S20 E9: The Real Brody

[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 and may be distressing for some listeners.

[11] For a full trigger warning for each episode and for a list of resources for survivors and their loved ones, please see the episode notes.

[12] pseudonyms are given to all minors and some survivors in these stories for their privacy and protection.

[13] Testimony shared by guests of the show is their own and does not necessarily reflect the views of myself, Broken Cycle Media, or Wondery.

[14] This podcast and any linked materials should not be construed as medical advice, nor is the information a substitute for professional medical expertise or treatment.

[15] In response to the allegations against Jessica Pauley, she responded with no comment.

[16] Thank you so much for listening.

[17] Here's Bree.

[18] So we had our little group chat of the initial victims.

[19] Monica, myself, Danny's not a victim, but she was very closely related into this, Lauren, and then Reagan was initially in it.

[20] We had all talked, compared stories, and I want to say it was maybe a few days, maybe a week.

[21] It wasn't long into figuring everything out before the real Brody was invited into the group chat.

[22] Basically, this had been going on the entire time I lived with her in Iowa, and this.

[23] was so much more than just Lauren and I. Even today, we find out new things, and honestly, nothing surprises me at this point because we keep hearing things and piecing things together, and it just gets crazier and he told us the history he had with Jessica Polly.

[24] I'm honored to be here.

[25] My name is The Real Brody, so I'm excited to be a part of this and also get justice for all the victims of Jessica Polly.

[26] So when I was 15, I was a beach patrol lifeguard.

[27] I would get up 6, 7 o 'clock in the morning, go surf a little bit.

[28] This is up north.

[29] But I would head out and just enjoy my day.

[30] And then towards the middle of my shift is usually when I had a break.

[31] And we would do lifeguard workouts as well as go introduce yourself to like a couple of the families, people you haven't seen before.

[32] So I headed out, said hi to all my regulars.

[33] I saw another family.

[34] and I went up and introduced myself.

[35] I was like, hello, nice to meet you.

[36] I'm the lifeguard on duty today.

[37] Like, there's a couple of things to look out for.

[38] We got some rip currents that are pretty strong with the storm that had just passed through the day before.

[39] Just introduced myself, my name, et cetera.

[40] And then I saw Jess, and I was like, hey, like, you look like you're close to my age.

[41] Just being a friendly kid.

[42] I was like, well, if you're not doing anything later, me and some of my friends, we do stuff after work.

[43] And if you don't have anything going on, I know it's tough being like around your family on vacation.

[44] Just hit me up.

[45] So that's what ended up happening.

[46] She Facebook messaged me on July 25th of 2009, the day after my 15th birthday, she reached out to me and was like, what are you doing?

[47] What's your number?

[48] Et cetera.

[49] I never responded after that first initial encounter because she sent me her phone number and was like, text me and I said, all right, I will.

[50] And then I never did.

[51] And that's when she was like, a piece of shit and then I didn't get another message until March of 2016 she sent me a smiley face.

[52] So I feel like that could have been the direct correlation of all of this is that you're going to get obsessive that quickly when we shared maybe 45 words together.

[53] It's mind blowing.

[54] I know we're going to get into everything but like finding all this information out and the length of things that she went to to destroy these.

[55] innocent girl's lives.

[56] Well, and yours too, but we'll get to that.

[57] So semi -related slash, we're not positive.

[58] It's related, but let's be honest, it's probably related.

[59] Someone actually tried to catfish you.

[60] Can you walk us through that and what you recall about that experience?

[61] I believe it was my junior, or it might have been senior year.

[62] A friend of mine got like a random friend request on Facebook.

[63] And then he showed me her name was like Hunter Dylan.

[64] I mean, let's be real, that sounds like a foreign star's name.

[65] But you got the friend request, and then literally 10 minutes later, I got the friend request.

[66] And then accepted it, we went about our night, right?

[67] And then randomly the next couple days, we both got DMs on Facebook.

[68] Originally, I was like, I'm not talking to them.

[69] If they message you first, you go ahead, talk to them.

[70] It was all via, like, the same thing.

[71] It's all via phone, right?

[72] No FaceTime, nothing.

[73] I mean, I don't even know if FaceTime was around.

[74] back then.

[75] But there was like Skype.

[76] They would always refuse to Skype.

[77] We just want to see your face.

[78] We just want to see your face.

[79] But then they would send pictures that were pretty much like how they looked on Facebook, but clearly weren't taken at that moment.

[80] It was different for the girls because the girls were talking to another girl that was pretending to be a me or a guy.

[81] This was a girl pretending to be a girl.

[82] So you could talk on the phone with her.

[83] So that's what we did.

[84] We did talk on the phone with her.

[85] So maybe she is real.

[86] This one, on for a couple months at least.

[87] And then it got bad, fast.

[88] I have all the messages, screenshots.

[89] She was also pretending to be this other girl.

[90] I think her name was Kayla.

[91] And she had reached out to me and was like, Hunter sent me this before she took off.

[92] She was going on vacation or something.

[93] Before she took off and she was saying how much she loves you and this and this and this.

[94] But I don't think that you're good for her.

[95] It was so manipulative.

[96] It was ridiculous.

[97] They were trying to make it seem like it was my fault or whatever it was going on at the time when I read those messages again and then I look at the message that was sent to Lauren and sent to Bree.

[98] I'm like, this is the same person.

[99] But I didn't realize that until, you know, 15 years later that it was just from the beginning.

[100] She had all the access to my Facebook pictures.

[101] I don't know how she got my Instagram.

[102] So the fake names that she used, I did try to background search and find these women and I couldn't find any women from the information that was given.

[103] Hunter Dillon and then Kayla Wilmont was the other name.

[104] Did you just get sick of her not going on Skype and you were like, fuck this?

[105] Or what ended up ending it?

[106] Well, yeah, we realized it was bullshit.

[107] It was only a couple months.

[108] And then I was like, dude, this is not a real human being.

[109] And I swear to you, I remember that we found the real Hunter Dillon.

