The Athlete Whisperer: Ep.1, Call Me Raquel
34:52 Share

Hi, it's Andrea Gunning, the host of Betrayal. I'm excited to announce that the Betrayal podcast is expanding. We are going to be releasing episodes weekly, every Thursday. Each week, you'll hear brand new stories, firsthand accounts of shocking deception, broken trust, and the trail of destruction left behind. Listen to Betrayal Weekly on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hi, I'm Molly Conger, host of Weird Little Guys, a new podcast from Cool Zone Media on iHeartRadio. I've spent almost a decade researching right-wing extremism, digging into the lives of people you wouldn't be wrong to call monsters. But if Scooby-Doo taught us one thing, it's that there's a guy under that monster mask. The monsters in our political closets aren't some unfathomable evil. They're just some weird guy. So join me every Thursday for a look under the mask at the weird little guys trying to destroy America.

Listen to Weird Little Guys on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm David Eagleman from the podcast Inner Cosmos, which recently hit the number one science podcast in America. I'm a neuroscientist at Stanford, and I've spent my career exploring the three-pound universe in our heads. Join me weekly to explore the relationship between your brain and your life, because the more we know about what's running under the hood, the better we can steer our lives.

Listen to Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I am Lacey Lamar. And I'm also Lacey Lamar. Just kidding. I'm Amber Revin. What? Okay, everybody, we have exciting news to share. We're back with season two of the Amber and Lacey, Lacey and Amber show on Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network. This season, we make new friends, deep dive into my steamy DMs,

Answer your listener questions and more. The more is punch each other. Listen to the Amber and Lacey, Lacey and Amber show on Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Just listen, okay? Or Lacey gets it. Do it. America has just witnessed a truly strange encounter. Who became the first American to meet with the new leader of North Korea? The wild child of basketball, Dennis Rodman. Right there.

It's 2013, and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un is making headlines all over the world for paying big bucks, hiring NBA superstar Dennis Rodman to come visit him. One of the few things known about the secretive Kim's private life from his days as a student at a Swiss boarding school is that he was an NBA nut, especially big on Rodman's old team, the Bulls.

Shockingly, Dennis Rodman seems to publicly take a liking to Kim Jong-un, a ruthless dictator with a reputation for brutalizing his own people. The two men actually become friends. We laugh, we sing karaoke, we do a lot of cool things together.

Dennis Rodman is reportedly making upwards of $200,000 for visiting North Korea, but he has no idea that the money Kim Jong-un is paying him to be there is being stolen from him right before his very eyes by a true queen of the con in every sense of the word.

You see, Dennis Rodman has invited a crafty fox into his financial henhouse, an inveterate con artist, a tall, blonde, vivacious woman who's got a grift that's so sophisticated and so believable, it takes Dennis Rodman years to figure out what's going on. And even when he does, he just can't bring himself to let her go. ♪

I'm Jonathan Walton, and this is Queen of the Con, Season 5, The Athlete Whisperer, Episode 1, Call Me Raquel. Markably conditioned, and Rodman this season has become the most prolific player off the boards in two decades. Every time the ball is shot, every time the ball is... Dennis Rodman, he was like a rock star. He was just the epitome of hard work and hustle on the basketball court.

Full confession here, I know more about nuclear fusion than I do about basketball or really any kind of sports. Sports is a religion, man. And these people are the figureheads of this religion. My buddy, Evan Goldstein, on the other hand, is an oracle. He's also a huge Dennis Rodman fan.

One of the greatest rebounders in NBA history. And what's a rebounder? Rebounder, it just basically means when someone shoots a ball and they miss and it bounces off the rim and the person that catches it, that's a rebound. So was he the person who would catch it? Yes. So Dennis Rodman would catch it and what, score? Pass it or score. He really had it down to a science and he would study how the ball would bounce off the rim to know where to position himself under the basket to get it.

And he was the guy that would dive for balls and hustle. He had this kind of signature way of doing it where he would jump up, catch the ball, he would flare his legs out and kind of like a half split. And people would literally cheer.

He turned it into a performance, it sounds like. 100%. I thought he could score a lot. Yeah, like he could score, but he might have 10 points in a whole game where it's like Michael Jordan have 40 points. So Michael Jordan can score a lot. He's the scorer. Okay, that's his thing. Yeah. Dennis Rodman did the dirty work. He helped the team win by getting the ball before the other team.

