Chicago Investment Club Leaders - Feedback needed

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Chicago Investment Club Leaders - Feedback needed

Dale Stevens
Investor · Downers Grove, IL · Member since 2015 · 353 posts · 213 votes

So I have been going around and attending many different networking and REI Clubs in the Chicago area. Some I have found useful, others I wouldn't call a club but more an infomercial for the guru pitching a product. Some I would caution you to put your wallet into a safety deposit box before attending.

There is one, I have yet to attend, but I wanted to ask for feedback here. I have asked everyone about all clubs. There is one called the "Chicago Wealth Club".  They are marketed, I think, by a guy from Texas, but run by two local guys. 

Has anyone attended this group?

I have met multiple people that claim the two guys running it, have a history of bad deals and still owe them money from as recent as a bad deal 2-3 years ago, to one guy saying he is still owed money from them from a deal done about a "decade ago" (his words).  I don't want to miss out on a good opportunity if it is just sour grapes.

Has anyone else been left holding the bag by Robert Bock or GD Chaplin that run this group? I want to see if it is worth going or yet another person that just started their own club so they can find a new audience of people as they aren't allowed at other groups due to past dealings.

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Account Closed
Investor · Downers Grove, IL · Member since 2015 · 135 posts · 55 votes
11y

@Dale Stevens

 Thanks for the info. I have bumped into the folks you mention at some networking events, but that's the extent of my interaction.  I will say in those limited interactions something felt a bit "off," for what it's worth.

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  • Drew Millard
    Investor · Chicago, IL - Illinois · Member since 2015 · 33 posts · 13 votes
    11y

    I've been to a ton of those guru seminars and never was impressed. The one club I really like is REIA. It has some of the most prominent real estate investors, service providers and lenders in the Chicago apartment market. Lots a great networking and a ton of knowledge.

    I have found over the years it really comes down to who you know and experience by actually transacting, rehabbing, leasing, etc...  A solid industry partner or mentor is also a wonderful thing to have.   

    0Reply
  • Dale Stevens
    OP
    Investor · Downers Grove, IL · Member since 2015 · 353 posts · 213 votes
    11y

    @Drew Millard

     I am specifically asking about those two individuals. I am after people that have dealt with them to either tell me they actually do deals and make money, or that they have done deals with these two only to be left holding the bag.

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  • Dale Stevens
    OP
    Investor · Downers Grove, IL · Member since 2015 · 353 posts · 213 votes
    11y

    Well, I not only post here, but also contacted many others. It seems that yes indeed, these two have done several deals. If you can call them that. With peopel that went bad. they have yet to make good on them.

    I have at least 12 people that are what I could call victims of these guys committing fraud by stating they are experts in the arena. 

    take this information for what it is worth.

    A few of the people that got back to me, state that these two still say they will return their money and have new "deals in the works". But none feel they will ever see their money again. Some have even had to file Bankruptcy because they were left responsible for a mortgage that was called due, etc. 

    Do your research on any person offering advice. that is my take away from this.

    1Reply
  • Account Closed
    Investor · Downers Grove, IL · Member since 2015 · 135 posts · 55 votes
    11y

    @Dale Stevens

     Thanks for the info. I have bumped into the folks you mention at some networking events, but that's the extent of my interaction.  I will say in those limited interactions something felt a bit "off," for what it's worth.

    1Reply
  • Drew Veeneman
    Genoa, IL · Member since 2017 · 3 posts · 0 votes
    9y

    I filmed and produced a promotional video for Senior Shared Living which includes GD Chaplin and Robert Bock.

    https://youtu.be/O8wFbJGpbDo

    I made the mistake of giving them the video before payment, and now I'm having trouble getting them to pay my invoice. It's just gone net 60 days and I'm getting worried. That's how I found this thread.

    This really caught me by surprise with GD Chaplin involved... this guy is running Real Estate radio ads on 780 AM and I can't collect for my modest videography bill.

    I'll post again if my bill gets paid.

    0Reply
  • Dale Stevens
    OP
    Investor · Downers Grove, IL · Member since 2015 · 353 posts · 213 votes
    9y

    @Drew Veeneman I am not sure you will ever see the money again. About 3 weeks ago I was at a RE Club meeting. The person running the meeting stepped out and the meeting hit a "pause". Seems a woman who met Bob Bock and GD at that meeting years ago, had returned "looking for them".  They owed her money from a deal gone bad, and were not being honest and communicating with her. 

     From the scuttlebutt I could make out, seems she is recently divorced now a single mother, needing to buy her own home. She was wanting her money back or at least some of it, to use as a down payment for a home for herself and her kids.

