By Mike Weland
For former Hollywood actor and comic Owen Benjamin, who now lives in Sandpoint, it’s the best of times, it’s the worst of times. His business endeavors have been hard hit, but he’s once again on the world stage.
Benjamin, whose plans for a 10-acre haven along the Moyie River on Earl Lane Road for his legions of fans, called bears, have languished since neighbors protested the development in April, 2021, lost his business manager, Samuel James Mitchell, 35, Sandpoint, after he was charged with attempted strangulation, a felony, and domestic battery in the presence of a child in Bonner County February 20.
Freed on $50,000 cash bond, Sam, known in bear circles as “Busytown Bear,” entered into a plea agreement March 12, pleading guilty to the lesser charge, which carries a maximum penalty of two years in jail and/or a $2,000 fine.
Busytown is set for sentencing at 9 a.m. Wednesday, April 30.
In even worse news, on Thursday Benjamin used his podcast to tell his bears that he has once again lost his payment processor, cutting off his electronic cash flow from donors and fans to enable him to push ahead with developing his Bonners Ferry property, where bears who donated $400 or more were promised unlimited access to sleep in one of a few primitive dry cabins for activities that seemed to vary with who was asking, from gardening and homesteading to tactical military live-fire training, concerts and comedy, or another property he subsequently acquired in Missouri, where local public response was much the same as it was here.
“It’s unfortunate,” a decidedly glum-looking Benjamin says, promising to keep going. “It is what it is, man.”
The loss means donors/clients can no longer give or pay online, but must now mail in their contributions or payments.
But on the bright side, Big Bear Benjamin will be feted at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 29, at the Dojo of Comedy, Morris Plains, New Jersey, as Grifties 2024 “Grifter of the Year,” specifically for raking in thousands of donations over the course of four years for Beartaria, refusing refunds and providing little to nothing in return.
Tickets are $35 general admission. VIP front row seating, at two tickets for $125, has sold out. Doors open at 7 p.m. Honoree Owen Benjamin is not expected to attend.
To nominate a grifter for 2025, visit https://grifties.com.
Thank you, Mike, for staying on top of this story and continuing to shine a light on the truth. Your consistent reporting on Owen Benjamin and his crew is invaluable — keep holding these grifters accountable!
I like him
If Owen Benjamin is finally forced to sell the “Bears” cult property on the Moyie, can it written into the contract that he must first use the proceeds to pay back the money promised to investors. With the rise in land prices since 2020, this would surely leave him with an impressive profit for himself. Doesn’t this seem fair?
They weren’t investors. Owen Benjamin didn’t even keep good records for his $400 donations. He’ll get all the upside once the land sells. He probably hasn’t sold it yet to keep the new bears paying under the false promise that it’ll get done at some point. He’s stringing them along. As long as the taxes are less than what he gets in new donations, he’s going to keep it. Then, once he sells I bet he plays the victim to drum up more donations.
Keep up the great work reporting on this narcissistic NUT CASE and the freaks that follow him
I could not agree more!
> he has once again lost his payment processor
Worse yet for Owen Benjamin, this kills recurring subscriptions. If they somehow snag a new payment processor (maybe their 2369th try), users will have to re-enter their credit card details from scratch. Grifters love it when forget and let subscriptions automatically renew, so only the most loyal fans will bother signing up again. That’s a massive hit to steady cash flow—Big Bear might need to ditch the grift and get a real job soon. Too bad he’s unqualified for anything except running his mouth.
The few people in the comedy business in LA that love keeping track of Owen have finally decided we’ve had enough. It’s a sad situation. Poor guy.
Mike Weland is hilarious! Probably a better comedian than this Owen fellow!
I agree with the previous comment about refunding the people who invested money with this guy to purchase the land. It seems like they got the short end of the stick and this clown made away with their money and the land. That sounds like serious fraud to me.
At least he gets an award for being a POS con man
I saw on a blog where some bears claim they have a Private Investigator on Weiland and some other detractors including someone who does online forensics. At least one PI is claimed to be an off-duty cop taking no payment and has a personal vendetta (revenge). Supposedly they got someone on their list of Sandpoint enemies that pulled a major boner so to speak up in Boise. The goods are being turned over to certain local politicians and supposedly one billionaire that lives in LA.
Great article! Owen’s one of the biggest grifters on the internet. It’s insane how he still hasn’t refunded donors the money for the land he bought on Moyie River. He raised hundreds of thousands of dollars on the promise of providing a camping utopia and no such thing has materialized. People really should take him to court over this scam.
Thanks for all you do, Mike.