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Speaker 1: Previously on Once Upon a Con.

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Speaker 2: When he first started working for me.

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Speaker 3: He hit us within a month of Oh, I'm so connected.

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Speaker 3: I know everybody. My wife, she's doing all these things politically.

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Speaker 3: She's connected to Gavin Newsom and he's dropped so many names.

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Speaker 1: How much money did you invest with him?

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Speaker 3: I invested forty grand total.

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Speaker 1: I uncover more victims of David Bloom, including his former employer,

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Speaker 1: and we all band together and show up at David's

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Speaker 1: front door to get our money back.

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Speaker 2: David, how are you?

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Speaker 4: We're gonna do right here?

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Speaker 1: I'm Caroline de Moray and this is Once Upon a

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Speaker 1: Con Episode eight. Nobody knows which end is up.

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Speaker 5: I was the only one who couldn't be there.

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Speaker 2: I just had I surgery that day.

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Speaker 6: We pre arranged that I would record everything on my iPhone.

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Speaker 1: I'm talking to my business partners back in Erin, who

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Speaker 1: are instrumental in the planning and execution of this confrontation.

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Speaker 1: David Bloom was actually out of town for a couple

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Speaker 1: of weeks, and we were scared maybe somebody tipped him

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Speaker 1: off that we were coming for him.

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Speaker 6: We didn't even know whether he really was in London

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Speaker 6: and really was coming back everyone was texting him and saying, David,

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Speaker 6: do you want to He goes.

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Speaker 7: Yeah, I'm on my way back.

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Speaker 6: I didn't really think he would walk in the door. Actually,

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Speaker 6: I thought there's no way, and he's leading everybody on

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Speaker 6: and saying, and we were checking, you know, was his

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Speaker 6: stuff still in his apartment or was he really going

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Speaker 6: to come back. So when he walked in the door

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Speaker 6: on a Sunday night about seven pm and went up

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Speaker 6: to his apartment, I was personally.

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Speaker 4: I was shocked.

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Speaker 6: I was like, wow, he's walking back into this.

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Speaker 1: We're an angry group of six that night, back in

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Speaker 1: August of twenty twenty one, all victims of con artist

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Speaker 1: David Bloom, even Harry, his former boss at that credit

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Speaker 1: repair company, is there.

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Speaker 3: I was enraged because at the time I had trusted

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Speaker 3: this man, I actually cared about him. One of the

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Speaker 3: things he did to help me like make me really

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Speaker 3: believe he was genuine, and then to realize all that

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Speaker 3: was a lie. It felt like being cheated on. It

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Speaker 3: was like confronting a cheater while catching them in the act.

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Speaker 1: So when we knock on his door, David actually opens

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Speaker 1: it sees us all standing there angrily staring him down.

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Speaker 1: He takes a beat and says, but Harry speaks up

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Speaker 1: for all of us.

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Speaker 4: We're gonna get right here, David. I want to know

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Speaker 4: the truth.

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Speaker 3: You've told me a lot of things that are different

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Speaker 3: than the stories I'm hearing from these people.

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Speaker 4: I'd like to know the truth stories, David.

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Speaker 7: Everyone's an all on room right now, everyone's everyone's hoping.

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Speaker 1: David is weirdly calm, acting like this is all just

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Speaker 1: one big misunderstanding, which strikes us as odd. Another neighbor speaks.

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Speaker 5: Up, he's basically swindled out thousands and thousands and thousands

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Speaker 5: and thousand.

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Speaker 7: Okay, then let's get the money back.

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Speaker 4: Can tell it all sort of projects.

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Speaker 1: One of the victims confronting him is out seventy thousand dollars.

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Speaker 1: Another one gave David forty thousand. Suddenly, Harry starts up again,

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Speaker 1: asking about his employee, Terry, who we now know pretended

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Speaker 1: to be the Whole Food CEO ac Gallo on the

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Speaker 1: phone with me that day.

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Speaker 7: You've involved Terry in some of these feelings.

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Speaker 2: Has Terry been accomplass to some of your deals?

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Speaker 8: Has he ever made a phone call for you.

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Speaker 4: On your behalf? You've never wrought him a screw how

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Speaker 4: the trip to Texas HA.

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Speaker 7: Do you even have a contact at No, you don't.

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Speaker 1: So it was the voice that spoke to me as

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Speaker 1: if they were the president of HOLF.

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Speaker 7: Was the guy from No, it was not, And I've

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Speaker 7: actually confirmed that it was not.

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Speaker 1: And I've actually confirmed that you don't know Ron Burkel

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Speaker 1: from who you used to let all of us believe

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Speaker 1: that the money that we were giving you came.

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Speaker 7: From an I p O.

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Speaker 4: I do actually know Ro doesn't he denies?

