$14.6 billion in fraud. The 2025 DOJ Takedown, the largest ever. One billion catheters billed. A couple makes $615 million from fake wound care. While the government chases criminals, insurers legally deny billions in legitimate claims. Using AI. With 90% error rates. When a UnitedHealthcare CEO was killed, 57,000 reacted with laughing emojis. This episode explains why.

WHAT WE COVER:

Criminal Fraud: Operation Gold Rush: Russian organization steals $941M using 1M stolen identities | Arizona couple: $1.2B billed, $615M received, $68M seized | 324 defendants, 96 were medical professionals | Why both government and private insurers get defrauded

"Delay, Deny, Defend": From Jay Feinman's 2010 book | 20% claims denied (2023 average) | Only 1% appeal | 50% of appeals win | Half the denials were wrong | Industry playbook: delay, deny on technicalities, defend aggressively

The AI Scandal: UnitedHealth nH Predict lawsuit: alleged 90% error rate | When appeals happen, 90% reversed | Federal judge allows suit (Feb 2025) | Cigna's PXDX batch denials | UnitedHealth denials doubled: 10.9% (2020) to 22.7% (2022)

The Numbers: $260B hospital claims denied annually | 85% "non-emergent" ER denials were actual emergencies | 93% of doctors: prior auth delays care | 29% report serious adverse events/deaths | CEO pay: Witty $26.4M, Cordani $23.3M (200-370:1 ratios)

Real Stories: Heart procedure pre-approved then denied for "spinal injections" never received | Newborn denied NICU day 4 | Stroke patient: $70K out-of-pocket, dies during appeals | Mental health denied, told "if she dies, Medicaid pays" | Fighting insurance as "second job" while sick

Both Sides: Conservative: Prior auth prevents fraud/overutilization | Progressive: Profit motive incompatible with care | Reality: System both wasteful AND stingy | Insurance margins 3-5% but entire ecosystem profits

Solutions: 12+ states regulating AI in claims | Pennsylvania overturned 50% of denials | Bipartisan reform efforts | Free AI tool fights denials | HSA expansion vs Medicare for All debate

COMING PART 3: Mangione case, evidence, trial, folk hero status, what public reaction reveals

SOURCES: DOJ: 2025 ($14.6B) & 2024 ($2.75B) Fraud Takedowns | Operation Gold Rush | Gehrke/King Arizona case | Estate of Lokken v. UnitedHealth (Nov 2023) | Cigna PXDX lawsuit (July 2023) | Federal ruling (Feb 2025) | Senate Subcommittee report (Oct 2024) | Kaiser Family Foundation denial surveys | AMA prior auth surveys | PMC/NCBI insurance denial studies | STAT News | CBS News | PBS News | Healthcare Finance News | Becker's CEO compensation | Feinman "Delay, Deny, Defend" (2010)

FOLLOW US: Instagram & TikTok @MugshotMysteries

CONTENT WARNING: Healthcare failures, fraud, death, serious illness stories. Listener discretion advised.

DISCLAIMER: Educational/entertainment only. We present facts and multiple perspectives, not policy advocacy. Not medical/legal experts. Lawsuits reflect allegations, not proven facts. UnitedHealth denies AI claims; cases ongoing. CEO figures from public filings. Fraud cases from DOJ. Nothing condones violence. We examine systemic issues to understand frustration, not justify acts. Part 2 of 3.

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Stay curious. Stay suspicious. See you next week with another face... and another mystery

December 4, 2024. UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is killed outside a Manhattan hotel. Bullet casings read: "Delay. Deny. Depose." UnitedHealth's Facebook post gets 62,000 reactions...57,000 are laughing emojis. Supporters raise over $1 million for the suspect's defense. How did American healthcare get so broken that tens of thousands cheered a CEO's death?

This is the 96-year history that explains the reaction.