- You blew my mind today. I had no idea what a rebounder was. - I love that that's the thing. - I mean, I don't know, like, I don't know, I'm a gay guy, I don't know anything sports. - Yeah, no, if anyone asks you, "What was Bernadette Peters doing in the early 2000s?" You're their man. - I think she was the witch in "Into the Woods." She was the first witch opening Broadway. - See, it's like huge. - That might've been late '90s though. She was also Dot in "Sunday in the Park with George," a Sondheim musical about George Seurat. ♪ Sunday in the park with George ♪

But enough about Sondheim. I just assumed you were never into sports because- Oh yeah, growing up, I liked sports. You and I are like best friends. Yeah. And we've never talked sports. No, but like growing up, I played basketball. What position were you on the basketball court? I was a forward, so the same position as Dennis Rodman. Oh, but he was a rebounder. Oh, Jonathan, let's talk more Sondheim. Yeah.

But really, Dennis Rodman was to the NBA what Bernadette Peters was to any Stephen Sondheim production she was in. A key player.

Though by 2013, Rodman is comfortably retired from the NBA for more than a decade after reportedly earning upwards of $27 million for playing basketball and many millions more in endorsement deals with brands like Nike and Coca-Cola. He goes on to do movies and TV shows. Please welcome Dennis Rodman.

And in 2013, he even does a season of Celebrity Apprentice for NBC with You Know Who. Dennis, you're fired. Part of the mystique that fed into Dennis Rodman, he was just kind of a badass. He's like a bad boy.

He was just kind of fun to watch. Partying, fall down drunk, taking pictures at clubs with, you know, amazing women. And as a young boy or a young man, you know, that's pretty... You looked up to him. That's pretty cool. You wanted to be like Dennis Rodman. Yeah. Why did they call him the worm? I would just assume based on, because he was never necessarily the biggest guy on the court. There were people that would tower above him.

but he would out rebound them and you know, he had kind of a nitty gritty way of like kind of squirmy could kind of get past people. He could flex and bend and kind of get around people and like, he would just kind of worm in there. - So I've Googled and according to Google, his mom and his sisters gave him the name, the worm as a kid. Cause when he would play pinball, he would squirm like a worm and they called him, but kind of similar to what you're saying.

But post-NBA, the Worm's bread and butter comes from doing lucrative public appearances. And he makes a lot of money, according to his former manager. But that North Korean public appearance in 2013 is fraught with peril for Dennis Rodman.

When I first heard about the deal, I was against it. I just thought that Dennis getting mixed up with a dictator in North Korea was just a terrible, terrible, terrible idea. I fought it every step of the way."

And how the deal actually came around was that the North Koreans originally were trying to put on some sort of basketball exhibition. And they reached out to Michael Jordan and Michael Jordan turned them down. So when Michael Jordan turned them down, they were like, OK, well, what about Dennis Rodman? And that's when they first reached out to us. And if you go back, you can find online there's a picture of Kim Jong Un when he's like a teenager and he's playing basketball.

He's wearing a Dennis Rodman jersey. I actually found that picture and I'm posting it at Queen of the Con on Instagram so you can see what a teenage Kim Jong-un looks like in a Rodman jersey.

For Dennis, though, cozying up to a dictator is not exactly good for his career. The death threats and the messages on social media, it was overwhelming. 99% to 1 against him. They were absolutely vicious, calling him a traitor to his country, calling him a communist. He should leave America. Don't ever come back. Like, it was bad.

But four years earlier, in 2009, Dennis Rodman and his entourage are in Miami on trendy South Beach, attending the opening of Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams' new restaurant, when all of a sudden, a stunningly dressed woman shows up and starts mingling, expertly working her way through the crowd.

Like a professional talk show host, she's got the gift of gab and everyone seems to know her and love her. It's a moment Dennis Rodman's bodyguard will never forget because he wasn't sure she belonged there at first. She was in a scene in Miami that you couldn't afford to be in, like invite only. Like how the hell was she next to us?

Her name is Peggy Fulford, a.k.a. Peggy King, Peggy Berard, Peggy Simpson, Peggy Rivers, Devon Cole. Oh, there are a bunch of other aliases she uses, too. She mentioned to us to call her Raquel. That's Chantel Cohen, Peggy's former assistant.

