Hi, this is Lindsay Graham, host of American Scandal.

Our Back catalog has moved behind a paywall.

Recent episodes remain free, but older ones will require a Wondry Plus subscription.

With Wondry Plus, you get access to the full American Scandal archive, add free, plus early access to new seasons, and more.

Join Wondry Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts.

Thank you. and more. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. It's mid-2005 in Chicago, Illinois.

Attorney Edwin Brooks paces the floor of his office waiting for the phone to ring.

He's expecting a call from a process server he's hired to serve a subpoena this afternoon.

But so far, he's heard nothing and is growing impatient.

With each lap around the room, Brooks glances up at the clock on the wall, then at the stack of

financial documents that have littered his office and his mine for the last several months.

Late last year, Brooks was hired to represent the estate of Dr. Joseph Chow. Chow had sunk around

$14 million into music mogul Lou Perlman through various loans and investments.

But after Chow died and his family tried to collect the money, Pearlman refused to pay.

He even sued the Chow family to prevent them from demanding repayment, citing a forbearance

letter that granted Perlman permission to pay back the money at his own convenience.

Initially, Brooks was stunned to see Chow's name signed to such an ill-advised agreement,

but upon closer examination, the lawyer came to believe that Chow may not have signed the document

at all. After weeks of combing through Chow's agreements with Perlman, he noticed that the signature

on the forbearance letter was an exact match for one he'd seen on another letter signed by

Chow, which probably meant the signature on the forbearance letter had been forged, likely by

Perlman. Unfortunately, the letter is a legal dead end. Brooks only has a copy of the comparison signature, not the original,

...