[110] And we like reached out to her and told her that someone was, using, like, exactly what the girls did to me. Do you remember what her name was at all?

[111] No, I have no idea.

[112] It was just some random, good -looking girl in Georgia.

[113] I don't know if they've met before or something.

[114] I have no clue.

[115] And I would love to one day, if I could look Jess in the face, it'd be like, were you Hunter?

[116] Because it seems like it is, because they use the same exact dialogue and the way they talk to people.

[117] It sounds the exact same.

[118] And the name, too, is such a Jess name.

[119] She picks these very specific types of names.

[120] And Lauren pointed it out to me that their birthdays are all like a couple days apart.

[121] It was all like April something.

[122] Which is around her real birthday.

[123] Exactly.

[124] It's like all the flags are pointing in the same direction, but I don't know 100%, but I would love to, if I ever confront her, in real life, after 15 years, I would, hopefully on her court date.

[125] I was 21.

[126] So this is six years after I'd met Jess, a place that I'm not born, but raised at.

[127] I was at the beach.

[128] We were at a pregame and a good friend that I went to college with, she comes out to me. She's like, look, I was like, what?

[129] It's a picture of me in high school on a Tinder profile.

[130] And I was like, what?

[131] I was like, add them.

[132] See if they'll meet up with us at the bar.

[133] Because back then, I thought this was all a joke.

[134] I actually laughed at it.

[135] I was like, that's so funny.

[136] I'm honored.

[137] Someone's using my pictures.

[138] But like now looking back, obviously, that's terrible because I was 16 or 17 years old in that picture.

[139] But they had me at 24 years old on Tinder.

[140] When things started to click, I reached out to my friend and I was like, hey, I know this was a long time ago, but do you happen to remember the name of the profile that was using my pictures in Ocean City?

[141] And she said, Brody.

[142] And that was like, boom.

[143] That just hit me in the face.

[144] Now I know that she has actually been doing this for that long.

[145] But she wasn't there.

[146] With Tinder, you can use geolocation and move your location to other places.

[147] With everything she's done, it's even sickening to say that she's kind of smart in a diabolical way.

[148] But like, she knew she would get caught.

[149] She knew that I would find out that she was doing that.

[150] So I was like, why would you do that?

[151] What's the end game there?

[152] Honestly, maybe she was just looking for new victims.

[153] Maybe she had a planned vacation with her family to go there and then start that whole cycle again, like when she started with Reagan, with Monica, with Lauren, Bree, everything to, like, gain a friend, get them close to her, and then do what she's been doing this whole time.

[154] It was on Christmas, December 25th, 2017.

[155] She reached out to me saying, hey, do you remember me?

[156] I didn't answer because I think at that time, I didn't follow her.

[157] So it was under my message requests.

[158] Oh, here it is.

[159] December 25th, 2017, do you remember me?

[160] And I didn't answer until January 2nd, 2018.

[161] I think I do.

[162] She goes, you think, question mark, the Myspace days?

[163] That's even more crazy, is that I only have messages from her on Facebook, because obviously I don't even think MySpace is a URL anymore.

[164] So I couldn't find those if I wanted to, Jess.

[165] Asked how I was doing, where I was living now, what I was doing for work, how to playing pro soccer workout for me. She knew that I went to Germany and I have no idea how.

[166] And then randomly, after I'm talking about me being injured and having surgery, she just goes, do you have Snapchat?

[167] So I added her Snapchat because I didn't know anything.

[168] I didn't know she was using my pictures.

[169] I didn't know the kind of person she was.

[170] I thought she was just reaching out after a long time.

[171] And that was it.

[172] And then she sent me a message at 4 p .m. and I never responded to her again.

[173] And that was the last time I spoke to her other than when I found out about Reagan.

[174] I found out about Reagan mid -COVID.

[175] It was like the summer of 2020, closer to fall.

[176] I was at work.

[177] I was in a middle of a call talking to this person, like a client.

[178] And then I look at my phone and It was like message request from XYZ, her Instagram handle.

[179] So I opened it and it was a big, pretty much a book of her telling me that some girl in Iowa has been using my pictures and catfishing.

[180] She got catfish for like the last like year and a half, two years.

[181] I don't remember exactly how long it was.

[182] I was like, can I call you?

[183] She gave me her number and I called her.

[184] She explained everything to me like how everything happened and I think she met him on Hinge.

[185] And there was a fake Instagram, fake TikTok, everything utilizing my pictures.

[186] And we'll definitely get into how crazy it is about some of the pictures that she has.

[187] I confronted Jess after Reagan.

[188] I don't know the step she took.

[189] Granted, this was four years ago now.

[190] So I'm not 100 % sure exactly what she did.

[191] I reached out to Jess.

[192] I found her number in my phone.

[193] And it was the same number.

[194] And I called.

[195] I was like, hey, you know, I wasn't too aggressive, but I was like, pretty much I was like, what the fuck are you doing?

[196] Why are you using my pictures to catfish all these girls?

[197] She's like, how'd you find out?

[198] And I explained, well, this poor girl reached out to me on Instagram and tells me that you've been like catfishing her.

[199] She was kind of shocked because then she found out that Reagan knew.

[200] I think it just spiraled out of control there and she packed up all her stuff.

[201] Oh, Jess didn't know that Reagan knew when you called?

[202] Yeah, I don't think she knew.

[203] Or maybe she was playing stupid, but it didn't seem like she knew.

[204] And then what happened?

[205] She packed up and moved because she was caught.

[206] That was Iowa.

[207] I'm curious to know if Monica and Reagan were at the same time.

[208] Yeah, there's definitely some overlap there.

[209] What did just have to say for herself when you asked her about it?

[210] I said, listen, I'm going to be very calm about this.

[211] And I was like, if you do this again, I'm going to ruin your life.

[212] You're literally using my image to destroy.

[213] people.

[214] And it's making me look bad, even though it's not really me. I was so shook about the whole thing.

[215] And then she was like, I know, I'm sorry.

[216] I won't do it again.

