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A Master Conman in His Own Words

7/13/202629 min

Over the phone, Paul Regan offered prospective clients something that sounded too good to be true: investments with guaranteed returns of 10-15%. It was all part of a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme. WSJ’s Jason Zweig obtained hours of recorded phone calls, in which Regan seduced his victims, who were often older and needed help. Ryan Knutson hosts.

Further Listening:

- An Influencer’s False Promise to Make His Followers Rich 

- Pig Butchering: A Texting Scam With a Crypto Twist

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Clips

Not Greedy, Just Human
Too Good To Be True
Never Cynical Enough
Agents Asked To Break Law
Regan's Ideal Victims
Will Victims Recover Money?

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Speaker 10:00

    [phone ringing] Hello?

  2. Paul Regan· Soundbite0:09

    My name is Paul Regan. I'm the CEO and founder of Next Level Holdings. How are you?

  3. Ryan Knutson· Host0:13

    This is the voice of Paul Regan.

  4. Paul Regan· Soundbite0:17

    [phone ringing] This is Paul Regan, chairman and co-founder of Yield Bank. How are you?

  5. Ryan Knutson· Host0:24

    Regan ran two investment firms, and he spent a lot of time on the phone pitching prospective clients.

  6. Paul Regan· Soundbite0:32

    [on hold music] This is Paul Regan with Next Level Holdings. How are you? Hello? Yes, good morning. My name is Paul Regan with Next Level Holdings. How are you? I'm good. Okay. So we have a, a call booked today to go over your retirement income protection.

  7. Ryan Knutson· Host0:49

    What is he trying to get these people to do?

  8. Jason Zweig· Guest0:52

    Trust him.

  9. Paul Regan· Soundbite0:53

    I'm here to see if I can clear up any questions you have or answer any questions you have, and, uh, give you comfort, explain the product. Um, if you have a couple of minutes, I'd like to do that.

  10. Ryan Knutson· Host1:05

    What Paul Regan had to offer sounded pretty amazing, an investment with a guaranteed return of 10 to 15%. And not only were the returns really high, he said there was no downside.

  11. Paul Regan· Soundbite1:20

    Let me be very clear. There is zero risk of loss here. We have a guaranteed annuity that, that pays up to 15% per annum.

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