Internet marketer Ellery Bennett tried to get rich online. When the house of cards collapsed, he murdered his wife (Lisa Bennett). There’s a 10-year-old daughter who no longer has a mother and whose father will be heading to prison for a very long time. That’s a hell of a price to pay.
What went wrong?
Did Bennett not give it his total commitment? He quit the lucrative business of pharmaceutical sales to pursue his dream as a stay-at-home entrepreneur. He racked up nearly $600,000 in debt pursuing his dream, and his wife filed for divorce this month after (because of?) all the sacrifices made. How much more could you ask from him?
Did he not believe in The Secret? Bennett marketed himself as an expert in personal growth and the Law of Attraction.
You can Escape The Rat Race if you BELIEVE in yourself, you are serious about taking your life to another level, you are motivated, you have leadership skills and you have what it takes to be a Successful Entrepreneur. – Ellery Bennett
Maybe Bennett didn’t do enough social media like the Internet gurus recommend?
Actually, Ellery Bennett was active in social media. In addition to his blog, he had:
- Linkedin Profile
- Twitter account with almost 60,000 followers
- Facebook account with FB friends
Like others in Internet marketing, Ellery Bennett made the major mistake of believing he could fake it until he made it. As the hole got deeper, he had to choose whether to keep digging or stop.
There is more to life than online business success. As you look at Ellery Bennett’s videos and websites, you get a picture of someone who wanted nothing more than the freedom to stay at home and spend time with his wife and daughter. But in chasing the dream, it cost him everything.
Bennett should have stayed working in pharmaceutical sales or some other job with a steady income until he had built up an online business that could support himself and his family. It wasn’t a lack of belief that caused this horrible chain of events to occur. It was the wrong belief…that if you wanted something bad enough, there was a law of attraction that would guarantee you would receive the results you desired.
To your online success! (or better yet, to a happy life in the present)
-Mike
P.S. If the Internet gurus who sold Ellery Bennett on how to get rich online had an ounce of decency, they’d take the money he invested in their flopportunities and give the money to Bennett’s 10-year-old daughter. She’s going to need alot of psychological and financial support in the coming years.
Related News Stories
Related posts:
Michael, Interesting post. I semi-retired in 2005. I had a nice 5 figure, steady monthly income whether I got out of bed or not each morning. I took off to Italy and considered moving there. I was still in a dead marriage that was drawn out in a divorce for a long time. I went into a state of depression and could barely get out of bed.
Later, I got involved in speaking, writing and Internet marketing. This was about the time I met you. You know that I was connected with some of the top names in the business. I spent around $175,000 trying to both learn and build an online business. I was being personally advised by guys who were apparently making millions in the business.
I lost everything. The 5 figure monthly income. My home, cars, everything. I found myself, virtually homeless with no income. I didn't do drugs and consumed alcohol very moderately. And, as you know, I am a very upbeat and positive guy.
This CAN happen. It DOES happen. It happened to me. I never killed anyone nor did I ever get into legal trouble. Some of the heavy hitters in Internet marketing and the LOA were promoting me. I didn't mismanage money nor was I a free spender. I lived comfortably but certainly not extravagantly.
Today, I'm what many might believe is at the bottom. I've reached back to those I spent thousands of dollars with and have had little response from them. (Clapton sang it – "Nobody knows you when you're down and out.")
Here's what I've found. There are some good people out there. A few of them promoted me and helped me. I worked long and hard and still ended up in a place I'd never dreamed I could be. I'm mildly cynical of the promotions I've seen from people I've personally known in Internet marketing. I guess I'm more aware to reality than before.
Now, the strangest thing is, I've regained my hope, dreams and belief. I guess I'm a 'prisoner of hope and the American dream.' I've made very good money in the past and believe that I will do so again. I still believe it can happen in Internet marketing. I'm feeling pretty good about my prospects for the future. I couldn't go much lower than I have.
I've not shared my story before now. Hope it gives some kind of perspective on this tragic situation.
Thanks for sharing your story, and demonstrating the courage to do so. Surely your experience will help others.
Michael,
Thank you for sharing your story. That took a lot of courage.
I wish I could say that your circumstances were unique but I'm afraid it is becoming the rule rather than the exception to the rule.
What is particularly sad is that so many of the struggling gurus are faking it in the hope they will deceive enough people into buying their products and coaching programs that the gurus will get back on their feet eventually.