[217] I promise.

[218] And I was like, okay, I'm not kidding.

[219] I will go to the full extent of my ability to ruin your life if you do this again.

[220] I wanted to reiterate it.

[221] So she knew.

[222] I think I got my message across, but clearly not because it seems like the next week she was doing it again, a whole new group of women.

[223] She struck him with her motor vehicle.

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

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

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

[227] What happens next?

[228] Depends on who you ask.

[229] Was it a crime of passion?

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

[231] This was clearly an intentional act.

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

[233] Or a corrupt police cover -up.

[234] If you believe the defense theory, however, this was all a cover -up to prevent one of their own from going down.

[235] Everyone had an opinion.

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

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

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

[239] You can listen to Karen exclusively with Wondry Plus.

[240] Join Wondry Plus in the Wondry app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

[241] I'm Dan Tversky.

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

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

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

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

[246] A mystery illness.

[247] bizarre symptoms, and spreading fast.

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

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

[250] Everybody thought I was holding something back.

[251] Well, you were holding something back.

[252] Intentionally.

[253] Yeah, well, yeah.

[254] No, it's hysteria.

[255] It's all in your head.

[256] It's not physical.

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

[258] Is this the largest mass hysteria since the witches of Salem?

[259] Or is it something else entirely?

[260] Something's wrong here.

[261] Something's not right.

[262] Leroy was the new date line, and everyone was trying to solve them.

[263] murder.

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

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

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

[267] So fast forward 2023, you hear from Lauren, right?

[268] Correct.

[269] Same thing.

[270] At work, it reaches out to me and I'm like, not again.

[271] I was like, there's no way.

[272] I can look back at this because I still have my messages with Lauren.

[273] It was just a random day.

[274] It was August 23rd.

[275] It's like 4 o 'clock.

[276] Hey, this is really weird, but I just found out that I have been catfished by someone using your pictures for the last three years, any chance we can talk.

[277] And I said, this is the second time this happened.

[278] I'm so sorry.

[279] And then she goes, you know, how long ago was it?

[280] I know who did it and would love for you to press charges.

[281] I said, who did it?

[282] She goes, my roommate.

[283] And my heart just sank for her.

[284] And then I was like, what's their name?

[285] Because I was like, there's no way there's two different people doing this.

[286] And then she said, Jessica Polly.

[287] And I was like, yep, she's the one who did it the first time.

[288] And she was like, shut the fuck up.

[289] Tell me everything.

[290] I was like, yeah, to this girl name Reagan.

[291] And then Lauren was like, I literally live with her.

[292] And I was like, are you in Iowa or what?

[293] And she goes, no, I'm in North Carolina.

[294] And that's how I realized that she had moved.

[295] So we talked about everything and she said the guy's name's Brody.

[296] I was just like, are you kidding me?

[297] There's no way this girl really wants me to ruin her life.

[298] And this is when I was in that relationship and how it affected all that again.

[299] I was like, there's no way this is doing this again.

[300] because I already dealt with the trust issues once, and then it's been years, and then she reaches out to me again.

[301] So now I have to re -prove that it's not me. Someone else is doing this.

[302] Wait, so that happened twice with your ex?

[303] Yeah.

[304] Yeah.

[305] Wait, walk me through that piece, if you don't mind.

[306] No, of course.

[307] We already had mistrust between us in the beginning of the relationship.

[308] When did you start dating your ex?

[309] It was the end of 2019.

[310] When the Reagan stuff happened, there was a huge, fight everything, weren't really together for about a month or two.

[311] It was just over mistrust.

[312] She thinks I'm using a fake profile and other places to talk to girls.

[313] And it was just ridiculous.

[314] Because I was like, there's proof right here that it's not me. I don't have a single dating app on my phone.

[315] So, I mean, we already had the issues.

[316] But then we got over it.

[317] Three years down the line happens again.

[318] End of the relationship.

[319] I'm so sorry.

[320] It's crazy how many people her behavior has impacted in such a real way, you know?

[321] Very much so.

[322] So you hear from Lauren, and do you confront Jess again?

[323] Yes.

[324] I got her number from Lauren.

[325] I believe she had changed it.

[326] But who knows, number one, how many phones this girl has.

[327] But I called her and I was in the garage at my complex where I live, and it was not a very pleasant phone call.

[328] I'll tell you that.

[329] She had someone else with her, and I was like, I told you that if you do this again, like, I'm going to ruin your life.

[330] And I meant it.

[331] I'm going to make sure your kid gets taken away from you.

[332] The things that you are doing to people, you should not be responsible for a child.

[333] And so the other girl was like, oh, she's a really good mom.

[334] I was like, how, what?

[335] How can you say that?

[336] How can you say she's a good mom?

[337] Do you even know this situation?

[338] And Jess was like, shh, don't say anything else.

[339] don't say anything else.

[340] And I was like, no, I'm going to say whatever I want.

[341] I'm going to tell her, because obviously this girl doesn't know what a lunatic you are.

[342] You have done this for years.

[343] This is the second time.

[344] Obviously, at this point, I don't know about Bree.

[345] I don't know about Monica.

[346] I don't know about other people.

[347] But just the two girls alone is enough for me not to be okay with this situation.

[348] And I was like, I told you, Jess, I'm going to ruin your life.

[349] I'm going to get your kid taken away from you.

[350] I'm going to go to every lawyer.

[351] I don't care how much they cost.

[352] I am going to destroy you.

[353] And luckily, I was able to be a part of this and meet with the FBI and et cetera.

[354] I'm not finished.

[355] I'm not going to rest until this girl is either in prison or is banned from every IP address on the planet so she can't use her phone to manipulate and catfish and ruin people's lives.

[356] Hell fucking, yeah, we are.

[357] Did just cry?

[358] Did she laugh?

[359] Did she say sorry?

[360] Like, what is her mood?

[361] So for a second, she did laugh about it.

[362] And I was like, are you fucking serious?

[363] You're going to sit here and laugh about this?

[364] This is not a joke, Jess.

