S8 E1: Messy Ass House of Cards

[0] Wondry Plus subscribers can listen to something was wrong early and ad -free right now.

[1] Join Wondry Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts.

[2] I'm Dan Tversky.

[3] In 2011, something strange began to happen at a high school in upstate New York.

[4] A mystery illness, bizarre symptoms, and spreading fast.

[5] What's the answer?

[6] And what do you do if they tell you it's all in your head?

[7] Hysterical.

[8] A new podcast from Wondry and Pineapple Street Studios.

[9] Binge all episodes of hysterical early and ad -free on Wondery Plus.

[10] Something Was Wrong is intended for mature audiences.

[11] Episodes discuss topics that can be triggering, such as emotional, physical, and sexual violence, suicide, and murder.

[12] I'm not a therapist or a doctor.

[13] If you're in need of support, please visit something was wrong .com slash resources for a list of nonprofit organizations that can help.

[14] Some names on the podcast have been changed for anonymity purposes.

[15] Opinions expressed by guests on the show do not necessarily represent the views of myself or this podcast.

[16] Resources, references, source material, and sponsor info can be found in the episode notes.

[17] Thank you so much for listening.

[18] Before we begin the first chapter of season 8, I want to take a moment to say that my heart is with the Asian American and Pacific Island.

[19] community during this devastating and terrifying time.

[20] According to the organization Stop AAPI Hate, there have been nearly 3 ,800 reports of hate incidents targeting Asian Americans in the United States since last March 2020.

[21] And the shootings this past Tuesday in Atlanta will only exacerbate the fear and the pain that the Asian American communities continue to endure.

[22] Please join me in standing in solidarity with the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.

[23] Links to anti -Asian violence resources and information on how you can support and donate to these efforts can be found in today's episode notes.

[24] Thank you so much.

[25] I connected with our next survivor, Oridion, when she submitted her story through the Something Was Wrong website.

[26] Getting to know Oridion as a person this season has been an honor and a pleasure.

[27] Hearing Aridian's experience has been jaw -dropping, perplexing, maddening, and moving.

[28] I'm so thankful to Aridian and her two friends and past co -workers, Amber and Zachary, for participating in the six -part season and sharing about their own harmful experiences and witness to Aridian's abuse by her sister -in -law, Crystal.

[29] I'm Tiffany Reese, and this is, something was wrong.

[30] My name you don't know me well at all.

[31] My name is Arridian.

[32] My friends actually call me Rids.

[33] My pronouns are she, her, and I'm 25 years old.

[34] I'm of Hispanic heritage, although I'm very white passing.

[35] I'm the eldest of three.

[36] My partner, Ben, and I live in our sweet little home in the Midwest with our pets.

[37] And a couple of things that I just like to share about myself are I am a Sagittarius.

[38] I am obsessed with bees.

[39] I collect bees and all bee things.

[40] I also do collages in my free time and I am very much an extroverted introvert.

[41] Here's Aridian's friend and previous co -worker Amber.

[42] I met Aridian about five years ago.

[43] We actually taught preschool together here locally, and we became pretty good friends.

[44] She's a couple years younger than me, but she's a great listener, and I always said a great way to get to know somebody is to see how they interact with children, you know, not just one child that's her best, but a classroom of 15, four -year -old.

[45] And so I felt like I was able to really get a sense of her personality.

[46] And we did again.

[47] We became good friends.

[48] I would describe Orridian as a quiet person, maybe as more of a listener than a talker.

[49] I myself am very talkative, very quick to intercede in conversations and share my opinions.

[50] Whereas Ruridian is way more, you know, take it all in, listen to both sides.

[51] She's very, like, soft -spoken and has a very kind heart.

[52] I would describe Aridian as not quick to anger, but she definitely has some very strong morals.

[53] And I think that's what I've always liked about her.

[54] Here's Aridian's friend and previous co -worker, Zachary.

[55] I am 22 years old.

[56] I'm about to turn 23 in May. I am part of the alphabet mafia, as they say, LGBTQIA plus.

[57] think is what we're at now.

[58] And yeah, I would describe Aridian as a person would be, she's very honest, she's very kind.

[59] A lot of people would describe me as like shady or sassy or whatever.

[60] And she is very like the opposite of that.

[61] Like I don't think I've ever heard her say a negative thing about anyone or have a bad, bad reaction to anyone ever.

[62] here's Aridian.

[63] I currently live with my boyfriend Ben and our three dogs.

[64] My boyfriend and I have been together for just over five years.

[65] So we're pretty integrated in his family.

[66] And I met his family about five years ago as well.

[67] So it's been a little while.

[68] My boyfriend, his name is Ben.

