Enlightened Wealth Institute

Under the advice of my then real estate broker, I began looking into training in the field of real estate. Shortly into this search, I found the "Protege" program from the Enlightened Wealth Institute. It sounded solid and came with a 3-day cancellation period after I had received the materials in the mail. Simple and straight-forward, so I spent the following days researching EWI heavily to make sure it would be a good investment. The total program cost was around $5,000, with $2,000 due then and the rest payable in monthly payments of around $500.

Before I received anything at all from EWI in the mail, I decided better of my decision to spend $5,000 with them and called Glenn ** back (as he told me to do so if I wanted to cancel). He told me that it was a "dumb" decision to cancel, but told me that another employee would call me later that day to help me through the cancellation process. Fair enough, I thought, and waited for a call.

Nearly two years and $2,500 later, I am still waiting on that call. That's right, they charged me the $2,000 and then proceeded to charge my credit card again weeks after I cancelled (most people call that theft). Over that two-year period, I called Glenn multiple times and he always insisted that he would pursue it on his end and let me know (still waiting on those calls too). Finally, after 20 months of trying, I was finally able to get Glenn and the rest of EWI to discuss my case.

I emailed proof to them that the calls were made to them on the dates I claimed and was assured that it would be taken care of. After the meeting, I was called and informed that I would not be receiving a refund because I had not followed their cancellation procedures. When I protested this (and brought up the proof I had sent in), they told me that since Glenn had not written down the record of my calls in their notes that they would not refund me the money. So, apparently, EWI's employees can lie and get away with it inside the organization.

In addition, EWI completely denies proof that they requested in the first place. This speaks of a corrupt company that is only in existence to get money out of people and does not exist to offer any services to their clients. After all, they cancelled my online access to their site after my first cancellation attempt so we all know that Glenn knew what he was doing.

By reading about deliberate fraud, we know that certain elements must be present. This information is the truth as we know it: False statement of material fact - Erik ** stated to us and others that his expertise and his experience in investing in real estate and mobile homes would allow us to make $30,000 or more on our field training which would pay for our investment.

All we would have to do is duplicate what Erik teaches us about investing in real estate in any area as many times as desired until satisfied. What Erik claims, he likes the best is this, is the only business opportunity available where you could pay your total cost of training in one field training session.

This is not what happened on our field training; in fact, we were not even exposed to any real estate or mobile homes that would be worthwhile buying. This field training was also not done by Erik who was the person we had contracted to do the training. The field trainer that was sent did not have the expertise to do the things that had been discussed with Erik prior to our trip. This trainer was someone Erik had knowledge of that we did not want as our trainer because of his lack of experience in foreclosures.

This trainer's name had been put on our contract when Joann signed and Jerry had him take it off and put Erik's name on the contract before signing. The other instructor, Eric **. had said numerous times to sit down with the person you would feel most comfortable with to be your field trainer. At the time Erik ** was chosen because he was a former Marine and had a no-nonsense reputation of getting the job done. He expressed at the signing of the contract that we would not fail and that he had a track record of the most successful students and guaranteed us results because he is known as an innovative real estate investor.

Prior to signing, Eric, a co-instructor stressed many times over the course of the three day seminar the importance of giving your credit report to one of the trainers to see so that an individualized plan could be made. We sat with Erik twice before signing the contract to discuss our plan of action. When it came to the field training there was no plan of action. It makes us wonder, if this was just a ploy to see if we had enough money to pay for training. Having us max out some of our credit cards and put the balance on high interest finance was not in our best interest. At boot-camp, we were told not to max out your credit because it lowers your credit rating.

At the end of the boot-camp, we gave Erik our business plan to review and make improvements to. Two days later, he was going to meet us in Las Vegas for field training. He asked if we had another copy of the business plan and then on that Monday he was a no-show. To date he has never sent back our copy of the business plan. Could that statement indicate that he never planned to come to the field training?

