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- [00:00]
Sarah Hagie
Hey, Scamfluencers fans. Sarah here. If you love the drama Deception and Mind blowing reveals, Wondery is your VIP ticket to more ad free episodes. Early access to the juiciest scandals and deep dives you won't find anywhere else. Get the full Scamfluencers experience. Sign up today. Sachi, have you ever been a collector of like, anything?
- [00:30]
Sachi Cole
I want to say no, but I. I know that I have a problem, which is that I like buying stuff that looks like other stuff.
- [00:37]
Sarah Hagie
Same. Oh my God.
- [00:38]
Sachi Cole
Right? Like a trompe l' oeil is unfortunately putting me in bankruptcy.
- [00:43]
Sarah Hagie
I know.
- [00:44]
Sachi Cole
I own a lot of purses shaped like other things and I have a small collection of fake cigarettes.
- [00:51]
Sarah Hagie
I love candles that look like real objects and I never burn them. I've like, become an old lady.
- [00:58]
Sachi Cole
I know. This is why I don't buy them anymore. I went to Target the other day and they had a bunch of candles shaped like cakes and I had to talk myself out of it.
- [01:04]
Sarah Hagie
Oh my God. I know what I'm going to get you as a gift. Just buying it brings me joy. Okay, I can't wait. But I do have to stop myself from becoming this kind of person because I know how far it can go and I don't want to be that person. But today we're going to talk about a true artist and scammer who cornered the market on an incredibly niche art form. But he underestimated the fact that collectors like me are total freaks. And you can't fool a true fan. It's early 2021 and Doug Arbiter is at home in York, Pennsylvania. Doug is in his mid-50s, tall and wears clear rimmed glasses. He's an anesthesiologist and an executive for a New Jersey healthcare system. But his real passion is collecting antique medical equipment. It's more of a lifelong obsession really. Doug has been collecting this stuff since he was a kid. He has over 3,000 pieces in his collection. Anatomy, dioramas, surgical knives, candlesticks, even leech jars. Some of his stuff is centuries old. Doug cares about his collection so much that he spent nearly half a million dollars building a two story private museum behind his house. For him, it was a small, small price to pay to preserve these important pieces of medical history. Here's a picture of it. Sachi, can you describe it?
- [02:33]
Sachi Cole
This room looks like a public professional museum. It's really beautiful. It has all these matching armoires with the pieces in it. It has this big staircase with a big railing, a stained glass window. In the ceiling. This is someone with a lot of money. It's not a mere hobby.
- [02:54]
Sarah Hagie
Yeah, I mean, it looks super professional. You'd never know this was just something a guy did. And Doug is in the museum today, but he's not here to admire his collection. He's waiting for the FBI. The agents arrive and Doug leads them inside. It's still Covid time, so the agents are wearing masks. They quickly start packaging up some of Doug's pieces and load them into a big van. But not everything. They're focused on his collection of about 130 wood block carvings. The wood blocks are hand carved to depict medical procedures and anatomical models. The seller said they were rare artifacts from the 16th and 17th centuries. So Doug spent about $120,000 on them. He thought he was getting a deal. But a few years ago, Doug discovered that all of the blocks are fakes. That's why the FBI is here today. They're going to run tests on the blocks as part of a larger art fraud investigation. The seller, a guy named Earl Washington. The FBI plans to destroy the carvings after the tests. But Doug says absolutely not. He wants them all back. Sure, he is upset that he spent more than $100,000 on fakes, but here's the thing. Earl's blocks are really good fakes. And even though Doug is helping the FBI bring Earl down, he has to admit that that the guy is an artist. Doug isn't the only one who's fallen prey to Earle's artistry. Turns out the allure of this obscure kind of art has led collectors all over the globe to fall for Earle's scam for decades. But Earl's made one fake too many. And his scam is about to be stamped out.
- [04:46]
Sachi Cole
How much do I love dogs? This much you can't see because this is an audio ad, but I'm holding my hands really far apart to show that I. I love dogs an awful lot. You know what else I love an awful lot? CareCredit. You can use the CareCredit credit card to pay for your dog's vet care or for your own dental vision and more. At over 270,000 locations, CareCredit offers flexible financing for health and wellness for pets and people. I give it two thumbs and 3.5 paws up.
- [05:11]
Doug Arbiter
Visit carecredit.com to apply and find a location near you, subject to credit approval.
- [05:16]
Earl Washington
You know how we all have that one friend we go to with all our financial questions? I'm talking the one who gives you advice like no one else can. Well, Meet Experian, your bff. And by that I mean big financial friend. I'm telling you, Experian is gonna be your go to app when it comes to taking control of your finances. And this big financial friend is always there for you. Just hanging out on your phone where we all kinda are. Anyway, Experian has a bunch of legit ways to help you save. And get this, the Experian app lets you check your FICO score. Matches you with credit cards and a bunch more totally BFF kind of things to help you manage your finances. Bet your other BFFs can't do all that, huh? Anyway, it's easy to have this big financial friend by your side. Just download the Experian app and get started for free. Trust me, you'll be up to speed with this BFF in no time. Results will vary. Credit offers approvals and reward Programs based on FICO score 8 model and subject to lender terms. Offers not available in all states. See experian.com for details.
- [06:17]
Sarah Hagie
From Wondery I'm Sarah Hagie.
- [06:19]
Sachi Cole
And I'm Sachi Kol.
