Scammers are ubiquitous within the age we reside in.
Circumstances in level: Within the US, one in ten adults fall sufferer to a rip-off or fraud yearly. And round 50% of individuals contacted by a scammer interact with them.
The significance of staying knowledgeable about varied frauds and scams circulating within the digital age can’t be overstated. The easiest way to do that is by watching documentaries that present a complete look into the topic.
On this article, we’ve compiled an inventory of 15 greatest documentaries about scams and fraud which can be value including to your watchlist. From high-profile instances of company fraud to small-time con artists, these true crime documentaries have all of it and provides you with an inside look into the world of fraud and scams.
15 Finest Rip-off Documentaries
1. Fyre: The Biggest Get together That By no means Occurred
When serial entrepreneur Billy McFarland and rapper Ja Rule introduced the Fyre Competition, it was touted as the best music pageant of all time. It was promoted closely on social media by celebrities and influencers, and the tickets price as much as $100,000. Company had been promised luxurious lodging and gourmand meals from superstar cooks. On prime of all this, the ultimate lineup of artists for the pageant included over 30 of the most important names within the music trade.
When the friends lastly turned as much as the Bahamas, they as a substitute acquired cheese sandwiches in foam containers and FEMA tents as their lodging. To make issues worse, the pageant attendees had been stranded on the island with no technique of escape.
This Netflix scammer documentary supplies an unique behind-the-scenes sneak peak into the fraudulent music pageant. It consists of McFarland’s group members, enterprise companions, and pageant attendees making stunning revelations about what went on on the pageant. It’s a hilariously entertaining cautionary story for entrepreneurs and explains what occurs whenever you plunge huge quantities of cash into promoting and influencer advertising and marketing with out constructing an precise product.
Aspect observe: In case you can’t get sufficient of the Fyre scandal, then I’d advocate you watch Hulu’s Fyre Fraud as effectively. It’s a well-made documentary that was launched concurrently the Netflix documentary, and options an unique interview with Billy McFarland, the perpetrator of the Fyre rip-off.
IMDB Ranking: 7.2/10 (48,000 consumer scores)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 93%
The place to Watch: Netflix
Watch the trailer beneath:
2. Artwork and Craft
Artwork and Craft examines the lifetime of Mark Landis, a prolific artwork forger who donated his work to numerous establishments throughout the USA. His work spanned thirty years, protecting a variety of kinds, together with Picasso and Walt Disney.
Artwork forgery is a extremely profitable fraud. In virtually all instances, the forgery is dedicated with a monetary intent. However in Mark Landis’s case, there’s a shocking twist within the story. Landis didn’t forge well-known work for cash, fame, or recognition. As an alternative, he posed as a philanthropic donor or a grieving executor of a member of the family’s will and donated a number of of his work to numerous American artwork museums. Because of this, he was by no means prosecuted.
Artwork and Craft supplies an unbiased perspective of Landis’s fraudulent pursuits and permits us to attract our personal conclusions concerning the implications of his actions. This narrative not solely supplies a charming peek into the advanced and murky world of artwork forgery, however it additionally explores the themes of obsession, authenticity, and the deep-seated human want for which means.
IMDB Ranking: 7.1/10 (1,700+ consumer scores)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 91%
The place to Watch: Netflix
Watch the trailer beneath:
3. The Tinder Swindler
The Tinder Swindler is without doubt one of the greatest documentaries about fraud and rip-off on Netflix. Launched in early 2022, the documentary scored 46.8 million international views in simply 5 days.
The true crime documentary tells the story of how Simon Leviev (actual title Shimon Hayut) used the relationship app Tinder to dupe a number of ladies into lending him cash that he would by no means repay. He did this by presenting himself because the son of diamond mogul Lev Leviev and residing a lavish way of life utilizing cash from different ladies he had swindled on Tinder.
It’s a gripping documentary that includes three of the ladies conned by Simon and the way they collaborated with investigative journalists from the Norwegian tabloid Verdens Gang (VG) to convey down the Tinder swindler.
