Lady Mafia | 2. Luxury Asset

Summary

The Binge Crimes: Lady Mafia – Episode Summary: "Luxury Asset"

Release Date: November 8, 2024
Hosted by Michelle McPhee
Produced by Sony Music Entertainment / Campside Media

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Introduction: Entering Sara’s World

In the riveting episode titled "Luxury Asset," host Michelle McPhee delves deep into the enigmatic life of SaraKing, a.k.a. "Lady Mafia." Described as the “Female Bernie Madoff” and the “Anna Delvey of the OC,” Sara's journey from a respected lawyer to a master of deception unfolds through detailed storytelling and insider accounts.

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Meeting Brian Quinn: The Catalyst

Timestamp: [04:13 - 05:47]

Sara's story begins at the R and D Kitchen in Fashion Island, a place exuding old-school Hollywood vibes. It is here that she encounters Brian Quinn, a character with a charismatic yet mysterious presence.

Sara [04:30]: “Oh, my goodness. It's like casino to casino.”
Michelle McPhee [05:11]: "Brian Quinn, the guy at the center of all the activity, was treating R and D like his own personal strip club."

Brian's flamboyant behavior—buying drinks for everyone and exuding the aura of an Italian mobster—immediately captivates Sara. Their initial interactions are marked by mutual respect and a shared network of connections.

Sara [05:22]: "He was like my brother, you know. We became fast friends."

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Diving into Hard Money Lending

Timestamp: [07:14 - 09:41]

Despite rumors labeling Brian as a crook, Sara is drawn into his hard money lending business, Luxury Asset Lending. Brian introduces her to a world where high-risk investments promise substantial returns.

Sara [08:53]: “It was a lot of work and not a lot of money. Not enough anyways.”

Starting with a modest $50,000 loan, Sara's confidence grows as her initial investments return profitably. Encouraged by these successes, she scales her investment to approximately $800,000.

Sara [09:30]: “I learned very quickly that everyone is very cash poor and everyone is a con artist in Newport Beach is also what I found out.”

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Life at Pelican Hill: Comfort and Control

Timestamp: [11:57 - 17:18]

Seeking solace from a decade-long relationship, Sara moves into Brian Quinn's lavish villa at Pelican Hill. The opulent lifestyle—characterized by expensive accommodations, daily maid service, and exclusive social events—provides Sara with both comfort and the allure of high society.

Sara [14:03]: “Pelican Hill. I think the room started $1,000 a night. So just to put it in perspective, we live there regularly, but it was two bedrooms.”

As Sara settles into her new environment, she plays a pivotal role in Brian's operations. Her legal expertise and composed demeanor make her the ideal "fixer," handling investor relations and maintaining the façade of legitimacy during extravagant parties.

Sara [16:36]: “So Brian's this crazy party animal, right? And then everyone was comfortable with me because I'm like the sister, quote unquote, sitting in the corner, but conservatively dressed.”

Her ability to present a calm and professional image earns her the title of “the real deal” among investors, further embedding her into the high-stakes world of Luxury Asset Lending.

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Transition to Fixing: From Lawyer to Enforcer

Timestamp: [19:23 - 26:34]

As Sara becomes more entrenched in Brian's business, her role evolves beyond typical legal counsel. She transitions into that of a "fixer," handling everything from reputation management to more dubious tasks such as facilitating relationships and managing conflicts.

Sara [21:05]: “I don't have to be a lawyer. I can just be a fixer.”

Her responsibilities expand to include negotiating with delinquent investors, enforcing agreements through intimidation, and even managing illicit activities like coordinating visits to strip clubs. This transformation marks Sara's descent from a legitimate professional to a key player in Brian's deceptive schemes.

Sara [25:12]: “Oh yeah, I mean, he just, he drinks till he collapses every time.”

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The Prince of Iran: A New Alliance

Timestamp: [27:02 - 34:38]

Sara's ambition drives her to seek greater power and influence, leading her to cross paths with Prince Cameron Pahlavi, a descendant of the exiled Shah of Iran. Their encounter at a high-profile real estate investment meeting introduces Sara to a network of convicted felons and wealthy elites.

Sara [29:56]: “I'm just Googling words as they're talking. I don't know what, you know, EBITDA is at the time.”

