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- [00:01]
Saatchi Cole
Wondery plus subscribers can listen to Scamfluencers early and ad free right now. Join Wondery plus in the Wondery app or Apple Podcasts. A note to our listeners, this episode contains descriptions of gun violence. Please listen with care. Sarah. As you know and as our listeners have probably clued in by now, neither of us really grew up celebrating Christmas that much.
- [00:27]
Sarah Hagie
Um, no, I did not celebrate Christmas at all.
- [00:31]
Saatchi Cole
Okay, well, that said, did you ever have to write a letter to Santa? Or like, did any of your friends come to school saying that they got a response from him?
- [00:39]
Sarah Hagie
I wasn't into Santa, but my mom was a seasonal worker at Canada Post and I remember letters kids would send to Santa and the postal code would be H O, H O, H O. And I remember my mom was like, what is this postal code? Like, who lives there? And then realizing, no, it's a fake one for Santa. But she was very, very confused.
- [01:00]
Saatchi Cole
Well, that's actually the perfect story for today's episode because there's one man who's responsible for making letters to Santa so popular. And because we're talking about him, you better believe that he was making his own wishes come true too. It's right around Thanksgiving in 1922, and Mary Pickford is getting ready a photo op at the Ritz Carlton in New York City. This is nothing new for her. Meri is Hollywood's biggest silent film star and possibly the most recognizable woman in the world. She's a 30 year old brunette beauty known for her ringlet curls. And at this point, Meri is at the height of her acting career and recently co founded a production company called United Artists. And today she's posing for a photo next to her husband, fellow A list actor Douglas Fairbanks.
- [01:56]
Sarah Hagie
Well, Sashi, you and I both know who Mary Pickford is because we were not allowed to forget she was Canadian.
- [02:01]
Saatchi Cole
They literally will never let you live it down. Well, Mary and Douglas are Hollywood's OG IT couple. But today's photoshoot isn't promotion for a film. It's a publicity campaign for the Santa Claus Association. Mary is a dedicated philanthropist and she's especially fond of Christmas charities. Last year, reporters even dubbed her the partner of Santa Claus. And she loves the mission of the Santa Claus Association. They answer poor children's letters to the big man in red. Mary walks into the Ritz Carlton's lobby and is greeted by the charity's founder, John Glup. John is in his 40s and he's wearing a fancy suit to complement his bald spot and meticulously curled mustache. He leads Mary and Douglas up to their suite for the photo shoot. A state of the art telegraph machine is set up in the corner of the room. The couple picks up the telegraph's handle and photographers capture Mary and Douglas telegraphing 25 cities across North America to announce the big it's time to start sending letters to Santa. Mary is delighted to have done her part to help children around the holidays, but little does she know John has had his name on the naughty list. For years. He's been using poor kids to gain sympathy and clout while skimming off the top of the donations. But there are some people who truly believe in the magic of Christmas, and they won't stop until John gets a serving of some cold, hard coal. Ever wondered how industry giants like aloe and Skims dominate the online retail space? The answer is simpler than you think. It's Shopify.
- [03:40]
Sarah Hagie
Shopify is the number one checkout tool with cutting edge features. It streamlines your operations to elevate the customer experience.
- [03:48]
Saatchi Cole
At the heart of Shopify's power is shop pay. It can boost conversions by up to 50%, meaning less abandoned carts and more cash flowing in.
- [03:56]
Sarah Hagie
With Shopify, your commerce platform will be ready to sell wherever your customers are scrolling or strolling on the web, in your store, in their feed, and everywhere in between.
- [04:06]
Saatchi Cole
So upgrade your business and get the same checkout that companies like Allo uses.
- [04:10]
Sarah Hagie
Sign up for your $1 per month trial period@shopify.com Scampod all lowercase go to shopify.com Scampod to upgrade your selling today.
- [04:22]
Unknown
Shopify.com Scampod Audible's best of 2024 picks are here. Discover the year's top audiobooks, podcasts and originals in all your favorite genres, from memoirs and sci fi to mysteries and thrillers. Audible's curated list in every category is the best way to hear 2020 24's best in audio Entertainment like a stunning new full cast production of George Orwell's 1984 heartfelt memoirs. Like Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's lovely one, the year's best fiction, like the Women by Kristin Hannah and Percival Everett's brilliantly subversive James. Another worthwhile listen is Amy Tintera's thrilling and twisting whodunit Listen for the Lie. This laugh out loud, funny tale follows Lucy, a woman who needs to clear her own name after a true crime podcast decides to probe into the worst night of her life, one she conveniently can't remember. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen, go to audible.com wondrypod and discover all the years best waiting for you.
- [05:30]
Saatchi Cole
From Wondery. I'm Saatchi Cole.
- [05:32]
Sarah Hagie
And I'm Sarah Hagie.
