USC Athlete Turned Cocaine Kingpin | The Hidden Third with Mariana van Zeller

Summary

Podcast Summary: USC Athlete Turned Cocaine Kingpin

The Hidden Third with Mariana van Zeller
Air date: January 14, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this gripping episode, host Mariana van Zeller interviews Owen “Odog” Hansen, a former USC athlete whose journey took a dramatic turn from promising student to international drug trafficker, gambling kingpin, and eventually, federal prisoner. Hansen candidly shares the details of his rise, capture, and redemption, offering rare insight into the inner workings of underground markets and the psychological traps of chasing adrenaline and easy money.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Early Life and Athletic Ambition

• Upbringing in Redondo Beach: Owen grew up in a strict, blue-collar family. His parents divorced when he was eight, and he was raised by his father, a construction worker, who instilled discipline and a fierce work ethic.

  “6pm was my curfew on the weekdays, 8pm on the weekends, and I never missed one day of school. In high school, I had four years perfect attendance.” – Owen (02:52)

• Sports as a Lifeline: Volleyball and surfing were central; Owen became a top-tier beach volleyball player and earned a scholarship to USC.
• Transition to Football: When redshirted from volleyball (behind future Olympian Brook Billings), Owen’s devastated competitive drive led him to performance-enhancing drugs and eventually to walk onto the USC football team as a tight end—a meteoric rise enabled by steroids and sheer willpower (04:20–14:03).

2. Entry into the Underground: Steroid Smuggling and the First Crime Rush

• First Smuggling Experience: At 18, Owen smuggled steroids from Tijuana, hiding vials in his “butt crack.”

  “I lied for the first time... I had goosebumps when I crossed this. I just smuggled something into America, and I lied... until my arrest in 2015, I chased that rush.” – Owen (08:13)

• Adrenaline Addiction: The thrill of success made illegal activity seductive, especially for competitive athletes (09:46).

3. Building Odog Enterprises: Prescription Drugs to Cocaine

• Expanding His Market: Initially supplying steroids and prescription pills (Adderall, Xanax) to other USC students and fraternity friends, business quickly scaled.

  “They started calling me Dr. O Dog... word spread, like, O Dog’s the man.” – Owen (16:39)

• Smuggling Tactics: As volumes grew, Owen enlisted female friends to carry drugs in their clothing, keeping a low profile (17:26).
• Cocaine Distribution: Seeing the inflated prices at USC, he undercut campus dealers, leveraging connections to local Mexican gangs.

  “I have eight ounces here. Here’s a scale. Here’s the gram bags… Every 27 you sell in this ounce, you get the last gram for free.” – Owen (23:06)

• The Business Model: Owen describes a black market “concierge” model, innovatively servicing demand among USC’s privileged students.

  “I started to be like this black market concierge that no one was willing to do.” – Owen (25:41)

4. Gambling Empire: From Bookie to BetOdog.com

• After Real Estate Crash: The 2008 recession led Owen back to illicit schemes, this time as a bookmaker leveraging his network of athletes and wealthy alumni (28:03–32:19).
• Celebrity Clients: His operation grew to service Hollywood A-listers and NFL players (Paris Hilton’s Super Bowl bet—32:33).
• Ethics and Hypocrisy: Despite being a criminal, Owen drew a moral line—refusing to let athletes bet on their own sport (33:50).
• The Dark Side of Legalization: Discussion on how legalized sports betting has paradoxically accelerated the black market, with anonymity, credit, and the avoidance of taxes as key selling points (35:38).

5. Cartel Connections: Money Laundering and International Trafficking

• Concierge for Cartel: Owen’s prowess led a Mexican cartel boss (“El Jefe”) to offer him money laundering assignments, paying 10% per drop-off (44:40–47:27).
• The Test: Successfully moving $1 million from Brownsville, Texas, cemented Owen’s trust as a cartel operative.
• Expansion to Australia: At El Jefe’s suggestion, Owen used his international connections—via a former USC baseball contact and an Italian mob runner—to move cocaine into Sydney, where profits were astronomical.

  “He told me, ‘How would you like to make a million dollars a day?’ ... And I said, a million dollars a day.” – Owen (48:54)

• Laundering Methods: Owen innovated ever more creative ways to move and launder money, including vacuum-sealing bills in comic books, hiding gold coins in Ugg boots, and eventually working with a professional gambler for complex casino laundering (56:44–62:00).
• The Big Mistake: A trusted gambler lost millions on Owen’s behalf, leading to an irrecoverable debt to the cartel. To avoid execution, Owen faced the boss in Tijuana—remarkably, he was allowed to pay his debt off by continuing to work, under intense pressure and threat of violence (66:34–71:00).

6. The Bust and Aftermath

• Feds Closing In: The money laundering scheme fell apart when associates turned out to be undercover agents (77:08). Owen was arrested in a dramatic FBI/Australian police raid at a country club.
• A Sense of Relief:

  “The first time in 10 years, I finally felt relief. Like it was finally over. Like I no longer had to work for El Jefe.” – Owen (78:47)

• Legal Consequences: Facing a RICO indictment, Owen was sentenced to 21 years for racketeering (drugs and gambling). He refused to cooperate against the cartel, rejecting government offers for leniency.
• Prison Redemption: Owen earned his MBA and began an entrepreneurial hustle making “protein ice cream” in prison, which later became “California Ice Protein”—now a successful brand.

7. Reflection and Message

• Impact of Underground Life:

  “Once I crossed that line and worked for Alfa and started distributing illegal drugs at the ton level… that’s where I should have stopped.” – Owen (90:28)

• Victims and Responsibility: Owen acknowledges the harm caused by drug trafficking but avoids self-pity, focusing instead on giving back.
• Education and Prevention: Now, Owen travels to universities advocating gambling prevention, warning athletes about the seductive incrementalism of illegal activity:

  “Want you to go across [the line] one time… It can happen to anybody, especially if you’re an athlete.” – Owen (93:07)

• Relationship with Father:

  “He was disappointed. But… he was there to greet me… he’s just happy I’m out… he sees the movement.” – Owen (93:30)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the first crime rush:

  “I just smuggled something into America… until my arrest in 2015, I chased that rush.” – Owen (08:23)

• On being a black market concierge:

  “I was this black market concierge that no one was willing to do… it became a business, and that’s where the Odog Enterprises started.” – Owen (25:41)

• On facing the cartel boss:

  “The good news is you’re going to live today. The bad news is you don't owe me 3.2 million. I'm charging you interest. You owe me 4 million, and you work for me.” – El Jefe via Owen (71:00)

• On getting arrested:

  “The first time in 10 years, I finally felt relief. Like it was finally over… I was going to die. Either the cartel was going to kill me… or I’d end up in a 6 by 8 cell. And I took the latter.” – Owen (78:44–79:11)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Redondo Beach childhood & family issues: 01:42–03:09
• Transition to football & first use of steroids: 04:20–11:28
• First smuggling trip & psychological trigger: 06:09–08:23
• Scaling up drug business at USC: 16:39–25:41
• Shift to bookmaking and online gambling: 28:03–33:50
• Working for the cartel & laundering money internationally: 44:40–55:32
• Clever money laundering methods: 56:42–62:01
• Australia sting, lost millions, cartel confrontation: 62:17–71:00
• Arrest, indictment, and relief: 77:08–79:11
• Prison entrepreneurship & post-release life: 86:20–88:40
• Reflections, message, redemption, and family: 89:06–94:14

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Conclusion

Owen “Odog” Hansen’s story is remarkable for its brutal honesty, operational detail, and emotional candor. What starts as a tale of lost potential and escalating risk morphs into a meditation on ambition, morality, and the high costs of illicit success. Hansen’s redemption as an entrepreneur and speaker now serves as a cautionary tale to young athletes and a window into the rarely-seen logistics of global black markets.

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Recommended next step: For listeners curious about how black markets shape the legitimate world, subscribe to The Hidden Third for more firsthand journeys into the underground.

Transcript

[A]

And I literally, I looked at one o' clock sharp. Bulletproof suburban, black. The reason I knew it was bulletproof, the windows were like that thick. You've seen it?

[B]

Yeah, I've seen them. Yeah.

[A]

Rolls it down. Barely rolls down. You can only get like that much. And they said, yeah, like light skinned white boy, right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I get in the car, I see the driver has a holster and he has a handgun. And then I look behind me and I got two sicarios in the back with AK47. I'm like, okay, this is it. Like, this is like in the movies, right? Like, this is where it's going to be over. Anybody that doesn't know what a sicario is, it's a hitman, right?

[B]

You spent a lot of time with sicarios.

[A]

So I'm with. I got two sakaris behind me. I got this. This driver, and they're wearing bulletproof jackets. I'm like, dude, I'm done. I'm toast.

[B]

Do people still call you Odog, by the way?

[A]

Everybody does. Still a lot of my teammates, my old teammates.

[B]

So I can say it too.

[A]

You can call me Odog.

[B]

Owen Odog Hansen, your story sounds like it's straight out of a Hollywood script. As you know, you're former USC athlete who pleaded guilty to leading the O dog enterprise, an international drug trafficking and illegal gambling ring, which are two trades that I've spent a lot of time reporting. So I'm super excited to have you on the hidden third. We have a lot to talk about.

[A]

We have a lot in common. It sounds like we have a lot in common.

[B]

I know we've spent a lot of time in the same kind of same areas as well, I know. I know you spent time in Sinaloa, and I've spent a lot of time in Sinaloa. I think the place in the world that I've reported more from wow. Has been in Sinaloa. And we both speak. You speak Spanish also. Okay, so let's start from a little bit from the beginning. You grew up in California, not far from here in Redondo beach, right?

[A]

Yeah. The South Bay. We call it Redondo Beach. Blue collar family.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Son of a construction worker. Mother was a librarian.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And mom left at 8 years old. And dad says, hey, I'm going to take care of you.

[B]

Where do you make sure?

[A]

They divorced. And I remember my mom decided to take my sister and my dad said, no, my boy's gonna stay here. He's already playing sports.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

So he didn't. He didn't want to let her take me.

[B]

You were eight.

[A]

I was eight. It was difficult.

[B]

Where did she go to?

[A]

She went up north and then eventually Wyoming. And. And I only got to see her like once a year, which was hard.

[B]

Very hard.

[A]

When you're 8 years old, you're supposed to have a mother figure, right? Yeah. So it was definitely.

[B]

Did you see her for Christmas?

[A]

I would see her for Thanksgiving.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And if I was lucky, I'd get to see her for Christmas too. But usually it was one time a year. And then the problem was, yeah, of course you miss her. You. You want to grow up with a mother, and there's certain things moms need to help you with, you know, certain things I couldn't ask my dad that a mother could answer. And, and obviously I didn't have that mother figure. So a lot of times I don't like to blame things on. On my mistakes in life, but I, I had definitely had some, some, some mother issues not having her there. No doubt.

[B]

How was your dad? What was he like?

[A]

My dad was strict. He. He said 6pm was my curfew on the weekdays, 8pm on the weekends, and I never miss one day of school. In high school, I have four years perfect attendance. He was, he says, I don't care if you're sick, you're going to school, and if you want to go to college, you better get a scholarship because that's the only way you're going to be able to afford it.

[B]

Wow. And this was through sports.

[A]

Through sports, yeah.

[B]

So sports was incredibly important for him.

[A]

Sports was his life and my life. Growing up as a kid, I was playing volleyball every. Every weekend. My dad played volleyball, his brother played on the avp, and my, you know, dad played a, you know, semi professional. And it just like it was volleyball or surfing. Volleyball, surfing, Growing up on the beach, that's all we do. Right?

[B]

Were you talented volleyball?

[A]

I mean, I was good enough to get A scholarship. The USC. I was a. AAA volleyball player by the time I was 17. I won two national championships on the beach as a beach volleyball player.

[B]

That's amazing. Were you a good student, by the way?

[A]

Yeah, I had a 3.5 GPA.

[B]

That's good.

[A]

So I graduated with honors in high school and then eventually going to usc. You know, I stayed be average.

[B]

Okay, so you walk, you go to usc.

[A]

So I go to usc. Yeah.

[B]

Make your dad really proud.

[A]

Make him proud. And then I get literally red shirted. Red shirting means you're pretty much cut for that year on the volleyball team.

[B]

And so is it like kind of benched?

[A]

Benched? Yeah. That's a good way to put it. I was so disappointed. I went to USC for one thing, to play volleyball. Like, this was my life. You know, I grew up playing the sport. And they cut me.

[B]

Why did me?

[A]

Because they said, first of all, I was playing behind an All American, Brook Billings, who's an Olympic volleyball player, probably the best USC's ever seen. I was playing behind him, and I wasn't going to see any time unless he got hurt. And my coach says, hey, you know what? We're in a. We're going to need you to work on your vertical jump and your arm strength. And I was like, what do you mean, man? He says, the guy in front of you is six six, and his vertical jumps 42 inches. He goes, yours is only 36 inches, and you're six three. He says, you got to jump a little higher. So I remember that day. I was devastated, right? I was like, man, feels like when my mom left, now my volleyball team's leaving me. And I remember I said, okay, I'm going to show you, coach. And I went down to Gold's Gym in Redondo beach, and I found the biggest bodybuilder there. And I said, man, the coach cut me. I said, I don't care what I got to do, but he wants me to work on my arm strength and my vertical jump. And this bodybuilder looked at me, he says, you want to do it the legal way or the illegal way? I said, whatever is the fastest.

