Catch Me If You Ken I 2. Cleaning House

Summary

Summary of "The Binge Cases: Catch Me If You Ken I 2. Cleaning House"

Introduction

In the second episode of "Catch Me If You Ken," hosted by Natalie Robomed and produced by Sony Music Entertainment, the series delves deeper into the intricate scam orchestrated by Ken—a charismatic individual who deceived numerous victims across Los Angeles to Italy. This episode, titled "Cleaning House," focuses on the story of Rita, a house cleaner who becomes one of Ken's unsuspecting victims, and unravels the expanding web of deceit surrounding Ken's operations.

Rita's Encounter with Ken

The episode opens in the affluent Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, where Rita, the house cleaner for Ken and Becca, receives an enticing text from Ken about a lucrative business opportunity. Ken pitches "Your Sky Investments," a luxury Airbnb venture, promising Rita financial freedom and the end of her strenuous housekeeping job.

• [01:23] Rita: "He said, I have this great opportunity. Basically, he respects me and loves me as a friend and wants to see me not work so hard and do good."

Despite the significant financial ask of $50,000 to $100,000—a substantial amount for Rita, who earns $225 per housekeeping session—her desire for a better life drives her to invest $60,000 in cash.

• [02:11] Rita: "100K. 50 to 100 to be exact."

Rita justifies her investment by trusting Ken and Becca, believing that the venture has been vetted by her acquaintances and that Ken's promise of making her a millionaire by the next year is credible.

Parallel Betrayals: The Sable Family

Simultaneously, the episode recounts how Ken entangled the Sable family in his schemes, extracting up to $150,000 from them under the guise of their support for Becca's business. This betrayal is underscored by the emotional toll it took on the Sable family, particularly as Ken manipulates their financial resources to aid in his fraudulent activities.

Rita's Growing Suspicion

Months into the investment, Rita begins to sense discrepancies. Her concerns escalate when her friend, also invested in "Your Sky," reports that Ken owes him money. Upon reaching out to Ken, Rita receives vague reassurances that only deepen her suspicions.

• [12:06] Rita: "Don't remember exactly what I said, but I tried to keep it firm, but nice. I changed my mind about all of this. You verbally told me that if at any time I wanted out, you would reimburse me my initial investment."

Rita's fears materialize when Ken and Becca abruptly leave their home without notice, leaving Rita to manage their abode alone. Upon meeting Becca again, Rita notices Becca's deteriorated condition and hears her struggle to explain the financial collapse tied to Ken's dubious immigration status.

Uncovering Ken's True Identity

In a pivotal moment, Rita discovers a customs declaration paper in Becca's memento box, revealing Ken's real name—Kenric Chu Wen Long—and his true nationality: Singaporean, not Japanese as previously claimed. This revelation shatters Rita's trust, as it becomes evident that Ken had been deceitful about fundamental aspects of his identity.

• [20:37] Rita: "I found his real name on there... He's from Singapore."

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Rita withholds Becca's jewelry as collateral and begins to investigate further, determined to reclaim her $60,000 investment.

Introducing Sophie and Her Boyfriend

The narrative shifts to Marbella, Spain, where Becca is vacationing with Sophie, a German student, and Sophie's new boyfriend. Sophie introduces her boyfriend as an ethical hacker and crypto investor, aligning with Becca's interests in technology and cryptocurrency.

• [26:37] Becca: "He said that he was working for Google as a programmer... he was an ethical hacker."

Their seemingly perfect relationship and shared ventures into crypto investment further entangle the network of deceit orchestrated by Ken.

Sophie’s Discovery and the Unraveling Scheme

A sequence of unfortunate events leads Sophie to investigate her boyfriend's suspicious activities. After witnessing him getting robbed and noticing inconsistencies in his behavior, Sophie discovers incriminating messages on his phone that expose his true identity as Kenric Chu Wen Long.

• [32:28] Becca: "...a message that popped up and said, why don't you give me my money back?"

Confronted with the truth, Sophie connects the dots and realizes the extent of Ken's fraud, setting the stage for law enforcement intervention.