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Speaker 7: Do you know?

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Speaker 4: People speach out to him? He never says best.

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Speaker 1: Friend knows the story of what's going on right now.

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Speaker 1: And EXTRA confirmed that you do not know Rombrokel. You

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Speaker 1: do not text him every day, You do not do

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Speaker 1: any of that.

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Speaker 7: It's all bad.

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Speaker 4: Call him right now since they're such good friends.

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Speaker 7: It's hear you call your guy.

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Speaker 4: I don't. I don't call him.

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Speaker 7: You text him all the time?

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Speaker 1: You show me Texas is all the time, David, Come on,

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Speaker 1: I've confirmed that you do not know him. And it's

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Speaker 1: very scary because all of us have giving you money

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Speaker 1: for an IPO based on your relationship with ron ayad Sylvie.

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Speaker 1: When you said you were at the CEO of Netflix,

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Speaker 1: where you were and you were by the fucking pool

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Speaker 1: and you were not leaving, And you called Amanda and

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Speaker 1: you invited her to a barbecue that day, knowing that

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Speaker 1: you were not getting on a flight coming to see us,

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Speaker 1: letting us sit in Texas.

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Speaker 7: What was the point of that?

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Speaker 4: You know why?

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Speaker 7: I'm completely broke. You know your blue daughter.

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Speaker 1: I have a zero of anything, and you allow me

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Speaker 1: to spend my last that was my salary, my whole salary,

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Speaker 1: going to.

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Speaker 7: Texas to have a meeting that didn't exist. I collaborate

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Speaker 7: with Whole Foods that the meeting didn't exist. Acy Gallow

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Speaker 7: doesn't know who you are. This is a lie? Why

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Speaker 7: lie to me? Why? I want to know why?

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Speaker 1: I am so enraged at this point, I am literally

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Speaker 1: turning red. Part of me wants to punch David Bloom

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Speaker 1: into next week. I'm inches from his face right now,

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Speaker 1: and he's just calm and emotionless. He's got a dexter

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Speaker 1: vibe going on.

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Speaker 4: I apologize to you.

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Speaker 9: Why would you do that to me when I thought

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Speaker 9: we were friends?

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Speaker 4: We are friends?

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Speaker 7: Well, but what did you gain from that?

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Speaker 4: Nothing?

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Speaker 7: What was the purpose?

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Speaker 4: Nothing?

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Speaker 7: I almost loved everything, everything you know what you said

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Speaker 7: to me. You said, use your.

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Speaker 1: Last dollar, Caroline, stay on the couch because this is

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Speaker 1: so big for you as a businesswoman.

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Speaker 9: Stay spend your last dollar for this meeting, because it's

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Speaker 9: so big for you, it's life changing. Stay on the couch,

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Speaker 9: live on people's couches until you get to the place

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Speaker 9: where you need to go.

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Speaker 7: Why would you say that shit to me?

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Speaker 4: Why?

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Speaker 7: Why tell me now? Why?

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Speaker 4: I am sorry?

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Speaker 1: He says, he's sorry, but I'm way past believing anything

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Speaker 1: he says anymore. It's truly a surreal scene of us

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Speaker 1: standing in that hallway, exposing David Bloom for what he

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Speaker 1: really is, a despicable con man. Harry, in a lot

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Speaker 1: of ways, is the most vulnerable because David was his

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Speaker 1: employee for three years.

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Speaker 7: I can lose my company room this fteen years I've

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Speaker 7: worked at that company.

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Speaker 4: Can you lose your company? How couldn't I? You're committing crimes.

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Speaker 3: How couldn't I committing crimes?

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Speaker 1: David actually told me and everyone else that he's the

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Speaker 1: one who owns Harry's credit repair company.

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Speaker 4: You're part owner of my company at Gary who was

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Speaker 4: the owner was the owner of I'm.

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Speaker 3: Glad you guys got to hear that okay, because I'm

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Speaker 3: shocked to hear that I'm not.

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Speaker 1: There's also a woman who comes out of David's apartment,

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Speaker 1: his girlfriend, nearly twenty years younger than him. Not that

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Speaker 1: that matters. We've all hung out with her at different times,

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Speaker 1: and we think we know her. But now we've realize

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Speaker 1: David's been telling each of us different stories about her.

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Speaker 1: Harry turns and are in the eye.

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Speaker 4: He told me that you were his mistress.

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Speaker 7: His wife was okay with you guys have an affair.

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Speaker 1: In reality, David's been divorced from his former wife, Nancy

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Speaker 1: for a couple of years now.

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Speaker 4: I chose to.

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Speaker 10: Tell a story because I didn'fferent story.

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Speaker 4: I didn't want anyone to.

