Love Fraud (2020–…): Season 1, Episode 4 - How Did You Guys See This Thing Ending? - full transcript

[birds chirping]

ominous music

[Michele]
It happened 12 years ago.

My husband and I were
having difficulties.

So it was a really
vulnerable time for me.

And then I met Scott.

But he said, "Oh,
you should get out of that

and make yourself happy
and your kid should be happy,"

and all that stuff.

Our wedding night,
he just changed.

He kept feeding me shots.



Shots after shots after shots.

He said to my friend,

"Michele really needs
to go outside.

She's had a lot to drink."

So he goes out the door.

As soon as I get out there,
he slams the glass door at me,

and I fell backwards
and I hit my head

on the fire extinguisher
and I blacked out.

When I woke up, I had blood
all over my white dress.

It was all red, full of blood.

And I ended up
with five staples in my head

on my wedding night.

Yeah. [laughs softly]

Yeah.



And then, after that,
it just got worse and worse.

He told me, if I ever left him,
that he would hurt my kids.

Yep.

In the morning, when he would
leave the house...

...8:25, he'd pull
out of the garage.

8:30, he was on the phone,

wanting to know
what I was doing.

And if I didn't
answer the phone...

...can't tell you how many times

he would just sneak
in the house,

and all of a sudden,
he'd be in the bathroom

just looking at me
in the shower.

It was really scary.

And just, this look
on his face, you know...

It's just, it was really scary.

He didn't want me
to talk to my mom,

he didn't want me
to talk to my kids.

He would get the t...

He would find out
how long I was on the phone.

"You talked to her for
12 minutes. What did you say?"

I said, "12 minutes?
How do you even know that?"

Mm, he was checking
the phone records.

And he had a tracker
on my phone.

I didn't know that.

And that's when I started
to get stronger and stronger,

and not answering the phone,
not answering the text messages.

And he would get mad and I would
just say, "Go ahead, hit me.

You're such a man. Go ahead."

And then he would
just kind of back up

and look at me like, "What?"

"Yeah, go ahead, try it."

And I said, "That's the last
time you'll ever do it.

I'll take that knife
and I will stick you."

[chuckles]

And I called my mom,
she flew out.

On the 11th, May 11th, I packed
up everything I could pack up,

filled the car...
The dog, my son...

And I left, Mother's Day.

In the end,

he didn't even take
any money from me.

Nothing.

He just wanted to control me.

"Part Time Love"
by Bridget Everett

Oh

You tell me the truth

And then you tell me lies

First you say hello

And then you say goodbye

Oh

I never know

I never know just
what you're thinking of

But I don't want no

No, I don't want no

Part-time love

[thunder crashes]

No...

Time's up, honey

disorienting music

[indistinct chatter]

Falling in and out of love

[man] Thank you.

With you...

[man] There you go.

Sinister music

[Jean] I am afraid that
this gal's at risk.

We need to stop him.

It's as close as we've been
in a very long time.

[Jean] I want to go down there.

- [Carla] When?
- Tomorrow.

I want to know that
he's not hurting other women.

He's got a warrant out
for his arrest.

I think we can get it done.

[Carla] Guess who's going
for her backup.

You.

Energetic music

[mouse clicks]

[Steven] So this is when
we first laid eyes on him...

...pumping gas.

I-I believe he was
getting ready to go to work.

[Carla] He just thinks
he's footloose

and fancy-free
down here, don't he?

Little does he know.

I mean, at this point in time he
was, you know, just a normal guy

- going to a normal job.
- Yeah, but how can you do that,

knowing you're a fugitive?

Man, I'd be stuck away somewhere

[laughing]
where no one would ever find me.

[Steven]
I think he-he feels like he's,

- he's too good to get caught.
- [Jean] Yep, he does.

[Steven] This is Rick
at the Honda dealership.

So this is the first
car dealership

that we actually saw him at.

And, uh, here's another one.

And another.

