“Sacha Jafri sold an artwork for $62 million dollars in 2021 at an auction. But the money never changed hands. What happened?”
fraud
A True-Crime Producer Posed as an Heiress — Then Allegedly Stole $30 Million
“Mary Carole McDonnell made low-budget crime shows, but her own story was built on deceptions fit for one of her series. Now, she’s on the FBI’s Most Wanted list and the target of a global manhunt.”
Short Naps, Long Hours: How Autism Clinics Squeeze Medicaid Dollars Out of Preschoolers
“The industry has grown rapidly, straining state budgets. A focus on finances has led to overbilling, fraud and even harm.”
The Wrong Stalker
“He was locked up for a dangerous infatuation. Nothing was as it seemed.”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
In this edition: Eschatolgy, Texas style; dancing like nobody’s watching; the men, they myths, the legends; monumental responses; and notes fit for a King.
A Hockey Dad, a Cartel, and a $12 Million Fraud
“Kota Youngblood told his neighbors there were hits out on their lives — and only he could save them.”
He Leaked the Secrets of a Southeast Asian Scam Compound. Then He Had to Get Out Alive.
“A source trapped inside an industrial-scale scamming operation contacted me, determined to expose his captors’ crimes—and then escape. This is his story.”
The Student Behind a Phishing Empire
“£100m stolen across Europe . . . How did Ollie Holman do it?”
Joan Lowell and the Birth of the Modern Literary Fraud
“A century ago, an aspiring actress published a remarkable autobiography. She made up most of it.”
The Scammer Next Door
“In India, an era of glaring inequality is also a golden age of fraud.”
