The Con Artists Who Prey On Entertainers And Athletes To Their Detriment

July 6. 2015

Some sports stars have been targeted by con artists and cultists who are using and exploiting them to their detriment

My family have been in the entertainment and sports industries for decades. Both are complex complex businesses and sometimes for all the wrong reasons. Navigating the pitfalls of both, especially as it pertains to lecherous people, can be difficult. The moment anyone shows a bit of promise and there is a whiff of money and fame in the air, people latch on to them. Some are decent and will aid an entertainer or athlete in progressing their careers. However, some are frauds looking for money and fame not due to them.

Con artists aren't always easy to spot. They all aren't slick, fast talking hoodwinkers so brazen and obvious with the fakery that you can see right through them. Some con artists have a bit of money and others do not. However, the goal for a con artist is always unethically getting more money they are not entitled to in any measure. It is one thing to provide a genuine service worthy of pay. However, trying to manipulate and control an entertainer or athlete to leech off their fame and growing bank account, is not a service. That's an opportunist. 

Lauryn Hill became mentally ill due to a guru teaching her unsound things in trying to control her and her finances

Sycophants will tell an entertainer or athlete everything they want to hear, when let's face it, we are all human and at times make mistakes that need correcting. Con artists also pretend to be experts on the aforementioned, respective fields, despite the fact they have no talent or experience for entertainment or sports in front of or behind the scenes.

I've watched as opportunists latched on to entertainers and athletes and in doing so, immediately became experts on the respective fields dispensing unproven, worthless, risky and sometimes downright dangerous advice, in trying to gain a foothold on the star's life and finances. People with a true understanding and knowledge of each industry see right through it and immediately mark it as malarkey, quackery and nonsense.

I've seen gurus, charlatans, snake oil salesmen, cultists, con artists and armchair quarterbacks latch on to and exploit entertainers and athletes with so-called advice and practices that flat-out destroyed them (all the while arrogantly bragging behind the star's back to other people that they own and control the celebrity). I've seen con artists convert entertainers and athletes from the decent religion they grew up with into dangerous ones and cults, in bids at controlling them and their burgeoning bank accounts, via deeds that ended up destroying their home life, relationships and career.

Under the aforementioned circumstances, I've seen con artists engage in manipulative acts aimed at isolating entertainers and athletes from their families, sensible industry professionals and qualified talent who are better able to aid their careers, while inducing bizarre and unsettling behavior in the star that borders on and sometimes veers into mental illness. Their families and real friends feel helpless, watching their loved one negatively change.

I've seen con artists and leeches trying to control athletes with constant flattery, superstition, alternative therapies and treatments medical science has rubbished and debunked as useless and sometimes dangerous. However, that's all they can offer because they don't know what they are doing. So quackery becomes their tool and foothold, until challenges arise. 

The easy part of an entertainer or athlete's career is the beginning when they just get signed and start to make a bit of money off initial success. The con artists and other types of leeches that cling to them in this stage, will appear to the entertainer or athlete as though they are doing something beneficial to them, when they had nothing to do with their career success at all.

Dave Chapelle became mentally ill due to a guru teaching him unsound things in trying to control him and his finances

As the career progresses and new challenges arise, this is where all the cracks will begin to show that the star must repair if they want to have long term success. Listening to leeches and con artists, who have no real experience or working knowledge of the entertainment or sports industries will lead to the demise of your career, because they are not equipped to help you and will disappear when that decline happens.

A real entertainment or sports industry professional, who knows what they are doing will tell you the truth. They will provide positive feedback and encouragement, but they will also tell you the truth, especially when and where you are going wrong. In their professional capacity, they will also use sound advice, good judgment and tried and true methods to develop and grow your career.

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