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00:00My name is Ashton Bingham.
00:13About 10 years ago, I received a call from a scammer,
00:15and I got annoyed, so I decided to film it.
00:17Go inside and ask for a Target gift card.
00:21You can't think of something more convincing
00:23than for me to pay off my IRS debt with a Target gift card?
00:26And the video blew up.
00:28That's when I turned to my Russian friend, Art Kulik,
00:31and I said, hey, let's turn this into a business
00:33and start a YouTube channel tormenting scammers.
00:36And I said, tormenting scammers?
00:38That sounds fun.
00:40Sign me up.
00:41Here we go. Refreshing.
00:45So we amassed millions of subscribers
00:47and devoted our lives to turning the tables on scammers everywhere.
00:51What are you looking for here?
00:52Why are you running if you're not doing anything wrong?
00:55No, you're not.
00:55We're going to f*** you.
00:56Why are you running?
00:57Scammer!
00:57And we've helped shut down some pretty big scam operations.
01:02Then people around the country started reaching out to us
01:06with their own stories of getting scammed.
01:08So how much did they get from you?
01:10Almost $53,000.
01:12Over two.
01:13Over two million.
01:14Yeah.
01:15And the voices of the victims made one thing clear.
01:17We needed help.
01:18Now, we've assembled an elite team of technological experts we call the Revengers
01:24to help us trick scammers into revealing their identities and catching them red-handed.
01:31Together, we are hunting down scammers wherever they hide.
01:35I'll unlock it!
01:36And bringing justice to our victims.
01:37Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go.
01:39Let's go in your back.
01:40You will be tased if you don't get down.
01:42Oh, I'm going in on.
01:43Get on your face!
01:44This is Scammed Getting Even.
01:47We've just got our newest submission.
01:55It's from Caitlin Sayers.
01:57She's in her 20s and lives outside of Denver.
02:00She's reached out to us on behalf of her aunt, 67-year-old Carol Washburn.
02:05Carol is an expat who now lives in Malaga, Spain.
02:09She is a widow and was, according to Caitlin, scammed out of her life savings.
02:13Caitlin's conveyed it's some sort of investment scam,
02:16but that's all we know.
02:18We need to talk to her to understand the scope of what's going on and how we can help.
02:23All right, Caitlin, joining Zoom now.
02:27I'm here.
02:28Hey!
02:29Caitlin, it's wonderful to meet you.
02:31Who is Carol?
02:32Who's Carol?
02:32The aunt you know and love.
02:34So she is really sweet.
02:36She is spunky, a little quirky.
02:39She would give the shirt off her back for anyone.
02:43And she loves adventure.
02:44Like, whenever we went out to Spain to visit her, she wanted to go to clubs and dance.
02:49Like, she acts like a 20-year-old.
02:52We're like besties.
02:54Carol's very smart.
02:56She's very well educated.
02:58She started in the tech industry.
03:00Before this, she was doing very well.
03:02Very successful.
03:03She's made really good investments.
03:05You sent us a message about her potentially being scammed.
03:09Like, how did we get here?
03:11Well, Carol and her husband moved to Spain maybe like 10 years ago.
03:18But in 2020, he passed away and she decided to stay.
03:23A few years after that, in June of 2023, we were out there visiting her.
03:28And we were just trying to do fun things with her.
03:31And she kept saying that she wanted us to meet this guy that she had been dating for a little bit, that she met on some dating app.
03:40And she was telling me that he was convincing her to do this gold deal and that she was really excited about it.
03:48And she was going to make all sorts of money.
03:51What does she mean by gold deal?
03:53What does that mean?
03:54She's working with the people selling the gold and helping them meet with buyers.
04:00I guess the gold was coming from, like, some place in Africa.
04:04And he just needed someone to help fund the deal.
04:07She was expecting to recoup all her money and then make, like, a few million.
04:12Have she ever done any work as a broker?
04:17Is this something that is all new?
04:20All new.
04:22She said he had the connections, he'd done it before, it'd been successful, and he just needed someone to help fund this next one.
04:30What Caitlin is describing may be a typical gold investment scam.
04:34Now, traditionally, it plays on the allure of gold and the riches that come with it.
04:39The scammer promises the victim a giant profit margin if they can fund the costs of closing the deal.
04:45And it becomes a never-ending cycle.
04:47There's usually no gold, no real investment opportunity, and the victim is bled dry of all of their funds.
04:53What makes this case possibly more sinister?
04:57Two years after her husband passed away, Carol met and then entered into a loving relationship with the supposed scammer, Shireen Awad.
05:07This isn't an online catfishing scam.
05:10This is an intimate, physical relationship that's gone on for years.
05:14If Caitlin's suspicions are accurate, this is a long play.
05:18And the case, unlike any other we have seen.
05:22She's always, you know, been with someone her whole life, so I think he took advantage of that.
05:28How much money has she lost?
05:30Well, from what my mom said after looking at her bank statements, she felt like it was close to me about $5 million.
05:39$5 million?
05:42Wow.
05:43Not only is it rare for us to work on a case where the potential scammer is in a real-life relationship with the victim,
05:52but $5 million is a massive loss.