- [06:21]
Sarah Hagie
And this is Scamfluencers. Earl Washington was a promising artist, but his chosen medium, wood carving, isn't exactly mainstream. So Earle took to tall tales to up the value of his work. Once he was in deep, he was willing to do anything in order to keep the scam going, including lying to galleries, art museums, and serious collectors. But Earle is about to learn that the wealth and obsession that make for a good mark also make for a terrible enemy. This is Earl Washington, a rip off the old block. To understand how such a niche art form turned into a federal case, we have to go back a few decades. It's the late 1970s, and young Earl Washington is growing up in Detroit with parents that a friend later describes as strict. He's a handsome guy with striking features and a creative streak. One day, as he walks down the hallway of his high school, he notices an ad for an art contest. He's intrigued and decides to enter. But Earl isn't interested in drawing or painting. He wants to try something more obscure. Carving. We don't know why carving piqued his interest, but he sets out to make something beautiful from a piece of linoleum. At first, the hobby doesn't seem to stick. Earl leaves carving behind after high school and goes to college. Then he drops out and moves to Vegas to pursue a different singing. When he's in his late 20s and early 30s, Earl starts singing in casinos like Sands, the Mirage, and Caesar's Palace. Sachi, I have a photo of Earl from around this time. Could you describe it?
- [08:15]
Sachi Cole
Okay, so this is a photo of, I think, a bunch of the performers who were working at these casinos. In it very much looks like the 80s. All of the women are in these shorts, sequined dresses. They look like lifesavers. And all the guys have these sparkly fuchsia lapels. And our friend Earl, I think he's in the middle here, is wearing this red blazer. He looks like a sexy realtor.
- [08:46]
Sarah Hagie
Yes, that is a perfect description. I mean, they all look pretty cool to me. I mean, I'd see them perform, right? And yes, that is Earl in the middle. He's part of a doo wop revue band called the Love Notes. They're performing with the young son of one of the band members. The kid looks like he's impersonating Michael Jackson, and he is pretty talented. Later in his life, he'll go by a more familiar stage name. Bruno Mars.
- [09:17]
Sachi Cole
What?
- [09:18]
Sarah Hagie
That child is Bruno Mars.
- [09:20]
Sachi Cole
I mean, I didn't know Bruno's relationships with casinos went this deep.
- [09:26]
Sarah Hagie
Yeah, yeah.
- [09:28]
Sachi Cole
Has he been in debt since he was eight? You know what? Why not? Why wouldn't it be Bruno Mars? Honestly, Sarah, we're, like, on season three of this show. Nothing should surprise me anymore.
- [09:40]
Sarah Hagie
Yes. And also, Earl's lawyers later say he didn't just know Bruno. Earl claims he gave Bruno voice lessons. So you're welcome, Bruno Mars fans. Earle might be a talented singer, but he's struggling to make ends meet. So in the mid-1980s, he gets gets a job at a wood shop, and he realizes that he's really good at woodworking. Surrounded by raw material, Earl remembers his old hobby and picks up carving again. This time, he uses wood instead of linoleum, and he quickly becomes obsessed. Can you read how he described the allure of this art form to the New York Times years later?
- [10:22]
Sachi Cole
Yes. He said, quote, every now and then, a person discovers something that is so in tune with everything their mind and brain is designed to do. And that was me when I discovered the wood blocks. You know, I have never felt this way about anything tangible, but I do think it's nice.
- [10:39]
Sarah Hagie
Yeah, I mean, it's a pretty unique feeling, I think, for people who are really good at something. But Earl's still not willing to give up on singing and acting. So in 1989, he decides to go somewhere he can pursue both passions. A place that will make all of his dreams come true. That's right. Earl's going to Hollywood for the Next few years, Earl is on his grind in la. He claims he's able to book roles in a few movies, including a sequel to Chinatown and a sci fi film that gets nominated for an Oscar. He also says he goes on Star Search and he still goes back to Vegas from time to time for Casino Lounge gigs. But Earl hasn't left carving behind. In fact, he starts incorporating his Hollywood dreams into his art. He carves more than 200 blocks depicting entertainment icons. He also goes deeper with his hobby and starts doing a ton of research on the history of woodblock carving. Sachi, I think it's time we talk about how woodblock printing actually works. Pay attention because it took me a minute.
- [11:50]
Sachi Cole
Okay, I'm listening.
- [11:53]
Sarah Hagie
First, an artist cuts a design into a wooden surface. Then a printer adds ink, presses paper onto the carving and produces prints. It's kind of like a big rubber stamp. Woodblock carving is actually the oldest form of printmaking in the world, but it hasn't been popular for centuries and it's not widely taught as an art form either. So what Earl's doing is pretty unique, even in the art world. Around this time, Earl starts selling his blocks. And he adds a layer of mystique to jazz up his sales pitch. He tells potential buyers that his blocks were actually made by his great grandfather. He says that this ancestor, Earl Mack Washington, was a skilled woodblock carver and a collector back in the late 1800s. Of course, none of this is true, but Earl truly sees himself as carrying on an ancient tradition. To him, the lies are necessary to sell his art. In his mind, they help generate more interest and value in his pieces. Plus, Earle likes the way people respond when they think his art is special. There's just one problem. When people buy historic artifacts, they want documentation verifying their authenticity. So Earle develops a contingency plan. If people ask for proof that his great grandfather's art is authentic, he says all the records burned up in a house fire back in the 60s or 70s. He also prepares for someone to ask for evidence of his ancestors printing career. But no one ever does. Earle is bringing an entertainer's flair to the ancient art of woodblock carving. And his early success inspires him to tell even bigger, bolder lies. In the mid-90s, when Earl is in his 30s, he decides to give up his Hollywood dreams. He settles down in an old Victorian building in Monroe, Michigan, which is about 40 minutes away from his hometown of Detroit. Earl is on his third marriage by this point. We don't know much about his first two wives. But in the late 90s, his third wife, Stacy, gives birth to their son. Stacy also gives Earl another life changing gift. His first full size printing press. Earl's determined to make a living from his carving. And thanks to Stacy's gift, he can start making and selling actual prints. Using his carvings, he starts putting in 16 hour days, churning out thousands and thousands of prints. At this point, he's moved beyond just doing Hollywood portraits. Earle is black, and much of his work depicts black American themes, like flyers for Harlem's Cotton Club lynchings or portraits of Josephine Baker. And the stories he tells about his prints have become way more elaborate too. Sometimes he tells people that his great grandfather saved a bunch of historic woodblocks from a fire in Manhattan. Other times he claims that the original woodblock carvings are by famous artists like M.C. escher, discovered from the remnants of a 1958 auction in Switzerland.
