Cover of Dirty Scams

Dirty Scams

Dirty Scams

By: Creator at Obomedia
Listen for free

Season's Savings | 0.99 €/month for 3 months

5.99 €/month thereafter - terms apply. Cancel monthly.
Summary
 Ever wonder how the most audacious con artists pull off their schemes? Dirty Scams pulls back the curtain on the world's most shocking frauds, exposing the masterminds and their victims.

From elaborate financial swindles to cunning identity theft, we dissect every detail of the deception. This is where you uncover the psychology behind the trickery and learn how seemingly ordinary people fall prey to extraordinary lies. We don't just tell stories; we analyze the tactics, the red flags, and the devastating impact of these criminal enterprises.

Join us daily, seven days a week, for a fresh dose of deception. New episodes drop every Monday through Sunday at 7:00 PM, offering a deep dive into a new case of fraud, scam, or con. Each episode is meticulously researched, bringing you the facts and the fascinating human element behind every scheme.

Dirty Scams is for anyone fascinated by true crime, investigative journalism, and the darker side of human ingenuity. If you're keen to understand the mechanics of deception and protect yourself from becoming a target, you've found your essential listening. Subscribe now and become an expert in spotting the signs.© 2026 OBOMEDIA Creators
Episodes
  • hands - superintendent later said only a feasibility discussion occurred

    hands - superintendent later said only a feasibility discussion occurred
    27 Oct 2026
    hands - superintendent later said only a feasibility discussion occurred

    A dog found $4,300 in rubber-banded cash and a water-stained ledger that unraveled $312,000 in donations, a thirty-year reputation, and a scoreboard that was never built - so how did $289,000 leave the project account and vanish into personal accounts and cash withdrawals? What single missing check would have stopped a $60 stock photo from selling a whole community on a fake athletic legacy?

    In this episode, we lay out the timeline from a trail-bin discovery to an auditor's desk and trace how a community fundraiser became a personal bank for one man - and ask whether local trust was exploited or simply unguarded.

    Person: Ralph Porter
    Organization: Porter Community Ventures
    Amount collected: $312,000
    Amount withdrawn: $289,000
    Date found: August 7, 2019

    - A dog discovered $4,300 in cash in a trail bin at 9:41 AM on August 7, 2019.
    - Between January 2018 and March 2019, nineteen businesses donated to the Ridgeline Athletic Legacy Initiative.
    - Porter was sole signatory on the project account that received $312,000 in donations.
    - There were 41 withdrawals from February 2018 to July 2019 totaling $289,000 labeled as project administration and vendor payments.
    - The architectural renderings shown to donors were stock photographs purchased for $60.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
    Show more Show less
    20 min
  • The Dumped Box That Exposed $94,000 of Stolen Deposits

    The Dumped Box That Exposed $94,000 of Stolen Deposits
    26 Oct 2026
    The Dumped Box That Exposed $94,000 of Stolen Deposits

    A soaked cardboard box wedged in a drainage culvert revealed handwritten ledgers that tied $94,000 in missing security deposits to one trusted landlord - and eighty-three families were left counting losses. How did a billing specialist’s routine walk and a box in a river unravel a six-year pattern of “TEMP TRANSFER” withdrawals that emptied the RMHP Security Deposit Trust?

    In this episode, we follow the documents, dates, and people connected to the missing escrow money and the audit that followed, asking whether the patterns in the ledgers were deliberate and why Romano tried to dispose of them.

    Person: Wade Romano
    Person: Rachel Sullivan
    Location: Rolling Meadows Mobile Home Park, County Road Seven, Triton County
    Date: July 11, 2019
    Amount: $94,000

    - 83 families were affected by the missing security deposits.
    - Romano purchased Rolling Meadows in 2009 for $112,000.
    - Security deposit required by state statute since 1987 to be held in escrow.
    - The RMHP Security Deposit Trust balance spiked to about $62,000 on inspection days and fell again nine times between 2013 and 2019.
    - Romano borrowed $31,000 from maintenance contractor Pete Scholl over two years via informal checks.

    Tired of ads? Listen to this podcast and 200+ more ad-free on OBOMEDIA.
    Try it free for 7 days, cancel anytime: https://obomedia.com/en/gratis?ref=desc-7193967

    © 2026 Created by an independent creator of the OBOMEDIA Network. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the property of their respective creator, who is solely responsible for them, and are distributed by the OBOMEDIA Network on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without the creator's prior written permission is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
    Show more Show less
    17 min
  • How One Man Hid $938,000 in Plain Sight with Road Salt

    How One Man Hid $938,000 in Plain Sight with Road Salt
    25 Oct 2026
    How One Man Hid $938,000 in Plain Sight with Road Salt

    A hidden $33-per-ton gap in municipal road salt bills quietly funneled $938,000 of public money over seven years into one administrator's accounts - and it all hinged on a single packing slip and an unnoticed folder. How did a routine pallet of salt and a memo about "administrative consistency" keep a scheme alive until one county surveyor photographed the price?

    In this episode, we trace the cooperative's formation, the role of its sole administrator, and the sequence of invoices, memos and missed checks that allowed the discrepancy to grow. We follow the moment Hartwell Supply began sharing prices directly and the photograph that began to unravel the numbers - what happened next?

    Person: Alan Moore
    Role: Administrator of the Dellard-Kellner Regional Road Salt Cooperative
    Date (discrepancy discovered): June 4, 2019
    Amount diverted: $938,000
    Supplier: Hartwell Supply

    - Cooperative founding year: 2009
    - Number of member municipalities by 2014: 12
    - Invoice price on packing slip: $61 per ton
    - Price Moore billed municipalities: $89-$94 per ton
    - Years scheme ran: 2012-2019

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
    Show more Show less
    20 min
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
No reviews yet