Swindles and Sacraments: A Story of Deception and Belief

The Buddha said, "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it or who has said it, even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and common sense." Ignore that advice, and you might find that you're clouding your vision--that instead of seeing what's really in front of you, you're filtering everything so it fits in with your beliefs. An unwavering, unquestioned belief in anything--a philosophy, an institution, or a person--can lend us strength sometimes, but it can also make us vulnerable. And there are plenty of people out there just waiting to exploit that vulnerability. This story is about two of them, each with a very different MO, and the havoc they wreaked in the lives of the people around them.SourcesThe German newspaper BZ (translated from German to English): Blackmail Sect: Now Former Members Speak Out by Romeo Regenass, Nov. 12, 2008Documentary "Seduced and Blackmailed" by Aldo Gugolz and Romeo RegenassTime: https://time.com/archive/6945942/the-swiss-gigolo-and-the-german-billionaire/NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna29594154The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/mar/09/bmw-blackmailer-jailedTelegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/5051613/Religious-leader-denies-blackmailing-woman-in-Swiss-gigolo-case.htmlForbes:https://www.forbes.com/2009/03/09/scarbi-klatten-bmw-markets-faces-celebrity-blackmail.htmlThe Standard: https://www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/gigolo-who-seduced-bmw-heiress-boasted-he-read-women-like-a-map-6824827.htmlFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfirehttps://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/Facebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/truecrimecampfire/?hl=enTwitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support.

We deal with a lot of real-life horror stories, and because it’s real life, they’re often chaotic and cruel. Justice might ultimately be served, but more often than not, the victims are already cold in the ground. If someone is dead-set on killing you, there’s a very good chance they’ll succeed. In the most satisfying fictional horror stories, of course, there’s a survivor, someone who faces the monster or killer and lives to tell the tale, someone who finds deep wells of courage and resilience inside themself and defeats the horrors the world throws at them. And these stories are not only limited to fiction.Sources:Investigation Discovery's Surviving Evil, S3E7, “The Bathtub Killer”A&E's Cold Case Files, S4E24, “Déjà Vu/Secret in the Well”People: https://people.com/bathtub-killer-dateline-nbc-murders-texas-8659842Court papers: https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/591471c6add7b04934373412https://multco.us/news/susan-walters-who-fended-hitman-provides-guidance-multnomah-county-crime-victims-portalWillamette Week: https://www.wweek.com/news/2016/08/17/a-hit-man-came-to-kill-susan-kuhnhausen-she-survived-he-didnt/Investigation Discovery's Nothing Personal: Murder for Hire, "This Man Brainwashed His Friend into Killing His Pregnant Wife"Oregon Live: https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2014/06/portlander_who_hired_hitman_to.htmlThe Gift of Fear by Gavin de BeckerFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfirehttps://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/Facebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/truecrimecampfire/?hl=enTwitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support.

If there’s one constant in the kind of people we cover, it’s this—they’re liars. Con artists trying to scam their way into money, murderers denying their crimes, spouses with secret affairs, liars, all of them. This week’s case is about a man who checks all three of those boxes, a man who learned that, if he didn’t have a conscience, deceit could make him more money that hard work ever did. Once he’d learned that lesson, nothing was going to stop him from lying his way to more and more wealth. Certainly not the continued health and well-being of his wife.Join Katie and Whitney, plus the hosts of Last Podcast on the Left, Sinisterhood, and Scared to Death, on the very first CRIMEWAVE true crime cruise! Get your fan code now--tickets are on sale now: CrimeWaveatSea.com/CAMPFIRESources:https://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/2014/11/man_infamous_for_killing_wife.html https://www.cetient.com/case/people-v-davis-1751715https://www.newspapers.com/article/detroit-free-press-um-2a/75455510/Bonnie's Blog of Crime: https://mylifeofcrime.wordpress.com/2013/06/29/psycho-for-love-david-davis-killed-his-new-wife-shannon-mohr-for-the-insurance-money/"Unsolved Mysteries" Wiki: https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/David_DavisA&E's "American Justice," episode "The Shannon Mohr Story"Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfirehttps://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/Facebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/truecrimecampfire/?hl=enTwitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support.