[365] You're ruining people's lives.

[366] I was like, you had this poor girl move from a different state back home to be your roommate.

[367] You're using sex toys on her from the room next door.

[368] You're fucking sick.

[369] Then she was like, I'm sorry.

[370] And I was like, that's not good enough.

[371] It's not.

[372] What you're doing is absolutely atrocious.

[373] I don't understand how you can live with yourself.

[374] This is ridiculous.

[375] And I was like, I'm telling you, your kid deserves better.

[376] All these other people that you are hurting deserve better.

[377] And that was it.

[378] And I hung up the phone.

[379] I was like, I'm done.

[380] Absolute insanity.

[381] So after the Lauren incident, when do you find out about Breed?

[382] It was through Lauren.

[383] She had just mentioned to me there's actually other girls involved in this.

[384] I had spoken on the phone with Lauren.

[385] I think we were on like a three -way phone call, I believe.

[386] And that's when I met or I spoke to Brie and then everyone else came out of the woodwork.

[387] I went to the lawyers that I know here.

[388] And they're like, well, we don't have jurisdiction in North Carolina.

[389] We can't do anything.

[390] And then Lauren told me she got a restraining order and Brie got a restraining order.

[391] But there was literally nothing I could do because like I wanted to get the full extent of the law to take care of this at that time.

[392] But then I had no options.

[393] I didn't know what to do.

[394] So I just kept my mouth shut.

[395] I was like, well, maybe they'll figure this out on their own.

[396] You did talk to the police, though, right?

[397] Because you're in the police report.

[398] Yeah.

[399] It was a detective.

[400] She's told me the case was getting transferred to someone else.

[401] But that was pretty much it.

[402] It was a very simplistic phone call asking X, Y, and Z, how are you related to this?

[403] Anything information you can give us?

[404] And then after that, she was like, well, we'll see what we can do.

[405] They already got restraining orders.

[406] If you want to go to your local police department and get a restraining order, be our guest.

[407] But I don't know if that's going to do anything because at this time, we didn't know Ms. Jess Polly was moving to Florida.

[408] So it was like, I don't know what else I'm supposed to do.

[409] After Reagan happened, I blocked her on everything.

[410] I got rid of her on Snapchat.

[411] I got rid of her on Instagram, Facebook, everything.

[412] So I didn't understand how she was still getting.

[413] some of my pictures.

[414] Some of the pictures she has are less than a year old, like to this date.

[415] Like when I was getting my leg sleeve on, she had a picture of that.

[416] She had a picture of my cats.

[417] I've had them for two years.

[418] So it was like, how does she still getting these?

[419] And she has pictures that my ex -girlfriend had that she took on her phone, posted it, maybe posted it.

[420] I'm not sure.

[421] We didn't really do the whole social media thing together.

[422] So like, I don't know.

[423] And then she has pictures had her on my camera roll that was never uploaded anywhere.

[424] So I was like, how is this possible?

[425] I didn't understand that.

[426] I was dumbfounded by that.

[427] I was like, how does she have pictures of me?

[428] She has a video of me and my best friend in college that I've never seen before.

[429] It made no sense to me how she was able to do this.

[430] I'm like, is this girl like a tech wizard with a child and a full -time job while trying to be three different people at the same time?

[431] How do you do that?

[432] I feel like I'm living split the movie.

[433] So many different personalities.

[434] Like, how are you able to handle all this at once?

[435] Have you seen the movie The Roommate?

[436] I don't think I have.

[437] She made all the women watch it with her, and it's about this girl who has a creepy obsession with her friend, and it's just so fucking crazy when I watched it because of the context.

[438] Oh, I mean, yeah, it's like foreshadowing.

[439] She's literally doing that.

[440] I feel like she has the urge, and it gets her off to being this close to being caught and then not being caught.

[441] And I think she has some weird voyeurism obsession because even in high school, somebody I spoke to said that they like went through her phone during gym class because everybody knew she had catfish, Shana and such.

[442] They went through her razor flip phone and they found her texting to people a woman named Victoria as a dude and then texting the dude as Victoria and essentially making herself the middleman in their relationship, catfishing them both.

[443] She loved inserting herself into all of these relationships that she had with the women, not only as Brody, but as herself.

[444] I feel like she has some weird voyeurism fetish as well, the risk.

[445] And then I also think she has a tickle fetish, which is just a random side note.

[446] That's atrocious.

[447] How would you articulate the impact that her behavior has had on you?

[448] That's tough, man. It's upsetting because I've tried to strive my whole life to be a good person, just how I was raised.

[449] I have amazing parents.

[450] Christian since I was a kid, went to church, everything.

[451] Everyone obviously strays off the path a little bit.

[452] I'm not saying I'm a perfect human being by any means.

[453] But when you're utilizing my image to absolutely destroy people and diminish their character and break them down so low, to a point where some maybe even suicidal, then they have to look me in the face and all they see is pretty much red, you know?

[454] It's sad.

[455] You're making me look like a bad human being when these people don't even know me. I won't lie to you.

[456] It caused me to drink a little bit more than I used to.

[457] And when I see these girls struggling and all the stuff that they went through, it affects me too.

[458] Obviously with my past relationship and how that helped it spile out of control than it already was, she helped ruin that as well.

[459] She's done a lot of things to make me question myself.

[460] It's been tough.

[461] I'm curious, do your parents know about this?

[462] Yeah, I told my dad and my mom about it.

[463] They think what pretty much everyone else does.

[464] Like, it's a horrible situation.

[465] It's not your fault because, like, you honestly didn't do anything.

[466] My mom was involved.

[467] involved in it.

[468] You're putting my mother's picture out there, putting now her in a sense of jeopardy because she cares about her identity being very secure.

[469] She wasn't very happy about it.

[470] And then on top of that, this bitch told her, like, everyone that my mom died, that she had brain cancer.

[471] You're putting that out in the universe.

[472] She said my dog died.

[473] I was like, dude, this is unbelievable.