Whereas the ladies who had been swindled do get a way of justice and certainly one of them even manages to swindle the Tinder swindler, the ending exhibits that Simon basically obtained a slap on the wrist regardless of conning hundreds of thousands of {dollars} from ladies all all over the world.
IMDB Ranking: 7.1/10 (primarily based on 67,000+ consumer scores)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 96%
The place to Watch: Netflix
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4. Enron: The Smartest Guys within the Room
Based mostly on the ebook of the identical title, Enron: The Smartest Guys within the Room examines the Enron scandal and all the important thing gamers concerned in one of many greatest company frauds in historical past.
That includes interviews with ex-Enron staff, inventory analysts, reporters, and the previous Governor of California Grey Davis, the documentary movie sheds mild on the unethical practices of the previous Enron executives that led to its final downfall. It gives an eye-opening look into the world of company greed and the devastating penalties it will probably have.
The title “Enron” has turn into synonymous with company fraud and this documentary goes into nice element highlighting the poisonous company tradition and deceitful practices that unfolded at Enron.
IMDB Ranking: 7.6/10 (primarily based on 19,000+ consumer scores)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 97%
The place to Watch: YouTube
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5. Worst Roommate Ever
Most of us have needed to take care of annoying roommates sooner or later in our life, however the roommates coated on this Netflix true-crime documentary will ship a chill down your backbone.
Worst Roommate Ever is a 5-episode docuseries which options roommates with malevolent and typically violent intentions who wreak havoc on unsuspecting victims.
For the reason that present is from Blumhouse Productions, a manufacturing home recognized for horror motion pictures and exhibits (Get Out, Paranormal Exercise, Smiley Face Killers), the horror aspect within the documentary is taken up a notch.
For me, the standout episode was the primary episode which offers with the crimes of an aged lady named Dorothea Puente and the way she murdered the aged and disabled residents in her boarding home to money their Social Safety checks. It’s a chilling story that reminds us to not belief anybody simply, even when they appear to be a loving, caring grandma.
IMDB Ranking: 7.1/10 (primarily based on 8,500+ consumer scores)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: Not sufficient scores
The place to Watch: Netflix
Watch the trailer beneath:
6. The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley
The Inventor chronicles the rise and fall of Theranos, a biotech firm that was as soon as valued at $9 billion. With its revolutionary Edison blood-testing gadget, Theranos was poised to revolutionize the healthcare trade. The corporate’s enigmatic founder and CEO, Elizabeth Holmes, was touted as the subsequent Steve Jobs and her private internet value was estimated to be round $4.5 billion.
Nonetheless, when investigative journalist John Carreyrou from the Wall Avenue Journal questioned the authenticity of Theranos’ expertise, he uncovered a fancy net of lies and deceit orchestrated by Elizabeth Holmes. This documentary goes into nice element explaining the fraudulent practices that Holmes and Theranos indulged in to mislead buyers, enterprise companions, and clients.
Whereas the documentary supplies an excellent overview of Theranos’ meteoric rise and dramatic fall, I’d advocate you learn John Carreyrou’s sensible ebook Unhealthy Blood to get a greater understanding of the entire Theranos scandal.
IMDB Ranking: 7.2/10 (13,000+ consumer scores)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 79%
The place to Watch: HBO (US & UK); Disney+ Hotstar (India)
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7. LulaRich
Company greed is a recurring theme on this record and LulaRich completely encapsulates that by documenting the rise and partial fall of LuLaRoe, a multi-level advertising and marketing (MLM) firm that sells ladies’s clothes.
This 4-episode documentary sequence supplies an in depth account of the problems that arose inside LolaRoe, in addition to the disastrous results that MLMs and pyramid schemes can have on people’ lives.
