I can honestly say that I know very little about this guy, but what I can say is this; con-men make their living by getting people to trust them, then violating that trust.  If you do something for a living, you tend to be good at it, or you are a very thin, malnourished sort that lives under a bridge.  I am certainly not tossing him under the bus just yet, but on the other hand, if he IS a con-man, he will probably seem very trust-worthy right up, until he walks away with all your money.