The Shark Tank Charlatan
41:38 Share

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to Scamfluencers early and ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or Apple Podcasts. A heads up, this episode contains descriptions of sexual violence, assault, and abuse. Please listen with care.

Sachi, you've spent enough time in hotels. And for me, that's when I get super into Shark Tank marathons. I need to know, how into Shark Tank are you? I mean, I'm not into it. But as you know, two of the sharks routinely on Shark Tank are Canadians. And so all Canadians are like automatically subscribed to a layer of Shark Tank that we do not want.

Well, today's scam is about a guy who got kind of big on Shark Tank, only for him, that was just the beginning of his very evil scamming. It's October 4th, 2021, and Deanne Jansen is in her car in a parking lot near Provo, Utah.

Deanne is a social worker in her 50s. She's tan with short gray hair, and she has plans to meet her boyfriend for lunch nearby at their favorite date spot, Carl's Jr. His name is Nate Holzapfel, and he's an entrepreneur in his early 40s. He has a round face, shaggy brown hair, and a graying goatee. They matched on Tinder just a few weeks ago, but it's been a whirlwind romance. Nate has come on really strong to the point where Deanne finds it kind of off-putting.

And she doesn't like the fact that he's really into guns and maintains a conservative, Onion-style website. It publishes headlines like, Oh, and Deanna's noticed Nate has an unsettling habit of praising Hitler.

I would also be unsettled by that in any context. Yeah, and it also seems like Nate spends a lot of time living in the past. Like how he constantly talks about his appearance on the TV show Shark Tank, which happened more than a decade ago.

But Deanne is lonely and it's been nice to be with someone again. Her husband of 27 years died recently and Nate keeps telling her that he can help her deal with the loss. He also says she should invest the money she got from her husband's life insurance policy into one of Nate's businesses. Wow, I don't think someone has like gotten to the scam so fast. And I know that's not even it, but like that's immediate no. I know it's a lot.

Deanne sees Nate pull up to Carl's Jr., but she's not planning on joining him for Chicken Stars because this is a sting operation. Deanne recently learned that she's just one of a handful of women he's been trying to con, and she and other victims have teamed up to take him down. Now, all she has to do is wait for the police to show up.

Nate is used to sweet-talking his way out of any problem, but his most recent targets aren't buying what he's selling. And soon, they're going to put him out of commission. From Wondery, I'm Sarah Hagee. And I'm Sachi Cole. And this is Scamfluencers.

Shark Tank presents a world where you can make all your dreams come true if you just have one good idea and the charisma to sell it. Nate Holzafel bought into that dream so deeply that when his career flamed out, he switched the target of his used car salesman energy from tycoons to vulnerable women. I'm calling this one the Shark Tank Charlatan.

Nate Holzapfel is born in Utah in 1979, the oldest of five kids. His parents are loving, supportive pillars of their Mormon community. But they don't have a ton of money. Nate's dad is a religious scholar. And when Nate's about 10 years old, his family moves to Southern California so his dad can get his PhD in history at UC Irvine.

Getting a taste of the California dream inspires Nate, but it also makes him embarrassed about his family's financial situation. So four years later, after they move back to Utah, Nate starts thinking about ways to make a lot of money so he can have a cool car and live at the beach. When he's 16 years old, Nate takes his first steps towards achieving this dream.

He's at a competition for his swim team. And even though he didn't qualify for the meet, he decides to make some cash selling the team's t-shirts. He's friendly and charming and a really good salesman. He manages to make $400 in a single day.

To be 16 and have $400. You may as well be a millionaire at that point. You may as well be the richest man in the world. Well, once he's discovered the superpower, Nate decides he doesn't need education to be successful. He barely graduates from high school and he drops out of Brigham Young University, where his father teaches after just two months.

We don't know a lot about Nate's life in his 20s, but we do know that at some point, he gets married and has two kids. He hops from job to job selling anything and everything. Houses, cars, insurance. Eventually, he gets sick of making money for other people. When he's in his early 30s, he strikes out on his own. The origin story he likes to tell goes like this. He's shopping for suits at a Saks Fifth Avenue, and the salesman shows him every possible accessory except one.