[69] And he's got two siblings.

[70] So his brother, Grant, is just like a year or so, a year or two older than him.

[71] And then his sister, Lindsay, who is about eight years older than him.

[72] And then there's his mom as well.

[73] And Crystal is married to Grant.

[74] My boyfriend and I, we're very similar to each other.

[75] you know, we're both like mid to late 20s, early 30s at this point.

[76] But when we met, we were much younger.

[77] And he comes from a family that's rather small, his nuclear family.

[78] It's just his siblings and his mom.

[79] And that was very similar to my own family.

[80] I come from, you know, two younger brothers and my mom.

[81] And so we connected a lot with that.

[82] That's how we kind of began to understand each other.

[83] Whenever we started dating, he didn't really tell his family much about that he was with anybody or anything like that.

[84] He was very private.

[85] Um, but eventually one day he told me that he was invited for a dinner with his brother and his, his sister, um, his brother Grant and his sister Lindsay.

[86] And they had some news that they wanted to share with him.

[87] So when he went there, they told him that his brother would be having a baby.

[88] And this was just like huge news because that wasn't the type of person that his brother was.

[89] And it was just kind of like a little bit of an accident.

[90] But everyone seemed pretty happy about it.

[91] But when my boyfriend came over that day, I just remember he was so upset.

[92] like he he was not happy about this news and I didn't really understand why but he just mentioned like his brother's girlfriend he he wasn't happy about the person that he was going to be having a niece or nephew connection with who their parent was he didn't really tell me why he was so upset about his brother having a child with this woman he just kind of kept to himself about it and mentioned not so much that his brother was like young and he just more made it seem like it was so irresponsible.

[93] But I could kind of tell that like him saying it was irresponsible wasn't so much the pregnancy, but like who it was with.

[94] So my boyfriend is the youngest of three.

[95] His brother's only like a year or two older than him.

[96] So they're very, very close.

[97] And as time went on, And he eventually kind of opened up to me about why he was so upset.

[98] And he noticed like this was a sure deal.

[99] You know, they're going to have the baby.

[100] They're going to keep the baby.

[101] And he started telling me about his experience.

[102] So his brother's girlfriend, Crystal, all three of them went to school together.

[103] Him, my boyfriend, his brother and Crystal.

[104] And so I am five years younger than my boyfriend.

[105] And And they had a whole different high school experience than I did.

[106] And so I guess there were a lot of rumors going around about Crystal and how she was involved with police, involved like as, I don't know what the proper term would be, but like an informant, like a little bit of a narc to try and get people in trouble.

[107] I don't know much about where that rumor originated from.

[108] When that happens, there's usually paperwork when someone gets arrested because of an informant.

[109] And even though if you are informing someone, they'll usually protect you as best as possible, but they can't really protect you from paperwork.

[110] So there is a paper trail.

[111] And I guess at some point, my boyfriend and his friends had gotten a hold of that paperwork.

[112] And so he just, he didn't really have it out for her, but he just didn't want anything to have to do with someone like that because in our community, it's very small.

[113] But when you find that there's someone not to trust, everyone tends to flock away from them.

[114] From what I understand back in the high school days, it was like sales too.

[115] Like usually, and like I said, I'm not like an expert at on like informants or anything.

[116] anything.

[117] But I just know that like, like I said, our community is like rather small.

[118] So word of mouth is pretty big around here.

[119] And that's how my boyfriend kind of like explained everything to me. Usually in this area, and I'm sure in other areas as well, the way people fall into that sort of, I don't want to say lifestyle, but that process where they become an informant is usually as a plea deal or like if they become if they get in trouble for something that they do uh the police will cut them some slack or make a deal with them to have them as an informant so what they will do is try and get people in their community in trouble so they'll try and catch people they'll bait them to sell them drugs or buy drugs from them and then have a record of it and so police will have a way to like pull them over after a suspected drug deal, things of that sort, from what I understand is how that works.

[120] Ben was completely alone in like his concern for Crystal.

[121] Like he, he was really the only one.

[122] And he just seemed at the time to his family kind of like that kook, you know, that's like bringing around conspiracy theories sort of thing.

[123] And so eventually he kind of just gave up.

[124] Um, his mom was, you know, a little concerned because it was a bit of a surprise, but she was happy.

[125] You know, her son was having a baby and it was like bringing life into the world and it was just like so beautiful for her.

[126] My sister -in -law, I call them my sister and brother -in -law's even though we're not married, but that's just the relationship I had with them.

[127] And so my sister -in -law, Lindsey, Ben's sister, she was so happy anytime that it's like, oh, my God, the family's going to grow, the family's going to go closer, be closer to each other, sorry.

