Fraud, fame, and the paperwork underneath.
Scamfluencers turns modern grift stories into brisk narrative case files. Episodes follow the money, the access, and the absurd confidence behind scams involving pop stars, financiers, politicians, memoirists, media founders, and wealthy insiders.
PRESS PLAY
Scamfluencers is a true-crime-adjacent fraud show built around people who mistake proximity to power for the same thing as power. Its cases are full of celebrities, investors, admissions offices, political aides, memoirs, penthouses, red carpets, private school paperwork, and very bad shortcuts. The show moves quickly, but it is not sloppy. Episodes tend to start with a charged scene, then walk backward through the life, ambition, lie, and loophole that made the scandal possible. That structure gives the stories momentum without turning them into blur. Recent installments span Sean Kingston, Dana Giacchetto, Rick Singer, Carlos Watson, Melissa Caddick, Bernard Lafferty, Pat Nolan, and the controversy around The Salt Path. The range is part of the appeal. One week the central question is how celebrity money could be routed through someone else's company. Another week it is how a student with no water polo team ends up with a fake athletic profile. The show is especially sharp on the social logic of scams. It notices when wealth produces trust, when celebrity makes people stop asking basic questions, and when a legitimate opening becomes a permission slip for theft. It also has a reliable eye for absurd specifics. A luxury penthouse, an Amazon water polo prop, a hotel suite across from the state capitol, a presidential pardon, and a borrowed financial services number all become pieces of the same larger pattern. The tone is dry, incredulous, and conversational. It can be funny about ridiculous behavior without treating the damage as imaginary. That balance matters because the cases often involve victims, legal consequences, ruined finances, public disgrace, and occasionally darker material. Scamfluencers is not a puzzle show. It is more interested in how the scam worked, why people accepted it, and what kind of self-image let the central figure keep going. The storytelling is direct enough for casual listening and detailed enough for people who like the mechanics. Its sweet spot is the collision between glossy surfaces and grim paperwork. The downfall is never just a twist. It is the bill coming due.
Made for: Best for true-crime listeners who prefer scams, status games, and financial fallout over murder cases. It also suits fans of celebrity culture, media scandals, political misconduct, and courtroom-adjacent storytelling.
What sets it apart: Scamfluencers stands out by pairing brisk narrative reporting with a skeptical, socially fluent read of ambition. It treats scams as systems of access, image, trust, and paperwork, not just as wild anecdotes.
You never really know someone…especially online. In today’s world, the power of influence can be the quickest path to money and fame, and it often ends in ruin. These are the stories of the world’s most insidious Scamfluencers. And we are their prey. Join co-hosts Scaachi Koul and Sarah Hagi as they unpack epic stories of deception from the worlds of social media, fashion, finance, health, and wellness. These influencers claim to be everything from charismatic healers to trusted financial insiders to experts in dating. They cast spells over millions. Why do we believe them, and how does o...
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Scamfluencers makes elaborate fraud legible by showing how status, trust, and institutional compliance keep a lie moving.
Scamfluencers follows deception by tracing the trust, access, and institutional failures that let it work. Scaachi Koul and Sarah Hagi pair chronological narration with quick exchanges that clarify the mechanics without draining the stories of momentum.
Celebrity money, forged letters, and fake athletes sharpen your scam radar with Scaachi Koul and Sarah Hagi.
Press play if you want
Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A 2000s radio memory turns into a celebrity fallout story.
Sean Kingston: Beautiful Lies pulls a 2000s radio memory into a celebrity downfall story with a sharp edge. Scamfluencers moves from the 2007 hit run to the May 2011 Miami jet-ski crash, then stays close to the damage: ICU, 11 days in the hospital, a torn aorta, open-heart…
Celebrity access is the lure, but the real story is money, ego, and a refusal to stay behind the scenes.
Scamfluencers frames Dana Giacchetto as someone who wanted celebrity proximity and never quite belonged in the background. It starts in the March 1998 Oscar-night haze and lays out, in clear terms, how he handled wealthy clients' money by having checks made out to them, then…
A brisk revisit to the admissions scam that finds Rick Singer back in the college game.
Rick Singer comes off as the sort of fraudster whose return makes the whole thing feel more sour than redemptive. Scamfluencers follows Operation Varsity Blues in a tight, clear arc, moving from the elite-university bribery scheme to Singer's March 2025 prison release and his…
A glittery fraud story that stays focused on the mechanics of how the scam worked.
Melissa Caddick's story is presented as a glittery finance scandal, all penthouse views, designer handbags, and a disappearance after police raided her house.
A restaurant dynasty feud where reputation, money, and ego hit the table.