He stayed on the phone
almost the entire time

that he walked the lot,

and he was there
for a long period of time.

He's got
very distinct mannerisms.

A lot of times
when he's on the phone,

he's got his arms
crossed like that.

You'll see that
in-in several videos.

He's always in that position
when he's on the phone. Always.

[Carla] He's gonna get
brain cancer or some shit.

[Steven chuckles]

[Steven]
So here he is at the boat.

Oscar's vehicle's at the boat,
Rick's vehicle's at the boat.

And then, at some point...

he starts cleaning.

[Carla]
God, he is a lame-ass worker.

[Steven] So, this is Stephanie.

She lives in Knoxville.

When we first, you know,

realized that they were
in a relationship,

when they were out
at bars and restaurants,

I mean, it-it seemed like,
that she wanted to have

a good time with him, and-and,
you know, she would smile

and laugh at the jokes, and, um,
you know, it was, it was almost

like a-a real relationship
that we were watching unfold.

And then one of the other
investigators on the team,

uh, followed him toward work,

but noticed he got off
at an exit

that he'd never
been on before...

...and came to this place.

Eerie music

This is Stephanie 2.

She's new.

[Carla] Jesus, what the fuck?

[Steven] He's been with her
for two or three days.

And we noticed that,
in order to juggle two women,

he would quit going
to work so much.

And then
that brings us to today.

This is Lisa.

She came into the picture
yesterday.

[Carla] Jesus Christ.

How does he do this?

[Steven] And they spent their
day looking at houses together.

[Carla] Seriously?

What the fuck?

[phone vibrating]

[phone chimes]

Oh, hang on.

Oh, he's at another hotel
right now.

[Carla] What? What?

He's at the Super 8, just up
the road from the wing place.

- [Carla] That's our...
- [Jean] By himself?

- [Carla] That's our place.
- [Steven] Uh...

that was my question.
Who's he there with?

So we need to have a plan
to get him apprehended tomorrow.

We'll have to call
the dispatcher and say,

"Hey, here's-here's what we got.

Put us in touch with somebody."

[Jean] Okay.

[Carla] Let's do it.

Slow, suspenseful music

[Carla]
So he's in this room right here?

[Jason] Um, s-so you see
the door that's open right here?

- Yeah.
- He's down a couple doors.

- Oh, he's down there. Okay.
- Yeah.

[line ringing]

[operator] Knoxville
Police Communications...

[speaks indistinctly]

Hi, um, I would like
to report a fugitive.

Okay. And what's going on?

Well... [clears throat]

he has been evading...
um, he's on probation

and he left, uh, Kansas City
and he's in Tennessee now.

He's at a Super 8 motel
and he's got a warrant.

He's got two warrants, one
with Iowa and one with Kansas.

[Carla sighs]

And is he white, black
or Hispanic?

Oh, my God.
These cops are so slow.

Yeah.

His name is Richard Scott Smith.

He goes by several
other names as well.

He's been going by Scott
here in Tennessee,

but he also goes by...

Richard Scott what?

Smith.

All right, we've got it.

[Jean] Okay, thank you.

[Jason] Holy shit.

He just popped
his head out that door.

[Steven] You on?

[Jason]

Yeah, I'm on.

[Carla] So you're gonna block
him in and pray for the cops?

[line ringing]

[operator 2] Knoxville
Police Communications...

[speaks indistinctly]

[Jean] Hi, this is Jean Hansen.

I called shortly ago
and reported a fugitive,

and he's getting ready to leave,

and I haven't seen anybody
show up.

Okay. I'm-I'm having
a hard time hearing you. Okay.

Reported... what was it?

I reported a fugitive.

- Okay.
- Who has two warrants,

and he's about to leave
the location.

Okay. And can you give me
an address?

The address that you gave?

Yeah, it's, uh, w...

it's the Super 8 on Snyder Road.

- [engine starts]
- It's, um,

11748 Snyder Road.

Okay. Did you talk to,

did you talk to, um,
somebody in the police?

