The Teenage Trickster with Meatball

Summary

Scam Goddess – "The Teenage Trickster" with Meatball

Podcast: Scam Goddess
Host: Laci Mosley
Guest: Meatball (iconic drag performer)
Date: August 4, 2020

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Episode Overview

In this hilarious and eye-opening episode, host Laci Mosley welcomes drag superstar Meatball to discuss the wild world of scams—from cringeworthy online frauds to retail employee hustles, and culminating in the fascinating true story of a teenage cybercriminal dubbed the "15-Year-Old Al Capone." The episode dives into both personal scam anecdotes and the anatomy of major heists, all delivered with trademark wit and infectious banter.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening Banter: Porn, OnlyFans, and "Suspect" Transactions

• Laci and Meatball riff on amateur porn production, water breaks in videos, and the rise of OnlyFans (01:16–02:22).
• Laci describes trying to support a friend's OnlyFans, only to have her bank block the transaction, joking about how banks see it as "robbery" (02:22–02:43).
  • Quote:
    • Laci: "I’m trying to support my homegirl. This is upsetting me and my homegirl. They were like, girl, not with our money. Yeah, you worked for it, but it’s ours." (02:43)

2. Scam Confessions: Falling for Online Fraud

• Meatball reveals he's fallen for internet scams three times, mostly phishing emails that looked legitimate (03:06–03:37).
  • Quote:
    • Meatball: "Three times I’ve just, like, fully given over my credit card information to a fake person. No, because I’m so dumb and so bad at technology." (03:10–03:19)
• Discussion about how requests for money on Venmo can trick users who aren’t paying attention (05:00–05:22).

3. Insider Wisdom: Real vs. Fake Bank Communications

• Laci gives practical advice: major banks and services won’t reach out for sensitive info via email; always double-check before sharing (06:00–06:45).
  • Pro tip:
    • "If anybody’s emailing you like, hey, girl, come verify all your information…they’re not gonna ask for your banking information." (06:20)

4. Listener Scam Story: The Wells Fargo "Small Charge" Refund Con

• A listener pseudonymously dubbed “Shonda” writes in about working at a Wells Fargo call center, revealing that any fraudulent customer claim under $25 was auto-refunded with no investigation.
  • Shonda exploited this by keeping bar tabs under $25 and disputing them to get free drinks for two years (08:11–15:13).
  • Meatball and Laci riff on fake IDs and retail scams they pulled when younger, including clothing swaps at J.Crew (09:28–12:47).
  • Quotes:
    • Shonda (read aloud by Laci): "Being young, dumb, and full of cum...I'd go to the local bars pretty buzzed. So, we wouldn't have to..." (08:55)
    • Meatball: "If you work at a clothing store and they start asking you questions about the clothes that you’re wearing, leave." (11:13)

5. Big Picture: Bank Fees and Institutional Scamming

• Discussion on how banks profit from overdraft fees, essentially "punishing people for being poor," and how easy it is to lose money through Venmo, ATM charges, or fake requests (15:24–16:20).

6. Historic Hoodwink: The Teenage Crypto Kingpin (Ellis Pinsky Story)

• Laci introduces a notorious 15-year-old scammer, Ellis Pinsky, who was accused (with online co-conspirators) of stealing $23.8 million in cryptocurrency from investor Michael Terpin via SIM swapping (19:46–50:05).
  • SIM Swapping Explained:
    • Tricking mobile carriers to port a victim’s phone number to a new SIM, giving scammers access to sensitive accounts (31:29–32:46).
  • Pinsky’s Privilege:
    • Laci and Meatball joke about how Ellis lived in a $1.3 million home, had multiple monitors, and parents who saw nothing odd about his sudden "bitcoin wealth" (25:52–26:24).
    • Quotes:
      • Laci: "He already in a million dollar home, so he probably got...strong Wi-Fi. Like, the most brawlic hookup you can imagine." (26:15)
      • Meatball: "Most 15 year olds don’t even have one monitor in their room. How has he got three?" (27:39)
  • Lavish Lifestyle:
    • Private jet sharing accounts, an Audi R8, and always carrying a wallet of $100 bills—yet rarely paying for anything himself (35:39–43:12).
  • Villainous Behavior:
    • Pinsky would threaten and harass those who crossed him, even calling their parents from burner numbers (43:06–43:29).
    • Quote:
      • Laci: "Can you imagine sending people texts from a burner number to harass them? Like, do you know how crazy you have to be to do stuff?" (49:15)

7. Legal Fallout and Ethics

• Michael Terpin waited until Pinsky turned 18 to sue him as an adult, seeking more than was stolen in damages (46:08–47:02).
  • Laci and Meatball debate whether anyone in this tale is actually sympathetic, with Laci noting, "The boy grew up in a $1.3 million house...I don’t feel bad for anybody involved in this situation." (48:48)
• Reflection on how white-collar criminals are portrayed as "all-American boys," contrasting with racist media narratives for Black people (23:57–24:36).

8. Scammer of the Week: Nigerian Unemployment Scams

• Laci and Meatball discuss large-scale unemployment benefit fraud orchestrated from Nigeria during the pandemic, leveraging data from breaches like Equifax (51:08–54:36).
  • Identity theft used for fake unemployment claims, highlighting the ingenuity and scale of these international scams.
  • Laci: “Shout out to the Nigerian scammers for always finding a new way. I love the princes...You love to see it.” (54:06–54:28)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "If you work at a clothing store and they start asking you questions about the clothes that you’re wearing, leave." – Meatball (11:13)
• "Banks a scam. So shout out to you, Shonda, for using your... That's your information! That’s how I hope it still works, because I’m gonna do it tonight." – Meatball (15:42–16:01)
• "He had strong Wi-Fi... I bet you walk in his house, you could probably see the Wi-Fi." – Laci Mosley (26:15–26:38)
• "He lived in this big expensive house. He had three computer monitors for playing his favorite games, Counter Strike and Call of Duty at the same time...I don’t know if any 15-year-old needs three computer monitors. No, it just feels like that’s too many." – Laci (27:08–27:32)
• "Can you imagine sending people texts from a burner number to harass them? Like, do you know how crazy you have to be to do stuff?" – Laci (49:15)
• "Shout out to the Nigerian scammers for always finding a new way. I love the princes..." – Laci (54:06–54:28)

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Important Timestamps

• [03:06–05:24] Meatball confesses internet scams; Laci talks about suspicious payment requests on Venmo.
• [08:11–15:13] The Wells Fargo $25 auto-refund scam, fake ID stories, and retail employee schemes.
• [19:46–50:05] Main scam story: The rise and exploits of Ellis Pinsky, the teenage crypto scammer, and a walk-through of SIM swapping.
• [35:39–43:29] Pinsky’s lavish lifestyle, family complicity, and his bullying of collaborators.
• [51:08–54:36] Scammer of the Week: Nigerian pandemic unemployment benefit scams.

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Tone and Style

The episode maintains a playful, irreverent, and conversational style throughout, balancing practical scam-prevention advice with gossipy asides, nostalgic tangents, and no-holds-barred takes on race, class, and the ethics of scamming.

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For First-Time Listeners

You'll laugh, you'll learn, and you'll probably update your passwords after hearing these stories. The podcast delivers scam education through humor, relatability, and a healthy dose of shade—all while featuring guests who keep the storytelling fresh and outrageous.