Most of us grew up loving superhero stories. My favorite was always the X-Men. I liked the idea of these people who were born with mutations that initially made them targets of bigotry or fear, then harnessing those differences to do good in the world. I’ve always been a big believer in “give what you’ve got”—if you have a special gift or talent, use it to make the world better. But here’s the thing: Most of us recognize that superheroes are a metaphor for this idea. You’re not supposed to literally dress up in a cape and tights and go around town looking for muggers to fight off, or create a mysterious fake identity to rally people toward a nebulous cause. Evidently, though, some folks never got the memo on that. We’re gonna tell you about a couple of them. Sources:Phoenix New Times: https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/penis-man-graffiti-returns-to-phoenix-after-yearslong-absence-15573929https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/penis-man-grafitti-tagger-sentenced-and-fined-in-tempe-11533751https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/penis-man-graffiti-tempe-arizona-vandalism-culture-neighborhood-11421292Daily Mail: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7943525/Penis-Man-tagger-reveals-just-one-vandals-using-slogan-Arizona.htmlYouTuber Gavin Wants Pizza Seattle Times: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/seattle-superhero-phoenix-jones-charged-after-undercover-drug-bust/The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/apr/12/the-superhero-complex-masked-man-real-life-inspired-podcast-phoenix-jonesReal Life Superheroes Wiki, Phoenix Jones: https://wiki.rlsh.net/wiki/Phoenix_JonesYouTuber Interesting Stuff From Around the WorldYouTuber Atrocity Guidehttps://youtu.be/HWo9OchEdg4?si=onwsCoGnBIpAqRg6https://wiki.rlsh.net/wiki/Rex_Velvethttps://komonews.com/news/local/12-year-old-secret-agent-helps-foil-local-villainFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfirehttps://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/Facebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/truecrimecampfire/?hl=enTwitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support.

Cell phones are amazing, aren’t they? You have a little magic box in your pocket that you can look at and use to call halfway across the world. New parents can send photos of their babies to their loved ones that live hours away, best friends can start a podcast even though they don’t live in the same state, and soulmates can meet, even from entirely different countries. Of course, we can’t have good things without someone using it for evil. Some people use phones as a means of harassment, of control. In today’s case, a stalker uses their phone as a weapon of mass destruction in order to try to get the attention of one man.Join Katie and Whitney, plus the hosts of Last Podcast on the Left, Sinisterhood, and Scared to Death, on the very first CRIMEWAVE true crime cruise! Get your fan code now--tickets are on sale now: CrimeWaveatSea.com/CAMPFIRESources:Stalker, episode The Phonebox Stalker https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/prosecutor-terrified-of-stalker-after-rape-allegations-dropped-kx55hnh279phttps://www.lccsa.org.uk/doctors-stalker-had-record-of-lies-and-false-allegations/ https://www.thefreelibrary.com/THE+SHE+DEVIL%3B+She+stalked+a+leading+psychiatrist+and+his+fiancee...-a0158019869https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-399250/My-terrifying-ordeal-victim-fiendishly-clever-stalker.htmlhttps://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/1136377.text-terror-stalker-is-jailed-for-nine-years/ https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/sep/01/u-be-dead-david-morrissey https://crimeline.co.uk/uploads/cases/sentencing/2008ewcacrim389.pdf https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL19421172/Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfirehttps://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/Facebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/truecrimecampfire/?hl=enTwitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support.