Belts. They're an afterthought. Nate wants to change that. So he enlists his brother, Zach, and they decide to create a belt that, as Nate puts it, doesn't stink. It's a ratchet-style belt without holes, and it fits perfectly on just about any waist size. Kind of like an airplane seatbelt. In July 2012, Nate and Zach invest $90,000 of their own savings to get their company off the ground.

They call it Mission Belt because, according to the website they launch, the company is mission-driven. It pledges to fight world hunger and poverty by using some of their proceeds to fund microloans. Nate's goal is, essentially, to invent an iconic belt that doubles as a status symbol for a certain kind of guy. It will be the Oakley sunglasses of belts.

The Oakley sunglasses of belts? I know that belt is ugly as hell. Ugly. But Nate isn't the only one with this idea. There's already a company selling ratchet-style belts. It's called Slide Belt, and it was supposedly founded by Nate's cousin.

We don't know for sure if Nate and Zach stole their cousin's idea, but we did find a since-deleted blog post from someone claiming to be Nate's aunt. It was published about a year after Nate and Zach launched their company, and it alleges that the brothers, quote, literally copied her son's belt business. She also points out something interesting. The mission belt logo looks exactly like the emblem of a Nazi Air Force unit. See for yourself.

It's a bad logo, I will say that, but it's also the same logo. It's identical. It is the exact same. It's not ambiguous at all. There's no differences. Well, family drama aside, the Holzafell brothers move full steam ahead. In the company's first three months, it makes about $80,000. It's a good start, but it's not enough for Nate. He's ready for a bigger audience, national television.

It's September 2012, just three months after Nate founded Mission Belt. He's at a soundstage on the Sony lot in Culver City, California. He's clean-shaven, and his hair is spiked up with gel.

He confidently strides down a hallway lined with aquariums. Nate is ready to live out the dream of every 2010's entrepreneur, pitching his company on Shark Tank. The set is designed to convey the idea of a boardroom. Dark wood, plants, big leather chairs. Today, there's a row of mission belts on display.

For anyone who hasn't seen the show, the premise is that entrepreneurs pitch their business to high-profile investors, a.k.a. sharks. If the sharks decide to invest, they also get an ownership stake in the company. The five investors include Mark Cuban and FUBU founder Damon John. They all sit patiently, waiting to hear Nate's pitch. As Nate approaches, he looks sweaty and expressionless. Then he shifts into sales mode.

Everyone owns a belt. Most people own a few. And in a thousand years, this everyday accessory has hardly ever changed. And some people might ask, why reinvent the wheel? At the Mission Belt Company, we've asked, why not? Nate lifts up his shirt and starts to remove his belt, which briefly alarms the sharks. But then he holds it up and demonstrates the ratcheting system along with the belt's click-click sound. It's like a giant zip tie for your pants. Now, sharks, I'm a big husky guy. And keeping my pants on is a full-time job.

Sarah, can you imagine for a second, I'm at work, I'm making a big presentation at work, and I talk at length about how hard it is for me to keep my pants on? Think about if I started our story meetings like that. Certain behaviors are rewarded on Shark Tank that do not fly in real life. Yeah, you're right.

Nate hands out sample belts to the Sharks and tells them that after he got off the plane a few days earlier, he went door to door in West Hollywood. He claims that he sold 20 belts in one night. The Sharks are amazed. Mark Cuban says, I love you. I love you.

The Sharks are having a good time, but most of them aren't interested in the belts. So Nate makes one last sales pitch. He tells the two remaining judges, Mark and Damon, about how he sold his car and has been eating PB&Js to run his business. He also tells them that he's patient. He can wait for the right deal. The Sharks look at each other as Nate stares back at them. Then, Damon swoops in to offer Nate $50,000 for a nearly 40% stake in Mission Belt.

Nate grins. He takes the deal. Nate will later describe his Shark Tank experience as one of the best moments of his life, right up there with his wedding and the birth of his children. And he's right to fixate on it. Because no matter how hard Nate tries, things are only going to go downhill from here.

It's February 2015, about two and a half years after Damon invested in Mission Belt. He's rocking sunglasses and a black turtleneck for his visit to the company's warehouse near Provo, Utah. He's here to film an episode of Beyond the Tank, a spinoff series that follows up on Shark Tank's success stories. And by the looks of it, Mission Belt is a huge success.

and now makes more than $3 million a year. The warehouse is decorated with a mix of belt-inspired pop art and bargain basement furniture. It's also absolutely littered with boxes, packing material, and branded Mission Belt merchandise.