[128] She's got children, so, you know, cousins for her children.

[129] For them, it was very exciting, but they didn't know Crystal.

[130] They didn't know anything about her either.

[131] They didn't really one.

[132] When Ben was invited to that family dinner, I had not met his family yet.

[133] So I actually didn't know anybody yet.

[134] I knew what he had told me about them, but I honestly didn't even know what his family looked like or what they were like at all.

[135] A couple months later, kind of spring of 2016, is when I was invited to meet the family.

[136] And coincidentally, it was a around the time that Crystal met the family as well.

[137] So she had met them maybe about a month before I had, but it wasn't like a big family gathering.

[138] It was very in passing sort of thing.

[139] So they invited, you know, Ben and I and Grant and Crystal to a like a family lunch dinner sort of thing to meet everybody meet the kids, meet Lindsay and her husband, our mother -in -law.

[140] And I didn't really get very much of an impression from her.

[141] In all honesty, she was very pregnant.

[142] But she just seemed very, you know, quiet and shy.

[143] And like she was trying to be a part of, so this is a little contradictory.

[144] So she seemed very quiet and shy and just mellow.

[145] But at the same time, she seemed.

[146] seemed so, like, comfortable.

[147] Like, I didn't know that she had only met the family once before.

[148] I thought she had been coming around for years because she was so comfortable around them.

[149] She was joking with everybody and just, like, I was very tense.

[150] I was meeting my boyfriend's family.

[151] But she was just having a great time.

[152] So I didn't really get very much of an impression from her.

[153] Here's Aridian's friend and previous co -worker, Zachary.

[154] How would you describe Crystal as a person?

[155] Crystal, when I first met her, Crystal now, because that's a very different situation, depending on which one you're asking about.

[156] I thought that she was very nice.

[157] She didn't seem like anything out of the norm, very sweet, kind of what you think of like a blonde and like a rom -com movie of just like a very bubbly sweet person like that's kind of what she gave off here's aridion's friend and previous co -worker i would describe crystal as on the surface bubbly talkative always in the middle of conversations um you know always trying to surround herself with friends to the point where if you are a less extroverted person.

[158] It might even come off as like, oh, this person's intrusive.

[159] Like, they must really need the spotlight, which, you know, sometimes people do come off like that.

[160] It's not necessarily a flaw in character, I would say.

[161] I think that it's probably just like more of an extrovert thing.

[162] I would also describe Crystal as manipulative, a liar, toxic, malicious.

[163] I think that any time that somebody lies to hurt other people, for instance, if you make up a lie about another person that judges their character or paints their character in a very harsh light, and not only is it not true, but it really doesn't serve an obvious greater purpose, that's a huge red flag.

[164] So to me, you know, on the surface, she's very likable and very outgoing, very extroverted.

[165] But the truth about her character is that she's none of those things and that she's probably the worst kind of person.

[166] Like true evil out here hurting people and spreading so much negativity and just chaos in people's lives to serve no other purpose than really for her to stay in the limelight and to cover up her other lives.

[167] Here's Aridian The next time I saw her or any of my boyfriend's family was around like June of that year And it was for someone's birthday party, I believe It was all the adults and she was like letting loose a little bit You know, nope, she wasn't drinking because she was pregnant, but everyone was like drinking a beer and having fun and it was just very like relaxed and she was very like, oh my goodness we're going to be sister -in -laws, like, let's get to know each other.

[168] I remember we, like, took some selfies and that's it.

[169] Like, we didn't really have any time to talk about anything.

[170] So even then, my impression from her was just very like, oh, she seems, she seems nice.

[171] Like, she is very different from my friends and the people I typically have made friends with.

[172] So in my own mind was like, I don't know her very well, but I think we might be.

[173] family.

[174] So we should get to know each other and be friendly.

[175] Here's Amber.

[176] Right after leaving the preschool, I took a job at a call center through a temp agency.

[177] I quickly became management at the temp company.

[178] And in the second year, or the first year, actually, that I was with the temp company, we hired a team lead, Crystal.

[179] She came on right before, I was.

[180] I got promoted again to become her boss.

[181] I would describe Crystal at work as friendly, to the point of being overly friendly.

[182] At the temp agency that we worked for, most of us were in our late 20s, early 30s.

[183] Whenever Crystal started, it was a very small group of us, and we all had the same work ethic in the sense of, We weren't overly friendly with agents.

[184] Our agents were agents, our jobs were our jobs.

[185] When Crystal came in, it was very quickly apparent that that wasn't the way that she wanted to manage or thought she could manage.

