How the mighty fall: 9 podcasts about white collar crimes

Who doesn’t love a good Ponzi scheme? Fraud that takes so many twists and turns that you forget how you got here in the first place. White collar crimes are captivating, typically ensnaring other people of fame, power, and money in the process. And we can’t help but watch every domino fall.

These white collar crimes also make great content for podcasts! Great cons take years to create, execute, and eventually crumble, with levels upon levels of co-conspirators, secret bank accounts, and institutions letting them get away with it. So, we have collected the best podcasts about white collar criminals that fooled the world until they were exposed as the fools themselves.

The Dream

The first season of “The Dream” dives into the world of multi-level marketing. Despite the fact that most people feel as though MLMs are scams, their undeniable charisma and shamelessness have people falling for their schemes every day. Host Jane Marie sets off to find out just how effective these pyramid schemes are able to play on so many Americans’ dreams of earning money through a fun and accessible business model. The second season dives even deeper into the business of wellness MLMs. How do they manage to sell the concept of wellness? And why are so many people buying into it? From Little Everywhere and Witness Docs comes “The Dream”.

Ponzi Supernova

An Audible Original, “Ponzi Supernova” investigates the questions that still remain after Bernie Maddoff’s $65 billion Ponzi scheme toppled. Journalist Steve Fisherman is determined to find out how Maddoff got away with his scam for so long, who helped him, and why he did it in the first place. The series examines hours and hours of unheard conversations from Maddoff in prison, as well as interviews with law enforcement officials and victims. As Maddoff’s scheme continues to unfold, only more and more questions arise.

The Pope’s Long Con

Danny Ray Johnson was elected to the Kentucky state office in 2016, largely due to his impressive track record. He’s held some of the countries loftiest titles, been behind the rescue efforts of America’s biggest disasters. A 9/11 hero, a miracle worker who can raise people from the dead. But, can this really be true? From Louisville Public Media, “The Pope’s Long Con” follows the filthy trail of Johnson, or “The Pope” as he liked to be called, that leads them through records of arson, bootlegging and even child molestation in the church. “The Pope’s Long Con” asks how this liar managed to slip through the cracks, and why numerous institutions protected him in his rise to power.

Gangster Capitalism

The third season of “Gangster Capitalism” is all about the infamous Jerry Falwell Jr. and Liberty University. If you don’t know who Jerry Falwell Jr. is, then you are in for quite a ride. Scandal rocked the Christian university when it somehow came out that Faldwell Jr. and his wife were both having a sexual relationship with the pool boy. But that was just the tip of the iceberg. C13 Originals’ “Gangster Capitalism” team spoke with over 80 Liberty students, staff, faculty, and high-ranking administrators to learn what has been happening at the school for years. Deceit, greed, power, and money have dictated the university’s operations from the beginning, and a sex slip-up may be what brings them down.

Swindled

“Swindled” is bringing you high-quality, immersive, documentary-esque episodes about white collar crimes, criminals, and swindlers. There’s corruption, fraud, Ponzi-schemes, and MLMs that have changed the way the world works. “Swindled” answers all of our questions: how did they do it? Who caught them? The only answer we do have: it was all in the name of money.

Over My Dead Body

Dan and Wendi are the perfect couple. Both are lawyers, both are beautiful, both have found extreme success. Their wedding was even featured in the New York Times. But all that glitters is not gold. There’s a bad breakup, a messy divorce, and eventually, a murder. This is a story of high-priced lawyers, suspicious co-conspirators, and hate-fueled fires. Wondery presents “Over My Dead Body”.

Behind the Bastards

“Behind the Bastards” tells the stories you know and the ones you don’t. While they cover murderous warlords like Hussein and Hitler, they also cover scandals and scams like the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, Bill Gates cover ups, Dr. Phil, and Kellogg to name a few. Learn all about the people are making the world a worse place with iHeartRadio’s “Behind the Bastards.”

Fake Heiress

Anna Delvey was a young and beautiful New York City socialite, due for a trust fund payment of $67 million on her 26th birthday. She was establishing the Anna Delvey Foundation, a multi-million dollar visual arts center in the city. She hosted brunches and dined with New York elites, securing their investments in her foundation. But Ann Delvey was not who she seemed. Anna Delvey was really Anna Sorokin, a magazine intern who had reinvented and rebranded herself as one of the wealthiest young women in New York City. She conned friends and businesses out of thousands of dollars. She lived a life of luxury on other people’s money. How? From BBC Radio 4 comes “Fake Heiress”.

The Missing Cryptoqueen

Dr. Ruja Ignatova convinced millions to join her revolutionary cryptocurrency, OneCoin. But everything was not as it seemed. Described by The New York Times as “one of the greatest scams of all time,” Dr. Ignatova disappeared in 2017. News came out that she had been convicted of fraud before: in connection with a company acquired by her and her father that went mysteriously bankrupt shortly after. This, along with her involvement with the MLM BigCoin, has made her one of the most notorious fraudsters ever. But will she ever come above ground to claim that title? BBC Radio presents “The Missing Cryptoqueen.”