As Laci signs off:

"Stay scheming, you scammers!" (55:25)

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[End of summary]

Transcript

[A]

Scams C, robbery and fraud. Scams C, robbery and fraud. Scam Goddess. What's poppin, Congregation? It's your girl, Scam Goddess. And we're back in another for another edition. Child, I can't even talk. You know, we in the living room, honey. It's Lacey Mosley. And this is Scam Goddess. And guys, you know I always say. What do I say? I'm excited. I'm always excited. I'm thrilled. This is another Twitter meeting that I just keep meeting people that I'm like, in love with on Twitter. Shout out to Twitter. Shout out to Jacks Raggedy Ass for his app because I love that bird app. Guys, today we have an iconic performer living just legend every single day. You probably enjoyed Meatball's work and you don't even know it. He's all over Zeitgeist. And he has a new palette out. Diamond Diva palette available on Hip Dot. Get you some black owned makeup, Hunty. Yes. Guys. Meatball. Meatball.

[B]

Hi. Hi. How are you? Oh, did I just blow your ears out?

[A]

No, no, you're great. You know, we living, we alive, we taking breaths.

[B]

We out here.

[A]

I'm converting that oxygen into carbon monoxide dioxide. Carbon dioxide Dioxide, Yeah, monoxide. I be dying.

[B]

The monoxide, that's the one with the alarm that keeps going off and then the battery, and then you just throw it away.

[A]

Right. That's what you always hear in the back of porno videos. Change our battery. I can hear it while you fucking. Does that mean I watch too much porn? I don't know.

[B]

I like when you just see, like, a random shadow of, like, the camera person and you're just like, oh, I forgot that that's someone's son filming this.

[A]

Right, right. I like porns that don't care about production value. Like, the more raggedy, the better. You know what I mean?

[B]

Just like their cats crawling out from under the sofa.

[A]

I want them to take water breaks. It's cool. You don't have to edit that out. You don't have to edit that out. I want it to look real. I want to feel like I'm staring in from a window.

[B]

Yeah, I think that's why OnlyFans is so popular. Yeah, sometimes it is.

[A]

That's literally what it is. They've turned us all into peeping Toms. I tried to support one of my homegirls onlyfans, but my bank wouldn't let me.

[B]

Yeah, I don't know. So I think it's because the way they charge you, it's like all Secret. Cause, like, no one's supposed to know. So it looks like it's.

[A]

It looks Suspect robbery.

[B]

It looks like a scam.

[A]

Yeah. Cause bank of America was like, no, girl, you may not. I was like, I'm trying to support my homegirl. This is upsetting me and my homegirl. They were like, girl, not with our money. Yeah, you worked for it, but it's ours. I was like, okay, that's fine. Well, meanwhile, what's your relationship with scams? Do you have any relationship with scams?

[B]

I have fallen for, like, three Internet scams.

[A]

No, what were they?

[B]

I know. Okay, well, each time it was because they were done, so well, now I know to always check the emails. Like, look at it if it says it's from, like, Chase, but, like, make sure it's not from, like, notify Chase bank or, like, whatever. So three times I've just, like, fully given over my credit card information to, like, a fake person? No, because I'm so dumb and so bad at technology. I'll just be like, oh, yeah, let me do it from my phone really quick to see what this notification is.

[A]

Oh, yes. No, no, Meatball. No, I know.

[B]

I'm done.

[A]

You getting these emails from Chase bankahoo.com. yes.

[B]

I was like, I didn't even know they were still with Yahoo. I guess it's an old company.

[A]

You're like, sure, yeah, sure.

[B]

Why not? Maybe they didn't make the change, right?

[A]

Maybe they're still on Yahoo. I recently. This isn't even with time Fried, but I just got a text message yesterday from PayPal. I'm putting that in quotes. It says, hi, dear. Which I was like, dear, dear.

[B]

Who the fuck?

[A]

Like, we are we friends. PayPal. I didn't know we was.

[B]

I didn't know we were that close. PayPal.

[A]

And I said, someone has tried to log into your PayPal account. If this is not you, please confirm your identity. Please log in. And then there's a link.

[B]

See, those are the ones.

[A]

Mm.

[B]

But they're not text messages. They're emails. Which to me. But the deal would have been it feels more official. Yeah, but if it was. If Even if it was Chase bank being like, hey, diva, you got a message. You better answer it. I would have done it, because I would have been like, they know me. They get me. Gay cried.

[A]

They get me. Hey, Queen, you know we stand, but what we do not stand is robbery and fraud. So come on over here, girl, and give us your banking info.

[B]

Oh, my God. Also. Oh, another little scam that people are Pulling. You've maybe already talked about it, but on Venmo, the pay request looks a lot like the same. Like, it looks like people sending you money if you're just scrolling through it. So people will, instead of sending me money, will request money, but be like, for this performance. And I'll just hit send and just send them $15.

[A]

Damn.

[B]

You got to read. I don't know how to read.

[A]

You too busy. Me, mom, you're too busy. If you, if your phone is too popping, if you're like, on Venmo, like, just send sense. You have to. You're too booked and you're too busy. Oh, well, yes, those are definitely very popular scams. Guys. As I've told you before, your bank is never going to be reach out to you and ask you for your information. That's not how it works. They will call you or sometimes they'll send an email, but really, if it's fraud, they call you because it's like an immediate thing. So if anybody's emailing you, like, hey, girl, come verify all your information. You don't need to. They have your information. They gonna ask you for passcodes for like your mother's maiden, the first car you had sex with in high school. That's what they're gonna ask you. They're not gonna ask for your banking information. So beware, guys, especially right now, because everybody's in a pandemic and everybody's. A lot of people are unemployed. 40 million people are out of work, and so many people are on unemployment. So, you know, the decimal meter's high, as we like to say. So just take a moment, breathe, and then decide. But let's get into what's hot in fraud. Okay, so today we have a listener letter. I need a name for this person. We never say people's names. You know, if the email's too hot, I delete it so the feds can't come for me.

[B]

Oh, Shonda.

[A]

Shonda.

[B]

Wonderful Shonda. Like Shonda Rhimes because she's my favorite.

[A]

Yes, I love Shonda Rhimes. She brought soap operas to tv. Like, to like nighttime TV to late night tv.

[B]

Yeah, it's so good. You think that what's her name would ever be scammed?

[A]

Who? Viola or Carrie?

[B]

Viola.

[A]

Yes, because her whole existence on that show was a scam. She ain't never murdered nobody. How you never murdered nobody. And you on trial for murder about four, five times.

[B]

Oh, yeah, it kept happening. Maybe Shonda isn't my favorite. She really played that up.

[A]

She played that girl. I felt so bad for Viola. Every time she turned around, one of her friends, one of her students done murder somebody. And always in her damn house, how

[B]

y' all in her house? And then she always gotta sit there and look at him and then just take the wig off while making eye contact to prove that she's tired.

[A]

I don't know how many times throughout the season we saw Viola take her wig, her lashes off, all of her good fenty, because she was sick of these children and they game. I love it. I love to see it. She deserved the Emmy for that. Because I'll tell you one thing, you'll never catch my black ass on TV taking off my makeup. Even if it is done by some horrible makeup artist who's never touched black skin. I'mma still keep it on.

[B]

I think I have to keep mine on, otherwise why am I there?

