Busted Business Bureau

Late bloomer Ari Levin joins me for, I'm not kidding, probably the best episode I've made thus far. THEE Charles Ponzi's scheme has so many twists and turns. Charles Ponzi is a mama's boy, he's a pisces, he's 5'2. He's.....the man of my dreams. While many historians have actually pieced together a pretty cogent puzzle of the life Ponzi lived, none are as brave as I am because none of them acknowledge that he's a total smokeshow. I'm sure you're reading this like "she's doing a joke right now" but I AM NOT. Anyways, huge thanks to Mitchell Zuckoff, whose book on Ponzi is enrapturing. Ari is also absolutely hysterical in this episode, he's the perfect podcast guest. Follow @remlevin and catch him in Trigger Happy at the Annoyance on Wednesdays at 9:30! Or anything he's in. He's a gem!

1. Ponzi's Scheme: The True Story of a Financial Legend, Mitchell Zuckoff, 2006

2. Ponzi's Scheme, Lizzie Peabody, Sidedoor - Smithsonian Institution Podcast, 2020

3. Ponzi: The Incredible True Story of the King of Financial Cons, Donald Dunn, 2004

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Ponzi

5. This Week In History: The Boston Post Takes Down Charles Ponzi, Edgar B. Herwick III, 2014

PS I actually PAID for the books I mentioned because they weren't on Scribd. If you like stuff like this, consider tossing coins at my PATREON! It's patreon.com/bustedbizbureau

Hey kids...who likes #Jesus?? Christian McCann is on the pod so I can finally answer questions he's been asking me for like a year now. Why is there a marketing campaign for Christianity, and who is paying for it? As it turns out, the answer is something that will matter for 10 billion more years. Join me to talk about the intracacies of tax law and mostly dish about terrible religious experiences. Rich people of any religion will always find ways to retain control of their money; this episode is just a sliver into that world!

Christian and I have a dueling pianos show we do together constantly. You can check that out @candcduelingpianos on Instagram

SOURCES:

Servant Foundation Form 990: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/431890105/202320469349302877/full

The Signatry website: https://thesignatry.com/who-we-are/our-history/

https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/12/18/21010108/larry-page-philanthropy-foundation-donor-advised-fund-christmas

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2023/02/13/this-billionaire-is-a-donor-behind-the-jesus-focused-super-bowl-ads/?sh=64c3297d7b29

https://www.propublica.org/article/family-research-council-irs-church-status

Christian Community Foundation Form 990: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/751750059/202213469349301026/full

S2 Episode 6: Billionaires, DAFs, and the Changing Face of Philanthropy with Teddy Schleifer of Vox's Recode; Ethical Rainmaker: http://www.theethicalrainmaker.com/listen-now/s2-episode-6-billionaires-dafs-and-the-changing-face-of-philanthropy-with-teddy-schleifer-of-voxs-recode

deadass this little graphic: https://www.fdic.gov/about/learn/learning/banks.html#:~:text=It%20doesn't%20remain%20locked,even%20to%20operate%20a%20business.

Tax advantages of Donor Advised Funds: https://www.nptrust.org/what-is-a-donor-advised-fund/daf-tax-consideration/

https://jacobin.com/2023/02/christian-super-bowl-ads-he-gets-us-servant-foundation-abortion-gay-rights

BOOK RECS:

God's Own Party: The Making of the Christian Right, Daniel K. Williams

One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America, Kevin Kruse

Karsten Runquist joins for an overwhelmingly deep dive into Kars4Kids. When you donate your car, where does your money go? This question is what inspired me to start this entire podcast. If you like looking through public tax records, learning about real estate speculation, or being frightened by sentient 5-dollar-bill mascots, this one's for you. Follow @karstenrunquist and/or @runquistkarsten everywhere!

Listen on Amazon Prime / Audible

Listen on Youtube

Footnotes:

1. Kars4Kids website, check out the houses and stuff! Pretty fun!
2. Car donation: When it makes sense to seek a charity tax deduction, Peter Gareffa Edmunds
3. Kars4Kids Tax Filings by year, ProPublica
4. Kars4Kids Charity Reneged on Deal, Josh Nathan-Kazis, 2012
5. Charity in Taxes Tussle, Wall Street Journal, 2012
6. Kars4Kids Charity Loses Big on Real Estate, Josh Nathan-Kazis, 2012
7. Court: Oorah is tax-exempt in town of Jefferson, Matthew Mckibben, 2014
8. Oorah Tax Filings by year, Propublica
9. Did an Orthodox Charity Secretly Buy a Synagogue Just to Avoid Filing a Tax Return?, Josh Nathan-Kazis, 2016
10. More on Congregation Oorah, Hannah Dreyfus, 2016
11. Oorah Federal Covid-related Complaint, 2021
12. The Cruel (but Effective) Agony of the Kars4Kids Jingle, Jake Rossen 2018
13. NonProfit Quarterly -- Kars4Kids: What the Jingle Leaves Out (Minnesota), 2017

A woman with literally no water signs in her astrological chart through Pluto, Claire Rufin, joins me to throw away any chances I had at getting sponsored by BetterHelp! I'm working through a lot of my own understanding on the subjects in this episode, including how a CEO who is presumably worth millions of dollars would take to Reddit to address a complaints lobbied by a Youtuber named Memeology 101. Anyways, this episode is about privacy, employees' rights, and big data. I could not have formed my understanding on these subjects without Cathy O'Neill's Weapons of Math Destruction: AWESOME book! But yeah, I think this is a unique take on BetterHelp. Claire was great on this podcast, @claireannalee is her instagram, I'm cracking open a daiquiri with a paper straw in her honor tonight.

