Dean Graziosi

Also, I noticed that Dean himself looks like he is on some type of narcotics. His eyes look dilated all of the time and have a glazed appearance. He looks more muscular as if he is on steroids. I am disappointed with this company. I know that at times, people obtain their wealth through the misfortune of others (foreclosures, liens, etc). However, there are opportunities in real estate where people do not have to gain using those methods. It would not surprise me if Dean and Armando are being used by higher levels of government. Who knows.

The big pitch, “You go to our seminar and we will put enough point-by-point activity and understanding that you will do a real estate deal within 3 months and turn a profit, and if you do that, you get your $2,000 back.” The premise being that the real problem is people being afraid to act, and that resonated with me and I signed up. I remember feeling a little bit ashamed because I am an educated, and by most standards, a successful person. A big reason for this is I am curious and take risks sometimes that put me outside my comfort zone. I think a lot of people feel this way. So I signed on and showed up and told the first guy I met that I was anxious because I wanted to learn something.

I wanted to do my first deal and although I need from investigating on the web that there was a strong upsell for additional programs that I understood the business model but was not going to be interested in anything else until I did my first deal. The guy said that I should just keep my mind open and please don't sour anyone else on your fears. And I didn't. Three days I was in the seminar. The instruction was really light, very general and not very applicable. It became very obvious that the whole weekend was about getting elderly and other people worried about their financial future to use their retirement funds to go to a Las Vegas convention where people buy and sell properties. It was very expensive and there were people that upgraded.

I made my intentions known very clear about what I wanted from the weekend and I held to my end of the bargain and was upbeat and positive to everyone. I never questioned the tactics or ethics of the strong sales pitch that was being exerted. My "mentor" kept asking me, "Are you interested in getting to the next level," which was an obvious presupposition buying into the $40,000 convention weekend but was supposed to be heard as "Do you want to be successful?" I said no and they gave me a packet of information and asked me to leave, saying I would get nothing else from the seminar because the rest was really an orientation for the people who were going to the convention. I actually got pulled from the seminar out in the hall 3 times because someone had asked me what I did and we were all on the honor code not to "network" during the seminar.

I did not and they also went so far as to ask that no business cards be exchanged because they have had problems in the past. My "mentor" who told me I was a loser or I would not be a guy with the education I have thinking that 3 days and $2,000 was going to teach me how to make money in Real Estate. If I wanted to learn, I needed mentors and needed to get to the convention in Vegas. Really… so I asked for his phone number and his email. He told me that he had a no compete with Dean and that he was not allowed to speak with students outside of the seminar. It was at this point that I realized that I was not even privy to any of the real names of all the people in the seminar. It was odd and enlightening at the same time.

I was really embarrassed about being taken and it is a shame that the people that were at this seminar were put in the position to extract money rather than create real value for the people in attendance. I don't even think it was intended to be this way. I listened to all the information they gave us and read the books that Graziosi put in the intro package and it was light but it was useful and got me hopeful that the 3 days would be valuable. The people who delivered the seminar were not. Deanno, the guy who gave the presentation was going through the script that he was told to deliver and you could see there was a lot of incongruence in his delivery. He was not there to teach people what he knew so they could apply it in a simple manner to get going in Real Estate investing, he was there to get people signed up for the convention in Las Vegas.

The most predatory thing they did was use some NLP-type exercises to find out what people’s core values and key words were and it became apparent that they did this not to help people discover their deep values but to leverage this intimate information in their sales push to create pain and fear, that if they do not go to the convention in Vegas that these intimate feelings, values and beliefs could not be achieved. I am committed to correcting the shame I felt from investing in the weekend by reading other books and taking a strong action plan to do my first deal within that 3 month period. I really don't think this company will give me back my tuition if I do, but if I do get a positive Real Estate transaction done within this time frame, I will make a bad feeling turned to positive conclusion.

You will never get those 3 days back. You will not get any value that comes close to the $2,000 investment and you feel some shame for being taken advantage. So if you read this prior to getting caught up in the sign up seminar, let it go. And if you are reading it after they got your $2,000, don't sweat it. Read everything, go through the motions, do not get bullied into signing your retirement on for the 3 day Vegas convention and feel good about your attempts to learn new things and make your life better, because those are your choices, and your conclusions and no one can take anything away from your positive journey when your intentions are in the right place. As for the snake oil salesmen and their intentions, well, Karma will get them.