[A]

They're like, who is this man?

[B]

Logan, get this man out of here.

[A]

Get this man out of here. Oh, I love it. So Shonda says, this is a Wells Fargo scam. And I said, absolutely. They said, I'd like to remain anonymous. Shonda, we got you. But in my younger days, I used to work for a Wells Fargo call center as a customer service rep. We handled general customer questions. But one of the things that we took care of was filing fraudulent charges and disputing them. Well, shortly after my starting position, I realized that any fraudulent charge filed for $25 or less was automatically refunded to your account, no investigation required. Oh, well, being young, dumb, and full of cum. This is what Shonda said.

[B]

All right, Shonda.

[A]

I would go to the local bars pretty buzzed. Cause I broke asses with pregame. So. Yeah, so we wouldn't have.

[B]

That's right. You got a pregame before you go out. I mean, who doesn't? That's not a hard thing.

[A]

I mean, when I was younger, we pregamed before we went out. But that was also probably because we were scamming our way into bars. I said on the show I had a fake id, that the girl had bigger nostrils than I did. So every time I went to the bar, I had to flex my nostrils like this. No. Shout out to racism. They was like, yeah, that's you.

[B]

I had a fake ID when I lived in New York. I was like maybe 18 or 19, but I was running around with a 25 year old white man's ID, and the bars would let me in. Sir, it worked. Logan Jennings. I got right in.

[A]

Meemaw is white. Meemaw is not White. Excuse me? See, you tricked me. I'm already saying you white.

[B]

I'm not white. I am half black. But I was using the other half to get into club. I also just remembered while you were talking and maybe I'll wait until after. But I used to pull scams at the J. Crew I used to work at.

[A]

No, wait, I need to know. It's okay. Our listeners are fine with tangents.

[B]

Okay, okay. They've accepted it well. Okay, so here's the scam. Okay. Maybe cut out that it was J. Crew. Or don't. Didn't they close. Whatever. I worked there and it was awful. And they one year forced me to work on Christmas. And I wasn't allowed to go home for Christmas because I turned in my thing on day 13. Like you're supposed to turn it in two weeks before. 14 days. I was 13 days. It was not enough time. So they were like, you're working here. So then I decided that I was gonna start stealing. And the way I did it was I would take. I realized that the damaged clothes that they took back, they didn't really care about. But if you would return clothes, you could switch out the return clothes with an older damaged item and then take the return clothes that fit you and

[A]

get the nice one.

[B]

Yeah. So I was stunting. When they had brand new inventory, I wouldn't even buy it from the store, but I'd be wearing it in the store and nobody would ask me questions. I never got caught. There'd be like a pair of sunglasses and like a wristwatch band that came in two weeks earlier. And I was like wearing it the next day. Like they didn't care. But then I eventually I think they caught wise. Cause they were like, what store are you buying all these things at? And I was like, I'm quitting.

[A]

You fucking.

[B]

And I literally left that day. Cause I was like, I know they're onto me. If you work at a clothing store and they start asking you questions about the clothes that you're wearing, leave.

[A]

Yeah, run out the door immediately. Don't even clock out. Just peel out. Peel out down the street, change your address. Work at a clothing store in college. And yeah, we would check everyone's purses before they left the store. Like we always checked the employees too to make sure that they weren't stealing. Cuz shrink came from within, honey.

[B]

But I would. Well, they would check my bag, but I would have a pair of jeans in there, extra from what I was wearing. That was the jeans I was switching out. So they would Check off one pair of jeans. And then I'd leave with a brand new pair of jeans. And they would never, like, inspect it and be like, look, one pair of jeans. It's on the list, right?

[A]

This is. I can do this. Yeah. I can work in retail now, you know? No, that's funny. Meatball, you coming in? And they're like, how you got them sunglasses? Those are for. We don't even have them on a mannequin yet.

[B]

You're not allowed to. You're not supposed to get those. And I was like, I got them. So I bought them. What? And they're like, but you work here. How do you have that money?

[A]

They're like, we know. We're not paying you. We are actively underpaying you. Listen, I got a good relationship with Mr. Crew, okay? Me and Jay go to brunch.

[B]

Me and Jay, we went out on this boat. I was wearing his little Sperry boat shoes, stolen khakis rolled up.

[A]

Honestly, that's what they get for making you work on Christmas. So you got some Christmas presents, That's all?

[B]

Yeah, that's all it is.

[A]

These are presents? Gifts.

[B]

Thanks, J. Crew.

[A]

Now y' all closed. Aw, we don't feel bad for J. Crew. We don't. But, yeah, that's how service industry jobs are. They treat you like shit. I had to quit one job. Cause they wouldn't let me go to my grandpa's 80th birthday. And I worked 45 hours a week every week.

[B]

I don't understand it.

[A]

I had the highest sales. It was ridiculous. And so I. Oh, no.

[B]

I had low sales.

[A]

Oh, I don't know why, but I got. They called me a mercenary. I got very excited about making money, so I would be checking everybody else's sales. I would trick people. Like, if you came to eat with me, I was gonna shake your ass down. You wasn't gonna leave with much. Would you like some of this? This Yamazaki? It's $300 a shot. You got it.

[B]

Oh, my gosh. Yes. That's how you get them, right?

[A]

I'm like, are you poor or do you want this drink? I'm like, shaming them. Oh, I loved it. But back to the Wells Fargo scam. So, yes, they would pre game before they would go to bars. And then they would make sure that their bar tab never exceeded $25. Because as long as it was under $25, Wells Fargo would immediately refund the money, no questions asked. So she would turn up. Shonda getting lit.

[B]

Well, who's turning up for less than $25. Are you spreading it across three cards?

[A]

Well, she said she pregamed.

[B]

Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. But I mean, a drink is like $13. So you pregame and then go have one drink. Listen, I'm not out to party unless I'm blacking out.

[A]

Well, I think you gotta get pretty lit to the point where you can get through the door, and then, you know, at that point, you're enjoying the ride. And maybe you have a couple drinks to keep you afloat. But also, I know some bars where the drinks are cheaper. Like, I don't go to them, but I used to. I used to work at.

[B]

I've heard of a trash bar before.

[A]

No, no, no, that's not Shade, y'.

[B]

All.

[A]

I used to work at them, though. You could get a little cocktail for $8. You could get a $5 cocktail if it was happy hour or free before 11.

[B]

I need to go there.

[A]

Right? So for two years, Shonda said that she would call Wells Fargo after she went out and said, I've been robbed. They took me for $25. Exactly. For two years. Yes. Well, Fargo's a big bang.

[B]

That's a long con. Yeah. I guess they're just not checking it that much.

[A]

Right. And that goes to show you how much money they have, guys. And it's our money. And they're giving it away.

[B]

They are giving it away.

[A]

But when you think about overdraft charges, which are just a fake charge to punish people for being poor, they probably raking it in on the other side.

[B]

Oh, yeah, for sure. That's why they like charges when you. The ATM charges, where it charges you $3, and then at the end of it, it's like $6 somehow.

[A]

Yeah. To have money.

[B]

Oh, baby, no.

[A]

Banks a scam. So shout out to you, Shonda, for using your.

[B]

That's your information. That's how I hope it still works, because I'm gonna do it tonight, right? I'm gonna buy weed in 25 increments and be like, I was robbed for $25. Five times.