05:56So for Carol, a retired tech engineer, to be bamboozled out of that much money,
06:01it really points to this scammer or scam group being very detailed and professional.
06:06When you met him in person, can you describe him, what kind of person he is?
06:12You know, didn't get the best impression of him.
06:15He didn't want to talk to us.
06:17He was rude to Carol.
06:19He was making her clean up the room and do all these different things for him.
06:24And he kind of sat on her couch forever playing on his, like, little tablet.
06:30Like a child.
06:30Yeah, he just thinks he knows better than everyone, and he's really controlling.
06:36It would just get on to, like, these random rants about, like, the U.S. and government policies and, you know, religion.
06:44Yeah, it was just weird.
06:47Caitlyn clearly isn't fond of Carol's boyfriend.
06:51She doesn't like his attitude or how he treats her aunt.
06:53But that's not really a reason to consider him the scammer just yet.
06:57It sounds like you had some red flag or, like, bad vibe from the beginning, right?
07:02Yeah, I really had some big red flags.
07:05She kept saying, oh, I'm, like, closing this deal.
07:08And then it was like, oh, there's a delay.
07:11And there's a delay and a delay and a delay.
07:13So I'm like, okay, what's really going on?
07:16It took Caitlyn six months to get Carol to reveal she had funded Shireen and his partners millions of dollars and hadn't received anything back.
07:24The last amount was for over $120,000 for a business trip from Africa to Dubai.
07:31How is Carol taking all this?
07:33She's overwhelmed and stressed about her money.
07:36Gotten to a point where she's pretty much depleted, you know?
07:41Do you know how she feels about Shireen?
07:43Does she think he could be scamming her?
07:44So she is 80% certain that he is a victim as well and that, you know, he's just being scammed along with her.
07:56This is crazy.
07:57Wow.
07:57This is so crazy.
07:59Whether her boyfriend is a scammer or not, as long as Carol's in Spain, this case will be very difficult for us to sort out.
08:05We know she doesn't have kids and we know the only family she's in contact with is her niece, Caitlyn, her sister, Emily, and her brother-in-law, Colin.
08:15So we're going to need her to cooperate so we can understand fully what's happening.
08:19We need to get Carol face to face, but you're the only one that's going to be able to make that happen.
08:23What are the chances we could convince her to come back home to Colorado?
08:28It's going to take some convincing.
08:30It has been a long time since she's been back.
08:33But I think it can be done.
08:35Amazing.
08:36Caitlyn, thank you again so much for reaching out.
08:38We're going to do everything we can.
08:39Let's just stick together, trust the process.
08:41Thank you, guys.
08:43Bye-bye.
08:44To lose your husband and then on top of that, millions of dollars is just an awful thing.
08:51And if Caitlyn is right, her aunt's relationship with Shireen might not be healthy for her.
08:57Overall, our mission is to protect Carol.
08:59To do that, we need to get her away from her alleged scammer boyfriend.
09:03By having her meet us and Caitlyn in Colorado.
09:05Then once we can determine she's safe, we can start finding out the truth behind this scam.
09:10Determine if Shireen is in fact the scammer and take him down.
09:15We just need to get Carol on board with the plan.
09:17For weeks, we attempted to get in touch with Carol, but she consistently refused to speak with us, siding with her boyfriend.
09:32Then out of the blue, she agreed to call us from her house in Spain.
09:35Okay.
09:39Okay.
09:40There we are.
09:40There we go.
09:41Hey.
09:42Hey.
09:43How are you?
09:44I'm with my cat.
09:46What's your kitty's name?
09:47Oh, Princessa.
09:48Absolutely gorgeous.
09:50I love that.
09:51She's my therapist.
09:52So cute.
09:53Would you be willing to tell us from your words what's been going on?
09:59Yeah.
10:02Yes, it started a little over two years ago.
10:05My boyfriend found some sellers in Uganda that had gold.
10:10And it was a jeweler.
10:12Okay.
10:12They were from Dubai, and I was the middleman.
10:16At least that's what I was being told.
10:18Okay.
10:18So everything came from your partner.
10:20And how did he get involved?
10:21Oh, he was in gold dealings before.
10:24He finds the buyers and sellers.
10:27Okay.
10:27So this is what we're gathering.
10:29Shireen brings her into his gold dealings, which he appears to be the broker of, with contacts in Uganda and Dubai.
10:36And Carol, branded as the middleman, assists him with the research of potential buyers and with funding.
10:42It sounds like he got Carol involved to help him.
10:45Or at least that is what he led her to believe.
10:48And how did you guys originally meet?
10:50On Tinder.
10:52I saw his profile, and he was very handsome, and he looked professional, and he had a good bio.
10:59So I just said hi, and then he went to meet.
11:03He liked my eyes.
11:06Well, Carol, I know you were pretty adamant about not talking to us for a long time.
11:10What has changed to get you to this point?
11:13I was stupid enough going into partnership with Shireen because it sounded so lucrative.
11:18I wasn't aware that I would be fronting money for everything.
11:22I spent over $5 million, and I've never gotten anything back.