- [05:33]
Saatchi Cole
And this is Scamfluencers legend. In the early 20th century, two modern industries were taking shape in charities and Christmas. John Gluck may have started answering children's letters to Santa out of the goodness of his heart, but greed soon took over. People were so enthusiastic about his cause that no one thought to check where their money was actually going. John played a huge part in establishing the Christmas myths and traditions we know today. And he set a template for so many scammers to come. I'm calling this episode John Gluck. Santa Claus is Coming to con. John Gluck is born on Christmas Day, 1878 in Brooklyn. He's the oldest of five boys in a well to do family. And Christmas time is especially festive in John's home. His parents fill the house with decorations, feasts and presents. And they mark the holiday with a spirit of generosity. To spread the wealth and the Christmas joy. John's parents encourage him and his brothers to help the less fortunate around the holidays. As a child, John is a charismatic prankster who believes he's destined to live a noteworthy and luxurious life. But his parents have other plans. They want him to take over the family's customs brokerage firm, which handles the paperwork and taxes of imports and exports. And so when he's old enough, John goes to work for his father. He gets married to a nice girl and tries to live up to his family's expectations. When his father dies suddenly in 1907, 29 year old John takes over the family business. But within a year, he realizes that for him, a steady, stable life is boring as hell. So John divorces his wife and moves into a bachelor pad near New York City's newly opened Penn Station. And it truly is a bachelor pad. He lives directly above a steakhouse that serves Manhattan's elite. And here, John gets his first taste of the high society life he's always wanted. He often hangs out at the steakhouse, rubbing elbows with New York's biggest power players. He's always been a short man, and by now he's balding. So he compensates by having a lush and meticulously groomed mustache.
- [07:52]
Sarah Hagie
You know, he kind of looks like Stanley Tucci. Good mustache. He looks cool.
- [07:57]
Saatchi Cole
All right. We're learning a lot about your type today. So John is still running his father's brokerage, but he's also dabbling in an industry that's just taking off in publicity. John longs for the spotlight, so he starts sending tips to the papers to boost coverage of his business and himself. And it works. John's hype man skills are so impressive that he's able to start a side hustle doing publicity for some of his friends. In 1913, at 35 years old, John gets his first big PR job, promoting a series of bullfights at a festival in Coney Island. These are the first bullfights to ever happen in New York. Animal rights activists are up in arms about bullfighting, but John promises that no animals will be injured. Finally, after months of promotion, it's time for the big event. It's a cool September evening, and John enters the stadium surrounded by other thrill seekers. A famous Spanish matador steps into the arena. But the bull he's facing down doesn't seem scary at all. In fact, it's downright chill. John can only look on as the exhibition he spent weeks hyping up turns out to be his worst nightmare. A total snooze fest. He isn't the only one concerned. The matador senses that the audience is losing interest and hits the bull on the nose. And that's when the show goes from dull to dangerous. The bull charges the matador. He dodges it, but the bull keeps running straight ahead, right towards the screaming crowd. Before he can reach them, the bull rams into a wooden barrier and knocks itself out. As it slumps to the ground, blood streams from its nose. The bull is clearly injured, so John and his fellow organizers are arrested and taken away in handcuffs. John is charged with baiting an animal and animal cruelty, but he gets off with just a fine. After this fiasco, John is in the newspaper for all the wrong reasons. And now he needs to save his reputation and his fledgling career in publicity. And he's about to find the perfect new client. A literal saint. Three months after the bullfighting incident, John responds to a notice from the US Post office. They recently changed their official policy on how to handle letters addressed to Santa. Previously, that mail was forwarded to the dead letter office and it was destroyed. But now the post office is calling for groups to volunteer to answer them. For the last two Christmases, no group has stepped forward, and John's always felt an affinity for Christmas, since it's his birthday and he senses a good publicity angle. So John asks the USPS if he can step in to play Santa. But he isn't going to just answer letters. John wants to match poor kids with generous philanthropists who can make their Christmas dreams come true. So the USPS agrees. Let's talk for a second about the history of kids writing letters to Santa. St. Nicholas has been the patron saint of children for centuries. But he started becoming more popular in the US towards the end of the 18th century. And then he was immortalized by the 1823 poem, A Visit from St Nicholas. Sarah, do you know this poem?
- [11:10]
Sarah Hagie
Yes, it is that one Everyone knows. It's riffed upon all the time. And it goes, twas the night before Christmas when all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there. You know what? This changed the course of history, but.
- [11:32]
Saatchi Cole
Just not for us.
- [11:34]
Sarah Hagie
Yeah, I mean, all of the imagery is from this poem.
- [11:37]
Saatchi Cole
Well, back then, St. Nick wasn't an advocate for kids. His role was actually to keep children in line. And letters would come from St. Nick telling children to behave. But during the Civil War, the postal service became cheaper and more efficient. And around this time, popular magazines started depicting Santa Claus as the figure we know today, a guy in a big red suit. By the 1870s, kids across the US were putting letters to Santa in the mail. By the turn of the century, commercialism had taken hold of New York and its Christmas celebrations. The year before John volunteered to answer letters, the city hosted its first tree lighting celebration. This annual event still lives on today at Rockefeller Center. But in the early 1900s, Christmas becomes more of a season than just a day. And that means gifts, decorations, and parties, which also means big business and big money.
