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:

S704: The Confident Woman Feb 16, 2021

Show notes

Tori Telfer, author of Confident Women: Swindlers, Grifters, and Shapeshifters of the Feminine Persuasion joins us to talk about female con artists. Today, we're focusing on one of the women in her book—Bonny Lee Bakley, the wife of Hollywood actor Robert Blake.

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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 by Javier Leiva

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

S703: The Pharmacist Feb 02, 2021

Show notes

In today's episode, we're going to take another look at the opioid crisis, but this time from a pharmacist's perspective. But this is not just any pharmacist. Dan Schneider is a vigilante who helped bring down his son's killer, a pill mill, and one of Earth's largest pharmaceutical companies.

Watch the Pharmacist on Netflix:

https://www.netflix.com/title/81002576

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Today's episode was written by Javier Leiva and edited by Logan Castrodale.

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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 by Javier Leiva and edited by Logan Castrodale

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

S702: The Pill Mill Jan 19, 2021

Show notes

A doctor caught trading prescriptions for cash leaves a trail of bodies behind.

A respected anesthesiologist ran a pain-management clinic on the weekends out of a basement in Flushing Queens, New York.

Each Saturday, Dr. Stan Li saw more than seventy patients a day, writing prescriptions for Oxycontin, Xanax, and other opioids.

Today's episode features Charlotte Bismuth, author of Bad Medicine.

Links

Here's a link to the Birth of a Con Man series.

Also, subscribe to the new PRETEND YouTube channel for a chance to win a t-shirt.

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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

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

S701: The Real Donnie Brasco Jan 04, 2021

Show notes

Johnny Depp played Donnie Brasco in the Academy Award-nominated film. But the real-life story of Donnie Brasco is even more fascinating. Joe Pistone, an FBI agent, went deep undercover as Brasco and spent six years inside the Bonanno and Columbo crime families.

The movie, if you remember, starts with Joe Pistone immediately infiltrating with the mob. In today's episode, we will talk about everything that happened before the movie even begins.

What was Donnie Brasco's backstory? Where did he come from, and how did he earn money? The FBI needed to figure out every single detail about this fictional character before Joe Pistone ever made the first contact with the mafia. They decided that Donnie Brasco was going to be a jewel thief. That required Pistone to learn how gemology, how to break into safes, and how to disable alarms.

In this episode, you will hear from Joe Pistone himself. You'll even get to listen to a real wiretap recording between Donnie Brasco and his associate Lefty Ruggiero.

If you want more, check out the new podcast "Deep Cover-The Real Donnie Brasco," Joe Pistone shares the true stories of his time with the mob to his friend and host actor Leo Rossi.

PRETEND is on YouTube

Make sure to subscribe to the PRETEND YouTube channel. I will pick 10 subscribers at random and mail them a screen printed PRETEND t-shirt.

"Fuhggedaboutit"

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Story idea?

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

For more episodes like this visit pretendradio.org.

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

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

S611: The Santa Claus Man (Rebroadcast) Dec 22, 2020

Show notes

Brian Earl with the Christmas Past podcast shares a Christmas story you’ve probably never heard before. In the early 1900s, children’s letters to Santa Claus never made it to the North Pole. They landed in the dead letter office and were eventually destroyed.

But along came John Gluck, a hustler who took these letters to Santa and turned it into an opportunity to get rich and famous.

It’s the strange and true story of government agents, spies, an art thief, U.S. presidents, and gun-toting boy scouts.

Check out “My Dear Santa” with Brian Earl from the Christmas Past podcast

My Dear Santa: A True Crime Christmas Caper

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Story idea?

If you have a story to share, email Javier a voice memo or short written description at info@pretendradio.org.

For more episodes like this visit pretendradio.org.

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

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

S610: The Party Crasher Dec 09, 2020

Show notes

Remember when we used to go out to parties? Well, since you can't really go out these days, today we're going to celebrate together.

In this episode we're talking about party crashers.

Act 1:

How to crash a party

Our first story is about the art of crashing a party. What do you need to do to attend a party you weren't invited to without ever getting caught? Megan Gillikin a wedding planner and the host of the Wedding for Real Podcast shows us how.

Act 2:

The White House party crashers

Our second story, is about the greatest party crasher story of all time. The date was November 24th, 2009. Two Washington D.C. socialites were on their way to the White House state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Tareq and Michaele Salahi, the stars of the Real Housewives of D.C., crashed the White House State Dinner. How were they able to crash the most secure party on Earth?

Act 3:

A party crasher's confession

We end the show with stories from listeners like you about a time you crashed a party.

Oh, and by the way, just a warning. Some parts of this episode are not suitable for young children. Just want to put that out there.

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Have you ever crashed a party?

Do you have a party crashing story you would like to share? Leave me a voicemail at (919) 867-1871. Or email me javier [at] pretendradio [dot] org.