[A]

Five times. I was about to say, where are you getting 25 weed? Because I need to know, does the. Does the illegal weed man have a square now?

[B]

No, but some of them have Venmo. And I'm like, in these dispensaries, like, I ain't paying you through Venmo. I know that's not real money. That's Internet money, and that don't count.

[A]

Listen, Venmo counts. Yes. It is a sort of a type of Bitcoin but it does count. And then you don't have to pay the taxes because, you know, in California, weed taxes are a bitch. You'll buy some weed and they'll be like, all right, well it's going to be $72. I'm like, but y' all said 50. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But the government came and they want 22.

[B]

And then you stepped foot in the store. So we want five more.

[A]

And we have a service fee and a door opening fee and a gardening fee. Like the la.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Is expensive. It's literally like medmen is a thing that we have in Los Angeles where they're weave stores that look like Apple stores and they cost about as much. You be in there, you'd be like, and would you like to buy weed care with that? What was weed care? You know, just in case your weed don't get high. If you don't get high, then you got insurance. But if you don't buy the weed care, we can, we can't help.

[B]

We can't help. And we can't do anything for water damage. That's all you.

[A]

If you get water on the weed that is fully on you, we will not be giving you any refunds. I was like, how is this exactly the Apple store? They're like, we selling our weed in all glass cases now. Now if you crack the glass, you won't be able to use the weed.

[B]

Also, they always try to add on like not even a joke, just one of their hoodies or T shirts, right? Which are just. It'll just make me look like I work at your store. What do you want from me?

[A]

Yeah, I'm not trying to look like an employee weed. And now shout out to employees of weed. But I'm not trying to.

[B]

No. I love Mad Men. They have those $60 like their 1 gram joints. It's like a fucking cannon.

[A]

Oh, wow.

[B]

See, that'll light you up.

[A]

I can't do that much weed. I, I do weed every now and then at night before I go to sleep. Sometimes I have like a puff. But I'm like, I have anxiety. So if I'd smoke weed, I'd be like, I'm not working hard enough. My grandma can see me right now. Can my grandpa see me when I masturbate? Like my brain just like my brain goes way too far into paranoid.

[B]

That's too far. Yeah, don't do it there. Don't do it.

[A]

Yeah, No, I can't. But every now and then, you know, your girl can have a little puff of the ganja I sound like an op. I sound like I work for the police. Like, hey, boys, let me get three weeds, please. All right, guys, we're gonna take a quick break. We'll be right back. Scam.

[B]

La Croix is a scam.

[A]

It is. It don't even taste like fruit.

[B]

No.

[A]

Somebody said La Croix is like if you drink a club soda and then someone shouted the name of a fruit in the other room. And that still makes me laugh.

[B]

Exactly what it is. Also, for some reason, when it's hot out, I mean, I'm not gonna get into the science of it, but they just like lose bubbles and they get so warm so quick.

[A]

So you can't keep them in the trunk of your car too long.

[B]

No.

[A]

Well, guys, we are back. I'm probably gonna just leave that in there. Lacroix. A scam. I like Spindrift. You know what? I like all of the brands. Whoever sponsors this show, I would like the most.

[B]

Spandrift, Bubbly. Pellegrino. Right?

[A]

All the girls. Whichever. Whichever one of y' all want to show up for Scam Goddess. I'll be sucking on y' all bubbles all. Okay, that does not sound good. Anyway, giving them bubbles. Guys, it's time for historic hoodwinks. And it's so funny, meatball, that you were talking about how Bitcoin and Venmo, you don't believe in that money. Cause that's exactly what this scam is about today.

[B]

Oh, perfect.

[A]

And I think you gonna believe in this money after this.

[B]

Really? Yes, I'm gonna run scams after this.

[A]

Yes, I would love for you to run scams after this. One second. I do want to shout out someone who brought this scam to my attention on Twitter. Essential E on Twitter. Shout out to you, queen. You tagged me in this scam. And then I went on a deep rabbit hole. And then my research assistant went on a deeper one. And I love it. So, guys, today we're Talking about the 15 year old Al Capone. That's what they're calling him, which I thought was very cute.

[B]

Oh, I thought we were talking about Al Capone when he was 15.

[A]

Oh, we should do that one day. That actually needs to be an episode, but this is about. He's currently 18 suburban New York high school senior who is being sued for allegedly being the mastermind ringleader of a cybercrime scheme that defrauded cryptocurrency investors out of millions of dollars in digital currency. Now, he was 15 at the time that he did this, and his name is Ellis Pinsky. Which. What a name. Ellis Pinson.

[B]

What an Ellis? Honey, that's the name of someone that pulls scams. I'm just trying to remember myself at 15, and I don't think I would have been able smart enough to, like, trick anybody. So I'm excited to see what he did.

[A]

I don't know, because now that I think about it, at 15 I was on MySpace and I was doing HTML. Maybe I should have took it further.

[B]

You were doing some schooling. Yeah, maybe I should have learned how to hack.

[A]

I could have. I could have learned how to hack and been making coins.

[B]

Truly.

[A]

Here I am making banners and surveys and shit when I could have been making Monty.

[B]

Here I am making glittery gifs of little girls with wings. Animated demons.

[A]

Those gifs were so ghetto.

[B]

They were so bad.

[A]

The ghetto. What were we doing? Such a fun time on the Internet. So he's accused of stealing data. Data. Data. My dad will kill me. I think it's data. He's a programmer and he hates when people say it wrong. For Michael Terpine and others, by accessing his smartphone through SIM swaps and then logging into his online accounts. So Pinsky was stealing people's info through their phones, somehow swapping it digitally with something called a SIM swap, Which I was like, okay, like a SIM card? Yeah.

[B]

Like he would take the SIM card out and put a new one in their phone. Or he would clone it digitally.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

So listen, already smarter than me, right?

[A]

I don't even know how to do the first part of this scam.

[B]

Y' all said, I didn't even know SIM cards exist. Oh, okay. They did back up, right?

[A]

They said, step one. And I said, huh, okay, logging out. So I guess I gotta do my robbery in person. I'm not advanced enough to do my robbery.

[B]

Yeah, I gotta get like. I gotta get their phone in my hands, right?

[A]

So basically, they would access people's phone through SIM swaps and then logging in to their personal online accounts through this SIM swap. So Michael Turpin was the biggest victim of this crime, and he's suing Pinsky and 20 co conspirators for $71.4 million in damages.

[B]

Were these co conspirators online co conspirators or like a little gang of friends that he had? Cause I don't have 20 friends.

[A]

These were online. Some of them were in Europe. It's like he's just assembled the smartest little criminal babies.

[B]

Hacking crew.

[A]

Yes. Just an army of little baby. You know what?

[B]

Frankly, I'm on his Side so far right.

[A]

I am too, but I don't know. I think I might turn. But we'll see. So Michael Turpin is the victim, is a pioneer of world cryptocurrency. He has accused Ellis Pinkston of Irvington, New York, and his 20 alleged co conspirators of stealing $23.8 million worth of cryptocurrency. Pinsky was just 15 and in the 10th grade at the time of the alleged crime. On the surface, Pinsky is an all American boy. I really hate when they say this. Does this just mean white boy?

[B]

That just means white.

[A]

They always do this for, like, school shooters and shit. They like, he loved Taco Bell. And also murdering his peers. Like, what are we doing?