Nate strolls out to greet Damon. He looks much slicker than he did on the set of Shark Tank. He's got a trimmed goatee, less grease in his hair, and much nicer clothes. In an interview for Beyond the Tank, Damon reminisces about how his and Nate's relationship has grown. They've become long-term business partners and friends. About a year and a half ago, Damon asked Nate to consult on one of his other Shark Tank projects, a boneless rib business founded by former NFL star

Al "Bubba" Baker. Nate helped launch the company's website, but he forgot to automatically add sales tax to prices. So Al was forced to pay back a big chunk of his profits. Damon was willing to forgive the error. He considers the website a success because it didn't crash. And all that hype has gone to Nate's head. He recently started a consulting business aimed at helping entrepreneurs. He calls it the "Nate State of Mind."

There's something aggressively male about all of these choices. Oh, big time.

Well, as he looks around the warehouse, Damon doesn't like what he sees. The belts are unorganized and there are boxes everywhere. And the company has had trouble expanding into stores because of the belt's ratcheting system. It's the main feature, but it has to be demonstrated in order for customers to really see how it works. Otherwise, it just looks like a regular belt. But these things don't seem to be affecting Nate's bank account. ♪

Things are going really well for him, and he's eager to show off the fruits of his labor. He takes Damon for a spin in his Mercedes G-Wagon, then gives him a tour of his new 10,000 square foot home. There's a movie theater, a basketball court, and an enormous Mission Belt logo on the wall of the entryway. But Damon isn't impressed. Actually, he's pretty concerned.

He thinks Nate is spending way too much money, especially when his company is still new and unstable. He asks if Nate thinks he can sustain this lifestyle. And Nate says on camera, quote, I actually make very conservative moves.

After the tour, they go back to the office to talk shop. Nate says he wants to expand the company as quickly as possible and get his belt into tens of thousands of stores. But Damon pushes back. He wants the company to take a slower, more sustainable approach. He asks Nate why he hasn't started recruiting people who already own the belts to build out a sales team.

All Nate needs to do is find people who love Mission Belt, teach them the sales pitch that's been so effective for him, and set them loose. But Nate says that reaching out to all of them is just too much work for him. Now, the guy who sold belts door-to-door in West Hollywood can't be bothered to talk to his own customers.

Oh, he's a belt big shot now. Yeah, we all know one, you know? Well, Nate and Damon argue for a while and eventually they agree on a more realistic goal. Stalking Mission Belt at 5,000 stores. Damon is cautiously optimistic. He's hoping he's found a way forward with his partner and mentee.

But Damon doesn't know what's coming, because soon, Nate won't care about his relationship with the founder of FUBU. His motto is For Nate, By Nate. Nate is disappointed when Damon leaves town that day, because he has one more event planned for an audience of reality TV cameras and some small local news outlets. It's a red carpet gathering held at a country club in Provo.

Standing in front of the crowd, Nate announces he's launching his consulting business, Nate's State of Mind, even though it's already existed for months. There are blown-up posters showing his 10 commandments of selling, starting with number one, thou shalt hustle. In keeping with the theme, there's also a poster depicting Nate as Moses.

Sachi, please take a look. You know that meme of that guy sitting at a, like a folding table outside that's like... Changed my mind? Yeah, like he's like, come sit here and change my mind. This looks like that, except the poster is like, I'm a crazy person, change my mind. Yes. But Nate makes an exodus a few months later. He leaves a company he founded to move to the promised land of Los Angeles.

We're not exactly sure what happened, but a Mission Belt spokesperson later tells the Daily Beast that Nate was hoping to get his own TV show. Soon enough, Nate is offering online courses with names like Unlocking Relationships for the low, low price of $97. The website says, one thing for sure is this site isn't about Nate Holzafel. It's about you. ♪

Nate continues to talk a big game for the next few years. He posts a lot on social media, sprinkling photos of his $10,000 watch and Rodeo Drive shopping sprees in between blogs for the Huffington Post and videos from his YouTube channel. But the truth is, Nate's not living the high life in LA. We don't know how much money his business is actually bringing in, but he and his family are crammed into a high-rise apartment where there's no basketball court or movie theater.

