tries to present something on the up and up, it's not. I. Low key, would rather just see that everybody's peeing in the catheters and, you know, driving like maniacs trying to get these packages to people.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You might as well show us. We know.

[B]

Well, yeah. And they're the ones who are doing all the hard work anyway, so let them get the credit they deserve.

[A]

Right. Don't have them in there looking like they got a luxurious, cushy job. We know what's happening here.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But, yes, I do everything I can. I hope that they unionize. I want them to get all their coins and to keep scamming. We're gonna hop into our first segment. Steven. Cool. It's called what's Hot and fraud.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

So this is where we warn our listeners about scams, because like I say every week, I don't want you to get scammed, but you do need to participate in the scams that I'm running.

[B]

Okay. Yeah, of course.

[A]

That's only fair. Yeah, it's only fair. And you'll have fun. You know what I mean? You might lose a little money, might lose a little time, but is it a loss if you're having fun?

[B]

Well, yeah, if you're having fun, then you're not getting scammed.

[A]

Yeah. And money, you can't take it with you. So let me take it from you.

[B]

Yeah. What are you gonna use it for? You gonna save it? You're gonna put it in your bank account, Right?

[A]

Exactly like Drake. When I die, I put my money in the grave. Give it to me. So this came from. I'm gonna call you Giselle. I never say people's real names on this show, but somebody wrote into the podcast and said, dear scam Goddess, a scam I almost fell for was one regarding an engagement ring. A few days after I posted a picture of my fiance getting engaged, a local number called me and greeted me as if we were good friends. The conversation went like this. Scammer. Hey, Wanda. I just. Oh. So she calls Herself. Wanda, we're gonna call you Wanda. Hey, Wanda, I just wanna call and congratulate you and Kevin Kevy. Kev. On y' all engagement. And me, I cut him off and I say, oh, Kevin, he's right here. And I thought this was maybe one of my fiance's cousins or uncles calling because it was unusual for someone to call my number looking for my fiance. Scammer goes, oh, no, no, no, no, no. Wanda, you are the one I called to speak with. Well, the reason I was calling you sis and not your fiance is because. Insert. The brand of the name that we got the ring from has been recalled. And I don't want to embarrass him, so I was calling you to see if we could fix that on the slide. Your jewelry has been recalled. Why would jewelry be recalled?

[B]

It's like. I mean, unless there's visible holes in it or something, you know?

[A]

Yeah, like what? Like your jewelry got lead paint in his. Sis, don't suck on your finger. Now, I don't know what kind of freaky shit child you and Kevin. Kev be doing in the bedroom, but, like, what are you talking.

[B]

That's insane. Oh, my God.

[A]

So. So me, I go, what? Who is this? And the scammer goes, oh, this is Chris from whatever jewelry company that we use. Let's just say Jared's.

[B]

Jarrod's.

[A]

This is Chris from Jared's. I know that's confusing. I'm Chris. I work at Jared's. So how about. How about we solve this without him knowing? Whoa, whoa. So I think that's, like, the immediate where I would think it was a scam. Cause it's like, why can't he know if he bought a faulty ring? He obviously didn't do it on purpose.

[B]

Yeah, there's. That kind of faux intimacy. Really scares me when people, like, all of a sudden are pretending like they're your best friend.

[A]

Right?

[B]

That really, like, puts me on, like, on edge because that stuff happens all the time now with, like, letters or other people calling.

[A]

Right. You know, that's how telemarketers call now. They don't call, and they're like, hey, may I speak to Mr. Jones? And like, hey, can we speak to John? Is John at home right now? Put him on the phone that. Would you like to change your service provider?

[B]

Like, I wonder if they get training for that. They, like, sociopath training. Like, really get in there, pretend you're. They're your friend. It's like. Like, that's so. It's like, how to win friends. And influence people.

[A]

Right. Which is a great book. Read it. But it is, I think it's the deception of mirroring. Half of it is like mirroring someone's personality and trying to make them comfortable with you. But I think the other part is, is that people are polite. And the more warm seeming you are, the more likely their brains are to be like, I want to please this person, person, because I don't want to upset them. Some people just get nervous at upsetting

[B]

people, I think, because I'm such a people pleaser. So that's why I have to cut it off at the source. Like, I'm. I can't answer the phone, otherwise I'm going to be, you know, talking to this person for five hours. And then. And then I'm inviting them over for dinner.

[A]

You know, Next thing you know, they're a part of your family. It's like, I got to go pick them up from the airport. I. Wow.

[B]

That's how, you know they've really infiltrated.

[A]

Right. Especially lax, because that is some bullshit. Oh, my gosh. So me not wanting to be a dumb bitch, she wrote this goes. Could you hold on just a moment? And then she hands the phone to her fiance. So her fiance and the scammer have a brief conversation which ended with the scammer saying they were someone from the Steve Harvey Show.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

It's a good term. So, yeah, Steve called me in a green lime green suit, and he said to me with his big teeth that we need your engagement ring back.

[B]

What?

[A]

So it doesn't track, however, because I know damn well that the Steve Harvey show would say who they wanted to prank. Basically, this is not the truth. So basically what she's saying is she knew that if the Steve Harvey show was calling to do a prank on you or your husband or whatever, this is just not how it would happen. Like a producer would call you. Whatever. The weird thing is that I'm not sure how the scammer knew which company I had received my ring from. I did not post the box on social media, or the name, for that matter. Just a cliche picture of my hand and, you know, all that my social media is public, but it still doesn't explain the extra info that they got. I'm assuming it was someone who either knew us or maybe worked for the jewelry company. So my thing is, is if she posted it on her page, unless he reposted it, how would they know the fiance's name?

[B]

Yeah, that's. I mean, now it's just. Now it's like, that kind of all encompassing paranoia of like the company. It's like inside job, family, friend on fit. Like, because I feel like nowadays you can set your posts to different levels of privacy too. That is a little scary because you're like, at least if you knew it was just a. A straight up stranger, that's kind of. You can write it off. Right now it's like, I don't know

[A]

where, because she had. She said that they had too much information about Wanda. But now what I'm thinking is this. Maybe there's someone who works at a jewelry store, had this guy's name, knew he was getting engaged, went to his Instagram, looked at tagged photos because you know, she tagging. Like, when you in love, you tagging. Okay. Because when you're not in love, doesn't be posting pictures. And it'd be the bitch and you I saw. Oh, my God. One of my friends posted this picture with his girlfriend and he is notorious for cheating. He be cheating. Look, if he talking, he lying. And he always was notorious for cheating on his girlfriends, but he's a very nice guy. He posted this picture with this new girl and we were like, damn, we ain't seen a new in a minute. On the Gram. Down. Gram official.

