A new podcast series will examine one of the biggest fraud investigations in US history through the partnership between two unlikely figures.
Michele McPhee hosts Kingdom of Fraud, a seven-part series co-produced by Novel and iHeartPodcasts.
The series follows the criminal alliance between Jacob Kingston, a member of a Mormon fundamentalist family in Utah, and Levon Termendzhyan, an Armenian businessman from Los Angeles known as “The Lion”.
According to the podcast, the pair built a billion-dollar fraud conspiracy around a US biofuel subsidy scheme.
Across seven weekly episodes, Michele investigates how Kingston, described as one of his father’s more than 100 children, became involved with Termendzhyan and how their operation expanded beyond Utah as profits increased.
The podcast travels from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles, exploring the network of associates surrounding the scheme, including alleged corrupt officials, political contacts and international money launderers.
The series also examines claims that Kingston was told a group known as “The Boys” could protect the operation from investigators through connections within federal law enforcement.
New episodes of Kingdom of Fraud will be released weekly on Mondays from 12 May, with the trailer available now.