Conclusion and Teaser for the Next Episode

The episode concludes with Ken attempting to evade capture, claiming he is fleeing to Sicily, and Sophie preparing to bring his fraudulent activities to light. The tension builds as Rita and Sophie are poised to take decisive actions against Ken, indicating that justice may soon be served.

Notable Quotes

• Rita on Trusting Ken:
  [01:23] Rita: "He said, I have this great opportunity... he needs people to prove that they would take a chance with him to make it big."

• Rita Realizing Deceit:
  [20:37] Rita: "He's from Singapore... He lied to me about two of the most important basic things about a person."

• Becca on the Collapse:
  [23:08] Becca: "If you should fault anyone, it should be me. Please understand that all I want to do is settle this with you."

Insights and Themes

This episode highlights the vulnerability of individuals seeking financial freedom and the manipulative tactics employed by con artists like Ken. It underscores the importance of due diligence and the peril of placing blind trust in seemingly benevolent figures. Additionally, the episode explores themes of betrayal, desperation, and resilience as Rita and Sophie confront the reality of Ken's deceit.

Conclusion

"Cleaning House" effectively unpacks the layers of Ken's fraudulent network, showcasing the personal and emotional devastation inflicted on his victims. Through Rita's journey from trust to betrayal and Sophie's role in uncovering the truth, the episode builds a compelling narrative that keeps listeners engaged and eager for resolution in subsequent episodes.

Transcript

[Natalie Robomed]

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[Becca]

Bundle and save with the personal price plan.

[Natalie Robomed]

Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state. Listen to all episodes of Catch Me if youf can ad free right now by subscribing to the Binge. Visit the Binge channel on Apple Podcasts and hit subscribe at the top of the page or visit getthebinge.com to get access. Wherever you listen the Binge Feed your true crime obsession the Binge Campsite Media It's a beautiful spring day in la, the morning dew still heavy on grass. We're in the Hollywood Hills, a ritzy neighborhood of winding streets and epic mansions where buses filled with tourists stop to gawk at celebrity homes. Rita, the house cleaner, has been tidying up Ken and Becca's home here for a while now. Rita pushes open the gate to Ken and Becca's house. She's excited because she recently got a text from Ken.

[Rita]

He said, I have this great opportunity. Basically, he respects me and loves me as a friend and wants to see me not work so hard and do good. But you know, at the same time, he's not the kind of person that just hands out money. He needs people to prove that they would take a chance with him to make it big.

[Natalie Robomed]

And that's when Ken tells her about a business opportunity that's going to change her life. It's that same luxury Airbnb he would soon tell the Sables about in Ohio, the one with the name Your Sky Investments. Ken tells her if he lets her in on this deal, she'll never have to clean houses again.

[Rita]

He did say things like, oh, by this time next year you should be a millionaire, Rita says.

[Natalie Robomed]

He asks her to invest a lot of money.

[Rita]

100K. 50 to 100 to be exact.

[Natalie Robomed]

Rita makes $225 per session of housekeeping, so that's a lot of money for her. But she wants a better life. She grew up poor and never had much of an opportunity. Ken and Becker are the closest to wealth she's ever gotten. She wants this.

[Rita]

I asked some more questions and he said, okay, we'll go with my attorney tomorrow when you get here. But the thing is, it has to be cash.

[Natalie Robomed]

Rita eases the front door open and steps Onto the gray granite floor. She walks into the living room. Floor to ceiling windows show off the LA skyline. A big modern steel fireplace sits in the middle. Everything is angular and mid century, like a Danish furniture designer redid a corporate hotel lobby. Ken and Beckett are inside when she arrives. Something strange is happening. Becca, or 5'11 of her lithe Kendall Jenner like form is doing dishes.

[Rita]

And that shocked me when I remember, like, and I said to her, why are you doing dishes? You knew I was coming today. And then she was like, oh, I just needed a distraction.

[Natalie Robomed]

Becca steps away from the sink and Rita says they all sit down together and have breakfast. The view from the house is amazing. LA spread out beneath them all the little canyons and big houses with their horizontal heft and tiny blue squares of pools. Rita almost feels like she's on a plane up here. They discuss the business.

[Rita]

That the launch was going to be this day and that day and what the projections were and that I should be like a millionaire by next year.

