Bonus: The Predator (Nate Holzapfel)

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For the longest time, I thought home security meant an alarm going off after someone broke in.

But if the alarm is already blaring, it's too late.

The damage is done.

That's a reactive approach, and it leaves you with that awful feeling of violation.

even if the intruder runs away.

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Talk to them through two-way audio.

hit them with a loud siren and spotlight, and call 911 if needed.

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Hello everybody.

Here again to let you know that the swindled corporation is currently on summer break.

But never fear, the show will return with a brand new episode during the first week of August.

In the meantime, enjoy this bonus episode about a former Shark Tank contestant who reinvented the belt and then turned out to be a major creep.

Classic.

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This episode of Swindled may contain graphic descriptions or audio recordings of disturbing events which may not be suitable for all audiences.

Listener discretion is advised.

They bribe government officials.

Clearly unethical.

Paid a plague of taxpayer dollars that were wasted.

Dummied up its books and records to hide that.

In the full of some kind of swing, etc.

What makes you tick?

What keeps you going?

What makes you feel like you are part of something greater?

Going where there is no trail and blazing your own path.

We celebrate the motivated,

the industrious,

the driven.

We support those keeping their dream alive.

We are committed to preserving the values of hard work, dedication,

and good times.

Our mission is to create the highest quality of goods and better the world by giving a hand up to those in need.

Do good, look good, and feel good.

Mission belt.

That overly dramatic advertisement is for a belt.

Yep, a belt.

The fashion accessory/slash necessity that wraps around your waist to keep your pants in place.

Hardly revolutionary, right?

Wrong.

The mission belt was no ordinary belt.

Instead of the traditional buckle system with the holes that stretch out and wear out, the mission belt uses a ratchet system with no holes at all.

that can be adjusted every quarter inch.

Basically a giant zip tie for your pants that can better accommodate a body in constant transition.

Mission belts are leather.

They're super, they're fantastic, and it's the best belt you'll ever have.

If it's not, send me an email personally and I will refund your money or replace you with a different belt.

Call me anytime.

My name's Nate and I love the mission belts.

Thanks for being part of the mission.

That's Nate Holzaffel.

He co-founded and self-funded the Mission Belt Company with his brother and a business partner when he was 33 years old.

Like all ingenious startups, they said it started in a garage in Oram, Utah, in June 2012.

The company's mission was to sell a different kind of belt, obviously, but also to make the world a better place.

One dollar from every sale was donated to charity that provided interest-free loans to small businesses in developing countries.

Hi, I'm Nate Holzapple, and I make the coolest belt in the world, the Mission Belt, which is awesome in so many different ways.

The Mission Belt Company readily acknowledged that similar products already existed, but that hardly mattered.

Being successful in business is often less about innovation and more about marketing, and that's where Nate Hozaffel really shined.

Nate fancied himself an expert salesman.

He was undoubtedly deludedly confident and obnoxiously persistent, the kind of guy who just wouldn't take no for an answer.

That approach proved moderately successful for the Mission Belt Company in its early days.

The company grossed $30,000 in revenue during its first three months.

They partnered with local department stores in Utah, and missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints adopted the Mission Belt for their own missions.

Finally, something else to talk about when they're knocking on your door.

The early sales were encouraging.

Clearly, Nate Holzaffo and company were onto something, but they lacked the resources to take Mission Belt to the next level.

They needed connections, licensors, manufacturers, distributors.

They needed some kind of partner who had experience building building successful businesses.

Fortunately for the Mission Belt Company, there was a place on TV where they could obtain all of the above.

Next into the tank is Nate Holtz Affel with a new twist to a common man's accessory.

Shark Tank, ABC's hits reality television show where aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their businesses to a panel of potential investors, such as Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Damien John, the founder and CEO of Fubu, and Lori Griner, also known as the queen of home shopping network QVC.

Nate Holzaffel wasn't familiar with the show, but people kept telling him to check it out.

He couldn't stop watching it when he finally did.

