Philly Real Estate Influencer "Big Bizzneesss" Accused Of Fraud

We know this one is going to sound too unbelievable to be true, but a real estate influencer (whatever that means) from Philadelphia who goes by the pseudonym "Big Bizzneesss" has been accused of fraud and deceit. 

The online persona, whose real name is Greg Parker Jr. and who hails from Philadelphia, has been offering "a dream come true for thousands of young investors looking to break into the real estate market", according to a report from The Real Deal. 

His wife, Danielle “Nikki” Morris Parker, has also shared in showcasing his supposedly lavish lifestyle, the report says. But behind the rags-to-riches story and photos of private planes, luxury cars, and a multimillion-dollar mansion, the couple's promises to empower young investors may not have been what they seemed.

The report, which cites a Philadelphia Inquirer expose, says that instead of helping young people replicate their success, they left people high and dry after taking in tens of thousands of dollars from some of their 285,000 Instagram followers. 

The couple would routinely hold seminars that ranged from $97 to $297, including upsells like mentorship and opportunities to invest in properties that they picked, the report says. They were offering "secrets of profiting from distressed real estate markets", the report says. 

Benjamin Nelson, an undergraduate at Drexel University, was one such aspiring real estate entrepreneur. He shelled out $20,000 to the Parkers for a property purchase but the sale never consummated and then follow up calls to the Parkers were "met with silence".

He said: “I keep getting the runaround. I just want to know what’s going on.”

He texted Parker last year in an attempt to get his money back: “Playing with someone’s hard earned money is one of the worst things you can do.”

And he's not the only story. The report says that Federal lawsuits have been filed against the Parkers under the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) fraud act. The suits are alleging that the couple defrauded clients by promising either mentorship or property sales that never took place. 

Two suits have already been settled and Danielle Parker's company has filed for bankruptcy, putting two other suits on hold. The Cleveland FBI office may be investigating potential criminal liability, the report says.