May 9, 2022
#56: Part 1: A Story About A $40 Million Dollar Fraud And Its Priceless Lessons For Investors & Entrepreneurs
Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast
Host: Brian Webb
Episode 56: Part 1: A Story About A $40 Million Dollar Fraud And Its Priceless Lessons For Investors & Entrepreneurs
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VALUE BOMBS
What does desperation, patriotism, entrepreneurship, a 40 million loss for investors, concurrent FBI and SEC investigations, and a pending indictment of a friend and former client all have in common? This podcast, this episode, my interview today with Chris Bentley, let's jump into the show.
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HELPFUL LINKS
Burning Bellatorum: The Story of a Forty Million Dollar Fraud and its Priceless Lessons for Investors and Entrepreneurs
The Ultimate 97 Point Marketing Audit Checklist
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TRANSCRIPT
Brian Webb:
What does desperation, patriotism, entrepreneurship, a 40 million loss for investors, concurrent FBI and SEC investigations, and a pending indictment of a friend and former client all have in common? This podcast, this episode, my interview today with Chris Bentley, let's jump into the show.
This is to Learn More, Earn More Business Growth Podcast.
Brian Webb:
Hey everyone. Welcome to the show. I'm your host, Brian Webb. This podcast is designed to be your number one premier place to learn the framework, secrets and growth hacks to grow and scale your business smarter and faster. While you're working on pursuing your dreams and growing your business, I'll be here to help you make better decisions and avoid costly pitfalls and expensive mistakes along the way. So let's go ahead and jump into today's episode.
Brian Webb:
Hey there, it is a pleasure to have you Chris, Chris Bentley, on the show today. How are you doing this morning, man?
Chris Bentley:
I'm doing well, Brian, thanks for having me on the show.
Brian Webb:
It's a thrill to have you here. The audience doesn't know this yet, but you and I got to know each other as a result of us collaborating together, doing a little bit of marketing work for you back in the day.
Chris Bentley:
Yep, absolutely. Yeah. That was a fun experience.
Brian Webb:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So for those in the audience who don't know who you are, take a minute or two and just kind of share kind of your background, where your story starts.
Chris Bentley:
Well, I grew up in east Texas, in Tyler, and joined the Marines right after high school and thought I was going to be a lifer. I was in for about 14 and a half years. Got medically discharged for some injuries I incurred while I was in the Marine Corps. Again, that was kind of devastating for me because I thought I was going to be in for life. So I'd done six tours, several to Iraq, several to Afghanistan, and didn't know what I was going to do with my life when I got out. And so I moved to Houston in January of 2014. At that time, oil and gas were trading for over a hundred dollars a barrel. It was pretty easy to get a job in the greater Houston area. So I got a job as a landman down here and got into the oil and gas industry after that and got into some entrepreneurial ventures, buying and selling mineral rights, being the main one, started a business in 2016 that started with just me and my wife and then grew to about 21 employees and over 40 million dollars in assets under management within a few years.
Brian Webb:
Wow. So today is going to be maybe one of the most interesting stories that we've had here, really, on The Learn More Podcast. And so I know that you've got a book that is out, I've got it, it's called Burning Bellatorum, and it's all about the story of a $40 million fraud and it's priceless lessons for investors and entrepreneurs. Tell me, tell the audience how you lost all of your own personal assets and not just the investors' money. It happened for you and the investors, but tell the audience how that story began.
Chris Bentley:
Well, like I said, in 2016, I started the company. At first, it was just doing small deals, brokering deals, buying, when I say small, I mean I think the largest one I bought on my own with my own capital was like $30,000 and I would buy and sell these smaller assets and I saw the opportunity for scale and so in 2017 I brought in one investor, did very well for him. It grew from there and it wa…