logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2022
36m 3s

Madame G | 1

WONDERY | PINEAPPLE STREET STUDIOS
About this episode

In Paris, a banker receives a bizarre call from her boss. He says she'll soon be contacted by a secret agent about a confidential government operation. The instructions provided by the agent are simple: wait in a bathroom stall, listen for the password and then hand over a bag stuffed with hundreds of thousands in cash to a stranger through the stall door. Meanwhile, nearly 3,000 miles away in Israel, a musician is drawn into his new friend’s underground network. Thus begins the scam of the century.


Persona: The French Deception is the story of Gilbert Chikli, one of the greatest con artists of all time. More than just a tale of criminal genius, this is a show about the moment we’re living in right now — the golden age of scammers — and the power of seduction. But what happens when the fantasy we’ve been lured into finally crumbles away?


Please support us by supporting our sponsors!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up next
Feb 2024
Where to find Episodes 2-8 of Persona
In the first episode of Persona, a French banker took the strangest call of her life. On the other end was her boss relaying bizarre orders from a secret agent. Her mission was to wait in a bathroom stall before handing off a bag full of cash. But behind the scheme was no secret ... Show More
1m 2s
May 2022
Introducing - Persona: The French Deception
What does it feel like to pick up the phone and scam someone out of $50 million? This is the story of Gilbert Chikli, one of the greatest con artists of all time. Host and award-winning journalist, Evan Ratliff, investigates how Chikli successfully duped some of the world’s most ... Show More
2m 39s
Jun 2022
Madame G | 1
In Paris, a banker receives a bizarre call from her boss. He says she'll soon be contacted by a secret agent about a confidential government operation. The instructions provided by the agent are simple: wait in a bathroom stall, listen for the password and then hand over a bag st ... Show More
36m 3s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2024
Where to find Episodes 2-7 of WeCrashed
In the first episode of WeCrashed, you hear about how Adam Neumann, the visionary behind WeWork, sent the company’s first few employees his famous 1am email vowing to build the “largest networking community on the planet.” Even on day one, Adam had grand ambitions to change the w ... Show More
43s
Aug 2024
The Greatest Scam Ever Written | 2. Psychic to the Stars
Who was Maria Duval? Her son says she had a gift, an ability to see people’s futures. She helped locate missing people and worked with the French elite, befriending Jacques Chirac and Brigitte Bardot. In the late 80s, when two businessmen approached Maria Duval with a life-changi ... Show More
40m 33s
Oct 2024
Left High and Dry: 1
Calling 911 didn't get Ruthie Mae McCoy help. The night she was shot, police didn't even break down her apartment door to check on her. Her body was discovered days later. The bizarre detail that McCoy was killed by someone entering through her bathroom medicine cabinet caught th ... Show More
36m 2s
Sep 2024
The Greatest Scam Ever Written | 6. DNA of a Scammer
The mastermind behind the Maria Duval scam is revealed. Who is he and how did he operate one of the biggest scams in U.S. history? Investigative reporter Rachel Browne discovers this wasn’t his first mail-order operation and that Terry Polevoy, an amateur scam-buster, had helped ... Show More
29m 57s
Aug 2024
The Greatest Scam Ever Written | 1. Your Devoted Friend
What would you do if you got a mysterious letter promising to restore your health and vitality? Doreen Robinson wrote back and sent money to the French psychic named Maria Duval who’d written to her. As their relationship deepened, Doreen had no idea that she wasn’t the only one. ... Show More
40m 25s
Oct 2024
Ep. 56 | She Haunts Me
In the late 1800s, a young man in rural New England comes down with a deadly illness known as “the White Death.” When his doctor can’t help, the man’s neighbors propose a bizarre treatment… that involves the supernatural.Follow MrBallen's Medical Mysteries on Amazon Music or wher ... Show More
25m 2s
Feb 2025
Ep. 70 | It Comes Back
For his entire adult life, a successful businessman deals with a bizarre problem: whenever he bends over, he throws up. On top of that, he struggles with asthma-like symptoms. But no matter what techniques he tries or medicine he takes, the man can’t shake his symptoms, sometimes ... Show More
26m 31s
Oct 2024
Ep. 54 | Root of All Evil
Doctors were sure they could help a man who was suffering from severe swelling in his spine. But nothing worked, and as the man slipped away, doctors could only scratch their heads. They had no way of knowing the problem was far worse than any of them imagined. Follow MrBallen's ... Show More
28m 10s
Jan 2025
Ep. 69 | Too Much of a Good Thing
When a recovering alcoholic nearly dies after falling down his basement stairs, it seems like the tragic result of alcohol withdrawal symptoms. But when he starts seeing people who are not there at his bedside, doctors realize the man has even bigger problems.Follow MrBallen's Me ... Show More
23m 25s
Dec 2024
Ep. 64 | No Reservations/The Bitter End
No Reservations:A Spanish marathon runner develops a mysterious obsession with gourmet food. But what seems like an innocent new passion may be more dangerous than he thinks.The Game:After going through her normal morning routine, an otherwise healthy woman finds herself at death ... Show More
32m 15s