Dirty Money

Investigative journalist Max Marshall joins the show to discuss his new book, “Among the Bros,” which delves into the bust of five College of Charleston Kappa Alpha fraternity members and their friends who were part of a multi-million dollar narcotics network. And if that doesn't sound dirty enough for you, the arrests came as the result of an investigation into the murder of a former student who was the son of a luxury real estate developer. It's a story of greed, entitlement, and as Max writes, the consequences of living a life without any consequences.

On August 20, 1989, Jose and Kitty Menendez were brutally murdered in their Beverly Hills mansion. Their sons Erik and Lyle were accused of the murder in what seemed like an open-and-shut case — they wanted to collect their parents' insurance. But a sensational trial revealed that there was something even more nefarious going on at their mansion on Elm Avenue. Nearly 25 years after the murders that shook the world, we revisit this notorious case.

On Thanksgiving Eve of 1971, a hijacker known as D.B. Cooper parachuted out of a commercial airplane with $200,000 in ransom money and was never seen again. It's the only unsolved commercial airline hijacking in U.S. history, and the FBI officially closed the books on the investigation nearly a decade ago.  But while the Feds have thrown in the towel, citizen detective Eric Ulis is still fighting to learn the truth. For years, Ulis has been working on his own to keep the case alive and, thanks to a recent discovery, says he is on the verge of a breakthrough in revealing Cooper's true identity. All he needs is a little cooperation with the FBI, which he is suing the agency to get. In this episode, we speak with Ulis to get the amazing story of this daring and dangerous heist and delve into the modern detective tactics he is using to put some heat on this cold case. Ulis has made some incredible discoveries that could, at last, reveal the identity of the hijacker — all he needs now is for the Feds to give him access to a clip-on tie, one of the few pieces of evidence Cooper left behind when he jumped out of that plane. Whether you're fascinated by historical crimes or fascinated by modern detective work, we can guarantee this: you will be fascinated by this episode! Thanks as always for listening. Please rate and review us, and if you want to learn even more about D.B. Cooper, be sure to check out Kevin Ulis's CooperCon events.

Journalist Charlie Webster joins the show to talk about season 2 of the podcast series, Surviving El Chapo, which tells the story of idenitical twins in Chicago who ran a $2 billion drug trafficking empire, only to switch sides and become government informants. The Flores twins grew their business to the biggest in North American then decided to risking everthing, turning on their boss Mexican drug lord El Chapo.

Psychologist Christopher Chabris joins the show and describes the habits and behaviors that make the majority of us positive members of society — and also susceptible to attack from criminals. From phishing scams to Ponzi schemes, fraudulent science to crypto hucksters, Chabris, along with his co-author Daniel Simons (Nobody's Fool) have studied the science of deception and provide practical tools you can use to spot schemes before it's too late. It is easy to sit back and think “That would never happen to me,” but as Chabris explains, these fraudsters are experts at finding weaknesses and exploiting them. He provides a checklist of red flags to help you decipher phony financial opportunities from real ones. This is an episode you do not want to miss!

Jim and Pamela Fayed seemed to have it all—two beautiful daughters, a sprawling horse ranch in California, and a gold exchange business that raked in millions every year. But all that glitters is not gold. The Fayeds also harbored a deep secret that would destroy both their lives. This is the tragic story of a family business gone horribly wrong

Guest Jen McAdam, a Scottish coal miner's daughter, was one of the countless victims of the insidious OneCoin global cryptocurrency scam. She invested her entire inheritance only to watch it disappear. Jen was the first victim to fight back and successfully mustered thousands of victims from around the world to join her. She's written a book on the experience called DEVIL'S COIN: My Battle to Take Down the Notorious OneCoin Cryptoqueen, and she works fulltime through her online Victims' Support Group to fight for retribution.

Remember Martin Shrkeli? He was the so-called “Pharma Bro” who raised the price of an anti-viral drug for AIDS patients from $13.50 to $750 a pill. His arrogance and lack of empathy came to embody all that was wrong with the unregulated drug market. But not much is known about Skreli beyond the media hype. Where did he come from, what were his motives, what happend to him, and where is he now? We take a deep dive into the man once dubbed “the most hated man in America.”

On December 11, 1978, six armed robbers broke into JFK Airport's Lufthansa Airlines cargo terminal at 3 o'clock in the morning. A little over an hour later, they walked out with $5 million in untraceable bills (worth $22.4 million today ) and $800,000 in jewels (worth $3.6 million today.) At the time, it was the largest heist in U.S. history. And here's the really crazy part: Not a shot was fired and nobody was killed or seriously hurt (during the heist, at least.) If this sounds familiar, it's because it was dramatized in Martin Scorsese's 1990 film 'Goodfellas,' based on Nicholas Pilleggi's 1985 book 'Wiseguys' about mid-level crooks in the Lucchese crime family. The Lufthansa heist was a pivotal moment in the lives of a Queens, NY-based crew. Mobsters Henry Hill, Jimmy Burke and a bizarre group of degenerate gamblers, bookies, wig salesmen and guys with nicknames like Louis Roast Beef all somehow pulled off this incredible scheme...and then almost immediately start killing each other. On this episode of Dirty Money, hosts Dan Bova and Jon Small discuss the crime and its fallout, and what the Goodfellas version got right and what it got wrong. (And by wrong, we mean "slightly unfactual" because it is the greatest movie ever made and by extension, can do no wrong.)

If you're looking for the poster boy of corporate greed, look no further than Dennis Kozlowski, the former CEO of Tyco who took excess to a whole new level. In 2005, he was arrested and served six and a half years in prison for looting nearly $100 million from his company. Records revealed that he secretly loaned tens of millions of dollars of corporate funds to executives, and forgave those loans to win their loyalty. Without board approval, he doled out millions in bonuses and used company money to buy a $16.8 million apartment in New York City. He repeatedly dipped into Tyco's til to cover his personal $80,000 American Express bill and luxury oddities including a $17,100 traveling toilet box, a $15,000 dog umbrella stand and a $6,000 shower curtain. On this episode, hosts Jon Small and Dan Bova speak with Catherine S. Neal, Associate Professor of Business Ethics and Business Law at Northern Kentucky University and author of "Taking Down the Lion: The Triumphant Rise and Tragic Fall of Tyco's Dennis Kozlowski" to get to the bottom of his greed (if there is a bottom.) Thanks for listening, be sure to subscribe and throw us a rating!

Journalist Josh Dean joins the show to explain the baffling and exhausting scheme that bilked movie crew members out of millions.

Dirty Money is a new white-collar crime podcast series from Entrepreneur Media. Each episode features the filthy tales of legendary scammers, con artists, and money-hungry crooks who stop at nothing to bilk their marks of millions. Hosted by Entrepreneur editors Dan Bova and Jon Small, the podcast takes a deep dive into the minds behind the crimes. Subjects include: Lou Pearlman (Backstreet Boys, N Sync) Eddie Antar (Crazy Eddie) The Hollywood Con Queen Dennis Kozlowski (Tyco Industries) Super Mario (Greek shipping tycoon) …and more. Subscribe now and catch new episodes every other Thursday starting January 19, 2023.