It all seems to be getting him down because at a 2017 business conference in Texas, he talks a lot of smack about his new city. I've been living in Los Angeles. What a bunch of horrible, rotten, stinky human beings. My goodness. If you want to have a bad time, come out and live in Los Angeles in the building I'm in for a while.

Yeah, man. I hate L.A. too. He's right about one thing. L.A. is terrible. Well, about a year later, Nate finally gets some of the national attention he's been craving when he gets sued by Larry King. Here's a backstory.

About five years earlier, at the height of his Shark Tank success, Nate got Larry King to sit down for a mock interview with him. It was apparently some kind of favor Nate phoned in. Larry was very clear that the mock interview was only to be used privately as part of Nate pitching himself to TV producers for a potential show. Of course, Nate featured it in a public sizzle reel on his website, and Larry's team found out.

Four months after the lawsuit is filed, Nate is ordered to pay a quarter of a million dollars in damages.

That's nothing to Larry, but it's a lot of money to Nate, who at this point is basically just a YouTuber and seemingly not a very successful one. Nate leaves LA and returns to Utah with this family. He's gone from being an American success story to a struggling influencer with a growing mountain of debt. And now he's going to take on a much darker business venture, defrauding the most powerless people he can find. ♪

Summer should be fun, not financially stressful. So if you're looking to build your credit with everyday purchases this summer, do it with the Chime Secured Credit Builder Visa credit card. Yep. With no annual fees or interest, Chime is a great tool to help build credit using your own money. And they have features like fee-free overdraft up to $200 with SpotMe.

When you set up a qualifying direct deposit and sign up for SpotMe, Chime will spot you up to your limit when you make a credit card purchase or cash withdrawal that exceeds your balance. That is a game changer, especially since there's no fee to use SpotMe. With Chime's secure credit card, you can improve your credit scores all summer long. Get started today at Chime.com slash Scampod. That's Chime.com slash Scampod.

Chime feels like progress. The Chime Credit Builder Visa credit card is issued by the Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank. N.A. spot me eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply. Out-of-network ATM withdrawal and OTC advance fees may apply. Terms and conditions apply. Go to Chime.com slash disclosures for details.

Hormones can be a real roller coaster. One minute you're feeling energized and balanced, and the next you're dealing with pesky PMS symptoms. It doesn't feel good. And it doesn't help that there are over a thousand common environmental factors that can disrupt your delicate hormone balance, from the food you eat to the skincare products you use. But the good news is there's a way to get your hormones back on track.

Happy Mammoth's Hormone Harmony is a science-backed supplement that's specifically formulated to support women through all the hormone changes you face, from menstrual cycles to menopause. It uses powerful adaptogenic herbs that can help your body adapt to these chaotic hormonal shifts. Yeah, the results speak for themselves. Their supplements have over 17,000 glowing reviews, with customers raving about feeling like themselves again. And for a limited time, you can get 15% off your entire first order at HappyMammoth.com.

Just use the code SCAMPOD. That's happymammoth.com, M-A-M-M-O-T-H, with the code SCAMPOD to get 15% off your entire first order. In February 2020, about a year after Nate moves back to Utah, a woman named Courtney Morton is scrolling through Instagram.

Courtney is in her mid-40s and wears her short bleached hair slicked back. She's been in a really tough place mentally and emotionally. In the past six years alone, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, underwent a double mastectomy and chemo, got divorced, and became the primary caretaker for her disabled son.

Then her father died. So when she gets an Instagram follow request from a guy she doesn't know, she's intrigued and decides to accept it.

Soon enough, they start talking and things move pretty quickly. Of course, this guy is Nate. He bombards Courtney with messages about his upbringing, his company, and his time on Shark Tank. But he probably doesn't mention his mounting debt or the lawsuit from Larry King. He does tell her that he's divorced and has a solid co-parenting situation, even though he is definitely still married.

There is not one redeemable quality on this man. Not a single one. Nate and Courtney keep talking, and after three weeks, Nate asks to meet in person at Courtney's home. She would normally be wary of inviting a stranger to her house, but the onset of the pandemic has intensified her loneliness. She agrees to let him come over.

