Similar to a "mini-trial," the 2026 evidentiary hearing focuses on particular issues—such as suppressing or concealing evidence, etc... — rather than the entire case.

Jamie Folk reports in this mini solo episode.

Listen to Jamie in this short episode.

Your support means the world to us and to more than 300,000 victims or survivors of rigged sciences in rigged forensic laboratories in Massachusetts and across the nation.

Nearly six years ago, we launched the RIGGEDLabs Podcast with the goal of creating a space for engaging discussions around the massive frauds and coverups that took place in Massachusetts forensic laboratories. It's been incredibly rewarding to see our audience expand as more curious minds like yours have discovered our show.

Your listenership fuels our passion for this project in the pursuit of advocacy, relief, and justice. Each download, share, and review helps us reach new listeners and continue delivering thought-provoking content with facts, evidence, documentation, and authenticity. We're honored and greatly appreciate that you've chosen to spend your time with us.

As a token of our appreciation, Jamie also announces RIGGEDLabs merchandise online store – soon – to reward your loyalty to the show and celebrate the life of this podcast. More details to come soon.

Thank you again for being part of the RIGGEDLabs community. We look forward to many more engaging conversations ahead.

Sincerely,

The RIGGEDLabs Podcast Team

We last left off discussing how a group of defendants from Massachusetts Middlesex County and Suffolk County consolidated their cases and, after years of their attorneys pouring through tens of thousands of pages of discovery, are finally going to get their day in court. The evidentiary hearing date is fast approaching and is expected to take at least two to three weeks in March – next month.

Currently, all of the witnesses have been served and the Court is now deliberating whether or not to allow various witnesses’ motions to quash, so that they would not have to testify. Of note, the director of the lab, Dr. Linda Han, the head of the chemistry department, Julianne Nassif, and the lab’s top supervisor are all now claiming that they have a 5th Amendment right not to testify; meaning they do not want to testify because their answers could—to this day—subject them to criminal prosecution.

We've come a long way since launching RIGGEDLabs Podcast back in 2020, diving deep into the Massachusetts drug lab scandals that shattered lives and exposed systemic failures in the US criminal justice system. From the shocking revelations about Annie Dookhan at the Hinton Lab, to the Amherst Lab issues, and the broader implications across state police crime labs—we've uncovered stories that demand public attention.

And now, with RIGGEDLabs Season 3 underway, we're expanding our lens to drug lab scandals nationwide, starting with cases like the San Francisco OCME analyst Justin Volk, the earlier Deborah Madden scandal, the Braintree Police Department evidence room scandal and the case of George Hunter White.

This work isn't easy. Investigative journalism, interviewing experts, obtaining documents, and producing high-quality episodes takes time, resources, energy, and unwavering commitment. That's why we're thrilled to announce that RIGGEDLabs is now on Patreon!

LISTEN to Jamie Folk introducing RIGGEDLabs membership options on Patreon!

Patreon.com/cw/RIGGEDLabs

RIGGEDLabs Membership options come in three tiers to fit every level of support, with exclusive perks to thank you for standing with us:

1. Membership Option 1: $5/month or $60/year
2. Membership Option 2: $10/month or $120/year
3. Membership Option 3: $25/month or $300/year

Other ways to join RIGGEDLabs as a member are also available if you prefer to give your support via PayPal, Venmo, with Debit/Credit card, or with check by mail. Details on our website.

Head over to RIGGEDLabs Patreon page today and join the community that's driving real change in Massachusetts and across the nation.

Thank you for listening, sharing our episodes, and believing in this cause. Together, we can expose the truth, push for accountability, and advocate for justice and relief.

Stay vigilant and connected with RIGGEDLabs on Patreon, and on our web, blog, and social sites.

FOLLOW RIGGEDLabs Podcast on X, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads, and TikTok.

Merry Christmas! and,

Happy New Year!

RIGGEDLabs Awareness Podcast | Season 1 & Season 2 Recap

Season 3 | Episode 5

Recap#5237

RIGGEDLabs Podcast | Season 3 Overview #5007

In this episode we will review the case of San Francisco lab analyst Justin Volk.

Season 3 of RIGGEDLabs Podcast—hosted by investigative journalist Jamie Folk and attorney Ilyas Rona, premieres on November 1, 2025, with weekly episodes available on all major podcast and social platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and the podcast's official website RIGGEDLabs.com

The new season dives deep into the 2020 arrest of OCME lab analyst Justin Volk—The San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, who was caught in Utah with a sealed evidence bag containing methamphetamine stolen from the very lab he worked in for over a decade. This incident, which potentially tainted thousands of criminal cases—from sexual assaults and DUIs to overdose investigations—exposed a web of lax oversight, ignored protocols, and systemic failures that echoed the fraud and tampering scandals the podcast first uncovered in Massachusetts.