- [15:06]
Sachi Cole
This is an absurd lie. This is a lie of such a scale that it is clear he is going to lose control of this so fast. Like, what do you mean you found an MC Escher that was a remnant from an auction 30 years earlier? It doesn't make any sense, I know.
- [15:24]
Sarah Hagie
But again, it's such a rare form of art and he's so good at it that it's kind of like, why would someone question it, right?
- [15:30]
Sachi Cole
Yeah, I guess no one would look.
- [15:32]
Sarah Hagie
And Earle manages to sell some of his work to art galleries in Detroit, Toledo and San Francisco for prices ranging from 20 to $350 per print. He sells other pieces on ebay, including to some collectors who then resell the prints as rare merchandise. Eventually, he carves and sells around 3,000 woodblocks. He also buys up 200 printing presses and uses them to make and sell more than a million prints. Later, Earl will claim he was making $30,000 a month. Earl might not be a movie star, but he's a celebrity in the niche world of woodblock carving. But Earl's talent is about to draw attention to his scheme. Sellers might be willing to look the other way, but Earl's about to discover that true collectors are a different breed entirely. It's the early 2000s, and Mark Veldhuizen is having a pretty typical experience angrily scrolling the Internet. Mark is a middle aged Dutch man with round glasses and a slightly goofy demeanor. He's a director of the M.C. escher foundation, which oversees the estate of the late artist, including licensing his work. Right now, Mark is looking at several ebay listings for woodblock prints claiming to be Escher's work. But he knows they're Fake. Most of Escher's best known works are lithographs. Escher did make some woodblock prints in his lifetime, but these woodblocks are rare and look pretty different from normal woodblock printings. For starters, Escher didn't use a traditional printing press like the ones Earl uses. Instead, he used a bone spoon to carefully press the ink into the wood carvings. He also kept more of the original wood, which created a very dark effect. And he used a special super thin, super absorbent paper for his prints. In Mark's expert opinion, there's no way these ebay prints are legit. Mark gets ebay to take down Earl's listings. Then he alerts the FBI, filing a formal complaint accusing Earl of fraud. Mark doesn't know it, but he's just the latest in a string of people trying to take Earl down. Back in 1999, a Canadian lawyer named Kenneth Martins saw an erotic print that one of his friends bought from Earl. The friend was told that the print was made by the late British artist Eric Gill. But of course, it's Earl's handiwork, not Gil's. Kenneth already owned a genuine Gil print, so he brought it over to compare signatures. And the print purchased from Earl didn't match. When Kenneth realized his friend had been scammed, he tried to get authorities to look into it, but they didn't seem interested. So Kenneth did what any spurned nerd in the late 90s would do. He sat down and made a website dedicated to exposing Earl and connecting the people he scammed.
- [18:34]
Sachi Cole
That sounds like a really fun hobby. It's something I would do, too. Very apt early.com hobby.
- [18:42]
Sarah Hagie
I mean, there was really a time when single purpose websites mattered, you know?
- [18:48]
Sachi Cole
Yeah, we used to be a real society.
- [18:50]
Sarah Hagie
Yes.
- [18:51]
Sachi Cole
And now we've lost monoculture, and nothing's been right since.
- [18:55]
Sarah Hagie
Well, Kenneth's website and Mark's FBI investigation are turning up the heat on Earl's grift. But journalist Allen Abrams has also been digging into Earl's history. Around the same time, Mark complains to the feds, Allen publishes a bombshell story in Forbes that exposes Earl as a fraud. Allen spoke with one of Earl's former girlfriends, who revealed that Earl was passing off his own work as that of more famous artists or by his great grandfather. Allen also reveals that he couldn't find any evidence that Earl's artist great grandfather ever existed. Allen actually spoke with Earl for the story. They met in Earl's office, and sitting on his desk was a book about counterfeit Salvador Dali prints.
- [19:39]
Sachi Cole
You may as well have a notebook like in the Simpsons when that guy comes in with the monorail and it's just drawings of him running away with bags of cash. There's a lack of subtlety.
- [19:50]
Sarah Hagie
Hey, listen, I mean, he could just be interested in knowing how to avoid them, Right?
- [19:55]
Sachi Cole
You're right. You're right. This is not firm evidence.
- [19:57]
Sarah Hagie
Even still, while Earl did admit to Allen that he's the artist on some of the prints, but he denied making up an ancestor after the story comes out, Mark, Kenneth and Alan probably feel satisfied that they've stopped a scammer in his tracks. But Earl is an accomplished actor and he's ready to take on the role of a lifetime in order to throw law enforcement off his scent. As it starts getting hotter, do you feel that familiar urge to refresh your wardrobe? And it's tempting to buy trendy pieces, but here's the thing. You'll probably only end up wearing them for one season.
