Get Poor Quick

From the Houston Chronicle:

Real estate guru ‘in a pickle’

J. Michael Ledman nurtured the smooth-talking image of a savvy and successful real estate investment guru.

He solicited investors on his Web site. He charged $2,900 and up per person for how-to training.

He ran ads in the Yellow Pages and in the newspaper. And he dished out advice on his weekly radio show about everything from credit scores to how to buy and sell distressed property with no money down.

But a year ago, the bottom fell out.

The investment guru who taught others how to profit from foreclosures is himself facing serious financial and legal woes. They include a charge of felony theft in which he is accused of bilking an 80-year-old woman out of her home of 38 years, causing her to lose $150,000 in equity.
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Ledman’s story is another cautionary tale that in today’s boom-and-bust real estate market, what seems too good to be true probably is.

The once highflying investment counselor acknowledges his financial troubles, but he denies any wrongdoing. He blames it on the real estate market’s collapse, which caused profits to fall, overhead to rise and investors to run for cover.

“Have I got myself in a pickle? Sure, I have,” Ledman said, but added: “I’m not ready to throw in the towel.”

Yet Ledman also has left in his wake unhappy sellers, buyers and investors who lost money in his debt-repair and get-rich-quick programs, the Kansas City Star found. This year he was evicted from his office, and a bank foreclosed on his $500,000 home.

In April, he lost his radio show when he ran out of money to pay for it.

Ledman declined to discuss details of his criminal case or failed land deals. Still, he said, “I had honorable intentions. My show was about showing people how they could acquire real estate. My intent has been to help people avoid making the mistakes I’ve made.”