Negligent misstatement by the instructors/sales reps - Erik showed he had no intention from day one to properly educate us for our field training as well as give us the expertise that was necessary for us to accomplish our goal of paying off our investment on our field training. His coaching and mentoring was his responsibility through the EWI contract. Initially he never gave us a phone number or email to contact him and he never called us on the first night that he told us our coaching would begin.

He was going to call us on Monday, March 29th at 9pm and coach us once a week until we went to field training. EWI claimed they did not have Erik's phone number but they did give Jerry his email address. Jerry, through persistence, found someone who gave him this information since the office manager did not. He sent Erik an email to find out why he did not call but he did not respond back.

The people Jerry spoke with also did not know if anything happened to him. Eventually we were told by Tammy, EWI office manager, that that Pete A** did all of Erik's scheduling which we found out from both Erik and Pete was untrue. After talking to Pete, April 8th which he text Erik while we were talking on the phone with him, he told us Erik said we could be Pete's student.

Again, we let Pete know just like Erik knew the day we signed the contract that we did not want Erik's student for training. Our focus was on single-family homes not mobile homes and Pete had virtually no experience in single-family homes; his focus was on mobile homes.

On April 9th, 12 days from the original date Erik was supposed to call, he called with an attitude trying to intimidate Jerry. Erik stated the only way we would get our money back would be if we went to boot camp and field training and weren't happy with our results. Then he told Jerry his father passed away and that's why he didn't call us. He assured him that we paid for results and we will get results, he guarantees it. He has one of the highest track records with the students he trained personally. He called two days later for our first phone training. Out of the 10 weeks we should have had Erik's expertise in training us and preparing us for training, he called us twice.

One time Joann had to text him and tell him how unprofessional she thought he was just for him to answer our call. We kept the phone records during our training dates so we could verify it. He actually mentioned the fact that he was not good with phone calls or email in front of the whole class of students at the boot camp we attended. So out of 10 weeks we got 3 phone calls for training for our field trip and the things we had discussed we would do when we were all in Las Vegas never happened.

We were going to Las Vegas even though we were skeptical of investing in the area because of the information we had gotten from Forbes and Money.com but he reassured us over and over that he was the expert real estate innovator and this was the place to go. He also reassured the students at the boot camp the same thing. On the first day of field training, when we went to meet Erik he sent Pete in his place and Pete told us there was a death in his girlfriend's family. So even though he was aware we did not want his student Pete because of his lack of expertise in foreclosure, he sent him to our field training without our knowledge and did not even give him a plan of action outlining the things we planned to accomplish.

The result of this was losing the leads we had from the ads we had put in the local newspapers and advertisement websites. Erik had suggested we do this so we would have hot leads for our field trip so we would have a better chance of being successful. We spent a lot of money putting ads in, for 3 weeks prior to field training. He stated that we were his most prepared students and that we were the first he worked with to have a website set up to promote our business before we went to field training so that we could set up our database for leads.

We have sustained monetary loss due to the misrepresentation. We called on the Monday after the seminar, March 29th as promised to give EWI more money towards our tuition. That same night Erik broke his first promise to call with training. We had done our part but he never followed through or even tried to behave as a professional. EWI claimed no one could get in contact with him or help us cancel. He denied our refund but promised results and said we would not need a refund because we would be satisfied with him as our trainer. He claimed we would not fail with his expertise. All he did was delay the process so that at this point EWI claims they fulfilled their contract.

When we gained access to EWI's website (you need a password which we got sometime in May) we wrote to several people in upper management, following up with a voice mail to each of them but we have not received any satisfactory answers to important questions we raised concerning our contract and where they show they can substitute anyone they please for our field trainer. We received an email only from Sharm ** who is in charge of field training stating that as far as he is concerned they fulfilled the contract and then ignored our email to him. Conrad Acceptance Corporation's Kim **, customer service, used Sharm **.'s email to let us know we are still responsible for payment. We asked her to put our payments on hold during the dispute. She has also ignored our last correspondence to her. Maybe these two companies are tied together in some way?