Despite initial skepticism, Sara is enamored by Cameron's allure and the promise of furthering her career within this exclusive circle. Their ensuing relationship symbolizes Sara's deepening involvement in the intricate web of fraud and high-stakes finance.

Sara [33:35]: “Yes, great question, Michelle. Yes. Yeah, because I paid for everything else.”

Her relationship with Cameron not only elevates her social standing but also entangles her in more complex and morally ambiguous ventures, solidifying her role as "Lady Mafia."

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Conclusion: The Downfall and Deception

As Sara's quest for wealth and prestige intensifies, the lines between legality and illegality blur. Her involvement with influential figures and participation in fraudulent activities set the stage for her eventual downfall. Michelle McPhee masterfully unravels Sara's transformation, highlighting the psychological and ethical compromises that lead to her "impossible fall."

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Key Takeaways and Notable Quotes

• Sara’s Ambition:
  “I can just be a fixer.” ([21:05])

• Lifestyle at Pelican Hill:
  “We live there regularly, but it was two bedrooms.” ([14:03])

• Transition into Deception:
  “I had to make the party go, but again, I made everybody sign NDAs.” ([25:43])

• Relationship with Prince Cameron:
  “We did a two hour dinner at Jean Georges in Beverly Hills and I felt something.” ([33:16])

These quotes encapsulate Sara's journey from a driven lawyer to a central figure in a web of deception, emphasizing her strategic transformations and the interpersonal dynamics that facilitate her rise and fall.

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Final Thoughts

"Luxury Asset" offers an in-depth exploration of SaraKing's complex character and the intricate world she navigates. Through meticulous reporting and engaging narrative, Michelle McPhee presents a cautionary tale of ambition, deception, and the allure of high-stakes finance. This episode serves as a compelling addition to The Binge Crimes' collection, providing listeners with a nuanced understanding of true crime intricacies.

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For those captivated by Sara's story and eager to uncover more thrilling true crime narratives, "Lady Mafia" is available for subscription on Apple Podcasts and GetTheBinge.com.

Transcript

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

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[Michelle McPhee]

Listen to all episodes of Lady Mafia 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 Bench Don't Get It Twisted I knew what I was walking into when I met Sarah. I wasn't about to take her story hook, line and sinker. I knew she sometimes, well, had trouble keeping her story straight. Sorting fact from fiction felt like sorting grains of rice. Sara would have you believe that she she went in search of love and wealth and what the hell is wrong with that? But as I began to hear her story, even in the early days, it didn't seem to be quite that simple. I think she liked the thrill too. She was raised to be competitive and she didn't want to just win. She wanted to win big. You can have good intentions and find yourself in a hole, a hole that seems impossible to get out of. But I also think people are who they are. Sometimes they're just looking for permission to break bad, to be who they really want to be. And it takes someone coming into their life to activate them, to show them the way. Fasara, that man was the one who introduced her to the world of hard money. Lending the guy they gave all that money to, a man by the name of Brian Quinn from Sony Music Entertainment. This is Lady Mafia. It's a story about going from lawyer to lawless, living high and blowing millions. I'm Michelle McPhee, luxury asset. My dad works in B2B marketing. He came by my school for career day and said he was a big roas man. Then he told everyone how much he loved calculating his return on ad spend. My friends still laugh at me to this day.

[Sara]

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[Robert Fowler III]

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[Michelle McPhee]

Sara met the man who would derail her life in the place where she seems to meet everybody. Fashion island at the R and D kitchen. It's very masculine, dark leather, old school, Hollywood vibes. One of Sara's favorites.

[Sara]

I went there to meet a girlfriend of mine after. It was probably at 3 o'clock in the afternoon and just to meet up for a drink and catch up.

[Michelle McPhee]

It's a circular bar at the center of the restaurant. That's when she saw him.

[Sara]

Oh, my goodness. It's like casino to casino.

[Michelle McPhee]

The guy at the center of all the activity, a guy named Brian Quinn.

[Sara]

He gets up, he starts running around the bar, like, just saying hi to everybody, telling everybody, I'm buying everybody drinks. So he literally had the bartender give everybody around. And he's just running around saying hello, saying hello. You know, he has a slicked back hair, he's got like Gucci clothes on. He's short. He's just like the Italian mobster look.