[B]

On the. On the. On the Instagram story or the feed?

[A]

The feed, yes. Then it's real, right? It's not 24 hours. You know it's real. Why? When we go to click on the tag, it says you tried.

[B]

Wait, what?

[A]

Like instead of tagging her, he tagged the phrase you tried it. Meaning, like, y' all clicked on the photo trying to see who this girl was, and I have not tagged her.

[B]

Oh, wow.

[A]

Yes. So. So I was like, he's cheating on her.

[B]

Like.

[A]

Cause if he wasn't cheating on her, he would have put the tag up also.

[B]

Yeah, I mean, if she follows him. What? This is going shady. That's a scam right there.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

Relationship scam.

[A]

Right? So this is official love because he has tagged her on the gram. So maybe they could have found the. Found her that way.

[B]

Yeah, it seems pretty easy to find. It seems like. It seems like nowadays you can just look up your. Like, I don't even want to look up my address, you know, like, because I'm afraid it's going to be up there.

[A]

Oh, I just be writing my shit down on everything, too. Damn. If y' all want to pull up on a bit. No, no, no, no. I should not say that. Lord Jesus. But yeah, so I think that maybe it's like one of those situations. I love that his out, though, was like, okay, they're on to me. I'm from the Steve Har.

[B]

I know what is. Yeah. That's so crazy. That's. That's such a different direction. I feel like that wouldn't save you.

[A]

No, I think that's just so people looking into you, I guess.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. Is. Is. What is it called? Like, reverse dial?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Like, has anybody, like. I feel like I know some people who would probably try and find that person and be like, absolutely. The fuck are you? How do you know what you know?

[A]

And also, we don't get to. They figure out it's a scam pretty quick, but we don't get to what exactly he's planning to do. It has to be someone who works for a jewelry store, because I would imagine that it's like you send in the real ring with the real diamond, and he sends you back, like, a fake replica.

[B]

Oh, shit. It's like the Got Milk commercial. Do you remember that? Where was the. It was. Where. It was like, late at night, and he's like, the husband, like, takes the last of the milk, and the. The. The wife is, like, going to complain. But then he says, oh, but the cubic zirconium looks like a real diamond. And then she's like, honey, we just ran out of. You drink the last of the milk or whatever. Like, he revealed that he had paid for, like, he got a fake diamond. It wasn't a real one.

[A]

Why would you.

[B]

And that was.

[A]

That's very comical to me, because it's. That to throw you off the scent of the milk is to throw a larger problem.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

He just admitted the bigger scam. Yeah. I don't know how you would. Cause also, I would be afraid of sending my engagement. Like, I would be afraid of sending an engagement ring away.

[A]

And also, like. But you know what, though? I think this also could work with the secrecy aspect, because a lot of women when they're getting engaged, especially because there's a certain time frame where your brain kind of clicks on as a woman. Not all women, but at least for me, like, I was like, I'm not man. I'm not dating no man. I've been single for seven years. And then I woke up maybe, like, six months ago, and I was like, it's time for a man. It was like, my light just went on. I was like, time for a man. I will. I was just like, now I'm out here, like, on a craps table. I'm just rolling the dice. I'm like, I'm gonna get hot for 15 minutes, and that's all I need. I'm gonna find me a man. So Cody knows I literally come in here with a new story about a new man every week. I'm like, okay, this one he trash now. He over. He canceled. But so some women, like, when they get engaged, like, it might have been. There's a. There's a cool scam that I found out about that I don't know if I've talked about in here, but. But it's an app where, like, you can send a text to your boyfriend, and if he clicks on the text, it immediately starts to spam his phone with advertisements about weddings and engagements and, like, love and stuff. So then when he goes on the Internet, the ads that he'll see will be about engagements and love and relationships. And on Facebook, it does it everywhere. It, like, spams the Internet for you. So then it's like the guy's thinking about it.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. You're inception inceptioning him or whatever.

[A]

Yeah. And women said that they've done that to one woman in particular to, like, get them to pop the question.

[B]

Oh, wow. I mean, that sounds pretty effective. And it's utilizing, you know, any. I mean, any. After every conversation, whatever you talked about pops up on your phone. So I feel like that's. That's a clever use of the.

[A]

Because now it's like, am I thinking about marriage? Because my phone says I am. And then it's beautiful.

[B]

You're making it work for you.

[A]

Right. You know, so I wonder that if, like, this. Like, a lot of women who have maybe been approached with this scam. Cause it doesn't sound like this is his first time doing it. Maybe they were, like, kind of fearful about, like, oh, man, I'm just glad that I finally got engaged. If he really did fuck up or something, I will keep it from him and try to fix it.

[B]

Yeah, it's a vulnerable time.

[A]

Right. Cause it's like, you don't want anything. If you think this man, basically, you had to trick him and twist his arm into marrying you anyway. You don't want anything negative to happen around the engagement.

[B]

There's so much work to be done. It's like. It just seems like once somebody gets engaged, then it's like a whole to do.

[A]

You gotta plan the wedding, you gotta set the date, you gotta do all that shit. And so she's probably like, I don't need any setbacks. Cause if he sends the ring back, maybe he won't get it again. Oh, no.

[B]

Yeah, that's. That's a very. That's a. That's. I can see people now falling for that because. Yeah, you want everything to be perfect.

[A]

Right? So, I mean, it's fascinating, though. This is an interesting one, though, because I'm like, I have no incentive to send you my ring.

[B]

Like, I'm. I'm so afraid to. Like this again. This is the. I'm not going to answer the phone because I don't want to be approached. I don't even want to be on that level of, like, somebody ask. Like, somebody suddenly saying something very familiar. And then I'm like, oh, no. Like, should I do this? Whatever. Like, they have an authoritative position.

[A]

It was recall. Maybe it'll kill me. What diamond ring is killing people? Like, come on, now. But it was a nice try. I appreciate this scam. All right, guys, we'll be back with more after this break. Scams. All right, so we're back, guys. It's time for my favorite segment. I say this every single week. Historic Hoodwinks. So I'm going to regale Stephen with a historic hoodwink with some charlatans that I can't figure out if I like these scammers yet. We'll see by the end if I like them. I think I might like them, but this is the ambulance scam.