- [12:31]
Sarah Hagie
Yeah, I mean, it's crazy that it is pretty recent how Christmas became this holiday associated with spending a lot of money and a huge push for the economy and all this kind of stuff and why it is so commercial and basically a secular holiday now.
- [12:47]
Saatchi Cole
Well, Sarah, as ever, all roads lead back to capitalism. And meanwhile, John can't wait to get a piece of this Christmas goodwill. So he gets to work. His friend, who also owns the steakhouse below his apartment, graciously loans him the restaurant's roomy back office for the month. John turns it into the headquarters of his brand new charity, the Santa Claus Association. The room is decorated with framed photos, large oval windows, and the lingering smell of cigars, whiskey, and steak. On December 8, the postman enters the office with a huge sack. He dumps its contents onto the room's large wooden table. 500 letters to Santa Claus. There's no time to waste, and John has an idea on how to tackle this overwhelming task. Modeled after how he ran his customs business. He gathers a small team of about a dozen volunteers, mostly retirees and young secretaries eager to help poor kids. Their job is to sort through the letters and make sure that only those truly in need get help from Santa. First, the volunteers open the letters and read them. Kids ask for toys, complain about sick and unemployed parents, and even though it's traditionally more of a punishment than a gift, they actually do ask for coal so that they can be warm through the harsh winter. Sarah, will you read one of these letters?
- [14:05]
Sarah Hagie
Yeah, I'll read it. And also it's not going to make total sense to read out loud because it is written by a child. And it goes, my dear Santa, I am seven year, have two sitter and brother. Mother said you will not call to our house as we have no money, but try and come and give me skates and a cowboy suit and Margie a doll. Edward. It's sad because like kids still send letters like this, you know.
- [14:29]
Saatchi Cole
Yeah, they still want a doll for Margie.
- [14:32]
Sarah Hagie
Yeah.
- [14:34]
Saatchi Cole
Well, John and the volunteers make sure that the kids addresses are legible. And then they separate the letters into piles. One is for the letters where a child describes starvation, homelessness or abuse. That stack will be forwarded to the Public Charities Commission for further investigation. Another pile is for letters where kids ask for lavish gifts, have high society addresses, or give some other indication that they don't really need Santa's help. John's volunteers are even willing to go to a kid's house to see for themselves if they qualify as needy. If the letter writer passes all of these tests, the next step is to pair them with a rich philanthropist. That's the real genius to John's plan. He won't buy the gifts himself. The Santa Claus association will not take direct donations. Instead, they'll pair a child in need with wealthy people looking to spread holiday cheer. Donors can even drop off the gifts to the kids themselves to see the benefits of their charity firsthand. You know? John is looking for a publicity angle. So shortly after setting up shop, he invites reporters to stop by his very own Santa's workshop. And as he suspects they love this feel good story, soon multiple newspapers are publishing stories about John and his mission. He's finally getting the positive recognition he craves. But with more publicity comes more letters. In the first week, they start receiving 500 new letters a day. Without a lot more volunteers, John runs the risk of falling behind and letting New York's neediest kids down. And maybe even worse, staining his reputation for good. Only four days into the Santa Claus Association's existence, General Edwin McAlpin picks up the phone and calls John with a proposition. Edwin is 65 years old, with light hair and a stern brow. He's a retired general businessman and the heir to a tobacco fortune. And just like John, he has a spectacular mustache. Edwin wants to know if the Santa Claus association needs volunteers. He's currently the head of the United States Boy Scout organization, and he offers his Scout's help free of charge. I'd like to pause to note that I said the United States Boy Scout and not the Boy Scouts of America, because in the early 1910s, there are actually two Scout organizations. They're pretty much the same, except for one major difference. The US Boy Scouts, run by General Edwin, emphasizes the importance of military training. And their members are armed with fully functional rifles.
- [17:09]
Sarah Hagie
I had no idea this existed. This is so nuts.
- [17:13]
Saatchi Cole
Well, it doesn't sound good in theory. And in practice, it's even worse. About a year before Edwin calls John, a 12 year old US Boy Scout shot and killed a 9 year old in a vacant lot in the Bronx. And since then, their membership has plummeted.
- [17:29]
Sarah Hagie
No shit. Membership plummeted after one child shot and killed another one.
- [17:35]
Saatchi Cole
Yeah, but Edwin isn't willing to ditch the military training. Just like John. After the bullfight fiasco, Edwin is looking to give the US Boy Scouts a major PR boost. And he thinks that helping Santa is the perfect stunt. So with John's approval, Edwin sends a few hundred Scouts, in military dress, of course, to help open letters and deliver gifts to children in need. They do make one concession, however. They agree to leave their guns at home. This army of volunteer elves are the massive manpower boost that the Santa Claus association desperately needs. And with their invaluable help, more than 13,000 gifts are delivered to children by Christmas Eve.
- [18:15]
Sarah Hagie
This is so crazy. They got these child soldiers to help them.
