Sweetheart Swindler: Part 1

05/24/19 • 26 min

2 Listeners

Jim spent much of his life building a real estate empire on the West Coast. In the process he became a millionaire, profiled in newspapers and on television. But in 2007, when the recession hit, Jim lost his vast fortune. At 76, Jim is running a small resort in Lake Tahoe, working to slowly rebuild his finances, when he receives a mysterious call. The woman on the other end of the line asks for Jim by name. She introduces herself as Desiree and asks if Jim remembers her. He doesn’t, but Desiree is unfazed, claiming to have met Jim at the resort while she was a guest. She wants to get to know him better and before the call ends, Desiree has arranged another trip to the resort to visit a flattered Jim. Desiree arrives with a business opportunity for Jim, who quickly realizes she thinks he’s still wealthy. She’s visibly disappointed to find that Jim’s house is no longer a mansion but a renovated Airstream trailer. At every turn of the visit, Desiree finds a reason to ask Jim for money — she needs investors for a new business and money to pay a family member’s mortgage — but Jim isn’t in a position to lend or invest money. Desiree decides it’s time to go home. When Jim returns from taking her to the airport, he has an uneasy feeling. He looks to make sure the checkbook the resort keeps to pay vendors is still there. It is, but the stash of cash he keeps in the same drawer, the little savings he has left, is gone. Jim immediately contacts the authorities, but Desiree, who will eventually come to be known as the “Sweetheart Swindler,” is just getting started.

Previous Episode

The FBI's Most Wanted Veterans Charity Scammer: Part 3

Bobby Thompson was once a respected fundraiser, generating millions of dollars for his charity, the U.S. Navy Veterans Association. When a Florida journalist uncovers that the charity is a scam, Thompson goes on the run. Eventually he starts a new life as “Don Morsette” in Portland, Ore. Living in a boardinghouse and claiming to work as a consultant for Boeing, Thompson thinks he’s outsmarted the U.S. marshals hunting him. He even keeps a DVD of the movie “Catch Me if You Can” and $1 million in cash in a storage locker. But the marshals arrest him outside his home, ending their two-year manhunt. Although they know Thompson is the man they’ve been looking for, marshals still don’t entirely know who he is. Thompson refuses to give his real name, signing court documents as “Mr. X.”

Who is Bobby Thompson, and what led him to steal money meant for veterans? Federal investigators are determined to answer these questions. While he sits in jail awaiting trial, they dive back into the case, speaking to people who knew the man who called himself Bobby Thompson. In the end, these conversations reveal two clues, a haircut and eye drops, that will ultimately uncover Thompson’s true identity.

Next Episode

Sweetheart Swindler Part 2

Desiree, the “Sweetheart Swindler,” has made off with $15,000 of 76-year-old Jim’s money. Once a millionaire, Jim lost his real estate empire during the recession, and now thanks to Desiree he has also lost the savings he worked tirelessly to rebuild. Desiree has moved on to a new mark, Doug, a veteran living in Nevada. This time around Desiree’s husband joins her in the con, approaching Doug in a parking lot and offering to come to his home to fix dents in his car. On one such visit, Desiree tags along. Eventually she starts to visit Doug on her own. Each time she enters Doug’s house she gathers information, stealing his Social Security number and other personal information. Doug, who has always been close with his sister Patty, calls her when things start to go missing from his home. Patty arrives to find Doug’s life in complete disarray. There are papers and unopened mail covering every surface of his house. Patty digs in, finding multiple credit cards in Doug’s name that he knows nothing about. There are bills for women’s clothes, dinners, cash advances and even a car. Wracked with debt that he can’t account for, Doug is on the verge of losing his house. After talking to Doug’s home health care worker, Patty figures out that the bills may be connected to a woman who makes frequent visits to the house. Patty tries to track down this woman. Meanwhile, authorities in Texas, where Desiree has a home, are also on the hunt for her, but she’s skipped town. Little does Desiree know that her crime spree is coming to an end: Authorities in Texas have tracked her to an address in Nevada — Doug’s.