ENCORE: Three Weddings and a Funeral: Part 1 | 174

Scamfluencers

Wondery

Society & Culture

4.1 • 7K Ratings

🗓️ 25 August 2025

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We’ll be back in one week with all-new Scamfluencers episodes. In the meantime, we’re returning to one of our favorites.

In the late 1970s, Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter leaves his small Bavarian village in pursuit of the American dream. He enrolls in high school in Connecticut and tries to impress his classmates with fake accents, fancy suits, and grandiose stories. Over the years, he spins even bigger lies and creates fake names and new identities all over the country, winning over unsuspecting women along the way. By the time his victims figure out he’s been hiding a gruesome secret, it’ll be too late.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, Scamplencers listeners. If you're as hooked on these jaw-dropping schemes as we are,
0:04.7	you'll love Wondry Plus. Think of it as you're all access past the world of scams.
0:09.4	Add free episodes, early access, and exclusive deep dives that uncover even more shocking details.
0:15.5	Don't just listen. Emmerse yourself in the chaos with Wondry Plus.
0:19.6	We'll be back with brand new episodes of scam
0:21.7	flincers very soon, but today we wanted to revisit one of the most twisted conmen we've had
0:26.6	the displeasure of meeting, Christian Carl Gerhardt's writer, otherwise known as Clark Rockefeller.
0:32.9	At this point, we've met many Rockefellers on our show, Sarah, but I think Christian was the first.
0:38.3	Yeah, he was the first and hopefully not the last. I love the Rockefellers.
0:43.0	Well, Christian was a German conman who came to America in the 70s, wanting to live the high
0:47.5	life. Today, in part one, we'll hear how he worked his floppy hair, rakish charm, and
0:53.2	invented backstory to seduce his way into being a kept man.
0:56.9	But when some people start suspecting his grift, Christian will go to fatal extremes to hold onto the hope of his American dream.
1:03.9	Then the story takes some totally unexpected twists. Most notably, this social climbing Lothario becomes a girl dad. and we've seen the lengths he'd go in order to protect himself.
1:14.9	I really hate the words girl dad, and I hate that it's a type of guy, and I hate when a girl dad gets into the story.
1:22.7	Well, Sarah, before we get into it, we do have an update to share with you on Clark.
1:27.3	Spoiler, he's currently spending all his time at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, and his
1:32.7	form of rehab is art.
1:34.9	We've talked about a lot of fine art criminals in our day, and most of their stuff was
1:39.1	pretty bad.
1:40.4	How do you think Christian's original artwork holds up?
1:43.5	Okay, before I really give my opinion, I know nothing about art.
	...

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