Skip to content

Tag: Crime

All longform pieces tagged with #crime on The Slow Scroll

The Cryptocurrency Scam That Turned a Small Town Against Itself
New York Times19 Feb 2025 • ~3900 words

In a major cryptocurrency scam, Shan Hanes, the president of a small Kansas town bank, made unauthorized wire transfers totaling over $47 million. He converted the funds into cryptocurrencies, only to lose them to a crypto crime network. The town has been left devastated by the l...

Tracking the Pacific Drug Highway
New Lines Magazine18 Feb 2025 • ~3750 words

Sean Williams and Kevin Knodell examine the evolution of drug trafficking across the Pacific, tracing how Latin American cartels have shifted their focus to New Zealand and Australia. They expose the alarming rise of the "Pacific Drug Highway," uncovering a web of criminal networ...

Art Adviser. Friend. Thief.
New York Times18 Feb 2025 • ~3050 words

Lisa Schiff, once a prominent art adviser, now faces the possibility of two decades in prison for stealing millions from her clients. This piece not only recounts how this happened, but also how Schiff reflects on her descent.

Rape under wraps: how Tinder, Hinge and their corporate owner chose profits over safety
The Guardian13 Feb 2025 • ~5700 words

The Guardian investigates the safety practices of Match Group, the parent company of popular dating apps like Tinder and Hinge. Despite being aware of numerous reports of sexual assault by users, this piece argues that the company has often prioritized profits over the safety of ...

Murder in the Blue Mountains
Toronto Life10 Feb 2025 • ~6500 words

Ashley and James Schwalm had what seemed like a fairy tale life—two wonderful children, fulfilling careers and a gorgeous home close to the private ski club where they’d fallen in love. Then Ashley’s remains turned up in a burned-out car at the bottom of a ditch, and all signs po...

The Untold Story of a Crypto Crimefighter’s Descent Into Nigerian Prison
Wired10 Feb 2025 • ~11400 words

Andy Greenberg chronicles the ordeals of Tigran Gambaryan, a former IRS agent and Binance compliance officer, who was detained in Nigeria. Lured to Nigeria under the guise of resolving issues between Binance and the Nigerian government, he becomes a pawn in a multibillion-dollar ...

Believing in Aliens Derailed This Internet Pioneer’s Career. Now He’s Facing Prison
Bloomberg04 Feb 2025 • ~7350 words

Joseph Firmage, a Silicon Valley pioneer, faces accusations of fraud and elder abuse after a series of failed ventures fueled by his obsession with antigravity technology and UFOs. Brent Crane traces Firmage's rise and fall, from founding successful tech companies to his increasi...

How to Build a Human
The Intercept02 Feb 2025 • ~6450 words

Parabon NanoLabs claims that with their software Snapshot, DNA samples can be turned into a composite image of a suspect to help law enforcement find the perpetrator. Scientist do not agree, and raise concerns about its reliability and the potential for deepening racial bias in i...

Inside the Bust That Took Down Pavel Durov—and Upended Telegram
Wired04 Feb 2025 • ~4850 words

Darren Loucaides writes about Pavel Durov, the CEO of Telegram, and the events that led to his arrest. It contrast Durov's public image versus his actions, and how Telegram’s relationship with governments and its approach to content moderation shifted significantly over time.

‘Crisis communications’: emails show how NFL’s Saints and NBA’s Pelicans helped New Orleans church spin abuse scandal
The Guardian03 Feb 2025 • ~8800 words

A The Guardian investigation reveals extensive and previously undisclosed involvement by high-level executives from the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans, professional sports teams, in managing the public relations fallout of the Catholic clergy abuse scandal.