At the last event you and I met at a few years ago, the best closer from the stage now has a business that's on life support. He's lost his business headquarters to creditors. But if you went to his website, he's still pretending to be a success both online and in network marketing. That's a real shame because the man simply is the best speaker I've seen.
One of the other speakers at the event has decided to rediscover his roots and religion. He's now "found" God again and doing his dog-and-pony show at minority churches. As you know, the current recession has disproportionately hit minorities. This guy is preying upon the desperate while pretending to be helping his own using skin color and spiritual beliefs as the affinity hook to get people to open their wallets.
A third speaker at the event has a shaky network marketing business and an Internet website that might get 1-2 visitors per day.
Currently, there are no less than 4 convicted felons working online as gurus. Each one's "apology" is really a cleverly spun resume trying to suck people into their get-rich-quick flopportunities. They're sorry they got caught.
Other marketers you and I both know are claiming success while trying to sell anything that pays a fat affiliate commission regardless of the merits of the product. The spin is simply remarkable. Downsizing a home-based business into an apartment is called "expansion." There's absolutely nothing wrong with living in an apartment. But pretending it is part of growing one's business is absurd.
There's at least one guru who is living with family now.
Some have "retired." This includes those who quit digging holes and now do other web-related work instead.
And in probably the worst-kept secret in the Internet marketing community, there's a scumbag who cheats everyone he deals with but has a cult following who believe he is successful. The only thing he's been successful at is riding his ex-wife's online success as if he had something to do with it.
We all learn hard lessons in life through our mistakes…but what these so-called gurus have done is crossed the line from mistakes into intentional fraud. Whether out of financial desperation or because they're simply sociopaths, each has chosen to lie, cheat, and even steal to maintain guru status with the public.
Unfortunately, you and others get hurt in the process.
I wish you future success in your endeavors and am truly sorry to hear that as one of the good guys you got dragged down in this mess.
Best wishes,
-Mike
Thank you for sharing your story Michael. That took some guts.
Rafael,
Thanks for weighing in on this issue. The two biggest problems I have with The Secret/Law of Attraction are:
1. It is not a law. In the real world, it should be re-written as \”Take prudent action and you have increased your probability of succeeding in a particular endeavor.\” I can visualize, sincerely believe, and recite positive affirmations all day about beating LeBron James on the basketball court. Heck, I could even practice b-ball 12 hours a day, \”taking massive action.\” James will always pwn me on the court.
2. The con artists. Many of the biggest proponents are outright frauds, charlatans, and nutcases. They use the concept to fleece flocks of something-for-nothing believers. Take a look at The Secret gurus. Look at how they actually live and what they have \”manifested\” in their lives.
Best wishes,
-Mike
It is kind of funny…. if you listen to the LoA guys you hear their little escape clause. They tell you that it's all about what you think about not what you say. So, if you are broke and worried about being broke and keep thinking about being broke then the universe will listen to that and keep you broke. This is a prefect little way for them to turn the blame back on the victim of their con and say "well, your thoughts just weren't clean enough so it didn't work for you"
Gypsy,
Just further evidence that the Law of Attraction isn\’t really a law. More a case of wishful thinking.
Best wishes,
-Mike
It's a shame one can't public name these "marketers" but I guess that moves into the realm of libel and defamation legalities.
Still … it's sad commentary on today's society. Common sense seems to be sorely lacking when looking to "make a buck" online.
Rick,
The convicted felons are a matter of public record. You can easily identify them because they brag about their pasts, usually as being misunderstood victims of the government.
The others are tougher to identify but it is always a good idea to at least Google and Internet marketer\’s name and prior products before hopping on board his latest venture. Success leaves trails…so do con artists.
Best wishes,
-Mike
You are all welcome. Some of the 'gurus' that I met, were great people. I don't know a person's heart. I certainly don't know their bank accounts. Two of them promoted me to their lists and I did pretty good. I just know that my overall journey wasn't successful.
The saddest part for me is that I'm used to helping other people. I've done it all of my life. 5 years ago, when I semi-retired, I donated $350,000 worth of land to build the county women's crisis center (they inadvertently named a street after me; I thought you had to be 'dead' to get a street named after you
.
I still love giving to others and do it even when I'm in a lot of need myself. But, it pays off for me in more ways than material ways. I enjoy doing it.