[Michelle McPhee]

So this bubblegum gangster was treating R and D like his own personal strip club. Sara was immediately drawn to him. His brashness, his confidence.

[Sara]

You know, he came to me and he's like, oh, I'm gonna buy your drink. And I said, you know what? I'm gonna buy my own drink. So I did. And after that, he was kind of impressed. We started talking. We found out we knew all the same people. And so from that, you know, at that day, I said, I know this sounds weird, but I'd like to be your friend.

[Michelle McPhee]

The first year or so that Sarah and Brian knew each other. They weren't close, but they'd often run into each other.

[Sara]

It was R and D. We'd meet at Pelican Hill, the bar there. We'd meet at Fleming's bar, just basically like the higher end bars. We'd always meet up and slowly but surely, you know, we became close.

[Michelle McPhee]

It's something I started to notice about Sara. She's a girl who likes to live a few drinks deep. Brian Quinn, for his part, is one of those guys that no one really knows what he does. The kind of guy who seemed to have a lot of secrets, but everyone knows his name.

[Sara]

So the one thing about Brian that everybody knows is he just gets hammered drunk, and then he starts dancing on bars with his shirt off. Like at Pelican Hill. We're not talking about, you know, a strip club. We're talking about Pelican Hill on a bar, dancing.

[Michelle McPhee]

Pelican Hill is a resort in the.

[Sara]

OC Opalikanthil is gorgeous. It's, you know, it's creme de la creme. To live in the villa is like 50,000amonth. It's, it's nothing cheap.

[Michelle McPhee]

I've actually been there myself. The rooms are exquisite, with private little yards and a sprawling golf course. Very classy. But the restaurant is where the action is. Sitting at the bar at its old school steakhousey restaurant, I could definitely pick out the resort guests from the full time residents by how the Italian bartender was pouring their wine. And yet this was the place where Sarah said you could find Brian Quinn dancing shirtless on the bar. Who was this guy?

[Sara]

He's a riot and a lot, a lot of fun. You just, you kind of feel safe, like nothing can go wrong when you're with Brian.

[Michelle McPhee]

Sara saw something in Brian. A freedom she envied, a swagger she wanted.

[Sara]

He was like my brother, you know. We became fast friends.

[Michelle McPhee]

They started talking and found out that they had both lived in Rancho Santa Fe, a fancy town where Sahra's parents used to live on a golf course.

[Sara]

He knows everybody, you know, everyone said he was a crook, but a lot of people respected him. A lot of people respect him in big business. So I kind of just followed suit.

[Michelle McPhee]

Now, Sahra said she heard the rumors that Brian was a crook. Allegedly. But that didn't stop her and Gerard from doing business with him.

[Sara]

He was a dealmaker, so he was a third party between two sides of a deal. You know, someone selling something. He'd find the buyer and vice versa. But with public companies, so he was actually a Pretty big deal.

[Michelle McPhee]

Sara was looking for excitement and money. How she got there was less important and something else about her. She can be taken in by money for sure, but most definitely by personality. Brian's charisma overpowered doubts some people had about whether this guy was a legitimate businessman. It was party time 247 when you were around Brian for sure. But make no mistake, he was always wheeling and dealing. Brian was looking for investors and Gerar and Sara were the perfect candidates. She told Brian she was frustrated with being a lawyer.

[Sara]

It was a lot of work and not a lot of money. Not enough anyways. And so he's like, oh, I have a way for you to make a lot of good money. And that is you can fund these loans. I split the interest half and half with you and the interest is high and it's on these luxury items. And the loans are short term.

[Michelle McPhee]

Brian ran a hard money lending business called Luxury Asset Lending. It's like he's a middleman. On the one side are pitiful folks who need to borrow cash quick and are supposed to repay it. On the other side are people who invest money with Brian and are looking to profit like Sara and Gerard.

[Sara]

So I started with a $50,000 loan, something small and all got returned. Fine. And then I did. I put up to a million. I think it was 800,000 total cash in there.

[Michelle McPhee]

Money to burn, Liquid cash, willing to take risks. Sarah and Gerard gave Brian cash no less than six times. When you look around at people in the oc they look like they're living the life. But there are so many desperate people who need to keep up with the Joneses.

[Sara]

I learned very quickly that everyone is very cash poor and everyone is a con artist in Newport beach is also what I found out.