PMI told me that after my 5th deal, I would get my money back. I did 8. Then I had a stroke. That was last year. I have been trying for over a year to get my money back from these guys with no luck. I can't get the physical therapy I need because these guys still have my money. I have asked for my refund over and over again. While I've been trying to get my money back, I started to do some investigating. I was surprised to find out that PMI is under instigation by the Federal Trade Commission and the California Attorney General's office.

I have come across numerous articles now I am going through this. This one in particular. It describes the tactics. Does any of it sound familiar? It looks like these guys got me good. Now, as a senior citizen and disabled person, I am too weak to fight. So I have no choice but to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, the California and Colorado Attorney General's office and now the Better Business Bureau. I'm upset because due to my health situation when I need the money most, I can't get it back. This is ridiculous. I hope you never have to go what I have gone through. Be careful.

If you hear from their speakers to get 2 credit cards from one bank, we already know where this is going to. If you think straight, would you do such a thing? Concealing your identity until you sold the property definitely is quite intriguing. I am no expert in real estate, but doing what they are currently suggesting will make me a lawbreaker. That is definitely a no-no. I would rather work harder for clean money rather than break the law that may send me to jail. That I will avoid. So as to you, Mr. Real Deal Dean Graziosi, get a life! Don't go robbing in broad daylight. Don't waste your name on crimes like this. Karma nowadays is digital. It reflects back really quick. Don't tell me I didn't warn you.

I made $10,000 and I didn't use any of my own money or my own property. I couldn't believe it, but I did it, Thanks to Dean Graziosi. I have no idea how to thank Dean for the way he has helped to transform my empty wallet to a filled one. However, all I have to say is buying the book will not help you alone. You must read it, understand it and put it into practice to gain dividends from it because it sure does.

Again, it’s nothing that Google couldn't provide me. The course itself is ridiculous and mind-numbing. It’s monotone and dull. It’s long and then you have to take a quiz. Again, it’s nothing that Google couldn't provide for me. On July 4th, I wrote an email to rehelp@pmidirect.com, ** and info@deanenterprisesllc.com asking for a refund and referring to "profit from real estate right now” (page 26) where their student Matt ** claims that he sent in a check and then asked for a refund wherein PMI told him to try it for another 30 days and if he was still not happy with the academy, they will refund him his entire investment. I received no email back. A week later, I spoke with Thayne ** after spending an hour on the phone being transferred from one customer service to the next and Thayne ** told me that only 5% of the people who enroll in the coaching program ever make it through and receive their money back.

He told me that he would send me an email with a breakdown of what they could refund me along with a money-back guarantee. I received his email on July 11, 2012 and the following is what they offered to refund me for two weeks of this crap course. Investment ($12,740), 30 real estate online lessons and 12 strategy sessions with your coach ($3595) with 45% accessed is equal to a refund of $1976 (charge of $1617). Tax lien sessions online ($995) with 0% accessed is equal to a refund of $995 (no charge). Asset protection kit ($2995) with 20% restocking fee is equal to a refund of $2396 with a charge of $599 (these are two books and few CDs that are definitely not worth $2396 and I wouldn't pay more than $15 for this). FSBO Home Bargains software for $695 with 20% restocking fee: the refund is $556 (there’s a charge of $139 for a restocking fee, but this is spam mail and sends "possible" FSBO listings off of Craigslist.com - how is there a restocking fee? Take my name off your spam list!).

Investor pipeline program for $1995 with 20% restocking fee: the refund is $1598 and a charge of $399 (this is a program, how do they have a restocking fee? And why are they refusing to refund my money?). Real Estate Toolbar for $395: there’s no refund for this (can keep because it's worthless). PropTrend licensed software for $1995 and there’s no refund (can keep; I don't even know what this is). Shipping is for $75 for 2 books and some CDs? Really? Start-up cost and commissions: $1911. The total charge is $7130 and the refund is $5610! That’s for two weeks of this scam. Dean Graziosi's real estate academy and PMI are a scam. Don’t do it. Read all of the complaints against them. They have scammed and conned thousands of people out of their money! When I went to post my complaint on DeanGraziosi.com, I was immediately directed to a page that said:

