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  • Fisherman Finds a Dry Binder Eight Days After the Flood: The Market Board Racket

    Fisherman Finds a Dry Binder Eight Days After the Flood: The Market Board Racket
    2026/07/26
    Fisherman Finds a Dry Binder Eight Days After the Flood: The Market Board Racket

    The binder was bone-dry and held 114 intact pages where the Sullen River had crested 40 centimeters higher eight days earlier - a document that helped close a four-year extortion scheme tied to the Kelder City Farmers Market Certification Board. How did a wedged, dry record survive a flood and expose a system that sped inspections from 132 days to just 11 for favored farms?

    In this episode, you’ll hear how a fisherman’s find, a deputy director’s long tenure, and a small consultancy’s paperwork reshuffled access to Kelder City’s markets, and whether the same pattern in a neighboring county will ever see charges.

    Person: Gregory Gray
    Date: third week of June 2017
    Location: eastern bank of the Sullen River
    Case: four-year extortion scheme involving the Kelder City Farmers Market Certification Board
    Pages: 114

    - The river left a silt mark at roughly 40 centimeters where the binder was wedged.
    - Gregory Gray had fished that eastern bank for more than 30 years.
    - Martin Flood had been deputy director of the board for 9 years by summer 2017.
    - Farms paying Tri-State averaged 11 days from application to inspection; others averaged 132 days.
    - The scheme began in March 2013 and was exposed after the binder surfaced in June 2017.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    18 分
  • The Bail Bond Machine That Hid Eleven Years of Quiet Fraud

    The Bail Bond Machine That Hid Eleven Years of Quiet Fraud
    2026/07/26
    The Bail Bond Machine That Hid Eleven Years of Quiet Fraud

    A county bond-printing machine, stamped "Teller Parish Clerk's Office," sat on a cinder block shelf behind chain-link fence at a bail bond storefront - and one surveyor's morning stop led to uncovering eleven years of hidden bookkeeping that used the odd phrase "deferred fee" to mask ongoing transactions. How did a small-city bondsman with 400 clients a year and a spotless community reputation keep a quiet racket running for over a decade?

    In this episode, we follow the chronology from the morning Lloyd Underwood photographed the machine to Detective Terry Whitley pulling client books and files that revealed an irregular notation appearing since 2001. The episode covers the theft report, the role of the bond-printing device, the ledger entries marked "deferred fee," and the connections between Kellerton, Teller Parish, and Calvera Parish that Whitley began to trace - how did those deferred amounts persist for years without being paid?

    Person: Lloyd Underwood
    Person: Terry Whitley
    Person: Randy Sullivan
    Location: Merchant Avenue, Kellerton
    Item: bond-printing machine labeled "Teller Parish Clerk's Office"

    - The bond shop Sullivan Surety operated on Merchant Avenue since 2001 and processed about 400 clients per year.
    - The bond-printing machine was taken from the Teller Parish Clerk's Office records annex on the night of March 4, 2010, during a renovation.
    - Lloyd Underwood found and photographed the machine on a cinder block shelf in the bail bond storefront in the second week of May 2011.
    - Randy Sullivan was 53 years old at the time investigators photographed the machine and had coached youth baseball and served as a deacon at Cornerstone Baptist Church.
    - Ledger entries at Sullivan Surety contained the two-word phrase "deferred fee" starting in 2001 and carrying forward year to year with dollar figures, some over $1,000.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    18 分
  • The Bag That Should Not Have Been Dry: The Dellford Racket

    The Bag That Should Not Have Been Dry: The Dellford Racket
    2026/07/26
    The Bag That Should Not Have Been Dry: The Dellford Racket

    A sealed bank deposit bag, rubber-banded and perfectly dry, sat on a concrete shelf inside a septic holding tank that hadn’t been serviced in 36 months - and it contained $4,200 in banded twenties plus a laminated index card listing eleven south-ward businesses with monthly payments. How did routine park maintenance, a municipal contractor with a key to maintenance sheds, and four years of spotless inspections hide a protection racket in plain sight?

    In this episode, we trace the discovery and the pieces that linked a parks contractor to a cash-for-clean-inspections scheme: the pump-truck driver who took the photo, the deputy who opened the case, the ledger that tied eleven businesses together, and the city records that showed an improbable pattern. What exactly does the dry bag on a concrete shelf tell us about how the racket was run and who benefited?

