Follow the Lies: Fraud & Deceit Uncovered

Kevin Barrows
  • 4.7 (6)
  • Documentary

I’m Kevin Barrows, former FBI Special Agent and lead case agent on two of the largest white-collar investigations in U.S. history.   I’ve been in the room where the lies were built, where the evidence was uncovered, and where the truth finally broke through. I also co-hosted the Smithsonian Channel docuseries Sports Detectives, exposing forgery and tracking down missing pieces of sports history.   In Follow the Lies, I take you inside real fraud cases across the Deception Spectrum—from massive corporate fraud and organized scams to sports forgery, identity theft, and personal betrayals.   You’ll hear the insider stories, the investigative breakthroughs, and my Lie Detector Tips: practical, field-tested ways to spot deception in business, relationships, or everyday life.   Because the lies are everywhere. And once you know how to follow them, you’re never caught off guard again.   New episodes drop bi-weekly. Have a fraud story of your own? Email kevin@followtheliespodcast.com — it could become the next episode.   Subscribe now. Let’s uncover the truth together.   #TrueCrime #Fraud #WhiteCollarCrime #Ponzi #IdentityTheft #SportsForgery #LieDetectorTips #FollowTheLies

  1. 1d ago

    Episode 18: Wirecard's Missing €1.9 Billion — How Germany's Fintech Star Faked Its Fortune

    Wirecard told the world €1.9 billion, a quarter of its balance sheet, was sitting in two banks in the Philippines. In June 2020, the auditor finally asked those banks directly. Both gave the same answer: these documents are not ours. Within a week the CEO resigned, his number two boarded a private jet to Belarus and vanished, and a member of Germany's blue-chip DAX index filed for insolvency for the first time in history. Former FBI Special Agent Kevin Barrows follows the trail from a small German payments processor to a €24 billion fintech champion that replaced Commerzbank in the DAX. He covers Markus Braun and Jan Marsalek, the third-party partners in Dubai, Manila and Singapore that produced most of the profit, and an escrow "loop" where the partners, the trustees and the bank letters all ran through the same people. You'll hear how the Financial Times and Dan McCrum kept publishing while BaFin banned short selling and filed a complaint naming the journalists, how KPMG's special audit couldn't verify the profit, and why EY refused to sign. Kevin also goes inside the investigation: why a letter is not a balance, and why the case broke when a bank answered a direct question. This episode's Lie Detector Tip: what to watch for when the critic becomes the suspect, and what it tells you when a company puts its energy into attacking the messenger instead of producing the records. Free guide: "7 Proven Strategies to Spot Lies and Uncover the Truth in Any Interview" → https://followtheliespodcast.com Substack: https://followthelies.substack.com Have you ever been told the money is with a trustee or in escrow and handed a PDF instead of a way to call the bank? Send your story to kevin@followtheliespodcast.com. It might shape a future episode. If you're on Apple Podcasts, a rating takes two seconds and really helps. Hit follow so you never miss a show. Follow @FollowTheLiesPodcast on TikTok, X, Instagram, and LinkedIn for clips and updates. Thanks for listening. Until next time… follow the lies.

  2. Oct 15

    Episode 17: Four Million Fake Students — How Charlie Javice Sold Frank to JPMorgan

    Charlie Javice told JPMorgan Chase that Frank had 4.25 million student users. Chase paid $175 million. Months later, a marketing email to that list almost never arrived — and almost no one opened what did. Former FBI Special Agent Kevin Barrows follows the trail from a Wharton-built FAFSA helper to a manufactured customer file, a rented broker list, and one of the costliest “user” buys in U.S. banking. Includes Deception Spectrum placement and a Lie Detector Tip on unverified scale. Key beats: the 4.25M pitch vs ~300K real accounts • orange-jumpsuit file request • Kapelner synthetic rows • ASL list at ~2.3¢ a name • $175M close • disastrous email test • convictions • 85 months / restitution Free guide: https://followtheliespodcast.com Substack: https://followthelies.substack.com

  3. Oct 1

    Episode 16: Hollywood’s $650 Million Fake — How Zachary Horwitz Forged Netflix and HBO

    Actor Zachary Horwitz (screen name Zach Avery) told investors he was flipping film rights to Netflix and HBO at 25–45% returns. The contracts looked real. The emails used real names. The rule was: don’t call the platforms. Former FBI Special Agent Kevin Barrows follows the paper trail — 1inMM Capital, the feeder funds, the empty collection account, the Netflix cease-and-desist, the plea, and a 20-year sentence. The product wasn’t a movie catalog. It was letterhead nobody independently verified. Free guide: https://followtheliespodcast.com Substack: https://followthelies.substack.com #ZacharyHorwitz #ZachAvery #Ponzi #WhiteCollarCrime #FollowTheLies #Netflix #HBO

  4. Sep 17

    Episode 15: The Astros’ Stolen Signs — How a Trash Can Rigged a World Series

    In October 2017 the Houston Astros were on the verge of their first World Series title. What almost no one knew: a live camera feed and a trash can in the dugout tunnel were telling hitters what pitch was coming. Former FBI Special Agent Kevin Barrows follows the scheme from the tunnel to Commissioner Rob Manfred’s report — the immunity deal, the vacated-title decision that never came, and the culture that treated cheating as another competitive edge. Free guide: followtheliespodcast.com Substack: followthelies.substack.com #Astros #MLB #SignStealing #WorldSeries #FollowTheLies