- [18:20]
Saatchi Cole
Well, despite the child army element of this, all in all, the Santa Claus Association's first year is a success. But that night, after delivering gifts, a group of U.S. boy Scouts celebrate around a campfire outside New York city. And a 13 year old picks up another Scout's rifle and fatally shoots another scout in the back of the head by mistake. It's a horrible tragedy. And the two deaths within two years could sink the U.S. boy Scouts and eliminate John's source of free labor. Which could spell the end of John's Christmas charity for good. Two weeks after the Santa Claus Association's first Christmas, New York Times Magazine runs a full page spread about John with The headline played Santa Claus and solved an economic problem. Playing Santa totally turned his reputation around. And it's also making him a surprising amount of money, because even though the organization wasn't supposed to solicit donations, just before their first Christmas, John made a public plea for money to cover the cost of $0.02 stamps, and donations flooded in. In one case, a member of the Vanderbilt family sent him $10, which doesn't sound like much, but it's worth over $300 today. John's receiving more money than the charity needs, and he's the only one tracking donations. He probably figures he's working hard and doing good and deserves a little treat. So John starts skimming off the top.
- [19:47]
Sarah Hagie
It's so freaking hilarious to me that he just started this and he's already like, I'm gonna start stealing money from it. Like, there was no build up. It's the second he was able to, he did it.
- [19:59]
Saatchi Cole
Yeah. He did not waste time. And now that he's got fame and a little bit of fortune, John can't sit by and let the US Boy Scouts collapse. He needs these volunteers in order to keep up with the volume of letters they're receiving. So John steps in as an official solicitor for the US Boy Scouts. Basically, he helps them raise money, and he strikes a unique deal with the organization. He gets to keep 40% of every donation he brings in. And at the time, there are no laws against this. In fact, there were very few regulations on charities in general in the early 1900s.
- [20:35]
Sarah Hagie
Okay, so he's basically being the mafia for this army of child soldiers.
- [20:40]
Saatchi Cole
Yes, he sure is.
- [20:42]
Sarah Hagie
What the hell is happening? This all started because he wanted poor kids to have a good Christmas. And now look.
- [20:49]
Saatchi Cole
And now look. Yeah, well, the US Boy Scouts agree to John's terms. So he gets to work raising money for them and for the Santa Claus Association. His strategy is to ask prominent individuals to sign onto either organization as an honorary vice president. In reality, an honorary VP doesn't do anything except lend their name to the letterhead to entice donors. And it works. The donations start rolling in. In fact, the tactic is so effective that before long, John starts adding famous people's names to his solicitations without their knowledge from the outside. John's got it all. The money and the status he always wanted and the charitable reputation that keeps it all going. He uses the runoff from donations to hobnob with wealthy New Yorkers at dinners and theater openings. With a new, affluent circle of friends, John starts getting more access and more opportunities. One of his new friends offers him a bigger, rent free office space for the Santa Claus Association. The Hotel Astor's opulent wine cellar with its vaulted ceilings, wood paneling, and gothic chandeliers. The huge space is a major upgrade and John dubs it the Santa Claus cave.
- [22:05]
Sarah Hagie
This is escalating in such a wild way. And it's so crazy to me that none of these people were like, hmm, John got really rich looking as soon as this charity popped off. I wonder if he's maybe taking money from it.
- [22:22]
Saatchi Cole
Yeah. But in the summer of 1914, as John is preparing for his second Christmas as Santa Claus, the unthinkable happens. The heir to the Austro Hungarian throne is assassinated and war breaks out in Europe. The US won't officially join World War I for another three years, but at this moment, all eyes and charity dollars are focused on Europe. John needs to find a way to keep his organization in the public eye without seeming like he doesn't care about a massive global conflict. So John invokes the one force that might be even more powerful than the Christmas pe.
- [23:05]
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Sarah Hagie
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Saatchi Cole
Above 40 gigabytes in details.
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- [24:44]
Saatchi Cole
Six months after the start of World War I, John takes a cue from the children and pens his own letter. He fills it with his hopes and dreams and addresses it to President Woodrow Wilson. He calls on him to ask the fighting nations to put down their weapons for a Christmas armistice. John also tells the President that more children are writing in with dire needs because of the war's impact on the economy. But three days later, the State Department writes back saying thanks but no thanks to John's thoughts on foreign policy. Undeterred, John writes letters saying that he's organized 1 million children across North America to pray together for peace on Christmas. Of course, he doesn't actually have an army of 1 million praying children, but the newspapers still eat it up. Leave it to John to try and make World War I all about himself.
- [25:33]
Sarah Hagie
Damn, I really feel like if he actually had a million children, we wouldn't be where we are now.