[Michelle McPhee]

So do you think it's like a.

[Sara]

Big facade, the whole Newport Beach? Yes, 100%.

[Michelle McPhee]

I've been trying to track this guy Brian down for over a year now. The guy's a friggin ghost. When I searched for his business, this hilarious video came up. It reminded me of those cheesy beer ads for the most interesting man in the world. Listen to this rather dramatic video. A Lamborghini drives out some iron gates, then text comes across the screen. We had a friend of the podcast read it. Luxury Asset London Discreet and confidential lending.

[Sara]

On your luxury possessions.

[Michelle McPhee]

Do you love the finer things in life? Luxury asset lending understands your needs. As a yacht cascades past a city backdrop, the pitch continues. We specialize in discrete short term financing. Most loans funded within 24 hours. It goes on for another minute, showing pictures of diamonds, private jets, and of course, the Bellagio fountain. Not to mention, at one point, the video spells the word soli wrong. Sounds trustworthy to me. But what Sara Sarm. Brian was a confident guy who could work a room and a chance to make massive returns on her money. I mean, if this kept up, she might be able to quit her day job. Sara felt like her relationship with Gerard had run its course. After more than 10 years together, she was ready to move out. But before she did, she called up someone else. Her new friend and big brother, Brian Quinn.

[Sara]

I called him one night, said, meet me at. It was Gulfstream in Fashion Island.

[Michelle McPhee]

Sarah showed up at the bar before Brian did and ordered herself a drink. It was a nice place, one of the upscale spots at the mall.

[Sara]

It's all just kind of like old American, very high end food and drink. There's a whole cigar bar outside at Gulfstream where, like, all these big players always sit and have cigars and talk business.

[Michelle McPhee]

Saru was pretty upset. She'd spent a decade with Gerard, and she wasn't really sure what the future would hold for her. She sipped her drink and waited for her friend Brian to show up. He finally did. She started telling him about what was going on with Gerard. That she might decide to leave him for good. She said she was shaking as she.

[Sara]

Talked, and he was. He was being a good big brother about it. He said, I got you. Don't you worry about anything.

[Michelle McPhee]

Brian said, why don't you come live with me at my villa in Pelican Hill? Sara was grateful she'd found her soft landing. Sarah and Gerar officially broke up. They did continue to work together on investments and business opportunities, but in love, they went their separate ways.

[Sara]

I mean, we had money, we both worked, so it wasn't a big deal. I just wanted to rid myself of him. So I signed over the house, the cars, I signed over everything. I had like a couple hundred thousand dollars in my bank account, and that was it. I was going on my merry way. I didn't care.

[Michelle McPhee]

That's not totally true. Sara makes herself sound chill about the whole breakup here, but I know for a fact she was heartbroken, at least over the dogs, Dino and Louis. And maybe it was friendly at first, but Gerard would eventually request a restraining order against her. That painted a different picture. He had a new girlfriend, and Sahra was ugly about it. According to court records, he describes a pattern of stalking and threats, and he had plenty of text to make his case. But when Sarah moved into Brian Quinn's second bedroom at his villa in Pelican Hill. She was 34, had some cash, but not much else.

[Sara]

Pelican Hill. I think the room started $1,000 a night. So just to put it in perspective, we live there regularly, but it was two bedrooms. It was the bathrooms. I mean, we're talking big tubs, big steam showers, maids coming every day, changing your towels. It was living the life, like, really and truly.

[Michelle McPhee]

Sarah said she felt relieved and that Brian was the friend she needed to start her new life.

[Sara]

It took my mind off of the divorce, right? So he just had me drinking all the time, partying with him, meeting all these big hoo ha's everywhere, and it felt impressive. I felt like I was bettering my career. I felt safe with Brian as my brother.

[Michelle McPhee]

She said they drank and ate snacks and charcuterie all day. On top of that, Brian had all this influence and money that Sarah so clearly craved, and he needed her help.

[Sara]

When I moved in with him, he said, oh, can you raise me $10 million for my lending company? And I said, I'll try. I don't. We'll see. I don't know. And then he just kind of used me for business, but he also was there for me as a friend.

[Michelle McPhee]

Brian started organizing these investor parties. He'd entertain big shots with deep pockets, and everything was about appearances.