We're gonna follow him.

I'll-I'll call you back.

We're gonna follow him
and see where he lands.

I don't want you to follow him,
but I want you

to stay on the line so that
you can give the information.

[Carla] Oh, he's jumping
right the fuck out there, too.

Fuck me.

Yeah, I got him.

[indistinct radio chatter]

[Jason] Negative. Uh, he's-he's
just about to pull into...

[speaks indistinctly]

Just stand by for a second.

[speaks indistinctly]

All right, we're going
towards the interstate.

Looks like we're gonna take
Interstate I-40 headed east.

- Yeah, we're headed east.
- [Carla] Where's he going?

[indistinct radio chatter]

[Jason] All right,
be prepared for a possible exit.

All right, he's gonna
exit at West Hills.

Where the hell is he going?

[Jason] Who is he calling now?

[Steven]
West Town Mall, West Town Mall.

[indistinct radio chatter]

[Jean] Going shopping? At Sears?

- [Jason] What's that?
- [sirens wailing]

It's for him.

[Steven] This is them.
It's gonna go down.

He's at Dillard's.
He's at Dillard's.

They're right behind him.

Disorienting music

This is it.

He's toast.

[Jason] He's trying
to get away from that cop.

[Jean] Holy shit.

Unbelievable.

Whoa! Guns drawn.

They've got him in custody.

Yes!

Fuck yeah.

[gasps]

[Jean] Oh, my God.
Thank God we got him.

[exhales] Oh, thank God.

[line ringing]

[whispers]
Please pick up, please pick up.

Hi, Stephanie. You don't know
me, but this is Jean Hansen.

I'm one of Ri...
Uh, Scott as you know him...

Scott Smith's ex-wives.

You know Scott Smith?

Well, we just had him arrested.

He's been a fugitive,

originally
for domestic violence.

And I'm sorry to say this,
but while he was dating you,

he's been dating
two other people.

He's been under surveillance.

[Stephanie cries]

Are you okay?

I'm s...

Knoxville.

Eerie music

Sinister music

[birds chirping]

- [ship horn blows]
- [engine revs]

[thunder crashes]

[tires screech]

atmospheric music

[birds chirping]

pulsing music

I don't know.

Aw, man.

[indistinct chatter
in background]

Mm-hmm.

[Rachel] I saw Scott
here at your boat.

Oh.

No.

I don't know.

And, uh...

You'd still sell it to him?

Well, yeah.

Well, I filmed him
coming here, sir.

- You what?
- I filmed him coming here.

- Yeah.
- By himself.

Really?

He didn't know
we were filming him.

What do you think he was
doing here on his own?

Mm-hmm.

[laughs]

ambient music

[Lee] He's a goddamn
motherfucking piece of shit.

And I could not believe he
did that to my father's yacht.

He tried to sink that
so he could buy it

and repo it, because he works
at a place that does that.

I mean, it's disgraceful.

I'm so embarrassed.

I feel so bad for my father

because I let him
come back here.

It is my fault...

...and it makes me feel
like I'm naive.

But I understand now

he's a sociopath.

I mean, I don't even know.

I don't know if there's anything

that I believe now... about him.

[geese honking]

ominous music

[gavel bangs]

[judge] All right, record
should reflect we are here

in State v. Richard Scott Smith,

SRCR288645.

Uh, the matter
before the court today is

a, uh, probation violation.

- The State ready to proceed?
- [prosecutor] Yes, Your Honor.

[judge] You have witnesses
you'd like to call,

or you gonna make argument?

- We have witnesses.
- Okay.

[Sandi] Thank you, Your Honor.

Mr. Smith has been a relentless
serial sociopath

and a professional con artist.

His actions are all calculated
and premeditated.

I have with me in the courtroom
today others with whom

he has committed fraud against
since the probation sentencing

over two years ago.

