Are you a millionaire yet?

By Briony Hale BBC News Online business reporter

It has been an extraordinarily busy and successful six months for Warren Borsje, the man who claims to know the secret of how to turn people into millionaires within three years.

I was very gullible and at my age I should have known better

Tony Walker

According to his prominent newspaper ads, more than 30,000 people have now attended his seminars.

Those seminars are the launch-pad for weekend courses where Mr Borsje sells his get-rich-quick schemes in property management and share trading for £2,500.

In an exclusive investigation, BBC News Online speaks to some of those who have paid up for the course to find out whether the "get rich quick" promises have come true.

'Money down the drain'

"I bitterly regret it," said Tony Walker, who shelled out for the course at an introductory seminar on 2 May.

"I was very gullible, and at my age I should have known better - I'm as big a mug as anyone."

This is the moment that Tony Walker now bitterly regrets

"I was desperate and it seemed like light at the end of the tunnel," he said, explaining that he and his wife are trying to support a severely disabled son.

Tony enjoyed the course and felt enlightened afterwards.

But when he tried to put his new-found wisdom into practice it was not possible - the bottom had dropped out of both the stock market and the buy-to-let property market.

Bad timing

As instructed on the course, he remortgaged his house to release cash to buy new properties.

The people who win are the ones who grab the bull by the horns and run with it

Warren Borsje

But he found it almost impossible to buy the right property in London and was warned off the idea by several people already struggling to find tenants.

"The time to make money from what Warren's advocating has been and gone," he said.

"People may have made money but that was five years ago."

After going to a mortgage adviser at Halifax, Tony also believes he could have got similar information for free.

Biting the bullet

Mr Borsje's course comes with a money-back guarantee, providing that customers can prove that they have followed the formulae correctly.

30,000 people have attended Warren Borsje's seminars

But Tony suspects it will be too difficult to recoup his money since he didn't sign a contract and didn't follow Warren's money-spinning methods through to the end.

"They made it all sound so easy," he said.

"I got over-enthusiastic at the time and I've only myself to blame," he concludes.

You've got to implement what you learn, replied Mr Borsje when I told him about Tony's troubles.

"The people who win are the people who grab the bull by the horns and run with it."

And Mr Borsje gave BBC News Online some names and numbers of people who are doing just that.

Work in progress

"My goal is to hold a portfolio of about 20 properties within the next couple of years," said Lindsey Rowe, whose husband has just given up a full time job to devote more time to the scheme.

The couple have completed on a couple of flats in Plymouth which they are renovating in order to rent out.

If it hadn't been for the course, I wouldn't have had the confidence to re-embark on the remortaging process

Rob Earing

"We're very excited, it seems like such a fantastic opportunity to make money and Warren warns you about all the pitfalls," she said.

"If it hadn't been for the course, I wouldn't have had the confidence to re-embark on the remortaging process," said Rob Earing, who had already made money from property before attending the course.

He says that Warren encouraged him to go ahead with property investments on a much bigger scale.

He's now planning to buy six two-bedroom properties in Kent, and is keen to teach other people about how to invest in property.

Similarly, Ana Maria has just completed on her first flat in the West Midlands and has another six in the pipeline, saying the course gave her the boost she needed to take action.

Bigger and better

But while these graduates were suitably enthusiastic about the course, only time will tell whether their investments will indeed pay off.

Most industry experts have already warned that house prices cannot sustain their current rate of growth, and some expect a collapse.

Meanwhile, Mr Borsje is expanding his operation on an ever grander scale.

He is recruiting new "teachers" to bring his money-making messages to every town and city in the UK.

The global audience is also in sight, with South Africa and Singapore on the list of future destinations.

Next year will bring "wealth universities" - offering even longer and better courses, he enthuses.

BBC News Online is still searching for people who have seen Warren Borsje's promises come true. Can you help?

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