Episodi

  • She Faked Every Summit: The Crystal Cole Fraud Case

    She Faked Every Summit: The Crystal Cole Fraud Case
    Oct 15 2026
    She Faked Every Summit: The Crystal Cole Fraud Case

    The chill of fraud hides in plain sight: a laminated badge claiming "Certified High-Altitude Guide" and a mountaintop photo found on a snowplow blade led to a four-year deception in a Colorado mountain town. How did sixty-three summit images, a professional-seeming avalanche class, and a falsified alpine council convince so many - and what finally exposed the lies?

    In this episode, we tell how a woman named Crystal Cole settled into Tanner Falls in 2014, built credibility through local routines and polished materials, and sold avalanche training under the American Alpine Leadership Council; how one guide spent thirty-six minutes analyzing photos and noticed wind patterns that did not match the claimed Karakoram peaks; and why the badge found on Ridgeline Road raised a question everyone in town had avoided: were those high-altitude credentials ever real?

    Person: Crystal Cole
    Date: January 9, 2019
    Location: Tanner Falls / Ridgeline Road
    Organization: American Alpine Leadership Council
    Participants trained: 41 people over four years

    - A laminated badge reading "Crystal Cole. Certified High-Altitude Guide. American Alpine Leadership Council" was found at 4:50 AM.
    - Crystal Cole arrived in Tanner Falls in spring 2014 at age 44 and joined local social groups like the Ridgeline Rollers bowling league.
    - Cole posted 63 photographs over four years that she labeled as high-altitude expedition images, but all were taken at Ridgetop Basin.
    - She charged $480 per person for avalanche seminars held twice a year (October and February), with 12-15 participants per session.
    - Guide Terry Coleman spent approximately 36 minutes examining Cole's photos and identified inconsistent sastrugi wind directions for the claimed Karakoram peaks.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    19 min
  • The Fake Fertility Specialist: How a Diploma Hid a Crime

    The Fake Fertility Specialist: How a Diploma Hid a Crime
    Oct 14 2026
    The Fake Fertility Specialist: How a Diploma Hid a Crime

    A chilling discovery - a gold-sealed Harlow University diploma found face-down in a hospital hallway - hid a web of falsified credentials that let an unqualified woman run a fertility clinic and treat desperate patients for years. How did a perfect-looking diploma mask a false past, and who noticed the trail of small contradictions that finally unspooled the truth?

    In this episode, we tell the story of Wendy Mason and the Calloway Regional fertility clinic, tracing the paperwork, the patient cases, and the staff records that reveal how credentials were fabricated and accepted. What did investigators find in a spiral notebook, a database entry, and a discarded diploma that changed everything?

    Person: Wendy Mason
    Date: December 9, 2014
    Location: Calloway Regional Regional Center, Calloway Regional Plaza
    Person: Jerry Zimmerman
    Event: Diploma logged as exhibit eleven

    - The diploma found was stamped Harlow University with a gold-embossed seal and two signatures, and was logged as exhibit eleven in the Calloway County DA's office.
    - Wendy Mason arrived in Calloway in March 2012 at age twenty-seven to staff the new fertility clinic.
    - Mason's true training was a two-year associate's degree in health sciences and four years as a medical assistant in Des Moines, not attendance at Harlow University or an Ohio residency.
    - The fraudulent board certification was purchased from a credentialing service using a mail-forwarding address in Nevada.
    - Nurse practitioner Jerry Zimmerman kept a private spiral notebook recording dates, patient identifiers, original orders, and corrections that later proved important.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    20 min
  • Runner Finds a Refugee's Life - She Never Existed: The Jean Tillman Case

    Runner Finds a Refugee's Life - She Never Existed: The Jean Tillman Case
    Oct 13 2026
    Runner Finds a Refugee's Life - She Never Existed: The Jean Tillman Case

    A retired postal supervisor finds a refugee dossier hidden under a park bench, a folder that led to a fabricated life spanning continents and humanitarian credentials - how could a woman invented from maps and staged photos run resettlement services for nine years? What single geography question and a four-second pause unraveled everything?

    In this episode, we follow the discovery, the papers, and the months of verification that exposed inconsistencies in Jean Tillman's background, tracing how routine audits and one compliance call raised the question: how was she able to help real refugees while living a constructed past?