[B]

He was super normal until he killed those three cats.

[A]

Right? Like, there were warning signs, guys.

[B]

There was definitely warning signs. Come on.

[A]

Meanwhile, when black folks get killed, they're like, one time in fifth grade, he stole a chocolate milk from the lunch cafeteria.

[B]

So that check bounced. That check bounced. We had to kill. Oh, it was a $20 bill, right?

[A]

Exactly. Like, they don't give us this leeway,

[B]

but if you fight, then you get

[A]

to be a hero.

[B]

You're all American. You're great. Ugh.

[A]

So Turpin said in a complaint filed in federal court that he claims he's a really evil computer genius. So everyone else sees him as this all American boy. And Michael Turpin said, this little boy is an evil computer genius.

[B]

I mean, hey, I mean, if it's

[A]

a complaint, he says that a gang of digital bandits would steal from victims after gaining control of their smartphones. Pinsky bragged to his friends that he would never get caught. I feel as though you should never say that. You're never gonna get caught.

[B]

That is the first mistake of anything, right?

[A]

That's you.

[B]

Definitely.

[A]

I've never heard of anybody who said they weren't gonna get caught.

[B]

Not getting caught, exactly.

[A]

I feel like.

[B]

Or it's like, don't say that. Be like, if we get caught, here's how we're gonna get out of it. Maybe a plan B when you go

[A]

into one of these contingency. But you know what? He's 15. And at 15, I wasn't thinking about dying. I never looked at my body. I was very hot. And I just never remember looking at my body and being like, oh, I have a body. I was just like, now I get up. Now I get up, and I'm like, what's wrong with my knee? Or I'm like, what is this?

[B]

I was like all I did was walk for three hours yesterday and I cannot move today.

[A]

I'm old, right? But at 15, I've never thought about my body ever. So he probably thinking he will live forever. So to neighbors and classmates at Irvington High, they thought he was this ordinary 10th grader who ran track, played soccer, loved cool sneakers and got good grades. Ellis's bedroom in the 1.3 million dollar home he shared with his family. Okay, so he already.

[B]

See, so it goes all the way up to the top.

[A]

This is privilege because I thought this little boy was gonna be hacking out of somebody's shack. He already in a million dollar home, so he probably got.

[B]

And he was already a sneaker head. He like was in nice shoes enough that they were like, he liked them, right?

[A]

He had strong WI fi. Like the most brawlic hookup you can imagine. I bet you walk in his house, you could probably see the wifi.

[B]

Yeah, I bet he had an indoor pool too, right?

[A]

I just imagine, you know in those tech movies where they always plug the wires into the computer and then you see like all the colors going into the computer. I imagine that's what his wifi looked like. Like it was so strong you could see it.

[B]

You could cut it with a knife, right?

[A]

Like, what's that? Oh, that's just the WI fi. You gonna feel it?

[B]

Sometimes don't bother.

[A]

Sometimes. Don't worry about it. So he lived in this big expensive house. He had three computer monitors for playing his favorite games, Counter Strike and Call

[B]

of Duty at the same time.

[A]

Probably. He got two hands on two different keyboards, just typing away, clacking away. I don't know if any 15 year old needs three computer monitors. No, it just feels like that's too many. Give him one. Just the one, you know, let him have a little.

[B]

He can plug it into the TV if he wants, right? He can go to the living room.

[A]

He can have an HDMI cable. He can't even have airplay. 15 year olds don't deserve airplay.

[B]

Most 15 year olds don't even have one monitor in their room. How has he got three?

[A]

Right? I didn't have a computer in my room until my parents were like, oh, this computer's old. You can have this one. Maybe. I might have been around the same age and all we did on there was try to find porn. They're like, the kids don't need computers in their room.

[B]

My parents left the computer in the living room until I think we were both 18. Cause they knew we were just gonna use it to jack off like, crazy.

[A]

That's all kids are doing on their computers. That and YouTube. They like to watch YouTube a lot.

[B]

Oh my God, they're obsessed with YouTube. Just sit there and watch, babysit. These two kids who would just watch it for like four hours straight on an iPad. And they each had their own iPad and it was just watching videos of people opening boxes. Yes.

[A]

They love unboxings. They love just random stuff that I'm like, why are y' all looking at this? My sister loves it. I don't get it. Anyway, I'm old. So. In his early teens, Pinsky began hacking computers with the mission of accessing his victims private accounts, where they store their cryptocurrency holdings and private information. Penske's best friend thought he was making money through trading bitcoin and stock. According to an insider, the snitch friend. This sounds like a hater.

[B]

Mm, this is definitely a hater.

[A]

You should have bought your best friend some Jordans or something. Like, you can't just be out here flexing and then your best friends don't get none. Okay. Cause then they gonna start looking and they gonna start feeling some type of way. Next thing you know, they singing like a canary at the Fed's office.

[B]

Exactly. The minute anyone starts asking questions, start handing them gifts.

[A]

Right? Or run out of the store and quit the job like we said earlier.

[B]

Exactly. True, true, true.

[A]

These are your options.

[B]

Give your boss the gift of the things that you stole and then run.

[A]

So there was at least one unusual thing about Ellis. In a complaint he once allegedly wrote to an acquaintance, he said, I could buy you and your family. I have a hundred million dollars.

[B]

Wow. He really said that?

[A]

Big white man energy. Yes.

[B]

Come on.

[A]

Owning people and such like your ancestors who even stood.

[B]

Can you imagine a little 15 year old saying that to you? Like a little white 15 year old looking you dead in the eye. Be like, I could own you and your family.

[A]

And you know, his voice ain't even that deep. Because I can own you and your family. I got $100 million, bitch. You better get away from my locker.

[B]

I bet he had a bowl cut too. What does this little fuck look like? What is his name?

[A]

His name is Ellis Pinsky. And he looks exactly like what you think he going to look like. Well, please look him up so that

[B]

you can enjoy it. I'm looking right now, so I'll do.

[A]

I'll keep going.

[B]

Look at this little kid. Oh my God. He is the exact. I wanna punch him. He looks like a little rat.

[A]

He looks like every like snobby little stuck up boy you've seen standing outside of a nightclub in West Hollywood.

[B]

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

[A]

With like, just a bunch of women who haven't eaten in days.

[B]

Truly. And he needs a haircut. Okay.

[A]

Yes. So now chow. So how he did it was in January 2018. A team of half dozen computer hackers scattered across Europe and the United States and scammed their way into Michael Turpin's cryptocurrency account. They took around $23.8 million. Video games were allegedly the teens gateway into the sim swapping crime. So obviously Ellis is a gamer and this was his primary interest. Ellis was allegedly a regular on private video game web chat rooms like Discord and Skype, where people often brag about hacks. I don't know what Discord is. I've heard of Skype.

[B]

I've heard of Skype, but are the

[A]

girls still getting on Skype? I didn't know.

[B]

No, no, everyone's on Zoom now.

[A]

Yeah, we need to get off Zoom too. They ain't shit either. We need to go back to Skype.

[B]

I'm just wondering, so what exactly. Sorry, I'm just a little confused. What exactly is he doing? He's trading these things in group chat or like.

[A]

So sim swapping. SIM swapping occurs when a hacker tricks a mobile phone carrier into transferring the target's phone number from a registered SIM card, the small plastic chip connecting a phone to the cellular network. And they have them transfer it to a SIM that they possess. So they're tricking the mobile networks by being like, basically like, I got a new phone.