"Five years after Justin Volk's arrest rocked San Francisco's justice system, the full story remains buried under bureaucratic cover-ups and unaddressed reforms," said Mr. James Folk. "Just like Annie Dookhan and Sonja Farak rigged evidence in Massachusetts drug labs, sending innocent people to prison and eroding public trust, the OCME scandal reveals how forensic labs nationwide prioritize speed over integrity. We're bringing exclusive interviews with whistleblowers, affected families, and legal experts to light the path to accountability."

Attorney Rona added,

"This isn't just about one bad actor — it's about a broken machine. Volk handled up to 25,000 cases, including toxicology tests for 1,200 sexual assaults. Our investigation will reveal how management lowered hiring standards, allowed drug evidence to pile up unchecked, and ignored red flags, much like the Hinton and Amherst labs we exposed in earlier seasons. The parallels are chilling, and the consequences for justice are devastating."

The third season will feature groundbreaking reporting, including never-before-heard audio from internal OCME audits, analysis of the San Francisco District Attorney's review that flagged over 2,500 compromised cases, and discussions on the office's loss of national accreditation amid backlogs and mishandled evidence. Episodes will also explore broader implications, such as the 2010 SFPD lab scandal involving technician Deborah Madden, who admitted to skimming cocaine, leading to hundreds of dismissed cases.

To sustain this vital work and expand beyond Massachusetts, RIGGEDLabs Podcast is launching simultaneously—with its Season 3—a funding campaign to allow supporters and patrons to help with in-depth probes and to be rewarded with early episode access, bonus content, exclusive Q&A sessions with the hosts, and more.

RIGGED Lab Massachusetts podcast — re-branded RIGGEDLabs UNRIGGED! Podcast to reflect new expanded mission, has garnered critical acclaim for its exhaustive coverage of the Annie Dookhan and Sonja Farak cases, which resulted in over 37,000 vacated convictions and inspired the Netflix series ’How to Fix a Drug Scandal’. With the Season 3, the podcast cements its role as the premier voice exposing forensic labs frauds in America.

Join the conversation!

Follow @RIGGEDLabs on social media.

-

RIGGEDLabs SEASON 3 PRESS RELEASE

Contact Information:

RIGGED: RIGGED Lab Massachusetts Podcast

Mr. Jamie Folk

+1-774-291-9493 | Phone

ThePodcast@RIGGEDLabs.com | email

Release Date: October 10, 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Returning For Season 3 To Uncovering Nationwide Drug Labs Scandals Across the United States of America.

Boston, MA – October 10, 2025 – The award-winning investigative podcast—RIGGED Lab Massachusetts podcast announces today the launch of its highly anticipated third season, shifting its unflinching lens nationwide to expose the shocking malfeasance in drug labs across the nation. In a bold expansion of its mission to hold forensic systems accountable. The podcast is also launching a new unified platform and campaign to fund in-depth probes into drug lab scandals across the United States.

Season 3 of RIGGED: ThePodcast—hosted by investigative journalist Jamie Folk and attorney Ilyas Rona, will premiere on November 1, 2025, with weekly episodes available on all major podcast and social platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and the podcast's official website RIGGEDLabs.com The new season dives deep into the 2020 arrest of OCME lab analyst Justin Volk—The San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, who was caught in Utah with a sealed evidence bag containing methamphetamine stolen from the very lab he worked in for over a decade. This incident, which potentially tainted thousands of criminal cases—from sexual assaults and DUIs to overdose investigations—exposed a web of lax oversight, ignored protocols, and systemic failures that echoed the fraud and tampering scandals the podcast first uncovered in Massachusetts.

"Five years after Justin Volk's arrest rocked San Francisco's justice system, the full story remains buried under bureaucratic cover-ups and unaddressed reforms," said Mr. Folk. "Just like Annie Dookhan and Sonja Farak rigged evidence in Massachusetts drug labs, sending innocent people to prison and eroding public trust, the OCME scandal reveals how forensic labs nationwide prioritize speed over integrity. We're bringing exclusive interviews with whistleblowers, affected families, and legal experts to light the path to accountability."

Attorney Rona added,

"This isn't just about one bad actor — it's about a broken machine. Volk handled up to 25,000 cases, including toxicology tests for 1,200 sexual assaults. Our investigation will reveal how management lowered hiring standards, allowed drug evidence to pile up unchecked, and ignored red flags, much like the Hinton and Amherst labs we exposed in earlier seasons. The parallels are chilling, and the consequences for justice are devastating."