[B]

Did you know what he meant by illegal way?

[A]

I knew it was something with performance enhancing drugs, right? I'm no dummy. I'm an athlete.

[B]

And did you go there for that?

[A]

Yeah, I went there for that. I knew. I was determined. Like, I was devastated. Like, how are you going to cut me from the sport I grew up playing my whole life and telling me I'm not good enough.

[B]

Did you know other people in the team. Were there other people using steroids at the time?

[A]

Not on the volleyball team, no, but at other sports levels, yeah, of course. And I remember he says, hey, you got money? I go, I don't got money. My dad's a construction worker. He says, well, if you don't have money, I suggest you go to the Tijuana border and go to a pharmacia or a veterinarian. I'm like, okay. I said, give me the list, right? And he gave me a list with everything decaderabal and testosterone winstrol animal. And I Got this list. And I literally drove down to Tijuana. I parked on the San Ysidro side in San Diego and walked across that bridge. Remember that bridge?

[B]

Yeah. I've been there. I've walked across that bridge for very different reasons.

[A]

Yes. So I walked across that bridge. I brought one of my friends, my Mexican Hispanic friends from home, from a gang called Northside Redondo Gang. And I knew he spoke Spanish. So at the time, I was young, I was 18 years old, I didn't speak enough Spanish. You know, here and there, ola que ta. Like, little stuff, right? He comes with me, and we get in this taxi and we give him the address and pull into this veterinarian. And you see all these big American dudes, like, buff dudes. I'm like, this is the place, right? And I go to the lady, I'm, like, trying to speak Spanish to her, and she speaks perfect English. I'm like, okay, this is good. This is the spot I need to be at. She literally gives me everything. And I start putting in bags, and I'm like, okay, I'm rolling it up. I got, like, vials of testosterone, vials. And Winstrol, Decadurabalin, sustenance, all these different steroids. And then I got pills. I'm, like, dumping them in the bag, and I'm like, how am I gonna get this back? So I wrap it all up, I get some medical tape, and I'm taping it. And I literally go in the bathroom, and I put it. I kept it not in the hole, but the crack, right? And I have my compressor shorts on.

[B]

Wait, wait. The crack of your ass.

[A]

Yes, yes. Y.

[B]

Okay, your butt crack.

[A]

Yeah, butt crack. And I always tell people, not the hole, just the crack, right? Get your mind out of the gutter, right? And I was like, this is the only way I'm gonna bring it back. It's not like I can just walk across the border. And, you know the first thing they're gonna ask, and they do ask is, are you bringing anything back? And I remember waiting in that customs line for two hours, just waiting, right? And I got this thing in my crack. And then, first time ever, Mariana, they asked me, are you bringing anything back from Mexico? And I never lied. I came from this family. My dad's so strict. I would never, ever lie. I had morals and ethics, right? And I lied for the first time, and I said, no, officer, I'm not. I was just at Papas and Beer, having some beers and eating some tacos, right? And I lied, right? First time I've ever lied. And he says, welcome back to America. And I literally had goosebumps when I crossed this. I said, oh, my God. I just. I just broke the law. I just smuggled something into America, and I lied in that for the rest of my life. Until my arrest in 2015, I chased that rush.

[B]

Oh, so it was a good feeling. The Gus goes.

[A]

I don't say it was a good feeling. I mean, it was a type of feeling that you don't know you have until you've been down that path of illegal activity.

[B]

And you wanted that again.

[A]

I wanted again. And then eventually, I'm smuggling a ton of cocaine for the cartel into countries like Australia and Canada and Italy. And that feeling just keeps getting bigger and bigger, and you're just chasing that rush.

[B]

It's interesting to me. You know, this is where I think, like, men's brains are so different than women. And why this? You know, there's so many more, Much more. Many more men involved in drug trafficking business than women, even though they are women as well. And I've reported on that. But there's something about. I've been in situations where I've been incredibly close to danger or risky situations, and then I've been able to get out. And, yes, there's an enormous pleasure and high from being able to get out of that situation, but I've never wanted to go back to a similar situation. Like, people ask me if I do the kind of work I do because I'm chasing this adrenaline rush.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I know absolutely not. I do it because I'm incredibly curious about these worlds. And there's no. It's not about adrenaline for me. And actually, the idea, even now that I'm thinking back at some of the situations I've been in is It's. It's almost like it's bad memories. Not something that I'd want to chase. So it's interesting to me that you're. I don't think I've ever heard anyone describe it the way you just did.

[A]

Yeah, I think being an athlete, I'm gonna. I'm this adrenaline junkie. Right, Right. And I now speak to kids and college athletes now and tell them, like, this all started in. In just this little. Little thing. Minimal, like, little $300 worth of steroids. And it just kept building and building. And as an athlete, we're competitive. We want to win. We want to beat the system. Right. And that's what it is for me.

[B]

Well, I'm competitive, too, even though I'm not An adult. Okay, so $300 worth, which was probably a big investment for you at the time.

[A]

Yeah, it was a lot.

[B]

Did you know how to use it? Did you know?

[A]

I didn't have a clue. And I literally get back to America now. I'm in Redondo Beach. Where? My hometown, and I'm back at Gold's Gym. I'm like, okay, tell me how to do it. He's like, okay, 1cc of this. 1cc of this. You're going to put it in your butt. It's going to be 4 inches below your belt line. And I'm, like, learning it all on the fly.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

I'm 18 years old, but I'm determined, right? I'm 19 years old. It was my sophomore year. I'm determined. I got to get back on this team. And literally three weeks later, I'm just getting jacked.

[B]

Really? You're noticing it that fast?

[A]

Yeah. All I got now is time to go to the gym because I'm not playing volleyball. So I'm in there three hours a day. I'm eating protein, I'm eating eggs, raw chicken breast. You name it, I'm eating it. And all of a sudden, I just start to explode, and I become the size of your typical, like, tight end, right?

[B]

The Hulk.

[A]

The Hulk, yeah. And I remember one of the volleyball strength and conditioning coaches, his name was Char, and he was the strength and condition coach for the volleyball team, and he was the strength and condition coach for the men's football team. And he saw me one day, I was just bench pressing, like, 225, which is two plates on each side, and it was like, nothing, you know, I was on the sauce. No one knew that was on the sauce.

[B]

On the sauce, you see?

[A]

He says, hey, Hanson, what's going on, man? He goes, aren't you playing volleyball? So, coach, they fucking redshirted me. I'm bummed out, man. He says, hanson, you look like a tight end right now. You know, they need some help in the tight end unit at USC football. I'm like, man, miss me, Coach? I've never played football in my life. He said, hanson, you are an athlete. Why don't you just try out? They got a tryout in a week. And I said, you know what, Char? I got nothing to lose, right? Why don't I try out? So I literally show up to tryouts. There's 50 guys, 25 of them are from junior varsity or junior college. All Americans, right? And then the other 25 are all American high school players, right? And then Here I am, this volleyball player, everyone's wearing cleats, and I show up with my volleyball shoes. I'm like, I. This one up, right? And I. I literally, they. They have me catch five balls, and I think I cat like, three out of the five, I catch right, and they show the vertical jump. And I already know I'm a volleyball player, so that's easy. Boom. 36 inches. And now they're like, okay, we're gonna do a 40, and everyone's running 40s. And next thing you know, I'm like, the second to last guy, and they got the stopwatch, and I just take off and 4, 6, which is very fast. It's like, unheard of. They're like, nah, something's wrong. They sent me back. Yeah, they thought it was a mistake in the stopwatch. They did again. Four, six, two. And then now you see all these coaches. Pete Carroll, Norm Chow, Coach Sarkeesian, all these big coaches coming together, and they're talking like, what's going on? And then they're like, okay, guys, our last exercise is back in Heritage hall in the gym. We're going to do the bench press. Listen, no one knows I'm on the sauce, right? So I'm going. I'm like, oh, this is. This is my. My baby right here. And I get in there, and I'm. I'm the last guy now. And they're just looking at me. I'm like, okay. I'm bouncing it off my chest like it's nothing. 24, 25, 26. And I rack it 26 times is like an NFL combine. It's, like, unheard of. It's like, guys that go to the NFL bench that. And now I got all their attention, and I don't think anything of it. I was like, okay, that was fun. I tried out, right? I'm not going to make the team. Four days later come and they. Coach Char says, hey, Hanson, go. Go check the list. Pete Carroll has a list out, and it's got the guys that made it. I'm like, all right, I'll go check it. I'm thinking, there's no way, right? I go. And all these guys, disappointing faces. All the guys that I was trying out are walking out. I get to the list, and it has one name, and it's my name. It says Owen Hansen. Of a guy that's never played football in his life, just walked on to the dynasty. I mean, this is the team that won two national championships, 28 and one. We've never had a team like that ever back to back, and I was part of it.

[B]

That is incredible.

[A]

Yeah, it was a hell of a ride.

[B]

What was your reaction when you saw your name?

[A]

I remember calling my dad, and everyone was like, my dad was so proud. You know, we grew up watching USC football. You know, like, that was his team. And you'll see in the documentary, my dad was just, like, so stoked his son, his boy made the USC football team. He said, it's a feather in the cap for the old man.

[B]

So this is because. And I'm not going to tell you right now, I'm not a sports expert, and I also grew up in Portugal, so I know more about soccer than any American sports. But it basically being part of the Trojans meant much way more than being part of the volleyball.

[A]

Correct. I mean, if you're part of the USC football team, you got to remember at the time, USC football was the professional team. We didn't have the Rams, we didn't have the Raiders, we didn't have the Chargers. So USC football was like the professional sport. So now we're going out. We got red carpet, we got Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian. All my teammates are like, dating these people. My quarterback's dating Kim. My running backs dating, you know, Paris. It's just like, you're like, okay, wow. We're like the celebrities of la.

[B]

So your dad is like, over the moon.

[A]

He can't over the moon. He's stoked.

[B]

Yeah. You're so happy.

[A]

I'm happy. I'm part of this. This new family. Right. 110 guys on my team, and this is like this new brotherhood that I've never had. And we're winning and winning and winning. We don't lose.

[B]

And are you playing at this point?

[A]

Back up. Right? I'm getting in here and there, but I don't care. I'm having so much fun. Right.

[B]

And you're doing steroids the whole time that while you're playing, I was doing.

[A]

Steroids up to the season.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

So. And then I knew how to get off of it, so. Because during season, they test you and.

[B]

You'Re growing and growing.

[A]

You're growing.

[B]

And then did you notice a difference in your body when you were not using them?

[A]

I mean, yeah, you're not as strong, but you have enough time where you're just eating a lot of protein and creatine and stuff that you don't lose too much size. But, yeah, you lose a little, but still, you're okay with it.

[B]

Did people ever suspect that you were.

[A]

Using at that time, they knew something was up because I was like, I was like the biggest guy, the biggest tight end. I was huge.

[B]

Did you have any side effects? I've done a stories on, on steroids.

[A]

I mean, you get this roid rage, right? You get this rage. Yeah. I remember one day I was driving and someone cut me off. I was like, man, you pull over right now, motherfucker. You know they're flipping me off. I'm like, oh, you want to flip me off? I'm gonna break your finger. Come on, pull over. And it's off the steroids. I'm not that. I'm not a violent person to get you, like, angry.

[B]

And that. Was that all that you had in terms of side effects?

[A]

Yeah. I mean, you get a little acne here and there.

[B]

Okay, so then you're, you're off season, you're taking during season, you're not taking. You're playing here and there. And then how. And then tell me about how you started supplying steroids.

[A]

So I just literally sees guys are seeing me get big and they're like, man, you're huge. Like, what are you using? I said, I got you $300. I can get you, you know, 20 inch arms. I can get you bench pressing. I'm like this doctor. They start calling me Dr. O Dog.

[B]

Would you just sell like your closest friends or at this point, were you just really.

[A]

No, no, no, I wasn't open about it. It was my close friends. But then, then word spread, like, oh, O Dog's the man. That's Dr. O Dog. Like next year, they called me Dr. O Dog because. They called me Dr. O Dog because now I had the fraternity kids coming to me and saying, hey, I can't study for my test. Is there anything you can help me with? I said, adderall. I'll get you Adderall. Get you a 30 milligram. I'll get it from Tijuana. The same place as I'm picking up the.

[B]

The same.

[A]

Yeah, same place, yeah. Pharmacia. So I go there and I'd say, hey, I need Adderall, I need Xanax, I need Somas, whatever it was. And then I'd come back and these.

[B]

Kids, Are you butt cracking? All of this back to do us?

