I don't think he set out to scam investors.

I tripped, fell, and when I put my hand out to catch myself I accidentally had the company give me a loan to buy a building that I leased back to them.

It's not ignorance to sell your company its trademark or to buy a building with a loan backed by company stock and then have the company lease it from you at a tidy profit.

Let me give you an insight into the thought process here:

'It's not unethical if I don't feel bad about it.'

The key to operating this way to is cultivate a sense of belief in your own BS - inspire others by having the 'vision thing', saying 'I wish you could see what I can see' etc. Ignore anything negative and devote as little thought to it as possible because what people are buying into is your sunny disposition - they don't really want to analyze your stuff, they want to feel the way you look: radiantly confident. So you just think happy thoughts and if anyone asks you troubling questions re-articulate your vision of heaven/ profits/ national pride/ whatever and make a performance of being nurtured by that beautiful vision alone, before mentioning that anyone can share it for 3 easy payments of $____.