A fact-check of Liana Shanti credentials (legal name: Liane Wilson) — collecting each credential, title, and qualification she has publicly claimed, checked against the sworn record and court filings.
Financial claims in her bios
The bio of the @therelaxedmillionaire Instagram account, as it read on January 22, 2026 (below), reads “8 Figure Female Entrepreneur Mentor” and “Grow your 7 figure biz with zero anxiety.” That account’s bios and posts repeat the degree claims shown in the table further down; no finding on this page depends on them. Her own financial record is on the legal troubles page.
Titles — an ever-changing list of self-styled labels
Alongside the credential claims, Wilson cycles through a shifting set of self-styled spiritual titles — none backed by any governing or certifying body. On the home page of her own website (Wayback Machine copy, May 8, 2022) she wrote: “Many labels potentially ‘fit’. I have been referred to – as psychic, visionary, seeress, spiritual teacher, medicine woman, teacher, mentor, shaman, energy worker, artist, nutritionist, wellness educator, lawyer, mother, yogini, all of which ‘apply’ but none fully descriptive.” The same passage appears in her Facebook bio, which was later entered into the court record as an exhibit. That court exhibit carries a margin note defining “Seeress” as “a woman who predicts events or developments (Prophetess).” These titles are not fixed — they are added, dropped, and reworded across her platforms over time, the same rebranding pattern documented in the comparison table further down this page, where her single master’s degree appears under a different name in almost every venue (Case 1:19-cr-00105-SOM, Doc. 122-1).
“Psychic” is one of the labels that came and went. In June 2022 her “Meet Liana” profile page opened its list with “psychic” and said she had been “Psychic since childhood” (Wayback Machine copy, June 27, 2022). The next copy of that page, from the morning of March 4, 2023 (Hawaii time), no longer uses the word at all. It was made about fourteen hours after The Daily Beast published Jennings Brown’s investigation, “The Mysterious ‘Sisterhood’ Tearing Families Apart”, on the evening of March 3. The line now reads “I always offered ways to help people find their strength, and their gifts” (Wayback Machine copy, March 4, 2023). Her home page kept “psychic” in its own list of labels until at least July 2023 (Wayback Machine copy, July 12, 2023).
The same home page carried a “Schedule a Session” button, leading to a booking page for sessions “paid in full at time of booking” (Wayback Machine copy, June 27, 2022). In July 2023 a former student, J.S., filed with her sentencing judge her booking page offering “15 minutes @ $300.00” (Doc. 110-2). Twelve days later she told the court that “ZERO PEOPLE HAVE PRIVATE ACCESS TO ME” (Case 1:19-cr-00105, Doc. 123-1, p. 8). Both filings, and what followed them, are set out on separate pages: J.S.’s Letter to the Court and J.M.’s Statement to the Court.
From psychic to business mentor. In 2022 her own website sold her as a “spiritual teacher and mentor” whose labels began “psychic, visionary, spiritual teacher, medicine woman…”; the only coaching it mentioned was health coaching through her nutrition school (Wayback Machine copy, June 27, 2022). The words “business coach” had appeared in her About page’s list of labels from October 2018, and were gone by May 23, 2019 — the same edit in which “psychic” was added (April 23, 2019; May 23, 2019).
By January 2025, under oath, she described her work as business teaching. “I don’t work one on one with people unless they’re in a mentorship,” she testified, and: “Mentorship students are business only.” Asked whether she sees students on Kaua‘i: “No, I don’t see anyone in person” (Deposition of Liane Wilson, January 15, 2025, pp. 26–27; ECF 45-5).
The business school was still being written as it went. On January 6, 2023, her own Instagram story said she was “preparing my mentorship students yearly overview” and “working on B school 7” (Instagram story). By July 2023 a former student, J.S., listed the “12D B-School” among her paid programs at “$3,900” (Doc. 110-1).
