Swindles and Sacraments: A Story of Deception and Belief

The Buddha said, "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it or
who has said it, even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your
own reason and common sense." Ignore that advice, and you might
find that you're clouding your vision--that instead of seeing
what's really in front of you, you're filtering everything so it
fits in with your beliefs. An unwavering, unquestioned belief in
anything--a philosophy, an institution, or a person--can lend us
strength sometimes, but it can also make us vulnerable. And there
are plenty of people out there just waiting to exploit that
vulnerability. This story is about two of them, each with a very
different MO, and the havoc they wreaked in the lives of the people
around them.

Sources
The German newspaper BZ (translated from German to English):
Blackmail Sect: Now Former Members Speak Out by Romeo Regenass,
Nov. 12, 2008
Documentary "Seduced and Blackmailed" by Aldo Gugolz and Romeo
Regenass
Time:
https://time.com/archive/6945942/the-swiss-gigolo-and-the-german-billionaire/

NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna29594154
The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/mar/09/bmw-blackmailer-jailed

Telegraph:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/5051613/Religious-leader-denies-blackmailing-woman-in-Swiss-gigolo-case.html

Forbes:https://www.forbes.com/2009/03/09/scarbi-klatten-bmw-markets-faces-celebrity-blackmail.html

The Standard:
https://www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/gigolo-who-seduced-bmw-heiress-boasted-he-read-women-like-a-map-6824827.html


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