The Porsche & Penthouse Scam: Part 3

Summary

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The Dating Detectives

Episode: The Porsche & Penthouse Scam: Part 3
Release Date: August 18, 2025
Hosts: Mackenzie Fultz & Hannah Anderson
Guests: Layla and Allison

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Episode Overview

In this gripping conclusion of "The Porsche & Penthouse Scam" saga, private investigator Mackenzie Fultz and comedian Hannah Anderson welcome back Layla and Allison, two women who, after being separately duped by the same charismatic con artist ("Brian"), join forces to unravel his web of lies, financial scams, and emotional manipulation. The episode details Layla's escalating discoveries, the deepening friendship between the victims, their PI-level sleuthing, and the ongoing effort to achieve justice—and closure.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the anatomy of complex relationship cons and the power of community in fighting back.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Recap and Story Progress ([00:41] – [03:02])

• The saga began with Allison's initial episode months ago, followed by Layla's story and their subsequent connection via the T app and "Are We Dating the Same Guy?" Facebook group.
• Both Layla and Allison fell victim to “Brian,” a British scammer with a charming veneer and a taste for elaborate lies, international drama, and expensive tastes funded by his targets.

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The Aftermath of the Wimbledon Ticket Scam ([03:12] – [12:51])

• The $2,000 Wimbledon Con: Layla learns, three weeks post-ticket sale, the buyer disputed the payment, resulting in $2,000 being withdrawn from her Venmo ([03:12]–[03:48]).

• Brian provides Layla with misleading screenshots, claiming the situation was resolved.

• He is ingratiating himself into her life: discussing holidays together, planning travel, integrating with her children, building trust ([04:00]–[05:45]).

• Notable Red Flag: Brian pays for dates by putting pre-authorized holds at restaurants, likely using stolen cards or another scam ([05:28]–[06:40]).

  "Wait, so he wasn't really paying? ...I have no idea. My guess, he's using someone else's card."
  —Layla ([05:45])

• Visa Manipulation: Brian claims deportation fears and concocts an artist visa scheme, ultimately leveraging Layla for $4,000 under false pretenses ([08:01]–[12:22]).

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Escalating Manipulation and Gaslighting ([12:07] – [26:24])

• Layla provides Brian cash to handle his visa, only for him to disappear with the money.
• She describes Brian’s deepening involvement with her children, making the betrayal all the more personal and painful.
• When Layla returns from a Miami trip, she discovers her children’s new PlayStation 5 missing ([16:47]–[18:49]). Brian fabricates a story about breaking it and taking it for repair but cannot provide proof—contradictory stories and screenshots abound.
• Layla chases Brian for truthful answers about the PlayStation and outstanding money but is repeatedly stonewalled.

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Web of Lies and the Private Jet Fantasy ([26:24] – [37:28])

• Brian continues to weave elaborate narratives:
  • Excuses about consulate processes and visa pick-up procedures.
  • Claims his mother has cancer, using emotional blackmail to justify delays.
  • Promises a luxurious trip via private jet—complete with doctored photos. Layla holds firm, demanding he return what’s owed before any future together ([31:54]–[33:43]).
• The PlayStation’s whereabouts spiral through a series of fabricated friends and repair shops. Layla eventually learns from a repairwoman that Brian never dropped off the device, instead attempting to cover his tracks on the fly ([33:43]–[36:12]).

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Realization, Police Involvement, and Full Exposure ([44:58] – [54:33])

• After relentless gaslighting, Layla reaches out to the woman involved in the Wimbledon ticket debacle:

  • Confirms the entire event was a scam—screenshots from Brian were faked ([44:58]).

  • Layla finally kicks Brian out, packing his things in paper grocery bags:

    "Whatever you leave behind is going in the garbage or it’s going to Goodwill. You decide. But it’s not staying here for you to pick up at a later date."
    —Layla ([46:44])

• Brian runs the same deposit scam on Layla’s friends, promising a lavish birthday party but never making a reservation, and stealing their deposits ([49:15]–[51:13]).

• Layla files a police report for grand larceny and small claims court for the money lost.

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The Power of Connection: Layla Meets Allison ([54:33] – [63:05])

• After Layla posts Brian on the T app and “Are We Dating the Same Guy?”, Allison, his prior victim, connects with her ([56:47]–[58:13]).

• The two compare timelines and realize Brian alternated between them, maintaining the double life and financing his cons by paying off one victim with another’s funds ([59:31]–[61:47]).

  "We shared so many screenshots... We were just totally open with each other and shared everything, did not withhold."
  —Allison ([61:14])

• Together, they devise a sting plan with the help of police—aiming to lure Brian back to NYC so he can be apprehended.

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Amateur Sleuthing, International Escapades, and More Scams ([63:05] – [86:09])

• Allison pretends to reconnect with Brian to set him up for the police; he claims to be in Mexico and provides video proof, which Layla and Allison verify through AI and Google Maps detective work ([67:10]–[71:12]).
• Brian spins further lies, including a story about being detained and robbed in Cabo, and then allegedly assaulted; sends photos of his injuries, fishing for sympathy and possibly more money ([73:51]–[80:34]).
• The women (and hosts) speculate about the likelihood of these new tales—acknowledging both his manipulative genius and probable real-life consequences for his actions.

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The Community Grows: More Victims and Lasting Bonds ([84:00] – [90:48])

• Other women, targeted by Brian years earlier, reach out upon seeing the online posts. The list of victims grows, documenting his years-long scam pattern ([84:00]–[85:09]).

• Mackenzie and Hannah laud the women's emerging friendship, the true silver lining of their ordeal.

  "I think I've gained a lot more out of this, actually, than the getting the money back itself. Like, I've gained somebody in my life that I totally trust... And I feel like at the same time, I think Allison and I agree. We don't want to see this continue with other women. And, like, it has to stop at some point."
  —Layla ([86:49])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Gossip saves lives."
  —Layla and Mackenzie ([02:49])
• "He would give her enough to believe that he had the potential to be the man he wanted to be."
  —Hannah ([95:24])
• "I trust Allison so much. I'm so happy to have this friendship. I feel like it has longevity in a way that that relationship never did."
  —Layla ([86:49])
• "It's like trauma bonding at first, and then it turned into..."
  —Allison ([90:48])
• "You can do whatever you want with those [screenshots]... Today, everybody is a graphic designer. And I don't trust a thing."
  —Hannah ([96:24])
• "Holy crap."
  —Mackenzie ([91:26]), expressing the collective shock at the depth of the scam.

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:12] — Layla discovers the Venmo dispute & $2,000 loss.
• [05:28] — Suspicions around Brian's restaurant payment methods.
• [08:01] — Visa scam brewing: artist visa story and cash request.
• [16:47] — Layla returns from Miami: The PlayStation vanishes.
• [31:54] — Private jet fantasy & Layla's terms for trust.
• [44:58] — Layla confronts the Wimbledon woman, exposes fake screenshots.
• [54:33] — Layla and Allison connect; timelines and receipts compared.
• [67:10] — Brian's "Mexico" story and the women’s virtual sting operation.
• [73:51] — Brian fakes (or experiences) a beating in Mexico to solicit sympathy.
• [84:00] — More victims surface, revealing long history of scams.
• [86:49] — The friendship between Layla and Allison: healing and purpose.
• [92:19] — Discussion on why divorced/single mothers are targeted.

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Lessons & Red Flags (Dogfish Debrief Section)

• Isolation and Control: Brian inundated his victims with drama and confusion to keep them off-balance.
• International Excuses: He leveraged being British to play on unfamiliarity with local systems, holidays, and processes.
• Faked Screenshots: Both hosts and guests discuss how easy it is to fabricate screenshots, stressing skepticism ([96:24]).
• Manipulation Tactics: Emotional blackmail, crisis manufacturing, and triangulation with children and friends.
• Parallel Victimization: Both Allison and Layla were single, recently divorced mothers—profiled and preyed upon for their vulnerability ([92:19]).
• The Importance of Community: Sharing stories, checking platforms like T and "Are We Dating the Same Guy?", and networking can help stop abusers and save others from similar fates.

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The Episode’s Heart: New Friendship and Empowerment

The lasting outcome of the Porsche & Penthouse scam is not just legal pursuit or wasted money—it’s the powerful, supportive friendship between Layla and Allison. Both women now use their experience to help each other and others, serving as a warning and a source of comfort for those facing abuse or scams in the dating world.

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Ongoing Story—To Be Continued

• Layla and Allison continue to assist law enforcement and raise awareness in hopes of bringing Brian to justice.

• They encourage women to come forward and share similar stories, believing there are more victims yet to be heard.

  "We're building a volleyball team."
  —Hannah ([85:09])

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For Listeners

If you suspect you’re being scammed or abused, reach out for support or share your story ([e-mail]).

Always trust your femtuition.

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Transcript

[Hannah]

The following program contains names, places, and events that have been anonymized or fictionalized for the purposes of protection and safety. The following program is provided for entertainment purposes only, and any commentary from the hosts are strictly conjecture and should not be held as making any definitive statements about the truth or identity of any particular individuals or circumstances. If you or a loved one are involved in an abusive relationship, please call the National Domestic violence hotline at 1-800-799-7-7233 for support.

[Mackenzie]

Happy Dating Detectives Monday.

[Hannah]

Part two. Part two. Well, part. It's. It's kind of part three and a half, part four. This is a continuation of quite a story, and we won't talk too long because I know we want to get to it, but I do want to make sure everybody knows what. Where they can listen to the whole journey here. So the first episode in this journey is called Dressed to Deceive the Porsche and Penthouse Scam. That came out months ago. Okay. That came out in April. And that was a guest who told us a story of her. Scammy, scammy boy, scammy mc. Right. And she had a suspicion that he might have been seeing other women. Typically, when your fem tuition says that you're usually right and that he might be taking money, he would get money. And she was like, where's this money coming from? Maybe it's coming from another woman. Well, we found the other woman. Her name is Leila. She came on the show last week, told us the beginning of her story. And that story ended with the Wimbledon scam ticket thing. Yes. There's more scans to come this episode as well as we're gonna get more information on the relationship that developed between Laila and Alison, the guests.

[Layla]

Oh, wait till you.

[Mackenzie]

Wait until you hear this.

[Hannah]

They come together in a beautiful way that we love. And so if you wanna start from the beginning, that's dress to deceive the push the Portion Penthouse scam.

[Allison]

Damn it.

[Hannah]

And then last week's episode is the Portion Penthouse Scam Part two. One more episode if you really, really wanna go all the way back. Allison's divorce lawyer is how we found her, and she has her own episode. If you want to go way back and listen to the divorce lawyers episode, that's called you guys dogfish expert prenups and protecting yourself with lawyer Leslie Barbara. Okay. You've got all the deets.

[Mackenzie]

And she's also a dogfish survivor. So, like, you see what a. What a wonderful. We web. We weave. So, yeah, it's. And you guys it's because you're telling your stories that we're all connecting. Gossip saves lives.

[Layla]

Gossip saves lives.

[Hannah]

It's true.