[Natalie Robomed]

According to Rita, Becca tells her her dad has invested. He pulled money out of his 401k. That's how much he believed in it. Plus two other guys Rita works with from a property management company have also invested in your sky. And they're smart business people. Way more experienced in all of this than she is. As far as Rita's concerned, this investment has been vetted by people she trusts. Everything sounds good. So after breakfast, she hands over the money. $60,000 in cash?

[Rita]

Yep.

[Natalie Robomed]

Oh my goodness.

[Rita]

Dollar bills just in bands.

[Natalie Robomed]

Ken takes her cash and promises Rita her life is about to change. And it will. Just not in the way she imagined. From Sony Music Entertainment and Campside Media, this is Catch Me if youf Can Episode two, Cleaning House. I'm Natalie Robomed. Catch me if you can. We may be talking a lot about money in this series, but money represents freedom for a lot of people. The ability to live in a nicer nursing home or not spend your days working a back breaking job. And that's the real thing. It feels like Ken wants to take from these people freedom. Last episode, he allegedly took money from Becca's grandfather and dad, Becca's aunt and uncle, Stephen Crystal. Sable watched as Ken convinced members of the Sable family to invest as much as $150,000 in Ken's company. It was a heart wrenching decision for their grandfather who took the gamble in order to help pay for his wife's dementia care. This episode, Ken keeps weaving his web, ensnaring his housekeeper and a beautiful blonde With a big bite. After Rita makes her investment, she's feeling on top of the world. It's like she struck gold. This rich couple she works for has given her a chance to change her life forever. All of a sudden, all those daily worries about money start to dissipate. She's not going to have to worry about budgeting out the weekly grocery shop or ordering the cheapest item on the menu or how she's going to get to work if her car breaks down for good. She's going to be able to take care of her family. Stop coming home at the end of the day smelling like bleach, skin rubbed war from cleaning chemicals. Her lower back sore from vacuuming other people's dust. No more scrubbing toilet bowls. A few months later, Ken tells Rita that she should be getting $10,000 in dividends by the end of the year, that this venture will absolutely make it. Rita's life is on the verge of cataclysmic change for her, her fiance, her two dogs. It's all looking up. But over in Ohio, things are taking a turn for the worse. A few months after the Sables infest in your sky. In the fall of 2018, Steve's parents, Becca's grandparents, die within four days of each other. Steve is the executor of the estate. So he starts trying to get the lay of the land, figuring out what's what. He's drowning in all kinds of paperwork to settle his dad's accounts, and he needs to figure out what's going on with your sky. Here's Steve Sable again.

[Steve Sable]

I communicated with Ken and Becca, and I was asking about the investments, and apparently they informed my dad that it switched from your sky investment into a weed farm in California. I was like, dad would not invest in weed farm. And if he did, he would have told me because we were so integrated with their financial situation. And I was like, dad would have definitely told me that your sky became a weed farm. And I go, dad does not want anything to do with the weed farm. It's just not my dad. He's definitely not a weed farm guy. This one. The fires hit.

[Natalie Robomed]

Ken tells Steve that a series of fires have destroyed the weed farm. This is California, after all. Fires do happen. So Steve gives Ken some more time, but no money appears. Steve keeps following up, trying to figure out what's going on.

[Steve Sable]

He was supposed to send out a disbursement from the investment. Weed farm investment.

[Natalie Robomed]

Steve sends Ken a text saying, any update on the info I requested. I texted my address over a month ago. Ken replies and this is a voice actor reading Ken's message. By the way. Hi Steve, I checked and it will be sent from here on Wednesday. We were extremely busy these two weeks with the fires in California with protecting crops and that was important. Then Ken writes was sent out from the office on Friday. You should see it this week in your post. But guess what? Steve never gets a check. And then Ken tells him it was.

[Steve Sable]

Only going to be sent during nighttime. And then Ken sent a text message saying that it was not deliverable. I go, well we were home during that time for this delivery and he said, well, it'll be sent out again in another three days.

[Natalie Robomed]

So Steve waits. And waits. And waits. Meanwhile, Rita, the house cleaner turned friend, doesn't know about any of this yet.

