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Whilst browsing the church bulletins of Bethesda Christian Fellowship in Ephtrata, PA (which some of you may recognise as the church where Leroy Miller, of the pantsless-in-Indiana-conviction fame, was or is senior pastor), I noticed them stumping the Generational Wealth 2026: A Legacy of Courage conference in Lancaster, PA, where none other than David Lapp is one of the speakers/presenters (and presumably busy solicting investments, although that's just an assumption on my part).

Particularly fascinating is that Senior Pastor Miller is the contact person for any would-be generationally wealthy investors from Bethesda C.F. who want to attend this seminar (although I suppose it's possible that there are 2 Leroys when it says "speak with Leroy" on the bulletin).

The conference was hosted by the "Elevate Investing Group", which seems to be one of many websites and "investment groups" operated by a certain Michael Manthei. Another one is "Strategic Equity Management".

I'm not saying anything illegal or shady is going on, or that this involves the sale of unregistered securities to non-qualified investors, but I can't find any evidence any of these people are licenced brokers with FINRA nor that any of these institutions are registered broker-dealers. It is particularly interesting to find Mr. Lapp, whose "investment" vehicles are currently in foreclosure proceedings, being a speaker at a conference that claims to be about "generational wealth". It would be somewhat akin to if you found me giving a conference on dieting, right after I bought 2 hot applie pies at McDonald's tonight.

https://strategicequity.co/home-page/

Whoever this Michael Manthei is, his investment website, like the investment outfit of the Lapp Brothers, only takes investments from people who make over $200,000 a year or $300,000 jointly with a spouse. The “team” is he himself and nobody else.

This looks like more of a way to get rid of generational wealth than gaining it.

Part of Google’s definition of an accredited investor:

Unlike public stocks and bonds that offer rigid reporting and transparency to protect everyday buyers, private market investments are largely exempt from SEC registration. The accredited investor designation serves as an investor protection framework, ensuring that participants have either the deep financial resources to withstand a total loss or the specialized industry expertise to evaluate complex offerings.

Sounds like a sophisticated way of describing people who are willing and able to lose all their assets.

Yeah, wow. I guess you could call that courage.

At least if you lost all your investments into the real estate investment outfit behind blessings of Hope, you could be comforted by the fact that you benefited a charity or at least the owners of the charity. If you lost what you invested with this Michael guy, you don’t get that.

mike wrote: ↑Wed Jul 08, 2026 10:31 pm Part of Google’s definition of an accredited investor:

Unlike public stocks and bonds that offer rigid reporting and transparency to protect everyday buyers, private market investments are largely exempt from SEC registration. The accredited investor designation serves as an investor protection framework, ensuring that participants have either the deep financial resources to withstand a total loss or the specialized industry expertise to evaluate complex offerings.

Sounds like a sophisticated way of describing people who are willing and able to lose all their assets.

Yeah, wow. I guess you could call that courage.

At least if you lost all your investments into the real estate investment outfit behind blessings of Hope, you could be comforted by the fact that you benefited a charity or at least the owners of the charity. If you lost what you invested with this Michael guy, you don’t get that.

That $200/$300,000 income is one of the thresholds to become an accredited investor. Only after a person is an accredited investor, are you able to legally invest in some of the more exotic (and risky) private investments. What I would be curious about this deal on the table, is exactly how much Strategic Equity Management is confirming the income. Are they requiring a statement from an attorney or a CPA confirming that the accredited investor is in fact meeting the qualification of an accredited investor, or is Strategic Equity Management simply asking the investor to sign an affirming statement and taking them on without any verification, allowing people to self accredit.

mike wrote: ↑Wed Jul 08, 2026 10:31 pm At least if you lost all your investments into the real estate investment outfit behind blessings of Hope, you could be comforted by the fact that you benefited a charity or at least the owners of the charity. If you lost what you invested with this Michael guy, you don’t get that.

Who says you can't get both at the same time?