After we came back from Las Vegas we went to another seminar, this time in Hauppauge, NY only to find out it was the same 3 day sales seminar we attended in Jamaica. Because of this we got to hear the same sales pitch over from the same instructor, Eric **. So we are not mistaken in the fact that it was an important decision on who to sit with to be your field trainer if you were going to take advantage of this life altering decision you could make that very day. We did not know it was going to be the same seminar until we got there but decided to stay so we could talk to him about our situation. Eric acted concerned while at the seminar but he never contacted us after that day to help resolve our problem. This was mentally stressful and we lost thousands hours spent on research and money used for preparation, the trip and the cost of tuition ($16,000 on credit cards) already given to them. Preparing to go to Las Vegas we spent $3394.97 plus $1821.52 for the total cost of the days spent in Las Vegas and $1347.98 for the total cost of the days spent in CA for boot camp.

We purchased an LLC to start the business off right, a local phone number where we were doing business, business cards as well as website and promotional postcards for advertisement. We scheduled our three day boot camp which was in California and drove to our three-day field trip in Las Vegas. We scheduled two days extra for any additional business that could have been taken care of and the following day we came back to New York. The total expenses could have been avoided if EWI office manager, Tammy ** would have followed the chain of command with an unsatisfied student (customer).

We paid EWI to teach us to be successful real estate investors. At the time we thought their knowledge and expertise would prove to be invaluable, especially the field training where they walk you through the deals. They, being EWI or Erik **, whom they contracted with for us to achieve this did not deliver on their contract and give us the education that was promised. But the most important part of this is that we do not want to be associated with this company because of their deceitful acts and we are now burdened with the fact that they want us to pay the balance ($10,995 + interest and fees) of the contract with 18% financing and also stand to have our good credit rating destroyed and effect our quality of life.

In 2007, my partner and I attended the Robert ** Free Workshop. Having a little extra money, we decided to get into real estate--we purchased everything Robert ** had to sell books, software, etc. While trying to establish our business, we were contacted by Enlightened Wealth Institute (EWI) workshops and boot camps. We told John ** that we were not interested in spending another $10,000 because by this time, we had invested approximately $40,000 into what we were told was "our education."

Mr ** was persistent and called regularly--each time, we said no until he promised our money back by the EWI if we did not make back the cost of the training. Needless to say, we didn't make a penny. When we tried to get a refund, we were pushed through so many hoops. Although we did exactly as requested, EWI makes it virtually impossible to get a refund.

While in a workshop in Detroit, MI, we were sold on doing rehabbing out that way. EWI strongly recommends using specific companies for financing the rehab work. And although you are taught by EWI if you set up your company in a LLC, you will not be personally responsible. This is not true. We used a company recommended by EWI--Brookview Financial to finance the rehab work. Because they were recommended by EWI, we felt it was a safe way to go.

After all is said and done, we felt that we were brainwashed by EWI into thinking that what they were teaching us was accurate and legal. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We had one lady that worked for IRS tell us that the advice they are giving on taxes is inaccurate and should not be followed. We purchased five houses with our own money and hired Brookview Financial to finance the rehab work.

After the work was completed, we were not able to sell or rent out the houses and because of this, we were not able to pay Brookview Financial back the money used to finance the houses. We are currently being sued by Brookview Financial for $198,000.00 and have to file for bankruptcy. Brookview Financial now own the houses they paid to rehab and still wants this additional money.

Because EWI recommended this company, we trusted them without realizing Brookview makes you sign a secured loan statement. EWI said that if you set up an LLC, you are not held personally responsible for the company's finances if there is a problem. Since Brookview only issues secured loans (something we were not aware of at that time) we feel that we were misled by EWI into using this company.

