It was interesting to me that in her response to Gayle Bu’s claims about her company–the Millionaire Mindset, LLC, a.k.a. The Investors Edge University, a.k.a. Financial Freedom Through Foreclosures–company co-owner Dwan Bent-Twyford wrote the following (and this is a direct quote from a comment Dwan left here on FlippingFrenzy.com within the last 24 hours):

“We NEVER promise coaching by us because we don’t personally have the time to do it. Galye heard what she wanted to hear.”

~ Dwan Bent-Twyford, August 19, 2008

In case anyone is confused, when Dwan says “… coaching by us…“, the “us” refers to coaching delivered by herself or her husband and business partner Bill Twyford.

Curious to know if Dwan’s statement was accurate, I asked Gayle to provide further proof of her claim, which is what appears below in the form of PDF-formatted screen capture from Dawn and Bill Twyford’s company website:

You will have one on one time with Bill to get all of your questions answered. He also teaches you how to talk to the banks and howmeowners to do BPOs and work with title companies. Imagine having Bill on hand to help you through your deals. He’ll even conference call banks and sellers with you! There is nothing else like it on the market today.

To read all of the website copy and claim in question, click on the image above. (Note: Clicking on this image will yield or download a PDF file.)

According to their own website, it seems like Dwan’s claim that “Galye heard what she wanted to hear” isn’t accurate. Right there on their own website–regardless of whether that site is live today or not (because it was live when Gayle enrolled in her course)–the Twyford’s state that paying customers like Gayle Bu have direct and consistent access to Bill Twyford.

From Gayle:

Notice point #3 which clearly states “You will have one on one time with Bill”.

So if you get a sales call (ironically I did two weeks ago) from Dwan Bent-Twyfords “Business Developing Division” or anyone from New Income Today (newincometoday.com and millionairemindsetcollection.com) and they promise one on one coaching from Dwan Bent-Twyford, you have heard from Dwan herself that she doesn’t have time to personally coach you, despite the sales pitch.

I am now an educated consumer and a collector of details and this is exactly what helped me win my case in court before the judge. Anyone that has been to court is fully aware that a judge doesn’t indiscriminately hand out rulings (even judgment by default rulings) unless solid evidence is provided. I had copies of all evidence on hand to present to Bill Twyford and Dwan Bent-Twyford during the trial and they did have the option of hearing the testimony of witnesses, but they chose not to attend.

Thank you again Gayle for granting FlippingFrenzy.com permission to share this latest information with our readers. I sincerely hope Bill Twyford and Dwan Bent-Twyford live up to the April 17, 2008 court order and that they think twice about the notion of truth in advertising.

In February of 2006, I posted a blog entry here on FlippingFrenzy.com about a real estate education-related offer that just seemed too good to be true. From my February 22, 2006, blog entry titled “Is This Offer Too Good To Be True?”:

According to the voice booming from my television, a woman from Colorado claims to be able to teach me how to take my last $10 and turn it into $10,000 or more using her real estate investing techniques. The narrator went on to say, and I’m paraphrasing here, “anyone can become a millionaire using Dwan’s system… let Dwan show you just how easy it is.”

Now, nearly two-and-a-half years later, proof may finally exist that Millionaire Mindset, LLC, and its owners–Bill and Dwan Bent-Twyford–and an advisor to the company, Sharon Restrepo–are running what is perhaps a very questionable business operation that may be taking advantage of customers.

Here is a letter I received just the other day from a former Millionaire Mindset customer (Gayle Bu of Georgia) who found our February 2006 post and wants to spread the word about her own experience in dealing with Bill Twyford, Dwan Bent-Twyford, and their advisor and friend (and now Dwan’s co-author), Sharon Restrepo:

On March 9, 2007, I invested $5,995.00 to be personally mentored by Bill and Dwan Bent-Twyford as part of their Millionaire Mindset “FastTrack” course. The “boot camp” I attended, where I learned about their real estate investing coaching services, was hosted by the Millionaire Mindset, LLC., a.k.a. The Investors Edge University, a.k.a. Financial Freedom Through Foreclosures. The course I paid for began around one month later, on April 16, 2007, and lasted for approximately one year (it included four modules – “Level I” thru “Level IV” — each encompassing seven weeks of once-a-week scheduled coaching calls plus unlimited coaching on-demand).