[A]

Yeah, it's all butt crack. Eventually I had to think of different smuggling routes because I got so big. And I remember one summer, I was wearing a sweatshirt covering my muscles, and I had it in my balls and underneath the crack. Right, right. And they stopped me and I knew they stopped me because I was wearing a sweatshirt. It's 90 degrees out. It looks weird, right? And they took me to secondary. I was like, okay, this is it. And they go to pat me down. And I'm like, okay, if they go any closer to my privates, I'm going to be fucked. Right? Yeah. And then they got close. They got to the waistline, and they're like, all right, you're good to go. But then that's when my mind started to work. I need to start bringing girls down with me. So I bring girls down with me. I'd fill them up in their boobs and their underwear. I was like, Hey, 100 bucks. I'm paying for your trip to Papas and Beer. I'm going to give you a hundred dollars each.

[B]

And then. You weren't carrying anything?

[A]

I wasn't carrying anything.

[B]

How many girls at a time?

[A]

Two at a time.

[B]

And at this point, you were. What was your profit margins from thousand percent markup? A thousand?

[A]

Yeah. Anything I charged, always a thousand percent. So when I bought a $30 bottle, it was $300. When I bought a pill, that was a dollar, it charged them 10. And that's how I did it. So, like a Xanax, you know, it cost me 50 cents. I charge them five bucks. Wow. An Adderall cost me a buck. I charge them 10 bucks. And these were good prices. You know, this is usc. This is. School's a bunch of kids with silver spoons in their mouths.

[B]

And this.

[A]

You are.

[B]

Were you. You're. You're a sophomore at this.

[A]

I'm a sophomore, yeah.

[B]

How much money were you making?

[A]

I mean, thousands of dollars a week. It wasn't even about that. It was just trying to keep up with the Joneses. Like, in usc, everyone has Mercedes, Everyone has American Express, black cards. Like, this school is a prestige college that.

[B]

Because they come from rich families.

[A]

Rich families, yeah. All rich. Big, big, big money.

[B]

And you wanted the money just.

[A]

I wanted to be able to just fit in. Like, I didn't fit in. I was going to these schools. I couldn't even. Like my freshman and sophomore year, I couldn't even afford to go out on a date because I didn't have money.

[B]

Right.

[A]

I was like, man, how am I going to fit in? Like, how am I going to keep up? And then once I realized I had that niche and I had a set of balls on me, I was like, okay, this is my niche.

[B]

And then what did you spend the money on then?

[A]

Going out. Like, going out. I take a girl out here, we go get bottle service. You know, we go to Cabo. Like, spring break. Like, I started to enjoy life stuff.

[B]

I've never seen stuff like that.

[A]

I bought one car. I bought a Mercedes so I could fit in. My dad started wondering, like, where are you getting this money? My dad owe a USC booster? Because being part of the football team, there's boosters that help you with cars, and that's normal. It's not legal. But I told dad that I'm not even a good player. Right, Right. But my dad's figuring, like, oh, USC is known for that. Like, alumni give people cars that are players, and it's normal. It's not like my dad's not tripping, but you could tell. He's like, man, Like, I took him to dinner one time. I remember buying the dinner, and he's looking at me like, I've never. He's never spent that much money on dinner before. And he's starting to wonder, and I'm like, okay, I gotta be a little more careful with Pops.

[B]

Yeah. What do you think he would have said if he had found out then back? What would he have done?

[A]

Oh, he probably would have took me out of school. My dad was so strict. But I think my dad knew I had an ambition. He knew I wanted to be part of that life because it's something I've never had, and he's never been part of it. Right. He's been working the same job for 35 years.

[B]

Okay. So you're there. You're spending all this. Making all this money, spending all this money, and at this point, it's just prescription drugs. Right. We're doing Adderall and steroids, stuff that you can buy at a pharmacy.

[A]

Pharmacy. And then. And then everyone. I noticed. I joined a fraternity, and it's the Beta fraternity I'm noticing. Okay.

[B]

And what's. What's the Beta fraternity?

[A]

Beta Theta PI is like, a fraternity for mostly, like, water polo players, volleyball players, like surfer kids from Newport Beach, Beverly Hills. Like, Southern California fraternity. It's a fraternity. It's one of the big ones.

[B]

Big ones. Okay.

[A]

One of the.

[B]

One of the ones that most people want to.

[A]

Yeah. It's a hard one to get into.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

My uncle is a Beta, so I already was, like, grandfathered in because he was a Beta, so it was easier for me. And I noticed everyone's doing cocaine, like, Monday through Friday. I'm like, okay. Like I said, I'm ambitious. I'm a kid with this entrepreneur mindset. And I see him paying a Hundred dollars for a bag of coke? I'm like, God, that seems so expensive, right? And growing up from. From a neighborhood, there's Mexican sereno gang members. I know the business enough because I've seen these guys selling coke on the streets. And from where I'm from, a gram of Coke is 40 bucks, and that's what they're selling it for. So I remember. I was like, you know what? I'm gonna go back to my old neighborhood. I'm gonna ask the Mexicans, like, what's the price? What can they give it to me for? And I remember going to back home and Scrappy, who's like the local dealer, and he's like, what do you need? I said, man, these guys are buying grams for a hundred dollars. He's like, what? I said, yeah. He's like, well, let's fix you up. Let's get you ready. I said, what do you mean? He goes, I'm gonna bring you some. He says, I don't want you to drive with it. I'm gonna drop it off at the fraternity house. And he showed up and he gave me a Styrofoam. Like, I thought it was like a burger and fries. And I opened it up, and there's 8 ounces of coke. I'm like, fuck, what am I gonna do with that? He's like, here's a scale. Here's the gram bags. I'm gonna give you an ounce for $700. There's 28 grams an ounce. He says, you could sell it for $60 and undercut the market of 100. And he says, you're still making a ton of money. 300% markup. I'm doing the math. I'm like, okay, well, that's 30 times 6. I'm like, 1800, dude. I'm making 1800 on each ounce, and it's costing me 7. I said, man, that's a great profit, right? So I was like, okay, I like it. And he's fronting it to me. He knows I don't have money, so I take that. Now I'm already on the football team, like we talked about.

[B]

Can I just say that that's actually a very common tactic that they have. They'll front you the money because then you have to.

[A]

You're in their pocket. Yeah, you're in the pocket. Yeah. Yeah. That's a very common. That's used to be. Later on in life, when I became this kingpin, right? That used to be my famous, famous tactic. Oh, here's 20 birds, 20 kilos. It's on, you know, just take on me. It's on me.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But now I'm in their pocket, and if they lose it, guess what? They owe me for life. Right? That's my mindset, too. Now I see why these guys do that. Okay, so he comes, he drops off those 8 ounces, and now I'm like, okay, how am I going to move this now? I'm playing football. We have. In football, you have. In the summer, you have college double days. So right before season starts, you have to go to practice in the morning and practice at night. And I remember my roommate at the fraternity, he obviously, he liked to party. Everyone in the house is partying. This fraternity house is partying. So I went to him and I said, hey, there's 28 grams in an ounce. I said, I have eight ounces here. So here's a scale. Here's the gram bags. This is what we're going to do. We're going to make gram bags, and we're going to just put them in the sock drawer. Every 28 you sell, or let's call it 27, because an ounce is 28. I said, every 27 you sell in this ounce, you get the last ounce, that last gram for free. He's like, oh, I love it. He's making 100 bucks, and he's not doing anything right. He's got the whole fraternity there. I said, just sell it to the fraternity guys. If there's sorority girls that need it, just be safe. I go to practice, and I come back six hours later. And he sees in the room, and he's on the computer, and he spins around. He's all coked up. I go, dude, what's the matter? He goes, buddy, we got a problem. I'm like, oh, fuck. What's the problem? He goes, we're out of coke. We're out of all of it. I'm like, oh, my God. I said, that's a good problem. I said, this is a great problem. And I remember calling Scrappy. I said, hey, I'm out. He's like, no way. So he came back, and I gave him all the money minus my earnings. And I said, let's do it again. And it just. Right there just. People were, like, started coming to me, like, coming to him, because I wasn't even the face. I was this football player. No one even knew. So I said, hey, just handle everybody. So if we have another fraternity that needs it, just go give them like 2 ounces, drop it off so they can sell it. If There's a sorority girl that wants to deal with it, let her deal with it. But let's just start moving this stuff. And we're in this bubble. USC is protected. There's no police coming around. You're like, there's only campus security, and they're not coming to see if you're selling coat. It's unheard of. And I just started to do that, and I literally started to be like this black market concierge that no one was willing to do. And all these kids, they're scared, right? They're not going to do any of this, but they'll pay for it. And it became a business, and that's where the Odog Enterprises started.

[B]

And you called it Odog Enterprises?

[A]

No, not that. No. The U.S. government's called it that.

[B]

Oh, sorry. I didn't think having a name for criminals.

[A]

We definitely don't call it that. That was not my name. Indictment.

[B]

Yeah. Okay. The Odog Enterprises. How much money were you making at the peak of your O dog?

[A]

I mean, gosh, I would say like 10,000amonth. Right? And that's a lot of Money when you're 19 years old and it snowballed. No pun intended. You know, some months would be like 20,000, 30,000. It just depends. Like during, like, rush week, when kids come to school, you know, we'd have like $50,000 weeks, like, where it just. Everyone's partying. It became ecstasy bills. He would drop off. Scrappy would drop off a thousand ecstasy bills.

[B]

So. Yeah. So what were you selling at the point?

[A]

So it was Ecstasy, cocaine, Xanax, Adderall, performance enhancing drugs.

[B]

Meth.

[A]

No, meth. Meth wasn't around.

[B]

And this was all. So the prescription stuff was coming from Mexico, from Tijuana.

[A]

I would go down.

[B]

And the other stuff was coming from the guy in your neighborhood who was sort of a street gang. Street gang, Like a Sureno or.

[A]

Yeah, exactly.

[B]

And where was he getting his stuff from? Do you know?

[A]

From the cartel?

[B]

From Mexico.

[A]

Yeah, from Mexico. Not directly. He had a client that was a paisa in paisano. And the paisano was from. From the cartel. I don't know what cartel he was from because I was so young and I didn't know the business like that. But eventually, fast forward 10 years, and I'm distributing all the cocaine to the Mexican gang members. Now, like, Serenity are buying me the birds off me.

[B]

Oh, wow.

[A]

Yeah. Balloon. Yeah. I got so big.

[B]

Okay, how. How did it. Tell me about it.

[A]

Snowballed, right? Literally, like. Okay, so I go to college, right? This all happens. And you wouldn't believe it, but I stopped everything. When I graduated, I got a job making six figures as a real estate developer for a USC alumni. And this is in 2005. Making six figures is more than my dad had ever made in his lifetime. Right. He worked 35 years, and I made my first year out for real estate.

[B]

And was. This was just. You met at usc?

[A]

Usc. The alumni and the connections at USC are like, that's what you go to school for. And I had my national championship football ring. And he's like, oh, you're the guy. So I got hired and. And it was great. You like, I stopped the. I loved it, but it wasn't like. It wasn't the same feeling as the high I had over here, but it was good. I knew. I went to USC for one thing, and I kept up with the Joneses with this little side hustle, and I was cool. I was ready to look on and start a real career and blow that up. Right.

[B]

Just a quick question. Were you using drugs as well, apart from steroids? Were you doing.

[A]

Yeah. So I started to party.

[B]

So you started, like, sophomore year Ecstasy?

[A]

Yeah, it's like, mandatory when you join fraternity. So I started to dabble. And, you know, then I graduate, and all of a sudden, this. I'm working, like, two years later, this recession hits, the real estate market crashes.

[B]

This was 2008.

[A]

Yeah, 2007. 2008. Right in the middle, right? And my boss calls me and he says, hey, I gotta let you go. I was devastated. I was like, fuck, what am I gonna do now? I don't wanna go back to that old life because that's gonna get me in trouble. I'm like, I know what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna become a bookie. A bookie? Someone that gambles. Oh, yeah, right.

[B]

You know, I just interviewed Matt Boyer.

[A]

Oh, yeah? Yeah, yeah. Mad Boy's a good friend of mine.

[B]

So I interviewed him 10, 11 days before he turned himself into president.

[A]

So when I got arrested, Matt took over all my clients.

[B]

No.

[A]

Yeah. He took over my business, Right.

[B]

Because athletes were a big part.

[A]

I had all the athletes, so he took all my athletes. He took everyone.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

He had thousands of clients of mine. Were you.

[B]

Have you. Had you all. Were you a sports gambler before?

[A]

Never gambler. He's a degenerate gambler. He used to. He used to bet with me. That's how we met. He tried to stiff me. He didn't want to pay me, and I Came to collect. He's like, man, you got some balls on you. And I said, yeah, I'm going to collect my money. And that's how we met. We were about to fight.

[B]

He talked to me about all, like, the people who are honest.

[A]

And of course. Oh, no, he got bad. But no, he paid me back eventually. But it had to take me to show up on his doorstep in Orange County.

[B]

You know, he did that to people as well.

[A]

Oh, of course it was. It was our. We used to use each other. Like, if I couldn't collect money, I would send him. If he couldn't collect money, he'd send me and we'd help each other out.

[B]

Wait, were you still in prison when the Shohei Ohtani scandal came out?

[A]

Yes, I got out and then he took me. He says, I just got indicted.

[B]

What are your thoughts on that?