- [20:37]
Sachi Cole
That's true. But it's not the case with quints. Their clothes are timeless, lightweight and way more elevated than anything else at their price point.
- [20:45]
Sarah Hagie
Like 100% European linen shorts and dresses from $30 Luxe Swimwear or Italian leather platform sandals. And everything with quince is half the cost of similar brands.
- [20:58]
Sachi Cole
Sarah the other day I was walking down the street and I saw a woman wearing one of the dresses that I have from Quint's and we looked great. We both looked amazing and we both looked comfortable and I loved that we both got it for way cheaper than what I think it probably is worth.
- [21:12]
Sarah Hagie
You guys made eye contact and you both knew.
- [21:15]
Sachi Cole
Yes, we nodded.
- [21:16]
Sarah Hagie
You both knew both knives give your summer closet an upgrade with quints. Go to quints.comscampod for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns.
- [21:26]
Sachi Cole
That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com.au to get free shipping and 365 day returns.
- [21:33]
Sarah Hagie
Quince.comscampod you know what doesn't belong in your summer plans? Getting burned by your old wireless bill. While you're planning beach trips, barbecues or three day weekends, your wireless bill should be the last thing you worry about.
- [21:48]
Sachi Cole
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- [22:05]
Sarah Hagie
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- [22:17]
Sachi Cole
Unless you're planning on totally going off grid, having a wireless plan is going to be a part of life, so I will take any chance at lowering that monthly cost. And I think it's great that Mint Mobile is so affordable and makes it so easy for you to switch over. This year. Skip breaking a sweat and breaking the bank. Get your summer savings and shop premium wireless plans@mintmobile.com scamfluencers that's mintmobile.com scamfluencers upfront.
- [22:42]
Sarah Hagie
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- [23:01]
Jake Archer
I feel like I.
- [23:08]
Sarah Hagie
After the Forbes article exposes Earl's scheme, the FBI interrogates him for about 45 minutes. Then they let him go. But that's too close for comfort for Earl. He backs off wood carving and sells all but one of his printing presses. A few years later, Earl and Stacey have a nasty fight and Earl moves out. Two years after that, he moves to Key West, Florida. And once he settles in, Earl decides to get back in the game. But this time he's doing things differently. He's still telling people that a relative salvaged these rare old woodblocks, but now he means really old, like from the 16th and 17th centuries. Earl has to work even harder to make sure that his fakes look like the real deal. So he rubs his woodblocks against harsh materials like gravel to make them seem convincingly old. Earle searches online and looks through books for inspiration. These historically inspired images might not be as cool as Escher, but they're niche and interesting in their own way. Sachi, take a look at one example.
- [24:15]
Sachi Cole
Oh, I like this. This is weird. It looks almost like a playing card of a jack, except his body is like. Like you can see into his body and see all of his organs and his intestines and his heart. I like it. It's gross.
- [24:30]
Sarah Hagie
Yeah, and it's kind of like an old timey depiction of what they thought the inside of someone's body looks like, you know.
- [24:36]
Sachi Cole
Yeah, yeah. Old bad anatomy.
- [24:38]
Sarah Hagie
I mean, listen, I'm looking at that and I'm convinced. And not just me. The supposedly ancient prints sell very well at around $700 a popular, which would be a great deal if they really were from the 16th and 17th centuries. Also, Earl isn't selling work under his own name anymore. Now he's doing it all under a pseudonym. He's calling himself River Sen.
- [25:05]
Sachi Cole
I hate it. That's like the name a girl uses for her LiveJournal contemporary art Tumblr. This sucks.
- [25:15]
Sarah Hagie
Well, Earle's new work gets the attention of lots of buyers over the next few years, and no one seems to have any suspicions. But he's about to meet a dedicated collector and fan who will soon become his greatest enemy. Doug the doctor. It's February 2013, and Doug Arbiter is doing his favorite thing. Browsing ebay, looking for interesting treasures. Remember Doug Sacchi? He's a doctor collecting medical antiques from the very beginning of this episode. And today, Doug stumbles on something totally unexpected. It's River Sen's ebay page, and it features carved woodblocks depicting medical scenes from centuries ago. Woodcuts were used to illustrate medical textbooks beginning in the 15th century, and illustrations of autopsied bodies helped doctors share information with practitioners all over the world. The block Doug's looking at is supposedly from a medical textbook book printed in 1501, and it depicts the inside of a human abdomen. And to Doug, it's beautiful. Sachi, we actually talked to Doug for this episode, so I'll let him tell you what he's feeling in this moment.
- [26:31]
Doug Arbiter
But I'm like, holy cow. To have something from 1501 used to print the first medical image of the thorax. Okay, it's not a surgical instrument, but, heck, I want to have it. So I bid on it. I won it, and then I did what any collector does, which is you say, do you have any more?
- [26:50]
Sachi Cole
Yeah, I get it. I would also want this if I thought it was real. It's cool as shit. It's very rare.
- [26:56]
Sarah Hagie
Yes, of course. I mean, it's like, this is your special interest, and you find something you've never seen before. Right.
- [27:02]
Sachi Cole
And shockingly affordable.
