Expert: 'He was immature and impulsive'

J.V. Huffman Jr. exhibits symptoms of antisocial personality disorder, also known as psychopathy, but primarily shows tendencies of a failed narcissist personality — an image he wished others would see, said a professor who specializes in clinical psychology.

"Everything he bought make me think he had an over-inflated sense of entitlement," said Dr. Joseph Lowman, a psychology professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who specializes in researching personality and evolutionary personality. "He has a really stupid, conspicuous sense of consumption, so people would think their money was safe with him. It shows he was immature and impulsive."

Huffman is accused of lying to neighbors, family and friends for more than 15 years, telling them he bought and sold securities, as he took millions of dollars from them to pay for his lavish lifestyle.

Huffman about 500 investors to invest $25 million with his company, the Biltmore Financial Group Inc., beginning in 1991 and ending Nov. 7 with his arrest.

Bob Thompson, pastor at Corinth Reformed Church, didn't want to speak of Huffman specifically, but said people can rationalize almost anything.

"Human beings have an amazing ability to rationalize," he said. "Some people continue to believe what they're doing is the best thing. With political campaigns, people say things in ads they would never normally say, but they justify it that it's in the best interest of what they're doing, in the long run."

According to court documents, Huffman, 44, bought high-priced cars, vacations and luxuries for his home using investors' money, all the while creating an image for himself as a successful businessman who gave generously to charitable organizations.

Thompson said some think people can compensate for misdeeds by doing something positive.

"They say to themselves, 'I'm doing some really good things, too,'" he said.

Huffman needed to make a splash with money — building a big house, buying several cars — which is the behavior of a manic, Lowman said.

"He's impulsive and grandiose," he said. "For some reason, he thought he was special. He needed to make a big splash, and was willing to abuse other people's money to do so. A psychopath would have spent the money, too, but not in such an overt way. He also would have been long gone. He would have taken the money and gone to Las Vegas with some babe. He wouldn't have been with the same woman for so long."

However, Huffman did show some psychopath behavior, which is how he could be so charming and convincing, Lowman said.

"A psychopath is charming and persuasive to get people to believe in them, but doesn't show empathy or anxiety. It's easy to lead others astray to get them to trust them," he said. "They aren't bothered by lies. They have an under-responsive nervous system, with ice-water in their veins."

Huffman donating money to charities and to a church fosters the image Huffman was trying to portray, Lowman added.

"That's how you con people and get them to give you money," he said. "It's not that much money, compared to what the total amount is."

Unlike most psychopaths, however, Huffman told investors the same story for 17 years, living in the same area and having a family.

"They usually do not have the same woman, same town, same customers for that long," Lowman said. "He may have started out sincere, which doesn't fit anti-social behavior. They usually cheat on relationships, go through jobs, promise a lot and deliver a little. He's not the standard psychopath."

The third quality of psychopaths is that they're natural leaders who are good social organizers. They can handle the risks of starting a business and making it successful, or running for office, Lowman said.
Lowman has studied inmates in central prison, and said the psychopaths with higher intelligence are the con men. Those with lower intelligence usually commit crimes such as bank robberies and breaking and enterings.

"The cool ones have enough intelligence to be in and out in prison," Lowman said. "They are model prisoners, because they know that's how you get out quicker."

Dr. Joseph Lowman's opinion of J.V. Huffman Jr. is not based on testing or analysis of Huffman.