[Sara]

So that's. It looks successful. He drove a white Rolls Royce, and.

[Michelle McPhee]

Here'S some crazy shit. Sara drove a white Rolls Royce, too.

[Sara]

I had the don, I had the convertible, and he had the four door. Yeah. So we were like brother and sister, like, driving up to places together and actually looked, if it wasn't such a shit, it was cute.

[Michelle McPhee]

Brother and sister showing up at meetings in their matching white Rolls Royces. Can't make this up.

[Sara]

We would go to the best nightclub in Los Angeles. Brian would buy the best table in the club. He would actually hire escorts to be sitting at the table. That's all I know. And so it looked like he had a big group of girls around him.

[Michelle McPhee]

Sarah played the part of the conservative lawyer, Making sure everything looked professional, under control.

[Sara]

He's the guy. He's the IT guy that everybody wants to talk to. Everybody wants to be with and or around, says whatever he pleases, doesn't really give a damn about rules or anyone else. And these men, they fell for it. I mean, I don't want to say fell for it, but all these guys wanted to do business with Brian because of what he provided.

[Michelle McPhee]

The party showed these guys that your Life could be like this all the time if you toss Brian a few hundred thousand dollars. And so having a lawyer around while these parties were happening was very useful to him.

[Sara]

So Brian's this crazy party animal, right? And then everyone was comfortable with me because I'm like the sister, quote unquote, sitting in the corner, but conservatively dressed. I never flaunt anything. Basically keeping people in line, saying, it's okay, I'm watching everything. I'll handle anything legal that comes up. I was not sober, but I could, I sounded sober. So I'd answered a lot of the questions. I was just the go to for the investors for the business piece.

[Michelle McPhee]

She made the whole thing seem legitimate. In between the escorts and the bar buyouts and the free flowing drinks, people started putting some serious money into Brian's business.

[Sara]

They always called me the real deal because I, you know, I was always calm, cool, calm, collected.

[Michelle McPhee]

In exchange for her help, Sara got to live rent free in a $30,000 a month villa and never paid for anything. Her food, her drinks, everything was always on Brian's tap. And meanwhile, she's also learning the ropes of the hard money lending business. She said she did have to cover for him quite a bit. His girlfriend lived in the villa with them and frequently she would lie to her about where Brian was and what he was doing. She'd also have to do some cleanups after their daily visits to the bar.

[Sara]

Oh yeah, I mean, he just, he drinks till he collapses every time.

[Michelle McPhee]

Seems to me Sara did her fair share of day drinking too. She said most mornings they wouldn't talk. He'd head out to his office for a few hours and by lunchtime he'd be back in the villa. She'd prepare a charcuterie board with wine and tequila and beer for Brian, hang there for a bit, then hit the Pelican Hill Bar.

[Sara]

Brian and I would go drinking. Pelican Hill Bar. After, like around 5 or 6 o'clock, Brian would get so hammered he would start dancing on the bar, throwing his shirt up, and it was humiliating.

[Michelle McPhee]

What seemed cute at first was now just messy. She'd apologize to everyone at the bar, tell them she was his sister, and she said that seemed to work. Most days her humiliation was a small price to pay for being on permanent vacation. At this point, she was still on the right side of legal. Soon she wouldn't be. She had a problem. She might be living high right now off the coattails of Brian's success, but she wasn't profiting from any of that. And she certainly didn't have enough dough to invest. Like the guys who showed up to their investor parties, she needed to find a way to make big money.

[Robert Fowler III]

This episode is brought to you by Amazon. The holidays are here and you know what that means. It's time to get your friends and family the gifts they deserve. Take the stress out of shopping with Amazon's great deals and low prices on a huge range of items from toys to tech and much more. Whoever you're gifting for, Amazon has great prices on everything you need this holiday season. Shop Black Friday Week deals now.

[Michelle McPhee]

The following interview is being videotaped at the Dade County Public Safety Department, Miami Dade County, Florida. And sir, would you identify yourself?

[Sara]

My name is Robert Fowler III.

[Michelle McPhee]

In 1976, a man in Florida tells a cop he has a confession to make.

[Sara]

Arriving in Miami, I proceeded to do certain things that I considered to be necessary in the crime that I planned to commit.