- [27:05]
Sarah Hagie
Well, Riversen, AKA Earl, is happy to show Doug more medical woodblocks. He also tells Doug one of his concocted origin stories. That his grandfather recovered a bunch of printing blocks after a fire in Manhattan in the early 1900s. Now he says they're clearing out a family storage facility and parting ways with the blocks he salvaged. Doug offers to pay more than $1,200 for every woodblock with any medical or surgical association, and river agrees. Usually, Doug likes to do tons of research to verify the origins of what ends up in his museum. But he doesn't know much about verifying wood. And since the images on the blocks are historically accurate and they look old, Doug is satisfied. In fact, he's so happy with the first block, he puts it in the central display case in his museum. Doug buys dozens more blocks from River. He buys so many that he orders custom display cabinets just to show them off. River even starts to throw in some free ones here and there. Doug and river quickly strike up a rapport, exchanging messages all the time. Once Doug wrote that, he got, quote, palpitations opening a box of wood blocks. Can you read River's response?
- [28:23]
Sachi Cole
Yeah, he said, quote, it's a sickness, Doug. We share the same symptoms of acquisitive affliction, but I love it.
- [28:32]
Sarah Hagie
Honestly, there's something so wholesome about this scam. Like, without thinking about the scam itself.
- [28:39]
Sachi Cole
Like, yeah, if no one got hurt in this, I would be tickled by all of it.
- [28:46]
Sarah Hagie
And, I mean, you could also tell that Earl genuinely, like, feels a connection to it in this way. Like, he. I feel like the love is there, you know?
- [28:56]
Sachi Cole
He's starting to believe his own bullshit. Yeah.
- [28:59]
Sarah Hagie
Well, Doug usually pays river through PayPal, but sometimes river asks him to cut a check to his assistant Susie in Florida. It isn't how Doug normally pays for items in his collection, but, hey, he's getting the blocks. Over time, Doug comes to think of river as a kind of friend. River praises Doug's museum, and Doug hears about River's passion for antique cars. Doug feels like he found a kindred spirit and a treasure trove. But things aren't going nearly as well for his source. Earl is about to hit a rough patch, which will throw his booming online business into. Into disarray. It's sometime in 2015, and Earl is taking the stage at Chicago's, a blues club in Key West. The bar has exposed brick walls, and deep dish is on the menu. Its motto is Bringing the Midwest to Key West. Earl seems to have gotten things together at some point. Stacy and their two kids joined him in Florida. And in addition to selling woodblocks online, he's gotten back into singing. He also teaches voice lessons, and he's performing. He's here tonight with his 60s cover band, Threesome, spelled three, as in the number three sum.
- [30:22]
Sachi Cole
That is the name of a band that a virgin would pick. I hate it. I hate it so much. I was on Earl's side until now.
- [30:30]
Sarah Hagie
Well, after Threesome is done performing, Earl takes to the dance floor, and he ends up dancing with an older woman who immediately captivates him. Her name is Marianne, and though she's there with her husband, she and Earl begin an affair. It doesn't last long, but Earl and Marianne remain good friends. In the spring of 2016, Earl welcomes Marianne to his house where she meets his wife and kids and one of his voice students, Zanet. Marianne has a business proposal for Earl. They both love classic cars, so Marianne suggests that they start a vintage car importing business. Ever the entrepreneur, Earl agrees. But this may not be the best time for Earl to start a new business because his personal life is a mess. Just one month after Marianne's visit, Earl moves from Key west to Hawaii with Zanit.
- [31:27]
Sachi Cole
Deplorable, disgusting and weird.
- [31:31]
Sarah Hagie
Well, definitely not a virgin.
- [31:33]
Sachi Cole
No, I guess not. In the worst way possible.
- [31:37]
Sarah Hagie
Earl's rollercoaster home life threatens to derail more than his marriage. He's struggling to stay on top of his woodblock business. And when he falls off the map, one of his favorite clients will start to wonder where he is and who he is. By the time Earl is getting ready to leave Florida, Doug has filled his specially made cabinets with hundreds of medical themed woodblocks. He spent more than $100,000 to build up this collection and he's incredibly proud of it. But it's around this time that he falls out of touch with the mysterious River Seine. Doug's not the only one who caught the woodblock collecting bug. Doug has spread the word about River's incredible stash to other collector friends, including one in Germany named Tilo Hoffman. Tilo is a world class antique dealer specializing in religious objects. He also went wild for river sends woodblocks and bought tons of them over the years. Doug and Tilo are both so impressed with the quality and uniqueness of the woodblocks that they decide to co write an academic article about them. The first thing they need to do is verify that the blocks are real. Tilo has the woodblocks tested for carbon dating analysis. While Doug decides to look into River's story about how he came to possess the blocks. Here's what Doug told us about it.
- [33:04]
Doug Arbiter
I just a slight suspicion as we were talking more about it and doing research, I said, let me look into this fire story. And I spent two or three days searching every fire in the history of New York City, okay? Because that's what I do down every rabbit hole, every fire. And I could not find a fire at a printing company in any early magazine, in any early newspaper in New York city in the 20th century. And that got me a little, a little Concerned that, plus the fact that I kind of lost touch with him.
- [33:40]
Sachi Cole
Over time, I'm so glad that somebody finally looked into the very basics around the stories of these blocks and discovered that it was all bullshit. I'm glad somebody did a Google.
- [33:55]
Sarah Hagie
You know, it's clear he's someone who does so much research that it's a bit shocking he only looked into the fire at this point.
- [34:02]
Sachi Cole
Yeah, yeah.
