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Letter from the Southwest

Coffeezilla, the YouTuber Exposing Crypto Scams

In the golden age of con artistry, self-proclaimed finance gurus are
everywhere, with few checks on their claims.

By Rachel Monroe

May 14, 2022

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Illustration by Irene Suosalo

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When Stephen Findeisen was in college, at Texas A. & M., a friend
pitched him a business opportunity. He was vague about the specifics
but clear about the potential upside. "It was, like, 'Don't you want
to be financially free, living on a beach somewhere?' " Findeisen,
who is twenty-eight, recalled recently. After attending a weekend
presentation, Findeisen realized that he was being recruited to join
a multilevel-marketing company. "I was, like, What are you talking
about? You're not financially free! You're here on a Sunday!" He
declined the offer, but a couple of his roommates signed up. They
also got a subscription to a magazine about personal and professional
development. One day, Findeisen came home to find copies of the
latest issue on the coffee table. "I remember clearly thinking, We
have four copies of Success magazine and no one is successful.
Something is wrong here."

Findeisen has been leery of scammers since high school, when his
mother was diagnosed with cancer. "She was sold a bunch of snake oil,
and I think she believed all of it," he said. She recovered, but
Findeisen was left with a distaste for people who market false hope.
After graduating with a degree in chemical engineering, he sold
houses for a local builder. In his spare time, he started uploading
to his YouTube channels, where he put his debunking instincts to work
in short videos such as "Corporate Jargon--Lying by Obscurity" and "Is
Exercising Worth Your Time?" Initially, subjects included
time-management tips and pop-science tropes, but his content really
took off when he began critiquing sleazy finance gurus. These days,
his channel Coffeezilla has more than a million subscribers, and
YouTube is his full-time job.

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[rachel_mon]
Rachel Monroe is a contributing writer at The New Yorker, where she
covers Texas and the Southwest.
More:CryptocurrencyTechnologySwindlersInternetInvestingYouTubeScams

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