I had a best friend in town from San Diego. And when Peggy walked in, she's like, would you guys like to go out with me later? And we're kind of just like, what? And she's like, yeah, come hang out. You know, your friends in town, blah, blah, blah. And we started talking, small talk. And then she mentioned to us, when we go out, just call me Raquel. And that is the first red flag. Something's up. Something big. Something we'll explain after this break.

Hardy Fiber Cement Siding handles conditions that can cause damage to vinyl. From fire to hail, Hardy Siding stands tall through it all, helping trade professionals look their best when they recommend Hardy Siding and Trim. See the proof at jameshardy.com.

Hi, it's Andrea Gunning, host of Betrayal. I'm excited to announce that the Betrayal podcast is expanding. We are going to be releasing episodes weekly, every Thursday. Each week, you'll hear brand new stories, firsthand accounts of shocking deception, broken trust, and the trail of destruction left behind. Stories about regaining a sense of safety, a handle on reality after your entire world is flipped upside down.

From unbelievable romantic betrayals... The love that was so real for me was always just a game for him. To betrayals in your own family... When I think about my dad, oh, well, he is a sociopath. Financial betrayal...

This is not even the part where he steals millions of dollars. And life or death deceptions. She's practicing how she's going to cry when the police calls her after they kill me. Listen to Betrayal Weekly on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Molly Conger, host of Weird Little Guys, a new podcast from Cool Zone Media on iHeartRadio.

I've spent almost a decade researching right-wing extremism, digging into the lives of people you wouldn't be wrong to call monsters. But if Scooby-Doo taught us one thing, it's that there's a guy under that monster mask. I've collected the stories of hundreds of aspiring little Hitlers of the suburbs, from the Nazi cop who tried to join ISIS, to the National Guardsman plotting to assassinate the Supreme Court, to the Satanist soldier who tried to get his own unit blown up in Turkey. The monsters in our political closets aren't some unfathomable evil,

They're just some weird guy. And you can laugh. Honestly, I think you have to. Seeing these guys for what they are doesn't mean they're not a threat. It's a survival strategy. So join me every Thursday for a look under the mask at the weird little guys trying to destroy America. Listen to Weird Little Guys on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Andrea Gunning, host of the all-new podcast There and Gone.

It's a real-life story of two people who left a crowded Philadelphia bar, walked to their truck, and vanished. Nobody hears anything. Nobody sees anything. Did they run away? Was it an accident? Or were they murdered? A truck and two people just don't disappear. The FBI called it murder for hire. It was definitely murder for hire for Danielle, not for Richard. He's your son, and in your eyes, he's innocent.

But in my eyes, he's just some guy my sister was with. In this series, I dig into my own investigation to find answers for the families and get justice for Richard and Danielle. Listen to There and Gone South Street on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. There and Gone.

Welcome back to Queen of the Con. Peggy's former assistant, Chantel Cohen, is noticing something strange about Peggy that won't make any sense until years later.

She mentioned to us that when we go out to call her Raquel and me and my best friend at the time just started laughing and we're like call her Raquel. Yeah, what do you mean call you Raquel? And she's like yeah, that's my name. You know when I go out because I don't want people in my business blah blah blah and we kind of thought it was weird but we just laughed it off like you know people do change their names when they like go to the clubs and you know stuff like that you're just giving fake names and things like that but

We didn't really think about it until later on in life and was like, oh, wow. First red sign. That was a huge red flag. Huge red sign. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Oh, my God. Call me Raquel. Call me Raquel. How effing bizarre. Whatever you call her, though, she is a sight to behold that night on South Beach back in 2009.

At 51 years old, she could easily pass for being in her late 30s. She's got long blonde hair, sparkling eyes, and electrifying charm and charisma oozing from every pore. Dennis Rodman's bodyguard remembers her well. She looked like a million bucks. She was driving the right car. Well, she was driven in the right car. She was wearing the right jewelry, had the right clothes on. The other players that I knew in Miami at the time were talking to her.

Like to kind of make friends, I think with like famous people. My buddy, Evan Goldstein again. I think you kind of have to operate on their level. You know, it's like- You have to like put on a show for them. Yeah. Like you have to impress them. And to be able to kind of weave your way into their good graces, I feel like you have to have a little something extra. Yeah.