11:27I don't trust him at all.
11:28Whether this is a scam or not, it's clear Carol is in a terrible relationship with Shireen.
11:34This is extremely complex.
11:36So in order to determine if he really is a fraudster, we need to understand the timeline
11:40of how Carol got involved in this gold deal.
11:43To do that, we need her to come to the United States to meet with us.
11:47Carol, you're family.
11:49You're real family.
11:51Not Shireen.
11:52They want you, they need you, and they're waiting for you.
11:55Please come to the United States, like, immediately.
12:00Carol, are you in a position where we can get that on the books?
12:04Definitely.
12:05I'm totally done with him.
12:07That's great progress.
12:08Carol agreed to come to the U.S. to meet us, but to find out if this is truly a scam
12:14and get her some justice, we need to find a way to insert ourselves into this supposed
12:19gold deal.
12:20So you told us you were done with him.
12:22Does he know that?
12:24No, he doesn't know anything.
12:26We would love to find a way to engage with Shireen directly.
12:32That's part of, you know, scam baiting, is basically baiting the scammer into thinking
12:36we're also going to be some form of a victim.
12:38Oh, that's a great idea.
12:39Yeah.
12:40So think about how you can believably introduce me or Art as either a son or a cousin or something
12:46that would make sense that we could communicate on your behalf.
12:49You know, somebody from family.
12:52Oh, you guys can be my nephews.
12:54Perfect.
12:54What is your nephew's name?
12:56Eric.
12:56Perfect.
12:57I'll be Eric from Colorado.
12:58But think of over the next couple of weeks ways that you can work that into the conversation
13:02and you can blame me as Eric.
13:04Be like, Eric has frozen my funds.
13:06You have to go through Eric to do anything.
13:09And that will kind of force Shireen to talk to me.
13:11And that way we can manipulate him into doing what we want him to do.
13:15Does that make sense?
13:16Hmm.
13:17Yeah.
13:18That sounds creative.
13:19I'm a good actress too.
13:21All right.
13:21Perfect.
13:22Beautiful.
13:22I love it.
13:22I love the attitude.
13:24Emotional manipulation has happened here.
13:25And so I'm glad to hear that you're 100% ready.
13:28Definitely.
13:29Me and Art and Caitlin, we can do this together, but we need to get you here.
13:33So bring as much evidence as you can.
13:35And we want to get the ball rolling and actually make something happen here.
13:38Next step is flying Carol to Denver.
13:40But before we meet with her, we want to connect with Caitlin in person to prepare.
13:53Never been here.
13:54It's big.
13:56Do you guys know how it's called the Mile High City?
13:59Is that an elevation thing or a state of mind thing?
14:01Oh, Caitlin, you made it.
14:13Hi, it's so nice to meet you.
14:13Thank you for coming.
14:15Yeah, thank you.
14:15Good seeing you.
14:17So, Carol has arrived.
14:20She got in last night, yes.
14:21How's she doing?
14:22Today, she really perked up.
14:24She's doing good.
14:26Seems like herself.
14:27All right, Caitlin, we're hoping you can help us streamline your aunt's story for us.
14:30I mean, how long after the passing of her husband did she even meet Shireen?
14:34To be honest with you, like maybe six months.
14:38Do you think Shireen took advantage of her while she was so vulnerable?
14:42Absolutely.
14:43He absolutely took advantage of her and has taken advantage of her.
14:47She's a grieving widow.
14:49Knowing just six months separates her husband's death and her new relationship with Shireen tells me a few things.
14:56Clearly, Carol felt alone after the passing of her husband
14:59and possibly fell into her new relationship too quickly.
15:02She also may have been blind to some of the red flags others saw.
15:05And secondly, it provides some basis for the sort of person he is.
15:09After connecting with her on Tinder, if he became aware that she was a grieving widow with money,
15:14he could have spotted her as a target for the scam,
15:16knowing she would be easier to manipulate in her weakened state.
15:19I know we talked about the prospect of maybe introducing me as a nephew.
15:23Oh, yeah.
15:24Has there been any development on that?
15:25So, she tried and she actually was having fun with it and basically was saying she took out a loan from you,
15:33her nephew, Eric, and that Shireen needed to talk to you, Eric, for her to get more funds from you, essentially.
15:41He just, like, rejected the whole idea and was like,
15:45no, I'm not going to have any part in someone that's a loan shark.
15:48A loan shark nephew?
15:50Are you serious?
15:52Carol's boyfriend is clearly suspicious.
15:54But if he won't talk to us, we can unscambate him.
15:57Does Carol have any hope remaining that this whole gold thing is still real?
16:03I think she does just because she was saying that she was going to sign over power of attorney to Adam,
16:11which is Shireen's nephew, so that she could have him receive the funds for her, basically,
16:19for this gold deal, because she didn't want to travel out to Dubai anymore.
16:23Oh, my God.
16:24All right.
16:25This is not good.
16:27Carol told us she was done with Shireen.
16:29Now she's signing power of attorney over to his nephew?
16:34If Carol does that, Adam would have full control over her assets.