[Michelle McPhee]

I was looking for a hitchhiker, potential victim. But instead of becoming his victim, I became his confidant, one of the people closest to him as he recounted and was tried for his horrific cross crimes. From Orbit Media and Sony Music Entertainment. Listen to my friend, the serial killer. Subscribe on Apple Podcast to binge all episodes now or listen weekly wherever you get your podcasts. That's when it hit her. There was a way for her to make a lot of money. Doing a job that requires two things. Sara most definitely had a law degree and discretion.

[Sara]

I don't have to be a lawyer. I can just be a fixer.

[Michelle McPhee]

A fixer. Let's go ahead and capitalize that F.

[Sara]

It's usually typically with a business and we fix the reputation of the business of the owners. Any litigation going on, we try to control the narrative.

[Michelle McPhee]

Remember Trump's lawyer, Michael Cohen, the man who tried to keep his affair with Stormy Daniels secret? That's a fixer.

[Sara]

I mean, their legalities are that if I can find the loopholes. So I am a master of loopholes. If I can find the loophole, I will do that and I will get things done.

[Michelle McPhee]

She told Brian that's what she wanted to do, and he helped her do it. He set Sara up with clients at places like the Pelican Club in this ritzy yacht club called Balboa Bay.

[Sara]

We would actually go on, randomly go on a yacht with a guy who, who Brian knew and to talk business and to talk about this whole, you know, fixing business. And he said, oh, my sister can do this and she can do anything.

[Michelle McPhee]

For the rich people who did hire Sarah, she did all kinds of jobs. Really weird requests sometimes.

[Sara]

She said it was also billionaire trust fund boys who were in Orange county and wanted their girlfriend back. And I would literally take their phone and text message the girl for them. I mean, it was that small to millions of dollars. People were trying to keep their public company alive.

[Michelle McPhee]

It sounded like a cross between a personal assistant and an enforcer.

[Sara]

Okay. I have a client who had lots of legal issues, so I helped clear up the litigation. And then he had all these issues with investments as well, where he wasn't getting paid on them. And he needed basically a someone strong to go and bully people to get what he actually he deserved. He did deserve it. He did earn it. So I would go and I would just do negotiations with all these people and bully. I would bully them. I would just straight up lie and say, I'm going to take you to court. I'm calling the FBI on you. And boom, he got paid. So it worked out. And then. But those things also turned into, hey, my son got a dui. Can you fix that? And I would. I absolutely would. Or I need to go meet a senator so I can get this other job done. I. I would make the meeting happen. It's about as much as I can say on it, because I know that any more that I get in trouble. Yeah.

[Michelle McPhee]

That work, she said, paid exceptionally well. She would have several clients at a time and would build to the tune of 1,200 bucks an hour. She said she was bringing in about 1.2 mil a year. She was finally bringing in the kind of money she wanted to be making.

[Sara]

One of my. The fixing clients, he wanted to go to Las Vegas, and he wanted me to go with him because, first of all, he wanted puppies. I happened to have a puppy owner on my speed dial, and I made an appointment, and he said, I want to stay there for one or two nights, and I want to gamble, you know, a little bit. And so I said, okay, I'll go with you. Let's go. So we stayed at the. We stayed at Encore Tower Suites. I paid for all the rooms. We drove out to Vegas together. We stopped at the puppy shop first, and he chose two dogs out, and he put the deposit down. I chose my dog, which is Kula, which I love her to death. Still my dog now. So we go back to the hotel, but he's like, okay, I want. I need a hooker. And I was like, okie doke. Well, I guess that's my job. So I go online, some website to look to Me to have a good eye on how good looking a girl is. And so, you know, I would set it up, and whatever they did and they transacted is on them. I didn't transact. Then when he was done, he would meet me for a cocktail at the bar. So, you know, I would hold onto his money while he gambled. He would drink so much that he would just. Tens of thousands of dollars would go in a minute. But it turned out that I was there more to facilitate the strip clubs, the limos and the strip clubs. And I had to talk to the girls at the strip club so that they would go home with them. And it became I was the pimp of the night, essentially.

[Michelle McPhee]

With fixing. Sara had gone from making questionable investments to taking a full step off the straight and narrow path. And she knew it.