But from the moment she greets him at the door, she immediately has a bad feeling about him. It's not just that Nate looks like he doesn't take care of himself. It's that he only ever wants to talk about his own life and accomplishments. He successfully pitched his way into Courtney's house, but he can't stop shilling the Nate state of mind.

After the date, Nate's communication with Courtney is near constant, and they see each other almost every day. And while she sometimes has doubts about him, Nate always manages to pull her back by exploiting her grief. Courtney later tells a local news station, He would say things like, I just wish I could have met your dad. I just know we would have, you know, really, really hit it off.

I can't believe that like every new thing I hear about him makes him infinitely worse. He's so slimy. Well, soon enough, Courtney and Nate are planning a future together, even though, again, Nate is married. He tells Courtney he wants a fresh start. He doesn't want to live in the house where Courtney's ex-husband used to live. He tells her she should sell it, even though it's outfitted with equipment for her son who uses a wheelchair.

Courtney isn't so sure about the idea, but she's in no hurry. She figures she has some time to think it over. But then, about two months after their first date, Nate takes her on a romantic outing to a title company. Once they get there, Nate allegedly ambushes Courtney with paperwork that would transfer ownership of her home to Nate's LLC. Courtney's confused.

Why is Nate springing this on her? But he breaks into sales mode, telling her that selling her home under an LLC will save her lots of money in taxes. Courtney does not want to sign this document, but Nate pushes. Eventually, she signs. Not long after, Courtney gets a sinking feeling in her chest. She asks to undo the agreement, but Nate allegedly assures her that this is all for the best.

She says he tells her to focus on their life together. Nate wants his old lifestyle back. The home theater, the basketball court, the attention. And to make this happen, no one is off limits. Screw business. He's becoming a different kind of shark. It's July 14th, 2020, about two months after Nate convinced Courtney to sign the paperwork.

He's waiting in line at an auto shop when he hears a woman mention her new business. His ears perk up. He's still deep in a financial hole, and he thinks he might be able to convince this woman to give him some money. Even though he's stolen Courtney's house, it hasn't sold yet. And a month and a half ago, his company bank account only had $100 in it.

He introduces himself to the woman. Her name is Sammy. She's in her mid-40s, blonde, bubbly, and exactly what Nate looks for in a victim. Recently divorced, with a home or business he can strip for parts. Just a couple of months ago, Sammy opened a new business. A healing center where she sells crystals and offers Reiki healing and sound baths.

They have a brief conversation, but Nate doesn't get her phone number. So he stalks her online and starts sending her flirty texts. Or at least Nate's idea of flirty.

Can you read Nate's response after Sammy asks for his last name? He wrote, On one hand, the serial rapist would probably be better at it, but also kind of a whore.

If a man sent me a text with the word rapist in it this many times, I would change my name and live under the sea. It's genuinely so terrifying. Sammy is really put off by Nate's messages. But he tells her he's a successful entrepreneur and that he can help get her new business off the ground. Eventually, she gives in and agrees to meet with him at her store.

Sammy is prepared to talk shop, but Nate immediately starts asking her about finances. Sammy shuts him down and he gets frustrated. And this is where things get really dark. Sammy later alleges that Nate says he wants to see her new truck, the one she brought into the auto shop. Sammy says that's when he grabs her and assaults her, groping her and sticking his hands in her pants. The whole time, she says that Nate is grinning like a maniac.

He says that he holds her down for 45 minutes and repeatedly tells her that he could rape her if he wanted to. He also says he's got lawyers at the ready if she goes to the cops. Later, over text, Nate tells Sammy that he thought they were, quote, having a good time. Oh, he's deranged. He's evil and deranged and dangerous. It really is incredibly dark inside.

A few weeks later, the sale of Courtney's house goes through. Nate's LLC gets a cool $200,000. The partners in the LLC are Nate and his wife. It's unclear how much Nate's wife knows about the other women he's been trying to manipulate, but what is clear is that Nate is the ultimate beneficiary.

After the sale goes through, he starts paying off his credit card debts, legal fees, and auto bills. And after working so hard to make the sale, Nate puts some money into rewarding himself by buying some new guns. Nate feels confident in his ability to prey on women. But soon, his victims will learn they are not alone. ♪

About a year later, in the summer of 2021, Deanne Jansen matches with Nate on Tinder. Soon enough, she's getting daily messages from him. You might remember Deanne from the beginning of our story. She's a social worker in her 50s with short gray hair.

