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He remortgaged his house

Bost_Bobby

Patron with Honors
Back in 1988 or 1989 I received a phone call from a very dear friend who was in the sea org. He asked if I could do him a favor and that it was very important and of course I agreed.

Having no car I would have to take the bus to town. I was to call him collect just before I left the house to catch the bus. The call was to the Church of Scientology in Los Angeles. AOLA I think.

So I called collect before I left for the bus and was told to call collect again when I got off the bus and before I went to the first address. Kind of cloak-and-dagger stuff. I did so and went into the office. They gave me an envelope which I had to sign for. When I left the office I had to call the number collect once more.

I then got instructions to go to a bank several blocks away and to call collect again before I went into the bank which I did. They knew I was coming and when I opened the envelope it was a check from a mortgage company. I can't recall if it was just under $100,000 or over but I know it was more money than I had ever seen and I was shocked.

I realized he had remortgaged his home that was already paid off. By the way, that house is worth nearly 2 million dollars today. And of course once I was done with the transaction I had to call the number yet again. The deal was done.

About 10 years ago I was told that he had lost the house. He was in the sea org and could not make any payments of course. They then kicked him out of the sea org because he had too high of a debt. A little over two months ago he died living in a trailer with no heat literally in the middle of a muddy field.

I wanted to ask him what happened but never had the heart to. Just recently I told my niece that story and she relayed to me that he had told her that with that money he had bought some kind of artwork whether it be lithographs or what I don't know. He told her that he had them in storage and they were stolen and he lost all that money. Whether that is a true story or whether he was just too embarrassed to tell her that he had given it to the church I just don't know.

With all of you who were in L. A. at the time I was hoping that maybe somebody would recall the incident or at least know of perhaps some sort of scam that was going on that he got caught up in. This has bothered me to no end.

I apologize for the length of this post but sitting here thinking about it all I am am steaming mad yet again.
 

WildKat

Gold Meritorious Patron
Don't take this as challenging your story, just trying to understand...

Basically you were a courier for the envelope/money? Any reason why he didn't pick up and take the envelope himself? Was he on the RPF or something?

Did he tell you he donated the money to Scn? Did he give you any story to explain himself?

Also, I don't understand about calling collect. Was it not a local call? I thought only long distance involved calling collect.

Interesting story, thanks for sharing.
 

Bost_Bobby

Patron with Honors
Don't take this as challenging your story, just trying to understand...

Basically you were a courier for the envelope/money? Any reason why he didn't pick up and take the envelope himself? Was he on the RPF or something?

Did he tell you he donated the money to Scn? Did he give you any story to explain himself?

Also, I don't understand about calling collect. Was it not a local call? I thought only long distance involved calling collect.

Interesting story, thanks for sharing.

Thanks for responding. The reason I was doing this legwork for him was because he was in Los Angeles and I was in the San Francisco Bay area where his home was located. So that was the reason for the collect calls. After the initial call before I caught the bus I was not talking with him but was talking with somebody at the church.

I never got the chance to ask him about the whole affair. When I thought about it and wanted to ask him he was undergoing chemotherapy for stage 4 colon cancer so I did not want to add any more emotional baggage to what he was already carrying.
 

Gizmo

Rabble Rouser
Don't know that person, but, I did know at least 2 extremely wealthy people in the SO. One was endlessly regged for this that & the other. One ended up BK after burning through millions, lost his home & marriage.

The other I lost contact with when he disconnected from me, but, his burn rate on his multi millions would have him broke by now. He was regged AT the funeral before he even inherited the money ! The regges wanted a check BEFORE he had gotten a red cent !

Forgot a third one. a gal, went through ot8 & died unexpectedly.

The cult sucks money out of the rich very quickly - in the SO just makes for a captive mark that has nowhere to hide !
 

This is NOT OK !!!!

Gold Meritorious Patron
He got caught up in the Sci Fi art scam run by ASI to pay (they claimed) for the preservation of the tech - the vault shit.

It was a crazy time - people "invested" millions, believing that the limited edition art was going to be worth endless amounts when Scientology boomed and the demand would out-strip the supply.