[A]

If I don't, I'm a believer that it's Shoga Han Ohtani's interpreters. Gambling on the account. And he knows. Of course he knows. You don't just see millions losing your account.

[B]

17 million.

[A]

I believe that. He was obviously saying, hey, I want to bet on a game today. Can you bet it on your account? Why not? Like, right? Like, it's a lot easier.

[B]

Shohei actually was for sure. Have you ever spoken to Matt about this?

[A]

Matt's gonna. We talk about it. We go. He says, oh, we will never know, but we know how we are. Of course we would do it. Matt would do it. Anybody would do it. It's the perfect front. Like, you're the perfect fall guy. If you get in trouble, you take the wrap. And when you get to Japan, I got 10 million waiting for you.

[B]

I mean, he definitely took the wrap. He's in prison right now.

[A]

Yeah, six, six. 58 months or something.

[B]

Right. Okay. So you realize, okay, I don't want to get back into the drug business.

[A]

But I just said, you know what? Bookies. The reason I said bookies was, A, I know athletes. B, I have all these network guys, all these USC guys with money now in C, I remember when I was working for this developer, there was this general contractor that handled all the. The shopping centers, like the build outs. We're talking hundreds of millions of dollars worth of build outs in this construction. This contractor, I always used to catch him on his phone placing like $20,000 wagers with his bookie. He'd be like, hey, I want 22,000 to win 20,000 on the Dodgers. And I would always hear this. I'm like, man, whoever's on that other line is making money, right? And then when I lost my job, I was like, man, I remember that contract. I was like, dude, a bookie. I said, I got the athletes. I said, I got these USC kids with money. I said, I want to be a bookie. That's my new job.

[B]

And was there a part of you that thought, okay, it's a way of making money fast, Easy money fast, fast and rare. Once is exactly less than if I'm caught with amount of cocaine.

[A]

And it was going to be just temporary. Right. The recession is going to end, and I'm going to go back to real estate. And I literally went to my dad's friend, who's this Italian that was a bookie, and he didn't want to do it. And I convinced him. I said, I got a client that's a contractor. I can get him right away. And I said, I got these USC kids. I got all these football players now in the NFL. I said, let me just work my magic. I'm a hustler. And I remember the first six months between, like, five players, they lost a million dollars cash, and the guy only paid me 20%. Like, 20%, man. These are my customers. They're like, sorry, that's the commission. Like, okay, well, I'm going to figure out how to do this myself. So I flew to Costa Rica and I learned the business.

[B]

Oh, wow. Which is exactly what Matt did as well.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. And I literally learned the business from. From scratch. And I started my own company called betodog.com.

[B]

Okay. Oh, dog coming back.

[A]

That's where oh Dog came back. So now I'm starting to get everybody, and I get so big. I literally. I'm. I'm taking bets from Paris Hilton. Yeah, yeah. She bet with me on the Super Bowl. I'm taking all these professional athletes.

[B]

How much did she bet?

[A]

She bet 10,000 on the super Bowl. Her boyfriend was Doug Reinert, who was a customer of mine. He called me when I was in Vegas. He's like, hey, Paris wants to bet on the game. I said, well, let's run it. I remember when she lost, I had to go pick up the check from her assistant because obviously can't come from her, right?

[B]

And she did.

[A]

Yeah, she paid. She paid. You know, she's honorable, I'll give her that. Right? So I remember, I said, man, I like this. This is fun. Like, I'm moving. I'm shaking. I'm really good at it. Like, now, if you're a client and you like to bet on sports, let's say you like to bet on soccer. I'd have like, like Ronaldo Aldino with me at the bar and be like, hey, Mariana, come, I want you to introduce you. Yeah, but that's how I did it with the football players, because all these guys are my friends and all these guys that are gambling on sports love these football players. So, hey, you want to go meet them? And they'd be like, no way. Can I get an autograph? Yeah, of course. And now everyone's gambling with me because I'm like this concierge, you know? And I.

[B]

And you knew all these football players.

[A]

Because I played, yeah.

[B]

Wow. And are they also betting? I'm assuming no.

[A]

There's some athletes that bet, right? I'm not. I'm not going to throw them under the bus. But yes, they are athletes because that is completely. That's illegal. It's illegal if they're betting on their sport.

[B]

Right.

[A]

But with my business, I. I would never let a customer that a football player would never bet on football on my book. Now that's different.

[B]

Why?

[A]

Morals.

[B]

It's funny.

[A]

Yeah, just morals. I mean, I'm an athlete. It's taking away from the game if you allow that.

[B]

Huh? But you're okay with bringing drugs?

[A]

You know, my. My thing is if I'm not going to do it, someone else's.

[B]

Yeah, but you could say same. The same thing about the bookie upper right. If somebody's not going to take bets.

[A]

Yeah, but as an athlete, I just can'. Played. I played sports.

[B]

Did the recent scandal then not. Did it shock you?

[A]

No, it didn't shock me. I knew people. Listen, I had. I had closers for the Dodgers that one World Series bet with me.

[B]

Right, right.

[A]

They gamble on the sport, they just don't gamble on their team. That's where I should make that.

[B]

Sorry, I don't mean the Ohtani scandal, I meant the. The NBA scandal.

[A]

Oh, yes. I spoke on that with News Nation last week. They had me on and I said, it doesn't surprise me because remember, we're athletes, we're action junkies. Doesn't matter about the mount. It matters that we know we have an edge. And if you as a player know that you can win this game and bet money on it, of course you're going to do it. We already knew that he could go in that game and he knows what his. It's called a prop bet is right proposition. We know that he's supposed to score nine or more points by halftime. If he goes out two minutes into the game with an injury or he stomachache, guess what? He could put money on the other side and guarantee himself a win. So guess what? It's just the tip of the iceberg. Mariana. It's going to get worse.

[B]

That's what I was going to ask you. Because you know, as we know what sports gambling was November 22nd legalized.

[A]

It becomes legal for college students to bet on the NBA, any professional sport.

[B]

It's going to become even more legal.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

So wait, so it was 2018, right, where the Supreme Court allowed.

[A]

I was indicted on a racketeering for gambling. And I got to call it prison. And now it became legal nationwide 2018. It was taboo before. You used to see a spread on the TV and be like, oh, you can't talk about that.

[B]

And people who are supporters of it being legalized would always say that it's the best way to do away with the black market.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

But it's BS because what it does is that it makes people. It makes it accessible to a much.

[A]

Larger pool of people, kids, everybody, who.

[B]

Eventually are going to turn to the black market. Because it's as Matt was explaining. I'm sure you're aware of this too. If you don't want your family to know that you have a gambling addiction or gambling problem, you go to the black market. If you don't want to pay taxes, you go to the black market. It's a simple. Is like Paris Hilton calling you and saying, hey, I want to.

[A]

And we give you a line of. We give you a line of credit, like Matt will tell you, like, we are better than a bookie.

[B]

Right?

[A]

That's legal because they have to put your. Your. Your credit card, your driver's license. You got to enter all this information. You're paying taxes on it. But if I can give you a hundred thousand dollar letter line of credit, it's just like an American Express black card. You're going to pay it, but you're going to pay interest if you don't pay it on time. That's how we are, right?

[B]

Yeah. Wow. Okay. Yeah. So you.

[A]

So I became really good at the business. I became so good, Mariana. I was like, okay, I'm so big now. I'm in like every state. I have like 2,000 customers, and I'm really good at it. Wow. I become this like, I tell people, don't go to Vegas, bet with me. I started this website that allowed you to bet on blackjack live on my website. So you could bet on sports, you could bet on Blackjack, Anything you wanted. So I had all these customers, and if they were VIP customers, I'd fly them to Costa Rica, where my house was my office. I didn't want them going to Vegas. I said, that's Sin City. They're gonna lose their money there. Lose it with me, right? Smart.

[B]

Very smart. And how are you paying out people?

[A]

Cash. Back then, it was so easy. We just dropped money in the bank accounts. This is when you could put 9,900 in a bank account with no one would care any. And if they wanted it mailed, we'd mail it. But I had runners throughout the United States.

[B]

How many people do you have working for you?

[A]

I had 50 people working for me. I had 23 guys get indicted.

[B]

And how. So?

[A]

They all got indicted for racketeering, for illegal bookmaking.

[B]

But when they were investigating you, they.

[A]

Found out about it. Yeah, they got me on a rico. Yeah. So eventually it will get there. But I got so big, I said, okay, I want to go international. I told all my agents, my sub bookies, the guys underneath me, let's go to Mexico. Let's go to Canada. Let's go anywhere we can, because we can pay these people the same way we can send them wires. We'll figure it out. I'm always figuring out a way.

[B]

And at this point, you're making a ton of money. You have a house in Costa Rica. You're traveling nonstop.

[A]

Traveling nonstop.

[B]

What is your dad thinking?

[A]

No, my dad now knows that I'm a bookie. He does, because, remember, he introduced me to the guy, But I told him, dad, it's legal. I said, I'm in Costa Rica. It's offshore. Technically, it's legal if it's offshore.

[B]

Got it.

[A]

Where it becomes that gray area is when you're handing out cash in the U.S. right, you're technically going to send a check from Costa Rica to the US and it'd be legal.

[B]

Right.

[A]

But no one does that. Right, except the legit companies do that. But trust me, those legit companies have people that they're paying cash as well.

[B]

Okay, so you want it to become, like, a global.

[A]

I want to be international. I want better. So it became Bet odog International. So I went to Mexico, I went to Canada, and I had an agent for me that worked in Newport beach, and he had a customer out of Mexico. Not gonna say what part, but this customer started to gamble with me, and he'd lose like, a quarter million a week. Bags of cash would just be dropped off. I'm like, dude, you have A whale. I said, whatever that customer is doing, keep him happy. Remember, we are the concierge. We don't want anything, we don't wanna lose him. Give him 10% off his losses.

[B]

And a whale in gambling. I've also looked into gambling. A whale in gambling is basically the person who's willing to put in a.

[A]

Lot of money you wanna keep. I'd give him 10% off his losses. When he paid me, I'd give him 10%. Free play. You do anything and everything.

[B]

And is this, this person? Okay, go ahead.

[A]

So I go and I literally quarter million. And I'm like, okay, this guy's awesome. Keep him happy. And the agent's making a lot of money. He's like, dude, this is awesome. He's loving it. And then I remember on a Sunday, there was a parlay. This guy was going to hit me for like 260,000. And I call his agent. I go, bro, your client in Mexico is about to hit. I said, come to my house right now. I'm gonna give you a bag of cash. As soon as he hits, I want you on Monday morning. I want drop it off to him 8am sharp. He's like, why? I said, because remember how he pays us? I want to do the same. I want him to see that we are the real deal. I want him to know that he's been with the best. Because in the bookie business, no one pays on a Monday. What they do is they collect their money from all the losers and then they pay their winner on Thursday. But that's not right. You should pay your winners right away because it makes you look like you're. You're tough, right? You're someone that, that this boss, he's like, okay, I'll do it. I'll do it. So sure enough, 8am, 260, 000 dropped off in Mexico. And he's like, hey, hey, boss, boss, what's. I said, what's up? He goes, I got an encrypted phone. I said, encrypted phone. He goes, yeah, I didn't tell you, but my uncle's the one that's gambling. He wants to talk to you. Like, your uncle gives me an encrypted phone. It's this phantom secure encrypted phone. I go, what the am I supposed to do with this? He goes, there's three passwords. Here's the passwords. He gives me this paper and I'm literally like, like getting into it. And the encrypted phone has no microphone. It's taken out. No GPS, no camera, just basically a brick BlackBerry. And it's just a server offshore in like Hong Kong or Canada, wherever. Right. And it's just.

[B]

Do they still use these?

[A]

I mean, the cartel's been using it for years. This company actually ended up getting busted.

[B]

Huh. I'm surprised that I don't know about this.

[A]

Yeah. If you look up the Phantom Secure phone, you'll know about it. But CINEW is using them.

[B]

Do you mind if we do a quick search on.

[A]

Yeah, you can look it up.

[B]

So we have an AI platform that we use called Perplexity. They're also sponsors. But they're great because you look for stuff and I'll keep this as a reminder to look into it. But yeah, they give you a source information and everything. So what should we look for?

[A]

Ghost encrypted phone is called Phantom Secure.

[B]

Phantom Secure. And maybe email it, text it to me. Matt. Matt's doing a search and he's going to send it to me.

[A]

When I got indicted, Phantom Secure was providing my phones, but Phantom Secure was also providing it to the FBI at the same time, unbeknownst to them. And then they've infiltrated a lot of these cartels through this.

[B]

Whoa.

[A]

Because what happened was they were able to. They took down Phantom and they got someone in the organization to tell them how to work the back end. So the FBI started this phone called a nom. You should look this up. It was the biggest indictment ever. 800 guys worldwide got indicted off this phone called a nom a n o N. And it was a worldwide takedown off this encrypted phone that the FBI produced.

[B]

Wow. It's sort of similar to what they did with Pegasus. Did you read about Pegasus?

[A]

No.

[B]

It was basically a software that was created by a company in Israel that is able to get into all the encrypted messaging. So, you know, not like WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram. It doesn't protect.

