History
**PRETEND**

PRETEND is an investigative true crime podcast about real people who lie for a living — con artists, scammers, and the victims caught in their web.

Hosted by journalist Javier Leiva, PRETEND exposes the human psychology behind deception and fraud. Each episode follows a real case of manipulation — from financial scams and Ponzi schemes to digital hoaxes and emotional cons

PRETEND explains how and why deception works without shaming victims, combining ethical journalism with cinematic storytelling.

Featured in lists of the best podcasts about con artists and scams, PRETEND investigates crimes of persuasion, trust, and betrayal. New episodes drop regularly with stories that reveal how manipulation shapes modern life, both online and off.

PRETEND is produced by Creative Babble, LLC.

© 2026 Creative Babble LLC

[CLAIM:B6BT3XC4]

Latest Episodes:

S801: The Sovereign Citizen Aug 04, 2021

Show notes

What is a sovereign citizen?

American Sovereign citizens believe that the laws of the United States do not apply to them. Therefore, no authority should tell them what to do: not judges, lawmakers, lawyers, or police officers. Oh, and they don't pay taxes either.

Sounds crazy, right? It would be crazy if they didn't get away with it so often.

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Story idea?

If you have a story to share, email Javier at javier@pretendradio.org.

For more episodes like this, visit pretendradio.org.

To get early releases and bonus episodes, go to pretendradio.org/donate

Today's episode was written and edited by Javier Leiva

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Birth of a Con Man (Revisited) Jul 20, 2021

Show notes

This is the very first episode I recorded for PRETEND. Hear how a small-time crook went from breaking into houses to running a phony medical clinic.

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FEATURING: Follow the Truth Podcast Trailer

In 1993, James Jordan, father of NBA legend Michael, was murdered in NC. Was the wrong man convicted of pulling the trigger? E1 and E2 release date: 7/22/21

Check out Follow the Truth Podcast:

https://t.co/b4grdGjwJp?amp=1

________

Story idea?

If you have a story to share, email Javier at javier@pretendradio.org.

For more episodes like this, visit pretendradio.org.

To get early releases and bonus episodes, go to pretendradio.org/donate

Today's episode was written and edited by Javier Leiva

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The Hijacker (Revisited) Jul 06, 2021

Show notes

This week, we revisit one of PRETEND's most popular episodes. It's called the Hijacker and it's a collaboration with my friend Chris Knittel. Hear Martin McNally describe the day he hijacked a plane.

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Story idea?

If you have a story to share, email Javier at javier@pretendradio.org.

For more episodes like this, visit pretendradio.org.

To get early releases and bonus episodes, go to pretendradio.org/donate

Today's episode was written and edited by Javier Leiva

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

PRETEND turns 4 Jun 22, 2021

Show notes

Jules Hannaford from the Fool Me Twice podcast joins me to talk about 4 years of PRETEND.

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Story idea?

If you have a story to share, email Javier at javier@pretendradio.org.

For more episodes like this, visit pretendradio.org.

To get early releases and bonus episodes, go to pretendradio.org/donate

Today's episode was written and edited by Javier Leiva

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

S710: The Sham vol. 1 May 11, 2021

Show notes

The Sham vol.1

This week, I turn the mic over to you. Two listeners share stories about their run-in with a con artist.

Our first story is from a long-time listener named Paul Schiffbauer Jr. He tells us about the time he learned the truth about the family business.

Our second story is about a listener whose con artist husband destroyed her life.

Links from the episode:

Amusement Only by Paul Schiffbauer Sr.

https://amzn.to/3uxsbto

Do you have a story to share?

Leave me a voicemail 919-444-2800

or email me at javier@pretendradio.org

To get early releases and bonus episodes go to pretendradio.org/donate

Today's episode was written and edited by Javier Leiva

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S709: The Liquor Guy Apr 27, 2021

Show notes

There are two sides to Billy. There's Billy, who just wants to do the right thing. And then there's the criminal lurking from within.

So which way did he go? Did Billy end up becoming a criminal? Or did he choose to be the good guy in his own story? Well, he decided to do both.

If you've listened to this show long enough, you know I go to great lengths to fact-check my episodes. But today is different because it's tough to corroborate Billy's stories. And that's okay. One of my favorite movies is Big Fish with Ewan McGregor. It's about a man who lived an extraordinary life. In the end, it turned out that most of his tall tales were true--but just a little skewed due to time.

And that's how I feel about Billy. Some of these stories are too incredible to be real. But they might be. He's always wrestled between being the good guy and the bad guy. And in the end, managed to be both a criminal and a cop.

So lean back, relax, and grab your adult beverage of choice. Because today we're going to spend the next half hour or so chatting with Billy the Liquor Guy.

Get a copy of Under Too Long by Billy the Liquor Guy:

https://amzn.to/3sWlmjo

Story idea?