- [25:38]
Saatchi Cole
You know, I don't think that's true, but it is nice to imagine, isn't it? Well, while he hasn't been able to stop the fighting, John has been able to grow his organization. A sister chapter opened earlier that year in Toronto, so John renames the two groups the International Santa Claus Association. He's emboldened by his own letter writing campaign and inspired to find more unique ways to fundraise and put money in his pocket. In December 1914, he meets a Broadway producer and in faux distress, John lies to him, saying his organization is in massive debt. The producer offers to help raise money. He says he'll donate the profits from one evening's ticket sales to Santa Claus Association. So John immediately gets to work doing what he does, promoting the hell out of the fundraiser. On the evening of the play, the association takes home about $2,000, the equivalent of over 60 grand today. With the second Christmas under his belt, John has proven that his charity isn't a fluke. It gives generous people the chance to give back, puts gifts in the hands of needy kids, and generates heaps of great publicity for everyone involved. The International Santa Claus association expands even more, opening branches in Atlanta, Baltimore, Buffalo and Boston. No one knows that John is secretly enriching himself and becoming less of a jolly Santa and more of a greedy Grinch. The next December, in 1915, John repeats his lie about the organization being in debt. He tells the New York Tribune that The charity owes $3,000, over 90 grand in today's money. And John is still claiming he only Needs this money for stamps. This is a flat out lie. But the bigger the publicized debt, the bigger the donations. Regardless of all John's deceptions, the association is still coming through on its promises. In 1915, they deliver 50,000 gifts to the underprivileged children of New York City. The only problem with the cash cow that John has stumbled on is that it's centered on just one day a year. And John wants more. So he's about to reveal his next big plan, which will turn the Santa Claus association from an annual tradition into a year round institution. It's Christmas Day 1915, John's 37th birthday and the Santa Claus Association's third successful year in operation. Now that all the presents have been delivered, the action is dying down. At the association's headquarters, John's volunteers are packing up to go be with their families. But he asks everyone to stay a little longer because he has a big announcement. John's had this in the works for a while. He's even invited journalists to document what he's about to say. And that's when he breaks the exciting. He's planning the first ever Santa Claus building in Manhattan. And it'll be more than just a building. He wants to create a white marble monument to the spirit of Christmas. It'll have a massive arched entrance with a huge Christmas tree decorated year round. The marble facade will depict images of Santa Claus from every country made by artists native to each place. Of course, there'll be a huge stained glass window depicting Santa himself. And that is just the exterior. Inside, they'll build offices for the Santa Claus association, but also an auditorium, a library, a huge toy market, a fancy restaurant, a rooftop garden, and a kitchen that can feed 1,000 people at a time.
- [29:08]
Sarah Hagie
Okay, Christmas happens once a year.
- [29:12]
Saatchi Cole
Yeah, I know. This whole thing kind of does seem insane and unnecessary, But John has already put together an all star team to make it happen. He's hired a sculptor named Gutson Borglum, who will later go on to create a little known project called Mount Rushmore.
- [29:29]
Sarah Hagie
I mean, maybe that got him the job to make Mount Rushmore was this was this thing. This is what put him on the map. We just weren't there.
- [29:37]
Saatchi Cole
Yeah, you're right. We just weren't around for it. Well, John says that he needs $300,000 to make it happen, and that is over $9 million today. He lets the press know that fundraising will start immediately. He's already arranged for the building sketches and a call for donations to be shown in movie theaters across the country later that Month. After three years of building goodwill in the public eye, everyone gathered loves John's vision. Among the crowd of volunteers and journalists that day is John's new love interest, Simona Boneyface. Simona has deep brown eyes and dark hair. She's a 21 year old aspiring actress who met John over the holidays. And Even though she's 16 years younger than him, they both have big boisterous personalities and they hit it off immediately. Just a few months later, they get married. John showers Simona with clothes and jewels likely paid for with the extra donations from the Santa Claus building. John's always been a big spender, but with a new partner in decadence, he starts racking up debts across town and living way above his means. But it's all worth it when Simona smiles at him and calls him my Santa Claus. To keep up with this spending, John needs the Santa Claus association and the US Boy Scouts to bring in more money than ever before. But John is living large on other people's donations, and he's about to go up against a literal Boy Scout who won't stand for his grifting ways. It's July 1917, about a year after John marries his Mrs. Claus, and James E. West is ready to put a stop to the US Boy Scouts and their trigger happy antics. West is in his early 40s with well groomed gray hair and perfectly round glasses. Philip Seymour Hoffman could have played him really well. Whoa.
- [31:26]
Sarah Hagie
Yeah. This is crazy how much they look alike to me.
- [31:29]
Saatchi Cole
Well, west is an orphan who put himself through law school and became a legal advocate for children. He took over as the head of the Boy scouts of America six years ago, and the competing U.S. boy Scouts have been a thorn in his side the entire time. He's ready to become the one true Scout organization. And like any Eagle Scout, he won't give up. But tensions with the U.S. boy Scouts have only gotten worse since John Gluck was named as their Commissioner at large a few months ago. Since then, John and his team have taken advantage of people's confusion about the two groups to pocket donations meant for the Boy Scouts of America. And not only does John take 40% of all donations, he now pays himself a salary. On top of that, John has been using the US Boy Scouts and the Santa Claus association to masquerade as a philanthropist. And recently he started telling wild, self aggrandizing lies. John tells people that he's a member of the Secret Service and no, you didn't miss anything. He definitely isn't. But his most egregious offense to a lawyer like west is that John puts Esquire in his signature even though he never went to law school.