I did contact one of the gurus recently and after a while, he wrote me back. I had spent nearly $20,000 with him a few years ago. He offered a one hour phone consultation, but, I'm not sure what I'd ask him. I mean, when you have NO money to promote (or even buy a car), I'm not sure how I'm going to get any advice from him that will make a difference for me. Not sure what I'd even ask. If any one has any ideas, tell me. I might go ahead and take him up on it. Who knows?
Thanks again!
wow…
this sort of thing should not be happening- especially not to us decent folk… heck, it shouldn't be happening to anyone.
Survivors… that's what we are…! nice to meet you.
Hi Micheal-
Terror pumped through my veins while reading your first comment. By the time I read this comment I realized that in spite of external circumstances you never lost who you are to the core. Your continuing kindness and generosity and wanting, still, to help other.
And true to our form, in a flash of inspiration, I see a wonderful opportunity for you to create, on free Web 2.0 properties, a place for people to tell and share their similar stories and to seek and provide solutions based on results. Not a flame site, not a pity-party site, a site loaded with solid and helpful information for those, who are like you, who know that you have to pick yourself up, dust off the past and go forward.
I would love to use my internet network to promote your efforts if you could strike that balance of teaching and going back to the basics of human nature and solid direct marketing principles which have stood the test of time.
Continued success to you! You're words have inspired my day and have given me much to think about.
Cheryl C. Cigan http://www.known.com
thank you for posting here, and doing what you do. I will tweet this comment to inform others of what you do.
Lynndel,
Internet info product marketing and MLM/network marketing have a lot in common these days. This includes fake gurus, flawed systems, and customers who too often believe hype surrounding get-rich-quick biz opps. I suspect the success ratio is roughly the same for both groups.
It will take the FTC and other governmental regulatory bodies to crack down before online marketing cleans up its act. Would not surprise me to see the equivalent of UFOCs for franchises being required one day for biz opp offerings online.
Best wishes,
-Mike
Thank you for sharing your story. Family should come first. That's not an excuse to do nothing. But too many have sacrificed their personal lives chasing rainbows and unicorns online.
Long term success hinges upon knowing who you are, how you want to get there, and being realistic as to the price that must be paid to get there. Money is a useful tool but a rich life is measured as much in present happiness as the possibility of future wealth. People grinding away unhappily now won't know how to be happy when they achieve their financial goals. Defining success in purely monetary terms, they've become dysfunctional as human beings.
If one doesn't have time for a date night with a spouse or time to see your kid's activities, that's a good indication there are imbalance priorities. One can have a family and succeed. The mistake is tossing the former overboard in an effort to obtain the latter. Ellery Bennett has found this out in an extremely tragic way.
Best wishes,
-Mike
Mike, thanks for your level-headed interesting posts. I also came to the conclusion that all the hype was just that – HYPE. If these guys are really making the kind of money they say they are, why are they putting so much pressure on "the little folks like us" to keep buying their products?
Val,
Thanks for your kind words. Fully agree re: the hype. The part that bugs me are those gurus claiming to sell some \”secret\” way of making big money online. If there was a proven method backing up the claims, they would be capitalizing on it themselves rather than selling an info product revealing the \”secret\” to the world.
Best wises,
-Mike
Mike, Thank you for posting about Ellery Bennett with such empathy. I have known him since early 2008 and I always found him to be a gentle caring man who as you rightly surmised, just wanted to be able to stay at home with his family and be able to give them a good life too. I have not been in contact with him for the last 6 months or so and I cannot imagine how desperate, lonely and confused he must have been to do what he has done. It is a tragedy for all concerned.
I also wanted to say thanks to Michael for posting your story. It has confirmed what I already have begun to realise, that in the world of internet and NWM gurus, not all is as it seems… I have found myself in a very scary financial situation coming out of one of these businesses – the same one that Ellery was part of when I met him.. and ther eare many others too who are even worse off than me. I take full responsibility for what happened to me – I should have known better – or should I? The hype and indoctrination got to me I'm afraid. But like you Michael, I am looking at fresh pastures, I know there is an ethical way and I am also feeling excited for my future again – perhaps I am a victim of the great Australian/South African dream?
Cherry
Cherry,
Thank you for sharing your experience and glad to know you responded differently than Ellery under similar circumstances. I appreciated your providing additional insights into his situation.
It is hard at a time like this to see how anything good can come out of this tragedy. One hopes, if nothing else, that the daughter will grow up to be a happy functional adult despite the loss of both parents.
Best wishes,
-Mike
Wow.
What a reality check.
Thanks for sharing your stories.