- [34:03]
Sarah Hagie
But for Doug, not being able to corroborate the fire story is a huge red flag. Then, sometime after this, Doug is up late one night doing more research, and he suddenly remembers that a few years ago, river gave him his phone number. He also knows that river is into antique cars, like Bugattis. Here's Doug again.
- [34:24]
Doug Arbiter
But what I decided to do was take those two little clues I had, which was cars, antique cars, and that phone number, and go to my best friend, Google. And lo and behold, I found a advertisement for a Bugatti car or a similar antique reproduction car. And it had that phone number. I'm like, okay. And on that phone number, it said, call Earl. I said, earl? Who's Earl?
- [34:51]
Sachi Cole
Brutal. Just brutal. He doesn't even know his name. Ugh.
- [34:57]
Sarah Hagie
I know. It's almost like. Has hints of a catfishing story as well.
- [35:01]
Sachi Cole
Yeah, well, he was catfished.
- [35:03]
Sarah Hagie
He was.
- [35:04]
Sachi Cole
He was lying about who he was.
- [35:05]
Sarah Hagie
I mean, he. But he kind of fell for river as a bud, you know?
- [35:09]
Sachi Cole
That's what I'm saying. He got catfished by a girl's Tumblr.
- [35:14]
Sarah Hagie
Well, after that, Doug goes in. He subscribes to a white page public record search engine. The name Earl Marshawn Washington comes up, as does someone named Susie. Doug remembers her as River's assistant, the one he sent money to in Florida. So then Doug Googles Earl's full name.
- [35:35]
Doug Arbiter
I will never forget. I typed in Earl. I was sitting at my dining room table after a long day of work. I typed in Earl Marshawn Washington and hit search. And what do you know? There's a Wikipedia page about someone who had been selling fraudulent prints for many years. Tens of thousands of prints. There was an article written about him in Forbes magazine in 2004, and I'm like, holy crap.
- [36:10]
Sarah Hagie
And that carbon dating analysis, it came back saying the blocks were fake. So Doug is crushed and feeling a lot of different things at once.
- [36:20]
Doug Arbiter
I mean, I couldn't even believe it. I mean, I'm. It sounds obnoxious or weird, but I'm considered like an expert, Like a true world expert in medical history. I've done it for over 40 years. Right. I was scammed. I mean, it's impossible not to be embarrassed. And then that turns to anger. It absolutely turns to. I am not gonna let this go.
- [36:48]
Sarah Hagie
Yeah.
- [36:48]
Sachi Cole
Listen, this would send me to the moon and I would make it my life's mission to expose this person. If I felt like I was an expert in something and they made me look like a fucking idiot, I'd freak out.
- [37:01]
Sarah Hagie
Yes, of course. I feel like that betrayal would create a level of determination in someone like Doug especially. And Doug wants to bring Earl to justice. And luckily, he knows just who to call. His sister is the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She puts him in touch with the FBI's Art Crimes Division. But while they have the authority to look into Earl, they tell Doug they need more information to see if they'll take on the case. So Doug goes buck wild. He doesn't want anyone else to get scammed like he did. So over the next few months, he starts putting together a huge file with all the information he has on Earl. He prints out all the emails between them. He adds photos of the blocks and the ebay listings. And once it's done, his Dossier is almost 300 pages long. Doug then hands it off to the FBI and his research is enough to kick off their investigation of Earl. Earle's high flying career of scammy. Artistry is about to be whittled away.
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Sachi Cole
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Sarah Hagie
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Sachi Cole
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Sarah Hagie
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Sarah Hagie
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Sachi Cole
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Sarah Hagie
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- [39:57]
Jake Archer
Like.
- [40:03]
Sarah Hagie
It'S early January 2023. FBI Special Agent Jake Archer is in Waikiki. But he's not on vacation. He's waiting for a target. Jake has short cropped brown hair and a military manner. He's basically, basically straight out of FBI central casting. He's been posing as a buyer of antique woodblock carvings. And today he's in a hotel lobby to meet with a supplier. Earl Washington. It's been more than two years since Doug first contacted the Art Crime Unit and gave them a thick dossier of evidence. Jake recovered Doug's wood blocks as evidence and the FBI did their own carbon dating analysis. They've also been interviewing other people around the world who bought items from Earl. Eventually, Jake and his colleagues search a storage locker in Vegas that belonged to Earl. The locker contained the art forgery equivalent of a murder bag. Wood blocks, carving tools and photos that Earl used as inspiration for his carvings. Finally, they had enough evidence to go after him.
- [41:11]
Sachi Cole
It's funny to crack into a storage locker, being like all the evidence is in here and it's just full of wood pieces. Pieces of wood. An old knife.
- [41:23]
Sarah Hagie
Yeah, it's like the smoking gun and it's like a block of wood.
- [41:27]
Sachi Cole
It's a dull knife, a couple blocks of wood.
- [41:31]
Sarah Hagie
And it seems likely that Earl is waiting for the other shoe to drop. A couple years before Earl wrote to the guys who sold to Doug's German friend Tilo. Earl admitted that he was the real artist behind those works. He offered to repay for the fraudulent wood blocks and to provide additional blocks mimicking historical artifacts if Tilo would refrain from taking legal action. But of course, it's too little, too late. At the hotel, Jake spots Earl walking through the doors. Earl Makes his way towards Jake. And then Jake flashes a badge and says, take a look. This is real.
- [42:10]
Sachi Cole
That's an incredible burn. So specific. I love it. That's very Jerry. They're real and they're spectacular, which I say four to ten times a day.