It was a perfect opportunity to meet an investor who could scale Mission Belt into a massive company.

And at the very least, Mission Belt would be presented to millions of new viewers and potential customers.

Nate Holtzaffel was more than prepared to showcase his salesmanship.

In a season four episode of Shark Tank, which aired in late April 2013, he made his pitch.

Hi Sharks, I'm Nate Holtzaffel and I'm founder of the Mission Belt Company and we're seeking $50,000 in exchange for 20% equity in our company.

Nate was masterful, impressing the investors early by telling them he had sold 20 Mission Belts door to door as soon as he arrived in LA to appear on the show.

He was quick, charming, and funny, at least funny enough to elicit a chuckle from the average mouth breather watching network TV at home.

Now, Sharks, I'm a big husky guy.

Keeping my pants on is a full-time job.

He showed them how the belt worked, told them how it was manufactured, the early sales numbers, and the connection to charity.

Nate had answers to all the panel's questions and expressed what the company needed in his final plea.

With the right Rolodex, I'm not asking anyone to sell this belt for me.

We don't need to hire a sales force.

I am a salesman.

Ultimately, Nate Holzaffel and Mission Belt struck a deal with Damon John, $50,000 for 37.5%

ownership.

With that kind of salesman, Mr.

John knew he would get a return on his investment in no time.

I'm happier about being in business with him.

I should be.

Yeah, he's going to call me every morning and say, hey, why don't you get up and do something?

Mission Belt earned $1 million in revenue within three weeks of the airing of that Shark Tank episode.

By the end of the year, the company was at $3 million in sales.

Three years later, Mission Belt had $25 million in revenue.

This is Nate Holzaffel.

Shark Tank's like money and like alcohol.

It's an accentuator, right?

I've always been crazy.

I've always been a...

good salesman,

a good talker, a good this, a good that, whatever you want to call it.

The difference is that when I was doing it before,

only maybe a couple thousand people knew how good I was.

You appear on national television and you put on a show like I did there, right?

Suddenly, eight or nine million people in one evening see it.

And it's fascinating.

It's, you know, because I'm like a pseudo kind of a fake celebrity, right?

As a newly minted pseudo-celebrity, 36-year-old Nate Holzappo left his post at Mission Belt to pursue a career in TV and public speaking.

He launched a personal website promoting himself as an expert in sales training, coaching, pitch creation, search engine optimization, online marketing and social media strategy, and more.

A lot of it's really just things that I've learned from other people, and I've assimilated them.

I'm a really good student.

You know, I learned Spanish in six months.

Muy imprecia nante pandejo.

Have you any advice?

Be decisive.

It's the key

to success.

So many people that sit around, well, I'm going to start this business, but it's not quite, you know, but it's not ready yet.

It's not ready yet.

If you wait for perfection, you will fail 100% of the time.

Be decisive, he says.

Don't wait around.

Take what you want.

No need for consent.

Just ask Larry King.

What's that?

Oh, he's dead?

Oh, okay, fine.

I'll tell you.

As a favor to a family member, Larry King filmed a mock interview with Nate Holzaffel for the limited use in Nate's sizzle reel that would be submitted to TV producers privately.

Instead, Nate used the interview footage to promote his services and plastered fictitious quotes attributed to King on his website.

Larry King sued Nate Holzaffel when he caught wind of the misuse of the mock interview, alleging trademark infringement, unfair competition, and more.

King won a default judgment in 2019 for $250,000 plus $8,600 in legal fees.

It was a slimy move from Nate Holzaffel, but it paled in comparison to what came next.

Last season, Nate Holtzaffel came to to the Shark Tank with his innovative company, The Mission Belt.

It's like a giant zip type for your pants.

And scored a deal with Damon John.

Damon, I'd be crazy to not want a partner like you.

I accept 100% my mission.

Let's see what he's up to now.

Let's see what he's up to now.

Let's see what he's up to

now.

Support for Swindled comes from Simply Safe.

For the longest time, I thought home security meant an alarm going off after someone broke in.

