A Star Wasn't Born w/ Justin Halpern

A Star Wasn't Born w/ Justin Halpern

From Scam Goddess by Earwolf & Laci Mosley

June 9, 2026 · 1h 8m · Episode 350

About this episode

Laci Mosley and Justin Halpern discuss the scam of Mike Smith, who faked music streams to earn millions.

CONgregation, Laci is joined today by producer and writing genius Justin Halpern (Abbott Elementary, Harley Quinn). Together, they listen to the music and dig into the story of this week's scammer, Mike Smith, a suburban dad and aspiring musician who made $10 million by creating thousands of fake listeners to stream his (also fake) music so he could rake in the royalties. Plus, in this dad-centric episode, Laci asks: Are love, credit, and tax accountants a scam, a scheme, or the real thing? Stay schemin’! Keep the scams coming and snitch on your friends by emailing us at ScamGoddessPod@gmail.com. Follow on Instagram: Scam Goddess Pod: @scamgoddesspod Laci Mosley: @divalaci Justin Halpern: @justinshalpern Research by Kathryn Doyle SOURCES https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/streaming-fraud-fake-streams-mike-smith-1235500686/ https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/north-carolina-musician-charged-music-streaming-fraud-aided-artificial-intelligence https://www.wired.com/story/ai-bots-streaming-music/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RpxiEuGuUw

People in this episode

Host: Laci Mosley

Guest: Justin Halpern

Topics covered

  • music streaming fraud
  • scams
  • true crime
  • comedy
  • dad culture

Keywords

  • scam
  • music
  • fraud
  • streaming
  • royalties
  • comedy
  • true crime

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Abbott Elementary, Harley Quinn, Scam Goddess Pod, Rolling Stone, Justice Department, Wired

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