During their very compelling sales presentation, Bill and Dwan Bent-Twyford spoke about their huge success in real estate investing and how successful their students were. They promised unlimited daily coaching, which I–along with several other students–did not receive. What coaching I did receive was not “unlimited” and was not provided by Dwan Bent-Twyford as promised, but rather by an employee of their company–someone named Jayson Norris.

Long story short, I completed Level I of the program, but since my calls to the Millionaire Mindset office were often taking 72 hours or longer to be returned, were not daily as promised, and since I never received coaching from Dwan Bent-Twyford (and I received coaching from Bill Twyford only two or three times at most), I attempted to share my concerns with the Twyford’s and the Millionaire Mindset office.

I tried several times by email and phone to get a response from the Twyford’s as to if they were going to provide the coaching as promised and paid for, but my requests were ignored. They then ignored further requests from both myself and an attorney that I hired to look into the matter on my behalf, the Georgia Real Estate Investors Association (GaREIA), and even the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Despite the fact that they ended up with a poor rating with the BBB and that GaREIA is no longer endorsing them as speakers,Bill Twyford and Dwan Bent-Twyford remained non-responsive.

Editor’s Note: At this stage, Gayle decided to take Millionaire Mindset, LLC a.k.a. The Investors Edge, into small claims court in Gwinnett County Magistrate Court in Lawrenceville, GA (about 45 minutes north of Atlanta).

When a court date was set (4/3/08), the Twyford’s postponed it, and then did not appear at the re-scheduled hearing. This lead to a judgment in my favor on 4/17/08 in the amount of $7,682.59 (which is accruing interest at a rate of 8.25% per year).

Editor’s Note: A copy of the judgment against Dwan Bent-Twyford can be found here. Again, from Gayle…

On 4/25/08, my attorney sent a letter to Millionaire Mindset’s Colorado and Florida business addresses requesting payment in full within 10 days.

On 5/16/08, I sent a fax to Dwan Twyford’s home requesting payment.

On 6/9/08, after a year of non-communication from Bill and Dwan Bent-Twyford and Millionaire Mindset, LLC, I finally received communication from the company. Sharon Restrepo, Registered Agent of Millionaire Mindset, LLC, called me in response to a conversation I had with an online moderator at the Real Estate Exchange Forum on www.foreclosure.com. Sharon was appearing as a guest speaker on a foreclosure.com “Live Presentation” (delivered via the phone) and I had called Foreclosure.com to inform them of the judgment against Millionaire Mindset, LLC. For their part, Foreclosure.com asked Sharon to deal with the matter herself.

Sharon told me that she broke ties with Millionaire Mindset on October 1, 2006, and that it would appear that Dwan Bent-Twyford did not file the appropriate paperwork with the Florida Secretary of State’s office reflecting the change. She stated that she was not to blame as she was no longer part of the company. I recommended that she call Dwan Bent-Twyford, to which she stated that she does not have communication with the company anymore.

While I was inclined to believe her, my research since that 6/9/08 conversation indicates that Dwan Bent-Twyford and Sharon Restrepo co-authored a book that is being released later this month by Wiley Publishing entitled Short-Sale Pre-Foreclosure Investing: How to Buy “No-Equity” Properties Directly from the Bank — at Huge Discounts.

My research has also shown that Sharon Restrepo filed a 2007 For Profit Corporation Annual Report for a business entity called Piranha Properties, Inc. in May 2007 with her own and Dwan Bent-Twyford’s name on it.

Sharon, as co-founder of the Florida Real Estate Investors Association (FLREIA), also lists Dwan Bent-Twyford via 1234closures.com as an FLREIA Corporate Sponsor, and the May 2008 edition of the FLREIA newsletter lists The Investors Edge University (one of Millionaire Mindset, LLC’s known aliases) as a vendor.

Millionaire Mindset, LLC uses a street address of 711 Desparado Road, Bailey, Colorado, 80421, however, it is not registered with the Colorado Secretary of State’s office, but rather in Del Ray Beach, Florida, in the names of Dwan Bent and Sharon Restrepo at the address of Sharon’s other businesses — 32 SW 5th Avenue, Del Ray Beach, Florida.

