Swindled

Originally published June 11, 2025

A bizarre and sinister harassment campaign targeting a married couple in Massachusetts is linked to executives at one of the world’s largest e-commerce companies.

Prelude: A content creator orchestrates a grievance-driven attack on YouTube's headquarters.

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A family is torn apart as the lives of two wealthy brothers unravel in spectacular fashion on opposite sides of the world.

Prelude: 'The Milkshake Murder' shocks the expatriate community in Hong Kong.

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Originally published November 29, 2025.

An imposter uses a stolen name for 30 years, sparking a bizarre struggle between two men to prove who truly owns the identity.

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A self-proclaimed visionary's promise to revolutionize the trucking industry is revealed to be an "intricate fraud."

Prelude: The arrival of Lordstown Motors revitalizes a small Ohio town.

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Originally published September 11, 2021

A Virginia-based peanut processing company unleashes one of the most massive and lethal food-borne contamination events in United States history. 

Prelude: The Jensen brothers are charged with crimes after a deadly listeria outbreak.

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A small Missouri town faces a compounded catastrophe as a devastating flood follows the discovery of toxic contamination.

Prelude: A mysterious illness attacks the horses and humans at Shenandoah Stables.

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An offshore maintenance job in Trinidad & Tobago turns into a deadly catastrophe when divers are violently sucked into an oil pipeline. 

Prelude: Trinidad's oil industry is scrutinized after fourteen men are killed in an offshore explosion in 1985.

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Indianapolis' most prominent businessman scrambles to preserve the elaborate financial fraud that funds his lavish lifestyle. 

Prelude: The CEO of National Lampoon orchestrates a scheme to manipulate the company's stock price.

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A modern faith healer's scandal-plagued ministry faces accusations of forced labor and money laundering. 

Prelude: Kathryn Kuhlman's miracle healings are analyzed and imitated.

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Twin brothers in Florida become pioneers of a pain clinic industry that fuels a nationwide opioid epidemic.

Prelude: Purdue Pharma introduces its new, extended-release painkiller called OxyContin.

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Originally published April 17, 2022. 

The quest to build the world's tallest water slide ends in tragedy. Prelude: A 14-year-old boy dies after falling from an amusement ride in Florida.

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The leaked files of a Panamanian law firm offer a glimpse into the offshore economy used by politicians, criminals, and celebrities to hide wealth, evade taxes, and launder money. 

Prelude: The assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, Malta's most feared investigative journalist.

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Originally published July 9, 2024.

A Virginia governor and his wife are indicted after receiving lavish gifts from a local businessman.

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A tiny Calgary-based exploration company ignites a global market frenzy when it discovers the world's largest gold deposit before collapsing into one of the biggest frauds in mining history.

Prelude: The "Bushman of the Shuswap" flees society after uncovering a massive conspiracy.

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A newly elected congressman is expelled and prosecuted for financial crimes after his elaborate web of personal and professional lies unravels. 

Prelude: JP Maroney's inventive "digital marketing arbitrage" is revealed to be a Ponzi scheme.

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Originally published February 11, 2025.

A prominent Christian businessman operates a massive, "too-good-to-be-true," charity-based Ponzi scheme.

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A catastrophic contamination strikes Michigan when an industrial chemical (PBB) is mistakenly mixed into cattle feed.

Prelude: Workers at a Texas chemical plant are turned into “zombies" after exposure to the toxic pesticide Phosvel.

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A proposed libertarian paradise in the Chilean countryside devolves into a spectacle of betrayal and broken promises.

Prelude: Lazarus Long's Principality of New Utopia.

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Originally published June 5, 2022. 

The untimely death of an outspoken advocate for foster children reveals his despicable double life. Prelude: A tragedy occurs after a woman in Rhode Island adopts eight children with developmental issues.

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A self-proclaimed “socially conscious” entrepreneur uses church seminars and motivational speeches to lure investors into a nationwide Ponzi scheme.