I agree a thousand percent and she did have a little something extra, but let's not downplay the effect a beautiful woman has on a straight guy. Yeah, you're right. It's insane. Yeah, you're right. I'll tell you a funny story. So I was 19 years old. I'm not, as Evan will attest,

conventionally attractive by Western societal standards. - I wouldn't attest that. - I'm pretty on the inside. But my family, I have a lot of hot cousins and nieces. So I'm 19 years old, walking out of this yogurt shop in Miami with my cousin who's also 19 or 20. She's breathtakingly beautiful. And all of a sudden you hear like a screech of a car, this white Porsche stops.

This guy in a suit jumps out, runs up to my cousin. He's like, I just have to tell you, you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life. I'm an attorney. Is this your boyfriend? Points to me. And she's like, no, it's my cousin. I'm an attorney. And if you ever need anything, here's my card. I would love to take you to dinner. And then she was stunned. Didn't know how to react. And he just hops back into his Porsche and drives away. But what straight guys will do in the presence of a beautiful woman, like anything,

- And everything. - And everything. - It's a thing. - A pretty woman has power. - Oh, by a million percent. - And that was Peggy. Peggy was a pretty woman. That was Peggy's power that night on South Beach. She knowingly weaponized her beauty. She showed up to someplace and she just wormed her way in. - Yeah. - And she got Dennis Rodman's attention. - I mean, she's obviously easy on the eyes.

That's Ramon Antonio Vargas, a journalist for The Guardian and author of the book Family, Gangsters and Champions. He's written extensively about Peggy over the years. I think she's described herself as Creole, right? And she certainly has that look, right? There's like a certain like of the Creole New Orleans. And when you listen to her speak, she certainly fits that bill. She's very self-assured. She had this story that she was like independently successful on Wall Street.

She made a fortune in hospital deals and land deals and was kind of very impressive, very beautiful, very appealing. I think a lot of people were taken and impressed by her narrative. Okay, so picture it. A balmy South Florida night in 2009. A crowded South Beach restaurant. Peggy's working the room like a seasoned politician, flashing her pearly whites, pressing the flesh, and impressing everyone.

Dennis Rodman's there with his bodyguard. A bodyguard who reportedly prides himself on never standing beside Dennis, never letting onlookers know he's with Dennis or watching out for Dennis or guarding Dennis in any way. He always keeps his distance. But that night on South Beach, he slips up and Peggy figures out immediately who Dennis' bodyguard is.

The first interaction I have with her is while I'm actually standing with Dennis. That's so, so, so extremely rare. And it's a red flag and I missed it, bro. Yup. Schmoozing a celebrity's bodyguard is a huge red flag in the world of protecting famous people. But Peggy effortlessly charms both men all evening, Dennis Rodman and his bodyguard. And after they learn she's a big-time financial advisor for pro athletes, they let their guard down.

She's actually managing the money for Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams at that point, the guy whose restaurant opening Rodman and his bodyguard are attending that night. She came in very soft, very welcoming. If you need anything, you call me first. But now looking back, it appears Peggy had big plans for Dennis Rodman, and that chance encounter might have actually been planned. It takes more than luck to be a con artist. Yeah.

I spoke to Michelle Rodman, Dennis Rodman's ex-wife. People have called her Michelle Moyer, but she told me, I'm Michelle Rodman. Like, she doesn't like people changing her name to her maiden name. And it reminds me of what my mom did, because my mom kept Walton, because it was my dad's name, who my dad wasn't in my life. Sucker!

But my mom felt I want to match my kids. So we're a family still. So my mom kept Walton. No, that makes sense. So Michelle Rodman did the same thing, she told me, because she wanted to match with her kids. And she says she's always getting criticized. Like, why are you still trying to hang on to Rodman's name? And she's like, no, I want to have the same name as my kids because we're a family. Yeah, sure. So I talked to Michelle Rodman. I scheduled an interview with her. She was in.