16:38Meaning if Shireen wanted more funds, all he would need to do is go to his nephew to get them released.
16:43I was asking her how long it'd been since she'd seen him, and she said he dropped her off at the airport.
16:49What?
16:50Are you serious?
16:51I know, yeah.
16:53This relationship is, it's crazy.
16:57This guy clearly still has his hooks in Carol, and if we're going to have any shot at helping,
17:03we need her to see that for herself.
17:05To do that, we need evidence to prove to her that Shireen is scamming her.
17:09I went ahead and just printed off everything for you guys.
17:12We've got it all here.
17:14Oh, that's perfect.
17:14All the receipts of everything that's happened, transactions, you know, documentation and screenshots of conversations she's had with these people.
17:23Did Carol supply this willingly?
17:25We have our work cut out for us.
17:27Thank you for trusting us.
17:28Let us regroup.
17:29Yeah.
17:30Okay.
17:30I'm extremely concerned about Carol's position with all of this.
17:39Let's take a quick pass through the documents.
17:41Let's put a plan together for meeting with Carol later today.
17:44And then we got our research work cut out for us, big time.
17:47We have a lot to go through.
17:55Yeah, you're telling me.
17:57Okay.
17:58First, let's start with mapping out everywhere that she's been and when.
18:02We know a lot of Dubai trips happened.
18:04Let's try to figure out when that was.
18:07July 27, 2023.
18:10Okay.
18:10Then we have September 11.
18:13Then we have October 19, 2023.
18:16Every few weeks.
18:16She was flying with Shireen.
18:19Business class, of course.
18:21$7,000.
18:23Jeez.
18:24Look at this.
18:25Wine, $275.
18:27Liquor, $323.
18:29And it's billed to Carol.
18:30She's paying for all his room service.
18:34I have one May 3rd.
18:37She went to Uganda, Africa.
18:40So she went there first?
18:41Yes.
18:42In 2023?
18:43We knew from our talk with her earlier that the supposed seller
18:46was in Uganda and the supposed buyer was in Dubai.
18:50But we didn't know she was actually traveling there.
18:54Caitlin sent us some videos Carol took in Africa.
18:56You have to roll.
19:03You're going nuts.
19:05Oh.
19:09Okay, check this out.
19:11Minerals, gold, type, bars, weight, 550 kilograms, purity, 96% value,
19:19$28 million.
19:23The importer is listed as a Halisi.
19:27Here's a shipping manifest from Adam from Astral Aviation to ship 550 kilograms of gold
19:33that Carol paid for in July 2023.
19:36And here we have wire transfers to a lawyer in Kenya named Stephen Andeta.
19:43Dates and amounts.
19:44Wires to Nadita.
19:46$8,000, $10,000, $9,000.
19:48This one is $85,000 for legal services.
19:52That's all it says.
19:53There is a lot of money coming out from your checking account.
19:56So the gold is real.
19:58Now we need to assess if any part of the deal that Shireen had her front the costs for is also real.
20:04If we can't scam bait this guy, then we need to investigate the other players in this scam.
20:09To do that, we need to call in a specialist.
20:14So we're just about to do a raid on an office, which we believe is a call center scamming Australians.
20:20We really need some help on this.
20:22So we are contacting Ken Gamble.
20:24So you're surveying them to see whether they're interested in investing?
20:28Investing or not.
20:28Okay.
20:30Ken is the president of IFW Global, an Australian private investigation firm that specializes
20:35in unraveling complex multinational scam operations.
20:39You tell them you're calling from Australia?
20:41Yep.
20:43Hey guys, how you doing?
20:45We'll give you kind of the top level facts here.
20:47This man, Shireen, has directed Carol to send large amounts of money to different people
20:54all under the guise that she was facilitating a sale of gold that she would then, of course,
21:01recoup her expenses and make some money back in the meantime.
21:05The bottom line is that she has lost an exorbitant amount of money.
21:09So we need a little bit of your guidance on where to start.
21:12What you've described is a very well-scripted, organized investment scam.
21:19We need to be able to prove that there's a fraud committed, who these people really are.
21:24So what we need to do is gather all the evidence.
21:26First of all, we need to get a download of all the data on her phone, the forensic data
21:32that's available on her phone to prove the messaging, all that sort of data.
21:37We need financial records, all the financial records, all the bank payments, the transmission
21:42of that money.
21:44Once I get that data, I can start examining it.
21:46Ken, thank you again for your insight.
21:48We'll get that to you as soon as possible.
22:01Carol, Kathleen, thank you so much.
22:05If we can kind of go over with you the general timeline again, we need context of what you
22:12got into, what you were sold on, and what has happened since.
22:17So what happened in Uganda?
22:19That's where they smelted the gold.
22:22And this is where Shireen connected you with the other people involved?
22:25Yeah, Shireen was successful in this business.
22:29And he worked with Elisi.
22:31He's a seller.
22:32Are those these videos?
22:33You're done, guys.
22:35Oh.
22:37Mm-hmm.
22:40Yeah, they let me tape that.
22:42So Elisi is the gold contact, and then Adam and Astral Aviation export the gold to Dubai?