When Deanne eventually agrees to meet Nate, she tells him she'd like their first date to be in a public place, but he manages to convince her otherwise. Deanne later tells the Daily Beast that once he's at her home, Nate pressures her into, quote, intimacy. Then he sits naked on her couch for a while. The so-called date lasts for eight hours, and Deanne doesn't feel great about it. But Nate uses the same tactic he used on Courtney—

He spins an elaborate story about the wonderful life they could have together. And Deanne finds it hard to say no to this dream, even as she clocks red flag after red flag.

First of all, Nate praises the leadership style of his hero, Adolf Hitler. Yes, Deanne said he literally called Hitler his hero. He also tries to manipulate her, telling her that he won't let her meet his kids until she shows more of a commitment to him. Of course, that commitment is financial. Nate even tries to get one of Deanne's adult kids to go into business with him twice. Less than a month after their first date, Deanne gets an urgent call from Nate.

He tells her that she needs to invest $50,000 in his latest business ASAP. He reportedly says she can use the money from her husband's life insurance claim. Deanne really doesn't want to do this, but Nate uses their relationship, his Shark Tank history, and even his dad's role in the Mormon church to pressure her into it. Whenever she expresses doubts, he insults her and makes her question her instincts.

This is very classic abuser. It's so familiar as a pattern we know from bad men. It's so typical. Yeah, it's manipulative and scary. Nate promises Deanne that he's going to invest her $50,000 and make 20 times that amount. But as their relationship progresses and Nate's business success feels less and less likely, Deanne repeatedly asks for her money back. But anytime she brings it up, Nate changes the subject.

Deanne knows something is wrong. She's tried to do some research into Nate before, but none of it has turned up anything useful. She decides to try again, and after some more digging, she finds a Reddit post by a woman who says that Nate seduced her, promised a future together, and stole her money.

It turns out Nate has a serious pattern. He casts a wide net on dating apps, talking to as many women as he can. He tries to find out if they have money and whether they're having a hard time, like going through a divorce or losing a loved one. And that's when he pounces, love bombing them until they can meet in person.

Deanne feels like the victim in a horror story, isolated and attacked by a monster. But now she knows there are other people going through the same thing. And soon enough, they'll be able to fight back.

As Nate is preying on Deanne, Courtney is in dire straits. She's the woman who signed her house over to Nate, which he then sold. He had promised to invest the profits into a new business and give her some of the money. But she's only gotten $11,000 from him, even though the house sold for $200,000.

Since then, Courtney's been forced to move into a much smaller apartment, one that isn't very accessible for her son. And she's terrified that Nate might try to hurt her. She says that her son saw Nate lurking around in the garage of their building. And one time, she came home to see her front door had been tampered with.

That is a top two nightmare. When I feel paranoid, like at my most anxious, and I come home, my nightmare is always coming home to like something's up with the door. Yes. My cat's missing. Things are awry. I honestly couldn't imagine how scary that could be. Yeah. Courtney does eventually summon the courage to go to the police, but the investigation is slow. After a couple of months, she turns to the internet to warn others about Nate. She

She posts on Reddit and on other forums. It takes almost a year, but eventually, the Utah County Attorney's Office decides they have enough evidence to charge Nate with multiple counts of communication fraud. The police start looking for Nate, but they're having trouble tracking him down. Courtney is frustrated with the lack of progress. But then she gets a phone call from a woman who says she found Courtney's Reddit post and wants to talk.

It's Deanne. And the two women realize they've had very similar experiences. At some point, Courtney tells Deanne that the police are looking for Nate. And Deanne says she actually has plans to see him. They're supposed to have lunch at Carl's Jr. the next day. Oh, here we fucking go. Oh.

As Deanne pulls into the parking lot across the street from Carl's Jr., she takes a deep breath. Her heart is racing. She grips the steering wheel and starts thinking about all the ways Nate might retaliate against her if the sting goes off the rails. But then Deanne sees Nate pull up, and he's shocked when, instead of Deanne, he's greeted by officers from the Utah County Attorney's Office.

As officers lead him away in handcuffs, Deanne breathes a sigh of relief. But just 90 minutes later, Nate posts his $20,000 bail. And suddenly, he's a free man again. Deanne and Courtney's nightmare continues, and it's about to drag on even longer.