[Mackenzie]

100%. And so thank you for sharing your stories. You know our email Investigate the Dating Detectives podcast dot com. So send us your stories, and let's. Let's get into it. We won't hold you guys anymore. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

[Hannah]

Let's give it to Layla. Back to Leila.

[Layla]

With the Wimbledon stuff. I then realized, like, three weeks later that this same person that bought these tickets filed a dispute with my Venmo, saying that the tickets were phony. No. And she never got the goods. And Venmo took $2,000 out of my checking account.

[Hannah]

Account.

[Mackenzie]

Oh, my God.

[Hannah]

$2,000 that you had handed away to him. Oh, my gosh.

[Layla]

It was crazy. So I say to him, you have to bring this up with her. I don't know what's going on. And I get an email from Venmo telling me about this. So he said, don't worry about it. I'm going to handle it. Let me talk to her. Let me talk to her. Okay. He claims to talk to her, so he actually sends me screenshots of him communicating with her. So I have screenshots of him discussing this with her. And the screenshots are like, this is just a misunderstanding. She's going to get it figured out with Venmo. And I'm like, great. Cool. This is amazing. Also, at this time, he's sending me screenshots of, like, how he's telling his mom about me. We're discussing holidays together. He asks me to be his guest at a wedding in Florence. He says to me, I want to go to Brazil at the end of the summer. Do you want to come with me? I've never been. I said yes. And what he does tell me is that all his financial woes will be good by April 1. He says he has spoken to the bank and the advisor and that everything should be good. She guarantees that all of his financial stresses will be good by April 1. He will have no problem using his card wherever and whenever. He does start taking. He does start taking us out on dates. He does. But what's interesting about this is that he is actually calling the restaurants, making the reservation, putting a specific amount of money on the reservation. Hold.

[Mackenzie]

What?

[Layla]

And I didn't know you could do that. We sit down to our dinners. They don't even bring us a check. We get up, we leave. That's it. Did it a couple times. He did it on Mother's Day. He did it for. For two other dinners.

[Mackenzie]

Wait, so he wasn't really paying? He said that he had paid. And you're like, okay, that's fine.

[Layla]

I pre auth it. And they just charge it at the end. They pre auth it. So I don't know how he was doing it. My guess, he's using someone else's card. I have no idea. Yeah, so we. You.

[Mackenzie]

You don't prepay for a meal.

[Layla]

Like, that's what he did. He said he was pre authorizing.

[Mackenzie]

He was walking out. He was walking out.

[Layla]

Then I was.

[Mackenzie]

There's no way.

[Hannah]

I think he. I just. I did a Google machine. It is possible.

[Layla]

It is possible.

[Hannah]

It's not impossible to put a credit card on file. Call ahead, you arrange payment. Oh, it confuses me a little bit with like tip and stuff.

[Layla]

But I guess he didn't. He. Maybe he just said, like, automatically apply 20% or 30%. I don't know. Like, maybe he was just like sort of buying them off in the process.

[Hannah]

I mean, if it's someone else's card, then I'm sure he tips as much as he wants.

[Allison]

Doesn't matter.

[Hannah]

Okay, so. But he's making it seem like he's figured out payment.

[Layla]

Yeah, so he's figured out payment in some way in April. So we also start talking more about. I have a girls trip planned at the end of April. I do this every year with my girlfriends. We always pick a place and we go to it. This year just happened to be we were going to Miami. And so he tells me along the way, all these months, now that he's living with me, he tells me that his mom and his stepdad live in Miami in the summertime. So he says to me, when you go to Miami, I will go to Miami also. Like, let's go together. You'll be with your friends. And then he wanted me to meet his family, so let's carve out those last few days to be together. But then he starts harping about. So this is also around the time that a lot of people are getting deported. Our new president comes into office and Brian starts panicking. He's scared because he's only on a visitor's visa. But he says his visitor's visa was for two years and I should have known better.

[Hannah]

Yeah, so he should.

[Layla]

But I should have known better because visitor's visas are six months. So unless you keep renewing it as a visitor visa, there's no way that you could be coming up on two Years. So I kind of was like, oh, okay. So it's definitely expensive. Fired. So you must need a visa, a proper visa. So he says he has a friend who owns a tattoo shop that is willing to sponsor him for a work visa and that it would be considered an artist visa. And I'm like, that's cool. What's the name of the shop? He gives me a name. I look it up, and I only see T shirt artwork.

[Mackenzie]

Oh, no.

[Layla]

T shirt artwork. But it looks like it's sort of like tattoo ish style. And I was like, well, this is just his T shirts. This is just his, like, product line. Where's the actual shop? And he's like, he does. It's like I'm asking questions that he doesn't have answers to. But he's also, at this point, struck me as somewhat of a secretive guy. So here's just another thing that he's striking me as being secretive about. But we have gotten so close at this point. We've gotten so close, especially in April. Like, I feel like he was sort of building up to this moment because we are so close, and he's going the extra mile. And from April 1st, we're going on dates. He's spending more time with the kids. He's saying things to me, like, to the gym. I'll watch the boys. Go get your nails done. I'll watch the boys. So he's actually spending time in the house with my kids. He's playing with them. He's picking them up. He's throwing them on the couch. They're, you know, they're both running at him, and he's, like, swinging them around, and then they land on the couch like, it's all cute. And so he's building up to this moment where he's like, but the visa is $4,000 if I. Your faces. I love it. He's building up to, I can expedite this visa and have it in two weeks so that we can go to Miami together and we can spend this time together. And he's sweetening up the pot where he wants to meet my friends from Toronto. He wants to introduce me to his family, his mom, everyone. And I'm thinking to myself, I feel so close to this person at this point point. And I'm hesitating, but I say, okay, I will lend you this money. And I'm also thinking, like, he has. He paid me back from the last time. He's paid me back everything he owes me. He's starting to pay for things on independently on his own, and he's now really part of the family.

[Hannah]

How long after the Wimbledon debacle did we get to this? It doesn't seem like it's been that long.

[Layla]

So this is the only thing that is still. Still in the way. But he's sending me screenshots. He's letting me know he's handling it, and I'm still reminding him something to worry about. So something that we have to think about. Okay.

[Hannah]

Right. You're not ignoring it. And it also. If it's only been, what, two, three weeks, I guess he could argue that he's still navigating it.

[Layla]

Yes.

[Mackenzie]

Right.

[Layla]

And so even though he started to pay for things, but he still can't take out $4,000. He needs it immediately. He can't have it bank transferred over in any way. So I somehow have to help him come up with this money and then take it out from the bank myself in cash again. And guess what happens? We go to the bank together, we take out the cash together. He leaves me again on the street and goes. Because he says, I want to get this over to my tattoo friend so we can get this done asap. He can start the paperwork asap. So we do this. He goes on his way. We have dinner reservations.

[Mackenzie]

Was there any red flags at this point?

[Layla]

Were you like.

[Mackenzie]

Or were you like.

[Layla]

No, I felt. I felt like the same way I did the first two times I took out money for him. Yeah, this is off. This is all a red flag for me.

[Hannah]

But he's desperate.

[Layla]

But I'm also, like, I'm also really excited to just go on our first vacation together and almost feel like a couple finally. Because, you know, he was just depressed about his health, his. You know, there's all these things. And so what?

[Hannah]

Yeah, it's like you saw glimmers of what the relationship could be. And then all of these things he's saying, these are why I'm not as great as I can be. If you just help me solve them, then we're going to be the perfect couple.

[Layla]

Yeah, exactly. So he goes. He accomplishes this that night. We have a date, and we go to the restaurant. And the funny part is he pulls out cash to pay so he doesn't use a card like he usually does. What? He doesn't prepay for it like he usually does. He takes out cash from his pocket to pay for it. And I'm like, so that's a red flag. And I was like, oh, I'm paying for dinner again. I knew it. And I thought okay, well, maybe this guy didn't need all of it right then and there. Or this guy said, you know what? Since you're my buddy, I'm not going to charge you the full fee or something. Some kind of thing. But I knew I was paying for dinner. Regardless of what was going on, regardless of the reason he had cash on him, I knew I was paying for dinner. I knew it was that.

[Hannah]

Mackenzie. I'm obsessed with Suvie.

[Mackenzie]

I haven't gotten mine yet. I'm so excited. Oh, my God. Okay, so you have to tell them what you told me about it.

[Hannah]

So this is genuine Suvi kitchen robot is a very cool device that I am kind of like a missionary for now. I've been telling all my friends. In fact, my roommate, who is a beneficiary of us getting to try Suvi, is so obsessed with it, I posted on our story. He, like, FaceTimed all his friends to show them how this works.

[Layla]

That's me.

[Mackenzie]

I might actually cook. I'm letting you guys know.

[Hannah]

So here's what it is. It is a smart countertop oven. And Suvi also has a meal delivery service if you want to do that, too. It saves you hours in the kitchen. So Suvi, the kitchen robot is the thing that sets it apart for me is that it has built in refrigeration. So it's like an air fryer oven, like all the things. But what I can do is I can throw. Throw some food in there and say, I want this done at 7pm for dinner. Yes. I know it's noon, but I've got stuff to do. Okay. I don't have time to time all the meals. I know that the veggies have to be in for a different amount of time than the protein.

[Layla]

I know I can't handle it.

[Mackenzie]

That's why I don't cook, y'.

[Layla]

All. I'm excited for dinner, baby. Where's mine?

[Hannah]

I can't wait to do that.

[Layla]

You need it.

[Hannah]

So then you put it in for what time you want it. You say what you're cooking, and it says, we got it. It keeps the refrigeration until it's time to start cooking. It cooks the bottom at whatever time it and the top at a different time, and then it's all ready at the same time.

[Layla]

Do you know how many times I've.

[Hannah]

Bought vegetables and never actually eaten them because they go bad? Because I don't have the patience to cook them?

[Layla]

Welcome to my life.

[Hannah]

Guess who made roasted veggies and ate them this week?

[Layla]

Me. Who Are you.

[Mackenzie]

You're a real grownup.

[Hannah]

I am.

[Mackenzie]

And I'm so excited for this.

[Layla]

Oh, my God.

[Hannah]

Here's the next part that you're gonna freak out about. Their delivery service sends you the ingredients you need. No more, no less. Healthy meals. Many options. I've already made a chicken one, a salmon one, and a pork tenderloin, which I would not have usually bought myself.

[Allison]

But I was like, let's go.

[Hannah]

And it has a veggie and like a rice or a starch, whatever. And then it comes with a little card with all of the information on.

[Allison]

How to make it.

[Hannah]

And you tap the card to the.

[Layla]

Suvi kitchen robot and the Suvi robot.

[Hannah]

Can tell what meal it is. And it says, I know how to cook this. You don't have to tell me anything else. And it just doesn't.

[Mackenzie]

I. You guys. Hello. Welcome to the Jetsons. I'm so excited.

[Hannah]

And SUV offers a 100 day risk free trial. So you can just give it a try. Go to suvi.comdatingdetives to get 16 free meals when you order. That's s u v I e.comdingingdetives to get 16, 16 free meals with your risk free trial. Save time, eat better with Suvie and have fun because it's just really fun.

