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  • Frozen Invoices, Fake Regulations: How a Neighbor Scammed Nebraska Farms

    Frozen Invoices, Fake Regulations: How a Neighbor Scammed Nebraska Farms
    2026/07/25
    Frozen Invoices, Fake Regulations: How a Neighbor Scammed Nebraska Farms

    Trust turned to theft: a phone-book-sized stack of frozen invoices in a gravel berm revealed 214 billed "refrigerated" loads that had never been refrigerated, and 43 farms collectively lost more than $300,000 over four years. How did a local dispatcher turn a made-up federal rule into a mandatory 22% surcharge, and who finally noticed the contradiction?

    In this episode, we follow the paper trail found by a road-grader operator and the farmer who questioned a trailer's lack of refrigeration, tracing how Petersen Livestock Solutions billed clients a refrigerated-transport premium based on a non-existent regulation. What stopped the scheme after years of compliance and unquestioned trust?

    Person: Wendy Petersen
    Company: Petersen Livestock Solutions
    Person: Gary Osborne
    Count: 43 client operations
    Total Loss: more than $300,000

    - 214 loads were billed as refrigerated by Petersen Livestock Solutions between 2015 and 2019.
    - The refrigerated-transport premium imposed by Petersen was 22% above standard rates.
    - Petersen incorporated Petersen Livestock Solutions in spring 2011 with $2,000 startup capital.
    - Gary Osborne paid approximately $22,000 over four years for 18 loads billed as refrigerated.
    - Terry Vance operated a two-truck dry-van carrier that hauled all 214 billed loads with no refrigeration equipment.

    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 Silent Hives: How a Local Bee Scam Stole $812,000

    The Silent Hives: How a Local Bee Scam Stole $812,000
    2026/07/24
    The Silent Hives: How a Local Bee Scam Stole $812,000

    Silence hid $812,000 in plain sight: forty-three Langstroth hive boxes stood untouched in full bloom, and a utility lineman heard no hum - a sign that exposed a web of false contracts, cash withdrawals, and staged payouts. How did a local honey cooperative become a $812,000 disappearance built on fake invoices, a nonexistent distributor, and a bookkeeper's access to other people's money?

    In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events from the first silent apiary sighting to the financial trail that followed, detailing the people, transactions, and documents that shaped the case. What choice by the cooperative's founder allowed payouts to mask losses and silent hives to become evidence?

    Date: September 11, 2019
    Person: Emily Myers
    Amount: $812,000
    Investors: 47
    Payout rate: 11%

    - Forty-three white Langstroth hive boxes were found silent along a fence line on September 11, 2019.
    - Emily Myers incorporated Clover Ridge Honey Cooperative in spring 2015 at age 44.
    - Between May 2015 and August 2018, 47 investors contributed a total of $812,000.
    - Approximately $640,000 was withdrawn in cash or transferred to a personal account under Myers's previous surname.
    - Pinnacle Natural Foods had no contract or relationship with Clover Ridge, despite being named in investor pitches.

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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 Man Who Sold a Scoreboard: How a Treasurer Stole $236K

    The Man Who Sold a Scoreboard: How a Treasurer Stole $236K
    2026/07/23
    The Man Who Sold a Scoreboard: How a Treasurer Stole $236K

    Fear that the person you trust most is quietly stealing from your community: a treasurer moved $231,000 through a single-signatory campaign account called "Briar Ridge Athletic Complex Campaign" using a laminated rendering and an altered endorsement letter-how did he convince long-time supporters to hand over real checks? Who was the man behind the official-looking documents, and what happened when donors started asking questions?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from a cardboard box found in a storm drain to the discovery of missing funds, detailing how documents, emails, and one-signature banking enabled the scheme and what specific moments exposed it. Listen to learn how ordinary records and a trusted role were turned into a multi-year fraud, and what finally cracked the case.