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Story idea?

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

For more episodes like this visit pretendradio.org.

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

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

S609: The Treasure Hunter part 4 Nov 25, 2020

Show notes

A real-life Indiana Jones?

The word on the street is that Michael Torres is Ph.D. by day and a treasure hunter by night. Torres claims he has an aeronautical engineering degree from Duke University. Don’t believe him? He has a photo of his diploma. Michael Torres also claims to have taught at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. He has the library card to prove it.

When he’s not in the classroom, Torres is out looking for treasure. He claims he raided catacombs in Turkey, he’s recovered one of Sir Francis Drake’s sunken ship. And most recently, he discovered what he believes is a pre-Incan Peruvian burial mask off the eastern coast of Florida.

But like unlike Dr. Indiana Jones, some have accused him of stolen valor by exaggerating his military career. They say Torres falsely represented himself as a war hero with two Purple Heart medals.

His critics say not to believe a word he says. For instance, Michael Torres says he discovered a mass Jewish mass grave in Savannah, Georgia. Is he a serious treasure hunter or just a hack who makes up stories in order to gain attention?

As a spectator in the world of fraud, I allow myself to get sucked in towards the center of the storm of lies. I do this with great caution. The closer I get, the more believable the stories get. And unlike victims, who are emotionally and financially invested, it's easier for me to circle just outside the hurricane's eye wall.

In today’s episode, I’ll let you be the judge. Is Michael Torres a war hero/treasure hunter? Or is he a con artist?

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Story idea?

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

For more episodes like this visit pretendradio.org.

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

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

S608: The Treasure Hunter part 3 Nov 11, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, Michael Torres discovers "a mass Jewish grave." But is it what he thinks it is? And I talk to the CEO of Seafarer Exploration to figure out why he hasn't found a single treasure in 13 years.

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Story idea?

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

For more episodes like this visit pretendradio.org.

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

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

S607: The Treasure Hunter part 2 Oct 30, 2020

Show notes

A modern-day pirate

Michael Torres is a self-proclaimed pirate. He says his most recent finds include the crown jewels of a pre-Incan civilization, a missing colonial settlement, and a desecrated Jewish burial site at Bonaventure cemetery.

These larger-than-life discoveries have come into question. In today’s episode, we’ll follow the evidence to separate fact from fiction.

Seafarer Exploration

Michael Torres is currently being sued by Seafarer Exploration, a treasure salvage company. The company says Torres lied about his credentials and has set them back financially. Today, we take a closer look at Seafarer Exploration to understand how this company stays afloat. After all, they’ve been around for 13 years, have millions of dollars in debt, and have yet to find a treasure.

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Story idea?

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

For more episodes like this visit pretendradio.org.

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

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

S606: The Treasure Hunter part 1 Oct 16, 2020

Show notes

A Florida treasure-hunting CEO says he was tricked by a conman.

Seafarer Exploration, a treasure salvage company, has spent the last 13 years trying to find a 300-year-old Spanish galleon sunken off the coast of Florida. A galleon is a large sailboat, with multiple leveled decks, and 3 or 4 masts. These ships were designed to carry large treasures found in the new world and bring them back to Spain.

Lost treasure

In 1715, a Spanish fleet loaded up with silver departed from Havana, Cuba. Seven days later, a hurricane off the east coast of central Florida swooped in and took down eleven of the twelve ships. Hence, the reason they call this part of Florida the treasure coast.

But as you can imagine, trying to find the mother load buried underneath the ocean is like finding a needle in a haystack. If Seafarer Exploration has any chance of finding this treasure, they are going to need to find someone who can build a ship that is powerful enough to scan the ocean floor. Imagine a giant floating metal detector that can capture high-resolution images of the seabed. That's when Kyle Kennedy, CEO of Seafarer Exploration, met a man who said, "Sure. I can build you this machine." His name was Dr. Michael Torres.

Kyle Kennedy claims that Michael Torres presented himself as an aeronautical engineer who graduated with a doctorate degree from Duke University. Torres also said he taught at MIT Draper labs and represented the NSA while also working on multiple classified government contracts. Kyle Kennedy couldn't believe it. This Dr. Michael Torres guy was perfect! And on top of an unbelievable resume, Kennedy says that Dr. Torres was a wounded war hero, who served two tours in Afghanistan. He was even awarded the Purple Heart medal.

The lawsuit

Fast-forward a few years later, Kyle Kennedy is now suing Michael Torres for fraud. He says Michael Torres is a con artist who faked his credential.

So, who is this guy? Dr. Michael Torres? I'm going to track him down to find out if he really is who they say he is. It turns out that the conman in this story is not who you would expect.

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Story idea?

If you have a story to share, email Javier a voice memo or short written description at info@pretendradio.org.

For more episodes like this visit pretendradio.org.

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

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