I thnk what you miss is that a legitimate broker (iie one with a license) would have loyalty to the principals and full disclosure and honesty paramount to his profit.This is probably why he had to do a dual escrow so the seller wouldn't see he was NOT the buyer and NOT see what price the property was actually being sold for.Have no problem at all with making $25K profit on an actual investment, however, an investment would imply he took title which he didn't. 

They usually pay a little bit of money to compensate me for my time, but having a third party check up on the place does wonders in keeping everyone honest.

But being a prominent TV personality isn't necessarily a guarantee of honesty and fair dealings.thats how the industry works.. get a reality flipping show.. then the Utah based fulfillment companies come in and pitch them on getting seriously rich.. and they lend their names to these Seminar training ventures..