"So I conned him back" In this episode we meet the inimitable T.J. Dominquez, fresh out of Federal Prison. He sits down with Johnathan at a secret location, somewhere in Florida, and begins to unpack his unbelievable story. At the height of his cocaine career, adjusted for inflation, T.J. was making $100 million a month back in the 1980’s flying cocaine for Pablo Escobar. He had so much money (and so many Italian luxury sports cars) that each day he'd get up and get dressed, he'd match his Labmorghini to his shirt color.

It's interesting, TJ got scammed by a couple of conniving con artists and turned it into a $500 million cocaine business. You probably know a con artist in your life right now. You just don't know they're a con artist because they haven't scammed YOU. Yet. Buy my book 'Anatomy of a Con Artist: The 14 Red Flags to Spot Scammers, Grifters and Thieves' anywhere books are sold. Or click this link for all major book sellers. 

By day, TJ Dominguez ran the world’s largest Lamborghini dealership. By night, he was smuggling tons of cocaine into South Florida for Pablo Escobar. Now out of prison, he’s telling his story for the first time.

"Not my day to die" TJ is alone on his speed boat in the middle of the ocean buying hundreds of pounds of marijuana from professional drug dealers. And he's $5000 short. "There's no credit in this business." they yell at him with guns drawn. TJ's first big marijuana buy - could be his last.

"Let me show you how a man dies" TJ buys an old airplane and crash lands learning how to fly it. He eventually gets it to Colombia and starts making mad money smuggling South American weed. But all hell breaks loose when TJ loses a couple shipments of marijuana worth nearly a million dollars and the Colombians kidnap him.

"I Need a Million Dollars like I Need Air" TJ has 24 hours to get his hands on $800,000 cash or those Colombians who kidnapped him are going to kill him. And then kill his entire family.

It's interesting, TJ got scammed by a couple of conniving con artists and turned it into a $500 million cocaine business. I got scammed by 'The Irish Heiress' and wrote: 'Anatomy of a Con Artist' for Penguin Random House to teach people how to spot the con artist in their lives BEFORE they get scammed.

In 1986 T.J. Dominguez is making $5 million a week - the equivalent of nearly $15 million in today’s money - smuggling cocaine for Pablo Escobar. But the Ft Lauderdale safehouse where TJ is hiding tons and tons of coke is suddenly surrounded by hundreds of federal agents. Could this be the end?

It's interesting, TJ got scammed by a couple of conniving con artists and turned it into a $500 million cocaine business. I got scammed by 'The Irish Heiress' and wrote: 'Anatomy of a Con Artist' for Penguin Random House to teach people how to spot the con artist in their lives BEFORE they get scammed.

In April of 1988 dozens of Federal Agents armed to the teeth raid TJ’s South Florida mansion and arrest him. He is charged and convicted of smuggling tons and tons of cocaine into the U.S. and sentenced to more than a decade in Federal Prison. But TJ plans an elaborate escape from the confines of his cell - he buys a helicopter and hires a pilot to land it in the prison yard.

It's interesting, TJ got scammed by a couple of conniving con artists and turned it into a $500 million cocaine business. I got scammed by 'The Irish Heiress' and wrote: 'Anatomy of a Con Artist' for Penguin Random House to teach people how to spot the con artist in their lives BEFORE they get scammed.

Welcome to The Ponzi Playbook, the podcast that exposes the dark underbelly of the financial world. Join hosts Neal McTighe and Javier Leiva as they take you on a journey through the seedy world of financial fraud, exploring the twisted minds of the people behind some of the most audacious Ponzi schemes in history.

Executive producer Evan Goldsten and I fuss and discuss some of the wild and crazy T.J. stories that ended up on the cutting room floor. What was Pablo Escobar like? How can you offset the weight of 500 pounds of cocaine in your car trunk ? How do you unload a ton of cocaine from your boat to your waterfront mansion with your nosey neighbors are watching, while keeping them in the dark about what exactly is going on?

It's interesting, TJ got scammed by a couple of conniving con artists and turned it into a $500 million cocaine business. You probably know a con artist in your life right now. You just don't know they're a con artist because they haven't scammed YOU. Yet. Buy my book 'Anatomy of a Con Artist: The 14 Red Flags to Spot Scammers, Grifters and Thieves' anywhere books are sold. Or click this link for all major book sellers. 

How did TJ sell the most Lamborghinis in the world? Why did he risk his life for a flask of holy water? Was TJ involved in a Cuckold situation? Answers to all these questions and much, much more are contained in this episode. 

"The Prison Librarian" Serving time in prison is an eye opening experience for TJ. He finds refuge in the prison library and discovers that dealing cocaine is big business behind bars, and he's offered a piece of the action.