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Speaker 1: This entire confrontation goes on for more than a half

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Speaker 1: an hour. Again and again, we all keep demanding our

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Speaker 1: money back, and David keep saying we'll all have your

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Speaker 1: money back.

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Speaker 7: There's no trust anymore. It has to happen.

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Speaker 4: Now, why do you I can't wire the money?

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Speaker 8: Now we talk about though I can wire money all

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Speaker 8: day long, all this the internet.

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Speaker 4: I don't have a wiring app for my back account.

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Speaker 4: I will get you all start.

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Speaker 8: You can go into Wolls Fargo, and you can do wire, and.

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Speaker 1: You can do zeale, and you can do anything. And

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Speaker 1: if you have all the money that you've been telling

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Speaker 1: all of us that you have, I want all that

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Speaker 1: we've given you tonight, right now, before we leave, because

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Speaker 1: I don't trust that you won't be on the first.

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Speaker 7: Plane at of going anywhere.

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Speaker 4: I'm waking up here and I will go to the bank.

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Speaker 4: You can come with me tomorrow. I get certified tracks.

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Speaker 1: David keeps insisting he'll go to the bank first thing

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Speaker 1: in the morning and get us all our money back.

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Speaker 3: Why don't you give us something that we can hold

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Speaker 3: as collateral so we can get the money for Why

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Speaker 3: don't you get your whole.

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Speaker 8: Wall with all of your.

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Speaker 4: Just give We want your password and.

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Speaker 7: Want your wallet.

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Speaker 1: David bristles at the idea of surrendering his passport and

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Speaker 1: wallet to us and walks back into his apartment, shutting

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Speaker 1: the door. We're all thinking he might never come out again.

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Speaker 1: Then suddenly a minute later, it is, here's my wallet.

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Speaker 4: There is my passport and my driver's license all over there.

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Speaker 6: Have you got enough money in the bank to pay

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Speaker 6: them all back?

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Speaker 7: What?

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Speaker 6: What you what you took from them initially, but for.

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Speaker 1: Good measure, we asked to hold onto his cell phone too.

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Speaker 4: I'm not going to get my phone. I'm going to

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Speaker 4: keep my phone and I'm gonna be here.

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Speaker 7: Those privileges to decide an if you want.

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Speaker 4: To, if you want to, wise, you are going to

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Speaker 4: take my phone.

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Speaker 7: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: The mere threat of calling the police scares David into

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Speaker 1: handing over his iPhone to us.

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Speaker 4: So everything, I will make it right for everyone. Okay,

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Speaker 4: So I'll see you. They had talk in the morning.

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Speaker 1: We eventually leave David's place with his wallet, passport, and

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Speaker 1: cell phone. A few minutes later, a message from Terry

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Speaker 1: pops up on David's phone. Remember he's the guy who

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Speaker 1: pretended to be Whole Food CEO ac Gallo on the

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Speaker 1: phone with me. Now he's responding to a message titled

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Speaker 1: urgent that David must have sent in that sixty seconds.

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Speaker 1: He walked back into his apartment while we were waiting outside.

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Speaker 1: We don't know David's pass code, so we can't read

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Speaker 1: the rest of the message, but it's clear they're obviously

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Speaker 1: working together anyway. We all eventually walk back to our

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Speaker 1: own apartments. I don't see at all that night. My

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Speaker 1: adrenaline is pumping. When morning comes, my business partner Aaron,

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Speaker 1: and a couple other victims escort David to the Wells

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Speaker 1: Fargo down the street.

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Speaker 11: I don't know what the security footage would have looked like.

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Speaker 11: I mean, it must have looked like some sort of

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Speaker 11: crazy heist of something. We all walk in and I'm

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Speaker 11: just sitting there just think this is as weird as

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Speaker 11: it gets. We all walk in and I'm just sitting

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Speaker 11: there just thinking this is as weird as it gets.

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Speaker 1: Probably looked like you guys were walking this poor old

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Speaker 1: man to rob him, to hand.

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Speaker 5: Him his last I was so aware of that just

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Speaker 5: I was really freaking me out. I was just watching,

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Speaker 5: going this is just crazy. They walk up to the

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Speaker 5: teller and he doesn't even have his wallet.

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Speaker 8: And then we had it.

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Speaker 12: Yeah.

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Speaker 5: And then one of the victims, the other victim, pulls

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Speaker 5: out his wallet and hands it to the teller and

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Speaker 5: says it will draw out everything that's in this account, please,

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Speaker 5: And the teller didn't question it and said okay. And

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Speaker 5: then one of the other victims goes and how much

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Speaker 5: is left in that account? And then she said x amount.

