Marianne Smyth: The Fake Irish Heiress | 214
Scamfluencers
Audible
4.1 • 7.7K Ratings
🗓️ 18 May 2026
⏱️ 65 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
For years, globe-trotting con artist Marianne Smyth used her charm to manipulate the people closest to her – including her own daughters. Her scam was a classic: she told people she was an Irish heiress with millions on the way, and all she needed was to borrow a little cash to unlock her fortune. People believed her – over and over again. But when she targets reality TV producer Jonathan Walton, she picks the wrong mark. Once he realizes he’s been played, Jonathan doesn’t just walk away – he launches an obsessive crusade to bring Marianne down and get justice for every victim she left in her wake.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Audible subscribers can listen to all our episodes of scam influencers ad-free right now. |
| 0:05.3 | Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app. |
| 0:14.9 | Sachi, I think about this a lot, not just in the context of the scammers we cover, but just like generally seedy people, |
| 0:22.2 | what type of person do you think it takes to really take down a scammer? |
| 0:27.4 | I think it has to be someone with an almost unhealthy ability to hold a grudge. |
| 0:34.6 | Yes. |
| 0:35.2 | Like you have to be so strident and so ready, frankly, to ruin your own life again in the pursuit of justice. |
| 0:43.0 | Yes. |
| 0:43.4 | Which I think is a noble cause. |
| 0:45.3 | That is exactly what I think. |
| 0:46.7 | I mean, it's someone who just can't let something go because they're too stubborn. |
| 0:50.1 | They are also a little bit crazy, but they have a much stronger sense of justice in a way. |
| 0:56.3 | Yeah, I mean, I think we are those people to some degree. |
| 0:59.5 | I mean, hopefully. |
| 1:01.4 | Well, today I'm going to tell you about an epic takedown. |
| 1:04.9 | On the one hand, we have a woman running a classic fake royal scam. |
| 1:09.1 | On the other, a victim who falls for her gift because he loves drama as much as she does. |
| 1:15.0 | But when he discovers he's been had, it activates his main character syndrome, and he |
| 1:19.9 | won't stop until he gets justice and fully upstages her. |
| 1:27.8 | It's May 2013, and Jonathan Walton, a reality TV producer, is hosting a party in his |
| 1:34.4 | downtown Los Angeles apartment. |
| 1:36.9 | Jonathan is in his late 30s, bald with thick eyebrows and a button nose. |
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