Private access, in date order. What Wilson told her probation judge in 2023, set against what she and others put on the record before and after:
| When | What the record shows | Source |
|---|---|---|
| From 2018 | J.M., who has had “direct access to Liana since I began working with her in 2018,” pays for one-on-one sessions one to three times a month for almost two years, “with specific focus on my personal relationships, childhood abuse, and healing.” | Doc. 132, pp. 3–4 |
| May–June 2022 | Her website: “Psychic since childhood.” A “Schedule a Session” button leads to sessions “paid in full at time of booking.” | Wayback, June 27, 2022; booking page |
| January 6, 2023 | Her Instagram story: “preparing my mentorship students yearly overview.” | Instagram story |
| July 13, 2023 | Her booking page offers a “One on One Messenger Session in Signal App,” “15 minutes @ $300.00.” | Doc. 110-2 |
| July 2023 | To her probation judge, in a written statement that carries no oath: “ZERO PEOPLE HAVE PRIVATE ACCESS TO ME.” One-on-one sessions “were stopped YEARS ago”; “WHEN THEY DID EXIST THEY WERE PRIMARILY WELLNESS SESSIONS” and “were not counseling of any kind.” For the 12D B School: “NO PERSONAL ACCESS TO ME, NEVER HAS BEEN.” | Doc. 123-1, pp. 8–9 |
| January 15, 2025 | Under oath: “I don’t work one on one with people unless they’re in a mentorship.” “Mentorship students are business only.” | ECF 45-5, pp. 26–27 |
Status: documented — self-styled titles, no governing/certifying body.
The claim (from her public bio)
“Liana Shanti, BA, JD, CN … world-renowned quantum energy teacher, wellness educator, nutritionist, medicine woman … Fellow of the Harvard Medical School Institute of Coaching, Certified Health Coach with the International Sports Sciences Association, Member of the American Association of Nutritional Association … currently half way through her Master’s.”
Liana Shanti credentials, claim by claim
Baseline (sworn): Plaintiff’s verified Second Supplemental Interrogatory Responses (Exhibit B) in Case 5CCV-22-0000107, and the videotaped Deposition of Liane Wilson taken January 15, 2025 in the same case (excerpts filed in Case 1:25-cv-00297 as ECF 45-5). These are compared against her publicly advertised Liana Shanti credentials below.
Academic degrees — “BA, JD”
Under oath (Case 5CCV-22-0000107, Ex. B, Int. 20–23), Wilson confirmed: BA — Fordham University (1994); JD — Pace University School of Law (1998); attorney at Skadden Arps, New York, approximately 1997–2001; New York law license suspended effective October 21, 2010 (Int. 25). She is “currently in the Master of Science program in Psychology at California Southern University, in ultimate pursuit of a doctorate” (Int. 22). That sworn record reflects two completed degrees (BA, JD) and one in progress.
Public record vs. her account — how long she practiced law
Public record: Wilson was admitted to the New York State bar in 1999 (New York State Unified Court System, attorney registration #2984102, Pace University; current status: suspended).
Her sworn account (summarized above) puts her at Skadden Arps from 1997 “until around 2001,” after which she testified she “stopped practicing law voluntarily, shortly after maternity leave for the birth of my first child,” and did not return to practice (Ex. B, Int. 23; Int. 25).
Because she was not admitted until 1999, her time as a licensed, practicing attorney runs roughly 1999 to about 2001 — on the order of two years — even though, by her own sworn account, she kept a valid New York license until 2010, when she stopped registering and the license was suspended. She markets herself as a “former Wall Street lawyer,” which is accurate as far as it goes; the active legal career it implies was brief.
Status: documented — bar-admission year from public record; practice dates from her own sworn testimony.