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Speaker 5: And then he said he'll be back tomorrow for more,

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Speaker 5: and then the transfer was done, and then we all

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Speaker 5: walked down into the bank like nothing. It felt like

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Speaker 5: I don't even know what it felt like.

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Speaker 8: It was just so surreal.

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Speaker 11: In all, we got about twenty two thousand back to

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Speaker 11: be divided amongst all the victims.

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Speaker 1: There was one person that lost about seventy thousand, and

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Speaker 1: that's just one person, so you can imagine that was pennies.

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Speaker 1: Each of us only got back a couple thousand dollars,

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Speaker 1: a tiny fraction of what David took from us. And

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Speaker 1: I was actually like grateful because I was now going

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Speaker 1: to be able to pay my rent. I was that

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Speaker 1: scarce on money that I didn't know how. I literally

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Speaker 1: was counting on this money to pay my next month's rent,

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Speaker 1: and I put everything I had in to this IPO.

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Speaker 1: David promises he'll get us the rest of our money

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Speaker 1: in a few days. We make the mistake of returning

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Speaker 1: his wallet, cell phone, and passport to him, But a

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Speaker 1: few weeks go by and he never gives us another dime.

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Speaker 1: So one by one we all go to the police

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Speaker 1: and report him, and to the LAPD's credit, they take

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Speaker 1: our case seriously and investigate David Bloom, but it takes

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Speaker 1: them nearly an entire year to do something about it. Nevertheless,

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Speaker 1: on August ninth, twenty twenty two, they arrest him, but

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Speaker 1: he's quickly released after posting a forty five thousand dollars bail.

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Speaker 7: Gee.

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Speaker 1: I wonder where he got that money from.

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Speaker 8: I've definitely heard from other people who said they were

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Speaker 8: scammed by him.

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Speaker 1: LA Times reporter James Coeley wrote a big article about

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Speaker 1: David Bloom that was published a month after his arrest.

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Speaker 8: The Digital Returning's Office still has not brought a case. There's

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Speaker 8: been some frustration, you know, some of the victims that

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Speaker 8: have kept in touch with me, you know, just a concern.

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Speaker 8: There's no suspicion that he actually has much of the

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Speaker 8: money left that he allegedly took from people LAPD. I

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Speaker 8: think the captain of the division that investigate him actually

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Speaker 8: confirmed to me when they did a financial loud of him,

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Speaker 8: they did not turn up much in his personal accounts. So,

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Speaker 8: you know, maybe there's a mattress somewhere stuff with money.

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Speaker 8: I don't know, But by and large, at least what

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Speaker 8: people can see officially, this guy is not He's not

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Speaker 8: a flight risk at least in so far as like

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Speaker 8: he could finance a life well elsewhere. But people are

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Speaker 8: still afraid. You know, Listen, if I was accused of

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Speaker 8: a crime and there was heavy evidence against me, I

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Speaker 8: feel like most people might have an instinct to flee,

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Speaker 8: and there is concern that he might, you know, might bounce.

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Speaker 8: So there's definitely concerns on that level. But yet it

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Speaker 8: has not moved through the legal system much since since

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Speaker 8: I wrote about it.

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Speaker 1: As of this recording on April second, twenty twenty three,

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Speaker 1: it's been more than eight months since David Bloom was

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Speaker 1: arrested and then released. He's free as a bird right now,

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Speaker 1: and from what I hear from random people hitting me

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Speaker 1: up on Instagram, he's still out and about. In fact,

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Speaker 1: my best friend Hammy remember him.

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Speaker 7: I just spotted David on the fucking street at the

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Speaker 7: bus stop, folks.

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Speaker 1: This was a couple weeks ago. Ironically, David was waiting

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Speaker 1: on a bus near the Whole Foods on Santa Monica

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Speaker 1: and Fairfax when him he rolled up on him and

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Speaker 1: hit record on his phone.

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Speaker 7: Hey, what's up, scammer?

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Speaker 1: Scamming people at the bus stop, that's what's up today?

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Speaker 7: Huh.

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Speaker 1: The look of nervous terror on David's face is priceless

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Speaker 1: as he quickly darts off in the opposite direction, no

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Speaker 1: doubt on the hunt for more victims to scam in LA.

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Speaker 1: It's hard to believe he's not been charged with a

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Speaker 1: single crime for what he did to all of us.

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Speaker 1: Even with the mountain of evidence and all those recordings

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Speaker 1: we submitted to the police and to the DA's office,

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Speaker 1: bringing a con artist to justice really feels impossible.

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Speaker 2: The overarching similarity between your con artist David Bloom and

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Speaker 2: my con artist, Mayor Smith akad irish eris she was

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Speaker 2: my neighbor too.

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Speaker 1: How crazy is that?

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Speaker 4: Yeah?

