Part 1: The Relationship Advice Hypocrites

The Male Influencer Paradox: Saying One Thing, Living Another

David Cooley (No Fugazee Podcast): "For Recreational Purposes Only"

David Cooley from the No Fugazee podcast has faced controversy for dating a single mother, which contradicts his own podcast principles [1]. The podcast host, known for advising men never to date single mothers, is reportedly dating a single mother of two who is expecting or has had their first child together, and Cooley himself has a child from a prior relationship, making him someone who turned a woman into a single mother [2].

This is particularly egregious because Cooley built his entire platform on telling men that women with children should only be "for recreational purposes"—yet his own life tells a completely different story. The message to young men was clear: avoid single mothers, they're damaged goods, they'll drain your resources. The reality? He's in a committed relationship with exactly the kind of woman he told others to avoid.

Kevin Samuels: The Divorced Dating Coach

Kevin Samuels, who became famous advising men to seek women without children and criticizing single mothers, was himself twice divorced and not married at the time of his death. Critics pointed out his engagement in casual sexual relationships while not being married himself [3].

Fresh and Fit: The Preference Preachers

The Fresh and Fit podcast hosts have stated they do not date Black women, calling it a "preference," despite building content around telling men how to navigate relationships [4]. They were criticized for being hypocritical, often explaining to young men why they shouldn't waste time on certain types of women while their own behavior contradicted traditional relationship advice [5].

Why This Pattern Exists

Dating experts describe these influencers as offering "an intoxicating blend of easy answers, pseudo-science, pop psychology and misogyny that hits vulnerable audiences in the sweet spot" [6]. Research shows that young men who regularly engage with masculinity influencers report significantly higher levels of worthlessness, nervousness, and sadness compared to those who don't follow them [7].

The Business Model of Hypocrisy:

• Controversy generates engagement and clicks
• Extreme positions create loyal (and defensive) followers
• The gap between message and reality doesn't matter if merchandise keeps selling
• These influencers target young people at vulnerable times of development, when they're going through major life transitions and often have emotionally withdrawn from their parents [6]

The Female Influencer Contradiction

"Tradwife" Influencers: Independent While Preaching Dependence

Many tradwife influencers preach financial dependence on men while secretly running profitable businesses through Amazon storefronts, affiliate codes, and selling courses, making them anything but financially submissive [8, 9]. Many of the most prominent tradwife influencers don't even have children yet, haven't experienced the realities of pregnancy or childcare that their advice claims to address [10].

"Hypergamy" Coaches: Posing as Elite

Many femininity and hypergamy gurus are posers and frauds pretending they are either married or born in elite circles, monetizing advice while lacking the discretion and image management that actual high-status individuals practice [11].

Part 2: The Money Gurus Going Bankrupt and to Prison

The pattern isn't limited to relationship advice. Financial influencers have an even more dramatic record of fraud, bankruptcy, and federal prosecution.

Tai Lopez: From Lamborghini to Lawsuit

The "Here in My Garage" Fraudster

Tai Lopez and Alex Mehr, founders of Miami-based Retail Ecommerce Ventures, are accused by the SEC of defrauding investors out of approximately $112 million after acquiring distressed brick-and-mortar companies including RadioShack, Modell's Sporting Goods, Pier 1 Imports, Dress Barn, and Linens 'n Things in order to turn them into successful online-only brands [12].

The SEC alleges that Lopez and Mehr made material misstatements about the success and profitability of their business model, transferred at least $5.9 million in investor proceeds directly between portfolio companies contrary to representations made to investors, paid at least $5.9 million of returns to investors as Ponzi-like payments funded by other investors, and misappropriated approximately $16.1 million in investor funds for their personal use [13].

While some of the REV Retailer Brands generated revenue, none generated any profits, so to pay interest, dividends and maturing note payments, defendants resorted to using a combination of loans from outside lenders, merchant cash advances, money raised from new and existing investors, and transfers from other portfolio companies to cover obligations [14].

The irony? Lopez built an empire teaching people "how to get rich" while his actual businesses were hemorrhaging money and operating as a fraud scheme.

The "Stock Bros": $100 Million Pump and Dump

Eight Finance Influencers, Four from Houston

Eight of social media's most-followed faces of finance were charged with felony securities fraud in what prosecutors say was a pump-and-dump scheme that made them more than $100 million, with charges totaling a maximum of 110 years in prison for the ringleader and 25 years for the others if convicted [15].

The influencers would collectively agree to buy one small-valuation stock, driving up the price, then use their platforms to recommend the stock to their followers with false predictions about future stock price, and regularly sold their shares without ever having disclosed their plans to dump the securities while they were promoting them [16].

In private chats and surreptitiously recorded conversations, they bragged and laughed about making profits at the expense of their followers, with one saying during a recorded call: "Get caught? We're robbing idiots of their money" [16].