I found out from a police
officer, right after

he assaulted me, that Mr. Smith
had married a different woman

in Las Vegas three days prior
to him attacking me,

and he was still legally married
to two other women at the time.

So you can add bigamist
to the list.

You were controlling,
manipulative, verbally

and physically abusive
towards me.

I live with what he did to me
every day of my life,

and my mind still drifts back
to that night he had his hands

covering my airway in which
I thought that was it.

You have not only affected
my life but dozens and dozens

of others of whom I had the
chance to speak with personally.

You are a monstrous human being.

And I believe that the devil
disguises himself

in so many ways on this earth,
of which you seemingly

fit the bill.

You are not sorry for what
you did to me back then,

and you're definitely not sorry

for the poor choices
you have made.

The only thing you are sorry
about is the fact that you have

finally been caught.

I respectfully ask the court
to sentence Mr. Smith

the maximum prison term allowed.

Thank you, Your Honor, for your
time and understanding.

[judge] Thank you.
You may step down.

All right. Uh, Mr. Smith, you
are not required to say anything

regarding the issue
of sentencing,

but I am required to give you
the opportunity to speak

if you want to say anything
regarding sentencing.

Is there anything
you wish to say?

- No, ma'am...
- All right.

All right, um, so the question
before the court today is:

what's the appropriate sentence

as far as incarceration
is concerned?

In this case, you are no longer
a candidate for supervision

in the community.

So, based on that,
I am going to sentence you

to be incarcerated for 180 days.

[bangs gavel]

upbeat music

[Carla] He's behind bars; that's
what these women wanted to see.

And I am thrilled to death
he's where he's at.

But... [sighs]

unfortunately, he's really not
gonna be there that long.

No-Not at all what he deserves.

The judicial system has got
so much going on in it,

from petty theft to murders,

they don't have time for
all this little bullshit.

And this is
little bullshit to them.

This is peas.

The system is fucked.
It's totally fucked up.

And it's gonna stay that way.

Rick is a bad outcome
no matter how you look at it.

Some people say he's sick.

I don't believe that.

I think he knows
exactly what he's doing.

He enjoys doing what he's doing.

Because he likes taking
advantage of people.

Stark, ambient music

[birds singing]

[phone line ringing]

[geese honking]

[phone line ringing]

[automated voice] Hello.
This is a free call from...

[Richard] Scott Smith.

[automated voice] ...an inmate
at Polk County jail.

You have the right
to remain silent,

and if you choose to speak
beyond this point,

anything you say may be used
against you in a court of law.

[lock buzzes]

[latch clicks]

[door shuts]

[officer] Spread your legs
right there at the table.

- Right here?
- Right here.

- Spread your legs.
- [sighs]

Got your cup of water
there next to you.

[Richard] I agreed to talk to
you today because I want to get

my story out,

and I want everybody
in the world knowing

that I'm not the person
that they've claimed me to be.

I'm just not that person.

I wanted the serious,
I wanted the long-term.

I did not want anything
short-term

and nothing temporary.

Anything that I went into,
I went into it.

I wanted to...

some permanency
of a relationship.

I want the, the fairy tale
romance. I want that.

I-I want the forever.

[Rachel] So it seems like,
when you meet someone,

things tend to move
pretty quickly.

Can you talk a little bit about

why these relationships
happen so fast?

[sighs]

I just get this, the anxiety,
thinking... [clears throat]

...what if this person
changes their mind about me?

What if, all of a sudden,
they meet somebody else,

and... somebody else better?

That's probably most of it,
Rachel, is the fear of losing

somebody else in my life would
be why I-I would characterize

why I would want it
to move faster.

I don't want to lose
anybody else.

Um, I have a big fear
of people leaving me.

And-and for good reason because
it's happened to me a lot.

More than anything,

I just want to be loved.
I want to be loved.

I want to be wanted.
I want to be needed.

[Rachel]
Do you want to be trusted?

Yeah, absolutely.

I don't want anybody
not to ever trust me.

I don't want that.
That's not my life.

