The Missing $49 Million podcast: Money trail leads to tiny WA town Geraldton

The money trail is all leading back to a tiny town in Western Australia. But what business did Alan have there, and why was he so interested in its residents?

The money trail is all leading back to a tiny town in Western Australia. But what business did Alan have there, and why was he so interested in its residents?

The Missing $49 Million is an eight-part investigative series by news.com.au, hosted by award-winning finance reporter Alex Turner-Cohen.

Got a tip? Email us: Missingmillions@news.com.au
Read more on this story at news.com.au
Subscribe to Crime X+ listen to this podcast ad-free. 
Follow us on socials: Instagram: @newscomauhqFacebook: News.com.au TikTok: @news.com.au 

The money trail is all leading back to a tiny town in Western Australia. But what business did Alan have there, and why was he so interested in its residents?
The Missing $49 Million is an eight-part investigative series by<a href="http://news.com.au/"> news.com.au</a>, hosted by award-winning finance reporter Alex Turner-Cohen.
Got a tip? Email us:<a href="mailto:missingmillions@news.com.au"> Missingmillions@news.com.au</a> Read more on this story at <a href="http://news.com.au/">news.com.au</a> <a href="https://apple.co/4cGJZI0">Subscribe to Crime X+</a> listen to this podcast ad-free. Follow us on socials: Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/newscomauhq/">@newscomauhq</a> Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/news.com.au">News.com.au</a> TikTok: <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@news.com.au?lang=en">@news.com.au </a>

Witness is the home of investigative podcasts for News.com.au

Witness is the home of investigative podcasts for news.com.au

Witness Season 3: Sex, Lies and Streaming

OnlyFans promised to change the game and give power back to creators. The reality? Most earn less than $100 a month, while a select few make millions.

When news.com.au journalist James Weir set out to interview Bonnie Blue - the controversial British creator who claimed to have slept with over 1,000 men in 12 hours - he expected a straightforward story about viral fame. Instead, he uncovered an industry built on carefully constructed fantasies, bitter feuds, and inequality that mirrors the broader gig economy.

From private jets and designer shopping sprees to creators struggling to pay rent, Sex, Lies and Streaming exposes the stark reality behind the glossiest success stories. Through unprecedented access to performers, agents, publicists and industry insiders, Weir follows the money trail from Australia to the neon-soaked halls of a Vegas porn convention and finds out who is really winning in the cutthroat world of subscription porn. 

What starts as a hunt for one missing internet celebrity becomes an investigation into the true cost of the creator subscription model - where viral stunts generate headlines, public feuds fuel fortunes, and the line between performance and reality becomes increasingly blurred.

This series contains mature themes and adult content.

 Read more and watch exclusive video content here
Follow us on socials: Instagram: @newscomauhqFacebook: News.com.au TikTok: @news.com.au

 

Witness Season 2: William Tyrrell

It’s 10.56am. A family home in Kendall, on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales. Three-year-old William Tyrrell is reported missing. Last seen wearing his favourite Spider-Man suit. Ten years after his disappearance on 12 September 2014, there is still no sign of William. The police believe his foster mother knows something. She denies it. Only one of them can be telling the truth.

Witness: William Tyrrell is the new, landmark investigation from news.com.au. Read more and watch exclusive video content here
Follow us on socials: Instagram: @newscomauhqFacebook: News.com.au TikTok: @news.com.au

Subscribe to Crime X+ and listen to this podcast ad-free

If you know anything about what happened to William, please call CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000

Contact us confidentially at witness@news.com.au

 

Witness season 1: The Missing 49 Million

The story of one Aussie man, the secret code he claimed to find buried in the Bible and 49 million dollars of investors' money that's gone missing.
Gold Coast businessman Alan Metcalfe said his tech company had found the secret to artificial intelligence. He convinced hundreds of people to part with their life-savings but when Alan died, no one knew what had happened to their money. 
Join Alex Turner-Cohen as she tries to find the missing millions, uncovering the wild story behind the company Alan promised would one day be “bigger than Google”.