“Five degrees including a doctorate” — social media vs. sworn record
| Date | Claim (Instagram @lianashanti) |
|---|---|
| Nov. 9, 2022 | “I have five degrees. Including a doctorate.” (Instagram story) |
| Jan. 21, 2023 | “You don’t need 5 degrees and psychic ability to see that.” |
| Jan. 28, 2023 | “A person with 5 degrees and all with honors?” |
| Mar. 5, 2023 | “I have multiple degrees… Have 5 degrees including a doctorate.” |
| Mar. 27, 2023 | “I was just accepted into my first choice doctorate program in psychology!!! It’s an MS/PhD program” [acceptance, not completion] (Doc. 116, Ex. 3.3) |
| Jul. 18, 2023 | “Five degrees later and currently in a doctorate program for psychology.” (Instagram story; Doc. 116, Ex. 3) |
The March 27, 2023 post is internally inconsistent with the preceding claims: being “just accepted” into a doctorate program is inconsistent with already holding five degrees including one. Under oath, she confirmed only a BA and JD as completed, with an MS in progress. The only doctorate the sworn record identifies is her law degree, a Juris Doctor; it shows none in psychology or any other field.
Status: Sworn baseline verified (Case 5CCV-22-0000107, Ex. B). Instagram screenshots sourced from Case 1:19-cr-00105-SOM, Doc. 116 (filed July 24, 2023), Ex. 3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3.
Timeline — when the newest credential claims appeared
Placed in order, the two newest credential claims land in the seven weeks between the investigation that exposed her and the court hearing that could have revoked her probation.
- Nov. 2022 – Jan. 2023 — repeatedly claims she already holds “five degrees, including a doctorate” (see table above).
- March 3, 2023 — The Daily Beast publishes its investigation into the Lemurian Mystery School.
- March 27, 2023 — posts that she was “just accepted into my first choice doctorate program… an MS/PhD program” — an acceptance, an acceptance into a program not yet begun, posted while she was still describing herself as already holding five degrees.
- March 30, 2023 — completion date on her ISSA nutrition certificate — 27 days after the investigation.
- April 22, 2023 — The Daily Beast reports she has been summoned to a probation hearing.
- April 24, 2023 — probation-review hearing before Judge Mollway.
Both of the credential items she could point to as current and verifiable — the doctorate-program “acceptance” and the nutrition certificate — were generated after the March 3 investigation and before the April 24 hearing, not during the years she spent marketing herself as already credentialed. Readers can weigh the timing for themselves.
Status: documented — dates from her own posts, the ISSA certificate filed with the court, the court docket, and The Daily Beast (Jennings Brown, April 22, 2023).
“Fellow of the Harvard Medical School Institute of Coaching”
Reviewed in detail here: Harvard Medical School Institute of Coaching claim. Status: documented.
Certified Nutritionist (“CN”)
Wilson claimed the title “Certified Clinical Nutritionist” (CCN) on her HMI Nutrition School website and her LinkedIn profile, attributing it to the “Natural Healing Institute of Naturopathy.” Her HMI team page introduced her as “Liana Shanti – HMI Founder, Juris Doctor, Certified Clinical Nutritionist, Natural Healing Institute of Naturopathy” and said that “she attended nutrition school and became a Certified Clinical Nutritionist” (Wayback Machine copy, March 4, 2023). Both the team page and the LinkedIn profile were filed with the federal court in July 2023: the HMI team page alongside the CNCB letter (Case 1:19-cr-00105, Doc. 113-1, p. 2) and the LinkedIn profile as Doc. 116, Ex. 11. Her LinkedIn headline now reads “Clinical Nutritionist” — the word “Certified” has been dropped.
The Clinical Nutrition Certification Board (CNCB) holds the CCN™ trademark. On May 5, 2023, its Associate Director wrote that the board “does not have any record of Liane Nancy Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Liane Wilson, Liana Shanti, Chair Noelani or any combination thereof applying for or taking the CCN Exam” (email filed with the court as Doc. 116, Ex. 2, PageID.1628). In a July 24, 2023 letter to the court, a CNCB Associate Director wrote: “Liane Wilson, Liana Shanti or any version of such name has never participated in the CNCB’s program nor has she taken the CCN exam, thus violating the trademark the CNCB holds.” The letter added that the board would be sending her a cease and desist letter (Doc. 113).
Note: the “Natural Healing Institute of Naturopathy” is separate from the CNCB and does not hold the CCN™ trademark. What credential, if any, Wilson holds from that institute is not shown anywhere in the court record. Under oath (Case 5CCV-22-0000107, Ex. B, Int. 21), Wilson was asked to support her contention that she holds a “Sports Nutritionist Certification”; a subsequent certificate was produced (bates SHANTI-001235) — not a CCN. Her sworn interrogatory responses nowhere mention a Certified Clinical Nutritionist designation.