Along with together with interviews with the corporate founders, retailers, and staff, this docuseries additionally options Robert L. FitzPatrick, creator and president of Pyramid Scheme Alert, who brilliantly deconstructs how multi-level advertising and marketing and pyramid schemes work and the harm they’ll trigger.
IMDB Ranking: 7.5/10 (3,500+ consumer scores)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 100%
The place to Watch: Amazon Prime
Watch the trailer beneath:
8. Operation Varsity Blues
The 2019 faculty admissions bribery scandal despatched shockwaves by way of America. Code named Operation Varsity Blues, the scandal revealed how outstanding enterprise individuals and celebrities across the nation had been attempting to affect undergraduate admissions choices at a number of prime American universities, together with Harvard, Stanford, and Yale.
Operation Varsity Blues is a documentary concerning the Varsity Blues faculty admissions bribery scandal. The documentary options reenactments and interviews with actual individuals concerned within the scandal. It supplies an in-depth have a look at the inside workings of the scheme and the motivations of the people concerned.
The movie additionally explores the broader implications of the scandal, together with the position of wealth and privilege within the faculty admissions course of and the affect of the fraud on the scholars and establishments concerned.
IMDB Ranking: 6.9/10 (8,000+ consumer scores)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 88%
The place to Watch: Netflix
Watch the trailer beneath:
9. Lords of Rip-off
This documentary just isn’t as well-known or critically acclaimed as the remainder of the rip-off documentaries on this record. However should you take pleasure in enterprise and monetary documentaries, then Lords of Rip-off on Netflix is certainly value trying out.
This French documentary movie traces the rise and crash of scammers who conned the EU carbon quota system and pocketed hundreds of thousands earlier than turning on each other. It’s an interesting examination into how they managed to drag off this large-scale rip-off and the lengths they went to with a view to maintain the cash flowing.
The documentary introduces us to all the important thing gamers who had been concerned within the EU carbon quota rip-off and across the half-way mark, there’s a revelation that turns this movie from an easy rip-off documentary to one thing way more sinister.
IMDB Ranking: 6.3/10 (700+ consumer scores)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: Not sufficient scores
The place to Watch: Netflix
Watch the trailer beneath:
10. Soiled Cash
In case you’re searching for a riveting and informative documentary sequence that covers company fraud and corruption, then Netflix’s Soiled Cash is the right selection. Every season of this critically-acclaimed present consists of six episodes, every an hour lengthy and specializing in a single instance of company fraud.
This docuseries gives perception into the numerous totally different types of company greed, from crooked bankers to misleading pharmaceutical firms. You’ll be taught concerning the notorious Volkswagen emissions scandal, Wells Fargo’s fraudulent gross sales practices, HSBC’s cash laundering scandal, amongst different issues.
IMDB Ranking: 8.1/10 (9,500+ consumer scores)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 100%
The place to Watch: Netflix
Watch the trailer beneath:
11. Unhealthy Vegan
Unhealthy Vegan tells the story of Sarma Melngailis, former proprietor of the favored uncooked meals restaurant referred to as Pure Meals and Wine in New York. The restaurant was an enormous success and public figures like Alec Baldwin, Howard Stern, and Invoice Clinton had been among the frequent friends. However when Melngailis obtained herself concerned with a high-level conman named Anthony Strangis, issues took a dramatic flip for the more severe.
Amongst different issues, Strangis satisfied Melngailis to siphon income from her restaurant to sponsor his playing dependancy. The documentary reveals the disturbing particulars of how Strangis manipulated Melngailis into stealing cash from her buyers and staff, leaving her with a debt of round $6 million.
IMDB Ranking: 5.9/10 (primarily based on 7,000+ consumer scores)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 88%
The place to Watch: Netflix
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12. The Girl Who Wasn’t There
The Girl Who Wasn’t There is a documentary about faux 9/11 survivor Tania Head. Head’s vivid account of her miraculous escape from the World Commerce Middle and tragic lack of her fiancee resonated with everybody. She ultimately grew to become the president of the 9/11 survivor neighborhood.