[Sara]

Most of them are shady. That's who needs a fixer, typically. Otherwise, you can just use a regular lawyer. They knew they were playing with legal lines, right? They knew what they're doing is wrong. And I would go. I would be by their side to make sure they didn't get caught and we could mitigate all potential liability.

[Michelle McPhee]

The money was good, but it wasn't exactly glamorous work.

[Sara]

I had to make the party go, but again, I made everybody sign NDAs, and I was actually at the strip clubs. I had to sit in the. Which is horrible. I had to sit in the strip club in their little whatever, private room to make sure that no one was going to pull anything because I'm a witness, right? So, oh, yeah, I had to watch it all.

[Michelle McPhee]

Sometimes she said she'd pay one of the strippers a bit extra just to give her a shoulder massage while she waited for her client to be done.

[Sara]

At first, I felt overwhelmed with, what am I going to do? And then the second feeling that came over me is, wow, I'm one of the boys at the table who. They trust me with these things. I'm going to make their life better, and I'm going to become this big, like, big deal. And everyone's in Newport beach who everybody, you know, pays millions of dollars just to go and hire.

[Michelle McPhee]

But she said these weren't just rich people paying her a lot of money. They were influential, too. Whatever Sara did next, the business positioned her well for her next move.

[Sara]

She thought, I just. I wanted to be the it girl. You know, I wanted to be the. I wanted to have a seat at the boys table and without sleeping around, you know, I wanted to have the career moves that made it happen. I wanted My abilities to help me become the best. And that's what they all saw me as. That everyone called me for everything.

[Michelle McPhee]

Sara had 10 projects going on. Now, at any one time, she was trying to build her own empire. Between learning about hard money, lending to fixing to any other business opportunity that came her way, she was comfortable in chaotic situations. And it proved to be quite useful. She was, you could say, her own luxury asset. But Sara was hungry for more. There's a reason money and vice make great bedfellows. Something that fascinates me about Sarah. She doesn't just want money and power. I realize how corny it is to say this, but she also wanted love. She was always one spinning plate too many. And while things were unraveling with Gerard, she met someone. Oh, boy, did she meet someone. It was an afternoon in May 2018 when it all started. Sara was invited by Brian Quinn to a business meeting about a potential investment. It was at the Center Club in Costa Mesa, not far from Newport Beach. The place is now closed, but Yelp remembers it as a kind of spot that had white napkins, wood paneling, and thick cuts of steak. Like you get a little slab of cake and Chef decorates the plate with sauces like he's Jackson fucking Pollock.

[Sara]

I met him at a table with Brian Quinn, Joseph Medawar with my ex husband, Gerard, Jamal, and myself and Cameron. We met to do a real estate investment deal.

[Michelle McPhee]

Let's go through this list because it's like, felon, felon.

[Sara]

I know, felon, felon. But I'm in there too now, okay? But I'm in there too now, so.

[Michelle McPhee]

Shit, okay, I got a little ahead of myself. Not everyone there was a felon, but the table was pretty stacked. Let me break this table down for you. Seat number one was Brian Quinn, Sara's brother from another mother. At this point, he hadn't been indicted for anything yet. And seat number two was Joseph Medawar, who was already notorious in Hollywood. He defrauded people of millions to fund a fake television show that was supposedly about the Department of Homeland Security. He got actual senators to read his scripts. Then he pocketed the money that was supposed to be used to make the thing. By this lunch, Medawar was a convicted felon and had already served hard time.

[Sara]

You're kind of stunned if you're not used to that world. You hear this convict, right? This guy who's been in federal prison, and you just think to yourself, well, he's nice. He'd never hurt me.

[Michelle McPhee]

Then there's Sahra, who. Well, for now, let's just say she's no angel. And her business partner and husband Gerard was there. So was the new guy a man by the name of Cameron Pahlavi? Prince Cameron Pahlavi. He looks like a male model. Thick, dark hair, green eyes, chiseled good looks. Look up the word smoldering and his picture's right there in the dictionary. And did you know he was royalty? Did he talk about being a prince?

[Sara]

Oh, yeah. Joseph Medawar made him huge, right? This is the Prince of Iran. He's part of our group and he's, you know, he invested all this money into our fun.

[Michelle McPhee]

So Matawar was convincing Sahra that this prince was an investor in his real estate business.