Tyler Bossetti: The Real Estate Ponzi Scheme

Tyler Bossetti, a social media finance influencer, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aiding in a false tax filing after operating a real estate Ponzi scheme from 2019 until 2023 in which he received more than $23 million in investments and caused dozens of investors to lose more than $11 million by widely publicizing what he described as a real estate investment program through Facebook and YouTube, guaranteeing large rates of return for short-term investments and often promising thirty percent or more [17].

Jay Mazini: The Instagram Con Man

Jebara Igbara, known as Jay Mazini, was sentenced to 84 months in prison for wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering arising out of multiple schemes that resulted in millions of dollars in loss to trusting investors, after maintaining a popular Instagram account where he would post videos depicting occasions during which he would hand out large amounts of cash to various individuals as gifts [18].

Igbara was operating a Ponzi scheme targeting members of the Muslim-American community in New York, misappropriating nearly all of the money for his personal expenses, luxury vehicles and gambling, and also perpetrated a cryptocurrency fraud scheme wherein he posted that he was willing to pay above-market prices for cryptocurrencies and then sent victims doctored images of wire transfer confirmations that purported to show he had sent money when in reality the payment was never sent [18].

COVID Relief Fraudsters

Danielle Miller: The Social Media Influencer

Danielle Miller was sentenced to five years in prison for stealing critical financial support during the pandemic by devising and executing a scheme to fraudulently obtain pandemic-related relief loans, stealing the identities of innocent people to steal over $1.2 million in pandemic-relief loans, spending the ill-gotten gains on hotels and luxury goods while heartlessly flaunting this fraudulent lifestyle on social media [19].

Scott Lee Huss: The Miami Influencer

Scott Lee Huss was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud for fraudulently applying for and receiving six Paycheck Protection Program loans totaling more than $600,000, spending the money on cryptocurrency and luxury cars instead of using the funds for business expenses and employee payroll [20].

Dan Lok: The Copywriting Con

While Dan Lok hasn't faced criminal charges, he represents another pattern in the guru economy. Coffeezilla exposed Dan Lok for promoting the idea that anyone could escape the nine-to-five grind through high ticket sales, with Lok's courses marketed through social media promising financial freedom, but once people signed up they found themselves being upsold to more and more expensive courses, and Coffeezilla spoke to many people including teachers and others with limited financial resources who had spent tens of thousands of dollars with nothing to show for it [21].

According to investigations, Alex Charfen had his entire life's work stolen and resold by Dan Lok as part of his Dragon100 training course [22].

The Universal Pattern: Follow the Money

What These Cases Reveal

For Relationship Influencers:

1. They don't practice what they preach
2. Their relationships contradict their public advice
3. The "rules" apply to you, not to them
4. The business model requires you staying single, frustrated, and buying more content

For Financial Influencers:

1. None of the actual businesses were profitable despite claims they were "on fire" with "strong cash flow" [14]
2. Money came from new investors, not from legitimate business operations
3. Personal enrichment was the goal, not helping followers
4. When it collapsed, influencers kept the money while investors lost everything

Your Protection Strategy

Critical Questions for ANY Influencer

Before You Follow:

1. Financial transparency: Do they show verifiable income from what they teach, or just from teaching it?

   • Tai Lopez's REV companies: Lost millions while promising profits
   • David Cooley: Sells relationship advice, not successful relationships

2. Personal accountability: Does their life match their message?

   • Kevin Samuels: Preached traditional marriage while twice divorced
   • Jay Mazini: Flashed cash on Instagram while running a Ponzi scheme

3. Legal history: Have they faced fraud charges, lawsuits, or SEC actions?

   • Eight finance influencers: Facing 25-110 years for fraud
   • Tyler Bossetti: Pleaded guilty to $20 million fraud

4. Who benefits: Does following their advice help you or them?

   • Relationship gurus: Keep you angry and buying courses
   • Finance gurus: Feed followers a steady diet of misinformation while secretly dumping stocks they promoted [16]

Red Flags You Cannot Ignore

Relationship Advice:

• Preaches traditional values while living casually
• Tells you to avoid certain people they're actually dating
• Makes money from your confusion and dating failures
• Writes books claiming women are "biologically inferior" or "deserve less" [4]

Financial Advice:

• Promises returns that sound too good to be true (they are)
• Sells unsecured notes that promised returns of up to 25% a year and ownership shares that offered monthly payouts as high as 2% [23]
• Lifestyle doesn't match claimed business success
• No mention of a CFO or professional financial oversight in their own companies [24]
• Uses new investor money to pay old investors

Build Real Success Instead

For Relationships:

Research shows married men work harder, make more money, accumulate more assets, have more sex, and live longer than unmarried men, and married fathers are among the happiest men [25].

Focus on:

• Developing emotional intelligence and communication skills
• Building genuine self-confidence through achievement
• Seeking partners who share your actual values
• In successful feminist relationships, it doesn't matter who pays the bill or does the dishes as long as financial and physical labor doesn't fall on one person because of tradition [26]

For Finances:

The defendants used social media to amass a large following of novice investors and then took advantage of their followers by repeatedly feeding them a steady diet of misinformation [16].