So many SO members were scammed of their inheritances and/or life savings for the art prints and LRH "collectibles".

e.g. Greg Hughes - Sterling Management founder and later WDC WISE - at least $1,000,000.00, possibly double that. Ben Kugler, ABLE INT, now public still trying to be allowed back onto OT 7 :duh: - at least $1,000,000.00. Walter Hegetsweiler from Switzerland - tens of millions I believe, including purchasing or being "awarded" publishing rights of LRH fiction in Europe, etc.

The ASI scam (directed by DM) was staggering. Not enough has been written about it -
 

Karen#1

Gold Meritorious Patron
I covered some of Author's services (ASI) scam here ~~

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Objim2gIlbY

I wondered why I got 42 dislikes, highest ever on any video.
So I looked it up in YouTube video manager which graphically displays which country the poster who posted DISLIKE comes from.
I found that the DISLIKES came from
Khazikstan,
Bangla Desh,
Rumania,
Bulgaria
Slovakia

I am sure folk in these Countries care very much about the reputation of Author Services :)

 

Gizmo

Rabble Rouser
<snip>​
e.g. Greg Hughes - Sterling Management founder and later WDC WISE - at least $1,000,000.00, possibly double that.
<snip>​
Not enough has been written about it -

I remember SO regs with offices at Sterling. At one time Sterling was Flags single largest supply of PCs.
Sterling got immense FSM checks !

The hook? Sterling was FORCED to buy artwork from ASI that was an exact match for their bottom line profit.

Anyone else remember the lady just back from doing ot8 that had a private office because all she did every day was just sit & cry uncontrollably ?


I heard after she left Sterling she joined the SO at Flag.

Surely, someone posting here has the scoop on the crush selling of ( cough-cough ) "artwork" from ASI.

I do remember that when public artists were declared people were told they could not display that artwork anywhere & could not sell it either !
I still have artwork in my home that is damned good done by people who got declared. ( I've not sold any of it because I love it ! ).
That " not supporting an sp " BS didn't make sense even when I in the cult.

But as finicky as they were about what art could be owned, shown, or sold, uh, I wasn't about to buy "art" ASI when they demanded so much control over what art one could have.
 
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lotus

stubborn rebel sheep!
I apologize for the length of this post but sitting here thinking about it all I am am steaming mad yet again.

Thank you for telling his story!
you certainly was\still are a dear friend to him.

This story is very sad but unfortunately very familiar to any exe $cientologist here.

we may never know exactely what he did with that huge amount of money, but unfortunately, almost everyone here will tell you that SO who had assets , properties investments, were soon been ask to buy some ''stuff '' from the CO$
(mandatory to help save the planet...)

For many $cientologists,
$$$ , properties asset, smeel like a dead body to a vulture.
They cash commissions on what they sell...

His life ending was very sad... you couldn't have prevented any of his cult journey, as he would'nt have listened to you, but your presence, at the end when they discarded him, had certainly been very precious and comforting to him. He lost a life his property, his health, the cult, but knew he had a dear friend who hasn't been judgemental and received his genuine love.

When one hit the deepest sufferings, the value of love of a friend hit our heart like a lightning strike. That's the most important, when time to facea new journey at peace, arrives.

He never lost his friend!

Thank for your post that makes me so grateful I've escaped this cult and am living a good life.
 
Last edited:

Gizmo

Rabble Rouser
I covered some of Author's services (ASI) scam here ~~

<snip>​

I wondered why I got 42 dislikes, highest ever on any video.
So I looked it up in YouTube video manager which graphically displays which country the poster who posted DISLIKE comes from.
I found that the DISLIKES came from
Khazikstan,
Bangla Desh,
Rumania,
Bulgaria
Slovakia

I am sure folk in these Countries care very much about the reputation of Author Services :)


The one thing that cult can not stand is the truth !

You have told the truth & they can not stand it !
 

Leland

Crusader
Back in 1988 or 1989 I received a phone call from a very dear friend who was in the sea org. He asked if I could do him a favor and that it was very important and of course I agreed.

Having no car I would have to take the bus to town. I was to call him collect just before I left the house to catch the bus. The call was to the Church of Scientology in Los Angeles. AOLA I think.