WHAT WE COVER:

The Birth (1929-1945): Great Depression creates health insurance | Baylor Hospital's 50-cent plan for Dallas teachers | Blue Cross/Blue Shield as nonprofits | WWII wage controls tie insurance to jobs | 1942 tax loophole | Truman's failed national plan | AMA's "socialized medicine" campaign

The Transformation (1965-1973): LBJ creates Medicare/Medicaid | Nixon-Ehrlichman tape: "The less care they give them, the more money they make" (Feb 17, 1971) | HMO Act (1973) | How "managed care" became standard

Going For-Profit (1980s-1990s): Blue Cross goes for-profit (1994) | Managed care backlash | HMO vs PPO explained | Prior authorization becomes standard | Why doctors need insurance permission

Modern Era (2000s-Present): Affordable Care Act (2010) | Three Supreme Court challenges | What Obamacare actually does | Medicaid expansion battles

The Numbers: Top 7 CEOs earned $283M (2021) | UnitedHealth CEO: $26.4M (348:1 ratio) | Profits up 230% since 2010 | Families pay $7,000/year (up 23%) | 17% claims denied (some 49%) | Only 1% appeal | 90% of appeals win | AI lawsuit: UnitedHealth accused of using 90% error-rate algorithm to deny care

KEY TIMELINE: 1929: Baylor Plan | 1942: Employer insurance tax-free | 1945: Truman plan killed | 1965: Medicare/Medicaid | 1971: Nixon approves HMOs | 1994: Blue Cross for-profit | 2010: ACA | 2023: AI lawsuit | 2024: Thompson killed

COMING NEXT: Part 2: Culture of denial, fraud cases, "Delay Deny Defend" | Part 3: Mangione case, trial, what the reaction means

SOURCES: National Archives: Medicare/Medicaid Act | Nixon White House tapes (1971) | Blue Cross historical records | NFIB v. Sebelius (2012) | King v. Burwell (2015) | UnitedHealth AI lawsuit (2023-25) | HMO Act (1973) | ACA (2010) | AMA Journal of Ethics | Stanford Medicine healthcare history | NCBI employment-based benefits research | CMS Medicare history | Health Affairs Journal | STAT News CEO compensation | CBS/NBC/CNN case coverage | DOJ healthcare fraud data

CONTENT WARNING: Healthcare system failures, death, violence, political controversy. Listener discretion advised.

DISCLAIMER: For educational/entertainment purposes only. We present historical facts and multiple perspectives, not policy advocacy. We are not medical/legal/policy experts. Brian Thompson killing and Mangione case are active legal matters—individuals presumed innocent. Nothing here condones violence. Thompson's death was a tragedy. Public reaction discussed as social analysis, not endorsement. Healthcare views vary—we present facts, you decide. Lawsuit information reflects allegations, not proven facts. Part 1 of 3-part series.

From 50 cents a month to $26 million CEOs. How we got here matters.

Part 1 of 3.

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Stay curious. Stay suspicious. See you next week with another face... and another mystery

December 4, 1872. A ship appears on the horizon. No one at the wheel. No response to signals. The boarding party finds her: the Mary Celeste, drifting 400 miles east of the Azores. Ten people vanished: a captain, his wife, their two-year-old daughter, seven experienced sailors. The cargo of 1,701 barrels sits untouched. Six months of food and water remains. Personal belongings lie undisturbed. But the lifeboat is gone. And everyone aboard has disappeared without a trace. One hundred and fifty-two years later, we still don't know why.

SOURCES: Gibraltar Vice Admiralty Court salvage inquiry records (1872-73) | Frederick Solly-Flood investigation & testimony | Captain Benjamin Briggs personal letters | Dei Gratia crew testimony | Ship's log documentation | Dr. Andrea Sella alcohol vapor explosion experiment, University College London (2006) | Anne MacGregor Smithsonian Channel documentary research | Captain David Williams seaquake theory | Arizona Republic bloodstain debunking (1943) | Arthur Conan Doyle "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884) | Spencer's Island shipyard records (1861) | Captain Gilman Parker insurance fraud trial (1885) | Red oak vs. white oak barrel porosity analysis | Chronometer malfunction studies | Comparative maritime abandonment cases: William L. White (1888-89), Alhama of Arendal (1885) | Maritime disaster archives | Azores geological/seaquake records

DISCLAIMER: For educational/entertainment purposes only. Based on court records, scientific research, historical documentation, and maritime archives. We are not historians or scientists. Views expressed explore leading theories based on available evidence, not definitive conclusions. This case remains officially unsolved. We respect the memory of the ten souls lost and their families. Arthur Conan Doyle's fictionalized version is discussed as historical context, not fact.