[B]

Okay. Oh, no.

[A]

Yes. That was Mrs. Officer. I can't believe that Bobby Valentino just sang Police Car Notes on, like, Little Wayne. Have you ever heard Little Wayne's like, okay, go in there now and just make the sound of an ambulance.

[B]

I love in any of those songs where they have those little hooks. It's like, I want to hear them by themselves. Just that moment in the studio, and it's like, yeah, this sounds really good. This is gonna. There's a lot of trust in a producer at that point that it's gonna

[A]

come out sound definitely that you go in and you're like, oh, we don't have no lyrics. Yeah, yeah, no, no, we got lyrics for this. You just gonna go, wee, oh, ooh, wee, wee. Oh, ooh, wee. Okay.

[B]

Trust me, it's gonna sound great.

[A]

All right. And we're gonna go for one. No. Really believe you're the ambulance. Okay. Put your hand up in the air. That might help.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Physical. Get physical.

[A]

Okay. Okay, Gregory. Great. So six current and former employees accused of. Of steering a car accident victim to specific health clinics, doctors, and lawyers in exchange for kickbacks.

[B]

Whoa.

[A]

Yeah. So for years, Angela Meyers, a 911 operator with the New York Police Department fielded emergency calls, then filed reports about where, about the calls within the department. But according to a court document, when someone called 911 after a car accident, Ms. Myers did something else. She also passed victims information to insurance fraud rings in Queensland. I feel like Queens, Brooklyn is, like, where all the scams really happen. Like, that's why I call it the tech startup scams. Like, that's a Silicon Valley of scams. But I could see Queens coming up a little bit.

[B]

New York is a crazy place. Yeah.

[A]

New York is a scam. Living there is a scam. Everything about New York is a scam. Ms. Myers was one of six current and former New York Police Department employees charged in a federal court on Thursday with conspiracy and bribery. They are accused of being a part of a citywide medical insurance fraud wing that sent thousands of car accident victims to specific, you know, places for these facts. Okay, so the law enforcement arrested 27 people in this scheme. So this was, like, broad. Like, this is a operation.

[B]

Well, yeah, and that's. That's because it seems like the, you know, a lot of the people you've covered so far, it's this kind of singular person. But the idea that this is, like, a whole nother level of, like, everyone is kind of. This is like government colluding business. Yeah, yeah.

[A]

You know what I mean? They were running a small business in my eyes, you know, 27 employees, scams R Us. Seems like everybody had health insurance.

[B]

You know, they. Yeah, they had to sign in. There's an HR meeting about how to do this, about how to handle this.

[A]

Hey, John, can I see you in my office? This alleyway? I just want to talk to you, John, because there's been some complaints around the scam that you've been making some inappropriate comments.

[B]

You haven't been scamming, like. Well, you know, I just wanted to scam them and get a little something for me as well, you know?

[A]

Okay. Yeah, but that's not what we're doing here. We may be defrauding the government and. And stealing, but we do not harass people. Okay, Got you.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

All right, great. This is your warning. All right? Technically, I can't fire you because you could blow up the whole operation, but this is your warning.

[B]

Noted.

[A]

All right, cool, cool, cool. Please exit my alleyway.

[B]

Alleyway.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. The rats will lead you go where the rats just went. Like, I'm like, how do you run this business?

[B]

The little scam rats. So cute.

[A]

They're also a part of the scam. So in New York, New Jersey, no fault insurance laws require driver's automobile insurance company to pay automobile insurance claims automatically for certain types of motor vehicle accidents. So for say, if you were hit by someone and it's no fault of your own, in New York, the insurance company has to pay for the damages to your car and any medical bills that you may have incurred due to the accident. Which is why I keep a neck brace in my car. Anybody scratches me, I'm like, I'm rolling out of the car with the neck brace already on. Like, ah.

[B]

It's like, man, we, you know, it was just a biker, you know, like,

[A]

yeah, A biker hits my car, I'm rolling out of the car like, oh, my neck, my back and my leg. Hey, you got to get your money where you can. So insurance companies are often like, pay medical service providers directly for the treatment they provide. Automobile accident, they provide to the automobile accident victims, so they don't actually bill the victims themselves. So just like normal insurance. So it's like your insurance will go directly pay the hospital, they'll go directly pay the other auto insurance or they'll pay the body shop, you know.

[B]

Wow. I wish I knew understood how insurance worked, but I feel like I'm getting there. I feel like I'm starting to learn

[A]

Insurance is a scam. Okay. It truly is one of my favorite. We got in trouble a little earlier in the season. Cause we talked about how we committed insurance fraud. But listen, mine was unintentional.

[B]

Yeah. This is a new tradition. Podcasts can't be held under law right now, right?

[A]

There's a statute. I heard it's three years. So I think I'm Gucci now. Jaquish's going to jail, but oh no. And I'm put some money on his books, y' all Venmo me. And we'll put money on Jacqueline when he goes to jail.

[B]

This is the first scam Goddess gofundme.

[A]

Right. Of many. You know what I mean? I plan to be blocked by GoFundMe. I want them to be like, we're not gonna let you do this anymore. I wanna get all I can get. So the alleged ringleader, Anthony Rose, told Todd Chambers to pay out thousands of dollars in bribes for the leads that they got to protected patients. So basically what would happen was is911 operators would tell people like, hey, it's an accident down on 3rd street right now, okay? Three car pileup, get after it. And then the fraudsters would target these people so that they could take them like they Would take the ambulance over there. Right. Or like. Cause you sometimes the ambulance just comes and no one has to get in it or whatever. Yeah, sometimes they do. And they would take them to the hospital that they wanted to take them to and they would like it was. It's beautiful. So. And we'll get into it. So a key component to the scam was the 5911 operators that I just mentioned and an active police officer, Yannari De Leon. I love the last name De Leon. It's just like Ponce de Leon, famous Spanish scammer. Like, it's beautiful. So he would provide victims confidential contact information to the scheme's ringleaders. So because you know, like when a police officer shows up to the scene, they'll take your information and. Yeah. Make a police report in quotes. He was also making a scam report.

[B]

Did they have to make special stationary for that like underneath the police? Or was he just writing it on the back of the police like or on his phone or something?