[Sophie]

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[Natalie Robomed]

Quince.com/cases want more true crime? Subscribe to the binge to get all episodes of Catch Me if you can. Ad free today and get instant access to over 50 other Jaw Dropping true crime stories. Plus subscribers get a binge drop of a brand new series on the first of every month. Every month. Search for the binge channel on Apple Podcasts or head to get the Binge.com to subscribe today. The binge feed your true crime obsession. It's Thanksgiving 2018. Rita is at an outlet mall in Commerce, California, about 20 minutes southeast of LA. She's with her fiance browsing the black Friday deals at Nike, when her phone rings. It's a friend of hers, one of the friends who invested in your sky.

[Rita]

He's like, hey, have you talked to Ken? Trying to reach him. He owes me a bunch of money.

[Natalie Robomed]

Rita freaks out and texts Ken. Remember, she's given him $60,000.

[Rita]

So I texted him and let him know, hey, what's up? He answered me right away. And he's just like, you can believe whatever you want, whatever they say, pretty much. But he hasn't been keeping his end of the bargain. He's been billing me for things that he shouldn't. I'm being taken advantage of, in other words.

[Natalie Robomed]

Ken tries to turn it around on Rita's friend, But this makes Rita suspicious. She calls her friend back.

[Rita]

I'm like, am I fucked? You know, he's just like, still like, no, I don't think so. He keeps telling us that he's traveling and that his money is tied up.

[Natalie Robomed]

Rita thinks maybe this is all a misunderstanding. Maybe her friend hadn't held up his end of the bargain. Still, just to be safe, she texts Ken asking for her money back.

[Rita]

Don't remember exactly what I said, but I tried to keep it firm, but. Nice. I changed my mind about all of this. You verbally told me that if at any time I wanted out, you would reimburse me my initial investment. And so I'm just asking for that back, Please. Like, I don't want to have a drawn out thing, but let me know when you can pay me back. And he's like, yeah, sure. As soon as I get back in town, I'll have the cash for you. No worries. I understand. No hard feelings.

[Natalie Robomed]

But when Ken and Becca get back into town, Ken doesn't have a check for her. Not only that, but more than usual, something seems off with Ken.

[Rita]

Ken was very noticeably stressed out. He had like this issue with his eyes where he could not stop blinking. And I was like, something's wrong with your eyes, you know? And then he was in severe pain in his back. And I go, what happened? Like, what's wrong? You need to go to the doctor. And he's just like, oh, I can't even tell you the half, but, like, everything's getting screwed up right now. And I just thought it was stress of the business, the launch.

[Natalie Robomed]

And then one morning I woke up.

[Rita]

To a text saying, we packed up the house, Everything that's left. Can you just Trash it. And I'm like, what? You didn't even tell me you were moving. Or like, I just feel like they would have asked me to help them pack.

[Natalie Robomed]

Rita's confused and worried. She can feel adrenaline starting to course through her body, like she's walking down a dark street in downtown LA at night, not sure who might be around the corner waiting to mug her. She's frightened. Why didn't they tell her they were moving? Where have Ken and Becca gone? She texts Becca back, but Becca doesn't respond. So she calls her friend, the guy who says Ken owes him money.

[Rita]

So I tell him, hey, they moved. I don't know where they are at. I feel like something's up because they definitely would have let me know. And, like, Becca didn't text me back. And, like, what's up?

[Natalie Robomed]

The friend tells her. Ken and Becca's landlord, the guy who owns the modern Hollywood Hills place they've been living in, hasn't been paid rent in two months.

[Rita]

I'm just like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Like, what is going on?

[Natalie Robomed]

Rita starts calling and texting Becca nonstop, trying to get to the bottom of what's going on.

[Rita]

I'm trying to reach out to Becca. She's not reaching out to me.

[Natalie Robomed]

Eventually, Rita would find herself standing in the parking lot of a Walmart outside of la. She's nervous. It's been a while since her clients came. Ken and Becca suddenly moved out of their house with no notice. Rita wants to know what's going on with Becca and with Rita's money. Becca's been flaky, hard to pin down. Rita doesn't know whether Becca is aware that Ken is racking up debts or if she's been lied to as well. But Rita has finally gotten Becca to agree to meet her. Rita looks left and right, and then a black Range Rover pulls up and Becca gets out.

