Chain of Command part 7
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06/23/26
•43m
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Federal prosecutors say the man known as Rony Denis isn't Rony Denis at all.
The arrest finally came in the fall of 2025. Three years after the FBI raids. But the church is still operating. So my friend Jared Smith from the Heliocentric YouTube channel and I drove down to Fayetteville to attend a Sunday service and see what's left of the House of Prayer Christian Church.
And the whole sermon, it turned out, felt aimed at two specific people in the pews.
This is the final chapter of the Chain of Command series. But it ain't over yet.
Watch Jared's Atheist Church Audits on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HeliocentricOfficial
Written and Produced by Javier Leiva Edited by Puneeth Shenoy | Podcast Pundits https://www.podcastpundits.com/ Music by Joe Basile | thechicken.net
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Previous Episode
Chain of Command part 6
June 16
•33m
In Part 6, the FBI comes knocking.
Rony Denis and his top associates allegedly defrauded the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and military veterans out of more than $23.5 million. The House of Prayer Bible Seminary looked like a school. Veterans used their GI Bill benefits to enroll, paying the church hundreds of dollars a month for classes that led nowhere and credits worth nothing outside these walls.
Rony Denis is still a free man. But not for long.
Written and Produced by Javier Leiva
Edited by Puneeth Shenoy | Podcast Pundits https://www.podcastpundits.com/
Music by Joe Basile | thechicken.net
Get early access and bonus content
PRETEND+ on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/pretend/id6443456985
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/pretendradio
© 2026 Creative Babble LLC
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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My friend Johnathan Walton just launched a new show called Hardcore Con, and I had to share it with you.
Each episode, he breaks down a con story and the specific psychological tactics scammers use to pull it off. And this episode gets at something I think about a lot: it doesn't matter how smart you are.
Subscribe to Hardcore Con on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0mXtr05OjD4wk4M8JrvLPy
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