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Speaker 1: Jonathan Walton has been producing this podcast alongside me from

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Speaker 1: day one. His own story of getting scammed and then

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Speaker 1: bringing his con artist to justice is chronicled in the

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Speaker 1: hit podcast Queen of the Cohn. After listening, I was

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Speaker 1: stunned to learn how similar my con artist David Bloom

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Speaker 1: is to Jonathan's con artist, Mayor Smith.

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Speaker 2: I've been investigating these cases now for the past almost

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Speaker 2: five years. Yeah, and they use the same playbook, even

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Speaker 2: with David Bloom. What's fascinating about your case is the

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00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:50,240
Speaker 2: fake tears, you said, He cried. He cried, mine cry too,

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Speaker 2: Like they can cry. They're actor, they're total actors.

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Speaker 1: They're a good actor.

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Speaker 4: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: And then the other thing, the fake emails and texts, Yeah,

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Speaker 2: is Mayor Smith's go to. She would show me a text,

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Speaker 2: Look what so and.

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Speaker 1: So said, right, just like you would show me Ron's

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00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:09,520
Speaker 1: text messages in such a way where he would be like,

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Speaker 1: Ron remembers you, pizza girl, He's saying hi, looking back.

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Speaker 1: David Bloom checks every box for being a professional con artist.

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Speaker 1: I just didn't know what the signs were. Now I do,

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Speaker 1: and I hope you all listening do too. I want

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Speaker 1: to do to David Bloom what Jonathan did to his

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Speaker 1: con artist, Mayor Smith, because he never gave up on

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Speaker 1: his fight for justice. Mayor eventually went to trial where

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Speaker 1: he testified against her, and she was convicted and sentenced

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Speaker 1: to five years in jail for scamming Jonathan.

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Speaker 2: By going public with your story and by getting over

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Speaker 2: the shame and the worry of what people are going

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Speaker 2: to think and just outing this motherfucker to people, I

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00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:55,840
Speaker 2: think that's important and I think you have helped people.

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00:17:56,440 --> 00:18:00,640
Speaker 1: I'm frustrated because he's still out there, you know, he's

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00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:03,840
Speaker 1: doing this as we speak, and I'm frustrated that the

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00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:07,280
Speaker 1: system does not have a good plan to get these

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Speaker 1: people off the streets that they know that they can

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Speaker 1: get away with it. David even said it one day.

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Speaker 1: He was like, they're never going to arrest me. He knows,

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Speaker 1: and they all know, and that's why they do it.

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Speaker 2: And you know, in a lot of ways, David is right.

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Speaker 2: The system doesn't go after they consider it, quote white

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Speaker 2: collar crime. It's nonviolent, but.

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Speaker 1: It's destroying people's lives.

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Speaker 4: It is.

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Speaker 2: I agree one thousand percent. The problem is Los Angeles, right.

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Speaker 2: Los Angeles is a big city, and there are thousands

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Speaker 2: and thousands of crimes and scams and cases in the

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Speaker 2: DA's office that you're just one of ten thousand cases.

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Speaker 2: So you have to set yourself apart. My advice to you.

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Speaker 2: Have you thought about staging a protest outside the DA's

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Speaker 2: office downtown.

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00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:51,679
Speaker 1: Oh my god, that would get attention.

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Speaker 2: If I were you, I would stage a protest, bring signs,

380
00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:01,360
Speaker 2: you know, charge David Bloom. That's what everyone should tell

381
00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:05,800
Speaker 2: the DA's office because this specific DA. George Gascon I've heard,

382
00:19:06,359 --> 00:19:10,040
Speaker 2: you know, he's very sensitive about protests and stuff that

383
00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:13,359
Speaker 2: would get their attention because there's no reason he hasn't

384
00:19:13,359 --> 00:19:15,760
Speaker 2: been charged yet. And if you stage a protest, I

385
00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:17,800
Speaker 2: will come down and protest too, and I'll get as

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Speaker 2: many people as I can go. You will, Yeah, let's

387
00:19:20,359 --> 00:19:23,240
Speaker 2: do it. Let's put this fucker behind bars for good.

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00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:24,880
Speaker 1: Oh my god, I'm so down.

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Speaker 2: Let's make a noise.

390
00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:30,439
Speaker 1: Let's do it. I'm down. So on the morning of

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Speaker 1: March second, twenty twenty three, this seems like a good corner. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I think the corner.

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Speaker 2: So we get traffic.

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Speaker 1: Jonathan and I meet up in downtown Los Angeles at

395
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Speaker 1: the intersection of Temple and Spring Street, right in front

396
00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:47,760
Speaker 1: of the District Attorney's office. We make a bunch of

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00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:51,520
Speaker 1: signs and put the word out on social media.

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Speaker 8: And he's on the way yep.