Then the next day she texts me the day before the interview. She's like, can I do it on another day at another place? I'm like, sure, sure. That's fine. We can do that. And then on the interview day, she texts me, you know what? I talked it over with my kids. I don't want to be in your podcast. I'm sorry. So I couldn't get an interview with her. But I talked to her for like a half an hour and I took copious notes. And she explained to me that as fate would have it, that night when Peggy makes a beeline over to Dennis Rodman at Ricky Williams restaurant in South Beach, Dennis Rodman's money manager-

is in rehab. He has like a major drug problem and he can't be Dennis Rodman's money manager anymore. So Dennis Rodman, lo and behold, is actually on the market for a money manager. - Oh. - Enter Peggy. - I wonder if that was like researched. - I do believe she knew his money manager was in rehab and that was an opportunity for her to get into his life and impress him. - Yeah. - I think that was calculated.

And it wasn't long after that restaurant opening on South Beach back in 2009 that Peggy signs on as Dennis Rodman's new financial manager.

At this point in his career, he's still got millions of dollars coming in from public appearances, from endorsement deals, from doing TV shows and movies. And like a lot of celebrities and rich people, Dennis doesn't personally handle any of that money himself, as his former manager explains. You have to understand something. He doesn't pay his own bills. He's just very insulated. He's very well managed.

He doesn't deal with a lot of the day-to-day mundane stuff that you and I and most people deal with. He probably hasn't opened a piece of mail in 15, 20 years. He just doesn't do it. He has people that handle that for him. And there's accountants and there's people that just, you know, take care of it. He puts that trust in his people and they're supposed to handle it for him.

So Dennis Rodman hires Peggy to run his finances. She's supposed to put him on a strict budget, pay his bills, pay his taxes, pay his child support, and invest the rest of the money he's got coming in to make him even more money.

And the weird thing is, Dennis hires Peggy unilaterally. He doesn't ask his lawyers. He doesn't ask his agents. He doesn't ask anyone. He just pulls the trigger and brings her on and actually signs over power of attorney to her, giving Peggy overnight full control of every bank account he's got, every piece of real estate he owns or is renting, and every dollar he has coming in. His former manager is actually caught off guard by it all.

Dennis called me and said, hey, I have a new business manager and I'm going over to talk to her about some things. I want you to come over and meet her. So I went over to Peggy's house. Peggy had a house in the Coral Ridge subdivision of Fort Lauderdale. And she's got all of these cars, Maseratis and Bentleys and BMWs and Range Rovers all in the driveway. And I walk in and I see Peggy.

She makes this grand entrance coming down her little winding staircase. And she's like, hey, how you guys doing? And it was like a scene out of a movie. But in direct contrast to that sophisticated movie star descending a staircase, Peggy's got a bad habit that kind of gives her away, but kind of doesn't. We'll explain right after the break.

Hi, it's Andrea Gunning, host of Betrayal. I'm excited to announce that the Betrayal podcast is expanding. We are going to be releasing episodes weekly, every Thursday. Each week, you'll hear brand new stories. Firsthand accounts of shocking deception, broken trust, and the trail of destruction left behind. Stories about regaining a sense of safety, a handle on reality after your entire world is flipped upside down.

From unbelievable romantic betrayals. The love that was so real for me was always just a game for him. To betrayals in your own family. When I think about my dad, oh, well, he is a sociopath. Financial betrayal. This is not even the part where he steals millions of dollars. And life or death deceptions. She's practicing how she's going to cry when the police calls her after they kill me.

Listen to Betrayal Weekly on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Molly Conger, host of Weird Little Guys, a new podcast from Cool Zone Media on iHeartRadio. I've spent almost a decade researching right-wing extremism, digging into the lives of people you wouldn't be wrong to call monsters. But if Scooby-Doo taught us one thing, it's that there's a guy under that monster mask.

I've collected the stories of hundreds of aspiring little Hitlers of the suburbs. From the Nazi cop who tried to join ISIS, to the National Guardsman plotting to assassinate the Supreme Court, to the Satanist soldier who tried to get his own unit blown up in Turkey. The monsters in our political closets aren't some unfathomable evil. They're just some weird guy. And you can laugh. Honestly, I think you have to. Seeing these guys for what they are doesn't mean they're not a threat. It's a survival strategy.

So join me every Thursday for a look under the mask at the weird little guys trying to destroy America. Listen to Weird Little Guys on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Andrea Gunning, host of the all-new podcast There and Gone.

It's a real-life story of two people who left a crowded Philadelphia bar, walked to their truck, and vanished. Nobody hears anything. Nobody sees anything. Did they run away? Was it an accident? Or were they murdered? A truck and two people just don't disappear. The FBI called it murder for hire. It was definitely murder for hire for Danielle, not for Richard. He's your son, and in your eyes, he's innocent.

