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2010: The Keepsake Scandal Mar 21, 2025

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It started with a missing breast milk keepsake. But when Cheyna Lee joined an online group of frustrated customers, she uncovered something much bigger—hundreds of victims, stolen mementos, and a scam artist hiding in plain sight. This is the story of Destiny Magoon, a small business owner who promised sentimental jewelry made from ashes, hair, and even breast milk—but left heartbreak in her wake. What followed was an online investigation that played out like a true crime documentary, exposing fraud, deception, and a woman willing to do anything to cover her tracks.

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2009: The Gambler Revisited Mar 11, 2025

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Episode Summary:

While working on the new season of Pretend, I wanted to bring back an episode from 2018 that’s worth another listen. It’s the story of Art Schlichter, a former Ohio State football star whose gambling addiction wrecked his life—and the lives of others. One of those people was Anita Barney, the widow of a Wendy’s CEO, who lost everything after trusting the wrong person.

This isn’t just a story about gambling. It’s about how someone can slowly gain control over another person’s life and bank account, one small ask at a time.

Topics Covered:

✔ How Art Schlichter went from an NFL draft pick to a convicted con artist

✔ The way he pulled Anita Barney into his schemes

✔ How quickly financial fraud can spiral out of control

Resources & Links:

📖 Quarterback Sneak – Anita Barney’s book about what happened

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2008: Licensed to Kill part 2 Mar 04, 2025

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n part two of Licensed to Kill, we continue the shocking investigation into doctors who exploit their patients for profit. This episode follows Patty Hester, a fitness instructor who was misdiagnosed with a rare blood cancer and nearly subjected to years of unnecessary chemotherapy—all at the hands of Dr. Farid Fata, a Michigan oncologist who built his fortune by treating healthy patients for diseases they never had.

But Fata isn’t alone. Across the country, doctors like Thomas Weiner, Ian Paterson, and Javaid Perwaiz have betrayed their patients, mutilated bodies, and destroyed lives—all under the guise of medical care.

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2007: Licensed to Kill part 1 Feb 25, 2025

Show notes

What if your doctor wasn’t trying to save you, but trying to cash in on you?

In this episode of Pretend, we uncover the shocking case of Dr. Thomas Weiner, an oncologist accused of prescribing years of brutal chemotherapy treatments to patients who may not have even had cancer.

We follow the story of Scott Warwick, a man who was told he had stage 4 lung cancer and endured 11 years of toxic treatments—only to later learn there was no biopsy confirming his diagnosis. When Dr. Randy Sasich, a pulmonary critical care specialist, began questioning Weiner’s practices, he faced pushback, intimidation, and threats.

But Weiner’s case isn’t unique. Across the country, doctors like Farid Fata, Jorge Zamora-Quezada, and Michael Swango have been caught exploiting patients for profit, exposing just how broken the U.S. healthcare system truly is.

In this episode, we dive into:

✔️ How financial incentives reward doctors for prescribing unnecessary treatments

✔️ The loopholes in insurance billing that allow fraud to go undetected for years

✔️ The whistleblower who risked everything to expose the truth

✔️ The cult-like following that still defends Dr. Weiner

🔍 Sources & Additional Reading:

ProPublica’s Investigative Report: "Eat What You Kill" :

https://www.propublica.org/article/thomas-weiner-montana-st-peters-hospital-oncology

🎧 Next Time on Pretend:

Meet a patient who underwent three years of cancer treatments—for cancer she never had.

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💬 Have thoughts on this episode? Leave a review or send us a message—we’d love to hear from you!

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2006: Operation Cock Block Feb 19, 2025

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A group of women, all with eerily similar stories, say they were deceived—emotionally and financially—by the same man: William Sullivan. But instead of staying silent, they took matters into their own hands. They formed Operation Cock Block, a coordinated effort to expose what they claim were Sullivan’s deceptive tactics and warn others before they fell victim.

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2005: The Telepathy Tapes B-side part 3 Feb 11, 2025

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Facilitated Communication is marketed as a miraculous tool for non-speaking autistic children. But what happens when this controversial method leads to devastating consequences? In this episode, we hear from Kevin Plantin, a father who was falsely accused of assault based solely on messages typed with the help of a facilitator.

Despite the evidence, some courts and institutions still give FC credibility—with tragic consequences.

In this episode, Kevin Plantan recounts how a letter typed via FC led to his wrongful imprisonment for 10 months on charges of sexual assault. We also revisit the story of Janyce Boynton, a former FC facilitator who now warns against the practice after witnessing its harmful effects firsthand.

Featured guests in this episode:

Kevin Plantin: Sharing his personal story of wrongful imprisonment.

Janyce Boynton: Former FC facilitator and advocate against the practice.