[B]

I got a new phone.

[A]

I'm Michael Turpine and I got a new phone. And then Verizon's like, okay, Michael Turpine sounds good.

[B]

Fuck Verizon. Is this now why Verizon's like, you need your dad's PIN number, your mom's Social Security? Like, they ask so many questions now, right?

[A]

They like, can you hear me now? Can you hear me now? I said I could hear you. Verizon. No, but can you hear me though? We hear you.

[B]

Are you listening to me?

[A]

Is this you? So this is how they do this trick, which I'm sure a lot of you guys were like, are you gonna explain sim swapp ever? Because we passed it four times. But yes, that's what SIM swapping is. So this can be done with the help from someone at the carrier or by stating information about the target obtained from social media and other accounts. Your phone goes dead and theirs goes alive and Then they own you.

[B]

Ooh, bitch.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

What would you do if all of a sudden, all of your text messages and everything, you had just ended up on someone else's phone?

[A]

Bruh, I'll say this about myself. I'm a. I'm a scammer through and through. If I have something to say that's incriminating, I'mma call you. I will never say it via text. I will never say it via email. I recommend this, guys. If you're upset with people, give them a phone call. Don't send no angry text messages. You never know how that could be misconstrued. And don't leave no voice messages.

[B]

Huh? Okay.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

You gotta call, and you know they can't.

[B]

Cause I'mma make the mayor of LA message me.

[A]

Then please do, because I would love to get rid of Eric Garcetti. So Ellis and his crowd were always on the lookout for vulnerable marks. And guys, they said they get some of the basic information off of Facebook too. So when you're on Facebook, guys, I know y' all are on Facebook talking to y' all Granny Nim. I am too. But you don't need to put your cousins under family. You don't need to put where you went to high school and what year you graduated. Like, all that extra information that you have on your Facebook is. Scammers go on Facebook and get that information and run cons. They do it with the grandma scams, like, where they call your grandma and they say that you in jail so that your grandma will send them money. You know how they get that information? They go on grandma's Facebook. They go on your Facebook and they're like, oh, this is the name of her grandchildren. This is the name of her nieces and nephews. Now, I have enough information to go over here and run this con. So just guys, limit the information that you put on Facebook. I know they already took a scan of your retina and your booty hole, but you can still take off where you went to high school. You can take all that stuff off. Take it off. So they would look for people who were vulnerable. One of the teen collaborators, Nick Trulia, specialized in that task. He was four years older than Ellis and a finance economics major. Trulia would con a mobile phone carrier into giving him or another imposter a new SIM card, and then he would hand off the scam to Penske to execute the hack. But in May 2019, Turpine, the one who was hacked, Michael, won a second $75 million civil judgment in Related to a case against Nicholas Trulia. Now, Does Nicholas have $75 million?

[B]

Well, yeah. Where is that money now? What is this all. What is going on? So did he take 75 million from him already, or is that just what the lawsuit was worth?

[A]

So he's looking for more than what was stolen, which is fascinating.

[B]

That's a trick on its own. Because it's like, why don't you just get back what you got and leave it there? Cause this kid's a scammer. He's gonna get his friends in on it again or something.

[A]

Exactly. And also like, in what world, if you think he only stole 23 million from you, why do you think he got 75? Yeah, like you trying to come up. Just get your money back.

[B]

Yeah, get your money back and leave, sir. Call it a day.

[A]

So let's talk a little bit about Ellis lavish lifestyle. Cause obviously.

[B]

Oh, yes, please.

[A]

Doing the robbery. So Pinky is alleged to have used a portion of the money to maintain this big lifestyle, all while living at home with his parents paying no rent, no utilities. Hell, he probably wasn't even taking out the trash, let's be real.

[B]

Nope. Never cooked dinner once.

[A]

His parents believed that he made his money doing bitcoin. And it's funny to me because obviously if you have rich ass parents, they're just gonna assume like, you know, the rich get richer. They're like, yeah, our son is also a millionaire. He's 15 and he's in his room on the computer all the time. It makes sense.

[B]

It makes total sense that he's just doing bitcoin.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

He didn't have any questions.

[A]

They seem like it was. They seem like three times a month. They're like, yeah, we got back from the Caymans and he's a bitcoin millionaire.

[B]

Yeah. Like, the grandma's like, so what exactly is it? And the mom's just like, it's just he does bitcoin. He types and coins and just like,

[A]

things on the Internet.

[B]

Yes. It just happens. We always just make more money. He's doing the bitcoin. I just don't understand how anybody who knew his parents or asked anything about, like, if he was buying a bunch of stuff, why weren't they? Like, what exactly does he do for bitcoin? Like, when I started doing drag, my parents asked me every possible question about what drag is. And like, they were like asking uncomfortable ones, like, are you a prostitute? Like, they were trying to get know so much about me. But his parents seemed to just be like, cool. Make that Money kid, right?

[A]

They're like, all right, well, your mother and I are going off offshore again, but we're proud of you, son. Give you a little head rub. Rub them on the head and then they leave. Like, what? That's so funny that your parents were like, are you a prostitute?

[B]

They were like, we don't understand if it's like a sex thing. And I was like, it's absolutely the furthest thing from sex.

[A]

It's not a sex thing.

[B]

In fact, my penis is hidden away forever when I'm in dress, right?

[A]

In fact, I'm taping my penis away,

[B]

penis back, and I'm putting on six pairs of pantyhose so that no one can see it, right?

[A]

No one could possibly have sex with me in drag.

[B]

I know. I have like a half of a sofa in for my padding. So, like, you gotta get through that. Six inches of foam. Good luck.

[A]

I love it. So, yeah, these parents truly, clearly did not give a fuck. So he was alleged to have had an account at JetSmarter, a private jet sharing company, and drove an Audi R8, which is worth around $170,000. So the parents weren't wondering. No one started asking questions when the baby was getting on the jets. Nobody.

[B]

Maybe they thought that, like, none of this stuff is that expensive.

[A]

They thought private jets weren't expensive and they own a $1.3 million house. I have a feeling these parents knew what was up. They must have been getting a cut.

[B]

Yeah, or some. Something must have been going on for them to not ask any questions, Right?

[A]

Would I ask questions if my kid became a hundred millionaire? Absolutely not.

[B]

But if he had no job, maybe they thought they were just giving him. Maybe he had like an allowance and they just don't know how much things cost.

[A]

I mean, look, rich people, they really don't be knowing how much stuff costs. I mean, Virgil Abloh donated $50 to what, a dumbass? To Black Lives Matter causes. And now we call $50 a Virgil. Virgil.

[B]

Hand me a Virgil.

[A]

I can't believe that Virgil posted that too. Like, ah, I'm helping my people. I gave him $50, bro. We can't even take that $50 and buy a pair of your socks.

[B]

Yeah, for those of you who don't know Virgil, he was donating more, though.

[A]

Yeah, I think he did, because we shamed him. We shamed him for a solid three days.

[B]

Could you imagine posting something thinking it was like, I'm changing the world and then just everyone's dragging you in.