 

 

Witness is the home of investigative podcasts for <a href="https://www.news.com.au">news.com.au</a>
Witness Season 3: Sex, Lies and Streaming
OnlyFans promised to change the game and give power back to creators. The reality? Most earn less than $100 a month, while a select few make millions.
When&nbsp;<a href="http://news.com.au/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://news.com.au&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1759987740655000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0p80DS67kfs1YaTPgnxdD1">news.com.au</a> journalist James Weir set out to interview Bonnie Blue - the controversial British creator who claimed to have slept with over 1,000 men in 12 hours - he expected a straightforward story about viral fame. Instead, he uncovered an industry built on carefully constructed fantasies, bitter feuds, and inequality that mirrors the broader gig economy.
From private jets and designer shopping sprees to creators struggling to pay rent, Sex, Lies and Streaming exposes the stark reality behind the glossiest success stories. Through unprecedented access to performers, agents, publicists and industry insiders, Weir follows the money trail from Australia to the neon-soaked halls of a Vegas porn convention and finds out who is really winning in the cutthroat world of subscription porn.&nbsp;
What starts as a hunt for one missing internet celebrity becomes an investigation into the true cost of the creator subscription model - where viral stunts generate headlines, public feuds fuel fortunes, and the line between performance and reality becomes increasingly blurred.
This series contains mature themes and adult content.
 Read more and watch exclusive video content <a href="http://news.com.au/">here </a>Follow us on socials: Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/newscomauhq/">@newscomauhq</a> Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/news.com.au">News.com.au</a> TikTok: <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@news.com.au?lang=en">@news.com.au</a>
&nbsp;
Witness Season 2: William Tyrrell
It&rsquo;s 10.56am. A family home in Kendall, on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales. Three-year-old William Tyrrell is reported missing. Last seen wearing his favourite Spider-Man suit. Ten years after his disappearance on 12 September 2014, there is still no sign of William. The police believe his foster mother knows something. She denies it. Only one of them can be telling the truth.
Witness: William Tyrrell is the new, landmark investigation from news.com.au. Read more and watch exclusive video content <a href="http://news.com.au/">here </a>Follow us on socials: Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/newscomauhq/">@newscomauhq</a> Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/news.com.au">News.com.au</a> TikTok: <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@news.com.au?lang=en">@news.com.au</a>
<a href="https://apple.co/4cGJZI0">Subscribe to Crime X+</a> and listen to this podcast ad-free
If you know anything about what happened to William, please call CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000
Contact us confidentially at <a href="mailto:witness@news.com.au">witness@news.com.au</a>
&nbsp;
Witness season 1: The Missing 49 Million
The story of one Aussie man, the secret code he claimed to find buried in the Bible and 49 million dollars of investors' money that's gone missing. Gold Coast businessman Alan Metcalfe said his tech company had found the secret to artificial intelligence. He convinced hundreds of people to part with their life-savings but when Alan died, no one knew what had happened to their money.&nbsp; Join Alex Turner-Cohen as she tries to find the missing millions, uncovering the wild story behind the company Alan promised would one day be &ldquo;bigger than Google&rdquo;.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

Witness: Sex, Lies and Streaming

Witness is the home of investigative podcasts for news.com.au

Witness Season 3: Sex, Lies and Streaming

OnlyFans promised to change the game and give power back to creators. The reality? Most earn less than $100 a month, while a select few make millions.

When news.com.au journalist James Weir set out to interview Bonnie Blue - the controversial British creator who claimed to have slept with over 1,000 men in 12 hours - he expected a straightforward story about viral fame. Instead, he uncovered an industry built on carefully constructed fantasies, bitter feuds, and inequality that mirrors the broader gig economy.

From private jets and designer shopping sprees to creators struggling to pay rent, Sex, Lies and Streaming exposes the stark reality behind the glossiest success stories. Through unprecedented access to performers, agents, publicists and industry insiders, Weir follows the money trail from Australia to the neon-soaked halls of a Vegas porn convention and finds out who is really winning in the cutthroat world of subscription porn. 

What starts as a hunt for one missing internet celebrity becomes an investigation into the true cost of the creator subscription model - where viral stunts generate headlines, public feuds fuel fortunes, and the line between performance and reality becomes increasingly blurred.

This series contains mature themes and adult content.

 Read more and watch exclusive video content here
Follow us on socials: Instagram: @newscomauhqFacebook: News.com.au TikTok: @news.com.au

 

Witness Season 2: William Tyrrell

It’s 10.56am. A family home in Kendall, on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales. Three-year-old William Tyrrell is reported missing. Last seen wearing his favourite Spider-Man suit. Ten years after his disappearance on 12 September 2014, there is still no sign of William. The police believe his foster mother knows something. She denies it. Only one of them can be telling the truth.