[186] And in a temp agency, whenever you are actually staffing for a large corporation, it's actually even harder and probably more detrimental to our success to be to have those kind of management styles where you're fraternizing with a, your agents and so very quickly on crystal had to be you know kind of sat down and told hey this is why you're not allowed to hang out with agents outside of work um this is why you know we have these kind of strict rules about this we totally understand you wanting to support your agents and be there for them but there is an appropriate way to do that um so one of the very first things i remember about working with crystal is that she was overly friendly with male agents and her having to be rebuked, sat down at work, which to me was so embarrassing because I was like, I literally couldn't even imagine.

[187] There was no boundaries for her.

[188] And so once I got promoted and I was her boss, not her peer, I remember Crystal being very eager to please.

[189] I think that when we were peers, Crystal saw me much more as an adversary.

[190] I think that in her mind, any other intelligence, intelligent female, young female, successful female was a threat.

[191] I don't go to work for drama.

[192] I'm a single mom.

[193] I don't have time for all of that.

[194] But after I became her boss, all of that went away very quickly to the point where it was like obsequious.

[195] And I don't think I really thought about it at the time because I myself am not a manipulative person who has like other intentions.

[196] I'm not saying we don't all brown those are bosses sometimes, but not to the point of trying to insert yourself in their lives.

[197] So working with Crystal when she first came on was, it was like hard trying to get her to understand boundaries with our, you know, agents.

[198] And then afterwards, when I was her boss, her focus went from on the guys at the call center then to me. For instance, she always wanted to bring me copy or, you know, if she was going on lunch break, she'd say, do you need anything, Amber?

[199] Do you need a drink?

[200] Do you need any food?

[201] I got it.

[202] I can pay for it.

[203] Which to me, I was like, no. You know, I'm your boss.

[204] Like, that's another boundary.

[205] Here's Zachary.

[206] So Crystal and I actually met through a third party company that works for the call center that we all worked for.

[207] And I actually met Crystal in training.

[208] She had just become a new supervisor, T .L. is what we call them team lead.

[209] And my class, the majority of my class, was going to be going to her team.

[210] After their training, they do a graduation.

[211] So we all moved to our desks.

[212] I happened to be on her team as well.

[213] If you had asked me back then, I would have said we were very close.

[214] You know, her and I spoke on the phone probably four times a week.

[215] We went to lunch together at work.

[216] We were very friendly.

[217] Other TLs literally were like, this is probably kind of an inappropriate relationship.

[218] how close you guys are.

[219] She shared a lot of things that I thought were very personal and I did the same because I thought that we were friends and that's what in my book and how I was raised, that's how friends act towards each other.

[220] I'm Dan Tversky.

[221] In 2011, something strange began to happen at the high school in Leroy, New York.

[222] I was like at my locker and she came up to me and she was like stuttering super bad.

[223] I'm like, stop fucking around.

[224] She's like, I can't.

[225] A mystery illness, bizarre symptoms, and spreading fast.

[226] It's like doubling and tripling, and it's all these girls.

[227] With a diagnosis, the state tried to keep on the down low.

[228] Everybody thought I was holding something back.

[229] Well, you were holding something back intentionally.

[230] Yeah, well, yeah.

[231] No, it's hysteria.

[232] It's all in your head.

[233] It's not physical.

[234] Oh, my gosh, you're exaggerating.

[235] Is this the largest mass hysteria since the Witches of Salem?

[236] Or is it something else entirely?

[237] Something's wrong here.

[238] Something's not right.

[239] Leroy was the new date line and everyone was trying to solve the murder.

[240] A new limited series from Wondery and Pineapple Street Studios, Hysterical.

[241] Follow Hysterical on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[242] You can binge all episodes of Hysterical early and ad -free right now by joining Wondry Plus.

[243] She struck him with her motor vehicle.

[244] She had been under the influence and she left him there.

[245] In January 2022, local woman Karen Reed was implicated in the mysterious death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O 'Keefe.

[246] It was alleged that after an innocent night out for drinks with friends, Karen and John got into a lover's quarrel and route to the next location.

[247] What happens next depends on who you ask.

[248] Was it a crime of passion?

[249] If you believe the prosecution, it's because the evidence was so compelling.

[250] This was clearly an intentional act.

[251] And his cause of death was blunt force trauma with hypothermia.

[252] Or a corrupt police cover -up.

[253] If you believe the defense theory, however, this was all a cover.

[254] up to prevent one of their own from going down.

[255] Everyone had an opinion.

[256] And after the 10 -week trial, the jury could not come to a unanimous decision.

[257] To end in a mistrial, it's just a confirmation of just how complicated this case is.

[258] Law and crime presents the most in -depth analysis to date of the sensational case in Karen.