Protect yourself by:

• Never investing based on social media recommendations
• Understanding that legitimate investments rarely promise quick, high returns
• Verifying all claims through independent, professional sources
• Remembering that if someone is rich from "teaching" how to get rich, they're not rich from what they're teaching

The Bigger Picture: Why This Matters

The Cost of Following Frauds

Emotional Damage:

• Young men who regularly engage with masculinity influencers report significantly higher levels of worthlessness, nervousness, and sadness [7]
• Relationship advice that leaves you more cynical and alone
• Financial advice that destroys your savings and credit

Financial Devastation:

• Teachers and others with limited financial resources spent tens of thousands of dollars with nothing to show for it [21]
• Investors lost millions in schemes while influencers enriched themselves
• Approximately $16.1 million in investor funds were misappropriated for Lopez's and Mehr's personal use [13]

Societal Impact:

• Erosion of trust between genders
• Normalization of fraud and deception
• Younger generations cynical about relationships and investing

What Regulators Are Doing

The SEC and DOJ are increasingly targeting influencer fraud:

• Eight finance influencers arrested and facing decades in prison [15]
• SEC filing civil charges for $112 million fraud [12]
• Criminal prosecutions for Ponzi schemes [17]

But enforcement can't keep up with the speed of social media fraud. Your skepticism is your first line of defense.

The Path Forward

Universal Principles for Young Men and Women

On Relationships:

Both sexes must engage in honest self-reflection and open dialogue to bridge the gap and cultivate healthier relationships, rather than letting divisive influencers project their experiences onto everyone else [25].

• Build yourself first: career, character, emotional maturity
• Seek partners based on compatibility, not social media scripts
• The best way to escape an inequitable relationship is to avoid getting into one in the first place by identifying warning signs early [27]
• Understand that healthy relationships require mutual respect, not domination or manipulation

On Finances:

• Legitimate wealth-building is slow, boring, and requires discipline
• No one flashing cash on Instagram is going to make you rich
• Ask yourself what the person telling you this information has to gain, and whether they need you to buy into an entire worldview that also consists of products and paid content [6]
• Invest time in financial education from verified, credentialed professionals

The Bottom Line

The influencer selling you a dream life rarely lives it. They've discovered it's far more profitable to sell the fantasy than to live the reality. The relationship guru telling you how to find love is often lonely and bitter. The finance guru showing you Lamborghinis is often leveraged to the hilt or heading to prison.

Your real education comes from:

• Observing actual successful people in your life (not on social media)
• Reading from legitimate experts with verified credentials and track records
• Building real skills, relationships, and wealth through consistent effort
• Learning from your own experiences with proper guidance

Remember: If David Cooley is dating a single mother with three kids while telling you they're "recreational only," he's not a relationship expert—he's a hypocrite running a business.

If Tai Lopez's companies lose millions while he promises you they're "on fire," he's not a business genius—he's an alleged fraudster facing SEC charges.

If eight finance influencers are laughing about "robbing idiots of their money" while you follow their stock tips, you're the idiot they're robbing.

Your life is too valuable to build on the contradictory advice of people whose lives don't match their message and whose real income comes from your confusion, not from what they're teaching you to do.

Wake up. Unfollow. Build real success on your own terms.

References

[1] Reddit discussion on No Fugazee podcast controversy

[2] Online forums discussing David Cooley's dating history

[3] Media reports on Kevin Samuels' personal life and relationships

[4] Fresh and Fit podcast statements and media coverage

[5] Social media commentary on Fresh and Fit contradictions

[6] Expert analysis of masculinity influencer business models

 [7] Academic research on social media masculinity content impact on young men

[8] Analysis of tradwife influencer revenue streams

 [9] Investigation into tradwife content creator business operations

 [10] Media reports on tradwife influencers without children

 [11] Social commentary on hypergamy and femininity coaching industry

 [12] SEC v. Tai Lopez and Alex Mehr, Civil Action Filing, 2024

 [13] Securities and Exchange Commission complaint details

 [14] SEC investigation findings on REV portfolio companies

[15] U.S. Department of Justice press release on stock fraud charges

[16] Federal indictment documents, stock manipulation case 

[17] U.S. Attorney's Office press release, Tyler Bossetti case 

[18] Eastern District of New York, U.S. Attorney's Office, Jay Mazini sentencing

 [19] Department of Justice press release, Danielle Miller sentencing

[20] U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida, Scott Lee Huss case

 [21] Coffeezilla investigative video series on Dan Lok

 [22] Business fraud investigation reports [23] Investment fraud case documents

 [24] Business analysis and financial oversight reports

 [25] Institute for Family Studies research on marriage outcomes

 [26] Academic research on equitable relationships [27] Relationship psychology research on early warning signs

This article is for educational purposes. Always conduct your own research and consult licensed professionals before making relationship or financial decisions. All legal cases cited are matters of public record.