"Flying with Princes" What do TJ's children think about the 'Cocaine Air' podcast? What caused TJ to punch the Emperor of Japan in the nose? And how did President Ronald Raegan's 'War on Drugs' make TJ a much, much, MUCH wealthier cocaine kingpin? This episode will stay with you. 

It's interesting, TJ got scammed by a couple of conniving con artists and turned it into a $500 million cocaine business. I got scammed by 'The Irish Heiress' and wrote: 'Anatomy of a Con Artist' for Penguin Random House to teach people how to spot the con artist in their lives BEFORE they get scammed.

"Second Chances" TJ gets a mountain lion for a pet and takes that mountain lion EVERYWHERE. His name is 'Top Cat' and he eventually turns on TJ and sends him, bitten and bleeding profusely, to the hospital. 

It's interesting, TJ got scammed by a couple of conniving con artists and turned it into a $500 million cocaine business. I got scammed by 'The Irish Heiress' and wrote: 'Anatomy of a Con Artist' for Penguin Random House to teach people how to spot the con artist in their lives BEFORE they get scammed.

"My breakfast with TJ" TJ made hundreds of millions of dollars smuggling cocaine. He had money stashed in the US, in Switzerland and even buried millions in cash under his brother-in-law's house! But where is all that money today? TJ has some explaining to do in this episode. 

It's interesting, TJ got scammed by a couple of conniving con artists and turned it into a $500 million cocaine business. I got scammed by 'The Irish Heiress' and wrote: 'Anatomy of a Con Artist' for Penguin Random House to teach people how to spot the con artist in their lives BEFORE they get scammed.

"She was a gold digger" We meet a mentally incapacitated Erik Karmer, unaware that he is now marrying a con artist at a top secret Santa Barbara wedding ceremony which she orchestrates. None of his friends or family are there. And Erik is a sitting duck, highly susceptible to suggestion. How did a celebrated and storied career in the NFL all lead up to this?

When retired NFL quarterback Erik Kramer puts a gun to his head and pulls the trigger, he thinks all his problems will finally be over. But really, they were just getting started. After Erik miraculously survives his suicide attempt, he is mentally incapacitated, stricken with the mind of a 6 year-old boy. And during his recovery, a tall blonde con woman deftly insinuates herself into Erik’s life, secretly marries him, and begins to rob him blind. This sophisticated scammer has sheriff’s deputies, lawyers and judges all doing her bidding. But a childhood friend of Erik’s figures out what's going on and moves heaven and earth to try to stop the scam.

"The pain of being alive" Erik battles crippling depression for decades. It starts during his tenure with the Chicago Bears, and continues throughout the rest of his NFL career and retirement. His condition is possibly attributed to CTE, a brain disease common amongst football players. But when Erik survives his suicide attempt, the last thing in the world his freinds and family are expecting is a devious con woman showing up out of nowhere and moving into Erik’s home - under the guise of taking care of him.

The path that leads Erik to try and end his life is circuitous and stricken with tragedy and depression. A dark turning point is the sudden and unexpected death of his 18 year-old-son Griffen.

Another force that profoundly shapes the breadth and depth of Erik’s life is his father Karl Kramer. Karl was the visionary and sole architect of Erik’s football career. All he ever wanted was for his son to go pro. And growing up, that singular focus and steadfast determination cost Erik enormously. 

Though Erik’s mother and father meet and fall madly in love with one another, married life for the Karmers is unexpectedly fraught with tension and misery. Erik grows up, in a weird way, completely estranged from his mother. She raises him at arm’s length and the two don’t actually become close until the last year of her life when Erik is in his late 40’s. And when his mother dies, it starts a chain of events that leads Erik to ‘The Good Night Inn” with a gun in his hand and a headstrong determination to end his life.

While Erik is recovering from that gunshot wound to the head and has the mental capacity of a 6-year-old, a woman from his past suddenly reappears in his life offering to help. Red flag # 1 of every single con artist working today. At first she seems to have Erik’s best interests at heart. But Erik’s childhood friend suspects something sinister afoot. 

Erik’s childhood friend Anna Dergan uncovers evidence that Cortney is stealing from Erik and reports her to the local Sheriff's office. But this crafty con woman hatches an evil-genius plan to escape prosecution and turn the legal system against Erik's friends and family. 

Erik’s friends and family get him placed under a conservatorship to protect him. They are told this conservatorship will oust con artist Cortney Baird from Erik’s home. And from Erik’s life. But all of a sudden, a court-appointed conservatorship attorney, who is charged with looking out for Erik’s welfare, actually starts siding with con artist Cortney Baird. And he begins to make the case to an LA County judge that Erik’s family and friends are the real scammers that he needs protection from.