[259] You can listen to Karen exclusively with Wondery Plus.

[260] Join Wondery Plus in the Wondry app, Apple Podcasts, Or Spotify.

[261] Here's Aridian.

[262] Ben just kind of tried to make the best out of everything.

[263] He had his own little, I call him his e -boy moments where he's just mopey about situations.

[264] But out in public, out while we're with the family or like, he's not acting on them.

[265] He's not trying to make everyone uncomfortable.

[266] He's not trying to like show that he doesn't like someone.

[267] he just kind of steps off to the side and lets everybody enjoy themselves and like get to know each other.

[268] So he wasn't like, no, don't talk to her or you don't want to be friends with her.

[269] Trust me. Like it wasn't anything like that.

[270] Just I could tell at the end of any situation where we were all together and meeting, just at the end, he was just like exhausted.

[271] And I could tell he was just putting on like a happy face.

[272] In the end, he would just kind of be like, I don't know, there's just something about her.

[273] I don't like.

[274] There's just something about her, but I'm just going to drop it.

[275] In the beginning, I wasn't around Grant and Crystal very much.

[276] I know that, like, they had a baby shower and like a sex reveal and everything like that.

[277] And I didn't go to them because I wasn't close to them at that time.

[278] But the times that we were around each other, I didn't much see them interacting with one another.

[279] Like it was very like, oh, I love you, you know, a peck in the cheek here and there.

[280] But it wasn't very now looking back on it, it wasn't very like, oh my God, I'm head over heels and love.

[281] I don't really know what my relationship looks like from an outsider's point of view or someone that's barely getting to know me and my boyfriend as a couple.

[282] But I just remember like not really noticing anything like, oh my goodness, they look like they're so in love.

[283] And they probably were.

[284] But I noticed that the main, you know, thing wasn't so much like the love, but the attention.

[285] There was so much attention on Crystal because she was pregnant and everyone was so excited.

[286] And so she was very much her and her.

[287] her husband, a boyfriend at the time, were very much like the center of the family's attention in a very endearing and loving way.

[288] So around November -ish of 2016, so she finally had the baby and she's got the baby and the whole family is together and happy.

[289] And November -ish comes around.

[290] And the baby is not even six months old.

[291] I know that.

[292] So she's very little.

[293] And we, me and Ben run into her in town.

[294] So we have this little downtown area where everyone is always there.

[295] Tourists come around every once in a while, certain times of the year.

[296] And everyone and their mom is downtown walking around.

[297] And in November, they put up Christmas lights and it's like a whole big thing.

[298] So in the evenings when we wanted to have like a little date night, we would say, oh let's go downtown walk around town people will like go get a drink things like that so we go downtown and we actually run into her there and it's it's dark and it's um you know there's like all the christmas lights and such so i see her a little ways away and i didn't really recognize her per se but i recognized like the stroller and that she was like a young woman with a stroller and a baby and then a gentleman with her.

[299] So I kind of mentioned to my boyfriend, like, isn't that, hey, that's Crystal.

[300] That's, you know, and there's your niece.

[301] She's got your niece.

[302] And he just said, like, oh, no, I don't think that's her.

[303] He said, that's not grand.

[304] And then we get a little bit closer and I'm like waving at her because I'm just like excited to see people that I know.

[305] And she was very surprised to see us, but just said hi, like a little bit flustered.

[306] like she didn't really understand what was happening.

[307] It was kind of like she was getting caught doing something, but she didn't want to make it seem that way.

[308] So she just kind of played it off like, oh my goodness, I didn't expect to see you here.

[309] And she was with some young gentleman that they went to school with.

[310] I don't know this person at all.

[311] My boyfriend did know him like by name and everything.

[312] So when we walked up, he just said, hello like it's really strange seeing you guys here like what are you guys up to sort of thing i just remember like for me personally i didn't really pay attention to the conversation i just more drifted towards the baby because i was excited to see the child and drifted more towards making conversation with crystal in my own eyes i genuinely thought that ben was just catching up with an old schoolmate like i didn't realize that they were having like a real conversation.

[313] I just was having a conversation with Crystal.

[314] And so I just remember we all walked together to her car and she put the baby in but left the door open and like they all just lit a cigarette.

[315] And I know people smoke and that's, that's fine.

[316] I'm not a smoker personally.

[317] I have asthma.

[318] But for me, it just like rubbed me so wrongly that she had a sick.

[319] month old that was so little and she just like stuck her in the car and left the door open and started smoking a cigarette by the open door car door and I just in my head was like oh my goodness that smoke cannot be good for the baby maybe I'm overthinking it I'm not a parent I have no idea but eventually I was like is she maybe it's cold don't you think it's cold and she just like stuck her head in the car, turned it on, and then shut the door and, you know, let the baby be in there by herself.