The Cipriani family story plays less like a food profile than a study in legacy under pressure. Scamfluencers moves through the Venetian inheritance, the Manhattan outpost, the New York Times review, the ad in The Times, and the family’s public response with a steady eye on how…
Celebrity access and pure nerve make this fraud story hard to shake.
The episode follows Calvin Darden Jr. from celebrity proximity and easy charm into a legal mess that keeps tightening. It is strongest when it shows how status and shamelessness do the work long before the charges arrive.
A literary hoax, a famous name, and a very sturdy stack of lies.
Clifford Irving's Howard Hughes hoax plays like a scam story with a literary streak: forged letters, a convinced publisher, and years of secrecy all stack up behind the grin.
Fraud stories with comic whiplash.
True scam stories with a prevention mission.
Experts explain the con; the hosts ask what to do.
Family accusations meet evidence, pointed questions and consequences.
Sean Kingston's story opens with a fight over a 232-inch television in a Fort Lauderdale mansion, where Ariel Mateos is still waiting on a $47,000 balance and getting excuses about Dubai and Sean's mother.
Dana wants the spotlight.
Rick Singer is back in college admissions.
This episode revisits the rise and fall of Carlos Watson and Ozy Media, a media startup involved in fraud, his conviction and 10-year prison sentence, and his last-minute pardon by President Trump.
A foot washes up on a remote beach.
This episode explores the story of Bernard Lafferty, the butler to billionaire Doris Duke, whose immense fortune impacted her relationships and his life as she neared death in 1993.
This episode explores the blurred line between lobbying and bribery in American politics through the story of Pat Nolan, a California Republican leader who accepted checks from businessmen seeking to influence a governor's veto on a shrimp company loan.
Co-hosts discuss literary frauds and financial scams, introducing a case about a fake memoir adapted into a film starring Gillian Anderson.
This episode tells the story of how the McDonald's Monopoly contest was rigged, with one man controlling the winners and losers, as illustrated by a 2001 incident involving a million-dollar prize presentation.
This episode explores the story of reformed cyber criminal Brett Johnson, who turned to crime to escape being a 'dweeb' and became known as the 'original Internet godfather' for his role in creating the Shadow Crew network.
This episode explores the origins of self-help through the story of a man who failed at everything except selling delusion, connecting to modern influencer scams.
This episode explores the story of reality TV star Brittish Williams, who was arrested during a girls trip with her Basketball Wives co-stars, highlighting her pattern of scams and legal troubles.
This episode explores the story of Charlie Javice, a woman who faked her way into the startup world and committed fraud against a major bank, framed within a discussion about the performative culture of tech founders.
This encore episode revisits the controversial story of Billy Mitchell, a video game legend accused of faking Donkey Kong records, with an update on his recent defamation case victory.
The episode revisits the story of Sandy Jenkins, an accountant who embezzled millions from a Texas fruitcake bakery to fund a luxury lifestyle.
A polygamist cult leader and an Armenian gangster exploit biofuel tax credits in a $1 billion scam, investigated by the FBI and EPA.
Cipriani opens on a table flex.
Calvin is tumbling fast.
Early January 1972 opens under bright lights.
This episode tells the story of a scammer who posed as a Texas oil man, focusing on his schemes and the impact on his victims.
Co-hosts discuss club culture and introduce the story of Studio 54's rise and fall, focusing on Ian Schrager.
This episode tells the story of Aldrich Ames, a CIA double agent who caused massive damage to U.S.-Russia relations during the Cold War.
This episode revisits the story of Michael Milken, the junk bond king, and discusses his new museum in Washington D.C.
An FBI undercover agent recounts his efforts to bust a scammer running a fake bank con in 1977 Hawaii.
This episode explores a scammer who faked antique medical equipment to exploit collectors.
This episode explores a historical scam involving a man claiming to be a Russian royal in 1920s Hollywood.
This episode tells the story of Rocky Aoki and the scams behind the Benihana restaurant chain.
Co-hosts discuss the ubiquity of multilevel marketing schemes and how influencers recruit through social media.
The hosts discuss a past episode about the Liver King, a fitness influencer who faked his physique and sold scam products, and promote a related Netflix documentary.
Co-hosts discuss hypothetical cult leadership and introduce the story of Teal Swan, a controversial influencer accused of running a cult.
This episode investigates Teal Swan, a spiritual influencer accused of running a cult and manipulating followers emotionally and financially.
This episode explores the story of the Bragg family and how they turned apple cider vinegar into a wellness empire, revealing the deceptive practices behind the brand.
This episode investigates Michael Milken's rise and fall in bond investing, exposing how his financial schemes led to widespread economic damage.