[Rita]

She was really skinny when I saw her. I was like, oh, my God. Like, you really need to eat.

[Natalie Robomed]

Rita's shocked by Becca's appearance. Becca's always been skinny, but now Rita thinks she looks unhealthy. Becca comes up and gives Rita a big hug. She starts crying. Rita asks her what's going on.

[Rita]

Becca said, hey, you know, we're pretty broke. Like, I barely have money to feed the dogs.

[Natalie Robomed]

Through her tears, Becca tells Rita this whole thing is a big hiccup to do with Ken's immigration status. Rita thinks Becca doesn't seem like she's lying. She believes what she's saying. And Becca's physical appearance lends credence to the fact that she's going through something. I mean, Becca tells Rita she's surviving off one chocolate bar a day.

[Rita]

I was like, I'll bring you food. Like, I meal prep once a week. I'll bring you guys food.

[Natalie Robomed]

That's just who Rita is. The sort of kind person who worries about people's well being, who offers to feed someone even if they're the wife of someone. Rita's given $60,000 to a woman still driving a Range Rover.

[Rita]

She's like, thank you so much, but for right now, if you could just give us back the stuff we left at the house. And I told her sure.

[Natalie Robomed]

Rita had gone back to Ken and Becca's house after they'd moved to clear it out for them.

[Rita]

One of the things that they left at their house was Becca's memento box.

[Natalie Robomed]

Right away, Rita could tell it was important. She texted Ken. He told her to keep it safe and to grab the stool in the bathroom while she was at it. So now in this parking lot at Walmart, Rita takes the stool and the memento box and hands them over to Becca, along with everything else she cleared out of the house. And Becca gives her something in return.

[Rita]

She gave me one of her Katsu.

[Natalie Robomed]

Jackets, One of the sample jackets from Becca's clothing line shop, katsu.

[Rita]

She made a jacket for each kind of style. Sporty, posh chic. So she gave me the sporty one. It was like a kind of like swishy material, but yeah, I guess you can call it like a bomber. A lightweight bomber cargo jacket. It's really cute. And she said, I want to give this to you just as, like, a peace offering and a promise that you are going to get paid back.

[Natalie Robomed]

Rita takes the jacket, and Becca gets back in her car. Rita tries to make a joke.

[Rita]

I was like, so, but you still have your Range rover. You know, I expect you to pull up in a pinto or something. And she laughed and she's like, no, well, the lease is paid already, so it's not like I have a payment on it or anything. And I was like, oh, it's a lease. I thought it was yours. You know, I was being sarcastic because.

[Natalie Robomed]

Much like Becca with her rented car, Rita has been keeping up appearances, too, playing a part. Becca doesn't know it yet, but Rita has a trick up her sleeve. Actually, she has three. And the way she's going to play them will make Ken realize he underestimated her. Back in the Walmart parking lot, Becca pulls out in her Range rover. And Rita kicks into detective Mode. Because Rita actually didn't come to this meeting alone.

[Rita]

I had one of my girlfriends tag along so we could follow her.

[Natalie Robomed]

As Becca pulls out of the warm up parking lot, Rita and her friend do too. Their car is staying a safe distance back as they follow the Range Rover. If you were hovering overhead, you'd see the cars spaced a bit as they head north on the coast.

[Rita]

We followed her back to Marina del Rey and that's how I knew where she was living.

[Natalie Robomed]

Now Rita knows where they live. Information that could become useful if Ken doesn't pay her back. And it also turns out that Rita hasn't given Becca everything from the house.

[Rita]

I didn't give her back the jewelry. I gave her everything else except jewelry.

[Natalie Robomed]

Rita kept Becca's jewelry as collateral just in case she needs another brush bargaining chip. But most importantly of all, before she gave back the memento box, Rita looked inside it and she found something. A piece of paper with Ken's personal information on it.

[Rita]

It was a declaration paper that you fill out when you travel internationally.

