Chain of Command: An Inside Man Speaks
PRETEND
07/21/26
•28m
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Darnell Emanuel spent years inside Rony Denis's inner circle at the House of Prayer Christian Church. His name is on documents. His credit was used to buy houses he never lived in. But when the fraud finally caught up with the church, Darnell wasn't indicted.
In this bonus, Darnell walks us through the burner phones, the code names, and how the whole scheme worked. Plus, an update on Marjorie Denis. And what's happening at NTCC since the series aired.
The next two episodes are available right now on Patreon and PRETEND+ on Apple Podcasts.
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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/pretend/id6443456985
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Previous Episode
We've covered a lot of PRETENDers on this show. But the guy in this one might take the prize.
Carlos Henrique Raposo, better known as Kaiser, fooled the entire professional soccer world in Brazil for 26 years. He signed with more than 30 clubs. He partied with George Michael. He got protected by Rio's most dangerous crime boss. He once punched a fan in the face rather than actually step on the field. And through all of it, he barely played a single real game.
This week we're revisiting one of our favorite conversations: an interview with Louis Myles, director of the 2015 documentary "Kaiser! The Greatest Footballer Never to Play Football." Myles and his team spent 18 months in Rio chasing down the truth, or something close to it, behind Brazil's greatest football legend who never actually played football.
Watch the documentary:
"Kaiser! The Greatest Footballer Never to Play Football" (2015) is streaming on Amazon Prime.
Also from Louis Myles:
"Mighty Penguins," following the Brentford Penguins, a football team made up of players with Down syndrome, as they prepare to serve as guard of honour at a Premier League match. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2023 and is currently on the festival circuit.
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Next Episode
My friend Joe sells real estate. He called me about one of his clients, a retired nurse who was selling her house, because something about her story wasn't sitting right with him. She'd lost her savings to a man named Edward Smog. Found her online, quoted her scripture, told her he was her way out of debt.
By the time I got involved, she was out a hundred and fifty grand. Now a new scammer is coming after her. She believes he's an offshore oil rig worker, and they're going to get married. I'm trying to stop him before he takes any more of her money.
If you or someone you love is being targeted, here's where to go.
- To report it, the FBI runs the Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov, and the FTC takes reports at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
- If you want to talk to a real person for free, call the National Elder Fraud Hotline run by the Department of Justice at 833-372-8311, seven days a week, 6am to 11pm Eastern. You can also reach the AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline at 877-908-3360.
Tips for your elderly parents:
- No real grant, agency, or lottery ever asks you to pay a fee to get money.
- Gift cards, wire transfers to strangers, and crypto are how scammers get paid. Full stop.
- If you've never met someone in person on a live video call, assume you don't know who they are.
- Ask for that video call right now, not later. Take a screenshot of their photos and run a reverse image search. The excuses will tell you everything.
- And before any money moves, tell one person who loves you. Out loud. The scam only survives in the quiet.
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