I have since contacted the Florida Attorney General’s office. They will not launch an investigation until there are other complaints.

I have also contacted the Secretary of State in Colorado, Florida and New York, in addition to Dun & Bradstreet, Park County Court, and the City of Del Ray Beach (FL). Below is a summary of my research to date (sadly, it’s a never-ending maze):

Florida Secretary of State

• Millionaire Mindset, LLC is active (Sharon/Dwan). Filed 07 report.
• Piranha Properties (Sharon/Dwan). Filed 07 report.
• Financial Freedom Through Foreclosures (Sharon/Dwan). Active. Filed 07 report.
• 32 West Realty Inc (Sharon/Juan). Active. Filed 08 report.
• 32 West Financial Group (Sharon/Dwan). Dissolved in 2006.
• 32 West Realty, LLC (Sharon/Manthal Guhn). Dissolved in 2005.
• No matches for Bentford, The Investors Edge, Certified Investors Gear.

Colorado Secretary of State

• Dwan Bent has one current company – Bentford Investment Group. Formed 7/7/03 and incorporated by Corporate Creations International, Inc. — 941 Fourth Street, Miami Beach, FL, 33135. In good standing. 08 report filed.
• Bill Twyford has had the following companies:
  - Bill Twyford and Associates, LLC – dissolved in 2/05
  - JBLS Ventures – dissolved in 5/02
  - BK Ventures, LLC – dissolved in 11/04
  - Metrobrokers/Team Twyford, LLC – dissolved in 1/04
• No matches for Investors Edge, The Investors Edge, Financial Freedom Through Foreclosures, Certified Investors Gear, 32 West, Piranha, Bent-Twyford.

New York Department of State

• Sunshine Direct LLC – Active (this is the company that produces Dwan’s television infomercials).
• No matches for Millionaire Mindset, LLC or Financial Freedom Discoveries

Dun and Bradstreet

• Financial Freedom Through Foreclosures at 711 Desparado Road, CO. Active.
• Piranha Properties at 8782 NW 21st Ct, Coral Springs, FL. Active.
• 561-819-1900 (Sharon Restrepo) is shared by 3155 West Coast Realty Development (someone by the name of Charles Kelpsch), 21st Century Investors Inc. (Sharon and Juan Restrepo – active company, filed a report in 08), and Palm Beach Realty Consultants (Sharon was an officer, but it was dissolved in 07).
• No matches for Millionaire Mindset, LLC in Colorado or Florida, Financial Freedom through Foreclosures in Florida, 32 West Realty in Florida, Bentford Investment in Colorado or Florida, The Investors Edge in Colorado.

Park County, Colorado, Public Records

• Phone inquiry revealed that there is no property listed in Park County for Millionaire Mindset, The Investors Edge University, Financial Freedom Through Foreclosures or Bentford Investment, Bent, Bent-Twyford, or Twyford.
• Bill Twyford has a ’93 trailer at 702 Desparado Road (near 711 Desparado Road)
• Dwan Bent has a residential property at 702 Desparado Road (3,566 sq ft, 1982, land and house valued at $567,139). Bill Twyford purchased it from a trustee deed in the year 2000, it was transferred to James Bent in 2002 and Dwan’s name was then added.
• There are no vehicles, including leases under any of the above names.

City of Del Ray Beach, Florida

• No business licenses for Millionaire Mindset, 32 West Financial Group, Piranha Properties, Financial Freedom Through Foreclosures, 32 West Realty LLC. in Del Ray Beach. Active business license for 32 West Realty, Inc.

Sharon Restrepo

• Sharon is the co-founder of the Florida Real Estate Investors Association (FLREIA) and is currently doing several speaking appearances.
• She publishes REIP (Rewards Real Estate Investors Publication). There is a link for this publication on Bill and Dwan’s site - www.theieu.com.
• www.realestatesuccessmagazine.com – Run by Sharon and her husband Juan Restrepo.

Websites

• www.theieu.com - Bill and Dwan Bent-Twyford’s website. They reference Sharon and her husband Juan Restrepo as “Special Advisors” and there’s a large link back to the REIP publication on the homepage.
• www.1234closures.com – same site as above.
• www.millionairemindsetcollection.com. Dwan Bent-Twyford short sale system. Copyright 2007 Sunshine Direct (this just appears to be the promotional company for the website and videos).
• www.financialfreedomdiscoveries.com - Same site as above.

