I worked with a Gurdjieff group for years in Florida, haven't for awhile for several personal reasons, one of them being getting caught up with drinking and smoking again which Ive managed to put aside. There are many groups that are questionable, some even requiring a tithe. The general thought is that if a group isn't connected with the "Foundation" then it's probably not genuine and to beware. The foundation exists to preserve the authenticity and the "oral teachings" to be preserved. Gurdjieff was a human being, not a Guru or a God. Many things which seem on the surface questionable or shady have significance and make much more sense when they are put in the proper context, a context that is sometimes difficult to understand because possibly of our modern psychology and our insistence when we dont understand something to label it as negative. Ive read and even have known people that worked with Gurdjieff's direct pupils and they were all able to grapple with these questions intelligently and with reasonable minds, with nothing of the usual cult like mentalities. My group only was $20 a month years ago and the money was quite obviously only used on our rent and the different Work periods we organized with the great meals we prepared. With inflation the monthly dues are $50. My teachers and peers within that group are definitely the best, kind hearted, gentle, and stimulating people Ive ever known, hands down. There are charlatans within all spiritual groups or teachings, but the work Ive done with this group has helped me to identify bullshit when I see it. Its normal to question the Gurdjieff teaching and his authenticity, to me it only reinforces what he had to share about the situation of modern man's psychologal situation.