If you have a story to share, email Javier at info [at] pretendradio [dot] org.

For more episodes like this visit pretendradio.org.

To get early releases and bonus episodes go to pretendradio.org/donate

Today's episode was written and edited by Javier Leiva

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S708: The Constable (Criminal Conduct) Apr 13, 2021

Show notes

This week's episode is actually the first episode of my other podcast CRIMINAL CONDUCT.

I wanted you, PRETEND listeners to get a sneak peek before it's debut on April 16th. If you like this episode, subscribe to the CRIMINAL CONDUCT feed to listen to the full episode.

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Criminal Conduct is back with a brand new case.

This season, John and Javier investigate a rogue constable in Kentucky who is accused of planting drugs, stealing money, and shaking people down.

Like a police officer, a constable can carry a gun, a badge and drive around town with blue lights. However, unlike police, a Constable has all the powers of a sheriff. He answers to no one but the voters on election day.

Criminal Conduct season 2 returns April 16th.

http://criminalconduct.net/

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S707: The Lie Detector part 2 Mar 30, 2021

Show notes

Doug Williams, the former Oklahoma City police officer who is best known for his crusade against the polygraph industry, teaches an undercover federal agent how to beat the lie detector test. The agent confessed that he had sex with a minor and was smuggling drugs into a prison. Should Doug Williams continue the training? What if Doug William's techniques get into the wrong hands?

Watch the undercover sting on YouTube.

________

Story idea?

If you have a story to share, email Javier at javier@pretendradio.org.

For more episodes like this, visit pretendradio.org.

To get early releases and bonus episodes, go to pretendradio.org/donate

Today's episode was written and edited by Javier Leiva

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S706: The Lie Detector part 1 Mar 16, 2021

Show notes

Learn how to cheat a polygraph test. Ex-cop, Doug Williams, says it's a lot easier than you think.

Doug Williams is looking over his shoulder because, since 1979, he's been on a crusade to defeat the polygraph machine. In 1996, he started a website called polygraph.com, offering a handbook and one-on-one training teaching people how to pass the test.

"There is no Pinocchio response. Your nose does not grow when you lie." - Doug Williams, polygraph critic

According to Doug Williams, a lie detector test is about as accurate as a coin toss. He claims the machine doesn't work, and as a result, innocent people are paying the price. Many innocent people have pleaded guilty and skipped trial because they failed a polygraph during an interrogation. And employers routinely administered polygraph tests as part of their hiring process. If you fail a lie detector test in the US federal government, you're potentially placed on a blacklist and never allowed to apply for that government agency job again.

Doug Willams says that the polygraph is just a stage prop used to scare people. How does he know this? Because he spent most of his law enforcement career using it as what he calls a psychological billy club. To him, it was just a tool to beat a confession out of a bad guy. But over the years, he realized that a polygraph test is just that... a test. It can be cheated. And he was going to devote the rest of his life to destroy it.

Doug Williams made a career giving people polygraphs exams. Now, he's going to prison for teaching people how to cheat the test.

To listen to the undercover tape that led to his arrest.

Check out my latest episodes on YouTube:

Credits

This episode was reported by Javier Leiva.

Special thanks to George Maschke with antipolygraph.org

Support PRETEND by becoming a member today at pretendradio.org/donate

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S705: The Word of Faith Fellowship Update Mar 02, 2021

Show notes

If you haven't listened to The Prophet series, start here:

http://pretendradio.org/the-prophet-word-of-faith-fellowship-revisited/

When I first started this podcast, I reported on a secretive church located in the foothills in western North Carolina called the Word of Faith Fellowship.

The church is accused of being a cult and separating families—forcing them to break ties with non-believers.

One teenager named Matthew Fenner pressed charges against five church ministers because he said they beat the gay demons out of him.

And that's just the beginning. Several former members reported being forced into isolation in what is known as the lower building. Some male congregants say they lived in this makeshift storage unit for over a year. But perhaps they're best remembered for their signature style of prayer. It's known as blasting. As you can hear in this secret audio recording, blasting is a form of deliverance meant to cast out the devil.

It has been said that crying babies were often held down and yelled at until the devil released its grip on the child. I've experienced blasting first hand. In 2018, I was personally invited by the church's leader,

Jane Whaley, to spend the day at the Word of Faith Fellowship. While interviewing her in her office, Jane Whaley looked me straight in the eyes, opened her mouth, and began shouting. It was terrifying. To this day, I still get chills.

It's been 2 years since I finished my 11-part series on the Word of Faith. Since then, I've been flooded with emails asking me to give them an update. They want to know, have there been any new allegations of abuse?

Have any of the church leaders faced any criminal charges? Is Jane Whaley still running the church? Today, I plan to answer some of these questions.

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