    Here are these two guys, paying money for radio ads, promoting new projects, acting uber successful, and they are hurting a woman just attempting to put a roof over her kids heads.

    I have never met these two personally, but the number of people I have met that they have been less than honest with is growing everyday. As they say, where there is smoke....

    I was bothered by this as I drove home that night to be with my family. I felt sadness, compassion, then a tad bit of rage towards these 2 men that are obviously not good human beings.

    ON a separate note, the video you made is really nice.

    0Reply
  • Drew Veeneman
    Genoa, IL · Member since 2017 · 3 posts · 0 votes
    9y

    @Dale Stevens, got some positive news. Mark Collura, one of the other Senior Shared Living Partners has stepped and paid 1/3 of invoice while he sorts things out. That covers my expenses and is a step in the right direction.

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  • Dale Stevens
    OP
    Investor · Downers Grove, IL · Member since 2015 · 353 posts · 213 votes
    9y

    Seems as though Mr. Collura is realizing he may be in bed with a couple of frauds. He covered 1/3rd. If he felt they were good for the money, he would cover the entire thing to you and have them pay him back the other 2/3rds.

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  • Emily Guido
    Investor · Thousand Oaks, CA · Member since 2015 · 26 posts · 6 votes
    9y

    I have several promissory notes out with GD & Bob. They have defaulted on the note for over one year and giving me reasons why they need more time. Now they are avoiding my phone calls and emails. They have a lot of money from my retirement funds and (6-digits). It's not looking good for me except having to spend more money in a lawsuit. 

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  • Celeste Wehrmeister
    Northbrook, IL · Member since 2017 · 2 posts · 0 votes
    8y

    I have had a similar experience with GD and Bob. I feel really foolish for believing them and loaning them money. They are now 1 year overdue on the loan. 

    0Reply
  • Gerard Schmitt
    Aurora, IL · Member since 2017 · 11 posts · 0 votes
    8y

    Same here.

    0Reply
  • Dale Stevens
    OP
    Investor · Downers Grove, IL · Member since 2015 · 353 posts · 213 votes
    8y

    I am sorry to hear of your issues with them @Celeste Wehrmeister , @Gerard Schmitt and @Emily Guido . 

    In the past I too lost money by investing with the wrong person. I took them to court, got a judgment and then they filed Bankruptcy. In the end, I got some money, but it didn't even cover my court costs. 

    I was down and out for a while, but then realized that there was a reason I wanted to get into real estate. Just like dating, we are after something. We are going to have bad experiences, but there are good people out there. 

    I hope you guys don't give up on Real Estate, or Lending/investing with others, simply because these two con-artists. It is good now we can post your stories, and hopefully prevent others from working with them.

    Have any of you contacted the Illinois States Attorney office about these two?

    1Reply
  • Elbert D.
    Real Estate Entrepreneur / Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2016 · 688 posts · 367 votes
    8y

    good information @Dale Stevens you know your stuff it’s sad people are just for themselves. I have met a LOT of people who are borderline trying scam someone. Smh but you haven to realize it comes with the territory. 

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  • Gerard Schmitt
    Aurora, IL · Member since 2017 · 11 posts · 0 votes
    8y

    Dale, thanks for starting this thread.  I didn't realize it existed until yesterday.

    I'm actually a personal friend of Bob going back many years.   He was a colleague of mine at work and I invested with him about 10 years ago.  He's always been honest with me and everything had been fine until this year when he started falling behind.   I  currently have two loans out with him and he is 5 months behind on the bigger one.  Another of our work colleagues also has two loans with Bob and he is way behind on at least one of those also.  To give Bob some credit, he has made a few payments to me this year but not without a lot of pressure.  He also recently made a promise to start making payments to the other investor within a week.  We'll see within a week whether or not this actually happens.  I do believe Bob is trying but things are apparently not going so well.

    I personally don't know anything about GD. I've only worked with Bock's LLCs. RJBinvestments and Michigan City Group LLC. He also has a Matterhorn Group LLC and that is him and GD together from the website. Our friend's loans are with Matterhorn.

    We currently have a plan to call Bock in a conference call next week and impress upon him the fact that he may be in deep trouble if he doesn't start doing something about this.  To the tune of liquidating properties to pay back investors.  I've suggested this to him before or, alternatively, to give us liens.  But he's just shrugged that off.  Now I think I can suggest it more strongly because of this thread you have going.

    I'll get back to the group on what I find out after talking with Bob next week.  I don't rule out filing a complaint with the Illinois Attorney General and/or a lawsuit, if that's what it takes.  I don't plan to give up easily and, if so, maybe we can all band together to get something done.