Dwan Bent published touring schedule for 2008:

• Denver, CO — June 18-20
• Chicago, IL — July 7-9
• Atlantic City, NJ — July 15-17
• Nashville, TN — July 30-Aug 1
• Dallas, TX — Sept 17-19
• Phoenix, AZ — Dec 10-12

According to an e-mail dated 6/14/08 Dwan promoted the Bruce Norton bus tour event at the 2008 Maryland Foreclosure Summit in Baltimore on June 20th (scroll down the page on www.marylandforeclosuresummit.com for more info).

I sincerely hope that by getting the word out, that others avoid the troubles and unfortunate financial issues that I have had to deal with as a result of signing up for the Twyford’s program.

Gayle Bu, Georgia USA

Thank you Gayle for your letter and for granting FlippingFrenzy.com permission to share it with our readers.

As one might suspect, there are many troubling things associated with Gayle’s experience with Millionaire Mindset, Bill Twyford, Dwan Bent-Twyford, and the Twyford’s advisor/friend, Sharon Restrepo. Among them:

• First and foremost, it’s a common marketing technique for get-rich-quick enterprises like Millionaire Mindset to make absurd claims about the availability of their key and titled personnel. Therefore, it’s not all that surprising that the company positioned Bill Twyford and Dwan Bent-Twyford as being available for unlimited coaching. Clearly, expectations where generated that the Twyford’s would be available—and I’m guessing that’s why so many people fall victim to “coaching” offers from the Bill Twyford’s, Dwan Bent-Twyford’s, and Millionaire Mindset’s of this world. When they’re on stage delivering their pitch to an audience full of people looking for answers, they sound quite convincing. And when they portray themselves as being available for personal and one-on-one coaching, and then fail to deliver, it’s no wonder the Gayle Bu’s of this world stand up and say, “Wait a Minute… what the heck’s going here?”
• Sharon Restrepo’s apparent role in all of this is very troubling as well. If indeed she claimed no ties to Dwan Bent-Twyford and Millionaire Mindset, she clearly misspoke, because as Gayle was able to learn through simple inquiries into public records and reviews of public websites, the facts seem to indicate otherwise. Why, for example, would Sharon Restrepo tell Gayle she had broken ties with Dwan Twyford and Millionaire Mindset back in October of 2006, when she was clearly in the process of writing a book with Dwan at the time she spoke with Gail?
• Looking a little further into Sharon Restrepo’s real estate-related interests, we are able to determine that despite being pitched as a “membership association,” the organization she co-founded with her husband (Juan Restrepo) and Dwan Bent-Twyford–the Florida Real Estate Investors Association–is nothing more than a for-profit business entity that plays off of the values associated with true nonprofit associations. Why should this matter? Well it matters because as a society, we treat (i.e., trust) “associations” different than we do for-profit business entities. Conventional wisdom dictates that when we think of “associations,” we generally tend to think that they are nonprofits and that they are run at the Board of Directors level by the members themselves (members who are voted onto the Board by their association peers). In Sharon Restrepo’s case, the Florida Real Estate Investors Association is run by herself and her husband, Juan Restrepo, and apparently, they call the shots. This is troubling because in a for-profit membership-based association, the interests of the association’s owners (in this case, the Restrepos’), will always come first; whereas nonprofit membership associations do not have to worry about any one individual’s personal financial claims or interests — they, the not-for-profit membership-based associations, are free to operate without personal interests getting in the way. For Sharon Restrepo to be so heavily involved in an organization like FLREIA may speak volumes about her business character.
• Another troubling aspect of Sharon Restrepo’s connection to real estate is that she may in fact be using religion to build trust. Take a look at this, from the Florida Real Estate Investors Association website:
  

  Florida Real Estate Investors’ Association Vision Statement

  “We are committed to providing aspiring and experienced real estate investors a venue where continuing education, networking, & products and services worthy of our Maker’s approval are provided. We aspire to share our knowledge and God-given talents to promote the well-being of all we come in contact with on a daily basis with a Christ-like attitude.“

  It’s that last part, “with a Christ-like attitude” that gives me serious cause for concern about these people and the way they conduct business. Religion should never have anything to do with real estate investing, and anyone who brings religion into the equation should be ashamed of themselves. Look a little further on the FLREIA website and you’ll even find a link for the association’s “Prayer Request” service. Are you kidding me? I don’t know about anyone else but I hate to see people using religion to build trust. It just gives trust a bad name!