Weapons of Math Destruction, Cathy O'Neill 2016

How Corinthian Colleges, a for-profit behemoth, suddenly imploded, Lance Williams, Reveal News Sep 2016

Are Workplace Personality Tests Fair?, Lauren Weber and Elizabeth Dwoskin, WSJ 2014

When Your Boss Makes You Pay for Being Fat, Leslie Kwoh, WSJ 2013

At Talkspace, Start-Up Culture Collides With Mental Health Concerns, Kashmir Hill and Aaron Krolik, NYT Aug 2020

Eat the Rich episode 90: Online Therapy Platforms

https://jezebel.com/the-spooky-loosely-regulated-world-of-online-therapy-1841791137

https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/betterhelp/

https://www.polygon.com/2018/10/4/17932862/betterhelp-app-youtube-sponsorship-controversy-explained

https://pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/461812-87#overview

https://medium.com/@alonmatas/when-betterhelp-found-itself-in-a-youtube-controversy-3fd472229a4e

https://www.betterhelp.com/privacy/

https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rollingstone.com%2Fculture%2Fculture-features%2Fbetterhealth-app-astroworld-travis-scott-1255876%2F

https://www.betterhelporg.com/ ("Robust Reporting")

HI YALL! Forgive the delay; I am already on tour and didn't realize I wouldn't have wi-fi! This was uploaded as a labor of my hot spot's love. Here's the part 2 no one asked for! Let's perfect our Lois Griffin impression Whiplash-style, crack open a $247 soda, and order 50,000 pounds of nails to get ready to revisit the company I've been obsessed with for years: Kellogg, Brown and Root. Gosh, this private military contracting season is a DOOZY. Fraud, waste and abuse abound!

As always, follow @blenderbluid, keep Amy Do in your offline thoughts, and thank the fabulous audio engineer Casey Synesael!!!!! YIPPEEEE

And if you're the type of person inclined to read the show notes, here's a spoiler: I didn't even cover everything in THIS episode, so there's going to be a part 3. I'm presently on tour so it'll take a few weeks before I'm back to record. Sowwy, I'm just one girly who does NOT plan things out. Just podcastin' for funzies. Anyways, here's my sources:

1. Blood Money: Wated Billions, Lost Lives and Corporate Greed in Iraq, T Christian Miller, May 2007

2. A Look Back at How Fear and False Beliefs Bolstered U.S. Public Support for War in Iraq, Carroll Doherty and Jocelyn Kiley, Pew Research Center, March 14, 2023

3. Excerpted from The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda’s Leader, by Peter L. Bergen, accessed through Vanity Fair, January 1 2006

4. Here's a link to the Saddam playing cards published by the DIA: https://archive.org/details/030411D6570c001/030411-d-6570c-001/page/n27/mode/2up

5. Buyers beware: The real Iraq 'most wanted' cards are still awaiting distribution, Lisa Burgess, Stars and Stripes, April 17, 2003

6. Here's KBR employee Linda Warren's testimony (start at 21:30): https://www.c-span.org/video/?205080-1/contracting-abuses-iraq

7. Here is the 2005 testimony of KBR employee Rory Mayberry: https://www.dpc.senate.gov/hearings/hearing22/mayberry.pdf

8. Here's a link to the DPC report called Major Findings: DPC Oversight Hearings on Waste, Fraud, and Corruption in Iraq: https://www.dpc.senate.gov/dpcdocpr.cfm?doc_name=sr-111-1-116 (nails anecdote)

9. Iraq War Whistleblowers Represented by Constantine Cannon Secure $108.75 Million Settlement with KBR, Constantine Cannon press release, July 5 2023

10. “One hundred point four billion dollars..." quote from Democrat Mike Ross from this link (time stamp 5:43:40): https://www.c-span.org/video/?196460-2/house-session

11. INSIDE THE WORLD OF WAR PROFITEERS, David Jackson and Jason Grotto, Chicago Tribune, February 2008

12. Underclass of Workers Created in Iraq, Ariana Eunjung Cha, Washington Post July 2004

13. Documents Reveal Details of Alleged Labor Trafficking by KBR Subcontractor, By DAVID ISENBERG and NICK SCHWELLENBACH, Project on Government Oversight, July 14 2011

14. Pentagon Finds Halliburton Overcharged on Iraq Contracts, Douglas Jehl, New York Times December 11 2003