But if the alarm is already blaring, it's too late.

The damage is done.

That's a reactive approach, and it leaves you with that awful feeling of violation, even if the intruder runs away.

That's why I switched to SimplySafe.

They've completely changed the game with Active Guard outdoor protection, designed to stop crime before it starts.

Their smart, AI-powered cameras don't just detect motion.

They can tell you when there's a person lurking on your property.

That instantly alerts SimplySafe's professional monitoring agents in real time.

And here's the game changer.

The agents can actually intervene while the intruder is still outside.

Talk to them through two-way audio, hit them with a loud siren and spotlight, and call 911 if needed.

It's proactive security, and that's real security.

I trust SimplySafe because there are no long-term contracts, no hidden fees, and a 60-day money-back guarantee.

They've been named best home security systems by U.S.

News and World Report for five years in a row, and I can see why.

Get 50% off your new SimplySafe system at simplysafe.com/slash swindled.

That's 50% off your new SimplySafe system by visiting simplysafe.com slash swindled.

There's no safe like SimplySafe.

Courtney Morton was struggling in February 2020 when Nate Holzaffel randomly messaged her on Instagram.

The 46-year-old divorced breast cancer survivor was spending all her time and energy caring for her wheelchair-bound special needs adult son, and her father had recently passed away.

I was lonely, Courtney admitted to the Daily Beast.

She said what started out as harmless small talk with the random man and her DMs quickly turned romantic.

He knew exactly what to say.

I was in a very vulnerable position.

After three weeks of constant communication, Nate Holzaffo asked Courtney Morton if they could meet in person at her house.

Typically, Courtney would never agree to meet a stranger in private, but COVID was emerging as a global threat at the time.

It was a risky move, but it seemed to pay off.

Courtney Morton really liked Nate, the man who knew just all the right things to say.

He would say things like,

I just wish I could have met your dad.

I just know we would have, you know, really, really hit it off.

The relationship grew more serious by the day.

We were making plans for a future.

We were making plans to get married.

We were doing all of these things and I thought that we were moving forward together.

Part of moving forward together involved selling Courtney's house, which had been modified to accommodate her disabled son.

Nate Holzaffel told Courtney that he did not want to live in a home where her ex once lived.

Courtney says she understood his reasoning and was open to moving.

So on May 14, 2020, Nate Holzaffel surprised Courtney Morton with a date to the title company.

He had paperwork prepared to transfer the ownership of Courtney's home to a company he controlled called Save My House LLC.

He told her doing so would protect her $200,000 in equity from capital gains taxes, which, in reality, would not even apply in this case.

Even ignorant of tax law, Courtney Morton hesitated to sign the papers.

A title company employee later said it was evident that she was uncomfortable, but Courtney eventually gave in and signed anyway.

She loved Nate Holzaffel and was excited about their future.

Nate estimated that Courtney would receive about $230,000 from selling her home.

He said he would give her about half of it in cash and invest the other half in Bristle and Beard LLC, a company Nate told her he owned, but in reality did not even exist at the time.

Within weeks, Courtney Morton got cold feet.

She asked Nate to transfer the ownership of the home back to her.

Nate ignored her.

Unbeknownst to Courtney, he had already listed the property, which sold by the end of August 2020.

Nate Holzaffel deposited the proceeds, about $208,000, into a business account controlled by a different LLC, registered in Alaska to Nate and his wife.

That's right.

Nate Holzaffel was already married with two kids.

Within weeks, he used the proceeds from the sale of Courtney Morton's home to pay off personal debts.

He paid his car loan, attorney fees, credit card bills, and even bought a few guns.

When Courtney Morton discovered he had sold her home, Nate refused to provide her with any paperwork or even tell her how much it had sold for.

He gave her about $11,000 so that she could move into a small apartment with her son.

In November 2020, Courtney Morton told Nate Holzaffel that she planned to contact the police.

After that, he disappeared entirely.

I didn't hear another word from him, Courtney told the Daily Beast.