[A]

The comments, they're like, Bitch. You could have kept this. Virgil Abloh, if you don't know, designs for Louis Vuitton. And he also does off white. And he has had combinations or, you know, collabs with Supreme. He's like, very rich and he's a kind of a prominent designer. And he's black, and he's one of the few black designers in the high end kind of space. So, you know, obviously black lives. Things have been going on and things have always been going on, but they kind of came to a head a few months ago or a month ago. And. Yeah, so he tried to donate $50 and we got. We clowned him to kingdom.

[B]

Oh, we clowned him good.

[A]

I'll never stop calling it a Virgil.

[B]

I took the Post down.

[A]

I'm gonna keep it two Virgils with you, which means I'm keeping it a hundred. So speaking of 100, Ellis would always carry around a designer wallet packed with a hundred dollar bills. But he never liked to pay for anything, according to an insider. And see, that's just how at 15, was Virgil already a stingy rich billionaire.

[B]

I have no idea. I'm so jealous that he was so smart to scam these people.

[A]

He had a lot of money and never would pay for things.

[B]

Never would pay for anything and showed off all the money to make sure everyone knew he had it. And that is. You just don't do that when you're stealing.

[A]

Right? And also, that's a big thing that celebrities like to do. Like, I remember one of my friends would always have to wait on Paris Hilton back in her clubbing days when she would be showing her coochie when she got out the car. Remember, that was a fad. I missed showing your coochie.

[B]

Yeah. Getting out of a low car, no panties, leg spreads.

[A]

Why was that a fad? Like, I don't know.

[B]

I don't really think it was a fad as much. It was just like her. Nicole Richie, Lindsay Lohan, and Anne Hathaway all just had a good time, right?

[A]

We just gonna show y' all our coochies. Why not? It's the 2000s. It's the 2000s. Why not? So he was. So I was saying that because Paris Hilton would go to all these nightclubs and my friends would have to wait on her and she would never tip and she would never have to. To pay. Yes. So a lot of rich people don't like to spend their money, and it ain't right.

[B]

It ain't right.

[A]

So a photo viewed by the Post shows Ellis at a nightclub with A bottle of Dom Perignon, and he's got some waffy white women next to him. You know, the types that are at the nightclubs. He showed little interest at being at the club, said one of his snitch friends. After posing for pictures with bottles, he would go outside. Well, I mean, he was 15.

[B]

Yeah. I'm wondering why. What clubs are letting you in? I mean, you're paying to get in, but, like. Yeah, he had no interest in it. Cause he wasn't allowed to drink.

[A]

Popping clubs. Oh, no, they probably letting him drink. He's posing with a bottle of Dom. He was going to, like, up and down, which I remember up and down back in, like, 2016. 2015 was, like, a really popular club in New York. I think it's owned by the same people who own Bootsy Bellows and, like, a bunch of those type of clubs. And I would.

[B]

Yeah, those clubs. I've literally seen children in those clubs.

[A]

Oh, yeah, they. If you have enough money, you can get in. And also, this is creepy, but the club promoters would be, like, telling high school girls, like, if they were 18, like, oh, come out. Come to the club. Like that thing, too.

[B]

Yeah, I saw that episode of Law and Order svu.

[A]

Right. Unfortunately. Oh, so he's going to the club. He turning up, and I guess not really turning up and leaving. Apparently, he anticipated retiring from crime after the Michael Turpin heist. He would tell everyone what to do during heists, and he bragged about the robbery being his job. However, if you pissed him off, he would start texting you from weird numbers and threatening you. He'd call your parents and say weird things. So maybe he was an evil computer genius.

[B]

I think he might be an evil genius. I mean, to have the balls to, like, call people's parents and what are

[A]

you saying to them?

[B]

Yeah, truly, I didn't like the way your son talked to me the other day.

[A]

Hello, Mr. Johnson. Yeah, I'm just calling to tell you your son's a little bitch.

[B]

Yeah, we trying to rob these people on the Internet, and he's being a little dick about it. He says it's wrong.

[A]

Like, what are you telling them? What are you calling to tell them? That's all I want to know. So one day, Michael Turpin's lawyer contacted Pinsky's mother. And although her son did not admit to anything, soon after the complaint was filed, he allegedly sent Michael Turpin's lawyer $2 million, including cryptocurrency cash and a Pataic Philippi knotless wristwatch. Which isn't that. Is that an AP watch? Oh, no, that's Artemis Bouquet.

[B]

Yeah, I only know that from that one Beyonce song, Right?

[A]

Beyonce always be telling me about rich people stuff. I was like, purple labels. Okay.

[B]

Yeah. I have no idea.

[A]

Diamond cream facials. Okay. They creaming the diamonds up and putting them in the facial. Okay. Yeah. That's how I learned about rich people things, too. I'm like, yes. Beyonce keeps singing about it. Yamazaki as well. That's how I learned to slang it.

[B]

Wristwatch.

[A]

Oh, we could go on forever. Beyonce loves to tell us how rich she is, and I love it too. So he sent this Philippe. This pat. This Pataic Philippe watch. And also $2,000,000 in cryptocurrency and cash. This is what he sent to the lawyer. So he said, I don't know nobody named Michael. I've never heard of that man in my life. But, you know, would you like $2 million? And then would you like some gifts and $100,000 watch?

[B]

I guess I'm gonna have to take it. Yeah, I guess you've never heard of that guy. I mean, I would take that money so quick and be like, hush, hush. I didn't. I don't know.

[A]

Right? You drop off from being Turpine's lawyer. Like, look, man, I don't think you got a case. I gotta go. Like, where you get that watch? So I'm sorry. You should just give up. You should just not worry about that 23 mil. You'll make more. All right, I'll see you.

[B]

Yeah. Who's gonna get it back? Why don't you scam the kid back? That'd be more fun.

[A]

The lawyer's telling you what would be more fun. He's like, no, I want to go to court. He's like, you know what's more fun than court, though? Scamming him back. So maybe become. Become a computer hacker. Stay with me. Scamming back. So there was no other reason to send these Items worth nearly $2 million at the time, other than to try to make a partial repayment of what he had stolen from Michael. Obviously. Although no criminal charges have been filed, Turpine told the Post that he deliberately waited until after Pinsky turned 18 in order to file a suit against him as an adult.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

This said it would be easier to sue him than it would be if he was a minor and intending to get. They want the damages that they're trying to get back. Right. So they don't want to sue a minor. And then he has A slap on the wrist. He got to go to baby jail.

[B]

Yeah. They want him to get the full extent. But I mean, isn't. Is this not. I don't know.

[A]

And they named him. They nicknamed him Baby Al Capone. That's Michael's nickname. He's already branding him because he's like, I'm about to drag your ass through the press. Michael met up with the PR agency, and he was like, I need a name for the kid. Very cute. We need to make him seem evil. What do we got? We got an informant, snitch, friend. I'll give you $2 million. So Pinsky's attorney told the Post, Ellis was a child at the time of the alleged conduct. It's deeply unfortunate that Mr. Turpine has chosen to bring a lawsuit full of smears and baseless allegations for no imaginable purpose other than spite. So if you steal $23 million from me, I feel like I'm gonna be a little spiteful.

[B]

Yeah, it's gonna be all spite.

[A]

Majority spite. 99%.

[B]

99.9%. Spite, bitter. 1%. I need my money back.

[A]

Yeah, obviously, he didn't need his money that badly if he waited three years to get it. Cause the baby was 15, and his petty ass was over here. Got the birthday on the calendar.

