Bad Magic | The Golden Kid | S4-E2

Serhat has the type of brilliance that has the capacity to see across discipline in science and connect things that others don't see.

Global AIDS Coordinator under President George W. Bush.

He's a really big deal.

Who was this guy really? Nate remembers that one of their early leads started with a photo.

He even checked with Russian border Patrol.

Go to ADT.

Com today or call 1-800-adT-AsAp to learn more.

Serhat told several different accounts of his life before he came to L.

A.

But his old friends in Turkey give a clearer picture.

Serhat Gumrutcu was born in 1982 in the city of Izmir, on the Aegean coast of Turkey. His family wasn't well off, his parents were both civil servants, but he was always a good student. When he was a teenager, he won a place at a prestigious science school out of town, and that's where Ferit Unal first met him.

On the first week of school, Serhat asked Ferit to be his roommate. Ferit's first impression was not good. He thought Serhat seemed like a bit of a jerk, so he turned him down. But then the next day, Ferit's roommate left, he had to go back to Serhat and ask if they could be roommates.

After all, he said, yes. Ferit soon learned a thing or two about his new friend. He was easygoing and avoided conflict. He also tended to exaggerate.

The way Ferit tells it, even small accomplishments became much bigger. In Serhat's telling, he says Serhat would talk about them as if he'd launched a rocket into the sky.

Not that Serhat lacked things to boast about, he was impressive, he did well at school, especially in science. Every Wednesday afternoon, Serhat would go over to the town's post office to look up scientific research at the only computer that had access to the internet. In his last year of high school, he won a national biology competition.

His name was listed in a prominent science magazine under the headline The Golden Kids of 2000.

Then, a month later, he took a grueling national exam and won a spot in one of the most selective medical schools in the country.

Serhat's future was bright He seemed well on track to be a doctor, a life beyond his modest origins.

But one day at school, everything changed. According to his classmates, it was a Monday morning in a math class. One of his friends was talking about something he'd seen on TV that weekend. As Serhat and the other kids watched their classmate put his arms straight out in front of him and interlaced his fingers. Suddenly, he twisted his hands around, and for one moment, it looked like his hands disconnected from his wrists and arms.

It was one of David Copperfield's tricks. Even the math teacher was impressed, but Serhat's reaction was something beyond even that his schoolmate described it as a sort of hysteria in his eyes.

When Serhat returned to school the following Monday, he brought some magic tricks of his own. They were cheap novelties, but he proudly went room to room in his dorm, showing them off to anyone who would give him an audience.

Soon after, Ferhat remembers that Serhat quickly moved beyond the kinds of tricks that you could buy in a magic shop.

Serhat would ask Ferhat to think of a number, Then he'd try to read his mind. Sometimes he got it right, other times not so much, but Serhat kept practicing.

He says by the end of his first year at the boarding school, his roommate was moving curtains in the dorm just by staring at them. Ferhat never could figure out how he did it.

For a while, it seemed like Serhat was balancing his two interests magic and medicine, but soon he would make a choice.

As the team at Hindenburg looked deeper into Serhat's past, one of their researchers was trawling through online archives in Turkey. That's when he found something intriguing.

A teenager in an ill-fitting gray suit stands next to a makeshift stage in front of a small audience. It's the early 2000s in the coastal city of Izmir, Turkey. And this young man, with shoulder-length blonde hair hanging over his eyes, looks like a disheveled intellectual about to give a talk.

With a shy smirk on his face, he rolls up a piece of construction paper into the shape of a cone. A female assistant stands idly next to him, looking unsure about what she should be doing. The audience waits, it seems like something's gone wrong, but then he reaches his hand inside the cone, rummages around for a moment and pulls out a bright red flower.

When he hears the clapping, he decides to do the trick again and again. In fact, he repeats it a total of 15 times. Then he takes a bow and the audience claps even harder. It's clear they were ready for it to be done.

But the magician is not, instead, he keeps going, pulling even more flowers out of the cone.

After a few more close-up magic tricks, he bows his head and exits the stage to a smattering of applause.

Thomas couldn't believe what he was seeing.