[Allison]

It's like a gadget.

[Layla]

So I leave to Miami. He doesn't actually have his Visa by the time I leave. He doesn't get it yet. Every day I'm like, what's the update? What's the update? He'll be like, so it hasn't come yet. It hasn't come yet. It hasn't come yet. I leave, it still hasn't come yet. So we're talking every day. He's being sweet as pie every single day. He's calling me a lot. We're video chatting a lot. And I expect that he's still coming. The last few days, I think it's going to miraculously show up. I tell my friends, listen, he is waiting for this. So there's a chance you might not meet him, but it's possible. He could meet him, but we don't know yet. I come, he never ends up coming. It's fine. I don't let it consume my trip. I'm having a great time. We're still talking every day. I get back on April 30, I get back at 6pm that first night on the 30th, and I see him. I'm really happy to see him. We're intimate. We're, you know, everything's Great. Whatever. We have dinner together at home. We cook together. The next morning, he gets up super early. So before this trip, I had started to notice that he was getting up really late every day, like 11am noon kind of thing. But that morning, after I get back, he gets up super early and leaves. I start making coffee and like doing my stuff. And I noticed that my TV console, where everything is like, I have a printer there, I have an Alexa, I have an Apple tv. I have a whole bunch of stuff. I noticed something is missing and I can't quite place it. Something is missing from that console. And I'm looking around, I'm like, are there other things missing? What's going on? My kids PlayStation is gone. Gone. What?

[Mackenzie]

No. Should you shut your mouth?

[Layla]

It's. It's a brand new. I got it for them over the holidays and it is a brand new PS5 Pro. And I see it's not there. It's like, not there. My first instinct is not to think of him, but to look at my windows. Are my windows, like, are they good? There's like. There's like childproof grates on it. Is the mesh missing? Did somebody come into my apartment? I also live on the fifth floor, so they would really have to be like Spider man and scale the walls. My God. Because this is in the living room and it faces the street. I go to my bedroom, I'm like, where are all my designer bags? Where's everything? Where's my jewelry? Where's my designer bags? I was like, let me just check everything. Because if somebody wants to steal from my house, they're gonna take all the good stuff, right? They're gonna. They're gonna look in closets, they're gonna check under beds, they're gonna find the safe. They're gon. Nothing else is taken. So of course I get on the phone with Brian, and Brian, I'm freaking out. He goes, what? What's Wrong? Where's the PlayStation? The PlayStation is gone. What is going on? He goes, oh, don't worry, I damaged it. I was cleaning up. I was dusting around the console. Meanwhile, this thing looks dusty as hell. It does not look clean. I know what clean looks like. This is. I'm a clean freak. This is not clean. It's not clean at all. There's still dust on it. I was cleaning up and I pushed the console back against the wall so hard that the cord that's inside the PlayStation hit the wall and the prong broke. Is what he says to me. He says that he took it in for servicing. I said, okay, take a picture and send me a picture of the invoice for servicing. And I'm like, why wouldn't you just tell me about this? Like, I'm actually mad at this. Why wouldn't you tell me about this? He goes, I didn't want to worry you. You were on vacation with your friends. And I was like, well, if you had told me this, I would have told you that I bought insurance for that thing when I bought it from the retailer. Like, you should have talked to me about it. I don't care if I'm away and not taking it out for servicing somewhere. And he was like, oh, don't worry about it. He goes, oh, but I didn't get an invoice. And I was like, come on, Brian. Like, that's. You're joking, right? Like, this is a joke. This is a stupid joke. How do you take something that's that expensive in for servicing somewhere and don't get an invoice for it? I don't even take my dry cleaning in without getting an invoice. Like, that's how.

[Hannah]

Right. Also, you, like, need it to pick it up, right?

[Layla]

Like this.

[Hannah]

Just.

[Allison]

You get.

[Layla]

Your businesses have been through everything where, like, they know not to mess around. He's just like, I just didn't. I just didn't think about it. And I was like, that's not okay. Call them or go back to them and get an invoice. I want a copy of an invoice. Like, I was fuming. I was really mad. I wanted something. Right?

[Hannah]

You also just went through, like, a morning of thinking people broke into your apartment. Like, he didn't want to stress you.

[Layla]

Out, but he just blew it off like it was nothing. Like, okay, like, you spend $900 and get your kids something during Christmas and it means a lot to them and they love it, and suddenly it goes missing. Like, now I have to explain to my kids, oh, Brian took it in for servicing. He broke it. Now I have to give them his sad little sob woe stories. So now this is a new thing. So now we're dealing with the Venmo thing and now this new thing. But he says to me, it's going to be back in a week. Would you have it? A week goes by, two weeks go by, another week goes by. I'm asking him every single week, where is it? Every single week. And he says, they're waiting on a part. I said, well, did you get me an invoice? No, but they're waiting on the part said, okay, tell me where it is. Tell me where this place is.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah, because I'm gonna go handle this.

[Layla]

Because I'm gonna do. I'm gonna do what you should be doing exactly. And go handle it. I'm gonna go take care of this. He says to me, no, Layla, just let me handle this. I've screwed up on so many things. I've asked a lot of you. Just let me handle this one thing. I already don't feel like enough of a man. Let me handle this one thing. And I say, okay, I'll give you one more week. He doesn't handle it. I say, send me a screenshot of it. I want to know where it is. I'm going to handle this. Give me. Give it to me. He sends me the screenshot of a Google location. So he doesn't. Oh, boy, oh, boy. So he's buying himself time again. He doesn't send me the link to just click on. He sends me a screenshot of the location so that it gives him ample time. While I'm then looking at the screenshot, going into Google Maps, populating what I've read, looking it up. This place has multiple locations, so I'm going to assume it's the location that's closest to my house. I call them. I say, okay, my boyfriend dropped off a PlayStation. It's under this name, under this phone number. Can you please. They say, oh, he said that it was too expensive to leave with us. Meanwhile, Brian's been telling me this whole time that they are waiting for a part, that he left it with them. They're waiting for a part.

[Mackenzie]

It was too expensive to leave.

[Layla]

I guess they quoted him, too. It was too expensive. So when I confronted him about it, he said, yes. They quoted me $180. So I brought it to them. They did hold it for a bit. They waited for a part. And then I said to them, you know what? It's taking too long. This part's taking too long. You're charging too much anyway. I'm going to take it elsewhere. He then says to me, I took it to another place. Where's the invoice? Brian doesn't have an invoice.

[Hannah]

Yeah. Also, why did he send you to.

[Layla]

The place where he has? He said, I told you I wanted to handle it myself. And I said, well, then why are you giving me the runaround? You want to handle it yourself? At least give me the place it's actually at right now. Don't give me the place it was at. I could care less. About where it was at. I want to know where this device is currently right now. How.

[Allison]

Where is it now?

[Layla]

So, yeah, I mean, now it's just comical at this point. Guys, we have also discussed that we are going away again together. He wants to go to Miami. He has given me another story about how his. His sister called him, and his mom has breast cancer again, and she's going to start chemo. Oh, she's going to start chemo.

[Hannah]

And this is.

[Layla]

This is her second.

[Hannah]

So is he like, my visa's fine now, or is he like, I don't care because my mom is sick.

[Layla]

I'm gonna go anyway. Oh, God. He got his visa. Says to me, miraculously, one day, okay, I got my visa. So there was. There was actually one day in between all this. I'm so sorry I missed this part because there's so much going on that, like, it's easy to miss everything. There's like, 10 stories happening at once. Okay.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah, there are.

[Layla]

And I think it's by design to confuse me. I can't keep track of everything. So he's good at this. He. He wants to confuse me. He did say he got his visa, but it was like an email. Like an email thing. He says, okay, I have to go get my visa, and I'm gonna go to the consulate and get it. So he spends a day at the consulate, and he says, they didn't get to my turn. And I'm thinking to myself, that's not how this works. You make an appointment. You get seen the day of that appointment at the consulate, just like you do at the dmv. I know these systems are skewed, but they're not that skewed. So he has to spend two full days at the consulate only for them to say to him. Only for them to say to him, no, we cannot just put it in your passport here at the consulate. So he's made an appointment, but he thinks they're putting the visa in his passport on the spot. They say, no, you have to go away somewhere. And they put it in at customs at the airport. Even if you're not going overseas, they put it in your passport at customs.

[Hannah]

I was going to say, is that a thing? Well, I got to Google something.

[Layla]

I actually had to go through something similar, but I was coming from Canada. Like, I'm Canadian. And I. Also, the way that they do it is you have to go to the airport with your passport, and they insert it at customs at the airport into your passport. But I was coming from international, Right. So I just assumed what he was saying was actually accurate. But that doesn't explain why he was gone for two whole days. No, full days. Coming back at like 8pm but regardless, we're going to Miami. That's the plan. So there were two things. My mom has chemo. She's got cancer again. And I want to be there for her chemotherapy sessions, and I want to be there from the beginning of them. I want to go to the first one and be there for her. And then the other reason that he wanted to go was because he needed to go to the airport anyway to have this done at the. In the customs office. So I was like, great, let's do this. Let's go for it. Whatever. So then we decided to plan on our trip. But I also say to him in the moment, I say, I don't know that I want to meet your family until I get my money back for Wimbledon, which is $2,000. You pay me back for the visa and you get that PlayStation home. So I have these three things that are just like hanging over my head now. And they're accumulating, they're bottling up. And every week I'm getting into an argument with him because I'm so frustrated about it.

[Mackenzie]

Hell yeah, you're frustrated.

[Layla]

Nothing's getting solved, you know, Nothing's getting solved. I'm so frustrated. And also, like, I'm lying to my kids in the process. I'm like, yeah, like, like the PlayStation. I'm sorry, guys. The place, it'll be home soon. Next week.

[Mackenzie]

You guys. So you may or may not know based on some videos that I've posted about my purchases and packages that get delivered to my house. Listen, your girl loves to shop. Okay? Anyways, I did not realize until I started using Monarch money how much I'm spending in certain areas of my life. Monarch is an app that you can use that'll break down exactly what you're spending. Like it'll break down all your fast food. And I think it's interesting that most people can't name all of their financial accounts or what they're worth, like 401k properties, investment, stuff like that. And that lack of awareness leads to leaving money on the table.

[Hannah]

Also, can I also say that I love how easy the app makes it because I think money is very over complicated and to tie it to dating detectives, as we know, financial freedom is a part of major freedom in all other parts of your life. And sometimes that's the thing that really keeps you down in relationships or whatever it is. And having easy access to your finances, especially as a woman, is the most life changing thing and radical thing that you can do, especially in a world that has often told us we're not allowed to do that. So I love anything that makes that easier. And Monarch really does it. It's not like gatekeeping. It makes it so easy.

[Layla]

Yeah.

[Mackenzie]

And they send you, they send you notifications. Like you link all the financial accounts you want to the app and then it tells you your direct deposit came in or this came out or this month. Pretty this much in. Yeah.

