They immediately believe they’ve been defrauded, which of course MAY be true as a lot of these investment deals are scams from day one.  

The guy in the article was running an exchange, sort of like a bank, and he was also connected to another earlier huge exchange scam.

Have you ever encountered that issue?

There is likely more as this is just a few of the people who know about the group through word-of-mouth.I'm making this post to hopefully get it seen when people search his name, so they avoid working with him and getting scammed too.  

How does one go about making sure that a company is legit and not just a shell or scam?

I’m not so concerned with how to turn them on, it’s more what immediate issues may I encounter when doing so and how can I mitigate them.

More than likely there is another investor that encountered the same challenge that they were able to overcome.

Eventually, with time and experience, your knowledge and confidence begin to align more realistically.This concept is incredibly relevant to real estate investing.I encounter this often: an investor seeks advice but quickly tells me how much they already know.

So everything you can do to avoid a scam or a shady character is worth something. 

Can't help there, either.What level of "needy" are you encountering?