I felt like the dumbest girl in the world.

I was suicidal.

It was the worst time of my life, and I've been through some shit.

Deanne Janssen had also been through some shit.

The 53-year-old hospice worker's husband died 13 months before matching with Nate Holzaffel on Tinder during the summer of 2021.

Like Courtney Morton, Deanne chatted consistently with Nate for a few weeks before he suggested meeting at her house.

Deanne relented.

She relented again when Nate pressured her for sex.

Afterwards, even more red flags emerged.

During that first meeting, Deanne Jansen says Nate Holzaffel stayed at her house for eight hours.

He sat butt naked on her sofa for much of that time.

He talked about his ex-wife and his companies and his father, who he claimed was a high-ranking member of the Mormon church.

He also mentioned how much he admired Hitler.

and his leadership style.

Lady, lock your doors.

Instead, Deanne says she continued to see see Nate Holzaffel, and about a month into their relationship, he convinced her to invest 50 grand of her late husband's life insurance policy into one of his companies called Bristol and Beard.

He promised Deanne she would receive a 10% return for the next four to five years, and then she would receive a $1 million payout after he sold the company.

Deanne was reluctant, but Nate Holzaffel was persistent.

Eventually, she went to the bank, withdrew 50 grand, and handed it over.

Nate also sold her car and her AR-15.

Before long, like Courtney Morton, Deanne eventually came to her senses and wanted the money back, but he would always change the subject.

So in October 2021, Deanne Jansen googled his name.

She found a post on Reddit by Courtney Morton, who was warning other women in Utah about Nate Holzaffel.

Courtney told Deanne that she had already filed charges against Nate, but the police had been unable to find him.

Nate's wife, who lived in an apartment in Orum with their children, was uncooperative.

The license on Nate Holzaffo's driver's license belonged to a La Quinta Inn where he was not staying.

Another address he used pointed to a UPS store in Provo.

Oh, really?

Deanne responded to Courtney, because I'm having lunch with him tomorrow at Carl's Jr.

That was our date spot, Deanne Jansen told the Daily Beast.

We would go to Carl's Jr.

Big Spender.

The next day, Deanne drove to that Carl's Jr.

one last time and parked across the street.

She watched Nate Holzaffel arrive.

Then she watched the Provo police move in.

He brought in millions of dollars with his hit mission belts from Shark Tank.

But the Utah County Attorney's Office says a married Nathaniel Holzaffel preyed on a vulnerable woman.

42-year-old Nate Holzaffel was charged with three counts of fraud related to selling Courtney Morton's home.

He remained in jail for 90 minutes before bailing out with $20,000 cash.

Local law enforcement publicly asked for other victims to come forward.

Plenty of them did.

Nate Holzaffel stole one divorcee's diamond wedding ring and a 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

He persuaded another woman to invest $100,000 into one of his non-existent businesses.

Holzaffel charged $9,000 to another woman's credit card without her permission.

This man was a predator.

in more than one way.

Three other women came forward with allegations of sex crimes against Nate Holzaffel.

He allegedly groped a minor at a concert in July 2021.

Later that year, he groped and exposed himself to an employee on three different occasions.

Before that, Nate Holzaffo allegedly pinned the woman against the truck, against her will, and violated her.

Sammy Turnbow is her name.

She went public with her story to encourage other women not to be ashamed.

Sammy said Holzaffo had eavesdropped on a conversation in public and later retrieved her phone number from Facebook and agreed to meet to talk business.

During the assault, he warned her, quote, If I wanted to rape you, I would have done it already.

Relax.

This guy is a sexual predator, Sammy told the Daily Beast.

This is a power trip for him.

He used to say that Hitler was his hero.

In March 2022, Nate Holzaffel was further charged with two counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony, and two counts of theft related to his various schemes.

In May 2022, Holzaffel Holzafel was hit with additional fraud charges.

In total, he faced 15 felony and 5 misdemeanors.

Mission Belt released a statement.