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Stay curious. Stay suspicious. See you next week with another face... and another mystery

The night before Thanksgiving, 1971. A man in a business suit. A bomb in a briefcase. $200,000 in twenties. And a jump into the freezing darkness over Washington state.

This week on Mugshot Mysteries, we're diving into the only unsolved air piracy case in American history, the legend of D.B. Cooper (or Dan Cooper, because the media got his name wrong from day one).

Join us as we break down how a polite, bourbon-sipping hijacker outsmarted the FBI, traumatized a flight crew with excessive courtesy, and vanished into thin air...literally. We cover copycat hijackings, mysterious money found by an 8-year-old on the Columbia River, deathbed confessions that lead nowhere, and Gabriel's wild CIA theory that... actually kind of makes sense?

From Kenneth Christiansen to Richard Floyd McCoy to Barbara Dayton, we dig into every suspect and theory from the past 50+ years. No blood, no bodies, just pure, unsolvable mystery.

You might hear tiny humans in the background this episode. Crime doesn't stop for bedtime, and neither do we.

Sources:

• FBI Vault: D.B. Cooper (NORJAK) Case Files (vault.fbi.gov)
• Himmelsbach, Ralph & Worcester, Thomas. NORJAK! The Investigation of D.B. Cooper (1986)
• Gray, Geoffrey. Skyjack: The Hunt for D.B. Cooper (2011)
• Forman, Tom (Director). D.B. Cooper: Where Are You? Netflix (2022)
• Smithsonian Magazine: "D.B. Cooper: The Enduring Mystery of the Only Unsolved Airline Hijacking in U.S. History"
• Seattle Times: D.B. Cooper archives (1971-2016)
• The Oregonian: Cooper coverage and Brian Ingram discovery (1980)
• New York Times: Original hijacking coverage (November 1971)
• Tina Mucklow interviews (various, 2011-2020)
• FAA records: Cooper Vane implementation
• Tosaw, Richard. D.B. Cooper: Dead or Alive? (1984)

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Stay curious. Stay suspicious. See you next week with another face... and another mystery

Between 1986-1989, eight young people were murdered or vanished along Virginia's Colonial Parkway. For 37 years, families sought answers. In January 2024, DNA identified a suspect: Alan Wade Wilmer Sr., a commercial fisherman who died in 2017.

THE VICTIMS:

• Cathy Thomas (27) & Rebecca Dowski (21) - Oct 1986
• David Knobling (20) & Robin Edwards (14) - Sept 1987
• Keith Call (20) & Cassandra Hailey (18) - April 1988 (still missing)
• Daniel Lauer (21) & Annamaria Phelps (18) - Sept 1989

THE BREAKTHROUGH: January 2024: DNA links Wilmer to Knobling/Edwards murders | Also connected to Teresa Howell killing (1989) | Wilmer was "suspect number one" in 1987 but passed polygraph | FBI sought him in blue 1966 Dodge pickup for approaching couples | Known as "Pokey," lived on boat "Denni Wade" | Commercial fisherman with access to waterways | Died 2017 before charges filed | DNA never entered into CODIS database—a critical failure

WHAT WE COVER: How DNA finally identified Wilmer after 37 years | Why polygraphs failed | The 2009 photo leak scandal exposing 80+ crime scene images | Law enforcement impersonation theory | Nautical connections and waterway access | Single vs. multiple killer debate | Why three cases remain unsolved | Where Keith and Cassandra's bodies might be

KEY QUESTIONS: Was Wilmer responsible for all eight murders? | Why wasn't his DNA in the system earlier? | Who else might be involved? | Will the other cases ever be solved?

SOURCES: Virginia State Police & FBI (2024-25) | "A Special Kind of Evil" by Blaine Pardoe & Victoria Hester | Daily Press, Virginian-Pilot, Richmond Times-Dispatch | "Lovers' Lane Murders" (Oxygen, 2021) | Bill Thomas advocacy & "The Family Perspective" (Forensic Genomics, 2020) | FBI profiler Jim Clemente | Detective Steve Spingola | Virginia Dept of Forensic Science

HAVE INFO? FBI: 1-800-CALL-FBI | tips.fbi.gov

DISCLAIMER: For educational/entertainment purposes only. Based on publicly available information. We are not legal/law enforcement professionals. Views are hosts' opinions, not official findings. Individuals discussed are presumed innocent unless convicted. Information may be incomplete or developing. We treat all victims and families with respect. Contact authorities directly with any information.