Witness: William Tyrrell is the new, landmark investigation from news.com.au. Read more and watch exclusive video content here
Follow us on socials: Instagram: @newscomauhqFacebook: News.com.au TikTok: @news.com.au

Subscribe to Crime X+ and listen to this podcast ad-free

If you know anything about what happened to William, please call CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000

Contact us confidentially at witness@news.com.au

 

Witness season 1: The Missing 49 Million

The story of one Aussie man, the secret code he claimed to find buried in the Bible and 49 million dollars of investors' money that's gone missing.
Gold Coast businessman Alan Metcalfe said his tech company had found the secret to artificial intelligence. He convinced hundreds of people to part with their life-savings but when Alan died, no one knew what had happened to their money. 
Join Alex Turner-Cohen as she tries to find the missing millions, uncovering the wild story behind the company Alan promised would one day be “bigger than Google”.

Witness is the home of investigative podcasts for <a href="https://www.news.com.au">news.com.au</a>
Witness Season 3: Sex, Lies and Streaming
OnlyFans promised to change the game and give power back to creators. The reality? Most earn less than $100 a month, while a select few make millions.
When&nbsp;<a href="http://news.com.au/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://news.com.au&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1759987740655000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0p80DS67kfs1YaTPgnxdD1">news.com.au</a> journalist James Weir set out to interview Bonnie Blue - the controversial British creator who claimed to have slept with over 1,000 men in 12 hours - he expected a straightforward story about viral fame. Instead, he uncovered an industry built on carefully constructed fantasies, bitter feuds, and inequality that mirrors the broader gig economy.
From private jets and designer shopping sprees to creators struggling to pay rent, Sex, Lies and Streaming exposes the stark reality behind the glossiest success stories. Through unprecedented access to performers, agents, publicists and industry insiders, Weir follows the money trail from Australia to the neon-soaked halls of a Vegas porn convention and finds out who is really winning in the cutthroat world of subscription porn.&nbsp;
What starts as a hunt for one missing internet celebrity becomes an investigation into the true cost of the creator subscription model - where viral stunts generate headlines, public feuds fuel fortunes, and the line between performance and reality becomes increasingly blurred.
This series contains mature themes and adult content.
 Read more and watch exclusive video content <a href="http://news.com.au/">here </a>Follow us on socials: Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/newscomauhq/">@newscomauhq</a> Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/news.com.au">News.com.au</a> TikTok: <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@news.com.au?lang=en">@news.com.au</a>
&nbsp;
Witness Season 2: William Tyrrell
It&rsquo;s 10.56am. A family home in Kendall, on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales. Three-year-old William Tyrrell is reported missing. Last seen wearing his favourite Spider-Man suit. Ten years after his disappearance on 12 September 2014, there is still no sign of William. The police believe his foster mother knows something. She denies it. Only one of them can be telling the truth.
Witness: William Tyrrell is the new, landmark investigation from news.com.au. Read more and watch exclusive video content <a href="http://news.com.au/">here </a>Follow us on socials: Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/newscomauhq/">@newscomauhq</a> Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/news.com.au">News.com.au</a> TikTok: <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@news.com.au?lang=en">@news.com.au</a>
<a href="https://apple.co/4cGJZI0">Subscribe to Crime X+</a> and listen to this podcast ad-free
If you know anything about what happened to William, please call CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000
Contact us confidentially at <a href="mailto:witness@news.com.au">witness@news.com.au</a>
&nbsp;
Witness season 1: The Missing 49 Million
The story of one Aussie man, the secret code he claimed to find buried in the Bible and 49 million dollars of investors' money that's gone missing. Gold Coast businessman Alan Metcalfe said his tech company had found the secret to artificial intelligence. He convinced hundreds of people to part with their life-savings but when Alan died, no one knew what had happened to their money.&nbsp; Join Alex Turner-Cohen as she tries to find the missing millions, uncovering the wild story behind the company Alan promised would one day be &ldquo;bigger than Google&rdquo;.

Promised Land | The Missing 49 Million Ep 4

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/06ca8808-b0e3-4dc4-8bac-b1bb0077ba8b/transcript