But in my eyes, he's just some guy my sister was with. In this series, I dig into my own investigation to find answers for the families and get justice for Richard and Danielle. Listen to There and Gone South Street on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. There and Gone.

For decades, the mafia had New York City in a stranglehold, with law enforcement seemingly powerless to intervene. It uses terror to extort people. However, one murder of a crime boss sparked a chain of events that would ultimately dismantle the mob.

It sent the message that we can prosecute these people. Discover how law enforcement and prosecutors took on the mafia and together brought them down. These bosses on the commission had no idea what was coming their way from the federal government. From Wolf Entertainment and iHeartRadio, this is Law & Order Criminal Justice System. The first two episodes drop on August 22nd.

Plus, did you know that you can listen to the episodes as they come out completely ad-free? Don't miss out. Subscribe to the iHeart True Crime Plus channel today. Available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. Welcome back to Queen of the Con. Dennis Rodman's manager is noticing something about Dennis' new financial guru, Peggy, that kind of surprises him.

She cussed like a sailor, first of all, which to me wasn't a big deal. I mean, I use foul language as well, but it's very unusual for someone who is talking about business or dealing with things, cursing people out. Like, she'll be talking about a deal or someone, oh, this motherfucker needs to do this. And like, that's a little unusual, but...

She's very charismatic. She was funny. I have to say, very charming, very affable. You almost took it as a badge of honor when she cursed you out for something. That was just her way. And she loved to call everybody baby. She's like, you know, baby, I don't have to do this if you don't want me to.

Dennis Rodman is under the impression that his new financial guru, Peggy, with the waterfront Fort Lauderdale mansion and the fleet of Bentleys and BMWs parked in the driveway, has an impressive track record of making millions of dollars on Wall Street. And for the past decade, her self-proclaimed passion has been helping professional athletes and former professional athletes like Dennis grow their finances exponentially.

making shrewd investments in companies all over the world.

And get this, she doesn't even charge a fee for her services. She claims she's just that wealthy and she doesn't need the money. Besides, she says, Dennis Rodman is like family to her now. And she just wants to help him create what she calls generational wealth for his kids. And Dennis really loves that idea. I mean, he said publicly, you know, I haven't been a great father. I can't lie about that.

And now Peggy is offering him a way to kind of make up for that by ensuring his kids are well taken care of, even after he's gone. Peggy also claims to be a Harvard grad with her finger on the pulse of world finance. She had a Harvard plaque in her office. Peggy's former assistant again, Chantel Cohen, and it looked legit. Legit. How would I know what is a Harvard degree or not? I didn't go to Harvard.

But Peggy's got something else going for her at this point, too. A reality show based on her life is Making the Rounds at television networks, and BET reportedly orders a pilot. My name's Peggy, and I'm the CEO of King Management. King Management is a company I founded because I wanted to help professional athletes manage their finances. ♪

As the months turn into years, Dennis Rodman and Peggy get close, really close. She kind of becomes the mother he never had. In 2011, when Dennis is inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame at a star-studded ceremony in Springfield, Massachusetts, Peggy's there, and she makes quite a scene, according to Dennis' attorney. I remember pulling up, and Peggy was just arriving.

And then there were two carts, two hotel carts full of LV bags. First of all, Springfield doesn't see that. Springfield's a very small town. Our claim to fame is the Basketball Hall of Fame. So to see someone roll up, you know, two carts of LV bags, full-length fur coat, you know, all white, high heels, gigantic diamonds, it was something that you would like to see in a movie. It was amazing. And when the ceremony starts...

"Welcoming Dennis to the hall is Phil Jackson from the class of 2007. Ladies and gentlemen, Dennis Rodman." As Dennis is making his way to the stage, he stops in the aisle where Peggy is and kisses her on the cheek. I'm posting a video clip of this precise moment @queenofthecon on Instagram so you can see why it made such an indelible mark on everyone in Dennis's orbit that night, especially his attorney.

She was wearing all white. I mean, she was stunning. It was really something that you're like, "Who is this person?" You would think she was getting inducted. She always has diamonds on, diamond watches, diamond earrings. And not your common, like, nice pair of diamond earrings I'm talking about. You know, coming-to-America-type diamond earrings. Later that night, in Dennis Rodman's acceptance speech, he thanks Peggy by name, along with a man who's reportedly Peggy's brother.