[Layla]

And it's pretty.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah. You can break it down and make it really personalized for you. So Monarch is, it's made for people with busy lives. Like you said, Hannah, it's, it's really great and it does all the heavy lifting. Don't let financial opportunity slip through the cracks. Use code datingonarchmoney.com in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first year@monimal money.com with code dating.

[Layla]

So I pack, I pack my stuff. We're like five days out or something. I pack my stuff. I'm getting ready. We're getting ready for this. Nothing is sorted out. He's like waiting to the last possible, like to the last minute. But he makes a point in the days leading up to it to say to me, oh, my God, my stepdad got us a private plane to go.

[Mackenzie]

Shut up.

[Layla]

My stepdad, he sends, he sends me a picture of a private jet that we would take from Teterboro. And the private jet has a man on it who he claims is his stepdad. So in this picture, his stepdad is enjoying a big lobster and a big Caesar salad. And he's smiling and he's telling me that this jet plane is going to be waiting for us at the Teterboro airport. And I'm like, that's awesome. I said, do you think that because it's going to take such a long time to get to that airport, should we get an Uber? And he sends me a screenshot of a reserved Uber for the next morning. So he's buttering me up with all these things, what, Only to shut me down with all three things not coming into fruition. My terms to going on this trip at least was getting the PlayStation, getting my money back from the Venmo Wimbledon tickets, and getting my money back from his Visa. And I was like, we're not going to. I don't care if that lobster has gold all around it. I don't care if you've got like 10 bottles of champagne on that flight. I'm not going. You are. I say, you are, but I'm not going. And then I say to him, before I walk out of the house, I go, where's the PlayStation? Because I don't believe a word you say now.

[Mackenzie]

Hell no.

[Layla]

He goes, I gave it to my friend to fix.

[Mackenzie]

What?

[Layla]

No, what friend did you give to fix?

[Hannah]

This is the T shirt.

[Layla]

I said, why does it keep getting passed around from person to place to person?

[Hannah]

What's going on?

[Layla]

I said, who do you think you are? Send me a screenshot of where it was before, and I want you to tell me the person that has it. And then I bolt out. I leave. I said, you are going on that plane. Don't dare think that you're staying here. You are going on that plane. You're going. Okay, I leave. I call up the place that he claims it was at. The woman has no idea what I'm talking about. So the way that this place works is like, it's like a handyman fix it place. So you leave a voicemail, they start texting you, and they text me about it. And she goes, can I call you? Like, she seems confused because I give her the name, the phone number, and the device. Like, what kind of a device it is. And she says, can I call you? Sure. She calls me, we're talking. She says, there's no PlayStation here. And I said, well, can you try this, this American number then? Because I know that he has a UK number from our WhatsApp chats, but he also has a US number. I say, can you look up this number too? And she goes, wait, does he have a British accent? And I say, yes, yes, he certainly does. Certainly does. And she says, he just called and said that he was going to postmate the device to us. Just. Just called, like, he just called, like. So between the time of me leaving the house to say when I'm saying to him, get the out. He just said he was gonna post me because he told me it's been there. It has been there. So you're saying it hasn't been there, but he's about to postmate it to you? She goes, yeah, that's what he said. And I was like, oh, my God.

[Mackenzie]

Wait, so is this thing actually broken? Like, it sounds like it is.

[Hannah]

I don't think. I don't think he's seen the PlayStation.

[Allison]

Since the day he stole it in the PlayStation.

[Layla]

Since the day. Since the. Since. Since I left for my girl's trip on April 25, I haven't seen the PlayStation, I guess. So he.

[Hannah]

What, did he just want it so that if you made a call to the place, they could be like, oh, like, they could just say something to verify that they'd worked with it at all, even if they. They didn't even have it yet. Like, I'm trying to put myself in his thought process.

[Layla]

It's either that. Either he's saying, like, they once upon a time had it, and he thought that if I called them that maybe they would be like, oh, yeah, we spoke to him. Like, yeah, we're expecting it. I don't.

[Hannah]

We'll have it done.

[Layla]

Right, right, right. We'll have it done by this date just enough. Right. Or he thought he could get away with it by just making me feel good enough that it's not going to be with his friend anymore, but that it was going to be at an actual place.

[Mackenzie]

I don't like.

[Layla]

I don't like it. So, okay, I'm so mad. So in all of this, I tell him he has to leave. I don't want him there anymore. I'm so mad. I go meet my friend and I'm telling her everything about what's going on. And she's also British, so she's from the uk and I didn't want to involve her, but I ended up having to where she's like, you know, I have a UK account. Still have him send you your money to the uk. The. The money he owes you to my UK account. So he can stop saying that it's not coming to your account. With bank transfers done, easy.

[Mackenzie]

Okay. Yeah.

[Layla]

Okay. So that's what I. That's what I do now. What's your answer? That's what I do. He says, okay, going to be there in three days. Okay. She's also on the other end. She's going to check it for me. She's like, don't worry, Leila. I got you. I'm checking it every day. And in that process, I'm also asking him to give me his friend's phone number because at this point, he's saying the shop doesn't have the PlayStation. His friend has it and he's going to fix it. And I start texting with this person, and I'm noticing right off the bat that it's green bubbles. And Brian tells me, but so does this person who supposedly is named Josh, says to me, oh, I'm actually in between New York, Miami and the Bahamas. I'm not going to be back until I think he said it was like. It was like the last. Yeah, it was the last week of May. So, okay, fine. I'll get the PlayStation at the end of May. So after the last failed Miami trip, I told him I was done, but I end up forgiving him. He talks his way back in. But the other reason I take him back is that he owes me a lot of money at this point. And if I end it now, I don't think I'm going to get that money back. It's also my birthday at the beginning of June, so Brian is trying to plan a surprise birthday party for me. Okay. He says, don't make any plans for May 30, but tell me who you would want to invite to. To your birthday. If. Hypothetically, if I was doing something for it. I give him some of the names. Yeah, I give him some of the names. And I am. I am then, like, still in communication with this guy Josh. Right. But I also want to say that Ryan is waking up early and leaving the house early for many days leading up to my birthday. And he knows that I am also saying to him, we are not doing anything for my birthday. I've also planned another trip to Miami. Yes, there are a lot of trips to Miami. I love Miami. Love it. And so I plan another one that I want to go for my birthday. And this is also him wanting to come because it didn't work out before. He still wanted to go for his mother's chemo sessions, and he still wants to see his mother. So this is a good time since the last one. And he told me that he let them know that we got into a fight, and he was afraid that this would affect our entire relationship to leave me at this point. So I give him this next freebie to redeem himself. But I told him leading up to my birthday, we are not doing anything. We are still not getting on a flight. We are not going anywhere until all these things get settled. You owe me money now. You have a UK bank account. You can transfer the money to you. Now we have crypto dude on board and says the PlayStation is fixed. He's just getting back to New York from the Bahamas. So he's also buying a little bit of time like that where he's got to get. He's leaving the Bahamas. He'll be back in New York in a few days, and he will meet with me. So Mr. Crypto cancels on me the first time we're supposed to meet up, and I'm sort of pushing him a little bit And I said, listen, I totally understand that you're kind of like, in the middle of this, but when is the next possible day we could do it? He goes, we can do it tomorrow. And tomorrow is literally the day before my birthday party. Whatever he's planning is the next day. So I say, okay, tomorrow. Can we do it? Can we do it, like, earlier on in the day? And he says, yes, no problem. He agrees to this, guys. Sure enough, the next day, Mr. Crypto cancels on me again. And.

[Mackenzie]

And you've only texted with him, right?

[Layla]

I've only texted with him. I've never met with him. I've never even heard of this person. Never heard of him. I've never met this person. Don't know him at all. So now he's canceled on me the second time. And the next day is my birthday party. And also, Brian is leaving early in the morning, every single morning, because he doesn't want to see my wrath. He doesn't want to see the. Yeah, I bet he doesn't want to see the wrath and fury. But here. Here's the funny part. I'm calling Brian Right after Mr. Tech Bro, Crypto bro, cancels on me. I say, crypto. I said, get home. I said, get home now. Get home now. He just canceled on me. Get. Get. Get the fuck home now. And he's like, what do you want me to do? I go, call him, fix this. Tell him to meet up with him now and get.

[Mackenzie]

Or buy my kids a new fudgeing place.

[Layla]

Talk and talk in person. Talk to me in person like a man. Stop leaving the house so early. Talk to me like a. Like a man. Yeah. He goes, I don't know what you want me to do. You told me to get out of this equation. I'm out of the equation. I put you in contact with him. It's now between you and now between you and Crypto bro. I was like, no, it's not. Get home now. Get home now.

[Mackenzie]

It's not very much your problem.

[Layla]

Get home now and face me like a man. He goes, okay, I will, I will, I will. But those times that I'm calling him, he goes, oh, I'm on a work call. I can't answer right now. I'm on a work call. I can't answer right now. I'm like, nothing is more important than this. Get home right now. Like. Like you have entered my life in full force. You owe me this.

[Mackenzie]

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[Layla]

And so, yeah, he gets home, and in the time being that he is not home, and I'm hyperventilating, freaking out, my nerves are shot. I reach out to this woman that has the Wimbledon tickets. Cause I know her name. And I actually screenshot her Instagram at one point, saying to Brian, and I'm gonna contact her if you don't handle this. Because I'm just like, I'm vengeful and I'm throwing around whatever I can to. To, like, put pressure on him, right? I reach out to her on Instagram and I say, please tell me the whole story. I'm just trying to get to the bottom of it, what's going on? Because at this point, Venmo has penalized me. And I. I can't. I don't. I'm out $2,000, my account suspended. I Use this account all the time. Like, I'm upset about it. I want to be able to use it. So she tells me the whole story. Those screenshots Brian had shown me were fake. There was no misunderstanding. The tickets were never real. It was a total scam. And that was my last straw. I was done. I screenshot everything. Brian gets home. I say, gather everything. Every single thing. He goes, I can't fit everything in my. In my little suitcase. I said, I don't give a fuck. Whatever you leave behind is going in the garbage or it's going to Goodwill. You decide. But it's not staying here for you to pick up at a later date. He goes, fine, fine. He even wanted to take. Like. He said, do you have an extra bag or something? I can't fit anything else. And I made him leave with Whole Foods bags. Paper. Whole Food, Whole Foods bags.

[Hannah]

That's what I would have done. I would have been like, you can.

[Layla]

Have a grocery store. Exactly. I wasn't even gonna give him, like, my, like, reusable bags. I'm like, you can take the paper bags under the sink in the kitchen. And he stuffed every last bit in there. So while he was packing up his stuff that day, he said, okay, Layla, I don't want you to reach out to me to see if I'm okay this time. Because any other time that I told him he had to sleep elsewhere or any other argument we ever had, I would always feel kind of guilty. And I would say to him, you know, are you okay? And he'd give me some story. Like, one time he told me he was sleeping in Penn Station, you know, and he'd say I was having such dark thoughts. I've never had dark thoughts to this extent before, you know?

[Mackenzie]

Oh, shut up.