- [32:35]
Sarah Hagie
I mean, of course he's going to turn into this massive liar. He got away with so much already.
- [32:40]
Saatchi Cole
Well, west can't stand John's deceptions. Unlike John, west genuinely believes in the Boy Scout's mission. It's why he's so passionate about putting John in his place. So west files a lawsuit aiming to stop the US Boy Scouts from using the words Boy Scout or any version of the phrase in its name. John tries to wage a war in the press, but his attempts are pathetic. At first, John tells reporters that the lawsuit is a misunderstanding. When that fails, he publicly asks if the two Boy Scout organizations can merge. But west gives the same reply each time. Let the courts decide. He can tell John is getting desperate. John is determined to save his two charities, so he tries to keep them separate by making his wife Simona, a 22 year old actress with no business experience, the president of the Santa Claus Association. This decision infuriates his non scout volunteer staff and several of them quit. West watches with glee as John continues to unravel. Out of options, John resorts to the most basic projection. He writes to the Justice Department accusing West of pulling the same financial trickery that John himself is doing. It's basically a 13 page rant calling West a conard.
- [33:54]
Sarah Hagie
It is extremely bold of John to think that tactic works. I mean, it's very risky because it can expose him completely.
- [34:02]
Saatchi Cole
Yeah, it seems foolish. And a year later, the court releases its official decision. The US Boy Scouts can't use any version of Scout or Scouting in their name. Without that, they can't recruit as effectively, so they're basically forced to shut down. Quest has won the battle of the Boy Scout. And the cherry on top is that John's credibility is wrecked. The long and public legal battle has left him broke and support for the Santa Claus association all but evaporates. Now that John's been publicly outed as a fraudster, his powerful friends and former supporters start deserting him, including his wife. A few months after he loses the US Boy Scouts, he and Simona get divorced. A year and a half later, it's Christmas 1920, John's 42nd birthday and he's sitting at home alone with hundreds of children's letters to Santa Claus. It's the Santa Claus Association's eighth Christmas, but without its volunteers. The organization basically exists in name only. About a year earlier, John tried to get the Salvation army to take over the operation, but they declined. So this Christmas, the letters are being sent to John's personal address. It's too much for him to handle alone, but without any help, it looks like the Santa Claus association is as cooked as a Christmas ham. But that's when John is saved by the power of the charity's vision. A former volunteer, Samuel Brill, comes out of the woodwork and offers to handle the letters. And John agrees to turn things over to him. John removes his name from the masthead and lays low. And slowly but surely, the charity picks up steam again and finds a new group of volunteers. John supports himself, working as an editor for a New Jersey newspaper, and watches as the association regains its clout over the next few years. By 1922, John is glad handing again with celebrities like Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. And by 1923, President Coolidge even telegraphs the Santa Claus association to formally wish the children of America a merry Christmas. Christmas. On New Year's Eve, 1923, John helps throw an insane star studded fundraiser at the Waldorf Astoria. In classic roaring twenties fashion, the party goes on until the early hours of the morning. Jazz musicians keep the crowd dancing and confetti pours from the ceiling. And a few Years later, in 1926, New York City mayor Jimmie Walker awards the Santa Claus association with the key to the city.
- [36:32]
Sarah Hagie
Yeah, I mean, as much as he's scammed, this charity does work for children like kids do get gifts. And you know, this, an event like this fully legitimizes him.
- [36:42]
Saatchi Cole
Yeah, well, after all of his ups and downs, John has learned one, Scamming through charities is easy. So he sets out to make a lot more money by setting up new organizations. He draws upon the insane rolodex he created at the Santa Claus association, which has over 75,000 names and send solicitation letters far and wide. But while the Santa Claus association really does give children presents, John's new charities are completely fake. He straight up pockets nearly 100% of the money they raise. These charities have names like the crusade against Illicit Traffic in Narcotics, the Serum control of cancer, the anti prohibition Group, and the Window crib society. That charity promoted the idea of infants getting fresh air and sunshine by suspending them out of apartment windows in wide chicken cages. It's like a catio, but for human babies.
- [37:37]
Sarah Hagie
Yeah, it looks like the back of an air conditioning unit, but it's a cage with a child in a bassinet inside. And honestly, I wish there was a way this could be safe because it seems awesome.
- [37:49]
Saatchi Cole
Okay. Weird. Well, we don't know how much money John made from these fake charities, but it's enough for him to become a bit of a Jazz Age celebrity. He even finds himself another wife named Gertrude. She adores John, especially his larger than life personality, and she always laughs at his bad jokes. John is a total crook and it seems like no one's the wiser. But what John doesn't know is that New York City Public Welfare Commissioner Bird Kohler has had John on his radar for years. And this bird is about to get his worm. Hey prime members, have you heard? You can listen to your favorite podcasts ad Free Good news. With Amazon Music, you have access to the largest catalog of ad Free top podcasts included with your prime membership. To start listening, download the Amazon Music app for free or go to Amazon.com ad freepodcast that's Amazon.com ad free podcast to catch up on the latest episodes.