22:50Yes.
22:50Elisi said that he worked with Adam and he really liked him.
22:54He's dead now.
22:56Elisi's dead now?
22:57Yes.
22:59How do we know he's dead?
23:01They gave me pictures of him in the hospital.
23:05The agent sent me that.
23:07We aren't coroners, but the images of Halisi, the gold smelter, dead is very fishy.
23:14This is likely just another way for her boyfriend and the scammers to manipulate Carol.
23:19In our experience, the scammers will remove a character from their story to create a new
23:23obstacle for the victim to overcome.
23:26It's another excuse to spend more money.
23:28Okay.
23:29It seems like a lot of your money went to Nadida in Kenya.
23:33Mm-hmm.
23:34He's the lawyer.
23:35Did Shireen also connect you with him?
23:37Yes.
23:38And what were you giving him so much money for?
23:40Oh, he said it's for the storage payments and the documents.
23:44So you were paying the lawyer money, but you just trusted him because Shireen,
23:48your boyfriend, connected all of you?
23:50Yes.
23:51It's clear Carol's trust in this situation is what made things get so bad.
23:55She skipped over all the red flags.
23:57Here's what we know.
23:58Her boyfriend, Shireen, is the leader of this group and introduced her to Halisi, the gold
24:04smelter, Adam, the pilot or gold transporter, and the lawyer, Stephen Endetta, all of whom,
24:11over the course of two years, manipulated millions of dollars out of her under the pretense that
24:16her work as a middleman would earn her her money back, plus millions on top.
24:22We believe this group is advanced.
24:24We believe Shireen groomed her, taking advantage of a grieving widow, and we think he long-played
24:29her, knowing she had millions to her name.
24:31Every single person is not trustworthy here.
24:35You understand that.
24:36I know.
24:37It's confusing for her.
24:38I can beat myself up.
24:44Yeah, sure.
24:45Our conversation is interrupted by Carol's sister, who drove Carol to talk to us.
24:51She and her husband have been waiting outside and apparently have been listening.
24:54Can I just be a little bit transparent to you?
24:59I'm just worried about my sister's mental health because I feel like she's built this
25:06bubble around Shireen being this wonderful, great guy, and he's a victim.
25:10I'm protective of her because I feel like she's vulnerable.
25:15She said she married Shireen.
25:16She married?
25:17She said she married?
25:18She said she married him in Dubai.
25:20But we couldn't get an official document because Dubai doesn't do that.
25:25Wow.
25:25Okay.
25:26I love you.
25:27You're doing such a good job.
25:29You're doing really good.
25:29I know it's hard.
25:32She's been in a situation where she's depressed.
25:35She's not mentally where she was a few years ago.
25:38That's for sure.
25:39I believe she's also in danger.
25:41When they are able to extract the last bit of money she has, which is her property, church,
25:47and neighbors, I don't think she'll be alive.
25:49Well, let me ask you this question.
25:52What do you guys want from us?
25:54How else can we help?
25:55How else can we help?
25:56Get untangled from him and be safe.
25:59Their top priority is getting Carol away from Spain and back home with them.
26:05It's clear Shireen is controlling Carol, claiming they're married and trying to take everything she has.
26:12We have to get her out of this.
26:17Okay.
26:19Is he your boyfriend or he's your husband?
26:24Oh, he's definitely not my husband, but he tells me that we're husband and wife.
26:31One time he wanted me to repeat after him and he was saying things.
26:36And I just repeated it and he said, we're married.
26:39But you guys did this in church?
26:41No, no.
26:42No witnesses, nothing.
26:43You guys never got married?
26:44No.
26:45There's not a question, not a doubt in my mind that he has had the various intentions to hurt you and to take you for everything that you're worth.
26:54But what we're really concerned with is the fact that everyone that loves you is here.
27:01So then, would you stay?
27:09I'm seriously thinking of coming back here.
27:12I really am.
27:13Why is it even on the table for you to go back to Spain?
27:17I don't know.
27:21I love Spain, too.
27:22I'm terrified for you in a lot of ways because it sounds like he still has his grips.
27:27But he's introduced enough side players here to keep you still believing that some of this is legitimate.
27:32I think you should stay.
27:35I don't think you're safe out there.
27:37Over here, we can help you and help rationalize with you and make sure.
27:41I have to have closure, though.
27:46It sounds like there's no convincing you.
27:53This is your niece who misses you so much.
27:57I give you my word I'm going to come back.
27:59Yeah.
28:02Unbelievable.
28:05First and foremost, we need to turn over the digital evidence we've gathered from Carol to Ken
28:09and start building out a case for investment fraud to help her get even.
28:14Then we can focus on getting her out of this dangerous situation
28:17and back to the United States with her family.
28:24There's so much to unpack here.
28:27Insane.
28:28She absolutely should not go back to Spain.
28:34She's a special case, and she needs a special taking care of.
28:38Hopefully, we've gotten through to her.
28:40But in the meantime, we need to call Ken.
28:43Yeah, next step.
28:50Ken, good to see you again.
28:52You too, guys.
