James Arthur Ray

James Arthur Ray (born November 22, 1957) is an American self-help businessman, motivational speaker, author and convicted criminal who was found guilty in 2011 of causing three deaths through negligent homicide. A former telemarketer, Ray taught Stephen Covey motivational seminars while employed at AT&T and claimed he later worked two years for the Covey foundation; however the company has no record of him as an employee or contractor. In 2006 he appeared on CNN's Larry King Live and was one of several narrators in the film The Secret. He also appeared on the Today Show and Oprah. In October 2009, three participants died while taking part in a ritual, led by Ray, at one of his New Age retreats. Ray was arrested in 2010, and in 2011 convicted of three counts of negligent homicide. He served two years in Arizona state prison and was released under supervision on July 12, 2013. Following his release, Ray re-launched his self-help business. Early life Ray's father was an Oklahoma preacher at the Red Fork Church of God in Tulsa. Ray has described his childhood as impoverished, claiming that, "The hardest part of my childhood was reconciling how Dad poured his heart into his work, how he helped so many people and yet he couldn't afford to pay for haircuts for me and my brother," in his 2008 book Harmonic Wealth. A classmate of Ray's recalled that, "Ray always dressed well and knew he'd make something of himself."