Prelude: "King" Perry Santillo and Chris Parris perpetuate a financial fraud to which they had fallen victim.

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A tourism industry's ugly past is revealed after a "duck boat" sinks on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri, during a storm.

Prelude: The sinking of Miss Majestic in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

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A Fort Lauderdale lawyer's ostentatious lifestyle is supported by the largest Ponzi scheme in Florida history.

Prelude: The body of attorney Melissa Britt Lewis is found in a Florida canal.

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Originally published September 27, 2021. 

Incompetence and negligence lead to a devastating loss of life at a concert in West Warwick, Rhode Island. Prelude: A fight in the E2 nightclub in Chicago triggers a deadly stampede.

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A bizarre and sinister harassment campaign targeting a married couple in Massachusetts is linked to executives at one of the world’s largest e-commerce companies.

Prelude: A content creator orchestrates a grievance-driven attack on YouTube's headquarters.

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An estimated one million people are exposed to decades of toxic water contamination at a U.S. Marine Corps base in North Carolina, leading to serious health issues, cover-ups, and endless legal battles for justice. 

Prelude: A mysterious leukemia cluster appears in Woburn, Massachusetts.

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An investigative journalist is murdered in an act of retaliation by a Clark County elected official accused of misconduct.

Prelude: The mysterious death of Las Vegas casino heir, Ted Binion.

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Originally published April 30, 2023. 

A series of infomercials lands a TV pitchman in federal prison. Prelude: The founder of Hooked on Phonics is criticized over dubious advertising claims before he settles a sexual assault lawsuit with his corporate attorney, who then purchases a ranch from a phony French noblewoman who faked her own death.

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An American automotive company is charged with reckless homicide related to the defective design of a popular car.

Prelude: Toyota is held responsible for the ghastly deaths of three sisters.

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The founder of a fintech company is accused of defrauding JPMorgan Chase by falsifying customer data to secure a $175 million acquisition deal.

Prelude: Joanna Smith-Griffin's rising startup is built on lies.

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A viral video sparks accusations of charity fraud and other improprieties while exposing a potentially much darker truth. 

Prelude: Efforts to neutralize a brutal warlord in central Africa are unsuccessful.

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A train derailment in Ohio caused by corporate greed leads to widespread environmental contamination, conspiracy, and political mudslinging. 

Prelude: A train derailment in Paulsboro, New Jersey, raises concerns about rail transportation safety throughout the U.S.

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Originally published September 11, 2024.

The Pacific Northwest's "mini Madoff" escapes prison after being convicted of operating a $140 million Ponzi scheme.

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An experimental deep-sea submersible disappears during an expedition to the Titanic shipwreck. 

Prelude: Legendary explorer Steve Fossett disappears during a casual plane ride.

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A trendy new diet drug combination subjects millions of users to serious health effects, resulting in a monumental legal battle. 

Prelude: Cancer concerns force Belviq, a popular diet drug, to be withdrawn from the marketplace.

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A government employee posing as a Tahitian prince commits the largest public sector fraud in Queensland history. 

Prelude: The catastrophic implementation of Queensland Health's new payroll system.

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A budget airline's penny-pinching strategy is examined after one of its planes crashes in the Florida Everglades. 

Prelude: Allegiant Air's safety history is called into question after a rash of concerning incidents.

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A "quintessential" civil rights battle ignites when fans of the much-maligned rap group Insane Clown Posse are officially classified as a "street gang" by the federal government. 

Prelude: Two Juggalos are charged with the murder of a man in Pennsylvania.

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A flashy Brooklyn pastor finds himself in the media spotlight due to his current lifestyle and criminal past. 

Prelude: An unprovoked murder on the New York subway.

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A compounding pharmacy's attempt to maximize revenue leads to a devastating public health crisis. 

Prelude: Pharmakon Pharmaceuticals ships overly-potent medication to hospitals, including a neonatal intensive care unit.

Originally published October 3, 2023.

A former Shark Tank contestant’s fraud spree leaves a trail of destruction.

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