The third season will feature groundbreaking reporting, including never-before-heard audio from internal OCME audits, analysis of the San Francisco District Attorney's review that flagged over 2,500 compromised cases, and discussions on the office's loss of national accreditation amid backlogs and mishandled evidence. Episodes will also explore broader implications, such as the 2010 SFPD lab scandal involving technician Deborah Madden, who admitted to skimming cocaine, leading to hundreds of dismissed cases.

To sustain this vital work and expand beyond Massachusetts, RIGGED: ThePodcast is launching simultaneously—with its Season 3—a funding campaign to allow supporters and patrons to help with in-depth probes and to be rewarded with early episode access, bonus content, exclusive Q&A sessions with the hosts, and more.

"True justice requires relentless pursuit of the truth, but independent journalism like ours can't thrive without community backing," said Folk. "Patrons aren't just founders—they're partners in dismantling these rigged systems and preventing the next generation of wrongful convictions."

RIGGED Lab Massachusetts podcast — re-branded RIGGED: ThePodcast to reflect new expanded mission, has garnered critical acclaim for its exhaustive coverage of the Annie Dookhan and Sonja Farak cases, which resulted in over 37,000 vacated convictions and inspired the Netflix series ’How to Fix a Drug Scandal’. With the Season 3, the podcast cements its role as the premier voice exposing forensic labs frauds in America.

For media inquiries, episode previews, or more details,

contact:

Jamie Folk, Investigative Journalist & Host

RIGGEDLabs UNRIGGED! Podcast

via email: ThePodcast@RIGGEDLabs.com

by phone: +I-774-29I-9493

Major Social Platforms: @RIGGEDLabs

on TikTok | X | Instagram | WhatsApp | Facebook

About RIGGEDLabs Podcast

Launched in 2020, RIGGEDLabs Podcast uncovers the fraud, cover-ups, and human cost of tainted forensic evidence in drug labs nationwide across the United of America. Through meticulous research and survivor stories, hosts Jamie Folk and Ilyas Rona advocate for reform, ensuring no one is imprisoned on rigged science.

Listen to RIGGEDLabs on Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music + Audible | YouTube

Follow @RIGGEDLabs on social media.

Ilyas traces the practice back to the Magna Carta but it certainly predates that. Today police use the principal to take money from the people who the arrest for drug use and distribution to take all of their cash, cars and property. This cash is then used to buy things that don't need to be approved by legislative bodies or reported at all. Boston was caught using this money to buy face recognition technology and placing cameras around the city to spy on its citizens.

They did this while never publicly admitting it. They also knowingly lied to the public when they said in their 2014 report on the Massachusetts' William A Hinton State Laboratory Institute that Annie Dookhan was the lone bad actor at the Hinton Laboratory.

Podcast hosts Jamie, Ilyas and Chris examine these newly unearthed criminal referrals from as far back as 2013 and going all the way up to 2015. They also look at evidence uncovered by Jamie that indicates that the Massachusetts State Police Lab also engaged in behavior that the Inspector General thought was egregious enough to refer Hinton Chemists for Criminal Referrals.

No referrals have been made for any chemist outside of Sonja Farak who did not work in the Hinton Lab in spite of the State Police and Amherst chemists engaging in the same behavior that got Hinton chemists into trouble with the OIG.

This is a developing story, and we divulge information in this episode that no news organization has yet to uncover.

Please note, this episode was renamed. Formerly, it was titled 'OIG Criminal Referrals for Multiple Hinton Chemists and Lab Director'

Thank you for listening to RIGGED: Massachusetts' William A Hinton State Laboratory Institute Scandal, Part 7 of 7, Operations of the rigged forensic lab, OIG Criminal Referrals for Multiple Lab Chemists and Director.

This episode is part of a series of 10 episodes uncovering the scandal of rigged lab chemists, supervisors, and director at the Massachusetts' William A Hinton, MD State Laboratory Institute in Jamaica Plain, Boston in the US.

We invite you to listen to the previous episodes in this series.

Hey,

Are you a law professor, law student, researcher, or a member of the academic community seeking to understand how rigged forensic laboratories operate in the US criminal justice system?

You belong to the RIGGEDLabs Podcast Community!

Join us for community and awareness building, for advocacy, hope, healing, justice, and relief.

Visit RIGGEDLabs Podcast web, blog, and social sites @RIGGEDLabs to reach out.