[474] Well, and she used your friend's photos, too, right?

[475] Yeah.

[476] God forbid, like, What I just spoke about, if she goes crazy more than she already is, one of the person in the photo lives here where I live.

[477] I just didn't understand it.

[478] Obviously, there's a lot of pictures with my friends, so that's probably why she utilized them so much.

[479] But it was just the storytelling and, in general, putting that out in the universe, wishing ill or bad intention on my friends and family, that really had me distraught, because God forbid something happens to them.

[480] What do you hope for the future in terms of justice?

[481] What would justice look like for you?

[482] Her in prison for a long time, as well as her kid, never looking at her as a mother.

[483] And I hope he grows up and when he's old enough to realize and understand the monster that the mother that he has.

[484] Because the way she went about all of this and the damage that she did to all these people, she deserves nothing.

[485] but just the rot.

[486] So that's honestly what I hope for, and I hope Monica, Brie, Reagan, Lauren, everyone else that maybe I don't know about that they can move on with their lives and leave this behind.

[487] And they can be happy because they're all amazing human beings.

[488] I blessed that I was able to talk to all of them and be like a helping hand or a shoulder to cry on, so to speak, virtually because I feel for them.

[489] It's terrible.

[490] and I know what I went through in high school was very small compared to what they dealt with, but I knew like when you get that feeling for someone, even though they're not real, it has effect on you.

[491] I hope we all get justice and I hope she can't run from the reality of she's going to prison for a long time anymore.

[492] 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 caught.

[493] I'm Sachi Cole.

[494] And I'm Sarah Haggy.

[495] And we're the host of scam fluencers, 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 the facade falls away.

[496] 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.

[497] He then began to prey on vulnerable women instead, selling the idea of a future to while stealing from them behind their backs.

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

[499] Follow Scam Fluencers on the Wondry app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

[501] Here's Danny.

[502] We just kept finding more and more victims and I'm at work and it's so overwhelming.

[503] I felt like I had to tell someone I didn't know what to do because I'm at work.

[504] and she works with me and this psychopath is in health care.

[505] I use the term psychopath loosely, but still, I go into my educator's office and start like bawling and having like a panic attack.

[506] And she's like, oh my goodness, what's wrong?

[507] And I feel so bad for spilling all this on her, but I didn't know what to do.

[508] I was like, Jess is crazy.

[509] She's like, your best friend.

[510] I was like, she's not my friend.

[511] And she's like, what happened?

[512] I told her everything.

[513] And she just kind of backed up.

[514] And she was like, I'm going to go get her.

[515] boss.

[516] And I was like, okay.

[517] So I went into his office and told him everything.

[518] And he then told me that Jess called in.

[519] So what happened was is when we were all tying things together the day prior, it was around 6, 6 .37 o 'clock.

[520] And we get out of work at 7.

[521] So Jess was at work that day.

[522] I wasn't.

[523] But now that it's been passed and we've talked to other people, they've told us that she was up in the unit she was in.

[524] And around 6, 7 o 'clock, she just started bowling her eyes out, freaking out.

[525] So I'm assuming Brie might have texted her because she sent me the text.

[526] I think she said, like, you're a monster or something.

[527] It was crazy.

[528] And then blocked her.

[529] But just knew that we knew everything.

[530] I texted her saying, take care of your child and blocked her.

[531] So she knew.

[532] And then she started freaking out at work.

[533] Everyone said she went home falling her eyes out and then called in to work that night, like on her way home crying and told the charge that she wouldn't be able to come into work.

[534] I think she even said that I was spreading rumors about her or something along the lines.

[535] And then she needed to be with her family right now.

[536] And she also said that Lauren, her roommate, was being cruel and like shutting off the power for her kid at home.

[537] I don't think Lauren ever did that.

[538] I think she was just trying to victimize herself.

[539] My boss said I gave her a week off so she could just go get her stuff together and be with her family or whatever.

[540] I think she went back to Iowa.

[541] She might have.

[542] I don't know the full spectrum of what she did in that week.

[543] And he said that he was being nice to her and said that he fully supported her before he knew what I was telling him.

[544] And then I told him everything and he was like so shocked.

[545] He's not like a young boss.

[546] he's not old, but he was like, back up.

[547] What is catfishing?

[548] So I explained everything, and he looked at me. He's like, I don't think I can even email this to HR.

[549] I think it has to be a phone call.

[550] So I think he called them.

[551] And after all of that happened, he told me he was like, what I hope will happen is she just doesn't come back.

[552] They said, I can't just fire someone due to this because there's no incriminating evidence, et cetera.

[553] There's nothing charging her.

[554] And we were like, great.

[555] We were scared she was going to come back to work, but everybody was like, no, she's not going to come back.

[556] She didn't ever end up coming back.

[557] I think after a week, she called back to my boss and said, I'm not going to come back to work, which we were very thankful for.

[558] In this entire time, I couldn't tell anybody I worked with.

[559] I was just holding this horrible, horrible secret, even from some of my friends.

[560] It was awful.

[561] It was probably like a week or two.

[562] And finally, when we got confirmed that she wasn't coming back, I was like, able to tell people what had happened and they were just like, what the fuck?

[563] Because I brought her to work with us.

[564] I literally referred her to our job and that was my bad.

[565] Whoops.

[566] Here's Lauren.

[567] I met Lonnie through Jess.

[568] Jess and her son met him through soccer.

[569] I believe he coached.

[570] Lonnie became a friend of ours.

[571] He worked as the sheriff.

[572] at the Pender County Sheriff's Office.

[573] He really became a second dad to her son.

[574] He would always help with drop -offs or pickups.

[575] We spent a few holidays with them.

[576] We spent Halloween going trick -or -treating with their family.

[577] He was actually there nearby when the peeping Tom situation happened.

[578] He brought his flashlight and searched and hung out with us until my parents got there to come pick us up.

[579] There were several times where he came and helped us hang up the cameras and do jobs that we were not capable of, whether it be we needed a tall person to hang up cameras or we needed assistance.