“Dean Graziosi.com Offline. Your posting on Real Estate Investing Center from ** has been automatically flagged by our spam filters - but don't worry, our spam filter is in training right now and learning what is and isn't spam. So this doesn't mean it was spam or even rejected, just that we are going to personally review it (usually within minutes of your post during business hours). If your content wasn't spam, your message is in our review system and will be marked as real content. Each time we review the post and tell the system it isn't spam, the system is trained and becomes more accurate. That way, legitimate posts get through in the future and real spam doesn't. At Real Estate Investing Center, we work very hard behind the scenes to keep our web pages free of spam and sometimes we accidentally block legitimate content - it is just the nature of spam prevention and doesn't mean you've done anything wrong or even that the system is broken. You can also help us to improve our spam filters by providing feedback about your experience with the spam filter.”

For program no. 2, there was an additional fee besides paid package for access to their website for $99/month, for life time it was for $24/month. I had access problems. I couldn't log in. I called customer support. I was unable to reach them. I left message 6 times. I called back 2 days later. By that time, 4 days had passed, my return allowance time (3 days) was expired! It may be that too many users access into it at same time. It runs very slow, or was frozen which made it not accessible at all.

For program no. 3, they have local training sections. They promised to offer 1 week after I paid but all of the training was far away, at least 3 hours driving distance. Since I have a medical health problem, I was unable to drive more than 1 hour.

Program no. 4 was customer support. I called during the business hours, all the time, holding for more than 20 minutes. Finally, I had to leave messages. I left messages at least 6 times. They returned my calls 2 times 2 days later. At the seminar, they claimed before my purchasing, the person, who answered the phone, said it's Tax Lien export. As I finally reached them, they couldn't give me the right answer. She either said this was not their field to cover or she have very shallow knowledge to handle the question. She was not helpful at all.

I have experienced their bad services for 2 weeks now. I called them, holding for 1.5 hours, asking for a refund. They refused my request. Can anyone help me about this matter?

I informed him that we were told the deadline for purchasing the program ended yesterday and we have already made plans to fly to another seminar to purchase it at the discounted price. He told me that was impossible because he was putting my name in the system so that I would not be able to get it at the discounted price of $1,497. Then he called back to say that he talked to his boss and his boss told him to make sure to put me in their system because if I didn't buy it by May 29th, the price would be changing as of June 1st and they were going up on the cost an additional $200. I believe this was a threat or an attempt to scare me into purchasing their program by May 29th.

What an idiot, both him and his boss. They are not interested in selling this program. They are interested in ripping people off of their money. What a bunch of sore losers and then again just losers. Don’t purchase their programs unless you want to be ripped off! While he may be upfront and above board, the idiots he has working for him are not.

But later, I called to cancel, and this individual called back and said I could keep the tax lien stuff and he would send a three-day DVD to us along with the ability to still use online help. Just like others, tax liens and deeds, not all states do online sales, as I have looked them up and you have to join their sites and pay more money. Dean was not at this seminar either. Does this person even exist? We are told that he only goes to these high-end classes. Why? Isn't everyone important?

They claimed there was a full tuition guarantee and that you would have a property in 30-60 days if you signed up for a $1,997 seminar. The speaker, Miller, claimed that the real estate training and insider resources were the best in the business. Miller said that the program was so good and successful that over the years, he had never had a single person contact him to complain. Miller said that for years, he'd been giving out his email address to every group that he spoke to. When someone asked what his email was, Miller promised to give it to us at the end. Then Miller left during the break without giving us his email address. At the back, no one from the company had any idea what Miller's email address was including his wife! He introduced his wife who was sitting at the back table, another Dean Graziosi employee and showed their wedding pictures during the slideshow! They said that we would get Miller's email address "later" from customer service.

During the presentation, I noticed two women in their late 30's with dark hair. They were very vocal and active in responding to what Miller said. When he solicited interest in topics, they provided excited input. And they would say the services were worth thousands of dollars or the one-day financing should be worth 20% or 50% of the deal instead of just 2%. When Miller gave an incentive for the first 9 who signed up, they were among the first to rush to the back table. In fact, the ladies practically knocked over their chairs and hit the people around them because they were in such a rush. After the break, the speaker, Leland, talked about tax liens. I happened to know some things about tax lien certificates and deeds. I knew enough to know that Leland was understating the costs and risks and overstating the opportunities. There are a lot of junk tax lien properties which will never give a return. I also had a friend who did their program, who claimed it was a scam. I wanted to hear what Graziosi's guys had to say about tax liens so I could better judge what they said about real estate.

