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Popular true crime ex-con podcaster with 'millions' of listeners claimed to have turned his life around... but now the FBI has blown that out of the water

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Cite

Heller, V. (2026, September 25). Popular true crime ex-con podcaster with 'millions' of listeners claimed to have turned his life around... but now the FBI has blown that out of the water. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16157505/Steven-Comisar-podcaster-FBI-fraud.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Daily Mail · collected 2026-09-25 · by Victor Heller

Quick Summary

Steven Comisar, a 64-year-old Ohio podcaster who previously served over 22 years in prison for multiple fraud convictions, is facing new charges by the FBI for allegedly defrauding an Ohio couple of $7 million. Despite presenting himself as reformed on his podcast "Scam Junkie," where he claimed to help people avoid scams, Comisar is accused of using fraudulent personas to trick the victims into sending money via cashier's checks. The case highlights the contradiction between his public persona and recent criminal allegations.
Written by AI on 2026-09-25, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Steven Comisar, a 64-year-old Ohio podcaster known for his true crime content about scams, is facing new charges from the FBI just three years after starting his podcast "Scam Junkie," where he claimed to have reformed. Despite serving over 22 years in federal prisons for previous fraud convictions, Comisar allegedly scammed an Ohio couple out of $7 million by posing as various high-profile individuals via email and promising them a "huge windfall." The FBI alleges that Comisar used the stolen funds on gambling, hotels, food, and other personal expenses. Currently facing charges in US District Court in Cleveland, no attorney has been listed for him yet, and his initial court date is pending determination after his arrest in California. This case highlights how a notorious fraudster can leverage their criminal expertise to appear as an authority on preventing scams, only to perpetrate more deceitful acts.

Written for “FBI Debunks Podcaster Claims” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 FBI Debunks Podcaster Claims
Crime & Law · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 35% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
National Post
Hedges 1 of 3 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles describe different events involving distinct individuals: one about Steven Comisar facing new scam allegations, and another about a family member of a former cop involved in an alleged Ponzi scheme.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
23
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
35%
8 of 23 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
69/100
Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-25 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Daily Mail · 8837 article(s) · 22 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 22 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Victor Heller
82 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Take Daily Mail's quiz and find out As a report about an alleged election scheme shakes up Alaska's Senate race, Alaskans are revealing to the Daily Mail whether the scandals surrounding Democrat Mary Peltola will impact their votes.
🔮 It comes as Peltola's race against incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan looks to be one of the closest in the country, and one that may not produce a clear result on Tuesday night.
🔮 The Cook Political Report ranks Alaska's Senate race as a toss-up, and the crucial seat could determine the balance of power in Congress.
🔮 President Donald Trump will travel to Daytona Beach, Florida, today in a bid to rally support for Republicans, as GOP Rep. Byron Donalds runs to succeed Governor Ron DeSantis and faces Democratic candidate David Jolly.
🔮 When asked whether he would mind if the investigation would lead to criminal charges for Peltola, he said 'so be it.'
🔮 This combination photo shows Trump-backed Republican Sen Dan Sullivan, left, in Palmer, Alaska, on August 17, 2026, and another candidate in Alaska's Senate race named Dan Sullivan Trump branded the scheme ‘voter fraud at the highest level’ as he headed to a rally in Ohio, and called for the decoy Sullivan to be struck from the ballot too Governor Mike Dunleavy said that investigators would examine whether the campaign should face criminal charges or civil penalties.
🔮 One of these votes was against a bill that would prohibit schools from letting students into bathrooms not corresponding with their sex at birth.
🔮 I wish she was here so we could go to Dollywood and go ride dirt bikes together and eat sushi.'
🔮 The Protecting Against Microplastics Act, introduced by Democrats Shama Haider and Margie Donlon, sparked fury as it also might put an end to tea bags, cutlery and other common products in the Garden State.
🔮 Texas governor Greg Abbott has issued a warning for Republicans that the outcome of the Lone Star state's heated Senate race could lead to a disaster in 2028.
Also by Victor Heller
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 82 articles by Victor Heller →

Topics

Daily Mail District Court FBI Massillon Ohio

Subjects

Comisar PERSON · 16× FBI ORG · 7× California GPE · 4× Massillon GPE · 3× Ohio GPE · 3× Steven Comisar PERSON · 2× Cleveland PERSON · 1× Cleveland.com ORG · 1× Daily Mail ORG · 1× District Court ORG · 1×

Narrative

Posing as CEOs of companies, investors, a wealth director, an attorney and an unidentified 'person well-known as one of the wealthiest people in the world' in emails, he got the couple to invest in projects Comisar promised to yield a 'huge windfall,' court records show.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-25
🔮 While awaiting sentencing in that case, Comisar tried to extort an attorney for more than $50,000 by falsely claiming he had information that could exonerate her brother, who was convicted for murdering a government informant.