So I called collect before I left for the bus and was told to call collect again when I got off the bus and before I went to the first address. Kind of cloak-and-dagger stuff. I did so and went into the office. They gave me an envelope which I had to sign for. When I left the office I had to call the number collect once more.

I then got instructions to go to a bank several blocks away and to call collect again before I went into the bank which I did. They knew I was coming and when I opened the envelope it was a check from a mortgage company. I can't recall if it was just under $100,000 or over but I know it was more money than I had ever seen and I was shocked.

I realized he had remortgaged his home that was already paid off. By the way, that house is worth nearly 2 million dollars today. And of course once I was done with the transaction I had to call the number yet again. The deal was done.

About 10 years ago I was told that he had lost the house. He was in the sea org and could not make any payments of course. They then kicked him out of the sea org because he had too high of a debt. A little over two months ago he died living in a trailer with no heat literally in the middle of a muddy field.

I wanted to ask him what happened but never had the heart to. Just recently I told my niece that story and she relayed to me that he had told her that with that money he had bought some kind of artwork whether it be lithographs or what I don't know. He told her that he had them in storage and they were stolen and he lost all that money. Whether that is a true story or whether he was just too embarrassed to tell her that he had given it to the church I just don't know.

With all of you who were in L. A. at the time I was hoping that maybe somebody would recall the incident or at least know of perhaps some sort of scam that was going on that he got caught up in. This has bothered me to no end.

I apologize for the length of this post but sitting here thinking about it all I am am steaming mad yet again.

Thanks for posting about this.

Do you know if these were the "Vargas" lithographs based upon Battlefield Earth?

It has been posted about before here on ESMB that once David Miscavige got control of the cult's finances....that he (for some reason) took some cult money and tried his luck at speculating in OIL FUTURES.....and lost around $10 million dollars.

The Vargas Battlefield Earth Lithographs....was a program by David Miscavige to recoup that money....and put it back in the Cult's coffers....or at least that is what I've read.

Vargas was a famous Pin Up Girl airbrush artist...his work was in Playboy Magazine for decades....

Personally, I don't really know anything about it.....but was a Public with the cult, during this period....and the art works were promoted as an "investment..." and very expensive.
 

Victoria

Patron Meritorious
He got caught up in the Sci Fi art scam run by ASI to pay (they claimed) for the preservation of the tech - the vault shit.

It was a crazy time - people "invested" millions, believing that the limited edition art was going to be worth endless amounts when Scientology boomed and the demand would out-strip the supply.

So many SO members were scammed of their inheritances and/or life savings for the art prints and LRH "collectibles".

e.g. Greg Hughes - Sterling Management founder and later WDC WISE - at least $1,000,000.00, possibly double that. Ben Kugler, ABLE INT, now public still trying to be allowed back onto OT 7 :duh: - at least $1,000,000.00. Walter Hegetsweiler from Switzerland - tens of millions I believe, including purchasing or being "awarded" publishing rights of LRH fiction in Europe, etc.

The ASI scam (directed by DM) was staggering. Not enough has been written about it -

Ron Miscavige said in his book, that limited edition scam was set up strictly because Broeker and Miscavige lost a bunch of LRHs money, (millions) when they invested in bad oil wells.
LRH didn't know they were gambling his money away and they had to devise a scheme to cover their asses.

Wow, I remember someone hitting me up to buy some of that crap. I'd never even heard of ASI and asked what the money was for since it wouldn't apply to my bridge, and they told me it was set up because Ron had been so selfless over the years that he virtually had no money, and he just wanted to get some money to his kids.

I really wanted to buy one then, (even though they were all ugly, because Ron was such a great friend to all mankind!
:duh::duh:
 

Leland

Crusader
I believe you mean Frank Frazetta.

Yes, his works and others.

Oh....I guess I had Vargas on my mind!...LOL

Thanks, yes....Frazetta.

Anyway....not the type of artwork, I'd have hanging in my house...

As an aside....books are very interesting. One reads a fiction work...and more or less...makes up images of what he is reading.