[Natalie Robomed]

This is such a dumb thing to leave in a box. Rita scans the customs declaration for Kenrik Yanai, the Japanese guy she's been working for for the last two years. The guy she's house sat and dog sat for week in and week out. The guy who isn't actually named Kenrik Yanai.

[Rita]

I found his real name on there.

[Natalie Robomed]

The man Rita thought was called Kenrik Yanay actually has a different name. The first name Kenrik is the same, but the last name is different. On this document his name is Kenric Chu Wen Long. Rita keeps reading and she notices something else. Kenrek's nationality is not Japanese. He's from a different country in Asia. Singapore. A small island known for its pink dolphins, banking industry and gum free streets. A place a million miles away from the La Rita grand grew up in and 3,000 miles from Japan. When she first reads this, Rita starts shaking. Her hands grip the paper tighter. The guy she thought she knew has been using a different last name. Not only that, but he isn't even Japanese. It all starts to come into focus. This guy lied to her about two of the most important basic things about a person. Which means he probably also lied to her about the business. Your sky. Her stomach drops. The pit in it becomes a cavernous hole as Rita realizes she gave $60,000 to a guy she doesn't even know. For Rita, her whole world comes crashing down. Just a few months ago, she thought she was never going to have to clean houses again. Now all Rita cares About is getting her money back. That's why she met Becca in the parking lot, why she offered to feed her, why she didn't tell Becca everything she knew. At that time, she was playing nice, hoping that if she kept Becca sweet, Becca would take pity on her and get Ken to pay her back. So at first, Rita keeps being nice to Becca. They stay in touch.

[Rita]

After I met Becca at Walmart, we were in communication, maybe once a week with updates on me getting paid.

[Natalie Robomed]

She's hopeful, okay, Ken may have lied about his name and his nationality and where they lived, but Becca's still responding. But as the weeks drag into months and no money appears, she starts sending Becca angrier messages revealing the stuff she found out about Ken.

[Rita]

I sent her all these things that I found out about Ken, that he's not even Japanese, this is his real name.

[Natalie Robomed]

And Becca, in the texts I've seen, responds defensively. Though to be clear, Becca did not respond to our inquiries for this podcast, so we don't have her point of view. Listen to this message from Becca in February 2019 about that joke you made about Ken never stepping foot in Japan. I have photos of us in Japan together. I honestly can't make that shit up. Not only that, she's taking responsibility for Ken's failings. At the end of the day, the reason we are in this position right now is because I put everything we had into my business, but was in way over my head. I screwed up. Ken did the best he could given the situation. If you should fault anyone, it should be me. Please understand that all I want to do is settle this with you. But in this correspondence, Becca does say something else.

[Rita]

She asked me if Ken paid me back half of what he owes me and I said no, he didn't. And she's like, wow. Because he told me that he did. I'm like, nope, sure didn't.

[Natalie Robomed]

Ken told Becca he'd paid Rita back half. So has Ken been lying to Becca this whole time too? Rita doesn't know and she doesn't get a chance to ask.

[Rita]

Then that was it. They ghosted me.

[Natalie Robomed]

This episode is brought to you by Amazon Prime. From streaming to shopping, prime helps you get more out of your passions. So whether you're a fan of true crime or prefer a nail biting novel from time to time, with services like Prime Video, Amazon Music, and fast free delivery, prime makes it easy to get more out of whatever you're into or getting into. Visit Amazon.comprime to learn more. Pro paint days are back at Lowes and Mylo's Pro Rewards members can save even more with limited time deals right now. Buy one, get one half off Select HGTV Home by Sherwin Williams Primer and ceiling paint. Plus get free same day delivery to your channel job site when you order by 2pm Offer valid through 6 13. Delivery by 8pm Subject to driver availability. Additional terms apply. C.com SameDay Delivery for details so Ken and Becca are lost in the wind. They could be anywhere, but I want to take you and I know this is a bit of a jump to Spain, the coastal city of Marbella. Blue sea, white houses with terracotta roofs, lots of sunburnt British people and palm trees. We're in a big apartment on vacation with a German woman we're calling Sophie and her new boyfriend. Sophie's blonde haired, blue eyed, and at this point in time she's just turned 21 years old. She's so conventionally attractive, she seems AI generated. She's actually a student who met her boyfriend while studying abroad at Columbia University in New York.