399
00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:59,200
Speaker 1: And my friend Ricky he's bringing Isaac Amy. My dad's

400
00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:01,720
Speaker 1: on his way, Ricky on its way, man, and I

401
00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:03,400
Speaker 1: have two other people I know for sure.

402
00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:08,159
Speaker 7: There's there's no shame in being called. We are not

403
00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:09,400
Speaker 7: the ones that need to be ashamed.

404
00:20:09,880 --> 00:20:10,879
Speaker 1: He needs to be ashamed.

405
00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:13,879
Speaker 2: That's why I'm names by you. It takes balls to

406
00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:15,520
Speaker 2: just be out there and say I got scammed by

407
00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:16,040
Speaker 2: bellfo it.

408
00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:17,280
Speaker 4: You know what it takes.

409
00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:18,600
Speaker 1: Actually, it takes vagina.

410
00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:20,399
Speaker 2: It takes a big vagina.

411
00:20:21,359 --> 00:20:23,760
Speaker 1: Vagina, Yes, it actually is, because you know what, vagina

412
00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:26,560
Speaker 1: is ten times stronger and can do so much more.

413
00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:27,959
Speaker 7: Than the saggy balls.

414
00:20:28,119 --> 00:20:32,720
Speaker 1: Okay, so it takes a big vagina to do what

415
00:20:32,760 --> 00:20:36,480
Speaker 1: I'm doing right now. Okay, not balls, Let's change that narrative.

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00:20:37,760 --> 00:20:40,359
Speaker 1: In all, a group of about ten of us, carrying

417
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Speaker 1: signs and chanting.

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00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:45,640
Speaker 8: Huge shame, blue shote ya.

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00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:52,520
Speaker 1: He sho glue stage a protest outside the Los Angeles

420
00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:56,960
Speaker 1: District Attorney's office, and even David Bloom's ex wife, Nancy

421
00:20:57,520 --> 00:20:58,960
Speaker 1: comes down to join our cause.

422
00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:03,359
Speaker 7: We have a lot of victims here. Nancy was married

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00:21:03,359 --> 00:21:05,040
Speaker 7: to David for nine years.

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00:21:05,119 --> 00:21:08,879
Speaker 1: Yeah, and this is her first time coming out taking

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00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:13,359
Speaker 1: her power back. At one point, Nancy starts telling us

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00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:16,159
Speaker 1: about a real estate scam David pulled on her that

427
00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:19,720
Speaker 1: she's never revealed before. He actually tricked her into believing

428
00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:21,240
Speaker 1: he was buying her a house.

429
00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:27,640
Speaker 12: We had decorators that had my family goes through.

430
00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:28,399
Speaker 10: I thought it was.

431
00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:30,880
Speaker 7: You know mill.

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00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:32,960
Speaker 4: My God.

433
00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:34,320
Speaker 7: That gives me such anxiety.

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00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:40,600
Speaker 1: I wish David Bloom could see Nancy now. Protesting in

435
00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:42,600
Speaker 1: solidarity with US.

436
00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:50,560
Speaker 13: Charge Dave, blow Blooms of scammers, fire Bloom David Blooms,

437
00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:57,760
Speaker 13: Scammer Charge blow Blooms of scammers.

438
00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:01,480
Speaker 1: Our signs and Chance get a lot of attention. People

439
00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:04,280
Speaker 1: dressed in suits come out of the DA's office to

440
00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:08,920
Speaker 1: observe what we're up to, and passers by are curious too.

441
00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:14,360
Speaker 7: He's a really bad guy. He steals from everybody. He's

442
00:22:14,359 --> 00:22:15,560
Speaker 7: a scam artist in LA.

443
00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:18,680
Speaker 9: He pretends to be somebody that he's not, some big

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00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:19,639
Speaker 9: savvy investor.

445
00:22:20,119 --> 00:22:23,440
Speaker 7: Instead, he tries to ruin your life. Yes, I don't

446
00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:25,639
Speaker 7: want to be business. You do not. He needs to

447
00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:30,920
Speaker 7: be in jail. George David Whoah, George David Who.

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00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:35,399
Speaker 1: We protest on that corner for about two hours straight.

449
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Speaker 1: A lot of people walking in and out of the

450
00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:40,840
Speaker 1: DA's office saw us, and I did manage to make

451
00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:45,879
Speaker 1: a few contacts, then lo and behold. Three weeks after

452
00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:49,399
Speaker 1: our protest, I suddenly get invited to attend a Zoom

453
00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:53,880
Speaker 1: meeting with the District Attorney of Los Angeles himself, George Gascon.

454
00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:56,520
Speaker 10: There should be a way to be able to over

455
00:22:56,600 --> 00:23:05,119
Speaker 10: console's service. There should be a way to be able

456
00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:06,679
Speaker 10: to overcome sooloos erbs.