- [38:50]
Unknown
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- [39:54]
Saatchi Cole
I feel like I it's three days before Christmas in 1927 and Bird is sitting in his office in the Manhattan municipal building. He's 60 years old, a fit man with sad eyes and a salt and pepper mustache. Bird started his political career as the chief accountant for the city and he still dresses like it. He often wears a bow tie. Bird had dreams of being governor, but his determination to root out fraud in the government didn't make him any friends. So when he entered the governor's race, he lost. But now, as New York's public welfare commissioner, Byrd wants to double down on his mission to rid the city's charities of inefficiencies and grift. In a previous case, Bird cataloged every single Christmas basket going out to needy families to make sure no one got More than one. He's a bit of a scrooge, but if that's what it takes to stop people like John, he's fine with having a sour reputation.
- [40:50]
Sarah Hagie
Oh, my gosh. It's always a guy like this who's so insanely by the book who takes down someone like John.
- [40:59]
Saatchi Cole
Yeah, I already love him. Well, today, Bird's waiting for John. He asked him to come visit his office. And when John finally arrives, Bird questions him for two hours about every aspect of the Santa Claus Association. And John evades all of his questions. John claims he's the only person handling the association's finances, but he can't explain where the money goes. He claims that he has 600 clerks and 100 district captains on the payroll, but he can't name them. Bird knows that John is lying. His crimes have gotten sloppy and obvious. And one of the most suspicious things is that John recently started accepting direct donations for presents instead of matching kids to donors. It's a total 180 from the association's original mission.
- [41:44]
Sarah Hagie
Wow. He couldn't even keep up that part of the facade. Like, he was just like, you know what? Let's just streamline it. Give me the money.
- [41:51]
Saatchi Cole
Yeah. For a man who claims he's an attorney with degrees from Columbia, Cambridge, and Oxford, John can't muster any answers for Byrd's questions. But under the current charity laws, he can basically do whatever he wants with the organization's money. As a result, Bird can't arrest him, but he can start investigating. The next day, Bird sends an auditor to the Santa Claus association offices. The auditor finds only five employees sorting mail, Nothing close to the hundreds of volunteers that John boasted about. Bird tries to push the story to the papers. But with Christmas only two days away, attention is elsewhere. The Santa Claus association survives another season. As Bird rings in the new year, he decides that 1928 will be his last year as commissioner. He'll retire after next Christmas. But Bird has one goal for his final year in office. Taking John down. Nearly a year later, with the holidays approaching again, Bird plays his ace. He figures he may not be able to get John arrested, But what would the Santa Claus association be without Santa's letters? Nothing. So Bird calls the head of the postal inspector's service and informs them that John is using their letters to steal from generous Americans. Last year alone, the Santa Claus association raised $106,000, the equivalent of almost $2 million today. But there are few records detailing how that money was spent. And it doesn't take long to notice that John's living large with fancy cars and lavish parties. Bird lays all his evidence out and waits for the Postal Service to deliver John some serious karma. Outraged by Byrd's intel, the postmasters publicly and definitively withdraw USPS support of the Santa Claus association on December 6, 1928. Within days, John's crimes are exposed in papers across the country, and people are livid. Fraud is one thing, but when you add in Christmas and disadvantaged kids, it's a reputational apocalypse.
- [43:54]
Sarah Hagie
Yeah, I mean, the fall would be very, very hard for someone who used disadvantaged kids to get to the top of society. Understandable.
- [44:03]
Saatchi Cole
Well, it seems like this lifelong grifter might be about to face actual consequences. But then, the following year, the stock market crashes. It's bad news for nearly every US Citizen, but great news for John. Public attention quickly shifts to the Great Depression. And in this moment, John makes a big pivot. He moves to Florida with Gertrude, who has stood by him through it all. He becomes a real estate agent, apparently putting his scamming behind him. But let's be real, he was probably a shady real estate agent, too. And he died in 1951 at the age of 70. Despite his crimes, John's only arrest was for that bullfight at Coney Island. He will forever be remembered as the man who helped bring Santa and Christmas to New York. In the 15 years that John ran the Santa Claus association, he arranged for a quarter million needy kids to get presents at the holidays. There were a few smaller Santa letter projects after the Santa Claus association folded, but finally, in 1962, the New York City Post office formalized their process and created Operation Santa Claus. In 2006, the program even went national. If you want to play Santa yourself, you can go to USPS operationsana.com and answer a kid's Christmas wishes. And as long as you're not like John, you might even end up on the nice list. Sarah, did this story fill you with the Christmas spirit?
- [45:28]
Sarah Hagie
You know, I like seeing the lights. I like the way things shut down.
- [45:33]
Saatchi Cole
Mm. I get.
- [45:34]
Sarah Hagie
I benefit from Christmas.
- [45:36]
Saatchi Cole
Sure.
- [45:36]
Sarah Hagie
I do think his scam is probably one that still exists in many forms for charities. To me, it's so interesting that his scam did lead to Operation Santa existing.