[Becca]

I actually met him over a dating platform. I just moved to New York to do a semester abroad at a business school there and was trying to meet new people in the city because I didn't know anyone there. It was probably just a month after I moved there that I met him. He seemed really nice when we were messaging and he suggested that we would meet for dinner.

[Natalie Robomed]

On that first date he was a little strange.

[Becca]

He didn't really hold eye contact much. He was kind of looking around a lot. So that threw me off at first. I was trying to make sense of him. He was also kind of always scanning his surroundings and he felt a bit socially awkward. But then as the conversation went on, he told me more about himself. He said that he was working for Google as a programmer. He said that he started programming at a very young age at 5 years old. So that was really impressive to me because I actually love nerds and I like smart people. So for me that kind of made sense of his behavior because sometimes people like that can be socially awkward. And later he also told me that he was autistic. So he was talking a lot about that, such that he was like an ethical hacker. Also these people who do things that are beneficial. So it's not like hacking to steal people's money, but trying to, for example, expose data breaches or expose other things. So it's actually someone who is, yeah, ethical hacking.

[Natalie Robomed]

Sophie's really into all of this. She's super interested in tech and likes to be around people she can Learn from this guy seems like someone she can learn a lot from, especially when it comes to cryptocurrency. He's a big crypto investor and she's into it too.

[Becca]

I had actually been in crypto for a while back then because my first relationship, my first boyfriend when I was 18 years old, he, he was very big in crypto and he was the one who pushed me and said, look, you should definitely buy Bitcoin. You should definitely get those like large, more established currencies. And so I started investing in that like Bitcoin and Ethereum when I was like very young, like 18 years old. And I made some money with that, a good amount. That made me more financially independent from my parents. Also.

[Natalie Robomed]

Sophie grew up pretty well off, but try not to hold that against her. She's got more get up and go than a lot of people in her situation.

[Becca]

If I needed anything, my parents would support me. But I'm also someone that I've wanted to be financially independent from an early age. I didn't want to ask my parents for things. They're kind of very frugal people, so they would never support any luxury purchases. So that's why I was very motivated to start with this, like social media influencing stuff.

[Natalie Robomed]

Sophie actually started making money quite young, using her good looks in a way, very of our time.

[Becca]

I started doing Instagram and kind of like even food content was probably one of the first things I did. And then I started getting gifts from different brands and promoting those like candles or whatever. And so I did that pretty early on just to kind of have my own source of income. At some point I created like online shops where I was selling stuff and.

[Natalie Robomed]

She was successful at it.

[Becca]

I was really funding, I'd say 90% of my life. So I was just myself.

[Natalie Robomed]

Now this guy seems like someone with overlapping interests who could help her take her life to the next level.

[Becca]

I'm also vegetarian, love animals. And he would mention that he has a farm and he has his horses and I love riding, I've done that my whole life. And he would talk about that he wants to set up an animal rescue of all these things. So he was saying all the right things that are exactly my interest. It seemed like this was the perfect guy because he and I had exactly the same vision for the future. I also wanted to have a farm at some point. So I was like, okay, perfect. This is the one for me.

[Natalie Robomed]

They've been having fun, jet setting and traveling the world. He recently paid for them to take a birthday trip to Tulum. He met Sophie's parents for the first time over Christmas, and they spent New Year's at a luxurious Alpine resort. And now they're in Marbella, soaking up some winter sunshine. Sophie's doing her classes online, and her boyfriend's working remotely in this gorgeous apartment. But on one of these sunny days in Marbella, something terrible happens.

[Becca]

He was going out, and I gave him my card, I think, for some grocery shopping. And he was also supposed to get some cash from the ATM for me. And so I gave him this card. He went out and, I mean, he came back. He was completely distraught. He said, you don't believe what just happened. I got robbed.

[Natalie Robomed]

Her boyfriend just got robbed of €500 in cash. Sophie freaks out.

[Becca]

I'm like, shouldn't we file a report for these guys? Like, you just got robbed. You should definitely go to the police or something.

[Natalie Robomed]

But her boyfriend doesn't want to. She lets it go.