    0Reply
  • Celeste Wehrmeister
    Northbrook, IL · Member since 2017 · 2 posts · 0 votes
    8y

    I would be happy to work together on this. I do hope to get some, if not all, of my money back. 

    0Reply
  • Gerard Schmitt
    Aurora, IL · Member since 2017 · 11 posts · 0 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Celeste Wehrmeister:

    I would be happy to work together on this. I do hope to get some, if not all, of my money back. 

    Sure.  I’ll keep everybody informed and will speak to Bob for the whole group.  I still do have faith that he’ll come through.  

    0Reply
  • Steven J.
    Urbana, IL · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 425 votes
    8y

    So he needs to liquidate properties, eh? For pennies on the dollar, eh? Let me know here is an entire network of people who may be interested

    0Reply
  • Dale Stevens
    OP
    Investor · Downers Grove, IL · Member since 2015 · 353 posts · 213 votes
    8y

    @Gerard Schmitt - I appreciate your post. At least he was making payments for a while. After I posted this originally, I found out that Bob had paid a "Mentor" and he was part of that team. That team was part of a company called "Mentor Mastermind, Inc". It was operated by a man named David Culver. That man had nearly 100 or so students from what I can gather. The VAST majority have flopped, failed, owe tons of money, filed BK, etc.

    The strategies put forth by this Culver character were devious, questionable, and borderline Ponzi. Sadly, it seems that Bob put forth these plans. So he had to borrow from new investors to pay off old investors, but eventually ran out of investors. Yes, that is classic Ponzi.  Which is also probably why he couldn't give you properties nor can he divest them, because he is over leveraged and there is a spiderweb of paperwork of liens on all the properties.

    My issue is that when things start to go south, people should be forthcoming, honest and not hide. But rather than run for cover, hide, deceive, deflect, and obfuscate. That seems to be an ongoing plan for Bob and GD. I just hope the stories being posted are enough to prevent new people from losing money with these so called "Expert Investors". 

    Please keep us informed of any progress, discussions, legal maneuvers, etc.

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  • Michael A Collura
    Carpentersville, IL · Member since 2017 · 4 posts · 0 votes
    8y

    Information used at the link below is misrepresented, false and if information about "The Sponsors" and their "experience" of those named was used to gain investor trust I can prove it is false. I am the owner of the companies used to bolster the so called experience of the those persons. In fairness GD and Bob may not be aware and they too may have been deceived by these individuals. Neither of the other 2 individuals in this have truthfully represented and have ridiculously exaggerated and flat out lied about their "experience". Happy to help and provide evidence.

    https://www.realtyevest.com/deal/74/4311_N_Spaulding_Rd

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  • Gerard Schmitt
    Aurora, IL · Member since 2017 · 11 posts · 0 votes
    8y

    So are you saying that Bock and GD are the 2 individuals?  Sorry, but it's hard for me to interpret exactly what you are trying to say here.  Please explain.

    0Reply
  • Henry Lazerow
    Real Estate Agent · Chicago, IL · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    8y

    REIA is a great organization for networking you should check them out.

    Take major caution at anything set up by a guru. I have ran/audited the numbers by several of these gurus/wholesalers and the comps are often straight up fraud, fake numbers on the so called flips, etc. 

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  • Michael A Collura
    Carpentersville, IL · Member since 2017 · 4 posts · 0 votes
    8y

    Gerard, I do not know GD and Bob. I do not know their backgrounds.  

    0Reply
  • Gerard Schmitt
    Aurora, IL · Member since 2017 · 11 posts · 0 votes
    8y

    Michael, how can that be true?  If you all are referenced together on that webpage?

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  • Michael A Collura
    Carpentersville, IL · Member since 2017 · 4 posts · 0 votes
    8y

    I am NOT part of Senior Shared Living, LLC. Marc Collura is my younger Brother. I have no business dealings with any of these people. I am not involved in the senior housing or any real estate based investment. The website at this link does not mention me specifically, but it does mention my companies (although the names are misspelled).

    https://www.realtyevest.com/deal/74/4311_N_Spaulding_Rd

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  • Gerard Schmitt
    Aurora, IL · Member since 2017 · 11 posts · 0 votes
    8y

    Just wanted to give a bit of an update on Bock’s payments that he’s made to us this year so far.  He made a couple of small payments to me towards my loans but he still is behind.  He also made a $3000 payment towards my buddy’s approx $44K loan with promises to pay off more by the end of the year.   I’m waiting to see if he maintains his “catch up” schedule as to whether or not I take action against him.  My question now is whether anybody else on this board has gotten any recent payments?

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