[B]

He probably did. The day it happened, he was like, get him right.

[A]

He's just checking off the days. Each day, he puts a little X in the box. Michael, just wait until he turned 18. I love it.

[B]

Counting his money and counting the days, right?

[A]

It's like, obviously you're pretty rich if you got imaginary Internet money. If you got enough money to have imaginary $23 million and also real money,

[B]

how much tangible money must you have? And then enough money to be like, hold on. You took 23 fucking million dollars from me? But don't worry. I'mma wait.

[A]

I will wait three years. I'm not waiting three years. If you take $20 from me, let alone 23 million, I'mma be at your door, like, hello. Hello.

[B]

You got some money for me?

[A]

No. Yes. I need my $14.33. I did not forget you didn't bring me my change when you came out the gas station. I'm not waiting three years for 23 mil.

[B]

No.

[A]

Shout out to Ellis. Cause technically, he hasn't gone to jail for this. And he probably.

[B]

That's so insane.

[A]

Still hasn't.

[B]

Probably won't because he was, like, 50. He still has the money.

[A]

He get it back.

[B]

I thought someone would put it, like, on Hold.

[A]

That's not how money works.

[B]

That's not how money. Look at you. That isn't how money. This is fucked up. But why? I mean, why wouldn't he just wait until he was 15 and just be like, that's a lot of money to steal. Like, I feel like, whatever.

[A]

Cause obviously he didn't need the money. Which is why I don't feel bad for anybody involved in this situation. The boy grew up in a $1.3 million house. He had three computers. At the age of 15, he was

[B]

a rich little punk and he wanted just a ton of money. So he took it. Good for him.

[A]

Good for him.

[B]

Great for him.

[A]

Now obviously he's gonna grow up to be a bad dude because he's already a bad guy.

[B]

It'd be like fyre fest too, right?

[A]

Can you imagine sending people texts from a burner number to harass them? Like, do you know how crazy you have to be to do stuff?

[B]

Could you imagine being 15, calling your

[A]

friend's mom, cussing them out in your hot bitch voice? You've gone through puberty yet? Listen up, bitch. You tell Tommy to play. Play right or else. Who is this?

[B]

Who? What? I guess Tommy. There's a 15 year old girl who's mad at you.

[A]

He says you need to pay him the money or he's gonna break your legs. But he sounds like a baby. Listen here, wady, you gimme the moneys or wheels. Look, I imagine him being a toddler now.

[B]

He's a little toddler. He's like a baby in a diaper.

[A]

Well, Ellis, you know, shout out to you. You sound like a great guy. I mean, a bad guy.

[B]

You sound like a real stand up guy. I mean, congratulations for keeping the money, I guess. And like slipping scams like that. I mean, Internet scams are the hardest because, like, no one was like set up for this. It wasn't like an email thing. It was literally just like, we're gonna steal your information and I'm gonna steal all your money.

[A]

You had to build the scam from the ground up. Yeah, that's, you know, the ingenuity is what we applaud. We don't applaud this gentleman. He seems to be a very mean guy with very little friends. All right, guys, we're gonna take a quick break. We'll be right back. Robbery and fraud. And we're back, guys. And it's the end of the show. It's the saddest part. I have to let Meatball go. We've been having such a good Time.

[B]

This has been so fun.

[A]

So scammer of the week. This is where we highlight one famous Charlotte 10, and we just praise them for being awful. And this week, it's. It's going back to Nigeria, which I told you guys.

[B]

Oh, they'll get you.

[A]

Silicon Valley of scams. You want to just talk about innovation, you want to talk about, you know, ingenuity? You're talking about Nigeria. Listen to me, eh? Okay, we have a scam where scammers are stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars. I love to get canceled by the Nigerian community as opposite.

[B]

Yeah, they're gonna love that.

[A]

They're stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars using fake unemployment claims. So obviously in this time in our country, we've had the highest unemployment rates that we've had in quite some time, and everyone's filing for unemployment. So Dana Lurie received a call from her boss one day saying, did you quit without telling me? He asked. We got an unemployment form from the state of Washington saying, you don't work here anymore. So it turned out, like other thousands of Washington state residents, Lurie's identity was being used by criminals seeking to capitalize on the flood of legitimate unemployment claims coming and seeking in fraudulent ones. Allegedly hundreds of thousands of dollars were paid out in fake claims, much of it apparently to West African fraud ring, using identities stolen prior to data breaches, such as the massive 2017 Equifax breach. So I tried to get a check from Equifax and they was like, girl, you didn't have Equifax. And I was like, you right, you right, you right.

[B]

I think everyone tried, didn't it? Wasn't it like $75 or something, right?

[A]

I think it was like 150. I was like, I take it.

[B]

Oh, I take it too. I think I remember being like, wait, did I have fx? I need it. I need that money.

[A]

They were like, girl, you wasn't over here. You wasn't shooting in the gym. And I was like, okay, y' all are right. I'm gonna go now. Just got my keys, but thank you so much.

[B]

So, well, good for them, I guess.

[A]

Watch out, guys, because if you got paid out from that Equifax scam, apparently they never lost your identity. Like, the Equifax was like, my bad. We gave away y' all identities, but they never got them back.

[B]

Yeah, it's like once it's gone, it's gone, it's gone.

[A]

You gotta change stuff. Passwords, codes, emails. Cuz they got you. And the Nigerians, they are cleaning up so at least nine states have been subject to these attacks. They're saying that the Secret Service issued a warning earlier this month about scammers targeting unemployment benefits. In many cases, the fraudsters have used identities of people who haven't lost their jobs, so they aren't likely to immediately notice if they're filing under someone else's name. So they get employed. Unemployment.

[B]

That's nice. Why don't people just do that already? What's gonna happen?

[A]

I truly love the boss calling and being like, wait a minute. When did you quit?

[B]

When did you quit? I need to know these things.

[A]

Well, listen, when you had said, where did you get that sweater from at J. Quinn. And I ran out the door, and

[B]

I just left with my middle finger up. That counts.

[A]

That was me quitting. I'm unemployed. You know what? Shout out to the Nigerian scammers for always finding a new way. I love the princes. I love the Nigerian king who we talked about on here, who sold an airport to Banco Nrestre. An airport that wasn't real. You just. You love to see it.

[B]

I love to see it.

[A]

And I hope. I hope, guys, that you get to keep the money and nobody ever tracks you because the American government is a scam.

[B]

Mm.

[A]

Hoo wee. Well, guys, that brings us to the end of another episode. We always ask Kara Meatball, where do you want to be found?

[B]

Probably my Instagram or. Yeah, my Instagram. Iciestmeatball. Or if you want, you can go listen to my podcast, Sloppy Seconds with Big Dipper and Meatball. We just have on a bunch of fun guests and harass them for an hour.

[A]

Yes. Listen. Oh, you're so funny. You're so talented. I'm so happy to have you.

[B]

Thank you. You are, too. I'm so excited that I was on the podcast.

[A]

Yes. As always, guys, scamgoddesspodmail.com if you want to snitch on your friends and family, scamgoddesspod on all platforms. You can follow me at D I V A L A C I D Valacy on all platforms. All right, schemers, Schemers. Scammers. You know, stay scheming.

[B]

Stay scheming. You scammers.

[A]

Scam goddess Sam.