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Real Money, Fake Musicians: Inside a Million-Dollar Instagram Verification Scheme

Real Money, Fake Musicians: Inside a Million-Dollar Instagram Verification Scheme

by Craig Silverman and Bianca Fortis To his more than 150,000 followers on Instagram, Dr. Martin Jugenburg is Real Dr. 6ix, a well-coiffed Toronto plastic surgeon posting images and video of his work sculpting the decolletage, tucking the tummies and lifting the faces of his primarily female clientele. Jugenburg’s physician-influencer tendencies led to a six-month …

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How to Avoid Being Overcharged for a Funeral

How to Avoid Being Overcharged for a Funeral

For the funeral industry, the COVID-19 pandemic has meant flush times. Revenues have surged at Service Corporation International, the largest such chain in the U.S., with more than 1,500 funeral homes and 400 cemeteries. And “COVID impact,” according to a recent investor fact sheet, helped SCI more than double its earnings per share between 2019 …

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Nearly $30K Vanished From the HOA’s Account. The State Can’t Investigate the Management Company.

Nearly $30K Vanished From the HOA’s Account. The State Can’t Investigate the Management Company.

by Brittany Freeman, Rocky Mountain PBS It was Christmastime in 2021, and Michael St. James didn’t feel much like celebrating. From his top-floor condo overlooking Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, St. James said he spent much of his time in the final weeks of December trying to recover nearly $30,000 that had disappeared from the bank …

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JPMorgan Chase Bank Wrongly Charged 170,000 Customers Overdraft Fees. Federal Regulators Refused to Penalize It.

Federal bank examiners considered levying fines and sanctions when JPMorgan Chase informed them last year that faulty overdraft charges caused by a software glitch had impacted roughly 170,000 customers. But the bank urged the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC, its chief regulator, to take less severe action, according to two people …

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Prosecutor Fired for Speaking Out Against Jail Time for People Who Fall Behind on Rent

An Arkansas prosecutor has been fired after speaking out against the state’s criminal eviction statute in an October ProPublica story. Garland County deputy prosecutor Josh Drake was let go from his position on Oct. 31 by Michelle Lawrence, the prosecuting attorney. Arkansas is the only state where landlords can file criminal charges rather than civil …

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He Made a Minor Mistake Filling Out an Unemployment Form. Then the State Demanded $14,990 From Him.

Ahmad Ghabboun broke into a sweat. It was a late night in August and he had just discovered an unexpected $14,990 debt posted to the online portal he uses to access his account with Washington state’s unemployment agency. Since May, he had been receiving payments every week through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, newly established …

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Sometimes it Really Does Suck to Live in West Virginia Coal Country

One year ago, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice promised business leaders that the state’s economy was on the verge of a boom. Continued growth in natural gas production was going to spark an industrial renaissance, bringing construction of a giant collection of spinoff factories. Speaking to the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting, held …

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