He told Thomas he'd taken Serhat under his wing, taught him classic stage magic and mental illusion. He was smart, a quick learner, but there was one downside to his character.

Well, what about finally setting up a home security system? Protecting what matters most should be at the top of your list. And with ADT self setup, installing a smart home DIY security system is easier than ever. Customize what works for your home with Build-your-Own packages or tailor starter and premium options. ADT Self Setup features everything from motion sensors to Google Nest cams. With no long-term contracts.

Easily install the ADT Self setup security system at your convenience with no heavy-duty tools needed, and if you need help along the way, ADT can provide virtual assistance. Protecting your home shouldn't be complicated, and ADT makes finding that peace of mind simple. When the most trusted name in home security adds the intelligence of Google. You've got a home with no worries. Go to ADT..com today or call 1-800-AdT-AsAP.

Google and Nest Cam are trademarks of Google LLC. ADT. Brilliantly safe.

As they wait to be rescued, the workers soon realize that Piper Alpha has transformed into a death trap. Follow against the odds. Wherever you get your podcasts, you can listen ad-free on Amazon Music or the Wondery app.

And this time, he was blown away.

He says his tricks were far beyond what he did in high school he even made objects fly.

Offstage, Ferret noticed that Serhat's social circle was changing.

One day, Serhat called Ferret and invited him to the opening night of a bar.

When they got there, Ferret was baffled. The bar owner welcomed Serhat like he was a king. Waiters were circling around them, bringing them food, Drinks were flowing. A lot of wealthy people came into the bar that night, and Serhat seemed to know them all.

Ferret asked, Serhat, Dude, how do you know all these people? Serhat mumbled something and brushed it off, but Ferret just watched in wonder at everyone flocking to him. So many people were trying to talk to him that he didn't stop moving all night.

By the mid-2000s, Serhat moved to Turkey's largest city, Istanbul. This was also the time he later said that he was completing his medical qualifications in Russia. In fact, he'd never finished medical school in Turkey. Years later, in 2011, his university registration finally expired without his graduation. Instead of training as a doctor, Serhat spent his time running workshops with names like Mind and Body Control and School of Alchemy.

He seemed to be building a completely different identity as a new-age guru.

Ali Sedik gulteken. Let Serhat use his rooms at his business for events.

Gulteken says He was really handsome, he had a devilish charm about him. Educated, rich women of Istanbul packed his classrooms. Serhat would teach them to do things they never believed they could do. He would teach people how to walk on fire and glass.

Everyone was captivated by him.

By 2006, Serhat's views were becoming more out there, like the time he spoke with a reporter for a Turkish magazine and told them. A person's entire life consists of the thoughts in his mind.

He claimed that with the right training, your mind could alter your reality. One day in primary school, my mother and I were walking down the stairs. On one of the balconies, there is a clay pot with a beautifully blooming cactus in it. I said to my mother, Look at the cactus.

The plant pot exploded.

By 2011, he was teaching classes in a wealthy part of Istanbul. Serhat preached his own quiet gospel, and it all worked for his followers. They swore by his powers.

One woman reportedly said that Serhat had removed years of pain from her shoulder with his quote Healing touch. She remembered The sensation was indescribable. There was a little tingling, a little feeling of warmth, but most of all, I was aware of a higher intelligence, something guiding the energy.

Serhat had made it. His old friends from school heard he'd become fabulously wealthy and lived in a lavish apartment overlooking the Bosphorus on one of Istanbul's finest blocks. And he was still moving up in the world. He bragged to people about hanging out with Robert de Niro and Al Pacino. One friend claimed that Morgan Freeman's wife was among his followers.

There are photographs from around that time of Serhat at the opera in Istanbul, and there, alongside him, is Morgan Freeman.

But during this time, there are also tantalizing hints of what else Serhat was up to. One time, he told a friend he'd been in Africa, where he'd warned a leader about an imminent coup attempt. Another time, he seemed to be posing as a descendant of the Turkish Royal Family to claim a tract of land bordering Egypt. And still, another time, he was in Peru, where he claimed he'd discovered new deposits of gold. Bit by bit, a picture of Serhat was coming into focus for the team at Hindenburg.