[580] He was a cool guy and he was nice and helped us a lot.

[581] So there were a few times where Jess would hang out with him.

[582] He would come to the bar where she was at.

[583] He, from my understanding, wouldn't drink, but he would just kind of hang out there with some of his friends.

[584] She told me that him and his wife were swingers.

[585] She told me that he had showed her some nudes of him.

[586] There were many occasions where she said uncomfortable things about him that he claims aren't true.

[587] Also, Lonnie was involved when Jess first told me that she had catfish somebody else.

[588] I know I'm going to sound really stupid for listening to this and continuing to stay in a relationship, but she texted me saying something like, hey, we need to talk when we get home.

[589] and I come home and she's crying and I'm thinking something small probably happened and she's just upset about it and she immediately thinks that she's going to go to jail.

[590] She said, I think I might be going to jail.

[591] I asked her what was going on.

[592] She basically framed it as it being a harmless prank as well that she played on somebody for talking to her ex -boyfriend or something and she had used their photos to catfish them.

[593] And I asked her about the nudes.

[594] She said that didn't happen.

[595] I was trying to get information and digging into the details because I was trying to help her legally figure out if she was going to get in trouble.

[596] So I remember reading about how illegal is catfishing, how much trouble can you get in, what happens if you get caught, what evidence is enough to convict them.

[597] What she told me was something.

[598] What she told me was somebody named Sammy.

[599] She told me another guy had gotten involved because he found out who she was and that she was catfishing Sammy and he knew who she was and he was going to go to the police about it.

[600] She told me it went on for three years, which was another red flag as soon as she said that.

[601] That was when I turned to her and I said, if you have something to do with Brody and you don't tell me right now, I'm going to kill you.

[602] I didn't mean I was going to kill her, but I was very serious when asking her about that.

[603] She shook her head and said, no, that it's not.

[604] And she was afraid that I was going to think that.

[605] And that's why she was scared to talk to me about it.

[606] She told me that it happened a bit ago.

[607] That's when the other person came in and said, look, I know who you are.

[608] You're going to be going to jail.

[609] We know everything when I don't think they knew who she was.

[610] I suggested to call Lonnie because he'd helped us with a lot of things like that before.

[611] and she was hesitant at first, and that's when I started asking deeper questions.

[612] She told me not to tell anybody, and I kept that secret for a long time.

[613] What had Lonnie said about it that you recall?

[614] He was kind of asking why the victim stayed that long.

[615] He was concerned by Jess and her doing that, but then he also was asking questions about the nudes and what all it entailed.

[616] From what I remember, he said that there's not much.

[617] trouble that she can get in just for catfishing.

[618] We just looked up things and talked about it and I said, look, you need to be as honest with everybody as you can about what's going on so we can help you.

[619] Did you talk to him after you found out?

[620] He called me. I have that call recorded.

[621] Sitting there and trying to help her through that and trying to clear her name, even though I knew she was guilty of it, she was doing it to me that whole time.

[622] so she she called and gets you with no freedom or whatever and you know what I told I said well I got a new position so I can't act as a lawyer to you he's just oh I didn't know that I'm like because I see the loan inside to come press charges we got to do the charges regardless so I'm like I don't want to say like I'm biased or I'm biased you know or whatever like that I'm doing and I think in three today and then she turned to an undergirl that I was trying to sleep with her and that I really want her and everything.

[623] I'm like, what?

[624] Yeah, she told me that too.

[625] I'm like, no. I'm trying to get her to benefit or doubt when you know y 'all were having that situation you know with that stuff or whatever.

[626] Yeah, who was most likely her.

[627] The peeping Tom thing, that was most likely her.

[628] Because she was texting as that guy saying that she knew about these kids that were going to run.

[629] around banging on doors and how would she know that if it wasn't if she wasn't there i think she keyed my car i think she did all that that's crazy yeah and then my whole thing was like i already i told him i'm like i was talking to a cordial you know because this i am but i'm saying nothing to her and then she do call i may adore it but for her to say that about me and i haven't been nothing but good at her like everybody being nothing but good to her if you come down causing havoc like that yeah that's a problem that's her that's what she does i don't know how much pool i got at surreceded i'm trying to be cordial about it okay so i have a question if if you guys are aware of how like how she is why were she why was her case dismissed with brie i don't so with brie i told brie i think because it's just between us as a friend or whatever I think because Brie got a 50B instead of a 50C, because you got a 50C.

[630] I got a 50B.

[631] You got a 50B?

[632] Yeah, because I lived with her.

[633] And I tried, so I tried to fill out the 50C and the lady in the civil office.

[634] No, I didn't do it.

[635] Do you get an ex parte as well?

[636] No. I think it's probably why could Brie try to get an esparte.

[637] This emergency, like as or now, like right now.

[638] Yeah.

[639] So I think this is what it is.

[640] and I think she probably, I told Marie, probably basically in the 50C, and not the Espartate.

[641] I'm like, the Espartate is an emergency, like, emergency that you need, like, right now.

[642] And many people that get Espartate, and they're not going to read to tell them up there because they can't act as a lawyer or nothing like that.

[643] Yeah.

[644] But normally with Aspartays, that's for, like, people that have been, like, a domestic bodily relationship, and they need to get away from their spouse, A -SAP.

[645] Yeah.

[646] You see what I'm saying?

[647] Yeah, well, Jess was staying with them.

[648] and so I think that's why and also because it's a past roommate she just did the 50 and they're not going to tell her any different up there because they um but I was telling her and the other girl like probably like a 50 C try tomorrow with a 50 C or whatever don't get no espartate because as farte meaning that hey this person then being on you too or they um you guys means that they're gonna freaking try to kill you or they make some type of clear they're going to kill you so this mainly with Fartre yeah yeah so the 50 C should still be good because they're still going to give her the resource to stay away from her or whatever you know yeah well there's several piece several people that want to press charges so well so I did well I didn't do Bree I just I swore in and actually is going to do it because like I was telling Bree I don't want to put my name on there, and then she, you know, saying that, you know, well, he knew all of her, so he should be a unbiased party or whatever.