[A]

I wonder. It's like you're like, Mr. Officer de Leon, why are you typing in my info on your cell phone? Oh, this is how we doing it now. We modernize. You know, we got body cameras now we use cell phones. It's a whole thing.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Or like there's an extra layer of the transparency that he's denting up to.

[A]

Yeah, that's good too. That's a. See, Stephen, you're so good at this. Oh no, you're so good at this. You could have a real future.

[B]

I hope so. It sounds pretty bright.

[A]

Bright. It is. It's intensely bright. So Deleon and the 911 operators were among the 27 people, including nurses. They got some nurses on the inside as well. So this is like an $18 million scheme that compromised about 60,000 people's information. They were working.

[B]

Whoa.

[A]

This is a full time job. And all these people were also doing other things. So I'm like, Yannaris De Leon, where are you finding time to fight crime? Like, aren't you like nobody at the office was. The lieutenant wasn't Mars. Why are you just only at car accidents?

[B]

I feel like sometimes those jobs have a lot of downtime though. And this is probably. Maybe that's how this started is these people are bored and.

[A]

Right. And figured out every great scam is boring because someone sees a hole in the system.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And they're like. And that becomes like, ooh. And the next thing you know, you have a 27 oper, 27 person operation.

[B]

When was this again?

[A]

So the year was. So they were running these scams from 2014 to November 2019.

[B]

Holy shit.

[A]

That's as long as they have it documented. So it could have been going on longer than that. But that's as long as we know so well. But I just. I feel like if it's 60,000 people's information, like Deleon was only out here going to accidents. They're like, we told you it was a little baby in the fire and you ain't even. You went to a Fender Bender on 3rd Street.

[B]

Well, at this point it's like probably addicting. You're like, how much can I get?

[A]

Right?

[B]

And that's what I wonder too, is like. Like, was this started with one or the. The main guy, like, what was his name? Anthony or.

[A]

Or so there's Yamars, the police officer there is Anthony Rose.

[B]

Yeah. I wonder if it was just like him, one other person. And then it just slowly spread as they needed like the infrastructure to pose

[A]

this whole system because it's like Anthony Rose, AKA Todd Chambers every scammer has to have, which that is such a made up name. Todd Chambers.

[B]

Todd Chambers.

[A]

He's probably like, I work for the Chamber of Commerce. Nurse Todd Chambers.

[B]

Todd. It's like, hi, I'm Todd.

[A]

No one's named Todd. You should have known it was a scam. He said his name was Todd. That's not a real name. Nobody has that name. So I think it probably started with Todd and a police officer and a 911 operator and maybe one nurse. You know what I mean? Like, maybe they figured out this whole thing and then we're like, wait a minute. Because I can't imagine, like, how do you recruit a 911 operator or alone. 5. Are you calling a 91 1? Hello, 911. What's your emergency?

[B]

I got it. I got an idea for you, sir,

[A]

do you have an emergency?

[B]

I have a. I have a thing that could be very lucrative to all of us.

[A]

Oh, lucrative. Okay. Tell me more.

[B]

Well, yeah, it feels like a weird like Ocean's Eleven kind of like let's. We gotta find all the people who like, do the particular job, you know?

[A]

This is a movie. Yeah, it's literally Ocean's Eleven. You know, Ocean's 911. Okay. Trifling. So the call center would then contact victims and coax them into visiting prearranged medical clinics and lawyers. So Better Call Saul is also in the joint, which I have. I have great lawyers that I love so much. My only. It's actually a complaint about my lawyer. It's a complaint on my tax account. Right now is that he's just, like, not shady enough for me. Like, I'm like, I'm trying to break some laws. Like, otherwise, why am I going to. You and I H and R block. Like, I say this all the time. So, like, you know, this is probably a lawyer who's sweating a lot. He definitely gets his suit from Men's Warehouse. You know what I mean? Like, he's a. He's a real criminal. So they're getting lawyers involved, like ambulance chasers, I would imagine, which is already a joke about lawyers.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Oh, shit.

[B]

This is all very. But, you know, it's the. The system. It's. But I mean, you know, I don't know, it's like that thing. It's like, I feel bad for the people being scammed.

[A]

But here's the thing, though. The people who are being scammed technically are the insurance companies, which I fucking hate insurance companies.

[B]

That's a good point.

[A]

But it does raise the premium overall, sometimes for other people or for the person who is in the accident whose fault it was. So those are kind of some negative drawbacks. But also, insurance is a scam.

[B]

Yeah. Secondhand scam.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

The people who are in these accidents, but it's the insurance company. Yeah.

[A]

Oh. So that's why I was like. I told you earlier, I was like, I don't know if I like this, but I think I like it.

[B]

I mean, anytime the system gets right,

[A]

gets poked up, they'll take away your insurance when you're sick and, like, basically kill you. Like.

[B]

Well, yeah, it's like the more sick you are, the less people want to help you. It's like, that's why this whole country is broken.

[A]

Oh, my God. It's so. So that's why I'm like. I'm on their side a little bit. So. So basically they had all these people together and Anthony Rose, 51. Todd is his fake name. So he would pay all these people bribes to get this information. So he would pay the medical clinics, he would pay the 911 operators. He would pay them all, kind of like an exchange for each one, like a commission. And then he would use that information. So people would get, like, thousands of dollars working on the side for this scheme. And all they're doing is doing their normal job and then passing along some information. So it's a pretty easy extra couple thousand. And everybody's hurting and no one's being paid enough. So the fraud ring Employed a network of people within hospitals, medical service providers, law enforcement. Mr. Rose, who is from Queens, ran the scheme, like we said earlier, from, like, 2014 to 2019, but I'm sure it was longer than that. Five years. No.

[B]

Well, also, I mean, it seems pretty fully formed. You know, they say, like, anytime that there's, like, a crime where somebody's murdered and it feels professional, it's like, that's probably not the first one.

[A]

No.

[B]

And this feels like this. Maybe he had, like, a baby practice.

[A]

Oh, hell, yeah.

[B]

Something he's been scamming his whole life. And then this is just kind of the culmination.

[A]

Yeah. You don't get 27 employees randomly into all.

[B]

I mean, that's the thing. It's like, if everyone's working together, there has to be. Is. Was. Do you think there was, like. Like, blackmail style kind of situation to kind of, like, hold the whole thing together?