Shifting your wardrobe from summer to fall can be challenging, but luckily, Quince offers timeless and high-quality items for any season. Yep, with Quince, your wardrobe stays fresh and in budget. They have items like cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion, washable silk tops, and so much more. Quince items are priced 50-80% less than regular brands because they partner directly with the factories to cut out the cost of the middleman.

I just ordered the super soft fleece cropped wide leg pants and the fleece crew. I got it for my mom. She loves them. She's been living in them. They're so comfortable and they're so affordable for how soft the material is. Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash scampod for

I feel like a legend.

Courtney is so furious about Nate getting out on bail that she decides she's ready to tell her story to a bigger audience. At this point, she has nothing more to lose. She goes on a local news station and tells a story of how Nate manipulated her. She's emotional, but composed. She says that she's coming forward publicly to try and convince more of Nate's victims to do the same. She's found support in her connection with Deanne, and she wants others to know they have support too.

Around this time, Sammy, the entrepreneur who was assaulted by Nate, learns about the arrest, and she gets in touch with the attorney's office. She had tried to get the police to look into Nate after her assault, but nothing really came of it. This time, her testimony helps add an additional charge, inappropriate touching. Several other women come forward as well, all with eerily similar stories. But then the women get some bad news.

Toward the end of 2022, prosecutors announced they're working on a plea deal with Nate's lawyers. The terms are a big surprise to them. As long as Nate pleads guilty to one charge of communications fraud and promises to pay back $300,000 of restitution to his victims, he won't see jail time and won't have to register as a sex offender. His lawyers even negotiate a clause that makes his guilty plea conditional.

The prosecutors say that if the judge doesn't agree to the terms of the deal, Nate can change his plea from guilty to not guilty. So it's normal, I guess, to have a plea deal dependent on whether or not a judge says yes. But how weird that he's baked in here that he can take his plea back. It's so odd. It's like you said you were guilty and now you can say you're not. Nonsense. Well,

prosecutors think this is the quickest way to get as much money to the victims as possible. They tell Courtney that if she doesn't accept this, the other victims might not get any money. Deanne and Sammy are told the same thing. Courtney and the other victims feel like they're being pressured into a deal that's favorable to Nate, but they think it's their only option, so they reluctantly agree. Still, the judge has one last surprise in store for them.

It's August 4th, 2023, almost two whole years after Nate's arrest. Sammy, Courtney, and Deanne have gathered at a courthouse in Provo, Utah for Nate's sentencing. They watch as he enters the courthouse with his teenage children surrounding him. He's wearing a blue sports coat, khaki pants, and amber tinted shades.

He looks less like he's going to court and more like he's going into yet another sales pitch. When news reporters stop Nate outside the courthouse and ask about the charges, he says, "Unfortunately, the way this system works is that you do get a little bit hung before you're even tried. Innocent until proven guilty in America.

I think it's interesting that the people who always say stuff like that are always like pretty guilty. It's never someone where there are like a bunch of issues with their case and there is a bunch of plausible deniability. It's always the guys who like did it. Yes. It's never someone who didn't do anything who's saying that.

Everyone gathers inside the courtroom in front of Judge Thomas Lowe, a soft-spoken man with gray hair and square glasses. The hearing starts with Nate's lawyer explaining the plea deal. The lawyer says Nate is remorseful and wants to make things right. But Judge Lowe seems hesitant. He says he wants to hear from the victims first.

Then, one after the other, the women take the stand. Deanne calls Nate a gifted swindler and says that she's had a hard time trusting people since she met him. Sammy describes her assault in detail. She's angry that Nate is not being added to the sex offender registry. She says that prosecutors told her that pushing for a trial and a harsher punishment would threaten the other victim's chance to at least get some money for what they had been through.

Then Courtney describes the hell Nate put her through, how he told her he had attorneys on standby, that he could murder her and no one would know. The court also reads statements from other victims who aren't there, including one who says Nate told her about his philosophy, that men are hunters and women are the prey.

Judge Lowe gives Nate a chance to respond. Nate sits forward in his seat and pleads his case. He says, "I really do feel sorry for everybody who's so upset over things, and I can understand why. There's a lot going on here."

