The Slippery

The Lexi CON is a new limited series from hosts Nancy Moscatiello and Scott Eldridge. The audio only, Tru Con series debuts October 19 wherever you get your podcasts.
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From 2012 to 2021, Jen Shah orchestrated a nationwide telemarketing fraud scheme that targeted vulnerable, elderly, and working-class victims under the guise of selling legitimate online business management services. Publicly presenting herself as a self-made tech entrepreneur while starring on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, Shah generated millions of dollars by selling worthless lead lists and bogus services—such as coaching, website building, and tax preparation—that drove thousands of victims into severe financial distress. In the episode, co-hosts Scott and Nancy break down the mechanics of the scheme, illustrating how Shah's operation systematically systematically stripped victims of their life savings.

Federal court records, law enforcement investigations, and internal communications established that Shah was a mastermind at the top of the fraudulent pyramid. Her dramatic scandal unfolded directly in front of reality television cameras, capturing the moment federal agents descended on the set to arrest her. Highlighting the human cost, Scott and Nancy detail the trail of destruction through a series of devastating victim statements submitted to the court—exposing how targets lost their retirement funds, lost their homes, and suffered severe emotional trauma. Faced with overwhelming evidence compiled by Homeland Security Investigations and the Department of Justice, Shah pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She's already out of prison, but will justice ever really be served?
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In this debrief episode, Josh Koffman, a former co-executive producer at Bellum Entertainment pulls back the curtain on what it was truly like working under owner Mary Carole McDonnell. While Bellum publicly presented itself as a thriving syndication powerhouse, the guest reveals a high-pressure environment built on operational shortcuts, extreme cost-cutting, and continuous misdirection to keep high-volume television churning out. Over time, subtle red flags escalated into systemic financial exploitation, as employees were routinely persuaded to work on credit through promises of future payouts and false assurances that delayed paychecks were on their way.

Koffman details the company's unraveling and the ultimate betrayal: McDonnell’s sudden departure, which left her dedicated staff, producers, and crew stranded without millions of dollars in earned wages and contractually owed compensation. Reflecting on the aftermath, the former producer breaks down the personal and professional toll this deception took on the team, highlighting how loyalty was weaponized right up until the final exit, and examining the lasting industry fallout surrounding Bellum Entertainment's collapse.
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What do you do when your low-budget true crime production company is hemorrhaging cash, your employee paychecks are bouncing higher than a trampoline, and lenders start knocking on the door? If you’re Bellum Entertainment CEO Mary Carole McDonnell, you don't file for bankruptcy or try to salvage the business—you simply invent a brand-new persona as a high-flying aerospace heiress. Armed with nothing but unearned confidence, forged documents, and a fictional lineage linking her to the massive McDonnell Douglas fortune, Mary turned fake inheritance into a full-time financing model, using her imaginary millions as collateral to secure loan after astronomical loan.

While Mary was out collecting over $30 million from gullible lenders, the reality on the ground at Bellum Entertainment was considerably less glamorous. Her staff was left scrounging and praying that their paychecks wouldn't bounce yet again, completely oblivious to the fact that the company’s entire balance sheet was built on a delusion. As the financial house of cards grew taller and the walls began closing in, Mary started looking for an exit strategy, setting the stage for a desperate final act that would shock her staff, her lenders, and even her own family.
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In this episode of The Slippery Debrief, Nancy and Scott welcome former FBI profiler Julia Cowley to dissect the mind of wannabe master criminal Natalie Cochran.

From childhood sweetheart to the "Ponzi Killer Mom," Cochran spun a web of government contracts, fake tactical gear deals, and stolen millions—before taking the ultimate step to protect her secrets. Julia Cowley breaks down the behavioral psychology behind high-stakes fraudsters, highlighting the subtle red flags and telltale signs of a scammer. Together, they explore what drives someone to escalate from financial fraud to murder, the chilling dynamics of greed and control, and how a seemingly normal life collapsed into a lethal cover-up.
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