Although Leland claimed that they provided access to buy tax liens online for all the 50 states, that is not true. I know that many states do not have online systems. Further, some of the junk online is whatever is left over after the smart-money buyers dominate the auction. Leland didn't mention that at the auction, the rate of return is typically "bid down" from the high rates he quoted. When I tried to ask a question to point that out, Leland wouldn't allow any questions and said I would have to talk to him privately at the end. I said it was a group question, but he would still would not let me ask. That amazed me. The group had thinned to half of its size during the real estate presentation, but they still wouldn't allow a single question!

Leland said that Graziosi saves his best deals for last and that tax liens are the best deals. That statement alone worried me. The cost of the tax lien product from Graziosi and Sean Keegan Walker was $997-$1,497, plus a monthly fee to buy from Walker's stock which he bought in bulk at discount and marked up. They also claimed there was a tuition guarantee. After the presentation, I noticed that the two ladies were no longer animated, but were just slouched in their chairs not even talking to anyone. They had a bag with the real estate packet. I asked what kind of properties they wanted to buy. They said they didn't know. I asked if they had properties now. They said no. It seemed odd that now they exhibited no excitement, interest or knowledge in real estate. I asked if they received the mailing about the pre-auction. They said no.

When I said that I thought it seemed like a bait and switch that there was no auction, and that I thought Leland over-represented the tax liens, in the middle of my sentence, one of the ladies walked to the back. She seemed to know the guy running the seminar admin. Then the guy walked up to me and asked me to leave immediately for criticizing the program. I looked at the two ladies and they gave me fake smiles. Then a guy escorted me out of the hotel. It was a public place! Wow! I thought there was something strange about those two ladies. I hadn't guessed that Graziosi had planted fake audience members for positive audience participation, crowd control and to create herd mentality to make people think everyone was rushing to sign up.

The speakers would not allow questions, would ignore the audience participation that contradicted their message and play up the fake messages. They even had a system to squelch criticism. They completely controlled and manipulated everything in the room! From what I read, it is lucky for me that Graziosi's guys decided to kick me out for being too inquisitive and critical! I never thought a business could be so fake and manipulative!

Once they found out you aren't interested in buying their additional workshops, you are pretty much treated like a leper. When they finally get down to giving us some of the information that was promised for our $1997, they went through it quickly and overwhelmed you to make you feel like you were an ** and really couldn't do anything on your own without again, paying an additional $18K-36K for their additional help. There were quite a few people who jumped up to pay them these exorbitant fees. I felt so sorry for them, but couldn't say much as we were warned at the beginning of the class that if we say anything negative not just during the class, but in the bathroom or at break times to others, we would get kicked out. Most of the time, you are not allowed to ask questions even. Whatever you do, don't get talked into this class! It's a huge waste of $2000! What a bunch of scammers, they should feel ashamed!

The district attorney's office in New York and The New York City Department of Consumers Affairs were notified as of 4/4/12. I notified my bank to cancel payment and I emailed twice to the Dean Grazio enterprise on 4/2/12, 2 business days prior to 3 business days after transaction was made on 3/31/12 that I am cancelling my payment of $1497. I will return items to this company (DVDs) in resale condition, as per return policy located on the back of the transaction receipt.

A majority of time during the 3-day workshop was spent trying to get us to buy advanced boot camps, ranging in price from $50,000 Diamond to $6,997 Bronze level. We were again told to use other people's money and charge it. Isn't this the reason the economy is depressed? People are spending what is not theirs! We were told to find a house for $30,000, fix it up and resell it for $150,000. Yes, I know that it is possible, but substantial legal and banking knowledge is required. Practiced salesmanship skills are needed. Most people do not give their homes away. As you know, many people that attend Dream Seminars have personal emotional, physical challenges and/or family members that demand of their time and attention. Many variables are in place before a serious change of commitment and lifestyle can be pursued.