That's not who I want to be.

Nor is it...
nor am I going to be that.

[Rachel] So, you have been
described as a con man.

[chuckles] Yeah.

What-what-what-what-what
did I gain?

Where's all this,
where's all this money at?

What did I gain?
I didn't gain shit.

Check out their pay stubs,
their W-2s, their tax returns.

Nobody's had any money.

I-I-I ended up with the
fixer-uppers, the ones that,

that are not making a lot of
money, that I've had to pay

electricity bills, cell phone
bills, car insurance,

um... car payments.

How does that make me a con man

when I'm paying
for somebody else?

It doesn't make sense.

[Heidi] But can someone,

can-can someone be...
can you con someone,

uh, out of something
besides money?

Like, can somebody be conned...
emotionally conned, for example?

Well, yeah,
it-it-it-it could be possible.

And from my perspective,
hell no.

I don't believe that.

Emotionally conned?
Emotionally conned?

Think about that, Heidi.

You think it's bullshit?

Yeah, absolutely I do.

So, have you committed
any crimes?

No.

You believe you've been wrongly
accused of every, everything

that these women have
brought against you?

Yeah.

[Rachel] So, did you hear
anything about this boat?

About Oscar's boat?

I heard that it sunk.

Was I blamed for that one, too?

I-I-I heard at first somebody
had said that I did something

to sink that 1960-something
model boat.

No, I... no,
I don't know anything about it.

I was shocked.

The boat was
in very poor condition.

So...

- It was in poor condition?
- Oh, yeah.

Yeah. A very poor condition,
very old boat.

So...

let me just ask you
a very plain question.

What would you say
to the women on the blog?

Wow.

Well, my life has been
very, very difficult

at every single turn,
which you've created.

I really hope that
you're satisfied and I hope

you're happy with your results,

because you got the results
that you wanted.

But I'm gonna tell you
real sure-surely:

I'm a diamond.
You're not gonna break me.

Nobody's gonna break me.

I will bounce back,
'cause I still have me.

I still have, have my integrity.

I'm a new me now.

Thank you... thank you for
your time, and I forgive you.

I forgive you
for what you've done to me.

- [Rachel] Do you pray?
- Yes, every day.

Can you tell me
about that a little bit?

I pray every day. I pray
for, uh... [clears throat]

my safety, I pray for...
as-as I told you,

one of the things
I pray for, Rachel,

is for all these people to get
what they want and-and be happy

and fulfilled in their life
and to move on.

Do you, is there, do you have
a favorite scripture

- that you like to quote, or...?
- [sighs]

I really don't have
a favorite scripture.

Um... [clears throat]

So why don't you tell me

how many times you've
been married and...

- Five.
- In a full sentence,

- and please give me their names.
- I've been married five times.

And what are the names of the...

- Angela was my first.
- Who was your second?

Jennifer was the second.

Third?

Third? Theresa.

Fourth?

Jennifer.

Um...

Does Jennifer go
by a different name?

No.

Okay.

Fifth?

Jean.

So, who is... who...? Uh, Jean.

Weren't you married to Lisa?

- Lisa? Yeah.
- Okay.

-Yeah.
-Were you married to Lisa
after Jean?

[clearing throat]
Okay. Before Jean.

Yeah. Who were you married to
between Theresa and Jean?

- Lisa.
- Lisa. Okay.

Um, who's Catherine Pratts?

Oh, God, that was very short...

[sighs] short-lived.

- I forgot all about that.
- Mm-hmm.

What about Rebecca Sobel?

Yep, that was there, too.

What number was she?

Mm...

She was before Jennifer.

Who's Rebecca Marie Johnson?

She was one, too.

Crystal Renee...

- ...Wyatt?
- Oh, yeah.

So that's ten.

[Heidi]
Have you ever been married

to more than one woman
at the same time?

I think, u-uh, twice.

-Can you say that
in a complete sentence?
-Huh?

