True Con Artist

At 23, William Simon Baekeland was well on his way to becoming the world’s best traveled person. The “billionaire” heir to a great plastics fortune had already visited 163 countries, but his real passion was finding ways to visit the world’s most challenging destinations. He earned rock-star status in the world of extreme travel. But when his story began to unravel, an eccentric group of hyper-well-traveled country collectors were left wondering how they had allowed their obsession to blind them to the warning signs that William Baekeland wasn’t who they thought he was.

Missing people are far more common than you might think. Every year, around the world, hundreds of thousands of people vanish into thin air. Usually, they have simply been involved in a freak accident that has led to their death. Sometimes, they vanish on purpose and don't wish to be found. On very rare occasions, there is violence at play and the person has been deliberately removed from the public or even killed. In this audiobook, we will be examining the various circumstances in which people happen to vanish.

People go missing every day. According to newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal, this figure could be as high as 8 million people every single year. While some people are quickly found or return home of their own accord, others simply vanish into the night. Families are left wondering where their loved ones have gone while the police desperately try to put together any clues they come across. While a good number of people make it home safe and sound, others are never seen again.

Are you fascinated by true crime stories? Then this riveting true crime anthology series is an essential addition to your true crime library. Discover the dark and twisted world of true crime with this incredible real-life anthology series featuring vivid details and realistic portrayals of true crime stories.

Uncover the shocking and brutal truths behind some of the most heinous crimes committed against innocent victims in Killer Case Files, the true crime anthology that takes you on a gripping journey into the minds of depraved murderers.

Wahres Verbrechen ist nicht jedermanns Sache. Aber wenn Sie dieses Buch in Ihren Händen halten, wissen Sie das wohl bereits. Ein echter Kriminalfall ist nicht mit einer CSI-Folge zu vergleichen. Sogar Dokumentationen über wahre Verbrechen im Fernsehen können über die heiklen Details hinwegsehen. Das Genre des „Wahren Verbrechen“ kann für viele Menschen beunruhigend sein. Ich tue jedoch mein Bestes, um in meinen Büchern keine Details auszulassen.

Left is the true story of a million-dollar kidnapping gone wrong and the elusive hunt for the criminal mastermind behind it all. From murdering his best friend to high-speed chases, breaking out of prison, and cold-blooded guile, this is the story of international fugitive Hossein Nayeri, as told by Lieutenant Ryan Peters of Orange County.

Authorized User is based on the true story involving early '90s Sony hip hop artist Tim Dog. Allegedly, Tim Dog the con artist had been victimizing unsuspecting victims for approximately a decade and a half with little to no attention from law enforcement. Based on the evidence and reports later received by law enforcement, Tim Dog targeted single mothers, young aspiring artists, and even a few men in his fictitious business circle.

In this audiobook, we hope to examine the sheer range of cases which have enthralled the interested, and distressed those involved for many years. Some of these cases became national stories while others remain private tragedies. In the cases of missing persons, trying to find an explanation is almost as difficult as trying to find the person themselves. So join us on this journey and discover just how morbidly fascinating and compelling the cases of the missing can become.

The best-known educator of the 20th century was a scammer in cashmere. "The most famous reading teacher in the world," as television hosts introduced her, Evelyn Wood had little classroom experience, no degrees in reading instruction, and a background that included a collaboration with the Third Reich. Nevertheless, a nation spooked by Sputnik and panicked by paperwork eagerly embraced her promises of a speed-reading revolution.

Edgar Laplante was a small-time grifter, an erstwhile vaudeville performer, and an unabashed charmer. But after years of playing thankless gigs and traveling with medicine shows, he decided to undertake the most demanding and bravura performance of his life. In the fall of 1917, Laplante reinvented himself as Chief White Elk: war hero, sports star, civil rights campaigner, Cherokee nation leader - and total fraud.

When it comes to divorce, forewarned is forearmed. This book delivers both in a story you won't be able to pause. Equal parts suspense thriller and how-to manual, Tim’s memoir is a must read for anyone who’s facing a divorce with children, or loves somebody who is. While most intuitively understand that divorce brings out the worst in people, and many have heard that separating can be extremely costly and frustrating, few approach the process aware of its greatest pitfalls, how truly terrible they are, and just how prevalent they’ve become.

Serial killers are not simple monsters, as many believe. They are human beings just like us: men and women who have made the wrong choices or been turned into ugly creatures by their upbringing. Some seek to cause pain and shock - others just wish to scratch an itch that they have in their mind. All of them bring darkness in their own way.

In Los Angeles, a series of murders occurred during the summer of 1980 that left an indelible mark on countless individuals. This string of brutal and bloody crimes would make the already famous Sunset Boulevard aka the Sunset Strip infamous and a place forever synonymous with the word evil. This true story blends statements to law enforcement and trial testimony with personal accounts from those who experienced the events firsthand. The psychology behind these violent crimes is explored, along with a look at the psychological state and the possible motives of the individuals.

Ann Rule, who shared her own nerve-jangling account of unknowingly befriending sadistic sociopath Ted Bundy in The Stranger Beside Me, chronicles other fateful encounters with the hidden predators among us in this riveting collection, fifteenth in the best-selling series drawn from her personal files. First in line is a stunning case that spanned thirty years and took a determined detective to four states - ending, finally, in Alaska - where he unraveled not one but two murders.

This audiobook covers famous and not-so-famous murderers, but the deaths they dealt to their victims were just as deadly, gruesome, and fatal. It didn’t matter to these soulless murderers whether death came to their anguished victims by knife, gun, bayonet, or bare hands. Listen and discover the stories behind the lingering silent sounds of those who no longer walk above ground in California - a state meant for its beauty, beaches, and bright sun.

Explore six chilling axe murders and discover how just a regular tool became known as one of most deadly objects. Learn how to avoid the same mistakes made by the victims of these horrific crimes by listening to the court documents, first-hand accounts, and witness testimonies.

Since its release in fall 2017, the Dirty John podcast - about a con man who terrorizes a Southern California family - has been downloaded more than 20 million times. The story, which also ran as a print series in the Los Angeles Times, wasn’t unfamiliar terrain to its writer, Christopher Goffard. Over two decades at newspapers from Florida to California, Goffard has reported probingly on the shadowy, unseen corners of society. This audiobook gathers together for the first time “Dirty John” and the rest of his very best work.

The ultimate collection of Australia's craziest cons and mad schemes from a master storyteller. Australia is the birthplace and setting of some of the wildest, craziest and least-likely-to-succeed cons and rorts in history. From the cleverest double-crosses to the most unlikely and maddest schemes, master storyteller Jim Haynes reminds us that we've never been shy of pulling a trick or two.

When Lt. Commander Bobby Thompson surfaced in Tampa in 1998, it was as if he had fallen from the sky, providing no hint of his past life. Eleven years later, St. Petersburg Times investigative reporter Jeff Testerman visited the rundown duplex Thompson used as his home and the epicenter of his sixty-thousand-member charity, the US Navy Veterans Association. But something was amiss. Thompson’s charity’s addresses were just maildrops, his members nonexistent, and his past a black hole.