    Person: Jean Tillman
    Date: November 7, 2019
    Location: Riverside Memorial Park, Crestview route
    Investigator: Brenda Porter
    Auditor: Patricia Osei

    - The folder was found at approximately 6:15 AM under a bench on November 7, 2019.
    - George Dalton kept the folder for eleven days before calling the number on the cover sheet.
    - Within three hours of Brenda Porter opening the folder she suspected something was wrong; within fifteen days she "knew almost everything."
    - Jean Tillman worked for the Midwest Resettlement Collaborative for nine years after applying in fall 2010.
    - Patricia Osei ran a routine audit in 2016 and could not verify the Brussels institution Jean listed in her file.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    20 min
  • The Diploma That Built a Town: How Beverly Russo Faked Her Way In

    The Diploma That Built a Town: How Beverly Russo Faked Her Way In
    Oct 12 2026
    The Diploma That Built a Town: How Beverly Russo Faked Her Way In

    A small town trusted a principal whose Master of Science diploma bore the University of Illinois seal - but the course number on her transcript was a sequence that did not exist in 1991. The community named her a fixture, test scores rose, and she tutored every Wednesday for eight years; so how did no one catch the impossible course code for six years? What happens when competence and a forged credential collide?

    In this episode, we tell how a clerical worker became principal, what was found in a QuikPrint out-tray at 6:50 a.m., and how a routine personnel audit uncovered a discontinued course number that should not have applied to her record. Where did the altered documents come from, and why did the district ignore the red flag for years?

    Person: Beverly Russo
    Location: Renner Consolidated Elementary
    Date (diploma): May 1994
    Discovery time: 6:50 a.m.
    Audit year: Autumn 1997

    - Beverly Russo was hired at age 22 after earning a two-year certificate from Vantage Community Technical College in 1991.
    - The diploma found in the out-tray read "Master of Science in Educational Administration, University of Illinois, May 1994."
    - Beverly ran Renner Consolidated Elementary for eleven years and developed a reading intervention adopted by two neighboring districts.
    - The altered personnel file used Patricia Hensley's University of Illinois transcripts with Beverly's name over Hensley's and one course number transposed.
    - Personnel coordinator Jeffrey O'Brien found the impossible five-digit course number in autumn 1997 and left a note that sat in a desk drawer for six years.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    18 min
  • The Lanyard Lie: How One Loop Toppled a Food Critic's Career

    The Lanyard Lie: How One Loop Toppled a Food Critic's Career
    Oct 11 2026
    The Lanyard Lie: How One Loop Toppled a Food Critic's Career

    A single woven burgundy-and-gold lanyard loop-an 11-day-old lost press pass-ended a four-year career built on a claimed Lyon summit credential; how did a tiny textile expose a string of bylines and a magazine column? Who first noticed the wrong attachment, and why did that one detail unravel everything?

    In this episode, we follow the sequence of events laid out in the record: a retired postal worker finds an unclaimed laminated pass, the credential reads Rachel E. Mitchell - Culinary Arts Summit, Lyon 2007 - and a woven loop reveals the pass predates the year it purported to prove. How did that loop, the missing clip, and the decisions of editors and fact-checkers shape the rise and fall of a food critic?

    Person: Rachel E. Mitchell
    Event: Press pass found in lost-and-found after eleven days
    Location: Saint Agatha's donation box
    Date: September 2011 (discovery); Lyon summit credential dated 2007
    Person: Stanley Roberts

    - The pass was left unclaimed in a lost-and-found box for eleven days.
    - Stanley Roberts, a retired postal worker, removed the pass from a donation bin on a Tuesday morning in September 2011.
    - The laminated credential read "Rachel E. Mitchell. Press. Culinary Arts Summit. Lyon, France. 2007."
    - Genuine 2007 summit passes used a metal clip after a mid-year redesign; the found pass had a woven burgundy-and-gold loop.
    - Rachel Mitchell used the pass as a listed credential when securing a monthly column at Heartland Table and maintained published reviews for at least two years.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    21 min
  • He Taught Their Children for Nine Years - Under a Dead Man's Name

    He Taught Their Children for Nine Years - Under a Dead Man's Name
    Oct 10 2026
    He Taught Their Children for Nine Years - Under a Dead Man's Name

    A small-town routine hid a nine-year deception: a man taught fifth grade under the name and certification number of Scott Adams, who had died in 2001, and the false identity only unraveled when a laminated certificate was found on August 9, 2011. How did paperwork, audits, colleagues and two superintendents all miss that a buried man’s credentials were being used in a live classroom for nearly a decade?