28:53What were you able to gather from looking at everything we sent you?
28:55When I examined all of the information, I can see that this is just a classic scam.
29:01We can see a clear motive right in the beginning of this discussion that Shireen was after money.
29:07The evidence clearly shows that he was the orchestrator of the deal, that he was the introducer of the parties in the deal.
29:16That's not my opinion.
29:18That's my assessment based on all the evidence, because the evidence tells the story.
29:24Carol supplied a bunch of signed documents and shipping forms, and there's a lot of visible things with this scam.
29:32What is your opinion on all that?
29:34Normally, there's a lot of legitimate paperwork that has to be generated in order to make these shipments happen in real life.
29:40We were able to establish that they were non-existent, that the consignee numbers, the document numbers were fake.
29:48The stamps were fake.
29:49Completely a forgery.
29:51So the lawyer that received the money is now under investigation and has been charged with money laundering and forgery.
29:58That's the law firm that the money went to.
30:01And this was relating to a deal in Bulgaria.
30:03So this guy is already dirty.
30:07Ken, are those passports that we get pictures from Carol, are they real?
30:13One's a Syrian passport, one's a British passport.
30:16There's a bit of an issue with these passports.
30:18Both passports have got the same passport number.
30:21So, at least one is fake, but I would suspect that both passports are forgeries.
30:29Wow.
30:29And I have no doubt in my mind that we have a strong case against Shireen and the other parties that were all co-conspirators in this large-scale international fraud.
30:41So, what will be the next step to pursue justice for Carol?
30:45So, what we need to do is prepare what's called a brief of evidence so that we can file that evidence in Spain and UAE so we can prove to a court that these documents are fake.
30:56And that means we have to get an affidavit from Carol.
30:58We have to go to the agencies involved and we have to get a statement from them to say that these are forgeries.
31:04Ken, thank you so much for your time, for your effort.
31:07My pleasure, and I'm here. Whatever you need, just reach out.
31:12Okay, so here are the facts.
31:14Shireen introduced Carol to the players in the gold deal.
31:18The legal documents they produced are forged.
31:21Shireen has at least one fake passport.
31:24And Stephen Indetta, the lawyer Carol lost millions to, is currently being indicted for another scam case where he allegedly stole over $65 million.
31:33Law enforcement isn't even involved yet, but it's safe to say, it doesn't look good for Shireen.
31:39It's imperative that we get Carol away from this guy.
31:49Hi, guys.
31:51Hey, how you doing?
31:51Thank you guys for taking the time, getting together.
31:54I know this has been one of the craziest stories ever.
31:58Where do things stand now with Carol and Shireen?
32:00Um, it just seems like she's going back to where she was before.
32:05Like, she's, you know, back in his clutches of him, so to speak.
32:09But she made a promise to you, Caitlin, that she was going to come right back, and that didn't happen?
32:13No.
32:14When she's there, I feel she's under his influence pretty heavily.
32:18Something has to be done.
32:19Ideally, it would be great to get her, you know, out of there.
32:22Would you see yourself, like, maybe possibility fly all of us together, like five of us, we'll go to Spain, and just do whatever it takes to bring her back to the United States?
32:35That'd be amazing.
32:36That'd be great, yeah.
32:37Yeah.
32:37I think that's a good answer.
32:39We really got to kind of a, I mean, at least from our eyes, approach this with kind of an ultimatum.
32:44Um, if she is still in his grips, it's not going to make any difference.
32:47Right.
32:48All right.
32:49We'll make it happen.
32:50No matter what, we'll make it happen.
32:51Let's see this through to the end, okay?
32:53All right.
32:54Thank you, Ben.
32:55Next stop, Spain.
33:03All right.
33:04Wow.
33:05Welcome to Spain.
33:06Like, now that we're coming on her territory with her family, this is the last chance she got.
33:14As far as helping her with the scam, we're out.
33:18Like, if she doesn't come home, there's nothing else we can do.
33:20Right now, we know that Ken Gamble has assessed that this is a huge investment fraud scam where Carol's lost millions, and Shireen is the kingpin.
33:29If we can't get Carol to leave Spain with her family, we can't go forward with anything.
33:34It's in the issue of safety.
33:36If she stays in Spain, and we continue our investigation, we don't know what will happen to Carol when Shireen finds out.
33:45The family is here.
33:47We are here.
33:49We'll see what happens.
33:50I really do want the opportunity to talk to this guy.
33:55We will.
33:56We're going to confront him, and she's coming with us.
34:01This is it.
34:02Step one is talking to Carol and her family without Shireen at the house.
34:09Oh, there she is.
34:10Yep.
34:11If we can get her to agree to leave with her family, Art and I can confront this guy.
34:24But that only happens if this intervention to get Carol away from Spain works.
34:28We have a couple things to talk to you about, yeah.
34:32Caitlin, maybe from you would be a great place to start, since you're the one that reached out originally about this.
34:36We have major concerns with your safety, you staying here.
34:41And we've all come together to try to convince you and guide you to come back with us.
34:50You have to leave.
34:52You're getting on a plane with us tomorrow, and you're coming back to the U.S.