    Person: Earl Vogel
    Person: Lloyd Weaver
    Person: Eric Powell
    Date: April 2011
    Amount: $4,200

    - The septic holding tank had not been serviced in 36 months according to city work orders.
    - Verdant Solutions LLC was awarded the Dellford parks maintenance contract in spring 2007 and by then employed roughly 22 people.
    - Eleven south-ward businesses paid between $300 and $800 per month into the scheme.
    - Charles Mott received $4,000 per month in cash deposited to a lockbox at Birch Road Storage for four years and two months.
    - The sealed bank deposit bag contained banded twenties and a laminated index card listing eleven business names with dollar amounts.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    20 分
  • Birdwatcher Photographs $900,000 Fraud: The Corridor Tax

    Birdwatcher Photographs $900,000 Fraud: The Corridor Tax
    2026/07/26
    Birdwatcher Photographs $900,000 Fraud: The Corridor Tax

    A middle school librarian photographing mergansers with a 500mm lens accidentally captured a man bundling a stack of envelopes in the open cargo doors of an ambulance - one of eleven photos that later became federal evidence in a $900,000 billing scheme. How did a methodical fraud, adding a $12-$30 “compliance fee” to routine transports across three hospitals, go undetected for nine years until a birdwatcher posted a photo online?

    In this episode, we follow how routine paperwork, a transport coordinator, a long‑time OIG investigator, and a birdwatcher converged to reveal a long-running billing fraud; what started as a nature outing becomes the key piece that helped answer why the scheme survived so long.

    Person: Shannon Tillman
    Event: Photograph taken at 7:19 AM on March 14
    Company: Sovereign Ambulance Services
    Scheme: Compliance fee of $12 to $30 per transfer billed to Clearfield Holdings
    Investigator: Curtis York, 12‑year OIG investigator

    - Shannon Tillman used a 500‑millimeter telephoto lens and took eleven photographs on the morning of March 14.
    - The extra “compliance fee” line item ranged from $12 to $30 per transfer on invoices layered atop legitimate transport charges.
    - Cynthia Hayes held a 40% stake in Clearfield Holdings and had 11 years of healthcare billing experience when she helped structure Sovereign’s bid.
    - Joanna Hewitt found 47 transfers billed to Clearfield Holdings with no corresponding transport record during accreditation reconciliation.
    - A Public Works keycard registered to Douglas Heff activated a gate on the third Tuesday of every month for four years, traced to a service road behind a storage facility.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    18 分
  • A Briefcase Left Running: The Harton Convention Racket

    A Briefcase Left Running: The Harton Convention Racket
    2026/07/26
    A Briefcase Left Running: The Harton Convention Racket

    A running engine and a dead battery: a fifteen-year-old finds a briefcase beside an idling car at 4:40 a.m., and a single impossible detail in a police report ignites a racket that funneled cash, vendors and exclusion lists through Harton’s convention system. How did a linen company, a bureau director and hotel managers turn room recommendations into predictable paydays - and who paid when rooms were quietly denied?

    In this episode, we follow the chronology from the briefcase on the Ardmore Grand loading dock to the handwritten records and bank deposits that tied local businesses and hotel staff to a scheme of preferential bookings and targeted exclusions. We track the evidence that links cash payments to recommendation power, and the complaint that began to unravel the network.

    Person: Ronald McCarthy
    Date: February 1997 (four forty a.m., second week of February 1997)
    Location: Ardmore Grand Hotel loading dock, Harton
    Person: Phil Garver
    Person: Neil Burke

    - A fifteen-year-old found an open briefcase beside an idling car at 4:40 a.m.
    - Patrol Officer Deborah Fitch arrived at 5:03 a.m. and noted the engine was running despite a claimed dead battery.
    - Handwritten records showed Norman Baker began cash payments to Phil Garver in 1991.
    - Investigators documented 43 cash deposits into Neil Burke’s accounts over 30 months, averaging $900 each, always on Fridays at different branches.
    - Investigators documented 41 targeted exclusions over 18 months while hotel vacancy rates ranged from 12% to 31%.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    19 分
  • She Found the Refrigerator at Dawn: The Coldstream Racket

    She Found the Refrigerator at Dawn: The Coldstream Racket
    2026/07/26
    She Found the Refrigerator at Dawn: The Coldstream Racket

    The discovery of an upright commercial refrigerator in the middle of a snow-covered lane at 4:17 AM led to a serial number that traced back to a closed halal market - a six-year closure that started with three precise inspection failures measured in tenths of a degree. How did one refrigeration unit become the first thread that unraveled nearly a decade of systematic extortion through the city's licensing system?

