This week Hannah answers a listener’s question about a man named Tommy Lee Buckley and his “Treasury Gate” scheme— a web of corruption, secret bank accounts, government conspiracy, and a billion dollar payday that was always just around the corner. Then, Patia dives into the dark side of sudden wealth with stories of lottery winners whose luck went sideways, including Tonda Dickerson’s unforgettable Alabama jackpot in 1999.

Recommendations:

The Lodge podcast

Blink podcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Burt Rosen searched for his missing son, Matthew, for over twenty years. Matthew had been struggling with mental illness when he vanished in 2001. Burt spent day-after-day making phone calls, scouring the internet, searching for any sign of his son. And then, 23 years later, a tip came in that changed everything.

Hold On To Hope:

https://hold2hope.org/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Patia shares a story she’s followed for years and has a personal connection to: the disappearance of Samantha Sayers, who vanished after hiking Vesper Peak in August 2018. Patia grew close with Samantha’s mother, who has never stopped searching for her daughter. Then, Hannah tells the extraordinary survival story of Robert Schock, who set out for a trail run in 2024 and survived 30 harrowing days lost in the wilderness.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we speak with Johnathan Walton, creator of Queen of the Con and author of Anatomy of a Con Artist. Johnathan shares how he met “Mair Smyth,” grew to love her as a sister, and then was brutally betrayed when she conned him out of $100,000. Johnathan has since spoken with hundreds of other victims and built a handbook to expose the tricks con artists use to destroy lives.

Links:

Anatomy of a Con Artist: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/745592/anatomy-of-a-con-artist-by-johnathan-walton/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we’re talking scams. Hannah shares the story of a man whose photo was used to con thousands of women, and Patia takes us inside an unsettling case of identity theft.

Alex Couros’ Website: https://educationaltechnology.ca/information-for-romance-scam-victims/

Recommendations:

The Binge Cases: Catch Me If You Ken

Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Beth Denton has always wondered what really happened to her cousin Patricia, who was murdered in 1970 in her home in Oklahoma City. Decades later, she decided to find out. This week, we speak with Beth as she unravels this family tragedy and tells the story of Patricia's life and untimely death.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Patia and Hannah dig into listener emails, covering a rental scam, a case of digital dating abuse (yes, it’s real), and a cold case: the 2013 disappearance of Brookelyn Farthing.

Recommendations:

Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer (Wolf Entertainment + CBC)

Against All Odds (Wondery)

Alone (History Channel)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Patia and Hannah speak with Cassie, who attended a Halloween party at an Oregon State University fraternity in 2008. The night started with costumes, loud music and a crowded basement full of college students.

By the end of the night, Cassie was in the ER, holding a bag that contained her bloodstained costume. She soon found herself in a police interview recounting what happened. The state brought charges, and the case went to trial.

Cassie’s story is a personal account of navigating the legal system after reporting a rape. She did everything “right" but still faced a long, painful process. Her experience echoes the questions we’ve wrestled with in high-profile campus sexual assault cases: What does justice actually look like?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.