Consider becoming A Community Member today.

The Inspector General then knowingly lied to the public and when they told them that Dookhan was the lone back actor at the Hinton Drug Lab in the conclusion of their report. The blatant lying displayed here by the state is truly astounding and there has been zero accountability.

We discuss these new developments and where the case, and the podcast, are going. Amazing that there is still new news on this case that is over ten years old.

Please note, this episode was renamed. Formerly, it was titled 'OIG Finally Admits Dookhan isn't the lone bad actor'

Thank you for listening to RIGGED: Massachusetts' William A Hinton State Laboratory Institute Scandal - Part 6 of 7, Operations of the rigged forensic lab, OIG Finally Admits Dookhan isn't the lone bad actor.

We invite you to listen to the next and final Part 7 of 7 in this series.

This episode is part of a series of 10 episodes uncovering the scandal of rigged lab chemists, supervisors, and lab director at the William A Hinton, MD State Laboratory Institute Scandal in Jamaica Plain, Boston, Massachusetts.

Hey,

Are you a victim or survivor of rigged sciences or forensic labs?

You belong to the RIGGEDLabs Survivors' Community!

Join us for community and awareness building, for advocacy, hope, healing, justice, and relief.

Visit RIGGEDLabs Podcast website, blog, and social sites @RIGGEDLabs to reach out.

Consider becoming A Community Member.

Today's episode has independent journalist Bill Shaner, Andrew Quemere and Chris Post talking all things Worcester PD and how the city enables its police to be truly terrible.

Everyone who is reading this knows that and has known it since this Podcast came out back in 2020 but it is good that the wheels of justice are finally turning. Cheris returns to discuss what this could mean and where the case could go from here.

This one needs to be heard to be believed.

In this episode we review this case with former Middlesex Daily News Editorial Page Editor Rick Holmes. Mr. Holmes not only discusses this case in detail but also tells the story of Mark Tinsley. Mr. Tinsley committed the heinous crime of driving 40 in a 25 MPH speed zone. For this act he was dragged out of his car and savagely beaten by the Framingham Police who pulled him over. These cases are truly horrifying yet somehow not surprising in the nation's most liberal police state.

Bigda was unbelievably acquitted of these charges by a jury that truly needs to have it's collective heads examined. The jury heard the same audio that is featured in this podcast. They heard an unhinged man screaming at teenagers and threatening to murder them and "get away with it" and that he was going to plant drugs on one of the kids and lock him away for 15 years.

This is truly an unbelievable episode that will leave you shocked and outraged. Enjoy!

There has never been an article on this subject and this is the first time that the state police's drug testing lab has been implacated in any wrong doing in the seemingly never ending drug lab scandal. As always this is breaking news and you will only find it here, on Rigged!

This report documented the OIG's retesting of samples that the lab ran multiple times while only reporting the final results to the courts. This was clearly the lab doing everything it could to make sure that results came back positive and repeatedly testing evidence until they got their desired results.

These shocking realities are directly opposed to all the assertions that have been made by the state about the Hinton Lab. Namely that Annie Dookhan was the lone bad actor at the Hinton Lab and no one else was found to tamper with evidence.

These other scandals will include the multiple arrests of evidence room officers in MA as well as the State Police Overtime scandal. This season is going to be a bit more diverse and will examine more drivers of the corrupt criminal justice system in MA.

In this episode Chris, Jamie and Ilyas review the last of the interviews with the Hinton staff including one with Annie Dookhan herself. The interview that is most telling is perhaps the one that has never been discussed by the media or any investigators, and that was with Norfolk County Prosecutor George Papachristos.

The lack of coverage of the relationships between Dookan and the prosecutors of the cases she worked on remains a disgraceful part of this narrative. Dookhan was romantically obsessed with Papachristos and acted accordingly. She also thought she was doing the right thing by rigging evidence to send people to prison. Why? Because that's what her friends in the prosecutors offices around the state were telling her.

Many chemists at this lab gave false testimony on the stand, used bogus testing methods, lied to investigators and all of them hated the criminal defendants whose evidence they were charged with testing. In part one of our look at the lab, we look at the never before seen documents from the Massachusetts inspector general's investigation from 2013 and discover that many higher level employees responsible for what happened at this lab were never even fired. We also find that the practices of the lab very likely led to cross contamination of drugs, tainting thousands of samples.

Please note, this episode was renamed. Formerly, it was titled 'William A Hinton Drug Lab Operations Part 1'

While this conclusion has been completely debunked by the documentation that has been release in the years since, what has been overlooked is what the OIG said about Dookhan's motive. They said that they couldn't determine why Dookhan changed negative drug results to positive, they said it definitely wasn't to help prosecutors win criminal cases.