It was clear that Serhat had fashioned himself as a mystic one, seemingly interested in pursuing various money-making opportunities. And it was clear, too, that the path Serhat had chosen was tinged with danger. Even as his fame and reputation grew, he began to collect enemies.

One day, Thomas got a message from one of his colleagues in Turkey.

There was also no mention of why Serhat had been detained.

Metin says that Serhat claimed to be an oncologist and a shareholder in an Istanbul hospital, both of which were not true. Serhat gave them hope. He explained that he could make his own stem cell treatment to fight the cancer using medicines not available in Turkey. He was paid $75,000 for the treatment, although Metin would later say that Serhat was paid another $200,000 in cash. The patient didn't get better.

In fact, he had to be admitted to a hospital in Ankara. And then, Metin said he found out Serhat's treatment contained mistletoe and a so-called vitamin B17 that had no proven effects. Metin accused Serhat of aggravated fraud, impersonating a doctor and charging huge amounts of money for useless drugs. By the way, we should say that. Metin did not respond for comment.

When the police talked to Serhat, he denied that he was impersonating a doctor, Serhat said he was qualified. But he explained that he wasn't registered in Turkey and had told Metin that he would quote help as a friend.

And Serhat said, there was a whole other side to the story.

When the patient went into the hospital, Serhat had been asked to fly to Ankara to see him, according to Serhat's statement. Metin and another man met him at the airport and took him to the hospital, where an oncologist started shouting at him. Then he was taken outside and shoved into a car. Serhat clocked a gun sticking out of Metin's waistband as they drove.

They held Serhat in Metin's office, where they said he would be staying until he paid them back. Metin demanded $275,000, the amount he said he was owed. Serhat said he would need some time Metin wasn't buying it. If he was a doctor who supposedly had patients all over the world, he could afford to pay them back.

The men began punching Serhat in the face and in the stomach. Metin even pointed a gun at Serhat's head and said, Should I shoot you right here?

After a while, Metin left the office, telling his nephew to keep an eye on the doctor. Serhat was shaking but managed to type out an instant message on his phone. Moments later, Serhat's brother got a message which read What I feared just happened. I am very serious. I am held captive in Ankara.

As soon as his brother got the message, he called police, and later that day, they rescued Serhat and brought him to the local precinct. He told his story to the police the shouting, the abduction, the beating up and the gun. But strangely, he didn't want to press charges. He left.

But the patient's friends thought differently. While Serhat was at one police station, they went to a different one and filed a complaint. Six months later, a Turkish court issued an indictment against Serhat for aggravated fraud. But he never showed up, no one could find him.

Murder, I still cannot believe it.

That's next time on Dr. Death Bad Magic.

From Wondery, This is episode 2 of 5 of Dr. Death Bad Magic. I'm Your host Laura Beale. This series is written by Benjamin Gray. producer is Niga Singh.

Senior producer is Russell Finch, story editor is Allison Weintraub. senior editor is Rachel B. Doyle. Fact-checking by Jacqueline Colletti.

Additional reporting by Gulsan Harman, production assistance by Mariah Dennis and Emily Locke. sound design and mixing by Kyle Randall. Senior managing producer is Lata Pandya. coordinating producer is Heather Beloga.

Produced by Storyforce, Music supervisor is Scott Velasquez for FreeSound Sync. Special thanks to Nate Anderson and the staff at Hindenburg Research for use of their reporting. Executive producers are Bly Pagan-Faust and Corey Shepard Stern for Storyforce. Our executive producers are George Lavender, Marshall Louie and Jen Sargent for Wondery.

He then began to prey on vulnerable women, instead selling the idea of a future together while stealing from them behind their backs. To the infamous scams of Real Housewives stars like Teresa Giudice, what should have proven to be a major downfall only seemed to solidify her place in the Real Housewives Hall of Fame. Follow Scamfluencers on the Wondery app, or wherever you get your podcasts. you can listen to Scamfluencers early and ad-free right now on Wondery+.