[Becca]

But internally, something within me just started to become suspicious. Something felt off.

[Natalie Robomed]

Now that she thinks about it, her boyfriend seems to have a lot of bad luck. This robbery isn't the first thing that's gone wrong. There've been some credit card issues and lawyer mishaps stuff. She's dismissed. But now Sophie wants to find out what's going on, and she figures that the answer might be in his phone.

[Becca]

So then I started to pay closer attention to his, and I was trying to see what his passcode was. In general, he was very protective of his phone and his laptop. He would always take them with him. Even in the shower. It was quite hard for me to get a moment. I was trying for a while, and then there was one point, and this was all my bear, where he did leave his phone out when he was going through the shower. And then I went on his phone. I was like, well, what can I do? What's the most useful thing I can do? So I just go to his messages. And in general, I see a lot of girls on his phone. I see a lot of girls that he met on the same dating app that he was talking to at the same time. So at this point, I'm on already disappointed. I'm already like, oh, what a pig. Kind of like. He pretended to me that he was never really going on dates. He pretended actually that this was the first time that he had used this app. It was the first date he had. He has, like, really no girlfriends. He had, like, one years ago. And so now I see him talking to all of, like, 20 different girl contacts. So I'm Already, I'm already at this point, like, okay, he's not who he is, at least in this sense. He's definitely lying about something around him. So I'm already, like, mad in a way. And I just start searching up terms. I start searching up terms like crypto, money, something like that. And then there was a message that popped up and said, why don't you give me my money back? So I go on this chat, and it's with some girl. And I read through this chat, and there was just a couple sentences that said, I know you're not working for Google. I know this is fake. You need to pay me back now. Something along those lines. And I think in that moment, moment, my heart just dropped because I was like, oh, my God, is this. Is this true? Like, is this real? And so I just go on the contact, I take a picture of the number of this person, and I put his phone back. He's still in the shower. And I go outside for a walk, and I message that person. I say, hey, do you have time to talk?

[Natalie Robomed]

And talk they would. Because in case you haven't guessed it yet, Sophie's new boyfriend is Ken Yanai or Ken Chu Wenlong. And now Sophie is about to connect the dots on Ken's alleged crimes in a way no one else has. And finally get law enforcement on the case. Next time on Catch Me if youf Can.

[Becca]

I'm gonna manipulate him back. So I actually pretended to still like him. The police had, like, plans to set up. He gets thrown to the ground, like, this whole dramatic arrest. He keeps yelling out, what did I do? He gets arrested again by the police in Switzerland.

[Natalie Robomed]

He said he was in Switzerland, and he started saying, I'm gonna go to Sicily. Maybe I can come find you. Catch me if you can. Don't want to wait for that next episode. You don't have to unlock all episodes of Catch Me if youf can ad free right now by subscribing to the Binge Podcast channel. Search for the binge on Apple Podcasts and hit subscribe at the top of the page. Not on apple. Head to getthebinge.com to get access wherever you listen. As a subscriber, you'll get binge access to new stories on the 1st of every month. Check out the Binge channel page on apple podcasts or getthebinge.com to learn more. Catch Me if youf can is a production of Sony Music Entertainment and Campside Media in association with ISH Entertainment. It's written and hosted by me, Nathalie Robomed and executive produced by myself and Vanessa Gregoriadis. Our senior producer is Aboukar Adan, our producer is Julia Case Levine, our story editor is Michael Canyon Meyer, and our assistant editor is Emma Siminoff. We had help from Blake Brook and Lily Houston Smith, who managed the production. Sound, design, mix and Engineering by Mark McAdam, voice acting for Ken by E. Win Lai Trimuin, Becca by Lily Houston Smith and Sophie by Madison Lanicey. The executive producers at Sony Music Entertainment are Catherine St. Louis and Jonathan Hirsch, Josh Dean, Adam Hoff and Matt Sher at Campside Media and Michael Hirschhorn at ISH Entertainment. Thanks to Jess Antonini, Joe Mancino and Regan Graham and thanks to Campside's operations team, Doug Slaywin, Ashley Warren and Sabina Mara. And thank you for listening.