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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Johnathan Walton
OccupationsJournalist and podcaster
Websitehttps://johnathanwalton.com/
Johnathan Walton, Los Angeles California

Johnathan Walton is a public speaker[1] and author of the book 'Anatomy of a Con Artist: The 14 Red Flags to Spot Scammers, Grifters and Thieves.'[2] He also writes, produces and hosts the podcasts: Hardcore Con, Queen of the Con, Cocaine Air, The Quarterback and The Con Artist and The Handyman of West Texas.[3]

In his free time Walton is a vigilante who hunts con artists.[4] The first con artist Walton put in jail was Marianne Smyth aka Mair Smyth aka Marianne Clark,[5] who scammed hundreds of thousands of dollars from 43 victims, including Walton himself,[6] in the United States and Europe, using an elaborate series of confidence tricks.[7][8] She was convicted of stealing money from him and spent about two years in jail.[9] After Smyth's Los Angeles conviction in 2019, Walton worked with authorities in the UK to get Smyth extradited and convicted in Northern Ireland in Sept 2025. [10]

Walton also works as a television producer on reality television shows like American Ninja Warrior for NBC, Shark Tank for ABC and Savage Builds for the Discovery Channel.[11] His career in unscripted television was preceded by a 10-year stint as an Emmy Award-winning TV news reporter and producer at local stations KHOU-TV in Houston, Texas, KABB-TV in San Antonio, Texas and WSVN-TV in Miami, Florida.[12][13]

Awards

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  • Has won four Regional Emmys for his primetime television specials for CBS Houston (KHOU-TV).
    • 2006 Emmy for Walton's World Gone Wild aired Dec. 2005. KHOU-TV Houston Johnathan Walton, Reporter[14]
    • 2005 Emmy for The Best of Walton's World Strikes Back aired Dec. 2004.
    • 2004 Emmy for The Best of Walton's World Gone Wild[15]
    • 2003 Emmy for Christmas in Walton's World show.[16][17]
  • 2004 Texas Associated Press Broadcasters First Place Light Feature.[18]
  • Numerous Houston Press Club Lone Star Awards
  • 2003 Houston Chronicle Award for "Baffoon". Described as "A pudgy, puckish clown for the 21st century,"[19]
  • 2006 Houston Chronicle Award for Funny Person on Local TV. Described as "tickles us best"[20]

References

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  1. Walton, Johnathan. "Johnathan Walton". Johnathan Walton. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
  2. Littleton, Cynthia (2025-08-22). "Producer Turned Podcaster Johnathan Walton Pens 'Anatomy of a Con Artist' Guide to Spotting Scams". Variety. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
  3. "Johnathan Walton Media". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
  4. Waugh, Danielle (2021-07-09). "'Con Artist Vigilante' helping Boynton Beach woman pursue justice". WPEC. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
  5. "Suspected con artist heads to DTLA court over grand theft charges". ABC7 Los Angeles. 28 May 2018. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  6. Walton, Johnathan. "Official website". Johnathan Walton. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  7. Cunningham, Waylon (2019-01-11). "Maryville-raised con artist convicted in Los Angeles". The Daily Times. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  8. Kilkenney, Katie (13 February 2020). "The Hollywood Producer, the "Heiress" and a Very Personal Quest for Justice". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  9. Whittle, Patrick (2024-05-09). "Scammer who claimed to be an Irish heiress should be extradited to UK, judge rules". AP News. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  10. Vargas, Ramon Antonio (2025-10-18). "US podcaster who helped convict 'Queen of the Con' disappointed at short sentence". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
  11. "Johnathan Walton | Producer, Writer, Director". IMDb. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  12. "The best gig on TV - Houston Chronicle". Archived from the original on 2018-06-29. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  13. "Houston stations snag several Lone Star Emmy Awards". Houston Chronicle. 23 October 2006.
  14. "Lone Star Chapter of NATAS - Emmy Awards". Archived from the original on 2007-01-10. Retrieved 2006-10-25.2006 Lone Star Emmy
  15. Archived 2012-02-13 at the Wayback Machine2005 Lone Star Emmy
  16. "Archives". The Emmy Awards. Archived from the original on 2007-06-06. Retrieved 2007-06-18.2004 Lone Star Emmy
  17. Belo Press Release
  18. "Belo Corp. | Press Releases". Archived from the original on 2006-09-05. Retrieved 2006-09-12.Walton wins First Place Texas Associated Press Broadcasters Award for Light Feature
  19. 2003 Houston Chronicle calls Walton "Funny and smart"
  20. 2006 Houston Chronicle says that Walton "tickles us best"
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