We were surprised Sunday afternoon, the last few hours of the workshop, when we approached one of the attendants and were denied the refund. The attendant said that we would have to call the Insiders Edge office (the Insiders Financial Institute). Monday morning, I called **. Laura answered and said that I would need to call PM Marketing Institute for a refund (877) 234-8394. Jessica, at **, also said to contact PM Marketing Institute. Hillary, of PM Marketing Institute, answered and said to call your office, (888) 251-1116 x 3485. No one answered and I left a detailed phone message. Darrin ** (Caller ID **) called me Tuesday and said that the Insiders Financial Institute was mistaken, and that he'd have someone else call me back. Wednesday, I missed a call from Mr. Thayne **, as shown on caller ID. I called him back Thursday. No one answered and again, I left a detailed phone message. No one has called since. All materials from the seminar and workshop have been returned.

However a couple of weeks went by, I got a phone call from a guy who was claiming to be from the coaches dept. They call themselves PMI. He made things sound like everything was going to be awesome. He wanted around 3,500 dollars for the course. I decided this was too much for the course and told him no at first. He made comments like: do you have retirement; do you like your job? I said no and he goes on to say then fire them.

I caved in and gave this guy my credit card, biggest mistake of my 39 year old life. I then have some doubts about what I had done. I thought on several occasions calling back in and telling them I am not interested I would like a refund. I get another call from a PMI employee. I wish I had the names and dates to be exact, but he told me that I could refund the money from the course off of my taxes if I went with the tax club. I then said well does the tax club charge a fee and then he said yes, they charge a fee as well. I wait for the tax club and they tell me that I can get a refund on their fees as well they cost about 3,000+ dollars as well. I can write all this off on my taxes. This doesn't sound too bad. The tax club tells me that they have assessment calls, they give me dates and times. They are very precise on when they call and they do they are always on time.

I wait for the calls to come in and the first call is about they want to be my personal accountant. They have two packages and one is around 600.00 give or take a few hundred and another is around 1,300.00. I kindly decline having my personal accountant. I thought to myself that would be pretty dumb paying for an accountant and no customers. I get a second phone call that states that I need corporate credit; it is only 2,900.00 and 50 dollars a month. He told me that I would wish that I would get corporate credit and I might need it someday. I kindly said I was told I was getting my money back on my taxes and that I would not need that credit. I was paying the tax club 50 dollars a month for whatever reason in the 1st place. The 50 dollars a month was non refundable. I accepted this as I was trying something new and then I get this call of wanting 50 dollars a month on top of the 2,900 dollars.

I'm starting to become fishy of the tax club. I'm saying to myself the whole time, why would a person get messed up with the tax club if they didn't have any customers and they seem to be like money grabbers to me. I call these people, PMI and the tax club, people that use crimes of persuasion to get what they want. I then get a third call from the tax club about promoting my business on the website and yes, this time, there is another huge fee. I did make in effort to get out of this the best possible way that I knew how. I went to a real estate club and talked to some investors and they said there is not much happening right now. They didn't seem to be very interested in what I was trying to do. It came tax time and I asked the tax club about my refund and they said they would have an accountant to call me. I waited for them to call and they were very on time, as usual.

I then talked to the tax club people and they told me did I make any money and they told me that I could not get a refund for anything because I did not make any money. I really wasn't surprised by this. I called the tax club demanding a refund and they told me that they would send out a form. I was to get back around $800.00. I then called back a few days later and told them I wanted a refund on the entire money that I had spent. They told me that was impossible. I told them before I handed my credit card information over, I told the rep that I was on the phone with I get this all back and he said absolutely. “Was the conversation recorded,” I had asked. Their response was, “yes all of our conversations are recorded,” and my response was, “great I want to listen to it.”

They told me that they couldn't do it just yet they would contact me in two to three days. I have never heard from this tax club people since about January 20th. I then contacted PMI and told them I wanted a refund for the entire course. I was told by PMI that if I went with the tax club that I would get my money back and they responded by saying you have been in the course too long for a refund. I always respond back by saying, “you are not listening to what I am saying that you all told me I would get my money back on my taxes this is why I was in the course for as long as I was.”

I never could get it through their thick skulls to why I continued the course for as long as I did. He also responded by saying that I haven’t contacted them since June of 09. This is not true. I contacted them several occasions. I always ask for Drew which was supposed to be my coach. I then would get we can take your call it doesn't have to be your coach. I was then told to call the tax club and they don't know much about taxes. Why would they tell me to go with the tax club and that I could get my money back if they don't know much about taxes? I hope the information about the company is correct. I got it off the Better Business Bureau website where he hold a famous F rating, imagine that.