Three cases remain unsolved. Keith Call and Cassandra Hailey's bodies have never been found.

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Stay curious. Stay suspicious. See you next week with another face... and another mystery

July 1, 1976. Bavaria, Germany. Twenty-three-year-old Anneliese Michel dies weighing 68 pounds after 67 exorcism sessions over ten months. Her parents and two Catholic priests believed they were saving her soul from demonic possession. Medical professionals believed she was a mentally ill young woman who needed psychiatric care.

This Halloween, we present both sides with equal weight—the evidence for possession and the psychological explanations—without dismissing either. We explore disturbing audio recordings, witness testimonies about simultaneous voices and unexplained knowledge, reactions to blessed objects, and predictions that came true. We also examine epilepsy, dissociative disorders, and how culture shapes mental illness.

The result? You'll leave more uncertain than when you started. And that uncertainty might be the scariest thing of all.

WHAT WE COVER: The 67 documented exorcism sessions | Evidence that challenges natural explanation | Simultaneous speaking in multiple voices | Knowledge she shouldn't have possessed | Psychological frameworks (epilepsy, dissociative disorders) | Cultural shaping of mental illness | Catholic exorcism criteria | Why certainty on either side can be dangerous | Whether mental illness and possession could coexist

THE DISTURBING EVIDENCE: Audio recordings of exorcisms exist | Multiple witnesses to unexplained phenomena | Reactions to blessed objects vs. placebos | Speaking languages she never studied | Detailed knowledge of events she couldn't know | Physical strength beyond her emaciated state | Predictions that later came true | Medical diagnoses that didn't fully explain symptoms

SOURCES: Goodman, F.D. "The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel" (1981) | Trial transcripts, District Court of Aschaffenburg (1978) | Devinsky & Lai: "Spirituality and Religion in Epilepsy," Epilepsy & Behavior (2008) | Catholic exorcism criteria: Rituale Romanum & Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith | American Psychiatric Association DSM-5 (Dissociative Identity Disorder) | Seligman & Kirmayer: "Dissociative experience and cultural neuroscience," Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry (2008) | Medical and psychological journal research on temporal lobe epilepsy and religious experiences

CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of mental illness, religious trauma, starvation, and death. Listener discretion advised.

DISCLAIMER: For educational/entertainment purposes only. Based on trial transcripts, medical literature, and published research. We are not medical professionals, clergy, or mental health experts. This episode presents multiple perspectives without declaring definitive conclusions. Views expressed explore complex intersections of faith, medicine, and psychology. We treat Anneliese Michel and her family with respect while examining this case's difficult questions. This is not an endorsement of either supernatural or purely medical explanations.

FAIR WARNING: This episode doesn't provide easy answers. We don't conclude she was possessed, and we don't conclude she was "just" mentally ill. We sit with the discomfort of not knowing, because sometimes intellectual honesty means admitting the limits of our understanding.

Happy Halloween. Question your certainties.

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Stay curious. Stay suspicious. See you next week with another face... and another mystery

In February 1959, nine experienced Soviet hikers cut through their tent from the inside and fled into the freezing Ural Mountains wearing only underwear. When searchers found their bodies weeks later, the scene was inexplicable: one missing her tongue and eyes, two with crushed rib cages but no external wounds, clothing testing positive for radiation. The Soviet government blamed a "compelling natural force" and closed the case.

Sixty-five years later, the Dyatlov Pass Incident remains one of history's most haunting mysteries.