  5. Sep 3

    Episode 14: The $47 Billion Fantasy — How Adam Neumann Built and Destroyed WeWork

    WeWork was once valued at $47 billion. SoftBank invested over $10 billion. Adam Neumann sold a vision of elevating human consciousness through office space. Then the illusion collapsed. Former FBI Special Agent Kevin Barrows breaks down how a charismatic founder used narrative power to override financial reality — and what it cost employees, investors, and the company. Timestamps: 00:00 – The $47 Billion Fantasy 02:35 – Why This Case Matters 04:26 – Building the WeWork Myth 05:53 – The IPO Collapse 09:03 – Inside the Investigation 14:52 – Lie Detector Tip 17:30 – Closing & Free Resources Free guide: followtheliespodcast.com Substack: followthelies.substack.com

  6. Aug 19

    Episode 13: Celsius Froze $4.7 Billion Overnight — After Promising Safety

    On June 12, 2022, Celsius Network froze all withdrawals without warning. Roughly $4.7 billion in customer funds—retirement savings, emergency money, and life savings belonging to ordinary people—became locked overnight. Former FBI Special Agent Kevin Barrows breaks down how a platform that marketed itself as safer than banks and promised yields up to 18% was actually running a high-risk operation built on customer deposits. From the polished “Unbank Yourself” branding and weekly Ask Me Anything sessions to the internal Slack messages, token manipulation, and eventual arrests, this episode reveals how narrative control and manufactured trust created one of crypto’s most damaging collapses. You’ll also hear a practical Lie Detector Tip for evaluating high-yield opportunities in lightly regulated spaces. Free resource: Download “7 Proven Strategies to Spot Lies and Uncover the Truth in Any Interview” at followtheliespodcast.com Timestamps 00:00 – The Day Celsius Froze Everything 03:12 – How Celsius Sold the Dream 05:14 – The Fragile Model & Growing Risks 08:46 – The Freeze and the Human Cost 13:00 – Inside the Investigation 15:02 – Arrest & Sentencing 16:32 – Deception Spectrum & Lie Detector Tip 19:31 – Closing Thoughts & Free Resources #CelsiusNetwork #CryptoFraud #CryptoCollapse #AlexMashinsky #TrueCrime #WhiteCollarCrime #FinancialFraud #FollowTheLies #KevinBarrows #CryptoScam

  7. Aug 6

    Episode 12: From Trusted Friend to Convicted Thief — The $17 Million Betrayal of Shohei Ohtani

    Shohei Ohtani was living out a historic season when the man he trusted most — his longtime interpreter and close friend Ippei Mizuhara — allegedly stole nearly $17 million from him to feed a severe gambling addiction. In this episode, former FBI Special Agent Kevin Barrows takes you inside one of the most heartbreaking betrayals in modern sports history — from forged signatures and impersonations to federal charges and a devastating personal fallout. Chapters: 00:00 The $17 Million Betrayal03:49 From Trusted Interpreter to Family05:17 How the Theft Unfolded09:34 Inside the Investigation12:08 The Depth of Betrayal13:05 The Emotional Impact on Ohtani15:14 The Fallout & Deception Spectrum16:28 Lie Detector Tip & Final LessonsGrab Kevin’s free guide: “7 Proven Strategies to Spot Lies and Uncover the Truth in Any Interview” at followtheliespodcast.com #Ohtani #Mizuhara #SportsBettingScandal #GamblingAddiction #TrueCrimePodcast

  8. Jul 23

    Episode 11: $4.5 Billion Stolen from a Nation — Malaysia’s Sovereign Fund Heist

    A $5 million birthday party on a $250 million superyacht with Leonardo DiCaprio, Paris Hilton, and Britney Spears — allegedly funded by money stolen from the people of Malaysia. In one of the largest financial heists in modern history, over $4.5 billion vanished from Malaysia’s 1MDB sovereign wealth fund. Former FBI Special Agent Kevin Barrows breaks down how the scheme worked, the Hollywood connections, the global money trail, and the investigation that brought it down. This episode is part true crime investigation documentary and part cautionary tale about unchecked power and kleptocracy. Download Kevin’s free guide: “7 Proven Strategies to Spot Lies and Uncover the Truth in Any Interview” → https://followtheliespodcast.com Join our community on Substack: https://followthelies.substack.com #1MDB #MalaysiaHeist #JhoLow #Kleptocracy #TrueCrime #InvestigationPodcast #FollowTheLies

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4.7
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

I’m Kevin Barrows, former FBI Special Agent and lead case agent on two of the largest white-collar investigations in U.S. history.   I’ve been in the room where the lies were built, where the evidence was uncovered, and where the truth finally broke through. I also co-hosted the Smithsonian Channel docuseries Sports Detectives, exposing forgery and tracking down missing pieces of sports history.   In Follow the Lies, I take you inside real fraud cases across the Deception Spectrum—from massive corporate fraud and organized scams to sports forgery, identity theft, and personal betrayals.   You’ll hear the insider stories, the investigative breakthroughs, and my Lie Detector Tips: practical, field-tested ways to spot deception in business, relationships, or everyday life.   Because the lies are everywhere. And once you know how to follow them, you’re never caught off guard again.   New episodes drop bi-weekly. Have a fraud story of your own? Email kevin@followtheliespodcast.com — it could become the next episode.   Subscribe now. Let’s uncover the truth together.   #TrueCrime #Fraud #WhiteCollarCrime #Ponzi #IdentityTheft #SportsForgery #LieDetectorTips #FollowTheLies

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