457
00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:11,000
Speaker 1: It's a community zoom and I'm told that the status

458
00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:13,480
Speaker 1: of the David Bloom case is a topic he's going

459
00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:16,439
Speaker 1: to address as one of several issues brought to his

460
00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:18,000
Speaker 1: attention by the public.

461
00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:21,240
Speaker 10: You know, we often get accused and I get a

462
00:23:21,359 --> 00:23:24,600
Speaker 10: packed all the time for being a soft on crime

463
00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:26,720
Speaker 10: and you know, not taking care of the community.

464
00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:31,760
Speaker 1: But I sit through that entire meeting and they run

465
00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:34,240
Speaker 1: out of time before they ever call on me.

466
00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:37,679
Speaker 12: Thank you everyone for the questions that you submitted that

467
00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:39,680
Speaker 12: we didn't get to get to, so I'll make sure

468
00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:42,680
Speaker 12: that we send those to the office and then send

469
00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:45,399
Speaker 12: back what we hear. Thank you for your time and

470
00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:48,520
Speaker 12: know it's crushous and we really appreciate it.

471
00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:51,439
Speaker 1: It just doesn't make any sense to me. Why did

472
00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:54,800
Speaker 1: they arrest David Bloom eight months ago if they weren't

473
00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:56,480
Speaker 1: going to charge him.

474
00:23:56,840 --> 00:23:59,320
Speaker 8: It does sound like something got lost in what they

475
00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:02,399
Speaker 8: call their ephile system. I don't want to speculate as

476
00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:05,240
Speaker 8: to how that happened, but yeah, there was confusion, to

477
00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:05,960
Speaker 8: put it lightly.

478
00:24:07,359 --> 00:24:10,800
Speaker 1: LA Times reporter James Quey, who wrote one article about

479
00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:14,680
Speaker 1: David Bloom already and plans to write another if and

480
00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:18,800
Speaker 1: when he's charged. James has spoken to the DA's office

481
00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:23,199
Speaker 1: and to the LAPD several times and what they're telling

482
00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:25,280
Speaker 1: him just isn't adding up.

483
00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:28,720
Speaker 8: Something got lost in the mail between the I mean,

484
00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:31,040
Speaker 8: for those who don't know, normally the way criminal cases

485
00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:33,080
Speaker 8: brought is well the most common ways brought. As a

486
00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:35,520
Speaker 8: police agency arrest somebody, they do an investigation, they present

487
00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:39,639
Speaker 8: the case for filing to a prosecutorial agency city attorney, DA,

488
00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:42,480
Speaker 8: US attorney, whatever, depending on your aisdiction, and then the

489
00:24:42,520 --> 00:24:45,400
Speaker 8: DA will make a filing decision. Somewhere between the point

490
00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:49,040
Speaker 8: where LAPD picks up Bloom and where the DA's office

491
00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:51,560
Speaker 8: makes a decision. I don't know what happened. The city

492
00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:53,800
Speaker 8: had been experiencing a pretty significant homicides spite the last

493
00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:55,760
Speaker 8: two years. It might just not be getting a lot

494
00:24:55,760 --> 00:25:00,000
Speaker 8: of priority. Bureaucracy in law enforcement is not a proble

495
00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:01,960
Speaker 8: that's ever going to go away, no matter how much

496
00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:03,640
Speaker 8: reform you do. They're just massive agencies.

497
00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:03,840
Speaker 12: You know.

498
00:25:04,119 --> 00:25:06,399
Speaker 8: LA Disition Attorney's Office is the probably the largest non

499
00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:08,800
Speaker 8: federal prosecutors office in the United States. LAPD is the

500
00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:12,320
Speaker 8: second or third, you know, biggest police agency in the country.

501
00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:15,000
Speaker 8: It's not this small town where like the sheriff is

502
00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:18,919
Speaker 8: also the investigating officer, everyone's got eighteen bosses and nobody

503
00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:21,200
Speaker 8: knows which ends up. But I mean, that's a little

504
00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:23,159
Speaker 8: bit of a little bit of speculation, which I'm not

505
00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:25,520
Speaker 8: supposed to do. Apologies to the journalism and gods, but

506
00:25:25,680 --> 00:25:28,119
Speaker 8: that's the best I could guess of just the sluggishness

507
00:25:28,119 --> 00:25:28,359
Speaker 8: of this.

508
00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:34,159
Speaker 1: It's April second, now, twenty twenty three. I've heard whispers

509
00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:37,399
Speaker 1: from some people in contact with law enforcement that David

510
00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:40,640
Speaker 1: Bloom will be charged in the next few weeks. So

511
00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:43,600
Speaker 1: I'm hopeful that I'll get my day in court and

512
00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:47,120
Speaker 1: be able to put that scammer where he belongs in

513
00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:48,680
Speaker 1: prison for years.