At the end of the day, the Gwinnett County Magistrate Court in Lawrenceville, GA, sided with Gayle Bu, and as of today, Millionaire Mindset, LLC, has failed to meet its court-ordered obligation to pay Gayle what she is owed.

If you are researching any of the businesses or individuals referenced in this post, you may want to think twice about doing business with them. Similarly, if you feel you have been taken advantage of by any of the people or business entities mentioned in this post, consult an attorney (like Gayle did), and keep us posted on your efforts to recoup your losses.

Earlier this morning, while getting ready for work, I found myself flipping (no pun intended) through the never-ending selection of channels my cable television company so generously provides. Most mornings, after a 3-4 mile exercise-myself-and-the-dog walk, I’ll watch a few minutes of news on television to see what’s happening in the real world. Rarely do I ever watch anything else before work, especially if it’s one of those home shopping shows or even worse, an infomercial. Note, I didn’t say ‘never,’ I said rarely.

This morning, something on one of the syndicated network channels caught my eye. According to the voice booming from my television, a woman from Colorado claims to be able to teach me how to take my last $10 and turn it into $10,000 or more using her real estate investing techniques. The narrator went on to say, and I’m paraphrasing here, “anyone can become a millionaire using Dwan’s system… let Dwan show you just how easy it is.” Okaaaaaay, I’m game… tell me more!

The infomercial is filmed as an insider’s look into one of the hottest infomercial offers today (sort of ‘behind the scenes’ look at the filming of an infomercial, if you can believe that). The host of this ’show’ (which again is an infomercial) is a woman named Lisa Eisenpresser, who we learn is President of NYC-based Sunshine Direct, a producer of–you guessed it–infomercial, and according to the script her own company wrote for this infomercial, she’s sincerely interested in finding out–for her viewer’s sake, of course–if this Dwan’s woman’s offer is legit. Okay, so aside from the fact that my intelligence is already offended, I’m still intrigued enough to watch about 5 minutes more of this thing before heading out the door for work.

For the next 10 minutes or so–yeah, they sucker-punched me into watching more than I intended (it was just ’so’ compelling)–Eisenpresser and her off-camera narrator provide ‘does-it-really-work’ commentary, while Dawn and a whole slew of people provide testimonial after testimonial to the power of Dwan’s system for turning a $10 real estate-related deposit into a $10,000 real estate-related profit in 30-days or less.

Sounds too good to be true? That’s exactly what I’m thinking. And when a real estate-related ‘too good to be true’ offer comes along, there’s one person I like to turn to for more information. John T. Reed is the writer and publisher of John T. Reed’s Real Estate Investor’s Monthly. According to his web site, John has worked as a real estate agent, property manager, and is the author of 20 real estate investment books. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, as well as a Master’s degree in business administration from the Harvard Business School. But more impressive than any of his professional or academic achievements is Reed’s commitment to exposing the “endless parade of B.S. artists coming into the real-estate-investment-advice field.”

While John and I have never met, I’m a big fan of his work (he maintains a web site where anyone can read up on these so-called real estate gurus), and since this Dwan character claims to be able to turn $10 into $10,000 almost overnight, I’m going pass her information onto John to see what he has to say about all of this. In the meantime, if anyone is interested in seeing Dawn’s web site, here it is… MillionaireMindsetCollection.com.

And stay tuned… if John T. Reed is game, I’ll share his opinion on Dwan and her offer soon enough. In the meantime, CLICK HERE for John Reed’s thoughts on a growing list of so-called Real Estate experts (121 of them at last count).

= = = UPDATE: JUNE 25, 2008 = = =

The “Dwan” referenced above is none other than Dwan Bent-Twyford, and the company referenced above is none other than Millionaire Mindset, LLC., a.k.a. The Investors Edge University, a.k.a. Financial Freedom Through Foreclosures.

For a follow up on this post, visit our homepage and click on the link for Dwan Bent-Twyford in the right hand column under Categories.