Can you say that in
a complete sentence?

Uh, two-two times in the same...
two times married,

same... [stammers]

"I've been married twice
to the same..."

Twice to sa... yeah,
at-at the same time.

Can you just say it
one time clean for me?

[laughs] I've been married
to the same...

to, uh, two-two people twice.

- "At..."
- At a time.

- "At the same time."
- Yeah.

You don't like saying it
'cause i-it bothers you, huh?

It does bother me
'cause I didn't even realize

that happened. [chuckles]

You didn't know you were married
to two people at the same...

No, because I thought, I thought
the divorces were done.

[chuckles] I really did.

- You know...
- Is there anyone

you're still married
to right now that...

No. Absolutely not.

- You're sure?
- I'm positive.

[Rachel] So, I want to ask you

what aliases you have,
and why you were using them?

Rick, Scott, Mickey. That's it.

So, what... And why were you
switching your names around?

[inhales] Uh...

You know, Rachel,
I'm... I'm really glad

you asked that question.

It's because I have so much fear
of somebody googling that name

and that damn site coming up.

Nothing malicious.

I would do anything
to avoid that damn site.

It-It's very stressful.

You know, when...

people are getting together on
a Friday night for martini night

and thinking of ways
to make my life-life worse,

I think that's sick.
I think it's a witch hunt.

[clears throat, sniffles]

I'm not the only one
that's going through this.

There's other people...
[clears throat]

that their lives
have been hit on the Internet.

You look at our president
of our country.

Somebody's always got
to say something about him.

And, you know,
he's been accused,

or falsely accused,
of a lot of things.

[stammers, clears throat]

I'm human, too.

I-I have been a victim, Rachel,

to things that are not true.

We live in the information
superhighway right now.

Okay?

Everybody googles everybody now.

Everybody goes to Facebook

and checks-checks you out
on Facebook.

"Let's-let's look
at your family.

Let's look at your activities.
Let's look at your pictures."

All right? Everybody does that.

Okay? I'm not on Facebook,

and I will never be
on Facebook again.

I want to be normal.

I want to be able
to have my Facebook page

and have my pictures
of my life out there

and downloaded
off of my phone...

[sniffles]

...so it can be...

I can feel like
I'm a normal person.

Um... [clears throat]

[Heidi] S-So why does this...
why does your story matter?

[clears throat]
I wanted to help others

that may be going through things

that are something like this

that may not be
as strong as I am.

'Cause some people
would just, like,

maybe suicide
would be their option,

and maybe just
completely check out.

That's not what I want.

[Heidi] So, is there any kernel
of truth in any of this?

'Cause this is, like, I feel
like this is your moment to...

You want to tell the truth,
you want to clear the slate.

So I just want to give
you every opportunity.

If there's anything you want
to acknowledge or explain.

Look, I'm absolutely ashamed
of some of the things

and some of my actions,
and not telling the truth.

And things like... I'm ashamed.
I'm embarrassed of myself.

And the only thing that I can do

is-is-is move forward

and-and correct it
and it-it never happen again.

You know... [clears throat]

I can tell you, to... [stammers]

I'm-I'm going to work
on me, Heidi.

I'm going to be in counseling
on a regular basis.

I am going to do
everything in my power

to fix me.

What do you think
needs to be fixed, Scott?

[clears throat]

I-I-I need to learn that I can
be... being myself is okay

and be... I can be
very content with myself,

'cause being me is okay,
is just fine.

[exhales, sniffles]

I just, I want to move on.

I want to heal now.

How did you guys see-see
this thing ending?

How did you guys
see this ending?

Ominous music

"I Love It" by Icona Pop
featuring Charli XCX

I got this feeling on the
summer day when you were gone

I crashed my car into the bridge

I watched, I let it burn

I threw your shit into a bag
and pushed it down the stairs

I crashed my car into the bridge

I don't care, I love it

I don't care,
I love it, I love it

I don't care, I love it

I don't care

I love it