[649] So just so the case that keep going, I just told her, like, Ashley did yours.

[650] That's who did yours.

[651] That's who did yours.

[652] She's the one that did yours, so she's going to do Bree when she come back in tomorrow.

[653] Okay.

[654] And then I'll be back in Friday.

[655] I told Bree, I let her know when everything is going to put it in all that stuff.

[656] Yeah.

[657] Okay.

[658] But, oh, that's, I'm, I'm, um, like, y 'all lived again.

[659] Like, I don't want to, like, oh, my God.

[660] Yeah, just wait until everything else comes out, because there's a lot, there's a lot to know.

[661] Because, so did you, you met her in Tennessee, right?

[662] I met her in Nashville, yeah.

[663] I met her, so I matched with the guy.

[664] I, you know, I matched with the guy in Nashville, and then she, he introduced me to, to Jess, which is the same story with all these other people as well.

[665] So she matches with these girls and then becomes friends with them and then weasles her way into their lives.

[666] That's because Brie was saying that Jay didn't have no reason to move to the morning and whatever she was saying it, whatever Brie was saying that?

[667] Yeah, I don't know.

[668] And I'm like, oh my gosh.

[669] I'm like, holy, like that's like freaking some cereal stuff or whatever.

[670] Yeah.

[671] Yeah.

[672] Yeah.

[673] it's pretty bad because she was asking me she was like yeah so what all can she do like I'm like I don't know I knew she said you had her train on my way you got her training on like I called it sure they should have it and then when I talked to Ashley I would tell the Ashley I'm like hey if someone come up there oh yeah she's already came up there blah blah blah I said well I don't want to be the one to put my name on it I knew you was going to come I'm like long and smart girl so she knows to come up here go ahead and do that or whatever.

[674] Yeah, I was the first to come up.

[675] Yeah.

[676] So I'm like, she kept asking about, like, a, like, lawsuit.

[677] I'm like, yeah, I'm like, she can't, like, she had the option to do all that stuff.

[678] Like, I kept telling her, I'm like, just, I don't know how much proof she got because she only been invaded to me. Like, yeah.

[679] Oh, I got it all.

[680] I got everything.

[681] I'm glad you do it.

[682] I can't tell you that, but I'm going to text you, too.

[683] I'm ready to go to court with her.

[684] I don't think she's going to show up but if she does and wants to prove her that her innocence somehow which she's not going to be able to then go for it I'm just I'm sorry you got to go through all that yeah well I'm out of it now and I'm safe and everything's good yeah that's good that's good well I just wanted to reach out to you like I said talk to three and just wanted to reach out of you so all right well I appreciate Appreciate it.

[685] All right, we'll have a good one, and I'll be around.

[686] Okay, you too.

[687] All right.

[688] Bye.

[689] It felt like he was kind of doing damage control, and he was contacting everybody.

[690] But you never texted him.

[691] You never reached out to him.

[692] Yeah, but he called me. And we did see him at the courthouse a couple times for the hearing.

[693] Here's Bree.

[694] I believe the cyberstocking came up after I had met with Detective.

[695] cable.

[696] I talked to at least five different detectives.

[697] They asked what would warrant this.

[698] And I had explained, of course, the whole catfishing situation, how she had had my location and used it to basically terrorize me. But then the thing that really got them was us having that camera that she still had access to.

[699] And I didn't know that she had access to.

[700] They said, yeah, you can definitely try and file charges for that one.

[701] But here in North Carolina, cyber -stalking is a misdemeanor charge.

[702] One of the things that I wanted to ask you about was the Mr. Clean story.

[703] Yes.

[704] So I want to say like it was either the second or third week in October of 2022.

[705] I was travel nursing.

[706] I was in Washington, D .C. And I loved this place.

[707] I hadn't been there maybe like a month at this point.

[708] So I was still pretty new.

[709] hadn't had anybody out to visit at this point.

[710] I worked night shift, but when I would have a night off and felt like getting out of the house and exploring, I usually just checked out new restaurants or something like that.

[711] So this one night I had gone to this little taco place.

[712] They had a bar outside on the street.

[713] It was just in like a cute little outdoor shopping area.

[714] I went by myself.

[715] The first time I grabbed takeout, being a girl, not anyone's favorite thing to do, like sit at a bar and eat by yourself.

[716] So the first time I grabbed takeout and there was a bartender there who had said something.

[717] He was really friendly.

[718] It wasn't creepy.

[719] I didn't even really take it as flirty at that point, but made a comment.

[720] I think it was my license because you could get a margarita to go there, which I thought was super cool.

[721] And he had noticed that I was from Iowa.

[722] And I said, yeah, I'm a travel nurse, blah, blah, blah.

[723] And he's like, well, hope to see you around.

[724] And that was that.

[725] two weeks later, I had gone back and the same bartender was working.

[726] And this time I decided I was just going to stay there and eat.

[727] It was just nice to get out, be out of the hotel in a new scene.

[728] So I was sitting at the bar by myself and he talked to me a little bit more that time.

[729] We just seem to have a lot of similar interests.

[730] But I did not think this man had any interest in me at all.

[731] I don't know if I'm naive or what, but that's not how it came across.

[732] But he had mentioned a restaurant, and I said, oh, that's by where I'm staying.

[733] And he said, well, we could go get dinner sometime.

[734] And I was just like, well, fuck it.

[735] I wanted to get out of the house.

[736] It was so nice to talk to somebody that wasn't screaming at me and just had like an interest in my life.

[737] I could compare it to Lauren saying she had a taste of the other side.

[738] and I feel like this was maybe that moment for me. I wasn't fully quite out of it at this point, but I was like, wow, you can go out to dinner with someone and it be normal and fun and not weird and not feel any guilt or pressure.

[739] So I agreed to go to dinner with this guy and it was a really casual bar place, nothing fancy, but I was told they had really good food.

[740] I met him at the bar.

[741] We both drove separately.