514
00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:51,760
Speaker 6: The police actually said, the mistake you made, which you

515
00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:54,200
Speaker 6: should never have given him back his phone, because that's

516
00:25:54,280 --> 00:25:56,320
Speaker 6: our evidence you've given it to us.

517
00:25:57,119 --> 00:25:59,280
Speaker 11: That's the thing, though, that little fear of we're doing

518
00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:02,640
Speaker 11: something illegal, even though he's doing something way more illegal.

519
00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:06,000
Speaker 1: Beck and Aaron have been along on this whole crazy

520
00:26:06,119 --> 00:26:09,440
Speaker 1: ride with me from the very beginning. The good news is,

521
00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:13,560
Speaker 1: through a lot of hard work and hustle, my company

522
00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:17,679
Speaker 1: is actually doing really well. Pizza Girl Pasta Sauce is

523
00:26:17,760 --> 00:26:21,159
Speaker 1: now available in a bunch of Whole food stores like

524
00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:26,520
Speaker 1: for real, and our reach is growing exponentially every month.

525
00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:30,760
Speaker 1: So it's goott a perfect Pizza Girl is finally in

526
00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:35,640
Speaker 1: like a really incredible position. And actually, just last week,

527
00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:40,320
Speaker 1: the real CEO of Whole Foods posted on his LinkedIn page,

528
00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:43,359
Speaker 1: which is also on my Instagram, he just said that

529
00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:46,000
Speaker 1: Pizza Girl is one of his top favorite products in

530
00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:49,920
Speaker 1: the country. He also bought Pizza Girl sauce for all

531
00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:54,680
Speaker 1: of his acquaintances and their gift baskets for the holidays.

532
00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:59,000
Speaker 1: So it turns out I didn't need you. David Gloom,

533
00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:02,760
Speaker 1: the CEO of Whole Foods is a big pan of

534
00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:06,359
Speaker 1: Pizza Girl. So that's a really nice, like full circle moment.

535
00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:08,080
Speaker 11: But thank you for the motivation.

536
00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:14,199
Speaker 1: Yeah, but this story is far from over. I'm not

537
00:27:14,280 --> 00:27:16,640
Speaker 1: letting David Bloom off the hook for what he did

538
00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:19,480
Speaker 1: to me and what he did two dozens of other

539
00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:23,639
Speaker 1: victims in Los Angeles. I'm going to keep fighting until

540
00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:25,160
Speaker 1: justice is served.

541
00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:34,200
Speaker 10: George David Bloo, George David Wloo, George David Bloom.

542
00:27:32,960 --> 00:27:34,960
Speaker 8: Almost gonna make noise of protests should we have a

543
00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:37,440
Speaker 8: write to you right, nothing will change. Thank you got

544
00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:39,520
Speaker 8: a school, willould be the same? I appreciate you guys

545
00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:39,920
Speaker 8: doing all this.

546
00:27:40,560 --> 00:27:48,440
Speaker 1: We're out here, David, no where to art now. This

547
00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:51,960
Speaker 1: podcast is dedicated to the memory of my amazing mother,

548
00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:56,040
Speaker 1: Bonnie Major, who would be super proud of me standing

549
00:27:56,080 --> 00:28:00,080
Speaker 1: up for myself. Once Upon a Con is a production

550
00:28:00,280 --> 00:28:04,080
Speaker 1: of AYR Media and thirty two Flavors, hosted by Me

551
00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:09,639
Speaker 1: Caroline de Morey. Executive producers Eliza Rosen for AYR Media,

552
00:28:10,119 --> 00:28:14,200
Speaker 1: Alex Baskin for thirty two Flavors, and Jonathan Walton for

553
00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:21,040
Speaker 1: Jonathan Walton Productions. Written by Jonathan Walton, producer Caroline de Morey,

554
00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:27,920
Speaker 1: Senior associate producer Joe Pushesnik, Coordinator Molena Kroyevsky. Sound designed

555
00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:32,720
Speaker 1: by Tim Mulhern, edited and mixed by Tim Mulhern, Supervising

556
00:28:32,840 --> 00:28:38,800
Speaker 1: editor Victoria Chang, Mastered by Victoria Chang. Engineering by Justin

557
00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:44,880
Speaker 1: Longerbeam Legal counsel for AYR Media Gianni Douglas. Our theme song,

558
00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:49,080
Speaker 1: Freshly Served, was written and performed by the incredibly talented

559
00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:52,280
Speaker 1: Mattie Noise and is available on her SoundCloud.

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00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:00,120
Speaker 13: Y