[A]

Yeah, none of them.

[B]

They can get in there easily. And so they were able. Governments all around the world, including the United States started buying this software for a shit ton of money and using it a lot of time on their citizens. And it brought down actually a lot of criminal rings in Europe, main drug trafficking rings in Europe because they had access to their whole communication.

[A]

Wow. Yeah. So this company, what they did is they had. They provided this phone was expensive. It was like you spend like a thousand bucks for the phone, then Your service is 600amonth. But it's their own service. It's their own Their hard drive and their servers are all offshore. And once it goes to there, it's literally deleted. Like there's no way to go pick up information from it.

[B]

So it's kind of like a tour.

[A]

It's exactly right.

[B]

Like a dark web.

[A]

Exactly like that for a phone.

[B]

Yeah. It says here Phantom Security was a company known for providing encrypted phones, primarily modified BlackBerry devices with highly stripped down functionality to enhance spirit and brightness privacy. I have not read enough about this. And I'm dying too.

[A]

I mean, you'll see some they have, like, the guy bragged. He bragged to FBI agents how the Sinaloa cartel worked with him and he provided all the phones for them. Like, he bragged on it. And he didn't realize he's being wiretapped by these. These agents set him up.

[B]

Okay, so el tio.

[A]

Yeah, we'll call him. Let's just call him Jefe.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Okay. Because when I got this message, I saved him as Jefe. El Jefe. Right. The boss.

[B]

Did you write it? Well, Jeff.

[A]

J, E, F, E. Yeah, of course. So I.

[B]

Okay, so wait, so the nephew who you knew.

[A]

Yeah, I knew. He brings me this encrypted phone. He says, my uncle wants to speak to you. He likes the way you do business. And this, this, I'm like, okay, remember, Mariana, I'm this guy that provides any kind of service for my clients. I want to make them never need to go anywhere else. I'm like this concierge that will do anything, Anything. So keep that in the back of your mind because this is where this gets. It gets strange, right? So I already told him, anything you need, let me know. I didn't know he was a wanted man at the time, but I said, anything you need, if you need to come to come to la, take you out to dinner, take you out to the clubs. Like, I'm the man out here, right? He didn't need that because he's not allowed in the U.S. but he says, hey, I do know that you run a big operation. You paid me on Monday. I was very impressed.

[B]

Did you meet him face to face or. This was over the phone?

[A]

Yeah. No. Yeah. Phantom. You can't even call. There's no camera, right? You can't even call. There's no microphone. Like this. This is all email. So he's emailing me. He's impressed. He's like, you do amazing business.

[B]

He says, is he speaking in Spanish?

[A]

He's speaking in a little English and a little Spanish. But I. At the time, I was like, okay, it was mostly English. It was just small, like, little lines, like good business. Like, just small, short stuff. And he's like. He tells me, you know, I know you run a business out there, and as a bookie, I'm sure you have people all over the United States. He says, would you be willing to help me move some money paying some people in the US for me? And I'll give you 10% of whatever you pay. And at the time, I have so much cash in the U.S. it's like a phone call away. He's like, I need a hundred thousand dropped off at a house in San Diego, right? I know it's a stash house because later on you find out, right? So I would literally have a runner that's already in San Diego, take 10 minutes, drop off 100,000 cash, and El jefe would say, okay, where do you want the 110cent? Because I just made $10,000 just for 20 minutes of work. I'd be like, okay, why are the 110,000 in my office in Costa Rica? You know, I have a payroll over there. It's perfect. I'm like, this is awesome. And then one day, he's like, hey, this is how I knew he was cartel. He said, I have a million dollars that I need picked up in Brownsville. He's just like, my, we can't go over there. It's a rival. I'm like, what do you mean? What's in Brownsville, Texas? What's in Texas? At the time, Zettas, right? You should know this. So I'm like, okay, this is. He said something about rival. I'm like, okay, I said a million dollars. I'm doing the math. I'm like, that's 10%. That's a hundred grand. I'm 24 years old. I'll figure out how to. I don't know how I'm going to do it yet, but I'm going to figure out how to pick it up, right? For 100 grand in one day. So I literally. I'm just a kid. I call a private jet company. They have a dual Prop. They charge $2,500 an hour. I'm like, okay, it's going to take me four hours to get there in a dual prop. I'm doing the math. I'm like, okay, that's 10,000 bucks. Another four hours to get back. That's 20,000. Okay. I'm only in at 20,000, and I'm paid a hundred thousand. I'm like, okay, I better get some Security. So I call one of my workers. I'm like, hey, I need you. And another guy. So he grabs a UFC fighter. So I got a UFC fighter and one of my muscle. So I got two guys. I'm paying two grand. So that's 4,000. So I'm in 24 grand. I'm like, okay, I'm doing the math. I'm like, dude, I'm still making $76,000. So we get on this plane, and we literally fly to Brownsville. We land in this private airport, and there's a gardener that shows up. And I tell el jefe, I said, hey, I'm here at the airport. He goes, just wait, wait. This gardener shows up and gives me a bag, and he goes, this este para el jefe. And it's a million dollars. I get on the plane, and I'm scared. I'm like, oh, my God. What? Yeah. And I get on the plane.

[B]

I'm like, did you open it and see him?

[A]

I didn't open it. I just got on the plane, and I just. I was like. I knew. I knew it was cash. I knew what I was going for, and I got on there, and I was like, okay, it's all here, for sure. I'm telling him, hey, I'm on the plane. I'm going, where do you want this? He told me an address in Torrance, And I land in the private airport in Torrance, and I pay the plane guy in cash, and I play Pay my workers. And I was like, oh, my God, I got $76,000 right now. And then I drop off as, you know, 900 grand.

[B]

I mean, actually. You had 900,000?

[A]

Yeah, yeah, that's right. That's right. I'm just. My profits, right? So I drop off as 900, and, like, within 30 minutes, that's a million dollars to the cartel. Nothing, right? So that was the test to see how I worked. And right there, he just kept pushing the envelope. And he says, do you know anybody in Australia? And remember, I'll do anything you want me to do, Myra. He's just doing little things because he's.

[B]

Still betting with you. He's still betting, still spending a lot of money.

[A]

He says, hey, can you get me Versace? Can you get me Louis Vuitton? I'd literally fly to Vegas and get him, like, $50,000 in Versace, $50,000 in Louis Vuitton, Chanel bags, Birkin bags. All these things that he wanted for his women. Are these for his women for him? And it's just. I'm making 10%. I don't care. I'm using cash. It's already from ill gotten gains. And I'm cleaning it through these, these stores. And it's like I'm getting something in return. I'm making 10 a day. Could you imagine making, you know? So at the end of the month, I made 120 off of everything I've done with them. It's a lot of money. I'm doing anything right. I'm just. I want him to feel like he's the, the biggest VIP whale I have. And he's like, I love the way you work. Do you, do you have anybody in Australia? I'm like, give me some time to think about it. And I was like, man, what does he want me in Australia for, right? I'm like, I messaged back, I have an aunt. I had an aunt that lived in Perth. He says, how would you like to do the same thing over there, what you're doing now with the money? I'm like, cool, well, tell me more. And then he said, how would you like to make a million dollars a day? Yeah. And I said, a million dollars a day. You got to remember.

[B]

And you were 25.

[A]

I'm 25 at this time. Yeah, 25. And I said, a million dollars a day. But remember, I'm willing to do anything. I'm ambitious. I came from that son of a construction worker worker. And I said, what do I need to do? And he told me, he says, I have product over there and I need to move it. And I said, man, I've only. I've never. I've never moved more than a gram of cocaine here and there.

[B]

Did he know about your past?

[A]

No.

[B]

Wow. He didn't even know.

[A]

He didn't know what a good target you are. He didn't know. He didn't know about that. But if you knew, if he knew how. He just saw how I move. And I move different than most people when you ask me to do something, I'm gonna figure it out. He's like. And I was like, I was thinking about that million dollars a day, and I'm gonna figure it out for the. That. So I had to go to my Rolodex and where's my Rolodex take me? Boom. USC baseball team. There was a guy that played there that once told me his brother was in the weed business, and his brother was in the international weed business. I remember that guy was now an assistant graduate coach at usc. So I drive back to usc, I find him. I said, Your brother was in the weed business. Is there any way I can talk to him? He's like, why do you want to talk to him? I said, just let me go talk to him. So I go down to San Diego. I meet his brother. He says, I'm actually playing. He was playing. I think it was handball. No, it was a racquetball. He was. I'm actually playing racquetball with one of my contacts, international contacts from Italy. I'm like, oh, this is perfect. I meet this Italian. We'll call him. We'll just call him Uncle Louis, right? That's a good name for you because that's what it's called in the book, okay? I go, I meet this Italian, gives me the kiss on the cheek like an Italian. He smells like shit. Bad body odor. I'm like, okay, got this jumpsuit on.

[B]

That is a terrible. That's the idea that Americans have of.

[A]

European girl, listen, this guy just stunk, right? Yeah, that, that. That European Adidas jumpsuit on. Tracksuit, we call him, right? Tracksuit, yeah. And I start talking, right? I'm like, hey, I got a guy that like, hey. He goes, hang on right there. He goes, I'm not talking about anything in the United States. He goes, I was industrial, died years ago. I'm not talking. I'm not talking on this soil. He says, if you want to talk to me about business, come to Italy. I just kept thinking about that million dollars. I'm like, I'll come to Italy. And I remember I flew into Naples like two weeks later to go meet him.

[B]

Is that where he was, in Naples?

[A]

Yeah, he was in Naples, of course. And I told him, I said, listen, I got a guy that has cocaine in Australia. And he says, stop right there, kid. You know, I'm this kid, because nobody in America, especially Australia, has that kind of cocaine in Australia. It's impossible. He goes, stop wasting my time. Time. Just, dude, you got to believe me. I said, this guy's a client of mine. He camels with me.

[B]

Was he part of the Mafia?

[A]

He was part of. He. He worked for the Luc Casey family years ago. Years ago, yeah. So he was more like a runner for them. Little small stuff. He wasn't a made man, but he was close enough. He was a full blown Italian. He had to leave the US So he obviously did something for them. And he's telling me, he's like, listen, I don't believe you, but if you do, you. I'm telling you, I can move everything for you. And he's like, do this. He says, get over there to Australia, and as soon as you're there, message me and I'll come over there.

[B]

And what could. Why? Why was he helpful to you? Because of the way of moving?

[A]

No, because he had intern. He had international contacts. When you're in the international business of drugs, you have contacts throughout the world.

[B]

Okay, so you know how to move money.

[A]

You can move money in drugs.

[B]

Right.

[A]

But I needed him because I couldn't move product. I didn't know anyone in Australia tell you.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Apart from your aunt, somewhat. Exactly. My aunt's not going to know about this. Yeah. So if I'm talking to someone in the international drug business.

[B]

Right.

[A]

He knows people in Amsterdam. He knows people in Portuguese, Italy, wherever it may be. It's a very small network and it's very lucrative if, you know, if you're at that level. He says, son, there's no way you have it. But if. If you do, I got you. And I get over there. I remember a fly to Australia. I go back to the US and I tell a jefe, I got someone. But he doesn't believe me. He goes, stop wasting my time, kid. Get over to Australia. So I get over to Australia, I'm like, oh, my God, what am I going to do? I get a place in Sydney, darling Harbor apartment. And Elfe messaged me, you ready to work? I'm like, oh, fuck. So I tell. I haven't even seen the product. I tell Uncle Louie, hey, hey, it's here. Get over here. He lands in Sydney and he gets a place in Coogee Beach. And I said, it's here, man. I go see him. I said, it's here. He says, well, what do you want me to do? I tell Hefe, what do you want us to do? He says, get a room at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney. And he says, as soon as you get that. That room, message me, do I get this room? I think I'm in like 4:28. I tell Uncle Louie, get the room right next to me. 20 minutes later, Guy knocks on my door and he's wearing this DHL outfit. He has a package, like just a regular delivery. And he gives me the package, and I take it in. I'm like, holy, this is heavy. And I knock on the. On the wall. I go, uncle Louie, get over here. He comes over, we cut it open, and there's 10 kilos of coke in there. Yeah. I go. He goes, you weren't lying. Kid takes the knife. It's like the movies. He takes the knife and he sniffs it. Yeah, he sniffed it right on the spot. He's like, this is fucking pure. He said this is like Colombian or proven. He didn't know where it was from.

[B]

How much was a kilo going for in Australia?

[A]

150,000.

[B]

Holy.

[A]

So my agreement with Uncle Louie was I would give it to him for a hundred thousand and he would take it and sell it wholesale at 150. My deal with El Jefe was he'd give it to me for 50 and I'd sell it to Uncle Louis for 100. So we were each making 50,000? Yeah. And what's El Jefe paying for it? Maybe 2,000 bucks. You know, he's getting it from South America.

[B]

And how are the drugs getting from South America to Australia?

[A]

Not my responsibility. Yeah, that was Jefe's job.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

I'm just the middleman. I'm becoming that quarterback. Remember that? And then shot caller. So, yeah, so I literally, I'm like, okay, 10. Boom. I give him 10. Within 25 minutes, 30 minutes, Uncle Louie brings me a million dollars cash.