- [42:20]
Sarah Hagie
I feel like there's not a lot of excitement in the world of art fraud. You gotta create some lines, you know, some memories, you know, you gotta get.
- [42:27]
Sachi Cole
Your jabs and your zings in where you can. Yes.
- [42:30]
Sarah Hagie
And after he nabs Earl, Jake decides to call the person who made this all possible to give him some closure. Doug. Doug is walking his three dogs down his tree lined street in northern New Jersey. He picks up Jake's call and gets the news. After years of waiting, he's achieved his goal. Earl is going to be held accountable for lying to Doug and so many other collectors for decades. About a month after his arrest, Earl's out on bail in Hawaii. Since he got indicted and arrested, he hasn't been able to sell his wood carvings, and the court agreed to release him pending trial on one. He can't contact any victims while the case is still ongoing. He agrees. But Earl can't help himself. With only two days to go before his first appearance in court, he writes a long email to one of the collectors who'd been buying from him for years. Could you read some of the note he writes to the collector?
- [43:32]
Sachi Cole
Yeah. He wrote, I am making the preemptive effort to reach out to all of the victims who my duplicities have affected in an attempt to propose compensation via restitution and whatever means and amounts that might be viewed by the courts as a significant initiative to assuage the wrongs of my xylographic crimes. Someone bought a thesaurus and he is using it.
- [43:52]
Sarah Hagie
Listen, Earl is an old soul. He's using words that people don't use these days. You know what I mean?
- [43:58]
Sachi Cole
I've never heard xylographic. I'm going to use it 400 times in the next week. Sarah, you will hear it from me.
- [44:04]
Sarah Hagie
Yeah, it's going in the lexicon. And Earl even offers to pay him $20,000 in restitution for the blocks. But even though it seems well intentioned, Earle just keeps violating court orders. And Earl's put more than just his customers in a bind. He hasn't been able to communicate with Marianne and she's freaking out. They've been running their car import business, and now there's a chance the court will seize some of the company's assets to pay for Earl's Woodblock Crimes. Zanet, who's now Earl's wife, was indicted, too. She helped him accept payments in the scheme. The court forbids Earle from contacting her, but that doesn't stop him. Can you read what he wrote her on her birthday? Saatchi?
- [44:49]
Sachi Cole
Yes. He wrote, quote, I hope and pray that after the end of this ordeal that I will still have a loyal, beautiful Hungarian wife. If not, I will understand. Thank you for being the most wonderful and amazing wife for taking a chance on me. I love you. If my ex husband had written this to me on the way out, my head would have burst into flames. It would have been simultaneously so gratifying and so unsatisfying at the same time.
- [45:24]
Sarah Hagie
Okay, so safe to say you're no one's loyal, beautiful Indian wife.
- [45:29]
Sachi Cole
No, I, I, I was not interested in sticking around to be the loyal, beautiful Indian wife. But perhaps she will be the loyal, beautiful Hungarian wife. It's not looking good.
- [45:39]
Sarah Hagie
Well, later in 2023, Earl pleads guilty and cooperates with authorities as part of his plea deal. The charges against Earl are dismissed. But then prosecutors file new charges against him that mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. He pleads guilty to those charges, too. After decades of slipping under the radar, Earl seems tired of running. He finally admits to everything, selling fake woodblocks under the alias River Send and using his romantic partner's bank accounts to carry out the fraud. It's finally over. Earl is eventually sentenced to 52 months in prison and ordered to pay over $200,000 in restitution to the people he scammed. But even in prison, Earl has found a way to keep the joy of wood alive. Apparently, he found a little piece of wood in prison which he's been keeping under his bed. But he doesn't carve it. He just likes to be close to it and to feel the texture of the wood grain. It's the summer of 2023, and Doug is excited that his hard work has paid off. Once the FBI got involved, he watched with satisfaction as Earl got charged with mail fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. But then one day, Doug's email dings. Guess who it is.
- [47:08]
Sachi Cole
I'm guessing it's what was his Tumblr icon? River Sen.
- [47:14]
Sarah Hagie
Yes, it is Earl again, and he's got a pretty brazen proposal. Earl says he's willing to donate his vast woodblock and carving knowledge to Doug's museum, including speaking at symposiums the museum might hold. He even offers to give Doug more blocks for free, even though he blatantly Lied to Doug for years. It seems that Earl still wants to help him with his medical museum. Here's how Doug feels about this.
- [47:41]
Doug Arbiter
For him to tell me that I can come and be a docent, give you 10 blocks a year, and give two lectures a year in carving blocks, that's. I don't know where that comes from. Is that idiocy? Is that just, you know, to embarrass me? Is that him genuinely thinking I'll make up for what I've done by making this offer? Would he have thought that was. Have made sense on any planet? I mean, I couldn't even believe that. So that was almost. I almost laughed when I read that. 10 free fake blocks a year. You know, sign me up.
- [48:14]
Sarah Hagie
Doug's shocked by Earl's lack of self awareness, but in a weird way, he still respects Earl as an artist. Doug has a soft spot for the wood blocks he bought and finds them aesthetically beautiful even though they're fake. Even after he was scammed out of all that money, he's still holding on to Earl's fraudulent blocks. Sachi, did you even know what woodblocks were or that they existed at all and that this was an art form that could be involved in any type of scam, really?
- [48:48]
Sachi Cole
Yeah. It's interesting to think about the people who invented these modalities of art in the 14th and 15th and 16th centuries and thinking, you know, one day someone's gonna fake this to make thousands of dollars for no good reason.