Home is the one place in the world that’s ours and ours alone. It’s the place we’re meant to feel completely safe and comfortable. The warm, beating heart of our lives. So when that sacred space is violated, where does that leave us? Can we ever really feel safe again? This is the story of one of the strangest home invasions ever investigated, and the aftermath that left two innocent people’s lives changed forever.Join Katie and Whitney, plus the hosts of Last Podcast on the Left, Sinisterhood, and Scared to Death, on the very first CRIMEWAVE true crime cruise! Get your fan code now--there are only a handful of rooms left! CrimeWaveatSea.com/CAMPFIRESources:Court papers, People v Schmuhl: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/circuit/sites/circuit/files/assets/documents/pdf/opinions/cl-2021-2333-schmuhl-v-clarke-va-doc.pdfCourt papers, Schmuhl v Clarke: https://law.justia.com/cases/virginia/supreme-court/2023/211114.htmlThe Washingtonian, Jason Fagone: https://www.washingtonian.com/2016/10/02/schmuhl-home-invasion-torture-session-one-lawyer-nearly-killing-another-washington-suburb-mclean/True Crime News (formerly Crime Watch Daily): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3zTO-3TE_QNBC Washington: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/ex-lawyer-sentenced-to-45-years-in-home-invasion-torture-attack-of-former-boss-his-wife/18765/Investigation Discovery's: James Patterson's Murder Is Forever, episode "Home Sweet Murder"Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfirehttps://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/Facebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/truecrimecampfire/?hl=enTwitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support.

No is a powerful word. It can stop a naughty dog in its tracks, it can get you out of a night out with friends when you just want to rot in your bed, and most of all, it’s supposed to mean something when you don’t want anything to do with someone romantically. Unfortunately for society, some people can’t handle being told no. It fills them with unfounded rage because how dare anyone deny them something they want. Today, we’re discussing a case where someone handled rejection so pathetically that it resulted in the murder of 4 people and left a mark on three communities that would last a lifetime.Join Katie and Whitney, plus the hosts of Last Podcast on the Left, Sinisterhood, and Scared to Death, on the very first CRIMEWAVE true crime cruise! Get your fan code now--tickets on sale now: CrimeWaveatSea.com/CAMPFIRESources:YouTube channel "Explore With Us" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQTJ48TYnzYInvestigation Discovery's "Web of Lies," episode "Farmville Horror"https://www.capecodtimes.com/story/news/2009/09/28/singer-slayings-off-limits-to/51852160007/ https://lbhfs.proboards.com/thread/3255/strictly-wicked-2009-festivalhttps://genius.com/Syko-sam-the-voices-lyricshttps://www.discogs.com/release/8618519-Serial-Killin-Records-Strictly-for-the-Wicked-2009-The-DVD?srsltid=AfmBOoo_o8xxi3EHZ7zsY8LT1e1i3gfXjAkyh3yjjvZLVtttOGKEDkok https://genius.com/Razakel-watch-out-lyricshttps://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/horrorcore-syko-sam/https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2019/june/your-nose-knows-when-it-comes-to-stronger-memories.htmlFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfirehttps://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/Facebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/truecrimecampfire/?hl=enTwitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support.

Mark Twain, always a good man for a quote, said about getting old: “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” There is generally a broad unspoken societal agreement over what the elderly are supposed to be like, the shape their lives are supposed to have. There are always people who don’t fit into this preconception, of course, I’m sure plenty of you have encountered some weird and wild senior citizens—but probably not as wild as the people in this week’s story., who turned their lives into their own personal mash-up of “Grumpy Old Men” and “Oceans 11.”Join Katie and Whitney, plus the hosts of Last Podcast on the Left, Sinisterhood, and Scared to Death, on the very first CRIMEWAVE true crime cruise! Get your fan code now--tickets on sale now, and there's a limited number left: CrimeWaveatSea.com/CAMPFIRESources:Sexy Beasts by Wensley ClarksonCosmopolitan: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/reports/a60809952/hatton-garden-heist/BBC News: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-35126667The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jan/23/one-last-job-inside-story-of-the-hatton-garden-heistFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfirehttps://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/Facebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/truecrimecampfire/?hl=enTwitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support.