[B]

How?

[A]

In a bag of cash.

[B]

Oh, he had it with him.

[A]

He went and he took it to his contact over there and he came back literally in 25 minutes. And Uncle Louie goes, we need more. I tell FA el Jefe, message him, I got a million in cash. What should I do? He says, hold on to it. I'll send you 20 more tomorrow. It's the same setup. We're just going.

[B]

So El Hefen needed the distribution plan in Australia, and that's why he had a way to get the drugs there, but he didn't have a way to sell it. Sell them once they're there?

[A]

Yes. Some Mexican's not going to have a contact in Australia to move it. So he found the guy, right? He found me, and he saw how I moved. He saw that I knew how to work, work. And he just basically groomed me to become this. This logistics quarterback. And so we're moving weight, like 20 kilos here. The next day, 20 kilos. We're taking Saturday and Sunday off. Next thing you know, I have like $10 million in my apartment.

[B]

No.

[A]

Yeah, in Sydney. Sydney, darling. Harper. Yeah. And I was like, I'm scared. Uncle Louie's got his money in his apartment. I'm holding Uncle. I'm. I'm holding El Hefe's money and my money.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

You know, I got 5 million of mine. I got 5 million in the hefe's. We're putting. Putting in the dishwasher and the cabinets up in the attic, microwave. It's everywhere. I'm sleeping on it, underneath the bed. I'm just like sitting there, like, going, holy, I'm young. I'm like 26 years old at the time. I'm scared, right? I'm like, how am I gonna do this? Like, how am I gonna get this out of here? Is I'll have his people just gonna come pick it up. And that's when I messaged him, okay, I got it for you. Are you ready for it? He goes, remember, you're making a million dollars a day. And that's why I sent you over the there. That's your job. I was like, oh, my God, Mariana, what am I going to do? How the fuck am I going to get this money out of here? And at the same time, I got more coke coming in, so I had to get creative. I started like panicking. I was like, okay, I'm going to call my accountant from the U.S. i flew him over with four of his friends and we literally start sending comic books. So we'd get the currency in Australia and we'd exchange it into a euro note. A $500 dollar note at the time was worth about $750 dollars of us.

[B]

Oh, yeah, they had the 500 notes. Yeah.

[A]

So I literally started buying 2500 euro notes and putting them in comic books. I'd vacuum seal them, I put them in a little ebay envelope, and I'd send them to all these P.O. boxes in America. Listen, it's not even putting a dent.

[B]

And the way in the PO Boxes are, the people are your runners.

[A]

Our people. Yeah, exactly. We got them everywhere. We're just. We have so many people that work with us. And then I was like, okay, this is not even putting it down. We're literally doing this like a hundred thousand a day. Yeah. And we started. We still have coke coming in, right? I'm like, you know what, let's do some more. Let's. Let's do gold. So we'd go to the gold stores and we come with 10,000 each. And we had four of us. And we'd go to all these gold stores. We'd buy a one ounce round. At the time, a one ounce round was 1600 bucks. So it's like, okay, one ounce, one ounce, one ounce. I'll put. I said four one ounce rounds. Okay, I got eight. Okay. I know what I'm gonna do. The most important thing, the most popular thing in Australia at the time. Do you remember the Ugg?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. So the Uggs. I was like, okay, what is Australia known for? They're known for the Uggs. I said, that's it. I'm gonna have all you guys go buy Ugg boots today. And they're like, for what? I said, just listen. Go buy the Uggs. Bring them back. So we got bought the Uggs, and I said, now we need to buy an extra sole to fit on top. So what we did was we pulled the old sole out, we glued four 1 ounce rounds in each. Each sole, we put them back in, we glued them down, and then we put the new sole on top up. So now we have 8 ounces of gold coin. At the time, it's close 12,000 bucks for each pair of Uggs.

[B]

Okay?

[A]

It's a lot quicker than these, these, these magazines, right? And it's common because they're not going to stop Ugg boots leaving the country. It's normal. People love Uggs in America. So now we got girlfriends, wives, best friends, anybody we can think of. We're sending them Uggs. We're like, hey, it's a present. When we get there, we'll open up the present with you. Just don't open them until we get there. It's like a little treat. Right?

[B]

Right. And nobody's suspicious.

[A]

No one was suspicious. No one cared. It was just Uggs. Right? No one's gonna literally. You'd have to literally dig. I mean, we had them glued in. We had the souls in. There's no way they would know about them. And so now we have all these gold coins that we sent. And I'm like, it's still not putting a dent on this. Like, we still have millions and millions. I'm like, man, what's next? And I remember the time I was dating a girl from Sinaloa, and I said, hey, I got a problem. I got this gambling customer. I didn't tell her that I was in the drug business. I got a gambling customer that keeps losing money, and I need a way to get. Get it out of here. Do you have anybody? And she's like, you know what? I know a gambler. Like a professional blackjack player. Maybe you could talk to him. He's a high roller. He's what they call, like, a whale. I'm like, okay, so what do I have to do?

[B]

Can I ask you where you met this girlfriend from?

[A]

I met her in Las Vegas, actually. I met her at a pool party. I was with my. My old teammate Reggie Bush and Jeremy Shockey, two football players. And we were at the Bungalow. Yeah, we were at the. At this pool party, and she was at the bungalow next to us with, like, some guys from, like, the Black Eyed Peas. And I saw her, and she was beautiful, but she didn't speak any English.

[B]

Huh. So she was. She was actually straight.

[A]

Yeah. And I looked at her. I'm like, you're gorgeous. I'm telling her in Spanish, and, like, my Spanish was good, but not that good at the time. Right. And I'm, like, speaking to her. She. She set up a date. We set up a date, went to Nobu in Beverly Hills.

[B]

Fancy.

[A]

And next thing you know, I'm, like, dating this girl, and it's. Everything's in Spanish.

[B]

And she.

[A]

She had all these contacts. Right? Right. And she hooks me up with this gambler, and I go meet him in Santa Monica, and we negotiate a deal. He says, I'll do the money, 25%. He goes, what I'll do is I'll go on the casino, bring all this cash. I'm a high roller. I'll have my host in Vegas call them, letting him know I'm coming so it looks normal. He goes, I'll show up at the cash. I'll put it down. They'll give me chips. He says, I'll start playing a couple hands on the blackjack table. Bada bing, bada boom. I'm not feeling it. Guys cash me out. They'll give me a check. He says, with that check, I can fly back to Vegas and I can cash it out because I just laundered $1.5 million. Right, right.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So I tried it.

[B]

I mean, it's very.

[A]

It worked. It's very common, you know? I mean, I was one of the original guys. You got to remember, this happened 2011.

[B]

And this was probably before casinos even, like, had, like, compliance.

[A]

Exactly, exactly. They didn't have. Yes. They didn't have people like Boyer that they're looking at. Yeah. So I did it, and he did it for 1.5. He charged me 25%, man. Worked awesome. I called this girl. I said, man, this guy's awesome. Thank you so much. You're amazing. I tell Hefe, hey, I got 1.5 minus this fee. He's like, oh, great. Keep using them and giving him back money in the U.S. he sees it going. He's like, okay, take another two and a half million. Guy comes back to Australia. Same thing. Two and a half million. Here you go. Same agreement, 25%.

[B]

And the money was still coming in ugg boots at this point.

[A]

No, no. Remember, I have cash in Australia. I'm sitting on all this cash in my apartment.

[B]

Yeah, know. And so how are you getting it to the US to be gambled at?

[A]

No, you're not understanding. He flew to Australia.

[B]

Oh, he came.

[A]

He came to Australia. I gave him the cash in Australia. He went to the casinos in Australia because he is this whale, right? This VIP gambler coming from Vegas. So now these hosts at the casino are like, oh, he's this big VIP guy from Vegas. They look him up and they already see that he's big time. If you Google his name, RJ's name was Robinhood702. His thing was he would gamble on the tables and the money he'd win. He'd give a little money back to someone like a charity or someone that's ill. It was just a scam.

[B]

Is he a well known guy?

[A]

Yeah. I mean if you Google him, Robinhood702. So that was his role. If you were, let's say you and your husband just lost your house, you'd make $50,000 from gambling winning and he would donate it to you as like a charity. That could feel good, right?

[B]

Was he indicted too for the money laundering?

[A]

We're gonna get there. So I'm like, okay, this guy's perfect. He has a website. He shows, he donates money to these families. Like it's working. You just did 1.5 million in less than 48 hours. You're the man. Like, you know, I'm tipping my hat to him. So he comes back, he says, I need 2.5. I give him 2.5, like in 24 hours. He gives me a call on like, God, that, that was fast, right? He's like, hey, I got a problem. I said, what do you mean you got a problem? Because I lost all the money. I said, what? What a minute. You didn't have all the money to lose. Like, what do you mean you lost it? He goes, I lost it. I need more money, I'll win it back. I just need more. Yes. I'm like, what do you mean? He says, I need more money in order to make that money back. I said, I'm not giving you any money. Actually, you know what, I'm going to meet you at the casino right now because I don't believe you. So I show up there with my personal trainer. We get on these three piece suits and we show up there, there. I'm like, no, you don't lose my money. I said, you know what, give me your passport. You're not leaving anywhere until we figure out this situation, I'm thinking this guy robbed me, right? He's like, my passport's at the hotel room. I said, you know what? Go. Go to the hotel room. Actually, my trainer and I are going to go to hotel room right now, and you can meet us there with your passport. And he had, like, 300,000. I knew he had left at the hotel because he said he only had 300 grand left. I said, and in fact, go get that 300 grand that you have and bring that with him. You. Because you're not spending any more of my money. He's like, all right, I'll go to the hotel. I'll get my passport, I'll get the 300 grand, and I'll bring it to you, and we'll work this out. So now I'm with my personal trainer. Like, what are we going to do? So we go get the room. We have this room. We call him. He said, hey, we're in 3026 at the Hilton. Make sure you get over here with your passport and the 300 grand. Okay? Okay, I'll be there. Don't worry. So we're. Now we're at my apartment in Sydney. We're just sitting there waiting for this guy. Guy. He's not calling us. He's not showing up. We're like, man, what are we gonna do? Like, four hours goes by. I said, man, it's getting late. It's like midnight. I said, you know what? He's gonna bring 300 grand. He already knows your room number. I said, I'm gonna give you 700 grand right now. So when he brings that 300, we're having even million and just take that million and put it at your house. I'm like, I'm starting to get paranoid now because this guy knows too much. Like, let's just get some money out of this house, right? So I'm like, here's a million, or here's 700. When he gets the. There, he'll give you the 300 and just put that million away for me. So he leaves with the suitcase, and he's rolling it back to the Hilton. It's like three blocks away. And as soon as he gets to the hotel, there's like four policemen, and they stop him. They said, we got a phone call from an American that you have a gun in your room. 3026. They knew. And he's like, I don't have no gun. What are you talking about? Well, we're going to go in the room and check, but we also need to check your luggage and see if there's a gun in there. They open it up, there's 700 grand. So now, in less than 24 hours, I lost $2.5 million to the cartels, and I lost 700 grand. And now my runner just got picked off. My personal trainer just got picked off. So now I'm 3.2 million in the hold of the cartel. I'm like. And I don't know this yet, you know, 24 hours goes by, and I'm. I'm thinking my trainer robbed me. I'm like, man, I can't get a hold of him. And finally I get a call from an officer and says, hey, we're with Sean Carolyn, your personal trainer, and he's in jail right now. We picked off the 700,000. Would you like to talk about this, Mr. Hansen? And I was like, no, no, no. I don't know what you're talking about. Up now. Now I'm panicking. It's like, I gotta get out of here. Like, this. This guy called the cops. So now I'm frantic. I'm like, shoot. What am I gonna do? $3.2 million in the cartel. I got a hefe messaging me, hey, where's the money? I need to get money. I'm like, I can't tell him. So I'm panicking. I'm like, shoot. So he gets out of jail, and he's like, dude, that guy called cops on us. He says they're gonna ask about the money now. He says, we're in a shitty situation. He says, but the 700 grand, I think we can get it back. He's like, I got. I got lawyers that can just go pay the barristers off, like a couple thousand here and there, and we'll just get the money back. They're not going to keep that money because they can't prove it's bad money. Like, dude, whatever, let's get the lawyer. Just figure it out. I got to get out of Australia. I'm panicking. It's like, okay, I'll get a lawyer for us. So he finds a lawyer. The lawyer comes to me, says, hey, I'm Michael Croak. I got this, man. I got barristers on my payroll. We'll pay a couple thousand. You give me half and I'll keep half. Laugh, like, whatever you can do, man. Just give me this. I'm leaving the country because I don't want to be here. I don't trust this country. I get out of there. I was panicking. I get To America. Now I got El Jefe saying, hey, I need you to drop off 3 million. I need 3 million.

[B]

Dropped off the 3 million that supposedly.