Claims (23 extracted, 8 hedged)

A famous Ohio podcaster, who claimed to turn his life around after serving time for fraud, is facing new scamming allegations by the FBI. asserted
who → claim → FBI
Steven Comisar, 64, made a name for himself by scamming people out of money for decades. asserted
Comisar → make → decades
He was federally convicted five times and sentenced to prison for combined longer than 22 years. asserted
He → convict → years
Three years ago, he started a podcast named Scam Junkie in which he presented himself as a reformed con man. asserted
he → start → man
However, this Wednesday, the 64-year-old was charged in US District Court in Cleveland and accused of carrying out yet another fraud coup worth $7 million against an Ohio couple, Cleveland.com reported. asserted
Cleveland.com → charge → couple
No attorney is listed in Comisar's court records and an initial court date is yet to be determined after he was arrested in California. asserted
he → list → California
Comisar allegedly used the money on gambling, hotels, food and other personal expenses, according to authorities. uncertain
Comisar → use → authorities
The fraudster entered public spotlight as a con man in the 1990s, wrote a book called 'America's Guide to Fraud Prevention' and repeatedly appeared on TV as a scamming expert. asserted
fraudster → enter → expert
In the trailer for the podcast he started in 2023, Comisar presents himself as the 'Don of Con,' says he 'perpetrated every scam known to man,' but now managed to turn his life around. asserted
he → start → life
Steven Comisar, 64, was previously convicted five times and sentenced to prison for combined longer than 22 years Comisar started a podcast called Scam Junkie in 2023 in which he sold himself as a former con man who turned his life around He even went so far as to claim he now helps people avoid scams and use techniques to 'legally make money and influence people.' Comisar's convictions curriculum includes a telemarketing scam in horse racing, fake oil well investments and bilking an Iowa man out of $125,000. uncertain
curriculum → convict → 125,000
In 2003, he was sentenced to eight years in prison for defrauding an 84-year-old Minnesota man out of $480,000. asserted
he → sentence → 480,000
While awaiting sentencing in that case, Comisar tried to extort an attorney for more than $50,000 by falsely claiming he had information that could exonerate her brother, who was convicted for murdering a government informant. uncertain
who → await → informant
When the attorney refused, Comisar threatened the attorney that mobsters would come to her house and mutilate her husband. asserted
mobsters → refuse → husband
After being released from prison in 2018, it only took the fraudster about a year to start scamming a couple from Massillon, FBI agents said. asserted
agents → release → Massillon
Posing as CEOs of companies, investors, a wealth director, an attorney and an unidentified 'person well-known as one of the wealthiest people in the world' in emails, he got the couple to invest in projects Comisar promised to yield a 'huge windfall,' court records show. asserted
records → pose → windfall
Comisar allegedly used the personas to tell the Massillon man to quickly send cashier's checks for fees, taxes or government fines before he could be sent the millions of dollars Comisar promised he had made through the fake investments. uncertain
he → use → investments
New allegations from the FBI accuse Comisar of scamming an Ohio couple for at least $7 million The California man allegedly ordered parcels to a hotel which is how FBI agents said they found out where he lived FBI agents linked Comisar to the scam using phone and email records, court records say. uncertain
records → accuse → records
Some text messages directed the man to send cashier's checks to 'S. Comisar' at a room at the Beverly Hills, California, Marriott hotel, according to an FBI agent's affidavit. uncertain
messages → direct → affidavit
Agents said they found out Comisar had lived there on and off for years and even had Amazon and FedEx packages delivered to the hotel. asserted
packages → say → hotel
The Massillon man sent 70 checks to Comisar from 2019 through July 2026, ranging in amounts from $7,000 to $300,000, according to court records. uncertain
man → send → records
While the total amount Comisar scammed out of the couple is still being investigated, an FBI agent wrote that it exceeds $7 million. asserted
it → scamme → million
Bank records show that Comisar also made around $1.2 million in profit from a thoroughbred racetrack in California, where he bet about $4 million between January and May 2026. uncertain
he → show → January
The Daily Mail contacted Comisar for comment. asserted
Mail → contact → comment
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