[A]

Yeah. Because one of the things that's so great about this kind of scheme is is that you're implicated as soon as you start working with the people. So there is this reason for you not to. You don't want to go to jail by being in association with already, you know, being in a crime. And then also, he's from Queens, so for all we know, he busting caps. You know what I mean? Like, Queens is a dangerous place.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Well, he didn't say we're in Queens. Might be Jamaica, Queens. He might be shaking people down in that alleyway business office.

[B]

That's his. That's the other side. Business in the alleyway.

[A]

That's why he got the alley office. You know, you never know. So as recently as June, Officer Deleon texted Mr. Rose on the Cryptid app WhatsApp. So that's where they're doing.

[B]

Wow, that's such a description of that. I feel like when WhatsApp first happened, it was like, talk to your friends in the. You know, in a different country. Yeah, yeah.

[A]

It was always for scams. We all knew it. WhatsApp is so.

[B]

I was so innocent and naive back then.

[A]

Really.

[B]

No, I didn't know.

[A]

Oh, WhatsApp is for purchasing drugs and, like, illegal firearms and scams. Yeah. But they did brand it.

[B]

I haven't been using it properly.

[A]

They did brand it. Like, oh, talk to your foreign friends. They knew what they were fucking doing, so they used WhatsApp. And he provided a list of nearly two dozen names and telephone numbers of accident victims. So that's how they would do it. Prosecutors estimate as many as 60,000 car accident victims may have had their confidential information improperly disclosed. Mr. Rose ordered his co conspirators to target car accident victims from low income neighborhoods because they were more vulnerable, according to the court documents. That he told his fraudulent call center not to target victims in Manhattan because I guess they got too much coin, he said, because those people got attorneys. So I get it. So he's kind of like saying we can't offer a lawyer to somebody who already has one.

[B]

And is that because they. In these situations the by targeting low income areas and stuff. Is it because. No, they're not going to fight. And it's almost like these amounts aren't crazy. So nobody's going to argue about it and just accept that the. Accept, you know, the charges or whatever. Is that it?

[A]

Unfortunately, I think it's a little bit of that. And it's also like we're targeting people with limited resources because we know that they don't have a lawyer.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

They don't have probably the literacy of, you know, these kinds of situations. Like we just talked, like we don't really know how insurance works. You know what I mean? Like a lot of people don't and aren't litigious. So they'll just kind of go along with the process because they assume that's what it is.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That's why it's a fucking scam.

[B]

Scam. Yeah. Well, and that's why like that. Yeah. Nobody would fight it because they're like, oh, this is how it's supposed to work. Right.

[A]

That's how insurance is a scam. They call you and just be like, hey, we're raising your rate an arbitrary amount. How am I supposed to like, you know, calculate what the right rate is?

[B]

I don't have the resources or.

[A]

No. And they know that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So they charge us whatever they want. Just like airline flights. Like they'd be like, this flight is $3,000. Last week it was $20. I don't know why. And you don't even either give us the money my. Or stay home and you have to.

[B]

But my sister used to work in hospitality with like setting hotel rates for hotels and stuff. And it is a like, it is seriously just like weird math and games and dice and you know, it's just, it's all. There's no. It's weird how we've created these systems where people have a fake authority and we can't like there's no. Yeah. There's no way to like question it or whatever.

[A]

Exactly. And that's. This is one of those arenas which is why I love when people scam them. Because cuz it's so the hood is number one. Tell her all that. Manhattan, those people got attorneys. And all we need is hood cases. Bronx hood, top tier is all the hood. That's what Rose said. So now I know Rose is black. God damn it. Cody Po Rose up on the tv, see if I'm right. But it rose. Okay, Anthony. Tony. Tony, you a hood nigga. And now I know it. So this is him talking about why they only hit up the Bronx and places like that. So the scam artist callers would often tell victims that they were associated with the NYPD and got their phone number from a personal injury hotline created to protect victims from criminals getting into, like, getting info illegally and misleading them. So basically, they would call saying that they were trying to prevent the exact thing that they were doing doing.

[B]

That's so twisted and genius. Yeah.

[A]

Hey, I'm calling not to scam you. I'm from the non Scams Bureau, but

[B]

it seems like everybody who does scams, they. It's almost like by just jumping out in front of it and just doing that, then it's like, okay, well, now it must. It can't be a scam because they're

[A]

saying it's not a scam. Which is crazy, because that should be your number. One red flag is when someone calls you and says, don't be alarmed. This is not a scam. Like, when they just tell you that. Like, be alarmed.

[B]

Well, see, this is why I don't answer my phone. I'm so scared right now.

[A]

I answered just because I'm interested, but

[B]

how's your day going? Oh, just scamming. I'm just so tired. I've had to scam so much today, right?

[A]

I was like, if I get called by a scammer, I might be like, how much money you making in this? Can I get involved? Like, you're not gonna scam me today, but I would like to participate in the future.

[B]

Yeah, let me help you.

[A]

So in addition to the police department sources, Rose also bribed employees at the hospital, and he had them violating hipaa. So they were disclosing patient's personal information. Right. FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. Said the charges alleged in the indictment describe a scheme that blatantly violated HIPAA and actively targeted those that the establishment is trying to protect. And then he's, like, talking about, you know, hopefully this will help in a court a lot, blah, blah, blah. So. So the nature of this fraud, like we were talking about before, Results in higher insurance premiums and unnecessary medical costs, which, you know, that hurts us all, but also the medical system. A sham, a scam. Bullshit. Everybody else has this shit figured out, but we don't have universal health care. Fuck y'. All.

[B]

I know. Is this gonna. Is this case gonna help just shed more light on how broken the system is?

[A]

I hope so, but, you know, it's probably just gonna make it harder for people who need healthcare to get it. So. Deleon. And this is the wife of Anthony deleon. So his wife was also involved in the scam.

[B]

Family business.

[A]

Yes. Sometimes you gotta keep it in the family. Sometimes you can't trust family. So she shook in court. She appeared uncuffed, wearing a Gap sweatshirt. And she pleaded not guilty through her attorney and was cut loose on $50,000 bond. She has been a hardworking law enforcement officer for a number of years. Her attorney said after her court appearance. Most of the charges in the indictment have nothing to do with her. Her. I'm sorry. If you married to a scammer, you are doing the scams. Like, there's no way that you are married to a scammer and you have not participated in any. You. He come home every night looking sketchy as. And you didn't know y' all having dinner. You like, so what you do today, honey?