Peggy King, Elkin King, the family, these guys are taking care of me these days. Thank you, Peggy. And Peggy's watching, flashing her movie star smile of approval. Dennis Rodman's attorney will never forget that moment as long as he lives.

The relationship between Peggy and Dennis was next level. Dennis was relying on her, I think, for emotional support. Peggy had that, like, motherly instinct and kind of, you know, she would call you baby and let me take care of you. That night during his speech, Dennis Rodman actually talks about his own mother and father, but not in a good way. I never had a father. My father left me when I was...

Five years old, he has 47 kids in Philippines and I'm the oldest one. And he wrote a book about me. He made a lot of money, but he never came and said hello to me. Me and my mothers have never got along. My mother rarely ever hugged me or hugged my siblings. And once I became to the age of 16 to 18, 19, 20, I could care less what I did to my mother. And my mother worked three jobs.

And she kicked me out the house and said, "You have to leave here because I can't take you anymore." I was homeless. According to his former manager, there's not a moment that goes by that Dennis Rodman doesn't think about his tumultuous past as a homeless teenager. We could be out walking around and there's a homeless guy. And he'll just hand him a hundred bucks. I've seen him take his shirt off his back, give it to a homeless guy, and he's walking around with no shirt now.

Looking back, it's obvious now. There was a gaping mother of a whole in Dennis Rodman's life that Peggy seemed to fill perfectly. I think Dennis trusted Peggy because she was really, really adept at understanding people's psyche and their psychology and understanding what they need and providing that for them. Dennis had a very strained relationship with his mother and his sisters.

So the women in his life, he had a strained relationship. And I think that she realized he needed that sort of motherly feminine love. I think she knew and understood how powerful that could be in a person like Dennis, who feels very insecure about other relationships with the women in his life. And I think she played on that. She was very good at figuring people out and understanding exactly what they needed.

Dennis Rodman's girlfriend at the time, a woman named Gigi, who, fun fact for you Bravo fans, used to be married to Real Housewives of Orange County Laurie Peterson's husband, George. Gigi sees Peggy move into Dennis' life and watches Peggy completely take control of Dennis.

And I felt like Dennis was really trying to, he wanted to impress her. He needed her affirmation, almost as if he needed his mother's affirmation. Like perhaps there was something there that reminded him of his mom or what he wanted from a mom. He still had this, I'm just a nobody, whatever, some deep-seated emotional pain from growing up where he didn't feel loved or he didn't feel like he had the affirmations that he should have had when he was growing up.

And here he was, thrown into the NBA, and he was getting all these accolades. All those accolades, he didn't feel like he deserved them. Even though he would be hand-in-hand with Michael Jordan, of all people, or Scottie Pippen, he still felt like they were so above him that he couldn't stand next to them.

he didn't feel like he belonged. He didn't feel good enough. He didn't feel worthy. Now that comes from the effed up childhood. - Yeah. - But it's interesting, no matter what he went on to achieve, which was tremendous by any account, he still didn't feel worthy. - Yeah. People are complex and like, you know, and I believe this,

You're always kind of who you were as a kid to a certain extent. I think we're always struggling with the same kinds of things that we always have. There was a fundamental emotional deficit in his life as a young person. And that mountain he's been trying to climb his whole life.

And just three years after first hiring Peggy to run his finances, all of a sudden, in mid-2012, Dennis Rodman starts making headlines for not paying child support. The former NBA bad boy owes more than $800,000 in back child support for his two children, ages 9 and 10, that he had with third wife, Michelle Rodman.

And behind the scenes, the general public has no idea. There's a ton of other screwy stuff going on with Dennis' finances too, exasperating his former manager. Dennis will call me and say, my cable is off or my power is off. He was renting out this place in Aventura, which is in North Miami. The landlord would call me all the time like, the rent is late. And I'm like,

What are you talking about? The rent is late. He's got plenty of money. The rent shouldn't be late. Coming up this season on Queen of the Con. Like, the company that she kept, she must be legit. These people are on national TV. Dennis Rodman, we hung out with his homeboy. Oh, you was robbing them too?

