2110: Cocaine Air

PRETEND

Javier Leiva

True Crime, Society & Culture, Technology

4.7 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 10 June 2025

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week on PRETEND, we're doing something different. I’m bringing on my friend Johnathan Walton, the mastermind behind Queen of the Con, to share the premiere episode of his brand-new podcast series: Cocaine Air. Jonathan isn’t just a victim of a con artist—he’s turned his trauma into a storytelling empire. And in Cocaine Air, he tells the true story of TJ Dominguez, a Cuban-American businessman who got scammed out of $100,000 and decided to take matters into his own hands... by becoming one of the world’s biggest cocaine smugglers for Pablo Escobar. This story is wild, raw, and straight out of the Miami Vice era—but it's all true. If you're into PRETEND, you’re going to love Cocaine Air. 🎙️ Guest: Johnathan Walton🔗 Listen to the full series: CocaineAir.com📚 Preorder Johnathan’s book: Anatomy of a Con Artist: The 14 Red Flags of Scammers, Grifters, and Thieves (Out August 19). Also, listen to Johnathan share his personal scam story for the first time on PRETEND: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3ixMjLTNaxf4ONIuktqq7s?si=e80842100f984067If. If you liked this episode, text it to a friend who loves true crime. And don’t forget to leave a review for both PRETEND and Cocaine Air. Indie creators like us rely on your support. —Created and hosted by Javier LeivaFor more episodes, visit pretendradio.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Creative Babble.
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0:30.2	Shopify is made for entrepreneurs like you.
0:34.7	Sign up for your $1 a month trial at Shopify.com slash setup.
0:36.7	Hey, everyone.
0:39.4	This week we're doing something a little different.
0:45.9	I want to bring my friend Jonathan Walton on to the show because you may remember Jonathan Walton's voice because you heard him, I don't know, like several seasons back.
0:52.0	I mean, probably years ago when we... Years ago.
0:55.0	Yeah.
0:55.8	It was what...
0:56.7	I don't even know, but we covered his story about his encounter with this Irish heiress
1:03.0	who completely ripped him off and became...
1:07.6	And he became a victim of a con artist.
1:09.9	And ever since then, ever since we've covered that story, Jonathan, Walton has gone on to cover not only the case that we talked about on this show, but it has launched this whole new career in podcasting.
1:25.1	So welcome back. Jonathan.
1:26.7	It's like way overdue, way overdue.
1:29.5	Thank you so much for having me back on. I am honored to be here. And I'm forever grateful for the
	...

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