[B]

Like, I mean, at that point, you might as well go full Bonnie and Clyde and just, you know, ride into the sunset together on this scam. Cuz. Yeah, it's. It's. I feel like sometimes when people like, oh, I had no idea. It's like. I don't know, it's hard. It's hard to. Yeah. Be in the. In that space and not know that something is up, you know?

[A]

Exactly. I think that the whole reason that this worked so well is one, because once you're doing it, you're implicated. And then two, like, there's no reason to really look into this.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, these are legitimate accidents. These are probably just lower income people that no one's. You know, nobody.

[B]

Yeah. Nobody's doing this. It's like. I mean, in a way that this scam is. It's like, it's sort of. It's. It's taking advantage of, like, the failure of the system. And so in a way, it's like, yeah, you're like, who. You know, people are like, why not? You know, why.

[A]

Why not, you know, take a crazy chance. Why not scam an ambulance? If you lose a moment, you may lose a lot, so why not? I feel like that's every scammer. Yeah, that's a Hilary Duff.

[B]

The original scam.

[A]

No, the original scam. The original scam goddess. Hilary Duff.

[B]

Oh, my gosh.

[A]

No. I love Hilary so much. Oh, gosh. She really inspired me. I was like, I could be a musician. If Hilary Duff can be a musician. For sure.

[B]

I can find my love when I go to rome when I'm 15, 16. How old was she in that movie?

[A]

I don't even remember.

[B]

Or was that high school graduation?

[A]

Yeah. Which was so extra to me. Like, you go Rome with your friends for high school. Like, no adult supervision.

[B]

I know. You need to have some sort of chaperone.

[A]

I didn't get to go abroad alone until I was in college.

[B]

Like, yeah, yeah, me too. Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

And then it's so weird when I think about the Trevi Fountain and I think about that scene, I remember thinking, like, damn. Like, I wonder how much change is in there. And, like, if it was, like, I thought about, like, would I be able to sweep up? Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. Can you get enough chains?

[A]

They must do it. Yeah, someone's doing it.

[B]

Oh, somebody has to do it. I mean, my. This is probably blowing up my girlfriend's spot, but she just got a whole bucket. Like, got a whole bucket of chains that was in my dad's attic. And so she's been, like, looking up that there's actually, like, if a penny has a mistake, you can make more than a penny off of it. Like, it's like, a collector's item and stuff now, which I feel like is its own thing.

[A]

It's its own scam.

[B]

But, hey, if she can get lots

[A]

of money off of it, hell, yeah.

[B]

I mean, to blow up your spot. She's listening to this right now, probably. But, I mean, hey, like, if. I mean, it would. It seems weird that money is worth more than how much is on it, but that shows that it's all just an illusion.

[A]

It is. I mean, coins and paper money are a scam. People used to print that out on their own. That's why we got so many barcodes. And, like, if you flip it up and under the light, you'll see George Washington's penis. That's how you know it's real. Like, that's why we have to have all of that. People were just printing their own money.

[B]

I'm going to go home and look for George Washington's Venus on the. Whoa. Oh, my gosh. Lacey wasn't lying.

[A]

Nope. And it's got to be big. If it's a small penis, it's a fake.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's how you tell the difference.

[A]

It's weird because I used to get counterfeit money all the time. I worked in a bar in New York City, and people would come in with fake 20s all the time. The 20 is the most popular counterfeit bill.

[B]

Really.

[A]

You can tell by how it feels if it's got ridges on it in certain places, you can scratch certain places. And if there's no, like, sound or tension, then you know it's fake. And then obviously, you can get a pen and mark it. But some bills are moving past that, and, you know, the Market Marking Inc. Isn't working anymore.

[B]

Whoa.

[A]

There's a lot of counterfeit money out there.

[B]

Do you think those people were doing, like. Do you think a lot of those people were doing it on purpose, or do you think they were scammed?

[A]

I think sometimes they were scammed because I've come across a bill that was fake myself before, and it was, like, in my bank. And so it's like if I had taken that money home from bartending because I used to work for a mob front. I worked for several crime organizations, and I didn't know I was working until I started put. I started talking out loud to friends, and they were like, girl, like, that's crime you're describing.

[B]

Well, do you think people in this story. Do you think. Do you think you said 27 people were. Yeah. Known. I wonder how many people were involved. I mean, I guess all the. All the victims in those accidents and stuff.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Technically, they're accessories to a crime, but they.

[A]

Technically, if they didn't know. But what if they did know? Because I think there has to be a few of these victims who are like, you are way too, like. I'm sorry. People who are in poor areas aren't stupid. People are poor because of cyclical poverty, because of opportunity, not because they're fucking dumb or the billionaires or some kind of geniuses that have the keys to the fucking kingdom. Half of them were born or 60% of them were born with family money. So, like, get the out of here. Right? So I'm sure that there were some people who were like, I don't know, Officer, you took all the notes for my accident down on your cell phone, and then I saw you screenshot it and email it, and I'm wondering what's going on here. He probably would pay some of them off.

[B]

Well, and I wonder, because if they're specifically recommending them to these services, I wonder if some of them are better than. Than where they would have gone. That's very true. And it's like, okay, cool. I got my bumper fixed, and I got this little thing, and I got a car rental for a week. I wonder if they're getting a kickback from all of that.

[A]

And I bet you they must be, because the thing is, is that it's only hurting the persons whose insurance was at fault. So you're probably getting the deluxe treatment if you were the victim of this accident.

[B]

See, this goes deeper.

[A]

It goes deeper, and it's a fascinating one to me. But I've also been involved in scams and not know. So I could see how people would just go along with the system. I used to work at this bar in Pittsburgh, and I had a very shifty clientele. We were serving $2 Coors lights. So I just want you to know the vibe.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

And people would come in, and if they were certain people, I had to give them money out of the register.

[B]

Whoa.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I wonder how many. I bet you, if you ask the. The listeners, I'm sure a lot of people have probably been in this situation.

[A]

Right. And I didn't realize that there was something off about this, because I would have to, like, somebody would come in, they'd be like, oh, let me get $40. And if it was, like, one of the sons of the owner or whatever, I would give them the money, and then I would write a little note like, who took the money? And put it back in the register? And then at the end of the shift, I would pay myself $42 and then take all my tips.

