Chameleon

Audiochuck | Campside Media

True CrimeSociety & CultureTV & Film

We are living in a golden age of deception. It feels like everyone has an angle and that, everywhere you turn, someone’s trying to scam you. Chameleon is a new weekly show from veteran journalist Josh Dean (co-creator and host of The Clearing, Hooked, White Devil, and the original Chameleon season, Hollywood Con Queen) that takes you inside an incredible, stranger-than-fiction story about someone—or some people—pretending to be something they aren’t. Are you obsessed with cons, frauds, and impostors? Then this is the podcast for you. Get your new weekly true crime obsession every Thursday from Campside Media and Audiochuck.

Episodes

Chameleon

Audiochuck | Campside Media

True CrimeSociety & CultureTV & Film

Episodes

Extra Credit: The Rise and Fall of a Frat House Ponzi Scheme

Syed Arbab looked like the next financial prodigy—a frat house day trader who turned beer-soaked bravado into a successful hedge fund. Except that wasn't exactly the whole truth. When the SEC came knocking, Syed doubled down, lied, and kept going. Chameleon is a production of Campside Media and Audiochuck.

35min•Mar 12, 2026

Master Manipulator and Commander: Trust Your Gut

She thought she'd met the real deal: a decorated Navy officer, stationed at the Pentagon, opening hospitals in war zones. But what begins as a whirlwind romance slowly unravels into a portrait of compulsive deception. In the aftermath, this seasoned journalist is determined to get to the bottom of not just how and why her partner lied, but why she believed him. Chameleon is a production of Campside Media and Audiochuck.

37min•Mar 5, 2026

The Vampire Catfish: A Message Board And The Boy Who Believed

Michael was 16, lonely, and stuck in a small Southern town when he met someone called Dennis on a vampire-themed online message board. What began as a thrilling, romantic connection soon spiraled into something darker. We follow Michael’s journey as he tries to make sense of the many layers of deception two decades later. Chameleon is a production of Campside Media and Audiochuck.

40min•Feb 26, 2026

Goodfellas: The Country Bar Theme Scheme

When an Arizona reporter starts looking into a flurry of closures at country music-themed restaurants, he thinks it’s just another boring business story. But he uncovers a collapsing franchise empire and millions in fraud, all linked to a mysterious character with mob connections living a double life. Chameleon is a production of Campside Media and Audiochuck.

33min•Feb 19, 2026

Face Plant: The Woman With A Thousand Boyfriends

What's it like to have your image used as the bait in thousands of online romance scams? This is what happened to Janessa Brazil—whose image has been hijacked and used to con hundreds, maybe thousands, of lonely people out of hard-earned cash. This is a story of love, lies, and the faces behind a billion-dollar catfishing industry. Chameleon is a production of Campside Media and Audiochuck.

39min•Feb 12, 2026

The Velvet Sundown: The band that’s not quite Human, not quite machine.

They were a hot new band and storming up the charts. But something seemed off about Velvet Sundown. Was this the work of AI? When someone behind the band came out denying it, this looked like mystery solved. But this was only the beginning of an internet hoax with many layers. Chameleon is a production of Campside Media and Audiochuck.

39min•Feb 5, 2026

Engineering to Deceive: The Talented Coder Who Just Keeps Getting Jobs

When one tech founder tweets a warning about a seemingly prolific engineer named Soham Parekh, it sets off an avalanche. Turns out, Soham has been hired and paid by dozens of start-ups, sometimes working at several at once. He dazzled founders with coding tests, then vanished into a fog of excuses. Chameleon is a production of Campside Media and Audiochuck.

28min•Jan 29, 2026

Memoir Mystery: The Blockbuster True Story That Maybe Wasn't True At All

When the book The Salt Path was published, readers were moved by the story of a couple who, after losing everything, rebuilt their lives through nothing more than determination, their love for one another, and a very long walk. A decade later, journalist Chloe Hadjimatheou begins to pull at a thread—and what unravels is a much darker and more complicated tale. Chameleon is a production of Campside Media and Audiochuck.

43min•Jan 22, 2026

Introducing: 13th Juror

When Liberty German and Abigail Williams, two young girls from a small Indiana town, tragically lost their lives in February 2017, a nationwide manhunt ensued for the “man on the bridge.” After a five-year investigation, a suspect was finally arrested. Brandi Churchwell, host of 13th Juror, traces the long, difficult path to answers, the arrest of Richard Allen, and how the prosecution assembled its case. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company.

