Dirty Money

Remember Martin Shrkeli? He was the so-called “Pharma Bro” who raised the price of an anti-viral drug for AIDS patients from $13.50 to $750 a pill. His arrogance and lack of empathy came to embody all that was wrong with the unregulated drug market. But not much is known about Skreli beyond the media hype. Where did he come from, what were his motives, what happend to him, and where is he now? We take a deep dive into the man once dubbed “the most hated man in America.”

In the 1980s, Chicago’s trading floor was packed with loud-mouth tough guys, mountains of cocaine and a whole lot of money. Those ingredients added up to one of the biggest — and most expensive — undercover FBI investigations in history. On this episode of ‘Dirty Money’ hosts Dan Bova and Jon Small welcome guest Anjay Nagpal, who investigated the federal investigation on his hit true-crime podcast 'Brokers, Bagmen & Moles.' During the talk, Nagpal shares insights into how the Chicago sausage was made when it comes to financial crime and gives a peek behind the curtain of what it is like to interview people who may or may not have killed for fun and profit. Did the Feds take down a massive criminal empire, or was it all just a waste of taxpayers’ money? Did Nagpal tell Dan and Jon the ending of his multi-part podcast series? Listen and find out!

On December 11, 1978, six armed robbers broke into JFK Airport's Lufthansa Airlines cargo terminal at 3 o'clock in the morning. A little over an hour later, they walked out with $5 million in untraceable bills (worth $22.4 million today ) and $800,000 in jewels (worth $3.6 million today.) At the time, it was the largest heist in U.S. history. And here's the really crazy part: Not a shot was fired and nobody was killed or seriously hurt (during the heist, at least.) If this sounds familiar, it's because it was dramatized in Martin Scorsese's 1990 film 'Goodfellas,' based on Nicholas Pilleggi's 1985 book 'Wiseguys' about mid-level crooks in the Lucchese crime family. The Lufthansa heist was a pivotal moment in the lives of a Queens, NY-based crew. Mobsters Henry Hill, Jimmy Burke and a bizarre group of degenerate gamblers, bookies, wig salesmen and guys with nicknames like Louis Roast Beef all somehow pulled off this incredible scheme...and then almost immediately start killing each other. On this episode of Dirty Money, hosts Dan Bova and Jon Small discuss the crime and its fallout, and what the Goodfellas version got right and what it got wrong. (And by wrong, we mean "slightly unfactual" because it is the greatest movie ever made and by extension, can do no wrong.)

We’ve all heard of Ponzi schemes, but who was the guy they were named after? This is the amazing story of the original swindler Charles Ponzi, a dapper, five-foot-two Italian immigrant who in 1920 raked in an estimated $15 million (now $225 million) in less that year. Ponzi lured over 20,000 Bostonians to invest in his securities with promises of 50 percent profits in 45 days. Back in the day, he was a hero of people—until a newspaper brought him and his now infamous scheme crashing down.

If you’re looking for the poster boy of corporate greed, look no further than Dennis Kozlowski, the former CEO of Tyco who took excess to a whole new level. In 2005, he was arrested and served six and a half years in prison for looting nearly $100 million from his company. Records revealed that he secretly loaned tens of millions of dollars of corporate funds to executives, and forgave those loans to win their loyalty. Without board approval, he doled out millions in bonuses and used company money to buy a $16.8 million apartment in New York City. He repeatedly dipped into Tyco’s til to cover his personal $80,000 American Express bill and luxury oddities including a $17,100 traveling toilet box, a $15,000 dog umbrella stand and a $6,000 shower curtain. On this episode, hosts Jon Small and Dan Bova speak with Catherine S. Neal, Associate Professor of Business Ethics and Business Law at Northern Kentucky University and author of "Taking Down the Lion: The Triumphant Rise and Tragic Fall of Tyco's Dennis Kozlowski" to get to the bottom of his greed (if there is a bottom.) Thanks for listening, be sure to subscribe and throw us a rating!

This is the story of Rose Marks, a fortuneteller who devised an elaborate scheme to steal millions from her desperate clients. Guest Tori Tefler chronicled Marks’ crimes and other dastardly deeds of female criminals in her book Confident Women. Dan and Jon take a deep dive into this story of psychic swindling and find out why female grifters can be so persuasive.

Journalist Josh Dean joins the show to explain the baffling and exhausting scheme that bilked movie crew members out of millions.

Dirty Money is a new white-collar crime podcast series from Entrepreneur Media. Each episode features the filthy tales of legendary scammers, con artists, and money-hungry crooks who stop at nothing to bilk their marks of millions. Hosted by Entrepreneur editors Dan Bova and Jon Small, the podcast takes a deep dive into the minds behind the crimes. Subjects include: Lou Pearlman (Backstreet Boys, N Sync) Eddie Antar (Crazy Eddie) The Hollywood Con Queen Dennis Kozlowski (Tyco Industries) Super Mario (Greek shipping tycoon) …and more. Subscribe now and catch new episodes every other Thursday starting January 19, 2023.

Remember Martin Shrkeli? He was the so-called “Pharma Bro” who raised the price of an anti-viral drug for AIDS patients from $13.50 to $750 a pill. His arrogance and lack of empathy came to embody all that was wrong with the unregulated drug market. But not much is known about Skreli beyond the media hype. Where did he come from, what were his motives, what happend to him, and where is he now? We take a deep dive into the man once dubbed “the most hated man in America.”