THE HIKERS: Igor Dyatlov (23, group leader) | Zinaida Kolmogorova (22) | Lyudmila Dubinina (20) | Alexander Kolevatov (24) | Rustem Slobodin (23) | Yuri Doroshenko (21) | Yuri Krivonischenko (23) | Nikolai Thibeaux-Brignolles (23) | Semyon Zolotaryov (37)

WHAT WE COVER: The bizarre timeline of events | Why they cut their way out | The "compelling natural force" official verdict | Missing body parts and radiation evidence | Crushed bones with no external trauma | The 2019-2021 avalanche theory | Military involvement theories | Infrasound and psychological explanations | Why this case haunts investigators 65 years later

KEY EVIDENCE: Tent slashed from inside | Bodies found 1-4 weeks later across 1.5km | Footprints showed they left calmly, not running | Campfire built under cedar tree | "Den" dug in snow | Some victims wore others' clothes | Autopsy findings include massive internal trauma | Film recovered from cameras | Diaries detail the expedition | Last photo shows tent being set up

SOURCES: Dyatlov Pass Official Archive (original Soviet case files, autopsy reports, diaries, photos) | Nature Communications: Gaume & Puzrin avalanche study (2021) | Discover Magazine scientific analysis | HISTORY Channel investigation | Atlas Obscura | All That's Interesting | Sky HISTORY | Snopes fact-checking | LEMMiNO documentary analysis | Wikipedia comprehensive timeline | Ermakvagus.com case collection

DISCLAIMER: For educational/entertainment purposes only. Based on publicly available sources including Soviet-era documents and modern scientific studies. We are not scientists, investigators, or officials. Views expressed are hosts' opinions and exploration of theories, not definitive conclusions. Information is drawn from translated historical documents which may contain gaps or inconsistencies. This case remains officially unexplained despite multiple investigations. We treat all victims with respect and acknowledge their families.

The mystery endures. Sometimes the most terrifying answer is that there may never be one.

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Stay curious. Stay suspicious. See you next week with another face... and another mystery

The art is gone. The frames hang empty. But the real mystery isn't what happened that night in 1990—it's what happened after.

In Part 3, we introduce everyone who touched this case: the street criminals who allegedly walked in, the made men who planned it, the associates who moved it, and the security guard who opened the door. By the time we're done, you'll understand why almost everyone connected to this heist is dead—and why the few still alive aren't talking.

THE SUSPECTS:

Rick Abath - 23-year-old guard who buzzed in "police" | Broke protocol | Failed polygraph twice | Changed story multiple times | Moved guard desk from panic button that night | Still alive

George Reissfelder - Career criminal, Merlino associate | FBI's prime suspect | Resembled sketches | Wrongfully imprisoned, released 1982 | Dead of overdose July 1991 (16 months after heist) | Age 42

Lenny DiMuzio - Reissfelder's partner | Resembled second sketch | Museum burglary history | Dead of overdose August 1991 (17 months after) | Age 35

Bobby Donati - Patriarca associate, Rossetti crew | Sophisticated art thief | FBI believed he planned it | Murdered September 1991, found in Cadillac trunk, beaten/stabbed/strangled | Age 50 | Mob hit

Carmello Merlino - Auto body shop owner, Rossetti crew | Alleged fence | FBI wiretaps caught him discussing paintings | Died 2005 before charges | Age 71

Robert Gentile - Organized crime associate | FBI dug up yard twice | Failed polygraph on Gardner art | Died 2021 in prison | Age 85 | Insisted he knew nothing

David Turner - FBI formally identified as thief in 2015 | Connected to Merlino crew

WHAT WE COVER: How suspects connect | Merlino crew's auto body shop hub | Why so many died within 18 months | Wiretap evidence | Failed polygraphs | Why Gentile's widow says he took secrets to grave | Abath's suspicious behavior | Omertà code of silence | Donati murder as possible silencing | Why FBI knows but can't prove

THE PATTERN: 2 dead within 17 months | 1 murdered mob-style | Multiple died before charges | Survivors won't talk | $10M reward unclaimed 35 years

SOURCES: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum archives | FBI files & 2015 conference | WBUR "Last Seen" | Boston Globe 30+ years | Netflix "This Is a Robbery" | NY Times profiles | Hartford Courant | FBI Organized Crime files | Court records

$10M REWARD ACTIVE | FBI: 1-800-CALL-FBI | tips.fbi.gov | Anonymous tips accepted

DISCLAIMER: For educational/entertainment purposes only. Based on FBI investigations, court records, published journalism. We are not law enforcement. Views explore publicly available information and FBI-named suspects, not accusations against others. Active investigation. Contact authorities with information. We respect all victims and ongoing recovery efforts.

The suspects are dead. The secrets remain. Someone still knows.

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🎧 New episodes drop weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and everywhere you listen.

Stay curious. Stay suspicious. See you next week with another face... and another mystery