- [49:05]
Sarah Hagie
Yeah, it's really interesting because it's like Earl has had such a fascinating life of, like, being in the arts. Singing hones in on this very specific dying skill, but still, weirdly, doesn't have the confidence to be like, these are my woodblocks. I'm gonna reinvigorate this somehow. And I do think he kind of, like, latched on to Doug's purity of, like, how his interest in these woodblocks and the world of medical antiques came from, like, a very real place for him, you know?
- [49:39]
Sachi Cole
Yeah, it's interesting. It's like a weird scam that, like, could take advantage of a lot of people, but mostly took advantage of one particular person who had this very unique obsession, which is maybe the difference between Earl and, like, some of the other scammers we've talked about who do these, like, artistic scams is they're trying to rip off everybody, like museums or libraries or, like, Sotheby's or whatever else. But this was so specific and, like, a weird war between two old friends. One of them didn't even know he was in it. Yeah.
- [50:12]
Sarah Hagie
And it's like, of course there were other people he scammed through the, you know, MC Escherwood blocks and all that kind of stuff. But a part of his last kind of grasp at reconnecting with Doug tells me that Earl actually wanted to be his friend and went about it the entirely the wrong way or something. Like, it's also rare that we haven't really seen anyone reach out and be like, hey, you know what? Like, let me make this right. Wouldn't it have been easier to just, like. I mean, we say this all the time, but, like, make it a real skill? You know what I mean?
- [50:46]
Sachi Cole
Yeah. I mean, this is something that's so specific that he could have just done it and been like, I'm the guy who's the expert on this outdated format in art. But I think he understood something that a lot of scam artists understand and a lot of people who collect art understand, which is that it's not enough just that the product exists. It's about who made the product. Right. So it isn't enough that he's really good at wood carving. It isn't enough that he is able to replicate these things. What matters is if it's an MC Escher original.
- [51:19]
Sarah Hagie
No, exactly. It is exactly what you're saying. But also, you know, one thing about Doug is that it just goes to show how deep his desire was for having what he thought it was. Where he didn't even really look into this guy. Like, you know, there, once he understood that there was a lie happening, is kind of when he woke up and did the normal Google searches that you think someone would do.
- [51:41]
Sachi Cole
Well, I hate to say the lesson is do a Google, but it's to do a Google, you should look up your new friends. When you make a new friend, Google them.
- [51:50]
Sarah Hagie
Yes. And also, I do understand it from his perspective of who the fuck would lie about this? It's so random. What's a lesson here? I think for me, it's that your art isn't valuable no matter how good you are, unless someone decides that you are valuable.
- [52:09]
Sachi Cole
That's how art works. That has always been true.
- [52:12]
Sarah Hagie
It's like, think of all these people who died before being famous. So you know what I think? If you're an artist of any type, you know, maybe just, like, wait until you're dead to see if it works out. I don't know.
- [52:26]
Sachi Cole
Yeah. The lesson today is before you make any rash decisions around your business or your friendships or your marriage, you should die and see where the chips fall.
- [52:39]
Sarah Hagie
Yes, so don't give up because one day you you will die and someone might find your work and appreciate it long after it. You see any returns from your blood, sweat and tears.
- [52:59]
Sachi Cole
Loving scamflancers get exclusive episodes and early access to new ones. All ad free on Wondry Plus. Join now in the Wondry app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Before you go, help us out by taking a quick survey@wondry.com survey.
- [53:20]
Sarah Hagie
This is Earl Washington or Rip off the Old Block. I'm Sarah Hagie.
- [53:24]
Sachi Cole
And I'm Sachi Cole. If you have a tip for us on a story that you think we should cover, please email us@scamfluencerswendry.com we use many sources in our research, a few that were particularly helpful Helpful were the art forger had fooled thousands. Then he met Doug By Christopher Kuo for the New York Times and Catch Me if youf Can Alan Abrams investigation.
- [53:44]
Sarah Hagie
For Forbes Paula Mejia wrote this episode. Additional writing by us, Sachi Cole and Sarah Haggie. Eric Thurm is our story editor. Fact checking by Lexi Peary Sound design by John Lloyd Additional audio assistance provided by Augustine Lim. Our music supervisor is Scott Velasquez. For Frisson Sync. Our managing producer is Desi Blaylock. Our senior managing producer is Callum Plews. Janine Cornello and Stephanie Jens are our development producers. Our associate producer is Charlotte Miller. Our producer is Julie McGruder. Our senior producers are Sarah Enny and Ginny Blume. Our executive producers are Jenny Lauer, Beckman, Marshall Louie and Erin o' Flaherty. For Wondery.
- [54:38]
Jake Archer
It'S your girl, Kiki. And if you haven't heard my podcast, baby, this is Kiki Palmer. You're missing out. You know, I do it all. Acting, singing, hosting, producing. But this podcast right here, this is where I get to be my whole entire self with my people.
- [54:53]
Sachi Cole
And that means you.
- [54:54]
Jake Archer
Every week we're hanging out, getting into the juiciest conversations. And trust me when I say the tea is hot and the guests are serving. We're talking entertainers, creators, thought leaders, everybody whose everybody comes through to keep it real with your girl. But this isn't just about me and my guest spilling tea. This is about us. You and me hanging out every week, getting into everything from career moves to life drama to being a mom. Nothing is off limits. I'm always going to be your girl, kiki. Keeping it 100. So come through and join the conversation. Head over to YouTube if you want to watch the full experience. Or you can subscribe to Baby this is Keke Palmer on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcast. Want it early and ad free? Join Wondery plus right now.