[320] And in the meantime, she's distracted, trying to pay attention to Ben and this guy's conversation.

[321] So I guess their conversation went a little bit like, what are you doing here?

[322] And the guy that was with her said something like, dude, don't tell Grant that I'm here.

[323] Don't tell him that I saw you with Crystal, that I was with Crystal alone.

[324] My boyfriend, was just like, okay, it seems really sketchy that you guys are here together.

[325] What's going on?

[326] You know, you've got my niece with you who's like just a few months old.

[327] And he goes, no, man, it's not like that.

[328] I'm not like on a date or anything with her.

[329] She was just getting me something.

[330] And my boyfriend later on told me this, not while we were there, but we get home and he's like so upset and like just annoyed.

[331] And he's he's like saying like, there's something about that girl and I knew it.

[332] She like hasn't changed.

[333] She is really sketchy.

[334] And he just tells me like, I'm pretty sure she was dealing drugs while she has her small like less than six month old baby with her.

[335] And he's like, that's really messed up.

[336] And the guy was just like, you know, when they were together talking, the guy was just like, dude, please don't tell your brother.

[337] Like I don't, don't try and beat me up or whatever.

[338] So Ben in the end was just like, dude, it's not even any of my business.

[339] I think when a child is involved, like it should be anybody's business if the child is in danger.

[340] But I think in his eyes, like he didn't really connect two and two like right at that moment.

[341] He was like, I'm not really sure what's going on.

[342] And the reason why he thought like maybe she's dealing drugs is because she constantly mentioned to everyone in the family that she was having to go back to the doctors a lot after having the baby, that she was having a lot of postpartum medical issues, whether it be from stitches or something like that.

[343] An infection, I'm not really sure, but I just remember her saying that she was getting medication, medication over and over again.

[344] So Ben in his eyes was like, I'm pretty sure she's lying about that or the medication is really code for something.

[345] I don't really know, but that was the first time that I realized that there was just like something weird going on that she maybe wasn't the person that I thought I had met.

[346] Scammers are best known for living the high life until they're forced to trade it all in for handcuffs and an orange jumpsuit once they're finally.

[347] caught.

[348] I'm Sachi Cole.

[349] And I'm Sarah Haggy.

[350] And we're the host of scam influencers, a weekly podcast from Wondery that takes you along the twists and turns of some of the most infamous scams of all time, the impact on victims and what's left once a facade falls away.

[351] We've covered stories like a Shark Tank certified entrepreneur who left the show with an investment, but soon faced mounting bills, an active lawsuit followed by Larry King, and no real product to push.

[352] He then began to prey on vulnerable women instead, selling the idea of a future.

[353] her together while stealing from them behind their backs.

[354] To the infamous scams of Real Housewives stars like Teresa Judici, what should have proven to be a major downfall only seemed to solidify her place in the Real Housewives Hall of Fame.

[355] Follow Scamfluencers on the Wondry app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[356] You can listen to Scamfluencers early and ad -free right now on Wondry Plus.

[357] Here's Aridian's friend and previous co -worker Amber.

[358] Yeah, I had heard about Cristle being involved in like illegal activities.

[359] but it was really more about, like, illegal drugs.

[360] She always talked about it so comfortably with us at work because she would say that it was for her seizures or she had pain.

[361] And so she did these things, but it was also no secret that she sold these things at work.

[362] With that being said, it was all hearsay.

[363] It was never anything that we could prove.

[364] And so we didn't have really any ability to act on it, But it was definitely something that was like known, like to the point where our boss had to be aware of that because of the overall contract could have been affected.

[365] You know, if those rumors were found out to be true or even if they like just got to the wrong person, which they absolutely could have because in work environments like that, it's just like high school.

[366] It's just a big gossip though.

[367] And that can be like one of the really dangerous things for people like this is that people do talk.

[368] You know, you can say as many negative things as you want.

[369] about Sarah, but, you know, if somebody overhears you and they're actually friends with that person, your whole flimsy -ass house of cards is going to come falling down.

[370] And that's like what's happening now.

[371] Here's Aridian's friend and previous co -worker, Zachary.

[372] Around that time is also when Amber got moved from like being TLs to pretty much like running the operation.

[373] Crystal, at this point, was telling me things about Amber and being like, oh, Amber's such a bitch, like, you guys don't know, she's so two -faced, she's awful, da -da -da -da, and then she would, like, go out and smoke with Amber or things like that.

[374] Seemed cordial with her.

[375] The thing about my friendship with Crystal was that we never, like, hung out in person.