[B]

Whoa. That's part of the $42. As part of it.

[A]

If we, like, the $42 would be in not. No, that's just a random amount that ended up being the same. But, like, the $42 would be money out of the bank, and then I would take my tips.

[B]

Wow. I think that's a. That's a good scam.

[A]

And then I worked for another drug front for some Russians. That's where I was finding all the fake 20s. And they would give me $20 as a shift pay, and then they would give me the tips that I earned. But we would make, like, $400 a night. There it was at the hole. And I'm not saying the name, because I actually won't even give you too much description, because if, you know New York, you'll know what it is. But. But it was. Yeah. So I could see how people could be involved in scams and just be like, this seems odd, but.

[B]

Well, and also, what's the point? What would it do for you to look into something like that? Like, you're doing your thing, you're making your money, nobody's getting hurt as far as you know.

[A]

Right? And if you're the person who's not at fault, you're already kind of covered. Cause you're like, well, this is an accident. I got away with my life. Like, now you have to pay for all this stuff. Cause it's your fault. So you have no reason to be.

[B]

And as far as you know, you're not doing anything wrong either. Like, you're just this. Maybe this is just how this place ran where you're like, okay, certain people come in and it's just. That's built into the system. So you're just giving them the money when they ask for it.

[A]

Right. And I never got in trouble for doing it. I always kept my notes, my little notes intact and made sure I turned them in with my cash.

[B]

Yeah, you were, you, you, you. If anything, you were going like, above and beyond, keeping it well documented. I don't know if that was good or not for them.

[A]

Scam secretary.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Oh, gosh. So, yeah, I mean, this case is still open, so people are still being charged. So we'll see the fallout of this and maybe we'll come back at some point and update you guys. But guys, we're gonna take a little break for some non scam advertisements, Robbery and fraud. All right, guys. And we're back. And I'm gonna have to let Steven Ray Morse go after this. And that is so upsetting. What a way to meet you.

[B]

It's been so much fun. Gosh, we've learned a lot.

[A]

We have, we've.

[B]

We've shown the system is broken.

[A]

We've.

[B]

This scam really brought out a lot of big issues right.

[A]

In the medical system and just like health care in general. Hopefully there will be some changes, but Lord knows it's pretty bleak out there.

[B]

Yeah, I mean, I guess. I mean, just if. If the theme of going back and forth about how we feel about the scam, I feel like it feels like, like how you were saying the beginning. Like, it seems like the people were just taking advantage of the system that was already screwing them over anyway. Yeah.

[A]

And the system is screwing all of us over. And we're being. Capitalism is such a fucking scam. Do you guys realize that we have been indoctrinated into a scam since birth? There's a term called dream job, bitch. My dream ain't a word that Ain't who don't go to sleep, think about work. That's not what I'm dreaming about. But that's what we've been taught in America, like grind life, no sleep, bitch, go to bed. Okay. There are no rewards in dying early because you are not well rested and stressed.

[B]

That's so true.

[A]

Everything about this country is a scam. People are living so much better in so many other countries.

[B]

Well, yeah, and it's, it's. I mean, I just saw something where like there's certain companies in Japan now that are trying like a four day work week and it actually is more productive. And you think it would be because. Because if you know that you're getting a three day weekend, I for certain would work harder to enjoy that weekend on its own instead of having to spread it out, you know?

[A]

Exactly. Or having to work extra on my off time or something like that. I just think that wellness and life expectancy and everything, those should be the dreams of America. And instead it's to work you like a goddamn slave till you die.

[B]

Well, that's why people in Europe still smoke. Because they're not, you know, they don't get cancer from cigarettes. Cigarettes because they are so much well rested everywhere else.

[A]

Right.

[B]

That they can still smoke and live happily.

[A]

Meanwhile, the fucking vape fake. Okay, guys, I just want you to know this. It's E. So there's a vitamin E oil that's in some illegal tampered vapes that is killing people.

[B]

Oh, shit.

[A]

Yeah. And young people are buying them off the black market because they can't get them. And the tobacco industry is trying to spin this because they don't want vapes to kill the cigarette industry. And a lot of research has come out that they are a lot more healthy because instead of combustion it like. Like what? Like 300 degrees, y' all. Correct me if I'm wrong about that. But instead of like combusting something with fire and sucking it in, you're like doing like a machine is making a vapor which is supposedly better for your life.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

But now that there have been 2,000 cases of people being injured with THC, vitamin E oil, vapes, they're trying to turn that into killing the vaping industry because cigarette companies want to keep killing you the way that they're killing you. Everything's a scam.

[B]

Oh my God.

[A]

Everything is a scam. God damn it. It's so ridiculous. But we'll end on this a positive note. Scammer of the week. Yeah. So this is when we praise a Charlatan that we just really revere, you know, this week. This is a country.

[B]

Whoa. Speaking of government systems.

[A]

Right, we're gonna go for a whole. So. So. Chinese company busted for selling fake legos.

[B]

Cody. I've been super into Lego LEGO lately. This is amazing. Oh, my God.

[A]

We knew, we knew. This is a little surprise for you.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

So the toys from the Chinese company Lepin. Not Lepin. And look at, look at the logo.

[B]

It's a spitting image.

[A]

They said instead of LEGO, we gonna be Le Pe. I love it. Are eerily similar to another very popular toy on the market, obviously. Legos. The company website has been taken down after authorities raided its factory located in Shenzhen, China, last week after discovering it was allegedly manufacturing fake LEGO products. The raid turned up $30 million worth of counterfeit Legos and the police arrested four people, the BBC reported. Most lepins sets include the Star wars series. Now, what are they calling it? Planet Fights.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Instead of Star Wars.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Very like. Yeah. Moon Conflict or something.

[A]

Moon Conflict. And are advertised on many websites that claim that sell the products as compatible with legos. Police said in a statement that the toys were copied from the LEGO blueprints and that more than 630,000 finished projects were seized by the fact that factory. Here's my thing. We know knockoffs are happening.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I talked about this earlier with like fake Yeezys, because there's a Chinese company that I think once, or like a factory that once had the rights to manufacturing real Yeezys and then the contract ended.

[B]

Oh, yes, I remember this.

[A]

Yeah. And they kept making the fees. You know, it's the same shoe, it's same quality and everybody can't afford a lego.