Later....if some "publisher" or "movie" makes a visual take on that book....then one has to deal with "that" artists visual take of the book...which for the most part never is what I had envisioned.

Also...in this case, one is not talking fine art....but rather more or less...."advertising art."
 

Leland

Crusader
Ron Miscavige said in his book, that limited edition scam was set up strictly because Broeker and Miscavige lost a bunch of LRHs money, (millions) when they invested in bad oil wells.
LRH didn't know they were gambling his money away and they had to devise a scheme to cover their asses.

Wow, I remember someone hitting me up to buy some of that crap. I'd never even heard of ASI and asked what the money was for since it wouldn't apply to my bridge, and they told me it was set up because Ron had been so selfless over the years that he virtually had no money, and he just wanted to get some money to his kids.

I really wanted to buy one then, (even though they were all ugly, because Ron was such a great friend to all mankind!
:duh::duh:

this is interesting to me....

The Cult is SO jealous of their public. Anyone trying to use "their" public is shot down pretty fast....

Yet....here is Broeker and Miscavige.....milking millions out of Cult Public.....basically for their own use.

Edited: and directing and employing the entire sales/distribution force of the Cult.....for their own ends....to cover his own mistake.....a bad investment of money not his own.
 
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Bost_Bobby

Patron with Honors
Thanks to all who responded to my post. Karen, thank you for the YouTube link. I loved The visuals of the actual artwork that was sold.

I will just have to assume that what he bought is what you are all referring to. Since he had been in the S.O. for at least 10 years at that point that he would have no other contacts outside of the church. So the artwork he was talking about had to have come from within.

I'm now even angrier than I was 2 hours ago but that's okay. I think I need it. I just keep thinking had he still had that home among the Elms, acacia's, and the Redwoods that he would still be alive. In the last two months before his death I talked to him pretty much every night on the phone and probably 75% of those conversations involved him talking about how he can handle the cancer but not the quality of life he was living.

I wish I could come across that little bobblehead punk miscavige in an alley some time. I'm not a violent person but in this case I could make an exception.
 

Bost_Bobby

Patron with Honors
Thank you for telling his story!
you certainly was\still are a dear friend to him.

This story is very sad but unfortunately very familiar to any exe $cientologist here.

we may never know exactely what he did with that huge amount of money, but unfortunately, almost everyone here will tell you that SO who had assets , properties investments, were soon been ask to buy some ''stuff '' from the CO$
(mandatory to help save the planet...)

For many $cientologists,
$$$ , properties asset, smeel like a dead body to a vulture.
They cash commissions on what they sell...

His life ending was very sad... you couldn't have prevented any of his cult journey, as he would'nt have listened to you, but your presence, at the end when they discarded him, had certainly been very precious and comforting to him. He lost a life his property, his health, the cult, but knew he had a dear friend who hasn't been judgemental and received his genuine love.

When one hit the deepest sufferings, the value of love of a friend hit our heart like a lightning strike. That's the most important, when time to facea new journey at peace, arrives.

He never lost his friend!

Thank for your post that makes me so grateful I've escaped this cult and am living a good life.

Your reply truly is emotional to me. But I have to say that what he has done for me and even my family since I was 10 or 11 I could never hope to repay. He became a surrogate brother and father to me and I will always think of him as such.

Thank you again for such a heartfelt response.
 

Bost_Bobby

Patron with Honors
I covered some of Author's services (ASI) scam here ~~

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Objim2gIlbY

I wondered why I got 42 dislikes, highest ever on any video.
So I looked it up in YouTube video manager which graphically displays which country the poster who posted DISLIKE comes from.
I found that the DISLIKES came from
Khazikstan,
Bangla Desh,
Rumania,
Bulgaria
Slovakia

I am sure folk in these Countries care very much about the reputation of Author Services :)


Thank you for the YouTube link, Karen. I do love watching your videos and seeing how passionate you are about all this. BTW, now you have 555 likes compared to 42 dislikes.

It seems to me that the "art" you are all talking about is what he purchased however I'm still a bit baffled about what he told my niece how it was all stolen out of storage. Maybe that was just a cover story when realizing that he had been bamboozled? I wonder.
 
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