    In this episode, you’ll hear how the case unfolded from discovery to verification, what personnel records and a routine superintendent’s question revealed, and why the academic records ultimately remained unchanged. What does it mean that a teacher so trusted by students stood in front of them under a dead man’s name?

    Person: Dennis Alan Pruitt
    Person: Scott Adams (deceased)
    Date: August 9, 2011
    Location: Dellard Elementary, Dellard Township, Morrow County, Ohio
    Event: Credential verification triggered by superintendent Monica Grahl

    - A laminated teaching certificate with the name Scott Adams was found tucked in a drainage culvert on August 9, 2011.
    - The real Scott Adams died in August 2001 at age 29 in a traffic accident on Interstate 71.
    - Dennis Alan Pruitt began teaching at Dellard Elementary in 2002 and taught for approximately nine years.
    - Monica Grahl, superintendent for less than six months, scheduled a credential meeting on August 3, 2011 and called the Ohio Department of Education the same afternoon.
    - The verification that the certificate number belonged to a deceased man came back within roughly 48 hours.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    21 min
  • The Laminated Lie: How a Fake Counselor Stole a Town's Grief

    The Laminated Lie: How a Fake Counselor Stole a Town's Grief
    Oct 9 2026
    The Laminated Lie: How a Fake Counselor Stole a Town's Grief

    Fear and betrayal thread through this small-town story: a laminated ID found in a river exposed a woman who posed as a licensed counselor and led grief groups for nearly two years. How did a single printed card and a one-day workshop become the foundation for a trusted role in a community - and what happened when the truth surfaced?

    In this episode, we tell the sequence of events that brought Connie Bowers to Fenwick, how she established grief support groups in a church basement, and the moment a relative in St. Louis first could not verify the Dellwood Grief and Trauma Institute. What does it mean when the person holding your grief is a fabrication?

    Date: July 14, 2011
    Location: Fenwick, Missouri
    Person: Connie M. Bowers
    Organization: Dellwood Grief and Trauma Institute (no official filings)
    Workshop: one-day grief workshop in Decatur, 2007

    - A laminated identification card for "Connie M. Bowers, LPC - Dellwood Grief and Trauma Institute, St. Louis" was pulled from Sallow Fork on July 14, 2011.
    - Connie Bowers arrived in Fenwick in September 2009 at age 24 and began offering grief support by January 2010.
    - Her formal training consisted of two years of university psychology coursework (ended 2006) and a single one-day grief workshop in 2007.
    - By January 2010 she was running two weekly Thursday grief groups (parental loss and spousal loss) in the Fenwick First Methodist church basement.
    - A family member in St. Louis could not find any address, IRS filing, or state listing for the Dellwood Grief and Trauma Institute when queried in December 2010-January 2011.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    19 min
  • He Planned Three Weddings at Once: The Howard Rogers Fraud

    He Planned Three Weddings at Once: The Howard Rogers Fraud
    Oct 8 2026
    He Planned Three Weddings at Once: The Howard Rogers Fraud

    A cold Buick, an abandoned binder and three separate weddings scheduled within eleven days - one man had built a months-long system of forged credentials, fake employers, and staggered identities to dupe three women. How did a surveyor's routine check expose a scheme that spanned three counties and nearly succeeded?

    In this episode, you will hear the sequence of events from the binder found in a passenger seat to the patterns that unraveled Howard Rogers's deception. The episode covers the forged engineer card, the three aliases and the coordinated phone schedule that kept the scheme running - but could that system hold when timing began to fail?

    Person: Howard Rogers
    Event: Abandoned Buick with binder found June 11, 2014
    Location: Forsythe Township
    Period: 2011-2014
    Case: Three simultaneous wedding plans across three counties

    - Binder found on passenger seat of a silver Buick on June 11, 2014 contained color-coded tabs with three names and wedding documents.
    - Howard used at least three aliases: Howard Rogers, Howard Marsh, and Howard Bauer with separate women in three different counties.
    - He forged an Ohio Licensed Professional Engineer card showing license number PE-441872 and created a fake employer, Bridgepoint Technical.
    - Three weddings were scheduled for June 21, June 26, and June 28, 2014 - two of them only two days apart.
    - Dennis Holt observed Howard making weekly late-night calls every Wednesday at 11:15 PM from his back porch, later revealed as coordination audits using prepaid phones.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    17 min