[376] like we did probably three times total and one of them was like two of them were like we went out to dinner somewhere like it was never like kind of a normal friendship to where you know you go over to your girlfriend like your friend's house and like just hang out on their couch and watch TV and bull all that we never did that it wasn't like she couldn't come over because she would always say that you know I have my daughter or you know I can't tonight because I have something going on, blah, blah.

[377] So we would talk on the phone, we texted a lot, but it was never one of those friendships of like, hey, just come over anytime and just, you know, sit on my couch and we'll just watch TV and whatever.

[378] So when me, Crystal, our other friend, like when everyone moved over to this new building, I got taken off Crystal's team and put onto another person's team.

[379] At that same time, that was when the rumors had started.

[380] Crystal and I were still talking.

[381] We weren't talked like we talked on the phone every night and did things like that.

[382] But at this point, we didn't really like go to lunch together or do anything like that anymore.

[383] That was when she really started kind of kissing up to Amber.

[384] And it really kind of confused me and our other friend because we're both very loyal in that.

[385] So if you're talking trash and saying that this person is an awful person and, you know, she's nasty, she's horrible, she's a backstabber, she's a bitch, da -da -da -da -da, saying, telling us that she's saying things about her and I, like, we're, like, we were confused as you know what, because we're like, how are you hanging out with this person that's, that you're saying is not only talking trash about you, but talking trash about us that are your other friends.

[386] She always just kind of brushed it off is like, you know, she's my boss.

[387] I have to be cool with her.

[388] Like, I don't want the drama.

[389] Like, she would turn it around on like me and our other friend and be like, y 'all are just being dramatic and trying to start shit and have problems with everyone and blah, blah, but for us, we were like, dude, like, you're literally telling us that this person.

[390] person is like next to spawn a Satan level evil.

[391] And that was when it really kind of started showing like her fake side.

[392] Something's not adding up.

[393] And I don't understand what's happening.

[394] Here's Amber.

[395] Having somebody like Crystal in the office is looking back in hindsight is nothing but trouble for one of two reasons.

[396] One being that when you have a lot of people, doing a hard job, for instance, taking calls from customers, upset customers, upset people in general, that is already an overwhelming energy.

[397] And so whenever you have all of that going on, everybody has to be at their best all the time.

[398] And by that, I mean, there isn't a whole lot of room for drama.

[399] You know, when you're trying to get people to have real life in real time, skills with other human beings that affects a company's bottom line, there isn't any room for us to be distracted.

[400] And so just from like a business standpoint, like if I owned this company or if I own the temping agency, that kind of person would be my worst nightmare because all they're there to do is soak up attention and spread.

[401] And I think of it as like a web, like a web of lies and deceit to compound that attention and aim it towards them.

[402] And then I'd say it's terrible for the second reason, the most obvious reason, which is, and ties into the first, which is it causes so much drama and problems.

[403] And whenever you have a person like Crystal, there's very few people that she thinks she cannot do this too.

[404] So I think she very quickly caught on that myself and one of my other coworkers, we weren't as susceptible to it.

[405] And so she was going to have to work a lot harder.

[406] And so it seems like she kind of just left us alone.

[407] Whereas people that she had power over directly, her agents are other younger female members of leadership who, you know, some of them were just 19 and just finished their associates degree and were coming into their first leadership position.

[408] And it was so easy for her to exert control over them because A, not only does she have power over her agents, you know, the power to say, oh, well, if you don't do this, then I, you know, I can make life a living hell for you.

[409] Or just that loyalty that comes from like, oh, my boss is being so cool to me. Oh my gosh, my boss wants to go and have lunch with me. You're going to think that person likes you more than they do.

[410] And that's the intention so that if you hear something bad about her, of course you're not going to believe it from that other person.

[411] This person likes you.

[412] They've been so cool to you.

[413] And looking back, it was so toxic to the point where we lost good members of leadership because of Crystal's lies and schemes.

[414] Here's Zachary.

[415] So I was fired in February of 2018.

[416] So we moved to the call center in New Year's.

[417] And by I had been fired like right before Valentine's Day, which of course, That's a great way to spend that holiday alone and fired.

[418] So what happened was I at this point had been there one of the longest.

[419] The whole goal of was really for you to come on, learn about the program, learn about what, you know, the call center is about, and then transition to the other company.

[420] Now, keep in mind that I'm still cool with Crystal, but we're not, like, friends' friends anymore.

[421] Now, looking back on it, I realized that she really just kind of didn't need me anymore.

[422] Like, she had nothing really to do with me or my progress, and she couldn't really use me to get to Amber because I was like, dude, I'm not picking a fight with someone that you're not going to fight.

