I have been scammed by Darrick Scruggs and Joe Williams too. 

They're either scams, or just looked up on one of those "how to's". 

Russ Whitney scam).

How much time do you have to devote to this?  

There is a company in California that has a Great program that helps the homeowner and will also pay you commission fees that is NOT A SCAM like so many others.You can email them and they will respond with any information needed promptly and their process works in any state.Grand View Financial LLC

I did not tell him anything about my financial status as I am aware that there are scams out there..

I'm debating on what to do, I just want to have some side investments.I know life insurance with a cash value is a big scam, you pay a lot of commission for the first 3 years.

Short sale wholesaling is a whole other issue - check out some of the posts on these forums - there's a section devoted to it:-http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/103-short-salesGood luck

And watch out for all the get rich quick gurus and scam artists out there who will tell you it is easy to do.

Why would someone devote possibly months of time teaching you, and getting you to your end game, to only end up not making any money because you used another agent for a deal.