[Layla]

So he would make me think that he would. He was having, like, suicidal thoughts. So this time he said, don't. Don't do that. So I think that he knew that I was not going to go. Like, we were not going to go away for this trip together. And he would have to come up with a backup system. And I think, wow. I think during that time. And, guys, that was the last time I ever saw him. But I think during what? Yeah, and I think during that time, it wasn't the last time I ever spoke. Spoke to him. It was the last time that I ever saw Brian packing up. But I know that he was setting up for the next thing because he said to me, don't ask me how I'm doing. And I knew that that was. That Was just it. That was the last time I saw him. We still communicated because he actually. This birthday party that he had planned, he never reached out to my friends to let them know that he had canceled it. But I knew. I knew some details about it. And it was supposed to be at the hardest reservation to get in the city. They get.

[Hannah]

Did he ever make a reservation?

[Layla]

She calls me. My closest friend calls me. She says, layla, where are you? And I was like, what do you mean? She goes, your surprise birthday party. We're all here and you're not here. And he had. Sorry. He had actually asked my friends to meet him in Bryant park and took $200 deposit from each of them.

[Allison]

No, that's off.

[Hannah]

That's so. Oh, my God. And then, of course, now it's off. So he just ran away with.

[Layla]

Ran away with your money? But also, he. He had. Yes, he ran away with their money. Took. He didn't tell me he took the money from them. But when my.

[Mackenzie]

No, why would he tell me?

[Layla]

My friend told me that they. That the three of them met in Bryant Park. He took 200 bucks from each of them, and they don't have the reservation at the door. I was like, wait, hold on a second. So I go to Brian, I text him. I say, first of all, you didn't cancel with my friends. Whatever you were planning for my birthday, you didn't cancel with my friends. But also send me something to prove you have a reservation. He sends me two screenshots, scratches out in markup, a bunch of information, including the restaurant name, but it's for the right date, for his name, and, like, a bunch of details that do line up. I send it to them. They show it to the door, and they're like. They said that this is not from them. They said that they would never take an email confirmation. They would never communicate this way. They would never approve it this way. He claimed that he had Dorsia, which is like a VIP reservation access. And in the email, in these screenshots, it does mention Dorsia, but they're like, we. We would never take a reservation from Dorsia. We would never do this. And the person that signed off at the bottom, we don't have anybody by the name here. So he never made the reservation. He took their money. And I said to him, well, what were you going to do? Were you gonna just, like, faint on the way to the reservation with me? Were you gonna fake this emergency?

[Hannah]

It was the plan.

[Layla]

He once faked an emergency. And I was like, were you gonna do this again. He faked fainting off of a bus to avoid letting me borrow his car so I could drive my kids to a birthday party in Connecticut. So I said to him, are you going to faint? Like, were you going to pull this shit again and send me some bogus picture of you in the hospital? And he did. He just didn't answer it. He just never answered it. My guess is never made the reservation. Had knew that his time and all this BS was running out because I was getting closer and closer and closer to knowing how full of shit he was that he knew his time was running out. He had nowhere to stay if I went to Miami and he needed a backup system. Got back on an app, which, by the way, I emailed a few apps to let them know that he was doing this after the fact he's doing this. But he must have gone back on an app and managed to secure the next girl that he could stay with in that week's time. Or maybe even. Maybe even sooner. Maybe even sooner, because like I said, he was waking up early. He was spending a lot more time out of the house. And I think he would. I think he was doing to me the same thing that I had sort of, like, bit into originally, which was like meeting up with him for day dates a lot, for coffees and this and that, paying for things along the way. So he secured someone in the process and started to do it again. So that's the last day I ever see him. But we're still in communication. And the reason. Wait, what I decide I like. In our texting, I say to him, okay, I'm actually not going away to Miami. I'm gonna stay. But I was going to Miami. I was like. I was so sad and so distraught by everything that I had just been figured out. And I knew the Wimble tickets were. I had spoken to the woman. I had figured out he made phony reservations. I figured out that he took money from my friends. I decide I'm going to the police station. I file a police report on him, and I tell them everything that he's doing. So there's two warrants for him. Yes. So there's. There's two things that are chargeable towards him. One is the fact that he stole from my house. So that's grand larceny since it was taken from my house. And then the other one is I have to file in small claims court for the maximum amount, which is like, for. Which is what they can do, which is $10,000. And he would have to appear in court, and the judge would then, like, you know, penalize him in whatever way the judge feels fit. But then I would also be requesting to be reimbursed for these things. So after I did that, I then decide I'm also going to put him up on Are we dating the same guy? The Facebook group and I. Oh, no. And yes. And I put him up on T, which is an app that stems from. Are we dating the same guy?

[Mackenzie]

Yes. It's the T. Yes.

[Layla]

Okay. He is. And I.

[Mackenzie]

What'd you find out? What'd you find out?

[Layla]

So I post on T, and I go on my Miami vacation. I decide I. I still want to be away for my birthday. So I go from June 3rd to June 9th, and I check T and I check, are we dating the same guy every single day that I'm there and decide that someone has to know him. Like, I can't grasp and fathom the thought that I am the only woman that he's done this to. There's no way. No way. There's no way. He's, like, too good at it. You know, like, from the PDFs to the pretend bank transfers to the meeting up for cash with my friends. Like, there's no way that I'm the only one. But nobody has commented on these posts at all, so I must have put it up probably June 1st. And then it's the 9th, where I get back on the plane from Miami back to New York, and I'm. I haven't checked it because I'm just, like, I'm trying to maintain a normal life here. I go back to the gym, go back to see my friends doing stuff, whatever, and I think about two or three days goes by, and I realize I had not been on it for three days. I look at Are we dating the same guy? Because that's the first one that I assume somebody to post on, but nobody has done it. However, I then open up the T app, and I see, like, five message five comments below, which I am totally freaking out about. And I'm trying to walk and cross the street and look at my phone at the same time, and it's someone saying, oh, my God, I just got on, and I was just about to post to this guy. Oh, my God, I was about to fall out of my seat. Here's my ig. Can we connect? Are you open to connecting? And I instantly go to Instagram. I start connecting, and this is where Allison and I start chatting.

[Mackenzie]

Alison.

[Hannah]

Oh, boy.

[Layla]

Boy.

[Mackenzie]

Blessed Richard.

[Hannah]

The timelines connect.

[Mackenzie]

Receipts, proof. Timeline Screenshots.

[Hannah]

This is our first. I think this is our first continuation episode of, like, wait, we found.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah.

[Allison]

And this is like, she's here.

[Mackenzie]

And this is, like, needle in the haystack situation. Like, how.

[Allison]

But this is New York City. This is New York City. There's so many people here.

[Hannah]

So, Allison, what do you think when you see this on tv? And what'd you say?

[Allison]

Yeah, I mean, it's actually kind of crazy because I, like Layla said, had the intention of actually posting him myself when I downloaded the app. So there's, like, all these profiles that start popping up whenever you go on the app initially. And I'm telling you, Brian was the first profile I saw. So I panicked. I'm like, oh, my God, I can't believe this is happening. I was just. My heart was beating out of my chest. I almost fell out of my chair. And I'm at work and immediately just start texting, trying to connect with her, giving her my Instagram. I even gave her the link to the podcast, all the things, just so that she had all the tools to see that he had done this before her. So it was like, I was happy, but also just. It was bringing everything back, you know what I mean? That I had kind of, like, healed from and moved on from, but at the same time, I was relieved.

[Layla]

I.

[Hannah]

So remind us. So, like, where this is after you're. Obviously, you've done our episode. Like, you're. How long after getting away from him? At this point?

[Allison]

I think it was about two months. Right, Leila?

[Layla]

No, it would have been the end of February to, like, the beginning of June. So. So essentially three months. This is three months after you had him in your life. So Alison and I then start comparing a lot of notes with each other, and we realize, like, she was asking me about specific dates, and then I'd go back, and I'd realize that February 1st and the 2nd, he stayed with me overnight, and those were the first times that he, like, slept over at my house. And I remember again, I had to, like, hide him in my bedroom. My kids had no idea that he was even in the house at all. He came over after they went to bed. We would stay up talking, and then we'd go to sleep, and then I'd get up early to take my kids to swimming lessons the next morning, and then he would let himself out. And then the next day, it was the exact same thing. He would be out all day, come back the next day and stay with me.

[Hannah]

Right. So what's going on at. Where Is he going, Allison, you can.

[Allison]

Tell us what's going on? Yeah. So like Layla said, the first time I broke up with him, in early February, I break up with him. He leaves. He goes straight to Laila's house. I think he's homeless. I feel sorry for him. I let him back into my home. And then the second time I break up with him, end of February, he goes straight to Layla, and that's it. You know, I'm done with him at this point. But then the notes we compared. It's wild, because he was speaking with her the whole time in December, January. He was seeing her throughout our relationship. They, you know, slept together and, like, early January, when we were just beginning our relationship. So the first time he actually had his first date with you, Layla, I looked back at the text messages. It was the first time I had started questioning him about, like, losing his luggage and the hotel double charge and all those things. So it's like, the second he heard me questioning, he's like, let me get my backup plan so that I'm not on the streets.

[Hannah]

It's crazy disgusting.

[Allison]

Yes, it's terrible. So at first, Layla was, like, in shock. I feel like it took you a few days to process everything, because I was just unloading so much information on her, and it was so fresh for her. But for me, I had three months to process it. And, yeah, I was just ready to expose everything to her.

[Layla]

So I bet I was, like, grieving a relationship. It sucked.

[Allison]

No, literally, it was. It was really sad.

[Hannah]

The breakup and the fact that this person never actually existed. It's like a double.

[Layla]

Yes.

[Hannah]

Double.

[Allison]

Yeah. So it was really tough on Layla, but once we got through the initial, like, we shared so many screenshots with each other, pages and pages of text messages. We were just totally open with each other and shared everything, did not withhold. And she listened to the podcast, and we talked about how Brian paid me back and ended up figuring out that he actually used her money to pay me back, which is.

[Hannah]

How much did he owe you?

[Allison]

Terrible. 2,500.

[Layla]

Okay. And you gave him about 4,000. I gave him 4,000. Yeah.

[Hannah]

And then he used the rest at the dinner that night.

[Layla]

And he used the rest at dinner that night. And also she shared his mugshot with me. Right? Like, she shared, like, the mugshot guys. She shared his mugshot with me. Meanwhile, I had googled a thousand times and got nothing. And sure enough, she just, like, she shared it with me, actually, on the T app. And I was like, oh, my God. I let this man in my house with my children. Oh, my God. It was like my biggest nightmare had just come to life.

[Allison]

Yeah.

[Layla]

Really nauseating.

[Allison]

But also, whenever we were speaking and we came close and really opened up with each other, I wanted so badly to just blow Brian's phone up. I can't believe you cheated on me. Like, on top of everything else you did to me, you also were cheating. But I did not. I said, laila, let's be really smart about this. I'm gonna help you. What can we do to catch him so that he can pay you back?

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[Allison]

Which is when, like, our whole.