    In this episode, we follow the sequence that began with a plow driver's log, continued through municipal inspection records, and reached a state financial crimes investigator tracing a serial number back to a disgraced market owner. What started as a property inquiry becomes the question: who profited from manipulating inspections, and how far did the scheme reach?

    Date: January 9, 2003
    Location: Cord Street, Harcastle
    Person: Lauren Zeller
    Person: Victor Obi
    Investigator: Bruce Donnelly

    - The unit was found upright in the middle of the road at 4:17 AM with its power cord coiled on top and no tire tracks in fresh snow.
    - The refrigerator's serial number traced it back to a halal market on Corbin Road that had closed in February 1997.
    - Earl Davis incorporated Coldstream in 1989 and by the mid-1990s held maintenance contracts across Harcastle and three surrounding counties.
    - Businesses under Coldstream contracts paid between $800 and $2,200 per month for service that functioned as protection payments.
    - Ted Marsh, who worked in Health and Licensing for 19 years, received $500 a month and filed passes for Coldstream clients and marginal failures for non-clients for approximately nine years.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    21 分
  • The Laminated Permit That Exposed a Small-Town Extortion Ring

    The Laminated Permit That Exposed a Small-Town Extortion Ring
    2026/07/26
    The Laminated Permit That Exposed a Small-Town Extortion Ring

    A laminated vendor permit nailed twelve feet high to a transformer betrayed a secret: the card bore the name of a woman dead four years, yet it had been renewed in 2009-and that single orange-and-white permit unspooled nine years of systematic extortion at a county farmers' market. How did ghost permits, cash envelopes, and a handwritten ledger keep a racket running in plain sight for nearly a decade?

    In this episode, we lay out how a routine maintenance climb and one forgotten permit revealed a shadow system at the Harwick farmers' market, where premium pads were sold off-books and dead people's names kept spots active; can a single piece of paper bring down an entire operation?

    Person: Ryan Morgan
    Location: Harwick fairgrounds
    Date: December 11, 2009
    Topic: vendor permits and shadow extortion
    Case: permit seven-Bravo (Frances Okafor)

    - The official pad rental cost was $22 per weekend processed in the market office.
    - Premium pads cost an additional $60 to $140 extra per weekend, paid in cash in envelopes.
    - Eleven vendor placards were issued in the names of people who died between 2001 and 2008.
    - Vernon Carter ran the shadow operation from at least 2001 and was 53 years old in 2009.
    - Permit seven-Bravo (Frances Okafor) had a renewal date in 2009 despite her death in 2005.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    20 分
  • A Widow Pays to Keep Her Husband's Grave Safe: The Crestfield Cemetery Racket

    A Widow Pays to Keep Her Husband's Grave Safe: The Crestfield Cemetery Racket
    2026/07/26
    A Widow Pays to Keep Her Husband's Grave Safe: The Crestfield Cemetery Racket

    A wife paid $900 for a “perpetual maintenance assurance” so her husband’s 94-pound granite marker would never be disturbed - yet months later it sat upright on a fieldstone wall, deliberately placed. The markers, blocked drains, rekeyed shed, and a web of invoices reveal a system that priced protection based on estate paperwork; who was profiting, and how far did the scheme reach?

    In this episode, we walk through the events at Calvary Rest where families paid into a maintenance program while stones shifted and drainage lines were sabotaged, following the path from arrangement conferences to county contracts and the discovery that raised the first alarm: placement appeared deliberate. How did routine cemetery procedures turn into a racket that targeted grieving families?

    Person: Paul F. Corrigan
    Person: Susan Corrigan, 61 years old
    Person: Robert Finch, 47 years old
    Person: Kevin Long, 53 years old
    Event: Marker placed on fieldstone wall at 6:23 AM in early November

    - The grave marker weighed 94 pounds and was a granite flush-cut marker.
    - Susan Corrigan paid $900 for the perpetual maintenance assurance in April.
    - Robert Finch conducted 41 arrangement conferences and read estate paperwork beforehand in each case.
    - Quoted maintenance fees ranged from $300 to $1,400 depending on apparent family resistance.
    - Kevin Long held the county interment contract and had run Calvary Rest Mortuary Services for 16 years.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    18 分