Nonetheless, it was later revealed that Head’s story was utterly fabricated. On the day of the assaults, Head wasn’t even within the US, not to mention the World Commerce Middle. Head’s deception was subsequently uncovered by journalists and members of the 9/11 survivor neighborhood.
This documentary movie explores the motivations behind Head’s deplorable actions and the affect her lies had on the 9/11 survivor neighborhood. Though it’s exhausting to search out this documentary on streaming companies, there’s one other documentary about Tania Head referred to as The 9/11 Faker you could watch on YouTube.
IMDB Ranking: 6.8/10 (primarily based on 2,400+ consumer scores)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: Not sufficient scores
The place to Watch: Amazon Prime (US)
Watch the trailer beneath:
13. Bitter Grapes
Bitter Grapes is a documentary about wine fraudster Rudy Kurniawan. Within the early 2000s, Kurniawan developed an obsession with Burgundy wines and, over the course of the subsequent few years, managed to persuade the world’s main wine public sale home, Acker Merrall & Condit, to promote US$35 million value of his assortment. However unbeknownst to the public sale firm, Kurniawan had offered them faux wines.
When the FBI raided his home in 2012, they found the magnitude of the wine fraud. In actuality, Kurniawan had been accumulating empty wine bottles, refilling them with low cost wine, after which forging the labels.
This scammer documentary takes you on an interesting journey of Kurniawan’s life, from his humble beginnings to his eventual downfall.
IMDB Ranking: 7.2/10 (primarily based on 5,500+ consumer scores)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 96%
The place to Watch: Amazon Prime
Watch the trailer beneath:
14. Made You Look
In case you’re fascinated by the world of artwork forgery, that is one other documentary you possibly can add to your watchlist because it particulars the biggest artwork fraud in American historical past.
In 1995, when Knoedler Gallery, the oldest artwork gallery in New York, purchased a Rothko portray from Ann Freedman for $750,000 and subsequently auctioned it for $5.5 million, that they had no thought it will result in the gallery’s downfall. This portray, together with different work offered by Freedman, was a faux.
Except for exploring the dimensions of the artwork fraud itself, the documentary additionally makes you query the legitimacy of artwork specialists and critics who authenticated Freedman’s faux work. In the identical manner that Bitter Grapes exposes the gullibility of wine connoisseurs, Made You Look reveals the delicate credibility of artwork critics.
IMDB Ranking: 7/10 (primarily based on 4,000+ consumer scores)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 88%
The place to Watch: Netflix
Watch the trailer beneath:
15. Belief No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King
Earlier than the FTX scandal enveloped the crypto world underneath a cloud of controversies, there was the Quadriga scandal. Quadriga was the biggest cryptocurrency in Canada earlier than it was compelled to declare chapter as a result of premature loss of life of the corporate’s founder and CEO, Gerald Cotten. To make issues worse, as much as $190 million in cryptocurrency couldn’t be accessed as a result of solely Cotten had the password to offline chilly wallets.
To counsel that Cotten died underneath suspicious circumstances can be an understatement. Belief No One is a Netflix unique documentary movie that follows a gaggle of buyers who’re satisfied that Cotten faked his loss of life and absconded with their cash. By shedding mild on the Quadriga scandal, this Netflix documentary serves as a reminder to strategy crypto investments with warning.
Till Netflix or another streaming service ultimately releases a documentary on the FTX scandal, Belief No One is the very best documentary on crypto scams you possibly can watch on-line.
IMDB Ranking: 6.3/10 (primarily based on 5,000+ consumer scores)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: Not sufficient scores
The place to Watch: Netflix
Watch the trailer beneath:
Closing Ideas
That wraps up my prime picks for the very best documentaries about scams you possibly can watch on-line. Did I miss out on a documentary that deserves to be on this record? Let me know within the feedback part beneath.
Editor’s Notice: This text was first revealed on January 3, 2023 and has been up to date recurrently since then for relevance and comprehensiveness.
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