He and I in the early morning went to Peggy's house because he had no money. She was just waking up and she had a robe on. She's like, honey, honey, I'm sleeping. You have to come back later. You know, Dennis had a big IRS lien against him prior to meeting me. And we went to the bank and Elkin's like, Dennis, you don't have any money. Something just did not add up with Elkin's relationship with Peggy.

Dennis Rodman confided in this guy. He told him dark secrets. And I would tell Dennis, like, I don't want Elkin hanging around you. He got shot in the face. Elkin said that she was, like, scamming some, like, drug dealers in the streets or whatever. And I think that that is what he got caught up in. So I met her through a close friend of mine. What's your impression of her? Hanging with somebody that would probably have sex with one of her clients.

He was infatuated with me. And I said, you know what? You're sweet. You're very, very, very handsome. Was there more than a professional relationship between Ricky Williams and Peggy? I've asked him a thousand million times. You have asked him. Peggy Fulford is a financial predator. How much were you missing? It was my first Ricky check. My first Ricky check, I got a call from my agent saying, Peggy got us.

Cops come in, you have a check sitting on your nightstand. Like, what is going on? I did some things, but I didn't kill anybody. And I believe that society will forgive me. Hide your money in your old rich man, because she is on the prowl. If you're enjoying Queen of the Con, leave us a five-star review. Reviews help other listeners find us. And by all means, click that share button and send Queen of the Con to anyone you think might be into it. ♪

Queen of the Con, The Athlete Whisperer is a production of AYR Media and iHeart Media, hosted by me, Jonathan Walton. Executive Producers, Jonathan Walton for Jonathan Walton Productions and Elisa Rosen for AYR Media. Consulting Producer, Evan Goldstein. Consulting Producer, Trace Sheehan. Written by Jonathan Walton. Sound Design by Zach Hirsch. Edited and Mixed by Zach Hirsch.

Audio Engineer, Justin Longerbeam. Audio Engineer, Chris Desmond. Studio Engineer, Graham Gibson. Mastered by Justin Longerbeam. Legal Counsel for AYR Media, Gianni Douglas. Executive Producer for iHeartMedia, Maya Howard. Voice Acting by Darnell Baldwin, Tyree Saxton Jr., Courtney Hetrick, Milan Faxes, Jorge Farragut, David Teitelbaum,

Terina Pouncey, Kim Gagne, Stuart Chait, Teresa Prindle,

Statements from press reports, public interviews, and from court records were dramatized verbatim on this season of Queen of the Con. BET's American Gangster Trap Queens, TNT's Rich and Shameless, CNBC's American Greed, The Guardian, Sports Illustrated, The Times' Picayune, The Opportunist Podcast, Victim Interviews, and countless court records were the sources used on this season of Queen of the Con.

Am I doing the right thing with my finances? Am I saving enough? Can I buy a house? Am I paying too much in taxes? Will I be able to retire? Putting a financial plan together feels impossible. What if I told you there was another way? Take FACET's free financial wellness quiz to get your score and a snapshot of your current financial health. Visit FACET.com now and discover your financial wellness score today. That's F-A-C-E-T.com.

This ad is sponsored by Facet. Facet Wealth Incorporated is an SEC-registered investment advisor. This is not an offer to buy or sell securities, nor is it investment, legal, or tax advice. Hi, it's Andrea Gunning, the host of Betrayal. I'm excited to announce that the Betrayal podcast is expanding. We are going to be releasing episodes weekly, every Thursday. Each week, you'll hear brand new stories, firsthand accounts of shocking deception, broken trust, and the trail of destruction left behind.

Listen to Betrayal Weekly on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Molly Conger, host of Weird Little Guys, a new podcast from Cool Zone Media on iHeartRadio. I've spent almost a decade researching right-wing extremism, digging into the lives of people you wouldn't be wrong to call monsters. But if Scooby-Doo taught us one thing, it's that there's a guy under that monster mask. The monsters in our political closets aren't some unfathomable evil. They're just some weird guy.

So join me every Thursday for a look under the mask at the weird little guys trying to destroy America. Listen to Weird Little Guys on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hi, I'm David Eagleman from the podcast Inner Cosmos, which recently hit the number one science podcast in America. I'm a neuroscientist at Stanford, and I've spent my career exploring the three-pound universe in our heads. Join me weekly to explore the relationship between your brain and your life, because the more we know about what's running under the hood, the better we can steer our lives.

Listen to Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.