[Layla]

We.

[Allison]

We. And then we, like, develop this huge plan. We became like little PIs and.

[Layla]

Well, tell us everything.

[Allison]

All the things. Yeah.

[Layla]

So after I filed the police report, I was in contact with the officer and the detective, and they were consistently checking in with me. And they had also contacted Brian, so they had his phone number. They started text messaging with him. And he said that he wanted to solve this amicably and he was going to come into the station on his own and he was going to solve everything to pay me back. Right. During that time period, I'm again, like, I was in Miami. And then I came back to New York. I found out about Alison. And once that happened, we did come together and derive this plan that since I was still in contact with him, maybe she. She should also get in contact with him. And in doing that, because I started to realize, like, this is the woman that, like, he wanted to. He came to the US to start a life with this person. And so if she came back into his life, what would he do? And so we derived this plan that she was going to. She show up back in his life, show after three months, show a little bit of interest. Like, that's why he paid her back with my money. He would. That was the last lingering thing. This was his way of trying to get her back and to start contact with her again. And she agreed to it. She said, I don't think. I don't. Allison, I don't think you wanted to do it, but I think that you were just gonna do it for me. Like, you would put this behind you.

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[Allison]

Yeah, I. He had been texting me during the three months he was living with you. He would text me a lot, just trying to connect with me the whole time he was with you. And I just ignored, ignored, ignored. So I told her I was like, I have to be super strategic when I actually do start talking to him again, because he's gonna think something's up. Like, why did you ignore me for three months? And now all of a sudden you want to talk to me again? So, no, I would not have done it if it wasn't for you. I was pretty much moved on. But at this point, we're sharing all the screenshots and reliving everything. I felt like I was also just back in it. And I was just. I was like, let's do it. You know, let's.

[Hannah]

Let's get that.

[Allison]

I'm going to do.

[Layla]

Well, she derived this story that she was going to go on vacation with someone with a guy that she's been dating for a while, and it was to meet his family as well, because he was European. And. And she had thought that maybe it would help if she said, like, I have a lot of questions and I have a lot of unanswered things that I would like to meet with you so that I can put this behind me fully. And then we realized that it. It wasn't going to work if he thought that she wanted to put it behind her, but that she had to somehow make him think that she still wanted him. And so that's where the story sort of progresses. We're like, I need to see you. Yes, I do have unanswered questions, but I also feel like I've had enough time to process and sort of forgive you for a lot of things. If you can just answer a few things, I'd love to meet with you. And he. This is so sneaky. He was secret agent, and so the police officer and the detective that I was working with were saying, if you can get him to sit down with Alison, then we will be nearby and we will just jump in.

[Allison]

So we pick a date, and I say, like, I need to see you on this date because I'm leaving for your the following day. And then he's like, well, turns out I'm in Mexico. And so that just puts our whole plan out the window. So we have to, like, okay, what's. What are we going to do now?

[Hannah]

When was this?

[Layla]

So at this point, his, like, a month ago. His birthday is the end of June. He went to Mexico for his birthday.

[Allison]

Or so he says. Yeah.

[Layla]

Yes. Okay. So, like, we didn't believe him at first, so we needed proof. And so she said, I don't believe you. FaceTime me. Let, like, prove it, you know, you want to prove to me that you're in Mexico and you're not actually here. I'm finally opening up to you. I'm finally ready to talk to you. And you're like, you know, you're in Mexico. Like, I don't believe it.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah, let's see it. So receipts.

[Allison]

He. Okay, so I did try to screen record, and we do this multiple times over the course of the next month, where I try to screen record our face times. And he has some sort of blocking spyware on his phone where it doesn't record sound. So that was really disappointing. I did try to screen record the conversation so that I could share it with Layla later. But so he does call me, and he's sitting in front of a cactus, like, this big, massive cactus. And the first thing in my mind is, okay, yeah, he could be in Mexico. He could be in California.

[Hannah]

I was going to say we have cacti in the U.S. but sure, right.

[Allison]

But so that's, like, one thing. And then he also walks over to sit in front of a hospital. So he goes from the cactus to the hospital, and he's holding his phone like this. You can kind of, like, see behind him, right? So I talk to him. Whatever. He proves he's in Mexico or somewhere that looks like a desert. So I hang up with them. I share the screen recording with no sound, but we have video footage. So Layla is like, what. What does that say on that sign with that surfboard sign?

[Layla]

Like, and above his head, like, we could see a sign that's a surfboard right above his head behind him. And I. I screenshot it, I put it in chat GPT, and sure enough, AI is on our side again. And it comes up that it's this place in Cabo, and it's a restaurant in Cabo. And as Allison is, like, going through the restaurant name because we figure it out, like, we find out the place, we know exactly where he is in Cabo.

[Mackenzie]

I'm like a proud mama.

[Layla]

I know, I know. This is, like, the best PI work. So. Such good PI work. She's looking through the Google Maps of this specific restaurant, and sure enough, there's a picture of that exact cactus behind a bench. So Brian's sitting on the bench. The cactus is so specific that as soon as she saw it in the Google map pictures, we knew right away we had got exactly. We. We, like, found out exactly where he was. I then. It was amazing. It was great PI work. You should hire us so 100%. So I then reach out to the officer and the detective, and I start texting them. I send them the Google Map location. I send them the text message. I let them know that we know where he is. And the Officer's like, we can't get them. We can't get him in. In Mexico, he has to be jurisdiction. He has to be in the US So they then decide. Or they say that they're going to see if they can flag his passport when he returns because. Or flag. Flag his. Not his passport, but his visa when he returns. Right. Because he still has a US Visa in his passport. And then they. We can have him pulled into customs, questioned, detained, and we could then do that. So. Well, so till this day, he's still in Mexico, but, wow, the things that have happened to him in Mexico. He's pulling scams in Mexico.

[Hannah]

No, wait.

[Allison]

Well, let's back up. So. So once we realize we can't have the surprise factor of revealing that we know each other in person, we're both just, like, chomping at the bit to be like, hey, we know what you did. We know each other. We figured it out. So we're going to, like, this, like, sunset party together. And we're like, okay, we're gonna. I'm gonna text him and say, hey, I need to FaceTime. And then Layla would be on my phone. Like, her face. So that was gonna be, like, our reveal, that is. And it kind of backfired because he did call. He had his camera off, so we couldn't see the look on his face. He saw Layla 0.5 seconds. He hangs up the phone and blocks us both. So we lost contact.

[Layla]

Yeah, we just got. We just got so excited because we were like, okay, this is it. It's over. And we've already been biting our nails for, like, a month at this point, and we really just want him to know that we know everything about each other. We've compared notes. Allison knows that he was coming to see me when they were together, and I know that he was with her during that time when we were talking to each other. And, like, why. You know, we were only seeing each other during the day and all this stuff. And then, like, he. He.

[Hannah]

The jig is up.

[Layla]

Yeah. But, like, he also always said, I would never cheat. I would never cheat. He said that to both of us. Like, I would never, ever cheat. I've been cheated on, and I would never.

[Mackenzie]

No one's ever going to come into a relationship being like, there's a potential. I could.

[Layla]

Write.

[Allison]

But he made a point. He made a point. He made to always say that he really did because he was guilty of.

[Layla]

It, which is why.

[Mackenzie]

So.

[Allison]

But also, we thought, okay, let's try to use this to our advantage. Maybe if he knows we know each other, I can plead with him, please pay Layla back. Like, she needs this money. What you did was terrible. And just kind of, like, see if we could go that route to get him to turn himself in or just, you know, start paying her back, even if it's just like, a little bit at a time, whatever. But he blocks us. So I have, like, a jillion emails for him because he has a bunch of emails for all his conning. So I start emailing him all these random things until finally one day, I was like, you never really loved me. Like, you wouldn't have done that. You don't really love me. And that got him. So he finally replies to my email, and I got contact back, but he still has Layla blocked. He hasn't had contact with Layla.

[Layla]

Allison, do we want to tell, like, talk about. Do we want to talk about how he pulled us a con there and he claimed that he left his nice, fancy hotel for a day, like, just for a day, like, an excursion of some kind. He asked the front desk to get him a taxi. He says that five minutes down the road, he gets stopped by the cops in the taxi, yanked out of the taxi, detained, and put in jail for three days. He has his backpack, this infamous backpack on him, right? The one from his trunk that he always keeps his possessions in while he's being detained. They take $6,000, his passport, his phone, and a bunch of personal, like, valuable things from the backpack. They don't give this stuff back to him. He's then crying about the fact that now he has nothing, and he's telling.

[Hannah]

Allison this when you guys are still connected.

[Allison]

Yeah. So he calls me and tells me something really bad happened. I need your help. You're the only phone number I have. You're the only person I can trust. He's using this very nice woman's phone at a hotel, and he's FaceTiming me at this point, telling me he's using someone else's phone. He's going to get, like, another phone and use that, and that he met this guy in jail. And I'm like, I don't believe you. Let me talk to the front desk girl. Let me talk to this friend that you were in jail with. So I'm like, FaceTiming these random people, and they're, like, reading his story, saying, yes, this happened. And from then, he's texting me from random numbers. I think I have, like, three different chats with, like, different people's phones he was supposedly using.

[Layla]

We're thinking that this is a total lie. The only thing I mean. And there's more to this, right? Because he's also revealed more to Allison in her conversations. But something else took place while they were there where he, like, I don't know. You say it because I wouldn't be good at it.

[Allison]

You're doing. I. I was at brunch with my friends, fully distracted. All my friends know about the situation, by the way. And I get a text from a random number, and it's like, this is Brian. This is an emergency. Can you please FaceTime me? So I go outside, tell my friends. I'm like, all right, let me deal with this. I go outside, FaceTime him, and he's literally got black eyes. His face is completely swollen. He's. His glasses are gone, and he's blind. Like, he needs glasses to see. And he's like, I got mixed up with the wrong people in Mexico, and they kicked down. They kicked down my door, my hotel, and beat me up for 30 minutes straight. And I need help. I'm scared for my life. Which is how he. This is the next way he's able to, like, con me because I was upset. It's upsetting to see someone like that, as much as I hate him and despise him. Like, I don't want him to die. And I'm texting and calling Layla. I'm like, oh, my God. What do we do? Something's happened. I need to talk to you right now. What do we do? What do we do? And he even tries to give me access to his icloud because he says he can't get on his phone and he needs to do all these things. Then he sends a code to my phone, and I'm distracted at brunch, so I give him the code, and then I started thinking, oh, my God, he's gonna hack my phone somehow because I gave him this Apple ID code, which was so dumb. Like, you never share that type of thing. But I was distracted with my friends, right? So I still don't know if that was some sort of way to kind of, like, I reset my whole phone.

[Hannah]

And then I was going to steal.

[Allison]

My passwords and stuff. Like, it was annoying, but I had to be, like, better safe than sorry. But so he's. He's using this story now that he has to get out of Cabo because they're going to come kill him, right? And he's asking me for money for a bus fare, and obviously, I'm not giving him a dime, but in the moment, I Was just, like, so shocked that I was getting sucked back in, but also, like, I don't want you to die. Like, I truly believed his story. I really did. And I think, Layla, you did, too, as I was relaying it to you, because he's got these swollen eyes. Like, you can't fake that.