[A]

Well, yeah, I mean, I got a lot of his money. He needs money. Like, I just was supposed to launder a bunch of money for him. So he's expecting it. I said, about that. I need to meet you in person. He's like, I can't come to America. You gotta come to Mexico. Mariana. I told myself, okay, if I'm gonna die, I'm gonna go there and at least shoot me in front of my face, because I don't want to be looking over my shoulder wondering if I'm gonna be killed by the cartel. So, like, my mindset was like, okay, get over there. If you're gonna die, you're gonna die. Like, at least go face the music. And that's how my mindset worked, because I didn't want to be thinking about it. And I literally said, hey, where do I meet you? He says, meet me at one o' clock at the McDonald's on the other side of the bridge at the gate. I guess it's the bridge. Bridge.

[B]

This in Tijuana?

[A]

Yes, in Tijuana. He flew in. Obviously, I'm not going to say where he flew in from, but he landed in that private airport.

[B]

And what can happen to you? I know you mentioned you can't mention the cartel.

[A]

Listen, I've been asked this question many times. I had the dea, the FBI, told me I could walk if I turned in this group. If I gave up this group I worked on. I never once committed any kind of cooperation against the cartel, against this person's name. Because it's just the girl I was dating was from that. This. This area. And out of. Out of safety for her. And everyone put her at risk.

[B]

And yours too, I imagine.

[A]

Mine too, no doubt. But this. Yeah, this person lives there and they know she lives there. I'm not gonna.

[B]

Okay, so. But it's one of the big cartels. It's.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, listen, you're no dummy. You. You can say, I'm not going to confirm or den. I. But I went into this meeting.

[B]

I mean, just based on where you said she was from, I'm going to assume.

[A]

Like I said, I'm not going to confirm her.

[B]

Okay. And. Okay, so he comes to Tijuana.

[A]

So he flies in. Yeah, I. I get there at 12:55. I'm at McDonald's in Tijuana. We're not asking those questions. Listen, he's old enough he's older than me. He's older than, older than you. Okay, not by much. Okay. And I fly into this town. Excuse me. He flies into the town. I cross the bridge and I'm at McDonald's at 12:55 in Tijuana. And I go, I'm here, here. He goes, just wait. And I literally, I looked at one o' clock sharp. Bulletproof suburban, black. The reason I knew it was bulletproof, the windows were like that thick. You've seen it?

[B]

Yeah, I've seen them, yeah.

[A]

Rolls it down, barely rolls down. You can only get like that much. And they said, yeah, like a weto, like light skinned white boy, right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I get in the car, I see the driver has a holster and he has a handgun. And then I look behind me and I got two sicarios in the back with AK47s. I'm like, okay, this is it. Like this is like in the movies, right? Like this is where it's going to be over. Anybody that doesn't know what a sicario is, it's a hitman, right?

[B]

You spent a lot of time with sicarios.

[A]

So I'm with, I got two sicarias behind me. I got this, this driver and they're wearing bulletproof jackets. I'm like, dude, I'm done, I'm toast. And then they get on the radio and we get on the toll road and we're driving towards Rosarito and another bulletproof vehicle comes in front of us and one behind us. I'm like, oh, it was the first time I had that motorcade since I used to play football. Yeah. Like now I have a motorcade with the cartel.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But it's not a good feeling. It's not the same as playing football. Yeah. We go in this town, literally called Puerto Nuevo number one, which is a town south of Rosarito. It's a lobster town. I take that back. This restaurant is always packed. It's called Puerto Nuevo Numero. It's like the one on the corner. And this guy had it shut down. There's one lady making tortillas and there's one waiter. And when I sat at the table, there's him with four sicarios, two sitting on this side. And then I had the two guys that were behind me, behind me. I took the seat and I'm talking to him and he's looking at me, he's reading the room, he's reading me. And I told him, 1.5 million. It worked. The other two and a half million, he's like, What I already know. I already know. This was already news in the news in Australia. He's already done his homework. He already knows what happened because it's all public record now. The 700 bag that got picked off that they're talking about in Australia. In the news, he knew everything. He goes, but the good news is you're going to live today. He says, the bad news is you don't owe me 3.2 million. He goes, I'm charging you interest. You owe me 4 million now and you work for me. He said, the cartel's name I worked for. I said, all right, Mariana, guess what? I was so happy. I knew I wasn't gonna die that day. I knew those two guys behind me weren't gonna have to shoot me. I knew, like once he gave me his word. Like, you know, these people, they're. They're men of the word.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

When he told me that, I was like, fuck yeah, I'm gonna live. Like, I was so ecstatic. Like, I won the national championship because I know if I put my mind to something, I can do anything. He says, you now work for me. I was like, fuck, yeah. Okay. And that day forward, I worked for this corte, but this was the agreement. He said, take two years off everything you're doing with the drugs and the money laundering done, you're not doing anymore. Run your sports book like a well oiled machine. Keep taking bets. I'll still bet with you a little here and there, but run your business. He says, that guy that got in trouble with that money, he's going to be a problem. He says, I'm going to tell you this right now. I'm doing. He's. He's, he's doing his homework. And there's articles now that are coming out. This guy's maybe working with the government. We don't know. Like, there's all these articles. He says, in two years though, he says, it's your turn to get the drugs into Australia. You're not using my routes, you're not using any of my, my people. He says, you're going to have my product in the US and you have to figure out how to get it there. And as you know, Australia is the hardest place in the world to get cocaine into. I'm like, fuck, I'm panicking. But like I said, I'm gonna figure it out. He's playing the long game, long game for sure. He's milking this. So I remember I had a contact in Australia that was a very big, in the very Big, I mean, kingpin in the coke business that I had met over there. And he told me, if you ever get back in business, he says, you don't need to use the Italian. Use me. I'm the man over here. And I always kept that Rolodex. And so I reached out to this guy and I said, hey, I can't come into Australia. I said, can you meet me somewhere? And he met me in Fiji. So we both met in Fiji. I flew from America, and he flew from Australia to Fiji. And we met on this private island. And I told him, I said, hey, this is the problem. I said, I got the cartel that I. I owe this money to. I said, they're going to give me product in America, and I need to get it to your country, and we need to fucking move it. And I remember we were drinking wine, and I had my wine glass, and it was a white wine, and I go, that's it. He said, what? I said, I'm going to put it in wine. He said, what do you mean? I said, do you have someone in Australia that can break it down? If I bring it in liquid, can you break it down and evaporate it and turn it back into powder? He goes, yeah, I got a chemist. I said, okay, watch. So I fly back to America. I tell a jefe, I said, drop off 10 birds, 10 kilos at the time. I'm building these homes all over the South Bay. And I have this construction warehouse with bathtubs. So I literally have all these construction pieces for fixtures, bathtubs, all parts to build homes, right? They'll have haydrops off 10 birds. And I literally put these birds, these 10 bricks, inside the bathtub. And I ordered this stuff called everclear. It's like 150 proof alcohol, and it's the strongest alcohol there is. You can't even order in California. You have to order it on. It's not even allowed. I get this every clear. It's 150 proof, like, just strong. And I dump it, it literally into all the bathtub with the cocaine. And I'm in there with this, like, an ore, and I'm literally breaking down this coke into liquid. And then I have one of my runners go to Napa Valley. Napa Valley is the most famous spot for wine in California. And I tell this runner of mine that, hey, bring me two cases of this wine. I said, I need a dark bottle, but I need it to be a white wine. So he gets the darkest bottle, like the dark, dark bottles, right? So now I have all this wine, and I'm literally dumping it out, and I'm cleaning it out, getting all the white wine out of there, and I'm cleaning it, and then I have a funnel, and I'm literally dumping this cocaine, that liquid cocaine inside. And I bought this corking machine where I would cork the wine bottle, and I put the wax on top of it and melt it so it looks, like brand new. And I filled all these two cases. I had 24 bottles.

[B]

Did you come up with a brand and a label and everything?

[A]

I use theirs. Oh, the shop, the same company. So I put it all in there. I packaged it. I had my runner come back. I said, go back to the same wine place, and I said, you need to ship these two cases as samples. So I'm literally now shipping this wine back. And I remember my kingpin friend in Australia receives it. He says, maybe it. We got the wine. I'm like, yeah, we got it. We landed it. I'm telling Al jefe, it landed. And so now my. My mate in Australia is bringing it back to powder, and he's. He's bricking it up now. He's turning the powder into kilos again, and he's. He's. He's selling the coke. And I'm like, dude, we figured it out. And literally, I'm. I'm paying back the cartel now, and I'm. I'm now moving the product and doing everything I can. And eventually, you know, we. We got to get to the end. I pay him back, right? And I pay him back his $4 million, and I'll have. He goes. He says, you're. You're. You're. You're free. Like, it's tool. It's tool. It's like, over. You did it. Like, congratulations. Wow. Yeah. And he's like, what do you want to do? I was like, man, I. This man could have killed me. Like, I. I need to keep working, right? Mariana, I'm not going to just say I'm done. I'm Just leave. What am I going to do? Like, I'm not going to do that to this man. He's powerful. Like, let's keep going. Going, right? Like, keep them happy. I figured out a route into the hardest place in America and in the world, right? I just figured out the hardest route to get into. I mean, Sinaloa, new generation have been looking for routes to get into Australia for decades. And I. I'm this kid from Redondo beach that figured it out. And I started getting creative. I started doing Chocolate and artwork. And I just like, literally, it was this machine. They're like, man, you're unstoppable, kid. They started saying, you're like the quarterback. You're like logistics quarterback for us in America. And, you know, I just. I just kept moving. I kept making him happy. And eventually I. We had some money laundering issues of getting it out. We couldn't get the money out. And the kingpin in Australia connected me with some money money laundering guys in America. And he vouched for him. I started using these money laundering guys, guys. They started gambling with me, they started golfing with me.

[B]

Where were the money laundering guys from?

[A]

San Diego.

[B]

Huh. Okay, so they were just people that you would pay a percentage, percentage.

[A]

And they cut the percentage in half. So I was like, oh, this is really cheap, guys. He's like, no, no, they're good.

[B]

You know, it's like Chinese crime that does it right now.

[A]

So listen, half a million dollars they're doing. They're just cleaning this money like this. I'm like, this is insane. Well, six months we're golfing, like, laundering this money through this group. On September 9, 2015, we're supposed to play at the Aviar Country Club with this money laundering guy. I knew something was off because El jefe told me, he goes, Nobody works for 12 and a half percent when you're paying 25. He says, you're working with the feds. He said, you're working with the D. A. He told me that the night before. I said, man, I knew. When he told me that, I knew it, I was like. I was like, okay, he's right. Like, why would they cut it in half? Like, that doesn't make sense. Sense.

[B]

He says, at this point, it was too late.

[A]

It was too late and I already knew something was up. Like, I felt it, I said it. What am I gonna do? I'm going down. I'm gonna play golf. I'm gonna handle this transaction. I'm done. I've already paid off these guys. Like, it's like, it's. I'm going. I go down to this golf course. I pull into the country club and there's no one there. Like, this is a place that charges 500 around. I'm like, why is no one here at 7 o' clock in the morning? This is prime time. My caddy comes and he's shaking. He's shaking when he pulls up. Hi, Mr. Hansen. Welcome. And I open the trunk. I give him my bag of clubs. I go on my passenger side to grab my man bag with my gambling money and my encrypted phone. As soon as I pull around, there's 15 FBI agents, FBI helicopter and Australia authorities.

[B]

They arrested me with their guns drawn on you.

[A]

But people say, God, you ought to be scared. Cartel knows you're busted. Fuck no, I'm not scared. Like I put it in my book, the California kid I was finally in. The first time in 10 years, I finally felt relief. Like it was finally over. Like I no longer had work for El Jefe. I no longer had to look over my shoulder about the FBO watching me laundering this money. I was like, wow, it's finally over. Estual. Right, it's done.

[B]

Because you kind of knew this woman.

[A]

Was going to last. You end up dead or you end up in a six by eight cell. And I took the ladder too. And I think, think it's the best thing that could have happened to me. I tell people like getting arrested that day saved my life. I was going to die. Either the cartel was going to kill me because something bad was going to happen. I was going to overdose on drugs.

[B]

How old were you when this happened?

[A]

When you were 32.

[B]

So you'd been. I've been working, working for 10. Over 10 years, yeah.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

And so what happened next?

[A]

Then I got indicted. They, they arrested a couple of my runners that were dropping off the product. And then three months I'm sitting in that six by eight cell and they're asking me to cooperate. I'm like, no, I'm not doing it. And they said, all right, well it's going to get worse.

[B]

Are they trying to get you to say the name?

[A]

They're trying to get. See who I'm working for. They're following my ex wife, or at the time my wife. She's now my wife. And they're following her and she's coming to visit me and says they're watching me. I don't know what's going on. And three months later, they supersede me and hit me with a RICO. They arrest 23 of my friends hands. They gave me a kingpin statue, right? And I was like, man, my lawyer's like, this is. This is it, man. You're gonna get 30 years. Like 30 years. I've never even got a parking ticket. It's like, it is what it is. You want to cooperate or you want to just take it?

[B]

And the RICO was for the drugs.

[A]

The drugs and the gambling.

[B]

And the gambling.

