(MONEY Magazine) – There are a lot of weird auctions on eBay, but the recent sale of the New Age self-help group Lifespring may be tough to top. Modeled after the 1970s est phenomenon, Lifespring was an intense motivational program that some former members, including the wife of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, have accused of being a cult.

It's a charge that Lifespring founder John Hanley always denied. But after a slew of lawsuits and other problems, Lifespring went went bust in 1999. When Donovan Arterburn Jr., a Lifespring trainer who eventually bought the company, failed to revive the group, he put the membership list, training materials, internet URL and other assets up for sale on eBay.

The winning bid: $15,099, submitted by David Tzou, a Maryland doctor who hopes to recast Lifespring as a more mainstream leadership training program. Says Tzou: "I don't want to bring it back as a cult."

--JON BIRGER