[B]

Well, I was, yeah, I was going to say it's funny, my mom's new husband's has like grandkids and I remember one time I was with Target with her and she was like looking at Lego and she's like, I can't believe. I can't believe I used to buy this for you. It's so expensive. So in a weird way, like a. A scam like this, it's like, yes, I love lego. But also, yeah, not everyone can afford it. So if. If there isn't a cheaper alternative and it actually fits. But I think that's the part that pisses off companies. It's like, you can make whatever, but if you're going to make it to be compatible, then. Then it's like, we need to get you out of here.

[A]

Right. Because now you could actually undercut our Market share. Wait, do you remember off the top of your head, like around a ballpark of how much LEGO costs? We can also Google it.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, for. I think. I mean there's sets that are like $80 and you're.

[A]

Wow, for plastic.

[B]

Yes, for. It's literally just a pile of plastic. And I think the scam with Lego, if. If there is any, is that it's weird that they get like the, it gets more expensive the, like the higher it is. So it almost seems like you're getting less Lego for the amount that you're paying. But because it's like you get, oh, oh, here's like a piece that's shaped like a dragon or something. And so it's like that's how they can up the price.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Like more specialty pieces and stuff. So it's like you're paying $130 for a pile of plastic that isn't that much bigger than a pile of plastic that's like $30. But because it's all these cool things

[A]

that you want and branding, I'm sure.

[B]

Oh, yeah. Star Wars. Yeah.

[A]

Then you have to cut the company that makes Star Wars a check.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

And yeah. Okay.

[B]

Oh, totally. Yeah. Wow. Yes. Yeah. Any name brands? Cause like when it was like when we were kids, it was like pirate space.

[A]

Very generic. Star Wars Snowman.

[B]

Yeah, exactly.

[A]

Not Jack Frost.

[B]

No, no, she'd pay extra for Jack Frost.

[A]

I mean, can you even say Snowman? Just be like balls of snow.

[B]

Yeah. Oh, that's even copyrighted now. Yeah, so it's so. I don't know, I kind of.

[A]

Oh, let's look here. So Star Wars LEGO set goes for around 39.9. It looks like that's the Amazon discount. It's usually $50.

[B]

Yeah, there's one that's 135.

[A]

There's one that's $425. That's a star Wars. Discontinued by manufacturer. Oh, okay. So this is prime. Kind of like upping the price of this. Oh, so then there's limited edition Star. There's limited edition Legos. Okay. That's expensive for a child's toy that they're just gonna lose. And you know what? Also Legos are a fucking punishment for parents. You get them and then I gotta step on them and fuck my baby toe up all the time.

[B]

Time. Yeah, yeah.

[A]

It's a Lego and a baby toe. Enemies since day one.

[B]

The ultimate rivalry.

[A]

The ultimate rivalry. Legos and baby toes. So just to wrap this, what the information up is here, one website Claims to sell Len products and had its Star Wars Millennium Falcon kit listed for $313, whereas an authentic Lego one goes for $799. $800 for plastic. So they reported that the number of intellectual property rights trials in Shanghai has hit a record high last year. Which makes sense because you all outsourced your fucking labor and you think that they're not going to figure out how to make your product and then sell it online. That's what you fucking get. You know what I mean? Outsourcing labor has cost the US so much money. I mean, well like our economy rather. And so it's like, this is what you fucking get. You deserve, deserve this.

[B]

Yeah, it makes sense that it's like, yeah, we're not gonna pay for the thing that, you know, like it's all. What is it? It's all manufactured, the values, everything. It's all made up anyway.

[A]

Exactly. And. But what I think that they're forgetting too is, is that people derive value from different sources. So some people derive value. It's the same way that you'll see somebody in very expensive clothes and they want you to know they spend a lot for their clothing.

[B]

The name brand.

[A]

Yeah, right. Or you'll see somebody in a very nicely styled outfit, but as soon as you compliment them, they'll be like, oh, I got it on sale at Ross. And this is $5. And this is from a thrift shop. And then this, I, I wrestled this from an old lady on the street. This outfit cost me 25 cents. You know what I mean? Like people derive their value for stuff in different ways.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So some people will probably still. There will always be people who will buy the Lego that is 800. Because it's about the price.

[B]

Yeah, that's a good point. It's if they're thinking it's undercutting their market, I'm sure there's some people who that I definitely know that as kids it's like that thing where if your parent got you the non name brand thing, you're like, mom, like I wanted Lego, not Lepin. You know, I didn't want connects or whatever.

[A]

You open your Christmas present, it's damn lepens. They like, they work the same.

[B]

Yeah, it's like, no it doesn't, mom. Like people are going to know when my off brand Legos like shatter like when I step on them because they're like made out of cheaper material, I bet.

[A]

Right. But I think the whole thing is those people probably wouldn't have purchased Legos anyway. Yeah, A lot of them. Some of them maybe would have saved up, but I feel like a lot of them, it was either leaping or nothing.

[B]

Yeah, no, really, that's the only option. So why not let. Why not let people have the joy, right?

[A]

You know? God, America, a scam. All right, well, that concludes another episode of Scam Guys, so. So I always ask our guests, Stephen, where do you want to be found?

[B]

You can find me. Not by not calling me.

[A]

Yeah, calling us out. We made that clear.

[B]

But you can find me @Steven Raymorris on Twitter and Instagram and Steven Ray Morris with a. With a R, A Y. And. Yeah, I'm just there. You can see all the podcasts and stuff I work on.

[A]

You're on wonderful social media accounts. I am always constantly retweeting and reading the things that you post, so I think it.

[B]

Oh, thank you. I. It.

[A]

It.

[B]

When you're editing podcasts all day, it's like Twitter becomes this, like, fun place that you can just. Even though it's. It is its own scam, too. You get sucked in. But, you know, there's some funny people out there doing funny things.

[A]

There are, and Steven's one of them. Guys, follow Steven Ray Morris on Twitter. He's so funny. And on Instagram, too. I love your pages. I really. And, guys, as always, you can find me at D I V A L A C I Diva Lacey on all platforms. And if you have a scam that you want to share, make sure it's retired. I told you guys, I'm not trying to fuck up your money. Scam goddesspodmail.com or if you've been scammed and you want to share, I won't lie. We'll probably laugh a little bit, but we'd love to hear from you. And then scam GoddessPod on all platforms as well. Congregation, stay scheming. Is.