Several years ago friends told me that Dennis was a Day Trader. That he had developed a program that would monitor the markets, buy and sell. The program was guaranteed to make money. They mentioned he would sell the program for $1,000. It seemed too good to be true. I passed. Some time later I heard he was traveling around the world giving presentations and selling the program for $10,000 a copy. I wondered if I had passed up a great thing. I knew Dennis from his shop he had had in Gatlinburg and through school activities. He was quiet and did not talk about his Day Trading activities. Then he built that house 5 stories with a bridge crossing between the mountains to get to his garage and a great view of Gatlinburg and Mount LeConte. He was a celebrity. People and organizations could not help themselves from wanting to be around him and give him their money.
People investing with Dennis saw him as a successful investor and felt very comfortable giving him their money so he could multiply it many times over. The typical American dream where winning is all but guaranteed and losing is not possible. When someone has half a million dollars why risk it? The answer is greed, something for nothing. They lost and now blame Dennis. Usually a con man cannot con unless the target turns a blind eye. When something seems too good to be true it usually is. Dennis's investors did not know what Dennis was doing but they were willing to gamble as long as there was no gamble. They lost and now blame Dennis. Imagine a Sevier county resident with half a million or a million dollars CASH and down the street children going to school without breakfast, without reasonable clothes, without the requisite school supplies, without the convenience of a doctor when they are sick and babies leaving the hospital without anything to wear. When someone is robbed you can feel sorry for them but when they cannot give their money fast enough to an investor like Dennis how much sympathy do they get?
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