Abby Lee Miller: Scam Like Nobody's Watching | 120

Scamfluencers

Wondery

Society & Culture

4.1 • 7K Ratings

🗓️ 26 August 2024

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Before she became the most infamous dance teacher in America, Abby Lee Miller ran a struggling dance studio in Pittsburgh. Shortly after declaring bankruptcy, she gets the break of a lifetime: she’s cast as the lead in Dance Moms. She becomes a reality TV star overnight, and even as she leads young dancers to stardom in front of millions of viewers — fighting their moms every step of the way — she schemes to keep her newfound wealth a secret from the courts. And when curtain finally falls on her fraud, Abby insists on an encore.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, scam influencers fans, Sachi here.
0:02.2	If you live for the outrageous stories and unbelievable cons that we cover, you need Wendry Plus.
0:07.2	It's like sitting in the room with us as we unravel every twist.
0:10.5	Add free a week ahead of everyone else and packed with exclusive content you won't hear anywhere else.
0:16.1	Start your free trial in the Wendry app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify Now.
0:31.4	Sarah, I know you love reality shows the way I love reality shows. Do you ever watch ones that have to do with children or maybe around like mom culture? I do remember there was one that
0:36.3	was particularly bleak from like 2016, and it was
0:40.0	the mother-daughter experiment celebrity edition.
0:43.1	And that was messed up.
0:45.2	Ran for one season, very dark, and yeah, so I like mother-daughter stuff.
0:50.1	Right.
0:51.0	Well, I ask because today we have a story about one of those women on television who loves to yell at little kids.
0:57.2	And incredibly, that's not even close to being her worst crime.
1:03.6	It's early December 2012 in Erie, Pennsylvania, peak holiday season.
1:09.0	Judge Thomas Agresti is sitting in front of the TV.
1:11.9	He's 62 years old with light brown hair,
1:14.3	wire-rimmed glasses, and a mustache.
1:17.0	Thomas is a bankruptcy court judge
1:18.7	who's been serving Erie County for nearly a decade.
1:21.3	But right now, he's just trying to enjoy his weekend.
1:25.0	He's channel surfing when he lands on a show
1:27.0	called Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition.
	...

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