[742] we sat at the actual bar and I say that because I had been ignoring Brody at this point I didn't want to argue with him I didn't want to fight with him I just wanted a night to clear my head and not focus on this and do my own thing so I hadn't talked to him and I want to say it was like two or three hours we're at dinner talking super friendly and then I checked my phone that had been blowing up the entire entire time.

[743] And Brody had told me that he was so stupid for trying.

[744] He had driven to D .C. to surprise me that weekend.

[745] And at this point, Brody was staying in Wilmington or he said he had a travel contract here.

[746] So he was living in Wilmington, which is about seven -ish hours away from there.

[747] He had told me that he wanted to surprise me and drove up that weekend only to be a feeling and looking so stupid as I'm sitting at the bar with another guy and you know what happens from here.

[748] He started making the threats.

[749] It was, I was such a slut.

[750] How could I do something like this?

[751] But what's so wild to me is looking back, Brody had referred to this guy as Mr. Clean and I can only assume that he said that because this man was bald.

[752] Brody had not.

[753] no idea who this person was, nor did Jess at this point.

[754] I have no idea.

[755] Unless Jess was outside of the restaurant staring at me, seeing me and this guy sitting at the bar and being able to describe where I was, the restaurant I was at, knowing what he looked like, there's no way unless she was actually there watching me. But if that were the case, I don't know what her end game would have been.

[756] Say I hadn't met a guy there and I had just grabbed dinner.

[757] Was she just going to be like, surprise, I came to see you and drove seven hours.

[758] But that was something I thought about a lot way after the fact, after everything was found out because there's no way, unless she was actually there, there's no way she could have known.

[759] And that's where the stalking aspect came in because Jess did have my location.

[760] As my quote to one of my best friends, she always had our location for her safety purposes and whatnot.

[761] And I was alone in a new city.

[762] I didn't think that was too weird, but it didn't cross my mind twice at that point.

[763] And I got yelled at for weeks after that.

[764] And before, during, and after were all times I had kept telling Brody that I wasn't happy, doing what we were doing.

[765] And it was relentless.

[766] He wouldn't give up.

[767] And then he'd want to see me. And then he wouldn't want to see me. I didn't dare ask to make plans for a very long time.

[768] And when I did, that would get thrown in my face.

[769] It's just one of, of the crazier aspects of the whole Brody saga.

[770] I had gotten my restraining order granted September 1st, but I think it was eight days to serve my restraining order and then the misdemeanor cyber -stalking charges as well.

[771] We had talked to the DA and he got a five -minute run -down of what had been going on, which is, I guess, policy or how it goes for everybody, but he had five minutes to digest everything.

[772] Lauren and I could word vomit to him and try and come up with something.

[773] I mean, I don't really blame him or anyone.

[774] Nobody could think like that in five minutes because it's something that nobody's ever thought about, really.

[775] It was Lauren, Lauren's friend, me, and then Lauren's mom was there, and we were there all day.

[776] Listening to other people go first?

[777] Yep.

[778] And then the DA was like, I'm going to be.

[779] pretty frank with you.

[780] I don't think this judge is going to go for these charges.

[781] We can either drop them and try for something else, or we can go ahead and try and get these.

[782] And then he brought up the plea about, I don't even know what it's called, getting banned from social media.

[783] I was like, how is that never going to happen?

[784] She's never herself.

[785] And then we were all just pretty flustered at that point.

[786] We were all in line to talk to, I want to say it was like the DA's assistant, because she was just reviewing, like, what we were there for, what the charges were seeing if both parties were there.

[787] We were in line and she's like, yeah, it looks like you guys are both present, as is Jessica Polly.

[788] And I looked at Lauren, and she turned around and looked back at me and she goes, she's right behind you.

[789] And I was like, what?

[790] And she was there with her mother and wouldn't look at me. Her mom wouldn't stop looking at me, but she wouldn't look at me. Lauren and I were in heels, like business casual.

[791] we had blazers on, as we should in a courtroom.

[792] And she was wearing ripped American Eagle jeans, a flannel, and I think tennis shoes, like white kicks.

[793] We were both very caught off.

[794] We did not think she would have shown up.

[795] It was super weird to be in the same setting.

[796] No words were ever exchanged, and we were on the opposite side of the courtroom.

[797] I'd noticed I got up and went to the restroom, and her mom was staring at me, and when I came back in, was staring at me. Just weird.

[798] Meanwhile, the entire time, she's, like, catfishing other people.

[799] Still.

[800] Next time, on something was wrong.

[801] The district attorney that we talked to, or the DA assistant, she took one look at our papers, and she's like, what?

[802] I didn't know any of this was, like, she had no clue what we were talking about or what we went through, and she had took two seconds to look over the paper before she decided what to do with our case.

[803] They start texting us, she's here, she's here, she showed up.

[804] And I was like, oh my God.

[805] And we just didn't expect it at all.

[806] Her lawyer was there.

[807] They had been talking for a couple months.

[808] And she had planned to fly out to Omaha to go see him.

[809] The plan was for Camden to come pick her up.

[810] He essentially said, like, I can't make it to the airport.

[811] But my best friend Jess would be okay with picking you up.

[812] You guys would have a lot in common.

[813] The day after I found out about the podcast being recorded and being scheduled, Jess attempted to follow me on Instagram.

[814] I didn't do anything wrong, but still, like, I was so nervous.

[815] I was like, it's the fucking FBI.

[816] Thank you so much for listening.

[817] Until next time, stay safe, friends.

[818] Something Was Wrong is a broken cycle media production created and hosted by me, Tiffany Reese.

[819] This season, our theme song, You Think You by Gladrags, is covered by Palehound.

[820] For music and tour dates, go to palehound .com.

[821] If you'd like to support the show further, you can share episodes with your loved ones, leave a positive review, or follow Something Was Wrong on Instagram at Something Was Wrong podcast.

[822] As always, thank you so much for listening.

[823] 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.

[824] Prime members can listen ad -free on Amazon Music.

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