Status: CNCB denial documented. Natural Healing Institute credential: not produced in the record. Source: Case 1:19-cr-00105-SOM, Doc. 113 (filed July 24, 2023) — the CNCB letter to the court.
The certifications she sells. Wilson’s own business, HMI Wellness (formerly Health Mastery Institute and HMI Nutrition), sells health-coach certifications. In 2026 the Better Business Bureau reported that it “has been unable to confirm that certification programs offered by HMI Wellness are recognized or accredited by an entity acknowledged by the U.S. Department of Education,” and published a Pattern of Complaints alert from customers who paid approximately $4,000 to $5,900 and say they never received the certification (BBB, Information and Alerts). HMI Wellness did not respond to the BBB. Details: HMI Wellness: The Rebrand and the BBB Warning.
Certified Health Coach — International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA)
The ISSA certificate filed with the court (Doc. 116, Ex. 4) shows Liane Wilson holds Cert #3820149, an ISSA Nutritionist Certification with no sports designation, completed March 30, 2023 — 27 days after the DailyBeast article (March 3, 2023) exposing her. The ISSA Nutritionist Certification is a 40-hour program requiring no formal education.
On March 27, 2023 — three days before her ISSA completion date — Wilson posted she “did that last year.” The certificate shows a later completion date.
Status: Documented. Source: Case 1:19-cr-00105-SOM, Doc. 116 (filed July 24, 2023), Ex. 4 & Ex. 3.3.
Additional “Harvard Medical School” certifications
Wilson lists three “Harvard Medical School” certifications on her HMI team page and LinkedIn: Cholesterol Management; Type 2 Diabetes Management; Management of High Blood Pressure. Each corresponds to a $29.95, approximately 3-hour online consumer course from Harvard Health Online Learning — not a graduate medical school credentialing program. Describing $29.95 consumer courses as “Harvard Medical School Certifications” conflates a short-form health-literacy product with a professional credential.
Status: Documented. Source: Case 1:19-cr-00105-SOM, Doc. 116 (filed July 24, 2023), Ex. 4.2.
Member — “American Association of Nutritional Association”
The “American Association of Nutritional Consultants” offers three membership tiers, all at $70: Association Membership (“open to all individuals who seek to support AANC”), Professional, and Diplomate. A $70 open membership confers no professional credential. QuackWatch has documented the AANC’s history: quackwatch.org/consumer-education/nonrecorg/aanc/.
Status: Documented. Source: Case 1:19-cr-00105-SOM, Doc. 116 (filed July 24, 2023), Ex. 4.1.
Master’s degree — conflicting claims
Wilson’s sworn interrogatory (Case 5CCV-22-0000107, Ex. B, Int. 20–22) states she attended “the Master of Science program in Psychology at California Southern University, in ultimate pursuit of a doctorate.” Her public-facing claims describe a different field and — in one venue — a different degree level entirely.
Two things sit underneath the shifting labels. First, the degree’s paper trail is thin. She described it as in progress when she announced her “acceptance” in March 2023, and again in her sworn interrogatory. On July 10, 2026 — weeks before trial — she posted an Instagram story photo of a “Master of Science in Psychology,” “Magna Cum Laude” diploma, writing that she had “finished my program months ago.” The photo leaves out the name of the school and the year the degree was conferred, and no transcript or confirmation from California Southern appears in the court record. Second, she framed routine enrollment at an online university as a competitive “acceptance” (“my first choice doctorate program”). Her marketing goes further still, presenting her as a self-styled neuroplasticity expert — a specialization neither of California Southern’s psychology programs actually offers (detailed below).