- [45:51]
Saatchi Cole
Yeah, this is actually like a story about why being a scammer is good.
- [45:57]
Sarah Hagie
I think the craziest part of all of this were the child soldiers.
- [46:02]
Saatchi Cole
Maybe the lesson is that if you're going to do a scam, you should make sure that you have a mercenary group full of minors involved.
- [46:10]
Sarah Hagie
Yeah. Also, I don't really get why he couldn't find people after them. Like, when that shut down, it was kind of like, great, now we have no one. Like, find something else.
- [46:22]
Saatchi Cole
Probably because they weren't being paid.
- [46:24]
Sarah Hagie
I don't know. Could have. He could have found a group of people and convinced them it was a noble cause. I think he just was kind of like, well, I got this far. May as well just take a step back and become an editor at a newspaper. And then he got roped right back in.
- [46:44]
Saatchi Cole
Heart wants what it wants. You know, Another thing I'm learning through this scam is that if you do fraud during massive social and political upheaval, people will forget. So, you know, the last few years have been a great time to do fraud, frankly, because things have just never felt more chaotic. Yeah.
- [47:05]
Sarah Hagie
I mean, I feel like we've been thinking about scammers recently who kind of fly under the radar because crazier things are happening in the world and people can't focus on them. So maybe that is the key to a good scam is having the foresight to know when there's going to be like a huge economic crash or a crazy election.
- [47:24]
Saatchi Cole
Yeah. If you're listening to this at home and you're thinking of doing a grift, try to time it with a war.
- [47:31]
Sarah Hagie
I say start now. Start now. By the time you get caught, something crazier is going to be happening.
- [47:35]
Saatchi Cole
Yeah. And then say, oh, but the war. And then you'll be fine, you'll move to Florida. I do think it's really quaint that a hundred and some years ago people were still ripping off charities as they are today. It's like the oldest story in the world of capitalism. I kind of love it. We've learned nothing.
- [47:56]
Sarah Hagie
Yeah, I mean, this was one of the more old timey stories we've done considering, you know, silent film stars, the Great Depression. But it was a timeless tale. You know, you could have had the exact same story functioning in the exact same way, but like five years ago.
- [48:14]
Saatchi Cole
It's amazing that none of us have internalized any suspicion around people who perform works of charity. Mostly for their own ego.
- [48:25]
Sarah Hagie
Yeah.
- [48:26]
Saatchi Cole
On that note, Sarah, would you like to donate to my charity? It is to benefit people with outie belly buttons. We don't do any surgeries or anything. It's just to like, help them because it's so embarrassing.
- [48:38]
Sarah Hagie
I'm good. Are you sure? Yeah, I don't think I need to do that.
- [48:41]
Saatchi Cole
Okay. I have your credit card. I'm just going to add it to the list. Don't worry about that. If you like scams, you can listen to every episode early and ad free right now by joining Wondery plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey@wondry.com survey this is Santa Claus is Coming to Con. I'm Saatchi Cole.
- [49:20]
Sarah Hagie
And I'm Sarah Hagee. If you have a tip for us on a story that you think we should cover, please email us@scamfluencersundry.com we use many sources in our research. A few that were particularly helpful were the Santa Claus man by Alex Palmer Mama says that Santa Claus Does not need to Come to Poor People by Eve M. Kahn for the New York Times the strange story of NYC's Santa Claus Building that Never Was by the staff of Curbed New York and Played Santa Claus and Solved an Economic Problem by Edward Marshall for the New York Times Magazine.
- [49:53]
Saatchi Cole
Rachel Borders wrote this episode. Additional writing by us Saatchi Cole and Sarah Hackey, Olivia Briley and Eric Thurm are our story editors. Fact checking by our associate producer, Lexi Piri. Additional audio assistance provided by Augustine Lim. Our music supervisor is Scott Velasquez for Freeze on Sync. Our managing producer is Desi Blaylock. Our senior managing producer is Callum Plews. Janine Cornelo and Stephanie Jens are development producers. Our other associate producer is Charlotte Miller. Our producer is Julie Magruder. Our senior producers are Sarah Enney and Jenny Blum. Our executive producer producers are Jenny Lauer, Beckman, Marshall Louie and Erin O'Farrell. For Wondry on Lipstick on the Rim, we speak with industry insiders, doctors and the biggest stars to bring you all the facts.
- [50:46]
Sarah Hagie
Become best friends with your hairstylist. They're going to make you look and.
- [50:49]
Saatchi Cole
Feel so good and you'll just show.
- [50:51]
Ryan Reynolds
Up as a better you.
- [50:52]
Sarah Hagie
I always wanted to make hoops.
- [50:53]
Ryan Reynolds
Those girls are hard to raise.
- [50:55]
Saatchi Cole
They are going to push all the buttons. Just having a community is the best.
- [50:59]
Unknown
Because you can compare stories with your girlfriends.
- [51:02]
Saatchi Cole
Cheers. Listen to Lipstick on the Rim on.
- [51:04]
Sarah Hagie
Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts or watch full episodes now on YouTube.