    Person: Steven Anderson
    Person: Lloyd Hicks
    Person: Jerry Erickson
    Organization: Briar Ridge Athletic Complex Club
    Location: Decatur Lane

    - $231,000 moved through the Briar Ridge Athletic Complex Campaign account between March 2018 and April 2019.
    - $236,000 is the total loss reported to victims at the conclusion of the episode.
    - $25,000 naming-rights agreement signed by Jerry Erickson in March 2018 with two payments of $12,500.
    - Anderson ordered fifty laminated renderings showing a 48-foot LED scoreboard in January 2018 from a print shop in the capital.
    - The school board voted in closed session to defer the scoreboard project in November 2017, a fact recorded in the official minutes.

    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
  • The Ledger in the Vent: How a Dry Notebook Exposed $28,000 Theft

    The Ledger in the Vent: How a Dry Notebook Exposed $28,000 Theft
    2026/07/22
    The Ledger in the Vent: How a Dry Notebook Exposed $28,000 Theft

    Fear that someone you trusted stole from your neighbors: a dry, wire-bound ledger tucked into a crawl-space vent after two days of hard July rain led to the unravelling of six years of systematic theft and a missing escrow balance of roughly $28,000. Who placed the notebook there, and how did one man keep an escrow account nearly empty while residents paid rent for years?

    In this episode, we present the sequence of events that followed the discovery of that notebook and outline the records and actions that exposed the gap between required and actual escrow balances. Listen to how a single photograph, one complaint to the Division of Housing Standards, and bank records combined to answer the question: how did no one notice?

    Person: Robert Davis
    Location: Pinewood Terrace, Grover Township, Lacey County
    Event: Discovery of a dry wire-bound ledger in a crawl-space vent on July 21, 2011
    Amount: Escrow required roughly $28,000; account often held approximately $3,000
    Case: Systematic theft affecting 81 occupied lots over six years

    - The ledger was found dry inside Lot 14’s crawl-space vent after two days of July rain, spine facing outward and vent cover leaned against the siding.
    - Troy Moore had walked the Pinewood Terrace route 43 times and photographed the notebook before touching it on July 21, 2011.
    - Pinewood Terrace had 81 occupied lots by 2011 on 42 acres, with lot rents between $310 and $360 per month.
    - Robert Davis was the sole signatory on escrow account 4417 at Lacey Savings and Loan and was hired in 2005 at a salary of $44,000 plus a manager unit.
    - In 2006 Davis registered R.L. Davis Consulting, LLC, filed for $300, and opened a separate checking account at Millhaven Community Bank with no documented revenue.

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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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    21 分
  • The $28-a-Ton Secret: How a Treasurer Bled Towns Dry

    The $28-a-Ton Secret: How a Treasurer Bled Towns Dry
    2026/07/21
    The $28-a-Ton Secret: How a Treasurer Bled Towns Dry

    A hidden invoice taped to a pallet exposed a $28-per-ton gap in road salt prices that had been siphoning money from a dozen townships for nearly six years-how did nobody notice until a church volunteer found folding chairs in a rented storage unit? What started as a cooperative meant to save small towns became a private income stream, and the crucial clue was an unlocked door and a misplaced document.

    In this episode, we tell how a township treasurer built a county-wide purchasing cooperative, how purchase numbers diverged from supplier quotes, and how persistent record requests and meeting minutes eventually forced the question nobody had answered: who benefited from the price spread?

    Person: Douglas Dalton
    Person: Lauren Zimmerman
    Location: Millhaven Township administration building laundry room
    Date: June 11, 2019
    Event: Cooperative billing discrepancy discovered

    - The supplier quote Dalton obtained in fall 2013 was approximately $55 per ton.
    - Dalton billed twelve municipal governments at $89 per ton, a $34 difference from the supplier quote he circulated and $28 higher than the invoice found taped to the pallet.
    - Dalton served as Millhaven Township treasurer since 2010 and was elected five times in a row.
    - The administrative fee Dalton authorized for the cooperative was $1.50 per ton.
    - The crucial original Clearwater invoices were stored in a metal filing cabinet behind a back door with a reported broken lock.

    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 Box on the Trail That Exposed $241,000 Auction Scam

    The Box on the Trail That Exposed $241,000 Auction Scam
    2026/07/20
    The Box on the Trail That Exposed $241,000 Auction Scam

    A single cardboard box sealed with packing tape and labeled "UNIT 114 - AUCTION PENDING - DO NOT OPEN" sat half-hidden by a utility pole on a county trail and contained thirty-seven signed bidder contracts that linked a small-town auction company to a $241,000 scheme - how did a trail-side discovery unravel years of hidden payments and early-entry deals?