The same degree, described differently in every venue
| Venue | Her claim |
|---|---|
| Sworn interrogatory (Case 5CCV-22-0000107, Ex. B, Int. 20–22) | MS in Psychology, California Southern University |
| Probation hearing (Apr. 24, 2023; transcript p. 27, ll. 12–13) | “I’m currently in a doctorate program for psychology” |
| HMI Nutrition School team page (filed with the court Jul. 24, 2023, Doc. 113-1, p. 2) | “Current PhD Student Psychology” |
| Advertised bio (LianaShanti.com) | “halfway through” a master’s in sports psychology |
| @therelaxedmillionaire Instagram bio (observed May 31, 2026) | “MS Neuropsych” |
| HMI Wellness About page (observed May 31, 2026) | “M.S. in Psychology, specialization in Neuroplasticity” |
| @therelaxedmillionaire Instagram bio (observed Jan. 22, 2026) | “MS Psych Neuroplasticity” |
| Instagram post (@therelaxedmillionaire, Mar. 8, 2026) | “JD, CN, MS Psychology | Neuroplasticity” — styled as a completed credential |
| @therelaxedmillionaire Instagram bio (observed Apr. 14, 2026) | “MS Psychology/Neuroplasticity” |
The “Neuroplasticity” claim — and positioning as a neuroplasticity expert
Wilson’s HMI Wellness About page (saved copy as of May 31, 2026) makes two separate neuroplasticity credential claims. The header tagline reads: “Masters of Science, Psychology (Neuroplasticity Specialty) | Juris Doctor, Former Wall Street Attorney.” A credential bullet on the same page states: “M.S. in Psychology, specialization in Neuroplasticity.” The same page describes her methodology as “built on a rare synthesis of nutrition science, quantum energetics, psychology and neuroplasticity, nervous system regulation…” — framing her as a credentialed neuroplasticity practitioner to students and certification candidates.
What CalSouthern actually offers — neither MS program supports this claim
California Southern University offers two MS-level psychology degrees. Neither mentions neuroplasticity anywhere in its curriculum.
MS in Psychology — four concentrations: Advanced Addiction Studies, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Pastoral Counseling, Sport Psychology. No neuroplasticity concentration.
MS in General Psychology — no concentrations at all. Described by CalSouthern as designed for “individuals who hold a graduate degree in other areas of study” wanting a psychology foundation. Complete curriculum (30 credits):
| Course | Credits |
|---|---|
| PSY 6502 Counseling Theories and Strategies | 3 |
| PSY 6801 Therapeutic Boundaries | 3 |
| PSY 6508 Culture and Diversity in Counseling | 3 |
| PSY 6505 Lifespan Development | 3 |
| PSY 6506 Psychopathology | 3 |
| PSY 6511 Substance Use and Related Disorders | 3 |
| PSY 8503 History and Systems of Psychology | 3 |
| PSY 8724 Cognition, Emotion and Motivation | 3 |
| PSY 7701 Physiological Psychology | 3 |
| PSY 7769 Applications in Psychology: Integrative Research Project | 3 |
The word “neuroplasticity” does not appear anywhere in either program’s curriculum. The closest content is PSY 7701 Physiological Psychology (basic biological bases of behavior) and PSY 8724 Cognition, Emotion and Motivation — neither constitutes a neuroplasticity specialization. A recognized neuroplasticity specialization requires advanced neuroscience graduate training — not either of these general online psychology degrees. The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).
Status: HMI Wellness About page archived May 31, 2026 (saved copy of the page). Both CalSouthern program pages verified June 2026.
