A Star Wasn't Born w/ Justin Halpern

CONgregation, Laci is joined today by producer and writing genius Justin Halpern (Abbott Elementary, Harley Quinn). Together, they listen to the music and dig into the story of this week's scammer, Mike Smith, a suburban dad and aspiring musician who made $10 million by creating thousands of fake listeners to stream his (also fake) music so he could rake in the royalties. Plus, in this dad-centric episode, Laci asks: Are love, credit, and tax accountants a scam, a scheme, or the real thing? Stay schemin’! Keep the scams coming and snitch on your friends by emailing us at [email protected]. Follow on Instagram: Scam Goddess Pod: @scamgoddesspod Laci Mosley: @divalaci Justin Halpern: @justinshalpern   Research by Kathryn Doyle    SOURCES https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/streaming-fraud-fake-streams-mike-smith-1235500686/ https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/north-carolina-musician-charged-music-streaming-fraud-aided-artificial-intelligence https://www.wired.com/story/ai-bots-streaming-music/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RpxiEuGuUw Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of Scam Goddess ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.