[A]

So it was a racketeering. You have to have two elements. And I fought my case for like two and a half years. They're just asking and asking, like, the only way this is going to work is cooperation. Like, you know the name of the game. You know, the lawyers are telling you, like, there's no way you're gonna. You're fucked. Like, I'm like, dude, I'm not doing that. I can't. I don't want to sign a death certificate. And they're like, all right. And he said, well, I don't know what to tell you. And then they came back like a week before my sentence. He says, you remember that crooked lawyer you had in Australia that made you, you, you know, try to get that 700 grand back? He says, would you be willing to talk about him? Like, yeah. Why? He's like, well, I'm going to tell the prosecution that you're willing, if it, if it ever comes up, that they would like you, they need you for this guy, that you're willing to. At least that's showing good faith because we're going to go get sentenced regardless next week.

[B]

He's a corrupt lawyer.

[A]

He was a corrupt lawyer, right? And he was representing me over there. And I said, man, but he made me go speak to the Beverly Hills police three, four years before my arrest. And he made me talk to them, telling them how this money was ours and how it was legitimate money. And he made me tell this fake story in front of law enforcement. Rule number one, you never ever speak to the police. Rule number two, you never speak to the police without your lawyer. So he's saying, mate, it's not a us matter. Just talk to them, tell them whatever they need to hear. Just tell them the story that we made up. So I told him this fake story. Story. Okay, I get indicted and guess what the first piece of discovery is that recorded meeting with this Beverly Hills police station. It's the stupidest thing ever. So I already knew this guy played me, this lawyer. Like, this guy got me. It was in the back of my mind, like, I'm. One day I know karma's gonna be a. But I'm gonna be able to get this guy somehow. And it fast forward now, I told my lawyer, like, I'm willing to do whatever can step. Lawyer, lawyer. So the next week I get sentenced to 21 years.

[B]

Whoa.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

What was it like when you heard.

[A]

That you want to just die, right? Just like I want to end life. Like, give me some heroin, let me shoot it and be dead.

[B]

Was your dad in the courtroom?

[A]

My dad was. Everyone was crying. There's 20 people were you crying? People from Mexico? No. You got to be tough in prison. You can't cry.

[B]

Really?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You get 21 years and you can't cry in the courtroom.

[A]

Listen, my ex wife said, hey, if you're gonna cry, cry in the shower. And I remember that day, I went in the shower and I cried because it's water, right? No one's going to see. And I was devastated. But the next day, my lawyer came and he put something in my head, and I'll never forget it. He says, you never know. He goes, I know you got 21 years, but you never know what could happen. I said, what does that mean? He goes, you just never know. Remember what they asked about that crooked attorney? You just never know. And he said, crooked attorney. So now for the whole years I'm in prison, I'm thinking about that crooked attorney. And he said that like he knew something, but he didn't want to tell me because nothing's guaranteed, right? I was like, man, what did he mean by that? So the whole five years, I'm now in the penitentiary and I'm going through prison. And I was like, it was on my mind. It bothered me. And one morning at two in the morning, I got a knock on my cell door and the U.S. marshals were there to pick me up, extradite me to. To Australia. And my agreement was I was going to do 21 years in US and then I was going to get extradited and do a life sentence in Australia because they wanted to get me on drugs.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So I'm thinking to myself, man, these guys are already picking me up. Like, this is. No one's telling me what's going on. The marshal says, we can't talk about it. We're taking you to the airport. I was like, wow. And I was like, I didn't know what was going on. He's like, like, you can't call your lawyer. When you get to Australia, you call your lawyer. I was like, man, I was like, scared. I was on this Qantas flight with three law enforcement in suits. We get over there and I finally can call my lawyer, my American lawyer. He goes, remember what I told you? You never know. He says, you just won the lottery in life, Owen. I said, what do you mean? He goes, that crooked attorney of yours in Australia has taken it to trial and they need you as the star witness. I was like, fuck, yeah. I said, this is my get back. In gambling, it's called a get back. When you lose, you want to get that get back. When you can Campbell again and get that win, right? And I was like, this is my get back. I'm gonna get this guy. And my lawyer says, do whatever you have to do, but tell the truth. He says, remember, I already stopped the extradition. When you're done with the US they're no longer going to take you to Australia. So you got that off the plate. He says, whatever happens, whatever kind of outcome happens, maybe we can use that for our a little favor from the judge. In America, it's called a Rule 35. I was like, okay, what's that mean? He goes, just. Just do what you got to do. So I go, and I literally testify that this lawyer was corrupt. He told me to do this. They took the stand, and he knew this money was illegal, and he made me try to get the money back so he could have half of it. I told him the truth.

[B]

What happened to the lawyer?

[A]

The lawyer got sentenced, he got prosecuted. He got have he was found guilty or, you know, corruption and probably disbarred. Disbarred. He was seven years old, so I don't think he cared. I'm. I'm literally like stuck in Australia now. I'm like, man, I got to get back to America. So I get back to America, Covid's now happening, and I'm telling my lawyer, like, hey, what do we do? Like, he's like, Covid, courts are shut down. He says, we gotta just wait it out. 20, 24 hits. And the, the judge calls in the prosecution and my lawyer, and they had a letter sent in from Australia. And the letter was from the judge from Australia, and it says Owen was a star witness in this trial. We felt like he was misrepresented by his attorney. We found him guilty on these corruption charges. We recommend a reduced sentence. So my lawyer's like, hey, Mr. Hansen's in a stand up inmate. He's got his master's degree in business administration.

[B]

While in prison.

[A]

Yeah, while in prison, he's teaching people for their ged. He's, you know, he's. He's a model inmate. The judge looks at it, he says, I'm gonna give Mr. Hansen eight and a half years off his sentence. Yeah. So with the good time in the halfway house, I. I got released in 2024 of March. I got to spend two years in the halfway house where I got to, you know, start this new business. And I was in this halfway house, like, doing, what am I going to do now? What am I going. I like to hustle. And while incarcerated, I started a Protein ice cream that everybody on the yard wanted. It was a protein shake basically in a peanut butter jar. What I do is I'd put milk in it and I would slice up bananas and I drop it in the milk and then peanut butter swirls where we just drizzle in the milk. And then we had this cheap protein shake. It was a milk based protein shake they sold on the commissary. And I would shake it up and I put it in my mop bucket. People are like, why the mop bucket? In prison you don't have refrigeration. So you put ice in a mop bucket. You just let things get cold. Whether it's your, your meat or your vegetables, whatever you have, you just keep it on the mop bucket. And one day we ran out of ice. I had like this much ice and the machine broke. So my cellie, he's like, just put some salt. If you put salt, it'll lock it up, get it cold. So I go to work out, I come back, I get my protein shake and I go to shake it up and it's rock hard. He's like, dude, you might as well try it. I was pissed. I was like, man, I can't even drink it. Like just eat it. So I took a spoon. Like, dude, this is like ice cream. Like, you don't have ice cream in prison. Like, this is protein ice cream. And he's like, dude, you're onto something. I said, I think I am. So in prison, I'm a hustler, right? I've had like different hustles. I used to make ceviche from my ex wife would give me this recipe for mazalan. That was like a hustle.

[B]

And then this is in prison.

[A]

This is in prison? Yeah. This is imprisonment. So I was like, dude, I think I'm onto something. So she. He's like, dude, sell that peanut butter jar. It was like 16 ounces. Sell it for $15. I'm like, no one's gonna buy $15 of ice cream. Sure enough, sold out the first week.

[B]

No way.

[A]

Second week, sold out. Come Super Bowl Sunday, I sold 50 ice creams at $15.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

And I was making more money than the prison guards that day, right?

[B]

And now it's a business.

[A]

Right Now I came out and I was in the halfway house. And then I gotta keep it going, right? And now it's called California Ice Protein, after the California Kid. I'm in 75 locations.

[B]

California Kid, which is the book you wrote?

[A]

Yeah, the book California Kid I wrote in Prison. From USC golden boy to international drug kingpin. And I literally started this brand from that 6 by 8 mouth bucket. I'm in 75 locations. I'm in Miami, New York, New Jersey, California, Las Vegas, Arizona.

[B]

So people think, I want to talk real quick about your time in prison. People think, you know, the prison is sort of the armpit of humanity, like the worst of the worst people. What did you learn in prison?

[A]

I mean, it's all what you make of it, right? When I went to prison, yeah, I know. I was sent there to rehabilitate. The judge says, hey, it's time to rehabilitate. He sent me there for that time because he felt that I broke the law, which I did, and I belonged to be in prison. So as an inmate, what am I going to do to take my mind out of there? And my body was in prison, but the whole time, my mind was out of. Every time I had that protein shake, I wasn't in prison. I was at the Earth Bar at Equinox drinking that protein shake. Every time I went to have Asian food with my friends in the yard, in the prison yard, I was at Mr. Chow's. We were just having food. I didn't think I was in prison. Every time I worked out, every time I ran the track, I was somewhere else, and I just took my mindset out. So it's all what you make of it.

[B]

What about the people you met?

[A]

I mean, of course you meet some bad people, but you meet some good people, people you know. I got my master's degree. No one gets their master's degree, but I was able to get my master's degree because I had some good people around me that were getting their ged. And I was like, okay, I've already got my ged. I've already got my bachelor's. Why don't I try to get my master's? And it took me years to figure it out, but I figured it out. I wrote many, many people to get it.

[B]

So looking back at your life, obviously, drug trafficking, there's always victims and drug trafficking, right?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

It's not as if it's a victim. Like, plus crime. What you did, what would. What would you have done differently?

[A]

I would have stuck with the gambling. Like, once I crossed that line and worked for Alfa and started distributing illegal drugs at the ton level, right? We're not talking grams, right? We're talking kilos and kilos and hundreds of thousands of them. Once I crossed that line, that's. That's where I. I should have stopped I should have stepped. If I would have stuck to the sports gambling, I would have been the CEO for a DraftKings or a FanDuel. No doubt. But once I try to be that black market concierge and willing to do anything he wanted, that's when I got involved with the cartel.

[B]

Yeah. It's so often the people that end up in the world in these underworlds are incredibly talented people that could have been amazing entrepreneurs, amazing owners of businesses. And then they just get to this crossroad and they pick the wrong way to go.

[A]

I went right instead of left.

[B]

Right.

[A]

That's life. Yeah, but everything happens for a reason. I said. From putting bad things on the streets to now healthy treats, protein ice cream. Right.

[B]

And are you, what are you hoping your life lesson will be for people who hear the story and people. Because you're teaching right now, right? I'm teaching. And tell me what you're doing.

[A]

I'm doing a gambling prevention program. It's for all the universities in colleges.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Because what's now happening is, remember this thing started in gambling. For me, it was like one bet led to this bet, and then eventually taking bets from the cartel, which snowballed into working for the cartel. But that one time, you go down that path of illegal activity, for me, it was that sports bet. Once I got involved with that, you're chasing that forever, and the rush is never enough. And it's the same with gambling. If a college kid gambles on one sport and he wins, okay, what's he going to do? He's going to double up and try and chase it for more and then he's going to lose. Lose. Now at the college level, if you're an athlete like I was, and you can somehow fix the game, it's gonna happen where a bookie says, hey, here's a hundred thousand dollars cash. Just don't cover the spread or feel like you sprained your ankle and just go out like it's gonna happen. And I know it's gonna happen because it's happening at the NBA.

[B]

Right. And it's ruining.

[A]

And these guys make hundreds of millions of dollars and they don't need the money. Guess what? They're doing it. College athletes are going to do it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So mine is. My job now is to go speak to these universities. I spoke to the basketball team at USC last week and I told him my story. And the coach looked at me and said, that's the most powerful message I've ever heard in 20 years. And he's coached at the NBA level, college level. He says it's not only inspiring, but it's a real thing. This is going to happen to kids because it happened to you on your prime example. So that's my message.

[B]

So what do you want the message to be? What's the inspiration that you want your story to be for people?

[A]

Don't go down that path of illegal activity. Want you to go across one time, even if it's just a small amount. Like, people don't think sports gambling, oh, that's not big. But look at what it snowballed into. Became a quarterback for the cartel. It can happen to anybody, especially if you're an athlete.

[B]

And my last question to you is, what's your relationship with your dad right now? And how did he take it when he realized that you were trafficking drugs?

[A]

Listen, he didn't. He wasn't. No, no. Father's proud. Right. But he was disappointed. But he looked at me and he says, you know what? We got to get you out of this prison, and we got to figure out what you're going to do next with your life. And, you know, he was there to greet me. You'll see in the documentary. He was there when I got out of prison.

[B]

He was.

[A]

Gave me a hug, and, you know, we played golf since. And I got to visit him in Montana.

[B]

And he lives in Montana?

[A]

Yeah, he's. He's just. He's just happy. He's happy I'm out. He sees that I have the same mentality as I did with the sports betting industry. He sees how asphyxiated I am on this. On the. The protein ice cream. And he's like, okay, that's my boy. He's. He's doing it again. Like, he sees the movement.

[B]

Well, I can't wait to try the ice cream.

[A]

You. You'll love it.

[B]

And I wish you the best of luck, and thank you so much for being here.

[A]

Yeah, no problem. Thanks for.