Sales career
What the record shows: under oath, she was an attorney at Skadden Arps from approximately 1997 to 2001 (Case 5CCV-22-0000107, Ex. B, Int. 23); her bankruptcy petition shows W-2 income from Wyndham Vacation Resorts and SVO Pacific Inc. — both Hawaii timeshare sales positions — with her occupation at filing listed as receiving temporary disability income; and her own sworn account has her moving to Maui for that job in 2010 and leaving on long-term disability (Int. 25). Her own lawsuit against Wyndham fixes the start date: Wyndham’s Answer admits she “began her employment with WVR in December 2006 as a Sales Associate” at the Princeville, Kaua’i site, and that she “was a high performer and won some awards, including the Legend Award, the Top Performer of the Year, the Rookie of the Year, and the President’s club” (Wilson v. Wyndham Vacation Resorts, No. 1:11-cv-00538-DKW-BMK (D. Haw.), Doc. 6 (Answer, filed Sept. 8, 2011) ¶¶ 25–26). Her first bankruptcy fills in the rest: the sworn schedules of her Chapter 13 (filed September 9, 2010) list her occupation as “Timeshare Sales” at “Starwood Hotels,” employed “1 years,” with employment income of $460,279 (2008), $251,733 (2009) and $240,762.42 in 2010 to date (In re Wilson, Bankr. D. Haw. No. 10-02786, Dkt. 10, pp. 18, 22). Her Chapter 7 petition eight months later reports 2010 W-2 income of $285,997.51 from SVO Pacific Inc. and $26,610.85 from Wyndham Vacation Resorts, with her occupation at filing listed as “TDI” (No. 11-01392, Dkt. 1, pp. 34, 37). With her sworn account placing her on long-term disability from 2011, the documented timeshare-sales career runs roughly December 2006 to 2011 — about four and a half years, all of it in Hawai’i.
2010 SVO Pacific Inc. W2: $285,997.51
Income from employment, two years preceding filing — In re Wilson, Bankr. D. Haw. No. 11-01392, Dkt. 1, p. 37
2010 Wyndham Vacation Resorts W2: $26,610.85
2009 1040 Income Tax Return: $249,191.00
Employment history, as documented in court records
| PERIOD | EMPLOYMENT | SOURCE |
|---|---|---|
| ~1997–2001 | Attorney, Skadden Arps, New York | Ex. B, Int. 23 |
| 2001–Dec. 2006 | Left law; moved to Hawaii (around 2002); employment not in evidence | Ex. B, Int. 25 |
| Dec. 2006–~2009 | Sales Associate (timeshare), Wyndham Vacation Resorts, Princeville, Kaua‘i | Wyndham Answer ¶¶ 25–26 |
| ~2009–2011 | Timeshare Sales, Starwood Hotels (SVO Pacific), Maui — “1 years” as of Sept. 2010 | Ch. 13 No. 10-02786, Dkt. 10, pp. 18, 22; Ch. 7 No. 11-01392, Dkt. 1, p. 37; Int. 25 |
| 2011 onward | Long-term disability; occupation at Ch. 7 filing: disability income | Ex. B, Int. 25; Ch. 7 Dkt. 1, p. 34 |
Status: unsupported by the record — court filings document a domestic timeshare-sales career of about 4½ years (Dec. 2006–2011); her employment from her arrival in Hawaii (around 2002) through 2006 is not in evidence.
Her own disclaimer — what she admits in the fine print
Across her sites and bios Wilson presents herself as a nutritionist, “medicine woman,” “Neuroplasticity Expert,” Certified Clinical Nutritionist, and a mentor on wealth and financial empowerment. The legally binding disclaimer in the footer of her own website says the opposite. As of June 2026, the footer of LianaShanti.com states:
“I am not a licensed healthcare provider. I am not a licensed therapist. I am not a licensed financial advisor. I am a spiritual teacher and mentor. Your mental, emotional, physical and financial wellbeing is your responsibility.”
LianaShanti.com footer disclaimer (as of June 2026; screenshot below)
The same footer disclaims any guarantee of “results or earnings,” states that any success figures it references “are not typical or average,” and makes every sale final and non-refundable. In other words: the marketing sells medical, psychological, and financial expertise; the fine print — the place where legal liability actually attaches — disclaims all three. By her own binding admission she is “not a licensed healthcare provider,” “not a licensed therapist,” and “not a licensed financial advisor.”
Status: documented — quoted verbatim from her own website footer.
Related evidence on this site
- In Her Own Words: her statements by date and venue, sworn and unsworn
- The Nutrition Board Letter — how she answered the credential board
- Harvard Medical School Institute of Coaching claim
- Liana Shanti court cases
- Bankruptcy-fraud conviction
- Who is Liana Shanti?