The Binge Cases: Denise Didn't Come Home - Introducing Smoke Screen: Fake Priest

Episode Date: July 31, 2020

For 30 years, a man claimed to be a priest. He performed baptisms and took confession. Every time he ran into trouble, Father Ryan would move on to another small Midwestern town and start his scheme all over again. Followers who once worshiped him, now accuse him of exploitation, fraud and abuse. In season one of Smoke Screen, join Alex Schuman as he unravels this con and gets answers from this white-collar criminal himself. A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment production. Coming August 13th. Listen & follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some crimes cut deep. You've got some douchebag walking around telling your grandma, taking her confession, giving her communion, making her believe that her path to heaven and salvation is there. Just follow me. Give me some money. They're the type of crimes you're shocked someone would commit. I've never been caught like that in my life. That's how I felt when I learned about Father Ryan.

He took every single cent from that woman and it disappeared. This guy was accused of exploiting people, fraud, and abuse. This man spreads pain on levels that just fucking astound me. All of it while he claimed to save people's souls. The problem then, of course, is that Ryan Scott was presenting himself as a priest. That'd mean marriages, baptisms, faked. Father Ryan had opened churches in at least seven different states. He has to be God.

Think of how many people were tricked. Lawsuits, missing money, unaccounted for funds, angry, angry people, every entity that he touched. Then there are these people who say he's connected to the mysterious deaths of two men. He's accused of stealing millions while passing as a priest for decades. How he was able to keep this going is just stunning. Going from town to town, vanishing overnight, only to resurface somewhere else. The town rumor that I heard was there was a guy living there pretending to be a priest, and he was going to let the Lord pay his bills, and they never came through,

and next thing I know, he was gone. If these accusations are true, how's he still out there? You want to talk about white fucking privilege? If you want answers, join me as I unravel this con. I'm Alex Schumann, and this is Season 1 of Smokescreen, Fake Priest, an all-new podcast from Neon Hum Media. Subscribe now.