PRETEND

Creative Babble, LLC

PRETEND is an investigative true crime podcast about real people who lie for a living — con artists, scammers, and the victims caught in their web. Hosted by journalist Javier Leiva, PRETEND exposes the human psychology behind deception and fraud. Each episode follows a real case of manipulation — from financial scams and Ponzi schemes to digital hoaxes and emotional cons. PRETEND explains how and why deception works without shaming victims, combining ethical journalism with cinematic storytelling. Featured in lists of the best podcasts about con artists and scams, PRETEND investigates crimes of persuasion, trust, and betrayal. New episodes drop regularly with stor...

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PRETEND

Episodes (300)

Tuesday I Beg Your Pardon part 1
Tue Mar 3rd Who's Afraid of LaDonna Humphrey Revisited
Feb 28th Update on “The Hand That Held Me”

PRETEND

Mar 10, 2026
39 minutes
0

Jerry Bush was a plumber from Virginia with fourteen employees, a wife battling cancer, and a business his father built from nothing. When a big construction job left him waiting on $350,000 he'd already earned, he did what you'd probably do. He looked for a loan. The man who picked up the phone was named Jonathan Braun. Before Braun found Jerry, he was running a half-billion dollar international drug smuggling operation. After he found Jerry, he froze his bank account, drained his father's retirement, took money from his 16-year-old son, and told Jerry his only way...

PRETEND

I Beg Your Pardon part 1

Creative Babble, LLC

00:00 -39:00