Anthony.
interesting story and one i can believe. having worked for a top guru for almost a year i got an inside look into affiliate marketing and im actually glad ive moved on. the whole thing is about preying on the gullible and naive. some people might say they deserve getting ripped off for being dumb but that doesnt make it right.
the worse thing was reading story after story from members about how theyd gone from guru to guru, and program to program, spending all their redundancy pay on these miracle MMO schemes, to find out they hadnt made a dime. so here they were joining up with another scam artist.
sadly so many of them are like losers who sit on the slot machines all day.
Wow….Michael, You Seem To Be a pretty good guy. Reading your comments, you do have a heart, and are not one of the ruthless sob’s you see out here on the internet. We need more people like you my brother! Like Cherry, I knew Ellery Bennett pretty well, or so I thought. I was in that last business with him and so many others. The people is what kept me there for so long. (3 yrs 6 mths). The last 11 months, I made 2000.00 dollars. Damn Shame. It was a personal development Company. They had a leader board that showed the top income earners weekly incomes..Figures like 42,000 in one week. “Us little guys”, Looked at that and said to ourselves, If they can do it, we can do it…Guess What??? NEVER HAPPENED. I know lots of people that lost their life savings, and then some. Alot of these “Leaders” pray on the person new to the business and sell them leads and “special training”. Just to get the same results later..NOTHING..It really is a shame!!
Normally my opinion would be to throw him in prison and throw away the key..But knowing him to the extent that I do, I feel bad for him. This is truly an American Tragedy. No matter how bad things get, THERE IS ALWAYS A SOLUTION.!.!.!. Blows Me away, In court Ellery stated, I’ve never smoked, drank, or did drugs…You know what Michael? I smoke, drink on occasion, and curse, however, I DON’T MURDER PEOPLE!!! God bless you Michael, and Everyone who believes!!! Big Ed, Living Boss Free Baby!!!
This has come to me as rather shocking and disturbing news. Sad to learn about Ellery’s story, I never heard of him and can only feel sorry about how things turned in his life.
However, I say shocking because of things I am hearing, stuff like many gurus struggling to maintain their statuses? Question is, does internet marketing work then? Never could I have believed people can lose so much money trying to pursue internet marketing?
Wow, this seriously an eye opener, I will definitely want to take time to read some of the articles here.
Thanks.
Hi, i was very interested to read about your story. I have an ok-ish web design company but recently became interested in online marketing and how this all works, since I have a background of a few years in the internet and web design.
What has shocked me in my very short journey of 2 months is the amount of absolute CRAP that is given to try to suck in newbies into buying a particular “product” or “clickbank scheme” or “affiliate blueprint” or the like. I bought a couple of these programs and decided to give them a go, at the very least to go through the the course and understand what it is they are doing.
After a couple of “courses” and spending about $180 which isnt much, ive realised that this is a complete scam. What these so called gurus do, is make it out like they know everything, but in essence, they are just talking fluff, lots of padded information that can basically be cut down to one sentence, but will be stretched out to a 20 minute presentation as part of a “course”.
I certainly know there are ways to make money online, in my research over the years, and working with web clients myself, you can make income from an e-commerce site correctly optimised in the search engines. You can make money from clickbank and review sites that are also optimised, but it wont be millions and certainly not the – “i made 18.435 in 4 hours” scams. It may just be a few hundred dollars a month realistically. The massive money is only achieveable if you have 500 small websites with a team of article writers, SEO experts who have been properly trained in backlinking, site structure, and are ALWAYS keeping on top of the latest Google algorithms, trends and building email lists, and optimising for hundreds if not thousands of keywords – which again requires weeks of research.
Its certainly not a short term thing. Its a long, hard arduous process because the real internet marketers dont want to give their secrets away, so they pad everything out. Much like going to a bar and asking for a coke, the bartender will give you a glass with half coke, half water, because its cheaper for them and the customer doesnt know any different.
I think the whole internet marketing thing, in general, is run by a bunch of scoundrels, who through trial and error of years have come to a conclusion that they can run their sites on just exploiting the vulnerable – people with no job, house, no money, who think they can get rich with no investment of time or money. It is really beyond belief some of the utter nonsense that is piled out on these sites, with never ending LONG SCROLLING WEBSITES created with Amazon.
The best advice is, as i was just reading earlier. NEVER quit your job to go into a business proposition you have NO idea about, and ONLY move into it once it is self sustainable.