[Sara]

At first, I was in awe, right? So I'm a lawyer. I don't know these types of guys and I'm kind of. I'm in shock. I don't even understand everything they're saying. I'm Googling words as they're talking. I don't know what, you know, EBITDA is at the time. And so, yeah, I was just taken aback by the pizazz of it all.

[Michelle McPhee]

Ebitda earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Basically, they're talking about how profitable a business could be.

[Sara]

We're all sitting at a round table and we're discussing, you know, the details of the real estate fund. And I start asking some questions. Brian asks questions. And that's when Joseph Medawar had introduced us to the head, head of the fund to try and help them and work through their issues. But with Cameron, he was there just eating chips. He kept eating tortilla chips like one after another and not saying anything and drinking rose wine. That's his whole role, was just to sit there and be like the Prince of Iran.

[Michelle McPhee]

After the meeting, Sarah would go and crunch the numbers. They didn't add up. So Sarah called up the prince, asked him about the deal.

[Sara]

I said, but this guy's been in prison and you know what's going on. And he told me the truth. He said, I didn't invest, he didn't invest.

[Michelle McPhee]

Sahra had seen her fair share of scammy business opportunities at this point. What she couldn't quite figure out was this man, Cameron Pahlavi, smoking hot. A prince to the former Shah of Iran. Sahra's dad is from Iran. To meet a descendant of the Shah is a big, big deal. The Shah was supported by the US but overthrown in 1970, 1979 and replaced by the Islamic Republic. Cameron was the last Shah's grand nephew. The Pahlavi family has been living in exile from Iran since Cameron was five years old. So what was the Shah's grand nephew doing at this country club pitch meeting? What he told Sara was baffling. He said he was just lending the whole operation an air of credibility. Sarah was still married, but that didn't stop her from thinking about Cameron, who was this mysterious tortilla chip eating prince. As Sarah left her home withdraw, she called Cameron crying. And the two ended up getting together at a hotel lobby bar in Beverly Hills.

[Sara]

We did a two hour dinner at Jean Georges in Beverly Hills and I felt something. I can't explain it, and to this day I wish I never did. But I felt the connection of some sort and we hit it off. He just kissed me good night on the cheek. He paid for the dinner and I went home that night.

[Michelle McPhee]

Was that the last dinner you ever paid for?

[Sara]

Yes, great question, Michelle. Yes. Yeah, because I paid for everything else.

[Michelle McPhee]

But Sarah wasn't worried about the tab. Sparks were flying at Jean Georges in Beverly Hills.

[Sara]

He's actually like a very respectful, very classy person who we just started talking about everything and we clicked. There was a moment of like, wow, this is. He's cute and you know, we're getting along really well.

[Michelle McPhee]

And soon Sarah, the daughter of an Iranian immigrant, and Cameron, a descendant of the shah, were an item. Next time on Lady Mafia. Sahra was dead set on keeping her new man his good looks and pedigree. She wanted to help him, support him, and prove that she was enough.

[Sara]

I always felt like I was never good enough. Cause he's like this prince, right? So he's had every supermodel girlfriend in the world and I'm like, what do you, what do you like about me? But that's fine. It was. I always tried to prove I was enough to him.

[Michelle McPhee]

Her desperation would cloud her judgment and she ended up making a deal for Cameron that would jeopardize everything. Unlock all episodes of Lady Mafia ad free right now by subscribing to the binge podcast channel. Not only will you immediately unlock all episodes of this show, but you'll get binge access to an entire network of other great true crime and investigative podcasts, all ad free. Plus, on the first of every month, subscribers get a binge drop of a brand new series that's all episodes all at once. 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. Lady Mafia is an original production of Sony Music Entertainment. It was hosted and reported by me, Michelle McPhee. Odelia Rubin is our lead producer. Jonathan Hirsch wrote this episode with a little help from me. Catherine St. Louis is our story editor. Shara Morris and Jonathan Hirsch are our executive producers. Sound design and mixing by Scott Somerville. Theme and original music composed by Hans Dale. She we also use music from from Epidemic Sound and Blue Dot sessions. Our associate producer is Zoe Culkin. Our fact checker is Fendal Fulton. Our production manager is Tameka Valens Kolasny. Special thanks to Steve Ackerman, Emily Rossic, Jamie Myers and Allie Kiltz.