True Con Artist

Known for deep dives into true crime, extremist ideologies and fringe subcultures, journalist Leah Sottile turns her investigative eye toward American New Age culture. Today, tarot cards, astrology and crystals are everywhere — from Instagram and TikTok, sold at upscale boutiques and pricey wellness retreats. Sottile investigates how the recent surge of interest in New Age ideas speaks to a culture that is woven into the very fabric of America, and how self-professed gurus like Love Has Won's Mother God and the mysterious channeler Ramtha have built devout followings because of it.

In the early days of photography, in the death-strewn wake of the Civil War, one man seized America's imagination. A "spirit photographer", William Mumler took portrait photographs that featured the ghostly presence of a lost loved one alongside the living subject. Mumler was a sensation. Peter Manseau brilliantly captures a nation wracked with grief and hungry for proof of the existence of ghosts and for contact with their dead husbands and sons. It took a circus-like trial of Mumler on fraud charges to expose a fault line of doubt and manipulation.

1982: Oregon businessman Phil Champagne, age 52, dies in a tragic boating accident off Lopez Island. He is survived by one ex-wife, four adult children, an octogenarian mother, and two despondent brothers. Phil didn't know he was dead until he read it in the paper. All things considered, he took it rather well. So did Phil's brother, Mitch, the beneficiary of a 1.5 million dollar policy on Phil's life.

قبل أن يبلغ فرانك أبيغنايل العشرين من العمر كان قد قام بالاحتيال لعدة سنواتٍ وتمكن من الحصول على أموالٍ غير مشروعةٍ تقدر بالملايين، وانتحل شخصية مساعد طيارٍ ومحامٍ وطبيبٍ ومدرس!

The dark web is the internet's evil twin, where anything can be bought and sold. Drugs, weapons, and hackers-for-hire are available at the touch of a button. Most who visit merely look around, happy to satisfy their curiosity before leaving, never to return. But some are sucked into the criminal underworld and find themselves doing things they would never have contemplated in the real world—ordering a hit on a love rival or bidding on an auction for a sex slave—like the people in this book.

Five true crime authors come together to present the fourth annual Serial Killers True Crime Anthology which depicts several horrific cases of serial homicide told in detail. Each case will take the listener from the background of the serial killer, to the crime scene, investigation, trial, and sentencing. Warning: This book contains graphic forensic statements that some may find very disturbing.

While touring South America, some of the sites in the amazing and unparalleled Brazil, certainly gave my group the chill. To the ones that asked me, "Conny, what happened on this much-discussed trip?" I always answered, "Yes, it really was off the chart." That being said, I didn't know where to start. One day, the idea popped, I'd write the unbelievable story. Finally, I did and found my glory. Anyone who traveled, or in the midst of traveling, perhaps planning a trip, yes Indeed, This book is a must-listen.

It’s a chilling reality that homicide investigators know all too well: the last face most murder victims see is not that of a stranger, but of someone familiar. Whether only an acquaintance or a trusted intimate, such killers share a common trait that triggers the downward spiral toward death for someone close to them: they are masters at hiding who they really are. Their clever masks let them appear safe, kind, and truthful. They are anything but - and almost no one can detect the murderous impulses buried deep in their psyches.

In this true crime anthology, you’ll learn about some of the most shocking true crime cases that have happened in the last 40 years. You will find yourself thrust into a world that is often depraved but always intriguing and fascinating, leaving you wanting to learn more.

The six true-crime stories included in this collection are dark and chilling, and will leave you with a new understanding of just how fragile the human mind can be.

I Did It is the story of Gina Champion-Cain, the mastermind behind the largest woman-led Ponzi scheme in US history—$400 million. This real-life story includes a multitude of participants, banks, hedge funds, egomaniacs, and small-time crooks, all fueled by greed, stupidity, and a keen desire to look the other way. And even when they were looking in the right direction, all of these people and entities saw nothing.

Russia was not the first foreign power to influence American popular opinion from the inside. In the lead-up to America’s entry into the First World War, Germany spent the modern equivalent of one billion dollars to infiltrate American media, industry, and government in order to undermine the supply chain of the Allied forces. If not for the ceaseless activity of John Revelstoke Rathom, editor of the scrappy Providence Journal, America may have remained committed to its position of neutrality.

New York Times Bestseller #1. Die unglaubliche wahre Geschichte des begehrtesten Betrügers der Welt, die von Leonardo DiCaprio im Spielfilm von Steven Spielberg verewigt wurde. "Von Behörden und Nachrichtenreportern wurde ich als einer der gerissensten Scheckbetrüger, Trickdiebe und Gauner dieses Jahrhunderts bezeichnet, als Hochstapler vom Format eines Academy Award Preisträgers. Ich war ein Schwindler und Schauspieler mit erstaunlichen Fähigkeiten."

The Big Con: The Story of a Book to Film Scam, the Victims, Other Writer Scams, and How to Avoid Being a Victim is about the discovery of a scam and meeting the victims. The scammers created an elaborate fraud, in which authors with dreams of turning their books into films were duped into believing a company could pitch their projects to executives at top film companies.

Don't hint that Richard Hauptmann was executed as an innocent man. Don't dare to think that Charles Lindbergh had clean hands when it came to the kidnapping and murder of his son. It's unpopular and may be dangerous to say aloud, but there was no kidnapping at the Lindbergh estate in 1932...No kidnapping...Instead of the story of the American hero and the trial, those parts are summarized, and the emphasis is on the actual evidence and the investigation. Hauptmann was innocent, there was no kidnapping, and the true killer is named.

A compelling work of investigative journalism that explores the surprising origins and hidden ramifications of an epic late 1960s hoax, perpetrated by cultural luminaries, including Victor Navasky and E.L. Doctorow. For readers curious about the surprising connections between John F. Kennedy, Oliver Stone, Timothy McVeigh, Alex Jones, and Donald Trump.

On a spring day in 1926, Aimee Semple McPherson wandered into the Pacific Ocean and vanished. Weeks later she reappeared in the desert, claiming to have been kidnapped. A national media frenzy and months of investigation ensued. Who was this woman? America’s most famous evangelist, McPherson was a sophisticated marketer who used spectacle, storytelling, and the newest technology—including her own radio station—to bring God’s message to the masses.

Enfance ou folie? Cette collection d'histoires commence avec un jeune garçon dont l'intelligence, la capacité et la détermination sont plus en accord avec un adulte plutôt qu'avec un enfant de six ans curieux, qui nous est présenté dans la première histoire.La normalité ne fera jamais partie de la vie de Marcel Pontbriand. Orphelin à l'âge tendre de 14 ans et avec seulement quelques centimes à son nom, vous découvrirez comment il s'est rendu sur les routes de glace du Nord du Canada et a fait face à la peur.

In this tantalizing true mystery of a stolen life, an acclaimed reporter and an identity theft investigator follow a series of incredible revelations about the actual identity of a wife, mother, and friend turned perfect stranger. Days after Lori Ruff’s suicide, her family discovered her hidden strongbox containing stunning evidence that her entire life had been invented. Her real identity was buried so deep it would take five years to unearth. Who was Lori Ruff?

Scammers are intelligent, professional, and well-trained. They have no heart or compassion. They will take your last penny if they get the chance. They knowingly put your finances, trust, and even your family in jeopardy. Most scammers work in packs, like wolves, and are after you. What is a scam? A scam is when someone takes money from someone else while not providing the promised service or product.