Hollywood Con Man

Hollywood Con Man

From Crime Scene by Sony Music Entertainment

June 11, 2026 · 38 min · Season 1 · Episode 12

About this episode

The episode explores the story of Joseph Medawar, a con artist who raised millions for a non-existent TV series about the Department of Homeland Security.

He had the trailers. He had the real law-enforcement locations. He had photos of himself grinning beside power players in Washington. The one thing Joseph Medawar didn't have was the show — a patriotic prestige drama about the Department of Homeland Security that he raised millions to produce, and that never aired a single frame. This week, Jonathan and Cooper trace how a B-movie producer in Los Angeles turned a TV series that didn't exist into the most convincing performance of his career — and how long it took the people writing the checks to realize the only thing in production was the con itself. Subscribe to The Binge today to get this episode ad-free and unlock 60+ true crime series. Subscribe directly at GetTheBinge.com — or if you're listening on Apple Podcasts, tap "Subscribe" at the top of the show page. Follow Crime Scene on socials! Instagram: @thebingecrimescene | @thebingetruecrime TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thebingecrimescene Crime Scene is hosted by Jonathan Hirsch and Cooper Moll. Instagram: @thisisjonathanhirsch | @bycoopermoll Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

People in this episode

Hosts: Jonathan Hirsch, Cooper Moll

Topics covered

  • true crime
  • con artist
  • Hollywood
  • television production
  • fraud
  • B-movie producer

Keywords

  • Joseph Medawar
  • true crime
  • con artist
  • Hollywood
  • fraud
  • television
  • Department of Homeland Security

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Department of Homeland Security, Sony Music Entertainment

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