There’s an old saying that if you hear hoofbeats, you should think horses, not zebras. It means that in most situations, the simplest, most likely explanation is probably the right one. But you know we deal in “stranger than fiction” here, folks, and sometimes you turn around expecting horses and you get a stampeding herd of zebras instead. Things are not always what they seem at first glance. And today, we’ll tell you two stories where digging down below the surface pulled investigators through the looking glass, and into the strangest cases they’d ever seen.Join Katie and Whitney, plus the hosts of Last Podcast on the Left, Sinisterhood, and Scared to Death, on the very first CRIMEWAVE true crime cruise! Get your fan code now--tickets go on sale February 7: CrimeWaveatSea.com/CAMPFIRESource:https://fox11online.com/news/local/man-accused-of-faking-his-own-death-to-face-another-status-conference-ryan-borgwardt-green-lake-county-kayak-europe-charges-obstruction-restitution-search-missinghttps://www.wmtv15news.com/2025/06/04/another-status-conference-scheduled-wisconsin-man-accused-faking-his-death/https://www.milwaukeemag.com/what-happened-to-the-kayaker-who-faked-his-drowning-in-green-lake/https://spectrumnews1.com/wi/milwaukee/news/2024/11/21/ryan-borgwardt--wisconsin-kayaker--fake-deathInvestigation Discovery's "Forensic Files" episode "Grave Danger"NBC's "Dateline," episode "Bodies of Evidence"https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/man-burned-alive-no-limbs-33703446Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfirehttps://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/Facebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/truecrimecampfire/?hl=enTwitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support.

There’s a saying that goes, “All regulations are written in blood.” And it’s true. If given the opportunity, companies will cut corners and find loopholes to make their jobs easier or cheaper or skirt some kind of oversight. And when it all goes wrong, when there’s blood on their hands, when there’s a dozen microphones in their face, the people in charge always look contrite. And that’s infuriating, isn’t it? The mundanity of that kind of evil. They wanted to save a couple of bucks and now people are dead and hurt and they’re sorry. Today, we’re talking about two cases where hundreds of people lost their lives because some bigwig at the top didn’t like the idea of spending a little more money. These stories will make your blood boil! Join Katie and Whitney, plus the hosts of Last Podcast on the Left, Sinisterhood, and Scared to Death, on the very first CRIMEWAVE true crime cruise! Get your fan code now--tickets go on sale February 7: CrimeWaveatSea.com/CAMPFIRESources:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErzjQIGit_0https://bostonfirehistory.org/the-story-of-the-cocoanut-grove-fire/http://ampoleagle.com/polish-kid-endures-years-of-fire-falsities-p16302-152.htm https://mgriblog.org/2022/11/28/how-the-cocoanut-grove-fire-changed-burn-care-at-mass-general-and-beyond/https://www.deseret.com/utah/2024/11/28/deseret-news-archives-coconut-grove-nightclub-fire-resulted-in-492-deaths/https://insights.taylorduma.com/post/102k197/how-bostons-coconut-grove-fire-changed-the-law#:~:text=On%20that%20night%20492%20lives,broken%20bones%20to%20pulmonary%20edema.https://www.jlconline.com/projects/remodeling-historic-preservation/the-cocoanut-grove-fire-lessons-learned_ohttps://storyfunding.kakao.com/episode/611https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22079499/ https://www.engr.psu.edu/ae/thesis/failures/MKP/failures/failures.wikispaces.com/Sampoong_Department_Store.htmlhttp://koreaherald.com/article/3188019 https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/may/27/seoul-sampoong-department-store-disaster-history-cities-50-buildingsCollapse: When Buildings Fall Down by Phillip Wearne https://www.britannica.com/event/Sampoong-Department-Store-collapse https://sandyriverreview.com/2025/04/11/the-sampoong-mall-collapse-how-greed-led-to-south-koreas-largest-peacetime-disaster/Disastrous History on TikTokhttps://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2003/10/06/economy/Lee-Joon-81-convicted-in-Sampoong-deaths/2040664.htmlFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfirehttps://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/Facebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/truecrimecampfire/?hl=enTwitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support.