For those of you considering signing up for any of the Robert Allen sponsored Enlightened Wealth Institute (EWI) "training" seminar series - either the Silver ($19,000) or the Platinum ($35,000), do yourselves a favor and invest in something that actually is meaningful to you, just not this waste of time and money. The real estate (or get rich on the Internet) plays that EWI peddles is nothing that cannot be found on thorough Web searches for FREE.

Below is a portion of the actual email thread (names deleted) from earlier this month between me and EWI's financing arm, Conrad Acceptance. It is UNEDITED and VERY REAL. If you choose to do business with a mafia operation like this, you have been forewarned:

"Dear CUSTOMER: As I have explained to you several times, you have signed your contract. Whether you choose to use the program or not is your decision, but the amount on the contract has to be paid. Due to this contractual obligation I would recommend using the program since you will have to pay for it. But again, it is your decision.

"Conrad has already started you on terms, so I cannot extend them again; so your November payment is due and on the 12th of December that payment is due as well. Please give us a call when you are ready to make that payment. Thank you, CONRAD ACCEPTANCE"

"Dear CONRAD: I'd like to make this simple for everyone involved. Neither my sister, NAME, nor I intend to attend any other bootcamps or otherwise use any of the resources of EWI, including field training. We attended 2 bootcamps and have decided after careful deliberation that this program is not what we expected or of which can make the best use.

"I am asking very simply for us to be released from further obligation. How in good conscience can your organizations hold us accountable for a contract, signed without the benefit of careful review, when the client won't be using any of the resources of the supplier? I understand the nuances of contract law, but isn't part of your business to be sensitive to customer service? We've already paid a great deal to EWI, so what benefit is there to continually pushing us to fulfill an obligation that is totally against our grain? I doubt any of you would appreciate being forced to pay many thousands of dollars for something you're not using. And you would let the vendor know about it. Please advise, thank you - MY NAME"

If after reading this actual email exchange you feel like you would want to dance with this devil, then you very likely may wind up having the same conversation I'm having with them. And as you can see, I am far from alone in conflicting with their agenda. Greed has an ugly face.

Do yourself a major favor and spare yourself this aggravation. Operations like these prey on people who feel that all the solutions to their financial problems are based in programs like this. WRONG! Look within, and all the answers are there. They have not responded to my request for release from this obligation.

This started the first week of Aug. All I get is being hounded for more money to pay them -they charged my credit card $10,000 for software that I never received and one on one training with I have not received. Still I have not made one penny. This is the biggest scam I have ever seen! They use the fact that they are Mormon, God and helping people and giving back and I fell prey! After a lifetime of perfect credit - I am now filing bankruptcy. I have been turned down for 2 job opportunities because of my credit thanks to EWI.

At a free seminar we were talked into cashing out our 401k and buyout to pay for classes that we were told would make us millioners within a year. We had just lost our jobs of 32 years. R. Allen and the Enlightened Wealth Institute team put on a very good show to get you to spend all your money or max out your credit cards with promisses of a great way to make money helping other people and providing for your own family. We went to 4 classes and were not able to finish the last 3 because they were out of state and we ran out of money.

We were not able to buy any houses with no money down or no credit like they teach. No one in any of the classes had been able to either. They said we did not need a job or money to buy a house. They only teach you how to cheat someone out of their home. They turned us over to collections for the rest of the classes.

We are still unemployed, we wasted our buyout and 401k on worthless classes and have received an eviction notice. EWI says they give back to help people after they make their millions. But they make their millions by cheating poor people who are desparate to feed their family and want an honest job. If they gave back, they would not send us to collections and further ruin our credit, when we run out of money for their over priced worthless classes.

If they were honest they would just cancel the rest of the classes when we were unable to pay more. R. Allen preaches God and giving back to the poor to get you to trust him, so he can rip you off for every cent he can. We no longer have a retirement account. We are being evicted because we can't pay our rent. Our car and truck were repossed. We spent almost $20,000 for classes that were supposed to provide us with means to support our family.