[Hannah]

I also, like, wouldn't put it past him to get in a position where he gets beat up.

[Layla]

We already want to kick his ass.

[Hannah]

He seems like someone you may punch.

[Layla]

Alison, his whole story about how he got beat up in the first place is, like, pretty wild. Like, yeah, yeah.

[Allison]

Like, he said they were beating his face in for 30 minutes. And in hindsight, we actually talked the other day, we're like, what, did they, like, kick him in the ribs or something, too? Like, he had no other injuries, except. Except for his eyes. And if you're getting beat in the face for 30 minutes, like, you're probably.

[Hannah]

Got a nose job.

[Layla]

Got a nose job.

[Mackenzie]

And it's just like in a car accident.

[Layla]

Oh, my God, I hope he got his teeth done.

[Hannah]

Maybe he just went down to get the work done and used it on him.

[Layla]

He's the worst teeth.

[Allison]

Well, so, yeah, we. We had this revelation the other day, Layla. Like, we were. We talked this out, and we think he got someone to punch him so that he could have this story.

[Layla]

He said his ear was bleed, and we're like. And he likes. He was, like, proceeding to send pictures to Allison about how bad his ear is in the back and stuff. And his whole story of getting beaten up is that he said that he was consulting on real estate development while he was in Mexico to make money. And the whole story was is that he, like, cut somebody out of the deal, and they showed up at his hotel with muscle, and. And the person beat him for 30 minutes, but meanwhile, like, only his face is done. Like, I'm sorry. If somebody beats your face for 30 minutes, you have a concussion, you need to go to the hospital, your face is blown up or you didn't survive. Like, there's no way that you could actually. You're not recognizable. Unrecognizable. Like, only has, like, yes, he has one really bad eye. He showed a picture of his ear. We didn't see blood coming out of his ear or anything, but, like, okay, it's a little purple in the back, whatever. But, like, it's not to the degree. Like, it probably. If. If this is true, it probably felt like 30 minutes for him, but it was probably like, 10 minutes, because obviously he can't, like, Take his own leg, obviously. Like, he can't take his own leg and kick himself in the ribs. So this. This kind of does pan out where, like, he possibly could have beaten himself up. Right.

[Allison]

Definitely.

[Layla]

Right.

[Allison]

What an idiot.

[Hannah]

I also just think, like, I think you're onto something for sure. And you also said his stepdad has a private.

[Layla]

He doesn't type money.

[Hannah]

Like, it sounds like that's probably BS.

[Allison]

Or his stepdad doesn't exist. Great. Love that doesn't exist. He admitted that. He admitted it.

[Layla]

He did, did he?

[Hannah]

Okay, well, see, because if he didn't admit that, I would be like, why are you calling us?

[Layla]

Yeah, like, oh, I did say call your stepdad.

[Allison]

Like, his family does have money. We did establish that they do because we found, like, his sister's Instagram and they do a lot of traveling, and, like, they're. That part is actually true.

[Mackenzie]

But they don't like him either. That's why.

[Hannah]

Yeah, they probably don't want to give him anything.

[Allison]

They disowned him. I think he stole from them. I think he just, like, made the van. Yeah. The family's just ashamed of him, and he's been disowned.

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[Allison]

And then he's.

[Hannah]

Now he's trying to find the next bank.

[Mackenzie]

Wow.

[Layla]

Where are we at right now?

[Allison]

He gets bus fare from this random friend from a volleyball league that he's never mentioned once to me about. But all of a sudden, he has his best friend who's going to give him money for bus fare, hotel, phone, food, whatever. And at this point, I'm still kind of believing him. This is before she and I came up with all these revelations that this whole. Whole thing is a lie so that he could get a new passport. And because he also tells us that he's ordered a temporary passport port that he's got to wait for, and it was going to Cabo, but he had to reroute it to Tijuana. And he was going to Tijuana. But I'm like, the British Embassy is in Mexico City. The United States Embassy is in Tijuana. But then I'm like, he's probably going to Tijuana because he's going to try to go over the border into California.

[Layla]

It's like an hour and a half.

[Hannah]

Away, like, on the run because he's afraid to go into the country without getting Right. Caught by the people you flagged.

[Layla]

Right.

[Hannah]

He's wild. Okay, so now he. This isn't. This is an ongoing story. Coverage is currently breaking.

[Allison]

Leila. I didn't tell you this yet? I actually spoke with Leslie today on some other matters, and I brought. I was kind of just, like, catching her up on what's happening right now, and she was like, I know someone at the DA's office, and I am going to help you and Layla try to get him. Because I told her that the police. Once he was in Mexico, the police were kind. Kind of like. Kind of like, dropped it a little bit. Right, Layla? Like, the police were like, we can't get him in Mexico.

[Layla]

So they don't even answer me anymore because they think he's in Mexico and what are they going to do? And he's overseas this way.

[Allison]

Yeah. Leslie's gonna help kind of bring that back to life.

[Hannah]

First of all, I love that. I feel like Mackenzie and I are, like, in your group chat.

[Layla]

Thank you for bringing us in. As you're.

[Hannah]

This is ongoing, but I feel like it's so good to have Leslie because she's. She and other corporate people have been scammed by him. So it, like, bolsters your case where, unfortunately, what he's done to you is enough for police. For police to take it seriously. But I also understand people. I don't understand. I think people have a tendency to be like, well, you got scammed by an ex boyfriend, whatever.

[Layla]

Right?

[Hannah]

It's six hours, whatever. Which is not cool.

[Layla]

Bigger than that. It's not that.

[Hannah]

It's that he's doing this to so many people. Like, you have a strong case. All you have to do is get this guy.

[Allison]

We gotta get him. We gotta get him. We really do.

[Layla]

And, well, the funny thing is, is that through. Are we dating the same guy? There was another girl that had written in, and she said that she had been talking to him, and he was, like, showing her pictures of a car that he owned at one point. And so she has a race car friend that she showed the picture to. And the race car friend was like, no, that car does not belong to this person. That race car friend must have had insight to who that car actually belonged to. So they didn't even connect. And he didn't even get to con her. But she had written in saying, yes, I was in communication with him, but we didn't get as far as you did. And I'm sorry that this has happened to you guys. So.

[Allison]

And it was, like, three years ago. Like, he's been doing this for years. It was, like, three years ago.

[Layla]

Literally, it was in 2022. So he's been doing this for a long time. We are not the only ones we just need other girls to listen to the podcast, look at the online posts about him. It's just a matter of time before we have, like, a whole girl gang behind us.

[Hannah]

I love. We're building a volleyball team.

[Mackenzie]

There's someone's gonna come along that is.

[Layla]

Not gonna deal with.

[Mackenzie]

They are not gonna put up with it, and he's gonna.

[Hannah]

Well, he needs to get arrested.

[Mackenzie]

I would love to see some justice for everyone that has been affected by this person.

[Layla]

And, like, it would be really nice to see other women come forward. I'm sure we're not the only ones that, like, there's already been a couple others, and we just have to wait and see what happens. But I do think he's gonna come back to the States with hopes that him and Allison will be able to reconnect. And I also think that in that time, hopefully, whatever Leslie can do to help us facilitate police support, then maybe it will get back on police radar and he will get caught in his meeting up with Allison. Or he says he wants to sit down with me and talk about it face to face. Well, that's my opportunity then, too.

[Hannah]

So just be safe, you two, because I'm with you. I want to be a secret agent with you.

[Layla]

Oh, my God. Yes.

[Hannah]

I don't trust him.

[Mackenzie]

Is there a world in which we say, that guy screwed me over. I got my new friend. I'm done. I don't care what happens, or are we fighting till tooth and nail to get this guy?

[Allison]

Well, he owes her money. We want her to get paid back somehow, and then we also want him caught. So it's like, do we walk away or do we keep. Keep on.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah, you know, like, how much is. But now it's like, how much is that money? Or how much is your energy worth? Is it now at the point where it's past that? Those thousands of. You know what I mean?

[Layla]

And it's totally so.

[Mackenzie]

It just sucks.

[Layla]

I think I've gained a lot more out of this, actually, than the getting the money back itself. Like, I've gained somebody in my life that I totally trust. Like, I trust Allison so much. I'm so happy to have this friendship. I feel like it has longevity in a way that that relationship never did. And I feel like at the same time, I think Allison and I agree. We don't want to see this continue with other women. And, like, it has to stop at some point.

[Mackenzie]

Has to stop.

[Layla]

It has to stop at some point. He's just going to continue doing it. There's no way he's going to actually go out into the working world and start, like, making money legitimately. It's never going to satisfy him. So, like, for us, I think we agree that we have to stop it at its core. And I don't think that we are putting. We're not exhausted at doing this. We're not putting all our energy into this. We're like, we totally love our lives. And, like, we put our energy into our kids. We put our energy into it, like, having fun. Like, we go out all the time. We dance till the end of the day till we're, like, pouring sweat. Like, we. We talk to each other when we're, like, going through a tough time. Like, we put our energy into that. And so the other, like, 10%, we're sort of putting towards this Brian situation. But we do want to see an end goal to it, that it can't continue to happen. It just can't.

[Allison]

Yeah, we don't want it to hurt other women because, like Leila said, he's just not going to stop. So if we can have any part of catching him, like, it's not affecting us so much that we can't try to help it happen.

[Mackenzie]

It's almost like you're. This is our little community. Like, this is now, like, a mission that we're on.

[Layla]

It is, honestly, we only talk about it, like, 10 or 20, 30 minutes out of the day. Like, it started off obviously, where, like, it's all we would share with each other.

[Allison]

That's all we talked about.

[Layla]

Like, now we don't. Like, yesterday, I think we chatted about it for, like, 15 minutes or something over text, you know, like, it doesn't consume us. So, yeah, that's good.

[Hannah]

That's the way you win.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah.

[Allison]

And if anything, we're, like, sending each other, like, dating profile. Like, do you think this guy's a camera? Like, do you want, like, improving for each other?

[Hannah]

Like, running through teeth? Run them through the dating sites and the chat GPT and whatever. Send it to Leslie.

[Layla]

Send them to Mackenzie.

[Hannah]

Wait, so you both are. You are dating again?

[Layla]

Oh, yeah. I mean, I think we're. I think we're. Yes. So we are dating again. We're going on dates, but I'm just focusing on being really happy. So it's. It's. It. Like, I actually think this Brian thing, like, it was, like, a hurdle I needed to go over to feel like I don't need somebody to be happy.

[Mackenzie]

Yes, that's. There's a. Yes, that's.

[Layla]

This was, like, the perfect hurdle. Because I really did feel before like I wanted somebody to sort of complete my life, but I don't feel like that at all. I feel like I've been able to do. Alison's my girlfriend now. What do you mean? Yeah.

[Hannah]

And, like, look what you've been able to accomplish through this.