    In this episode, we tell how a walk with a rescue dog led a first-time hiker to call the sheriff and how that call set off an investigation into auction practices, early access payments, and missing items from storage units; what patterns and payments tied Christine Andrews and Robert Voss to the missing goods?

    Person: Paul Tipton
    Person: Biscuit (rescue dog)
    Person: Christine Andrews
    Person: Robert Voss
    Amount: $241,000

    - The box contained thirty-seven manila envelopes, each with a signed bidder contract.
    - The box label read "UNIT 114 - AUCTION PENDING - DO NOT OPEN."
    - Christine Andrews founded Eastfield Auction Partners LLC in 2014 and was 48 when the investigation closed in.
    - Payments from Robert Voss to Andrews over five years totaled $241,000 and were made in personal checks and cash.
    - Nicole Holmes paid $40 to register and won Unit 88 for $200, later noticing missing items and gaps in shelving.

    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
  • They Drowned the Donors' Names - How $230K Vanished in Gideon

    They Drowned the Donors' Names - How $230K Vanished in Gideon
    2026/07/20
    They Drowned the Donors' Names - How $230K Vanished in Gideon

    Trust turned to shock when a creek yielded fourteen pristine bronze plaques engraved with donor names - each deliberately dropped from a bridge - and the Gideon Memorial Fund’s bank account showed just $11. How did $230,000 disappear into administrative fees and equipment purchases while a small town believed it was caring for its own, and why were those names sunk to silence?

    In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the fund’s incorporation through the discovery in Sycamore Fork, tracing the actions that left donors baffled and one auditor following a paper trail to missing funds. What did a contractor-turned-treasurer do with hundreds of thousands entrusted to a community fund, and why were the donor plaques cast and then discarded?

    Person: Larry Ford
    Person: Jeffrey Adams
    Person: Philip Carter
    Date: April 9, 2019
    Event: Fourteen bronze donor plaques found in Sycamore Fork

    - The fund reported a balance of $247,000 at the end of 2017.
    - Approximately $230,000 was withdrawn by Larry Ford by that same date.
    - The fund account held $11 on December 14, 2018, when Ford received a certified letter from donor Philip Carter.
    - Ford ordered fourteen bronze plaques in late November 2018 costing $4,080.
    - Philip Carter had donated $2,000 and first emailed for financial statements in September 2018, sending a certified letter by December.

    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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    16 分
  • The Tractor Everyone Claimed - How One Scam Stole Farmers' Lifetimes

    The Tractor Everyone Claimed - How One Scam Stole Farmers' Lifetimes
    2026/07/20
    The Tractor Everyone Claimed - How One Scam Stole Farmers' Lifetimes

    A single tractor with keys on the seat and a lease addendum pressed to its windshield led to a network of lies that siphoned $940,000 from farmers and retirees. Four separate institutions and individuals simultaneously held legal claims on the same John Deere 8370R - so how did one man engineer a fraud that hid $630,000 in phony assets?

    In this episode, you will hear the sequence of events from the moment the county surveyor found the tractor through the trail of investor statements, lease filings, and phone calls that reveal how the scheme operated. What systems failed that let one serial number appear on multiple investor schedules and bank filings?

    Person: Roy Snyder
    Person: Eric York
    Person: Alan Weaver
    Date: March 4, 2019
    Amount: $940,000

    - Roy Snyder invested $40,000 in Feltner Ag Solutions in March 2017 and received six quarterly payments totaling $10,800.
    - Sandra Pruitt invested $65,000 in the autumn of 2015 and received 14 months of payments before they stopped.
    - Eric York raised $940,000 from 11 investors over six years while the actual equipment value never exceeded $310,000.
    - The tractor was a John Deere 8370R with serial number 1RW8370RPJH784412, found nose-down in a drainage ditch on Dutton Road.
    - At the time the tractor was found, four separate institutions and individuals held legal claims against the same machine.

    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