Wicked Coin

As Season 2 comes to a close, Diana Shaw and Tatiana Sainati revisit some of the most memorable scandals from the podcast's first two seasons to answer a simple question: what happened next? From Fat Leonard and Wells Fargo to Operation Car Wash and George Santos, our hosts explore new developments, unexpected twists, and whether accountability ultimately prevailed. Along the way, they examine what these stories reveal about corruption, institutional reform, and the challenges of creating lasting change.

Former Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf entered a Senate hearing facing difficult questions about unauthorized customer accounts. What followed became one of the most frequently cited examples of how congressional testimony can shape the trajectory of a corporate crisis. Hosts Diana Shaw and Tatiana Sainati, joined by Peter Rechter, break down the hearing, the communication and accountability challenges it exposed, and the lessons organizations can learn about executive preparation, oversight strategy, and crisis management.

What happens when a Chinese metal magnate decides to become one of the world’s most daring tariff dodgers? Join Diana Shaw, Tatiana Sainati, and their special guest, trade-law powerhouse Greta Peisch, as they dive into the staggering tale of “Big Boss” Liu Zhongtian – a tycoon of the aluminum industry whose audacious scheme to conceal aluminum imports helped him evade $1.8 billion in U.S. tariffs. From humble beginnings to the heights of China’s rich list, Liu's story is one of ambition, deception, and a trail of ghost pallets that fooled authorities and investors alike. Greta and the team pull back the curtain on how Big Boss gamed the U.S. tariff system, why DOJ is cracking down on tariff evasion harder than ever, and what companies should be watching for as trade enforcement ramps up. Tune in for a wild ride through one of the world’s most notorious corruption scandals that proves that, sometimes, the biggest scandals are hiding in plain sight. And stay tuned at the end of the episode for bonus content: an interview with special guest Enbar Toledano, who helped secure a historic recovery in the resulting False Claims Act litigation brought against Big Boss.

What began as a seemingly harmless children’s book series became one of Baltimore’s most appalling public corruption scandals. Join Tatiana Sainati, Diana Shaw, and their colleague Craig Smith as they unpack how then-Mayor Catherine Pugh’s "Healthy Holly" books were used to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments to Mayor Pugh from organizations with business before the city, ultimately leading to criminal convictions and her resignation. It’s a textbook case of corruption involving conflicts of interest, no-bid contracts, and “missing” orders and shipments. Our hosts and their guest examine how weak internal controls, a lack of transparency, and compliance culture failures allowed the misconduct to persist, and what organizations can do to prevent similar breakdowns. It’s a cautionary tale of how lax compliance frameworks can turn ethical risks into full-blown organizational crises.

What if the most dangerous criminals didn’t smash their way in – but quietly embedded themselves  and learned the system from the inside? In this episode of Wicked Coin, hosts Diana Shaw and Tatiana Sainati are joined by Lyn Brown and Erin Joe to examine the astonishing true story of the Carbanak cyber gang, a highly disciplined criminal network that infiltrated banks across the globe and stole more than a billion euros without triggering alarms. Rather than relying on brute force or flashy hacks, the attackers patiently observed employees, mimicked legitimate activity, and even manipulated ATMs to dispense cash on command. Drawing on decades of experience in federal law enforcement, intelligence, and cybersecurity, the conversation explores how schemes like this succeed and why they’re so difficult to detect, while also reviewing today’s evolving threat landscape – from spear phishing and ransomware-as-a-service to AI-enabled fraud and nation-state activity – with practical insight into how organizations can strengthen their defenses, sharpen their response, and build resilience in an increasingly hostile environment.

In this episode, Tatiana Sainati and Diana Shaw are joined by colleague Frank Scaduto, a crypto litigator and podcaster, to unpack one of the most sophisticated fraud schemes operating today: crypto “pig butchering” scams. What often begins as an innocent wrong number text evolves into a deeply personal confidence scheme – one that has drained billions of dollars from victims worldwide. Our hosts break down how these scams work, why they are so effective, and how organized crime networks in Southeast Asia use fake exchanges, spoofed websites, and digital wallets to move illicit funds at breakneck speed. The episode also explores the role of cryptocurrency platforms, the challenges facing global law enforcement, and the red flags investors should never ignore – all while acknowledging the very real human cost on both sides of the scam.

In this episode of Wicked Coin, Diana Shaw and Tatiana Sainati explore one of the most disturbing healthcare fraud schemes in U.S. history: a trusted oncologist who exploited patients’ deepest fears, administering often devastating cancer treatments to people who didn’t need them. The result was irreversible harm to hundreds of patients and tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent billings to Medicare. Joined by special guest Christi Grimm, former Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Diana and Tatiana take listeners inside the investigation that brought the scheme down – examining the systemic vulnerabilities that enabled this years-long fraud, the tenacious whistleblowers who exposed it, and the remarkable interagency investigative effort that brought a swift end to Dr. Fata’s reign of terror. It’s a harrowing tale of greed and power, but also one of courage, accountability, and the critical role of oversight in protecting the most vulnerable.

In this episode of Wicked Coin, Tatiana Sainati and Diana Shaw are joined by former government auditor and attorney Dr. J. Kirk McGill, who recounts his firsthand experience uncovering serious flaws in federal grant management. Kirk walks listeners through how questionable accounting practices, conflicted governance, and institutional pressure combined to allow massive spending failures to go unchecked. When his efforts to raise concerns internally were blocked, Kirk made the consequential decision to report what he found—triggering a years long whistleblower battle with real personal cost. The episode explores what it takes to speak truth to power, and what happens when the systems designed to prevent corruption instead work to suppress it.

Bribes wired across borders. Judges who flee the bench. A nation whiplashed between rival leaders while their corrupt regimes leave a money trail a mile long. In this episode, hosts Tatiana Sainati and Diana Shaw sit down with their guest, former FBI agent Debra LaPrevotte, to dissect Bangladesh’s tumultuous corruption saga and the rise of Tarique Rahman, once branded “Mr. 10%.” From secret accounts in Singapore and London to courtroom theatrics and acquittals, we ask the hard question: political persecution or provable kleptocracy? Follow the money and you decide!

Step into the world of high-stakes corporate intrigue with this episode of Wicked Coin, where hosts Diana Shaw and Tatiana Sainati are joined by special guest Ira Mirsky for a dive deep into the notorious Comverse Technology stock option backdating scandal. Discover how a rising telecom star became the epicenter of one of the era’s most elaborate financial frauds, unravel the mechanics of backdating, and follow the jaw-dropping flight of CEO Kobi Alexander from the boardroom to self-imposed exile in Namibia - complete with a legendary bar mitzvah! With expert legal analysis, real-world cautionary tales, and facts that feel like fiction, this must-listen episode exposes what really happens when power, deception, and accountability collide.