[Layla]

We don't need men. We're fulfilling each other. And now it's like she puts my travel schedule in her calendar. Like, it's like, literally what I love that Alison and I, like, have each other now. We have each other's back. We go out together. We go dancing together. I've met her ex husband. I've met her daughter. She's gonna meet my kids this weekend.

[Hannah]

This is the love story I care about.

[Layla]

I know, right?

[Mackenzie]

I love this.

[Layla]

It's kind of crazy. Like, everything happens for a reason. Everything happens for a reason. 100 for sure. It's the sickest way to form a bond with someone. But had this not happened, maybe we would never have met. Who knows? Maybe we would have. But, like, I don't know that we would have been able to bond the same, so. Yeah.

[Allison]

Yeah, I agree. It was like trauma bonding at first, and then it turned into.

[Layla]

Yeah, exactly.

[Mackenzie]

Well, we're gonna need all the updates, like, a thousand percent of the.

[Layla]

We're gonna keep. We're gonna keep them. Yeah, we'll keep informing you of everything that comes up. And my instincts tell me that we'll be back here talking about how he got. Got taken down.

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[Allison]

Yes, hopefully.

[Hannah]

Oh, manifest it.

[Layla]

Yes, hopefully.

[Mackenzie]

Holy crap.

[Hannah]

It's been a minute since we've had two people come on and talk about the friendship that's developed in the aftermath of adult.

[Mackenzie]

That's my favorite part.

[Hannah]

It's true. The fact that she was like, I. I honestly, I think we stopped recording, and she was like, I literally text Allison every day. Like, I don't even text my other friends every day. Like, they're, like, truly besties.

[Mackenzie]

But that just goes to show you, too, that even in the darkest of nights, the sun always shines in the morning. And, like, you got a great, like, best friend out of this. And I think that's so cool. I mean, it sucks that you were hurt and taken advantage of, but silver lining, now you have this really amazing friend.

[Hannah]

I thought of something after the fact that I didn't remember in the moment. Do you think there's something to be said about the fact that he was going after two single moms who were both in the process of getting divorced? Like, we didn't Talk like, that's a huge parallel between the two of them. Like, why?

[Mackenzie]

That's a good.

[Hannah]

Are they targets to him? Because they're easy, vulnerable, and could. Like, he feels like they've been mistreated. I feel like maybe he thinks that because they are more desperate maybe to, like, fill the position of a father in their child's life.

[Mackenzie]

There's so many ways you could go with that.

[Hannah]

I'm curious what people think, but I didn't. I forgot that that was, like, an exact parallel between the two of them.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah, I didn't think about that either.

[Hannah]

Well, this is dogfish debrief time, y'.

[Layla]

All.

[Hannah]

And if you're new to the podcast, this is where we go through moments in the story that we can learn from or just have further discussion about, because there's a lot. So his being international comes up in both stories. Like, he really plays into being British, and, like, he doesn't know where he's going in New York. He doesn't know how to send money. I also looked up. Do he. I think he used the excuse that British people don't really do Valentine's Day that much, and I tried to find evidence of that, and it seemed like British people do Valentine's Day just fine.

[Layla]

Okay.

[Hannah]

The wire transfer thing, misspelling the last name. His wire transfer. He's got a lot of practice. He did it to Allison. He did it to her lawyer and all kinds of other business people. And now he's doing it to Layla. The part where she was like, I wanted him to fight for me. Like, I get where she was coming from. Do you remember at the beginning when he. She was like. I know I was being kind of moody, but, like, I still wanted him to put that effort in.

[Mackenzie]

But don't you. I mean, let's be real.

[Hannah]

I. Yeah, we've all done that. The thing that I was thinking about is that when we want someone to do something, do we kind of stretch their actual behavior to fit that expectation? Because I don't think he really did fight for her that well. Like, she deserves, obviously, way better. But it was in the moment because. And she's admitted this herself. I'm not casting any judgment on her at all. Like, she was like, I wanted. I. I didn't know until after this was all over that I really didn't need to depend on a partner. Like, in the moment, she really wanted it to work. So it's like, oh, he. He texted me.

[Layla]

Great.

[Hannah]

He's, like, fighting me. He's reaching out. And I think We. It's, like, so hard not to. It's so hard not to, like, fit a square thing into a circle thing into a square pet. You get it when you really want it to fit.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah. And it's.

[Hannah]

That's not.

[Mackenzie]

We make it. We make it happen when we think that's what we want. It's kind of like you can see the path laid out for you, but you're like, how can I change this path to be more what I had envisioned? And it's like, no, this is your. The universe or God or whoever you believe in has laid out this path for you, and that's the way it's going to go, and you try to change it. Have y' all ever seen Final Destination? You can't escape it.

[Hannah]

I mean, I think it's. It's human nature to just want the best and want the best for in people and want the best in our relationships. And you don't. Yeah. You don't live your life expecting people to be dogfish.

[Mackenzie]

These ladies were so taken advantage of. And then just. It's just disgusting.

[Hannah]

Well, let's talk about how he would, like, slowly build into these crises.

[Mackenzie]

Yes.

[Hannah]

Had continuous drama.

[Mackenzie]

Yes.

[Hannah]

And just, like, kept her confused. Kept both of them confused. There was always drama.

[Mackenzie]

It was very manipulative. He knew what he was doing to manipulate her for sure.

[Hannah]

I feel like she said at one point, like, I was rooting for him, which summed up a lot to me where it's like, he gave her enough to believe that he had the potential to be the man he wanted to be.

[Mackenzie]

And she wanted to. She wanted to let herself think that, like, she wanted him. Yeah, exactly. She wanted him to be that guy.

[Hannah]

And you guys heard. She's not somebody that puts up with bs. Like, she was, like, holding him accountable to the extent that you do for, like, a normal, functioning person. But he wasn't a normal person.

[Mackenzie]

But also, I really like him. Yeah, well, it's so hard. It's so hard.

[Hannah]

His international card getting flagged. That was so annoying. Also, I wrote down screenshots equal bullshit. I will never trust a screenshot again.

[Mackenzie]

Same, same, same.

[Hannah]

You can do whatever you want with those things. You can. Today, everybody is a graphic designer. And I don't trust. I don't trust a thing.

[Mackenzie]

Exactly.

[Hannah]

He would gaslight her, tell her things are no big deal. He's like, why are you freaking out about this PlayStation? I'm gonna handle it. It's like, bro, what do you mean? I can't freak out about my own PlayStation that I bought with my own money for my own kids that you took from my apartment.

[Mackenzie]

She said it was like a special edition, like a thousand dollars.

[Hannah]

That's so messed up.

[Mackenzie]

That's a huge. That's a huge theft. Like, that's crazy.

[Hannah]

But don't you think the way he would talk about it was, like. It was confusing by design. He wanted her to. He was buying time. She said that all the time.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah.

[Allison]

Yeah.

[Hannah]

I don't know how he beat himself up. I mean, I guess that.

[Mackenzie]

Oh, my God, I'm so glad you said.

[Allison]

I forgot.

[Layla]

He really.

[Mackenzie]

He really got into his acting like that method. Acting like he was legitimately, like.

[Hannah]

Well, do you guys think that he beat himself up in the face? Do you think that he pissed off another woman who punched him in the face? Or do you think that he actually did get attacked? Like he said? I want your theories. How did he end up with his two? Or did he get a nose job? Like I said, I love the idea of him just getting a ton of surgery.

[Mackenzie]

I know, right? Just be like, yeah, I got beat up. No, you didn't. I don't know. I. I don't buy it. Well, I don't. I also don't believe anything he says, so.

[Hannah]

No, not at all. I'm so interested in what happens. We have to keep everybody updated. And they said that they will let us know. I mean, if he comes back in the country. The whole thing with the passport, like, you said, he's a dummy, but he's not a dummy. Like, yeah, he's getting a new passport.

[Mackenzie]

I just. I'm beside myself with this episode, to.

[Layla]

Be honest with you.

[Hannah]

But I love them, and they're so sweet, and, you know, I'm just glad that this douche is out of their lives.

[Mackenzie]

Same.

[Hannah]

Oh, yeah.

[Layla]

The last thing.

[Hannah]

So they're, like, going after him. You know, they went to the police, as they very much should do, given that he stole money from them.

[Mackenzie]

Yes.

[Hannah]

And they're really trying to get him to be helped, to have consequences.

[Mackenzie]

Yes.

[Hannah]

And I support them. I. I do. Like, I don't want them to get hurt, you know? Like, I worry about any of these guys.

[Mackenzie]

It just sucks that they. They're having to pour so much time and.

[Allison]

You know what I mean?

[Mackenzie]

Like, it's like, you don't want to.

[Layla]

Say, like, oh, let it go.

[Mackenzie]

It's never gonna happen. But also, like, just, I. I guess the. It's like, where is the balance between, like, just finding your sanity and finding peace with the fact that this this you got took. Like, he. He's gonna get his period. He will get his justice or he will get what's coming to him. We don't always get to see it, but it happens. But it's like at the same time, you also don't want to stop fighting, like they said. So it's like there's a hard line there.

[Hannah]

I think you just have to check in with yourself. Like, they sounded like they're. They've got each other.

[Mackenzie]

Don't let it get your mental health.

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[Mackenzie]

And they have their friendship, which is so cool. They have each other to support each other.

[Hannah]

And now I want to be in their group chat.

[Layla]

I know, right?

[Hannah]

We're all friends now, but yeah. Join our Patreon. $5 a month or $9 a month for everything plus ad free listening.

[Mackenzie]

Thank you guys so much for listening. If you have any kind words that you want to share with our guests or, you know, just any support, we do make sure to share those with them. So that would be really lovely. I know so many of you always offer that. That support and love, and it just. It means so much. So thank you and thank you for always sharing us on your. On your social media. I just. Just am so tickled. Like, I love it when you guys do that. It's so cool because people see it and they'll be like, so and so shared this and I saw this and now that the same thing happened to me, and you're like, wait, really? It's just really cool how you can that sense of community.

[Hannah]

I love that Alison posted on the T app and then when they connected, she was like, here, listen to this episode.

[Allison]

Yes.

[Hannah]

These episodes are just a place for you to get it down, get it on record, anonymously on record if you need it.

[Allison]

Exactly.

[Hannah]

Please email us if you want to share. Investigate the datingdetectivespodcast.com Was that correct?

[Layla]

Yes.

[Hannah]

Nailed it.

[Layla]

Nailed it.

[Hannah]

And put in the subject, like, a brief description of what your story is about.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah, yeah.

[Hannah]

So it's not just like, I got scammed. It's like, yeah, we already know you're.

[Mackenzie]

In the right place.

[Layla]

Give us more details.

[Hannah]

Anything else? Or are we ready to go process this on our own? Just kidding.

[Mackenzie]

You can keep messaging us.

[Hannah]

The conversation does not end here.

[Mackenzie]

Nope. Keep the conversation going on socials. The be dating Detectives or. No, it's just Dating Detectives podcast on the socials. And we love you guys and as.

[Layla]

Always, trust your femtuition. Love it, Sam.