34:57Carol, as you know, we're here to help you.
35:01There are a lot of things that we're learning, discovering.
35:04What have you discovered?
35:05We hire a private investigator out of Australia.
35:10We have connections in police.
35:12There are a lot of, it's a lot of people involved in this scam slash scheme that's been happening with you.
35:17We cannot proceed while you're here.
35:21Carol, I love you.
35:24If you don't allow us to help you, you're in danger, bottom line.
35:31The next steps of the investigation, people are going to become really aware.
35:35That they're being investigated?
35:36Yeah.
35:37Shreem and all his associates, they're going to look at you as a liability.
35:40Mm-hmm.
35:41And if you were to stay here, for that reason alone, our work on this case stops today.
35:47I know.
35:48They're here to take you out of here.
35:50Mm-hmm.
35:51And you need to go with them.
35:54Okay.
35:55All right?
35:56Yeah.
35:57There is a timeline.
35:58We have to move quick and work quick.
36:00We want to take you and have Shreem come here when you're not here, and they can talk to him.
36:08So he's going to know that we're working together, right?
36:11He's going to know no matter what.
36:12If this conversation happens now or he sees it on TV, he's going to know, Carol.
36:18You have to put your faith and trust in us.
36:20We've never done anything to ever hurt you or betray you.
36:23Oh, I know.
36:24I know.
36:24We've only loved you and cared about you and looked after you.
36:28I'm going to make sure you're safe, and we're going to have a conversation with Shreem.
36:35We need to get your most important things and your cats and you out of here.
36:40Yeah.
36:41It's a yes, right?
36:43Yes.
36:44Good.
36:44That's it.
36:45That's all that matters right now.
36:46Mm-hmm.
36:46Give her a hug.
36:47Yes.
36:47Yes.
36:48That's amazing.
36:51Carol has agreed to leave Spain.
36:54She's finally safe from Shireen and the group of scammers who took her money.
36:59We have flights for her and her family to depart first thing in the morning.
37:02I love you.
37:03I know it's hard.
37:04It's going to be okay.
37:06Make sure you get taken care of.
37:09The plan?
37:10Carol will grab her essential belongings and get escorted away from her property with her cat by her brother-in-law, Colin.
37:18Caitlin, armed with Carol's phone, is combating Shireen, inviting him over to the house to confront him.
37:25Oh, my gosh.
37:43Shireen just messaged.
37:44What did he say?
37:45He wants to come in ten minutes.
37:47I can tell Caitlin is nervous to confront this guy.
37:51I mean, he's manipulated, scammed, and taken so much from Carol.
37:55Tensions are high.
37:56We still have our investigator compiling our case to get convictions.
37:59But for now, this is a way for them to get even.
38:02Do you have to buzz him?
38:04Uh, we unlocked it.
38:06It's popped open.
38:07So he can just walk right in.
38:08Yeah.
38:08My heart rate is skinned.
38:11So this is what I'll do.
38:12I'll greet him and ask him to come in.
38:15Here he is.
38:20Ah, shit.
38:24What is this?
38:25Hi, Shireen.
38:26Hi.
38:27Hey.
38:28Carol's upstairs.
38:29I think she's trying to catch a cat or something.
38:32Would you like to come in?
38:33Yeah, Carol, she's dressing up.
38:35Hey, how's it going?
38:36Hey, you Shireen?
38:38Yes.
38:38Yeah, hi, I'm Ashton.
38:39Hi, Ashton.
38:40Hi, nice to meet you.
38:41My name is Art.
38:41Pleasure.
38:42We heard a lot of good things about you.
38:44Well, not so much.
38:45Exactly.
38:46Not so much.
38:46Yeah, not so much.
38:47Sorry, I need to know who I'm talking to.
38:49My name is Ashton.
38:50This is Art.
38:51What does Ashton mean?
38:52Yeah, well, I'm getting to there.
38:53My name is Ashton.
38:54This is Art.
38:54We work for a company called Trilogy Media.
38:56And we do investigations back in the United States and worldwide on scammers.
38:59Okay.
39:00So we're here.
39:01I do, personally.
39:02But we're going to figure that out.
39:04Get out of my face.
39:05I'm not in your face.
39:06Okay.
39:07Well, nobody's insulting me.
39:08No, it's an insult.
39:10No, no, no.
39:10I said, I said, would we walk in and...
39:12Can I explain to you what we're doing here and why we're here?
39:15Before you get defensive?
39:18I said, I think you are, but we're going to figure that out later.
39:22We want to get your side of the story.
39:23We investigate scams.
39:25So we're here to get your side of the story.
39:26It seems to us that you have been taking advantage of this woman.
39:30Carol has been investing a lot of money in gold recently, in a couple of years, right?
39:34Yes.
39:35With your help.
39:36Yes.
39:36So we just want to get your story because she lost a lot of money.
39:41No, she hasn't.
39:41Yeah, she did.
39:42Okay.
39:43Well, she hasn't.
39:44You know what you say?
39:45It's lost.
39:46It means it's not coming back.
39:47When is it coming back?
39:48When is it coming back?