[423] Like, that's not how this works.

[424] So I really think that she just kind of realized that her and I and her and her other friend, like, that we weren't useful anymore, if that makes sense.

[425] The thing about the callers that we were getting was, is we worked for a large corporation and one of the world's largest retailers.

[426] So it is very hostile, very, I'm very Karen -ish of just, you're going to give me what I want, and if not, I'm just going to scream at you.

[427] So what I remember happening was this customer was screaming at me. I was calling the store that he was in to see if I could fix the issue.

[428] And when I put them on hold, I said, son of a bitch, under my breath.

[429] Not to the customer, not anything in regards to it.

[430] So someone had told someone else on me is what I got told pretty much.

[431] And so I got pulled into an office and got fired.

[432] When I got home, of course, I was distraught, thought the world was over, et cetera.

[433] It was really kind of my first job that I'd ever been fired at.

[434] I was 19 years old.

[435] So it was a big deal to me. I called Crystal that night, and I asked her, like, I don't understand what happened.

[436] And pretty much what she told me, she said to me that Amber pretty much was the one who pushed for me to get fired because she would not allow, I'll just insert a homophobic slur here.

[437] quotation sort of thing to transfer over to this company and that broke me even more because that was kind of my first like I still now have never experienced real like situations to where that has ever affected my job work like I'm a very hard worker like I do my job like that's not how I roll so to hear that that's the reason that I got fired like destroyed me like I went through therapy about it like next level type stuff I'm so sorry how horrible um oh you're going to force me to have a shot of vodka here's Amber she would make life unbearable for people and it was completely unnecessary for instance we I had a co -worker or an agent, Zach, who had worked really, really hard to be able to basically graduate over to the bigger corporation that we staffed for.

[438] And he worked really hard for it.

[439] He was, he was finally successful and got it.

[440] And he made a mistake.

[441] And it cost him his job and it cost him his transition.

[442] And it was really heartbreaking because we knew how much he wanted it.

[443] We knew how hard.

[444] He had worked to improve himself in the job.

[445] And as a person, he was really young.

[446] I think he was coming right out of high school.

[447] But she proceeded to tell that person after they lost their job that I had personally gotten them fired, made up everything about about the call that he had gotten in trouble for.

[448] And for me, one, what is the point of telling that lie?

[449] To make him not like me more is all I can assume.

[450] But B, he had already lost what to him was the biggest deal in his young life.

[451] And he was already hurting because that, and I can't even fathom, you know, how big of a setback that probably was for him.

[452] But then to have a person who you believe is your friend come to you and say people did this to you intentionally because of, you know, your gender or your looks or your sexuality.

[453] I mean, that is such a person.

[454] personal attack, and it hurts so bad on so many levels.

[455] I mean, that's what she did.

[456] And of course, I'm not friends with my agents, especially when I was, you know, promoted after that.

[457] There's even more of a separation.

[458] He wasn't going to come to me and clarify that, but he lived with that hurt.

[459] Crystal is the one who told us about the mistake that he made, that she had heard it while walking through the floor, and she came and told us.

[460] And so ultimately, it was her, I mean, it was his mistake, but it doesn't serve any purpose, but to drive wedges and cause pain, to make other people look bad.

[461] And like, trying to think through this stuff is so hard whenever you're not yourself a toxic person.

[462] But it does start to make sense once you start putting the pieces together.

[463] And having a person like Crystal in any kind of work environment, in any environment period, in my opinion, it makes it so much harder to do the already hard things.

[464] that you have to do, and it makes it impossible to be as successful as you could be as a team.

[465] That person just comes in and soes deceit and issues and causes problems that were never there in order to make themselves look better, in order to open up other prospects or cover up other lies, whatever it may be.

[466] But it's just a destructive force all around.

[467] This season on something was wrong.

[468] And when I tell you, it blew my mind.

[469] Like, when they show, like, the mind -blown gif, it doesn't even compare.

[470] Like...

[471] It seemed like she just found out something like she was watching a soap opera.

[472] Like, I can't believe this.

[473] And to be so bold and so confident to do all of these terrible things, I can't imagine a line.

[474] Crystal wouldn't be comfortable crossing on anybody.

[475] You think you know me, you don't know me well.

[476] Something Was Wrong is produced and hosted by me, Tiffany Reese.

[477] Music on this episode from Gladrags, check out their album, Wonder Under.

[478] If you'd like to help support the growth of something was wrong, you can help by leaving a positive review, sharing the podcast with your family, friends, and followers, and support at patreon .com slash something was wrong.

[479] Thank you so much for listening.

[480] If you like something was wrong, you can listen early and ad -free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.

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