Calvin Darden Jr.: The Flashy Failson Fraud | 192

Scamfluencers

Wondery

Society & Culture

4.1 • 7K Ratings

🗓️ 15 December 2025

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Calvin Darden Jr. was a smooth-talking hustler with a gift for forging documents, name-dropping celebrities, and jumping from one shady scheme to the next before anyone knew what hit them. His rise reveals deeper issues inside early-2000s Wall Street, where firms – eager to cash in on Black celebrities, athletes and entertainers – were desperate for “insiders” who could open doors. So when Calvin showed up bragging about his star-studded Rolodex, no one bothered to check the facts. By the time they realized his entire pitch was built on lies…Calvin was already gone.

Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletter

Listen to Scamfluencers on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/scamfluencers/ now.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey Scam Fluencers fans, Sarah here.
0:02.8	If you love the drama, deception, and mind-blowing reveals, Wondery Plus is your VIP ticket to more.
0:09.2	Add free episodes, early access to the juiciest scandals, and deep dives you won't find anywhere else.
0:15.1	Get the full Scamfluencers experience. Sign up today.
0:25.5	Thank you. experience, sign up today. Sashi, we've talked a lot about people who become an easy mark for scammers.
0:29.7	Do you think the rich and famous are just easier to scam than regular people at this point?
0:34.7	I think a lot of them kind of lack basic financial literacy because they just
0:38.4	have enough money to lose. And so they probably like aren't thinking all the time about the
0:44.1	dumb stuff that they invest in or that they buy or, you know, whatever nonsense guru they're going
0:49.5	to any given day. Yeah, I think also, you know, like rich people are always trying to get richer because
0:56.4	they kind of think they have like a secret code that regular people don't know about to get
1:00.6	rich so you can kind of tell them anything and maybe they'll believe it.
1:03.5	Yeah, they think that they're rich because they're smarter than everybody else.
1:07.8	Yeah.
1:08.6	Well, today's scammer is somewhat of a Nepo baby whose connections got him a job at major investment firms. Yeah. Well, today's scammer is somewhat of a nepo baby whose connections got him a job
1:13.3	at major investment firms where he found his niche through exploiting his proximity to successful
1:18.2	black celebrities. But when he turns out to be a much better hang than actual investor,
1:24.0	even his dad can't save him.
1:34.7	Startups move fast, and with AI, they're shipping even faster, and attracting enterprise buyers sooner.
1:36.3	But big deals bring even bigger security and compliance requirements.
1:41.1	A SOC2 isn't always enough.
1:43.5	The right kind of security can make a deal or break it. Vanta knows what's needed and when, and they've built the fastest, easiest path to get you there. That's why serious start-ups get secure early with Vantor. Get $1,000 off at vanta.com slash Wondery. That's V-A-N-T-A.com
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 10 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Wondery, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Wondery and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.