Oh, can he? He can understand why? That's amazing. I'm really happy to hear that he can understand why. Judge Lowe takes a few minutes after he speaks to look over the case in front of him. And he shocks the entire room when he says that the agreement Nate's lawyers have negotiated is too lenient. He's rejecting the deal.

Nate has already pleaded guilty to three counts of communications fraud and three counts of sexual battery. And now, Judge Lowe orders him to pay his restitution and serve at least two years in prison. The courtroom is dead silent as the judge tells Nate the damage he's done to his victims is, quote, shocking. One of Nate's lawyers tries to remind the judge of a clause in their agreement, the one that allows Nate to withdraw his guilty plea.

But Judge Lowe says that, no, Nate cannot withdraw his plea. It goes against Utah state law since a judge had not approved the deal before the plea was entered. He tells Nate and the lawyer they can file a motion if they want, but for now, Nate's going to prison. Deanne, Courtney, and Sammy watch as he's handcuffed and carted out of court. He's sentenced to a maximum of 15 years in Utah state prison.

Nate spent years believing in his sales superpower. But a court of law isn't a TV set, and Nate can't talk his way out of justice. The Shark Tank scammer has finally been beached.

Sachi, this is such a sinister story. I don't think I say this a lot, but I don't think you got enough time. This is also like a bummer of a scam because it's like the intention's evil. The execution's evil. The logic is barely there. I should be able to laugh and enjoy this story because of how ugly those fucking belts are. And instead, I have to be like, this guy's like an actual monster. Yeah.

Yeah, I feel like eventually as he went on, the scam was less about being able to make money and more about how many women he can manipulate into this like crazy, terrible scheme. Because he could have definitely scammed people in a way that was like less emotionally hurtful and physically abusive. You know what I mean? Yeah. Also,

There's a lot of crazy shit in this story, so much so that we couldn't really focus on the white supremacy and Nazi shit. Yeah, I don't have the bandwidth to think about how much Nazism seemed to play into this story because I am so pressed about the several sexual assaults that he seemed to try to at least

be responsible for. I don't remember the last time we've had a scam story that starts with so many clear red flags and ends with them. Like there's no ambiguity. What a creep. No, there's no ambiguity, nor was there any like honest attempt at something that

just snowballed into a scam because it was so much easier to scam. It's like from the moment he started this, he was making ugly belts that were inspired by Hitler, basically. And it just got so much worse from there.

This is a tough one to really pull a lesson from, Sarah. But I feel like if there is a lesson for this, as is the lesson in so many of the episodes we do, the lesson is don't talk to a man. Yes. Don't talk to him. Don't talk to him about his belts. I don't want to talk to anybody who cares that much about belts. Ugh.

This is the Shark Tank Charlatan. I'm Sarah Hagee. And I'm Sachi Cole. This episode contained descriptions of sexual violence, assault, and abuse. If you or someone you know has experienced sexual harassment and would like to speak with an advocate who is trained to help, the U.S. National Sexual Assault Hotline can be reached at 1-800-656-HOPE.

If you have a tip for us on a story that you think we should cover, please email us at scamfluencersatwondery.com. We use many sources in our research. A few that were particularly helpful were the Shark Tank star who scammed lovelorn women by Pilar Melendez for The Daily Beast, Emily Ashcraft's reporting for KSL TV, and Danielle Rivera, Debbie Worthen, and Jordan Miller's reporting for the Salt Lake Tribune.

Kyle Rabby wrote this episode. Additional writing by us, Sachi Cole and Sarah Hagee. Sarah Enni is our story editor and producer, and Eric Thurm is our story editor. Fact-checking by Will Taplin. Sound design by James Morgan. Additional audio assistance provided by Adrian Tapia. Our music supervisor is Scott Velasquez for Freesound Sync. Our coordinating producer is Desi Blaylock, and our managing producer is Matt Gantt.

Janine Cornelow and Stephanie Jens are our development producers. Our associate producers are Charlotte Miller and Lexi Peary. Our producers are John Reed, Yasmin Ward, and Kate Young. Our senior producers are Ginny Bloom and Jen Swan. Our executive producers are Jenny Lauer-Beckman, Marshall Louie, and Erin O'Flaherty for Wondery. Wondery.

If you like Scamfluencers, you can listen to every episode early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.