In this episode we debunk the OIG's entire theory with just one email between Dookhan and former Norfolk County ADA George Papachristos where she says she wants to "lock up a defendant and throw away the key". Why hasn't this been reported in the media and why do we need hold the OIG accountable for lying to the public to help cover up the biggest violation of constitutional rights in the state's history? We may never know but what we do know is Dookhan was friends with the ADAs and thought when she was rigging evidence to lock people in jail, she was doing it because she was being told her defendants were dangerous people who needed to be locked up by the ADAs whose cases she was working.

Please note, this episode was renamed. Formerly, it was titled 'Annie Dookhan's Motive'

Attorneys at Law Ilyas and Chris, and investigative journalist Jamie speculate that Dookhan agreed to the interview as part of her plea agreement which saw her serve under two and a half years on a three-to-five-year sentence.

Dookhan makes a false assertion that could jeopardize her future freedom if enough media attention is paid to this interview. Sad that our laws only matter when the media points out someone may have broken them because the state has known about Dookhan lying since 2016 and was even given evidence of it by Attorney Chris Post and still nothing from the state, they simply said "Thanks".

Please note, this episode was renamed. Formerly, it was titled 'Annie Dookhan Bombshell Interview Part 2'

Thank you for listening to RIGGED: Massachusetts' William A Hinton State Laboratory Institute Scandal - Rigged Lab Chemist, Annie Dookhan Bombshell Interview Part 2 of 2.

This episode is part of a series of 10 episodes uncovering the scandal of a rigged chemist - Annie Dookhan and the Massachusetts' William A Hinton, MD State Laboratory Institute Scandal in Jamaica Plain, Boston in the United States. Did you listen to Part 1 of 2 already? We invite you to listen to more episodes in this series.

Hey,

Are you a law student, law professor, researcher, or a member of the academic community seeking to understand how rigged forensic laboratories operate in the US criminal justice systems?

You belong to the RIGGEDLabs Podcast Community!

Join us for community and awareness building, for advocacy, hope, healing, justice, and relief.

Visit RIGGEDLabs Podcast web, blog, and social sites @RIGGEDLabs to reach out.

Become A Community Member.

If Dookhan was poor and not part of a massive government cover-up, she would have been charged with lying to prosecutors and possibly back in jail. As it is she was never charged and was allowed to resume her life.

You aren't going to want to miss part 1 of this bombshell exclusive episode of RIGGEDLabs Podcast!

Please note, this episode was renamed. Formerly, it was titled 'Annie Dookhan Bombshell Interview Part 1'

Thank you for listening to RIGGED: Massachusetts' William A Hinton State Laboratory Institute Scandal - Rigged Lab Chemist, Annie Dookhan Bombshell Interview Part 1 of 2.

We invite you to listen to Part 2 of 2.

This episode is part of a series of 10 episodes uncovering the scandal of a rigged chemist - Annie Dookhan and the Massachusetts' William A Hinton State Laboratory Institute Scandal.

Hey,

Are you a victim or survivor of a rigged chemist or forensic lab?

You belong to the RIGGEDLabs Survivors' Community!

Join us for community, awareness building, advocacy, hope, healing, justice, and relief.

Visit RIGGEDLabs Podcast web, blog, and social sites @RIGGEDLabs to reach out.

Consider becoming A Community Member.

Salem discusses how she and her coworkers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst lab created drug standards, received evidence from the police and sampled evidence. The testing and scientific processing of the evidence given to this lab resulted in the conviction of tens of thousands of criminal defendants in Massachusetts.

Ilyas, Chris and Jamie review the interview and add their commentary.

Back in 2015 the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office conducted a secret investigation into the the policies and processes of the UMass Amherst Drug Lab. This exclusive interview with Sharon Salem has never been heard by the public before and resulted in at least one long time Department of Public Health employee being forced into "retirement". This interview could have far reaching implications for all the testing performed at this, and other, drug testing labs in the state.

The case and it's implications for the Massachusetts Drug Lab Scandal are explored in the first Episode of Rigged: The Massachusetts Drug Lab Scandal Podcast.

"We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then cimrinalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did."

It's with that quote that we launch a look into the war on drugs in the nation's most liberal police state Massachusetts. We will be previewing our upcoming season exploring the Massachusetts Drug Lab Scandal doing a deep dive on Annie Dookhan, Sonja Farak and the labs that enabled them to rig evidence that resulted in the largest violation of constitutional rights in state history.