11min•Jan 16, 2026

The Author Trap: Inside The Scheme Selling Lies to Hopeful Writers

Brent Crane is being chased through a mall in the Philippines. He's on the trail of Page Turner, the company that has been accused of stealing $44 million from hopeful writers in one of the most brazen scams the book publishing world has ever seen. Chameleon is a production of Campside Media and Audiochuck.

35min•Jan 15, 2026

White Lies: The Scammer Who Left Brides In The Lurch And Couldn't Stop

Michael Esposito hired 50 journalists, promised them a dream job, and disappeared without paying a dime. Years later, he resurfaced under various new names, taking tens of thousands from couples on their wedding day. But one of his early victims never let it go in their attempt to unmask the scammer who just wouldn’t stop. Chameleon is a production of Campside Media and Audiochuck.

35min•Jan 8, 2026

The de Kooning Job: Teachers Turned Thieves

In 1985, a priceless painting vanished from a university museum in Arizona. The FBI had no leads. 32 years later, it turned up behind a bedroom door in a suburban New Mexico home. Turns out the retired couple living there may have pulled off one of the most audacious art heists of the 20th century. Chameleon is a production of Campside Media and Audiochuck.

31min•Jan 1, 2026

Gay Girl in Damascus: A Viral Kidnapping And An Internet Fantasy

The story of a Syrian-American blogger whose posts during the Arab Spring captured hearts around the world—including a woman in Montreal who believed she was falling in love. But Amina Arraf, the author of Gay Girl in Damascus, wasn’t real. She was a hoax. So how did so many people, including news organizations and governments, fall for it? And at what cost? Chameleon is a production of Campside Media and Audiochuck.

42min•Dec 25, 2025

Fake It 'Til You Graduate: The Honor Student Who Conned a Town

In 2012, a Ukrainian man enrolled at a high school in Pennsylvania, pretending to be a teenage prodigy named Asher Potts. He made the honor roll and became a local hero. Until the day police showed up in class and arrested him. The immigrant who scammed his way into the American dream. Chameleon is a production of Campside Media and Audiochuck.

35min•Dec 18, 2025

The Spine Collector

For years, someone was tricking publishers into handing over yet-to-be-published manuscripts—from bestselling authors and total unknowns alike. There were no ransom demands. The books were not leaked. The motive was unclear. An international mystery that baffled the publishing world for years. But two journalists in lockdown set out to solve the mystery and uncover the peculiarly obsessed culprit. Chameleon is a production of Campside Media and Audiochuck.

28min•Dec 11, 2025

The Barefoot Bandit: Catch Him If You Can

Colton Harris-Moore was just a teenager when he began breaking into homes across the Pacific Northwest. But soon, he was stealing cars, boats... and then planes. This is the unbelievable true story of a kid outrunning the cops to become one of the first folk heroes of the internet age. Chameleon is a production of Campside Media and Audiochuck.

29min•Dec 4, 2025

The Undead Tour: How The Fake Zombies Fooled America

A British band called The Zombies had a smash hit single in America with ‘Time of the Season’ in the late 60s. Shortly afterwards, four handsome Texans hit the road pretending to be the Zombies. This is the unbelievable true story of rock’s most brazen imposters… two of whom went on to form ZZ Top. Chameleon is a production of Campside Media and Audiochuck.

32min•Nov 27, 2025

An Admission of Lies: The Man Who Fooled Princeton

A gifted, mysterious young man with a tragic past and talent for long-distance running is admitted to Princeton. He dazzles everyone from admissions officers to elite dinner clubs. But behind the alias “Alexi Santana” was James Hogue, a serial imposter who had left a long trail of lies in his wake. This week, the extraordinary story of the man who scammed his way into the Ivy League—and kept going. Chameleon is a production of Campside Media and Audiochuck.

28min•Nov 20, 2025

The Kid Who Couldn't Stop Playing Cop

In 2009, Vincent Richardson walked into a Chicago police station and reported for duty. No one noticed he wasn’t actually a cop. No one noticed he was 14 years old. This is the story of the teenager who fooled the system time after time. Was it a prank? A cry for help? Or something else entirely? Chameleon is a production of Campside Media and Audiochuck. Launching November 13th wherever you get your podcasts.

29min•Nov 13, 2025

The Follieri Affair: Who Conned Anne Hathaway?

He dated a Hollywood princess and claimed to be the Vatican’s man in America. But Raffaello Follieri wasn’t all he appeared to be. He convinced some of the world’s richest people to hand over millions — before it all came crashing down. How did a charming Italian from a small town in Puglia rise to the top? Now, following deportation, is he rising again? Chameleon is a production of Campside Media and Audiochuck.

31min•Nov 13, 2025

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