Additional Resources:

Learn more about Facilitated Communication: https://www.facilitatedcommunication.org/
Read about Syracuse University's involvement with FC: https://dailyorange.com/2024/02/mixed-messages-how-facilitated-communication-persists-at-su/
Prisoners of Silence documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMn_sDCFAuI

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2004: The Telepathy Tapes B-Side part 2 Feb 04, 2025

Show notes

A mother kills her autistic son. Why? Because he asked her to.

The mother claims he used facilitated communication to ask her to help him die. This case is just one of many tied to the controversial method that claims to give a voice to non-speaking autistic individuals. But what if the voice wasn’t theirs at all?

Share Your Thoughts:

Have you listened to The Telepathy Tapes? What do you think about the claims it makes? We want to hear from you! Send a voice memo with your thoughts to javier@pretendradio.org, and your message might be featured in an upcoming episode.

Resources Mentioned:

➜ Learn more about Amy Lutz’s work and her book Chasing the Intact Mind.

https://amzn.to/4gg9Mbe

➜ Read Zaid Jilani’s articles on Facilitated Communication and The Telepathy Tapes on his Substack, The American Saga.

https://www.theamericansaga.com/

➜ Explore the history of Facilitated Communication in the documentary Tell Them You Love Me (available on U.S. Netflix).

https://www.netflix.com/title/81783064

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2003: The Telepathy Tapes B-Side part 1 Jan 28, 2025

Show notes

The Telepathy Tapes podcast shot to the top of the charts, making bold claims about telepathic abilities in non-verbal autistic children. But are the claims rooted in science—or something else entirely? In this episode of PRETEND, we take a closer look at the phenomenon, the controversies, and the skepticism surrounding these extraordinary claims.

We’ll discuss:

➜ The premise of The Telepathy Tapes and the experiments it presents.

➜ Scientific skepticism surrounding telepathy claims.

➜ Ethical concerns, including the history of Facilitated Communication and its controversies.

➜ Voices from parents, experts, and critics, including Zaid Jilani and Amy Lutz.

Resources Mentioned:

Learn more about Amy Lutz’s work and her book Chasing the Intact Mind.

https://amzn.to/4gg9Mbe

Read Zaid Jilani’s articles on Facilitated Communication and The Telepathy Tapes on his Substack, The American Saga.

https://www.theamericansaga.com/

Explore the history of Facilitated Communication in the documentary Tell Them You Love Me (available on U.S. Netflix).

https://www.netflix.com/title/81783064

Share Your Thoughts:

Stay Connected:

Follow PRETEND on social media and subscribe to the podcast for more stories exploring deception and the human condition.

➜ BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/pretendpod.bsky.social

➜ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pretendpod/

➜ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pretendpod

➜ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pretendpod

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Criminal Conduct S5: The Life and Death of Buffalo Jim Jan 21, 2025

Show notes

Hello PRETENDERS! I'm excited to announce that the new season of my other podcast, Criminal Conduct Season, is here! To listen to the rest of the story, search for Criminal Conduct and subscribe.

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Buffalo Jim Barrier was a wrestling promoter, mechanic, and Las Vegas icon. He faced off against Rick Rizzolo, a powerful strip club owner with alleged mob ties. Their feud lasted decades. Days after Rizzolo’s release from house release, Buffalo Jim was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a motel room. Evidence is missing, and there are anonymous threats. Questions remain unanswered. Criminal Conduct Season 5 unravels a story of corruption, crime, and one man’s fight for justice.

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2002: DNA Deception Jan 07, 2025

Show notes

DNA evidence is often seen as the gold standard in criminal investigations—a scientific fingerprint that can definitively prove guilt or innocence. But what happens when the science behind it is mishandled or manipulated? In this episode of PRETEND, we explore two shocking cases: the Garrett Coughlin triple homicide and the wrongful conviction of Josiah Sutton. Both cases reveal how sloppy forensic work and unethical practices can set guilty criminals free and, worse, imprison innocent people. Through interviews with victims' families, experts, and journalists, we unravel the myth of DNA as infallible evidence and expose the devastating consequences of a broken system.

Featuring insights from Kathy Eppler and a special contribution from Celisia Stanton of the Truer Crime Podcast, this episode serves as a sobering reminder: DNA is only as reliable as the people interpreting it.

Credits:

Special thanks to Celisia Stanton from Truer Crime Podcast for her contributions to the Josiah Sutton case segment.
Additional reporting and analysis from Hidden Killers Podcast and forensic scientist Dan Krane.

Pitch to Truer Crime Podcast:

If you're intrigued by the case of Josiah Sutton and want to dive deeper, check out Truer Crime Podcast hosted by Celisia Stanton, where she explores the complexities of DNA evidence, justice, and wrongful convictions with a sharp and compassionate lens.

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