39:50It was supposed to be back a long time ago.
39:52Yes, it was.
39:53She's received nothing back.
39:55I know that she's lost a lot, and we don't know where it is.
39:58But she pays for, you know, private jets, shipping, travel.
40:01Your hotels, your lunch, water washes, first class tickets.
40:05Yes.
40:06So where's the gold?
40:08Every single connection that's related to this gold opportunity came from you.
40:14When we started this, Carol did the research.
40:18We made a list of people that we want to talk to.
40:21I did not make that list.
40:23You've made every list.
40:24You've made every list of anyone that she's ever met.
40:26Every single connection that came, that took money from her, came from your connection.
40:31All your friends, all people that you know, everything from you.
40:34Yes.
40:34We hire private investigation.
40:36That's great.
40:37We're just telling you that it doesn't look good, that all this money that's been gone came through your connections.
40:43You know how much money she lost, right?
40:44Of course, I do every single cent.
40:46All we know for sure is that she's lost a life-ruining amount of money,
40:50and it was all given to people that you introduced her to.
40:55I introduced her, yes.
40:56I knew all these people before I knew her.
40:58Well, that's fine.
40:59Yeah.
41:00She said that.
41:00She said that these people came from you.
41:02I've done this before multiple times.
41:04These are your connections.
41:05This is the only time after Carol has invested all this money.
41:09This is the only time that it went south that didn't be lucrative, right?
41:14But all of these other deals you've done in the past always worked out.
41:19So why now is it not going through?
41:24It's just as much as if she put it directly in your hand.
41:28True.
41:30Yeah.
41:31Is there anything else?
41:33You're never going to see Carol again.
41:34Sorry?
41:35You are never going to see Carol again.
41:37Fair enough.
41:37This is good.
41:38This is good?
41:38This is just like that?
41:39You're not even asking why?
41:41You don't even want to know what's going on?
41:42No.
41:42Oh, yeah.
41:43You look real torn up about it.
41:45I don't like your set, Cass.
41:47I don't give a shit.
41:47You are a piece of shit human being.
41:51If this meeting served any purpose other than to meet you,
41:54it's to let you know you are being investigated.
41:56We already have federal authorities.
41:58I really am not worried about it.
41:59Oh, you should be.
42:00You should be.
42:00No, I'm not.
42:00You should be.
42:01If I do something wrong, I will.
42:02Your arrogance is going to do you wrong on this one.
42:04I'm not arrogant.
42:05Oh, you are.
42:06I beg to differ, motherfucker.
42:07I hope you sleep well tonight.
42:09He won't.
42:14Do you have Carol's phone?
42:15Is he texting her?
42:17Oh, he is texting her.
42:22He said, it is better I stay away until the investigation is complete.
42:27Beautiful.
42:28Proud of you.
42:29Oh, thanks.
42:30Proud of you.
42:31Fuck yeah.
42:31Nicely done.
42:32You okay?
42:32Everybody.
42:33Yeah, seriously.
42:34Mom?
42:35Yes.
42:35We got Carol out of there and we confronted Shireen.
42:43At first, he didn't admit to connecting Carol with the other scammers.
42:48Then he did.
42:49He was flip-flopping all over the place.
42:52Now that Carol is safe, she can write the affidavit Ken needs to start pursuing this case in Spain
42:58and the UAE.
43:01How are you guys feeling after everything that happened?
43:03I feel really good.
43:04Yes, it feels like a lot of weight from the past year or more taken off my shoulder.
43:12Trust me.
43:12He's going to be thinking long and hard about that conversation for a while.
43:15I'm just very proud of every single one of you.
43:18You guys came so far and finally we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, you know?
43:24I am so glad Carol is safe.
43:27I know we did our part.
43:28Ken is doing his part.
43:30But it's all because of her family that Carol is out of this awful situation.
43:35To make sure it doesn't happen again, we have a plan.
43:39She's going to be retargeted over and over.
43:41You're going to have to monitor it.
43:42You're going to have to keep your eye on what she's doing.
43:43We also would recommend and we can help you set this up.
43:46It's called Surfshark.
43:47But they have a feature called Alternate ID.
43:49So it actually generates a name and an address and a phone number that's not tied to her.
43:54If she's signing up for something and they email her or text her, she'll get it.
43:56It'll go to her number.
43:57She'll get it.
43:57But they won't have her information.
43:58Right.
43:59Yeah.
43:59We're here.
44:00Let us know.
44:00And we're not stopping.
44:02It's just going to take some time to chip away at it.
44:04It has to be.
44:05Yeah.
44:07And thank you for being brave, being vulnerable.
44:09Thank you for letting us tag along in this story.
44:12For all your help.
44:13It's a pleasure.
44:17This case is ongoing.
44:20In the meantime, Carol will be safe with her family.
44:23We made it.
44:24Getting on our plane.
44:26She was taken out of Spain, away from Shireen, and is back in the United States.
44:34We officially made it to Denver.
44:37And that is what we call getting even.
44:40We'll be right back in the United States.
45:10We'll be right back in the United States.
45:40We'll be right back in the United States.
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