Nate Holzaffel has not been associated with Mission Belt for more than seven years and has no dealings with any of its employees, managers, or customers.

Nate Holzaffel does not represent Mission Belt in any capacity.

We are passionate about belts.

and our mission to give a hand up to those in need.

Nate Holzaffel does not represent Mission Belt or its values.

On June 21st, 2023, Nate Holzafel pleaded guilty to three counts of communications fraud and three counts of sexual battery.

17 other charges against him were dismissed in exchange for the plea, and the felony forcible sexual abuse charges were reduced to sexual battery, meaning he would not be required to register as a sex offender in Utah.

As part of his plea, Nate Holzafel agreed to pay back $300,000 in restitution to his victims and serve four years' probation.

A clause in the plea agreement stated that if the judge didn't accept the deal, Nate could withdraw his plea.

On August 7th, 2023, Nate Hozafo arrived at his sentencing hearing with his two children, thinking he would be walking out shortly.

Against his counsel's advice, he stopped to have a word with local NBC affiliate KSL-TV.

Unfortunately, the way this system works is that you do get a little bit hung before you're you're even tried.

Innocent till proven guilty in America, and in part, thanks to KSL.

During the hearing, several of Holzaffel's victims gave a statement.

Courtney Morton told the judge that Nate Holzaffel was a predator.

Quote, he preys upon the very most vulnerable in society.

I implore you to please put a stop to this today.

Deanne Jansen described how her encounter with Nate Holzaffel had wreaked havoc on her life, emotionally and financially.

She said she had to work two jobs just to get by.

Quote, my life has forever been changed as a result of swiping right, matching with a married man on a dating website.

Sammy Turnbow told the court that she spoke because she felt like there's a culture of victim shaming in America, quote, and what I realized is I don't need to be embarrassed for that.

I do not need to be embarrassed because the predator came and attacked me and assaulted me for nearly 45 minutes in a parking lot.

Then, Nate Holzaffel was allowed to speak.

He referred to the victims as, quote, the nicest people in the whole darn world.

Just lovely, nice people.

He said he was sorry they were, quote, drug into this.

There's a lot going on here, Nate said, and it's my sincerest concern about the issues, whatever.

I want everyone to feel good.

I really do feel sorry for everybody who's so upset over things, and I can understand why.

Judge Thomas Lowe could also understand why.

The treachery and and the abuse that has occurred over time, the life-altering impacts you have had on these victims, are shocking, he told Holzaffel before rejecting the negotiated plea deal.

In that case, Holzaffel's defense lawyer countered.

My client will withdraw his guilty plea per the clause.

It's indicating that it's not going to follow the recommendation as presented.

Then Mr.

Osborne has a right to withdraw his guilty pleas.

He does not have a right to withdraw his guilty pleas.

Nope.

Sorry.

It doesn't work like that, Judge Lowe responded.

The guilty plea remained, and Nate Holzafel was sentenced to a maximum of 15 years in prison.

Judge Lowe said that Holzafel will likely be out in less than two years and can start working to pay back $300,000 to his victims.

His victims were overjoyed with the turn of events.

Nate Holzafel was handcuffed and led away.

It felt like justice, but also so much more.

This is Sammy Turnbow.

That man is now going to prison, and that was not the case this morning, as he's in cuffs, and I am finally free.

Swindled is written, researched, produced, and hosted by me, a concerned citizen, with original music by Trevor Howard, aka DeFormer.

If you want to hear more bonus episodes like this one, become a valued listener at valuedlistener.com.

Thanks for your support.

My name is Brischelle Anderson from Olive Brunch, Mississippi.

My name is Taylor from Rochester, New York.

My name is Dan from Sydney.

I am a concerned citizen.

Eat the rich.

Thanks to Simply Safe for sponsoring the show.

Get 50% off your new SimplySafe system at simplysafe.com/slash swindled.

That's 50% off your new SimplySafe system by visiting simplysafe.com slash swindled.

There's no safe like SimplySafe.

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