If someone is asking a lot of money just to teach old techniques under a new name, that... doesn't seem right. Even if the students are told in the textbook that the technique is actually old and known -- are they told it before they pay for the lessons?

That assumes that the main point of the lesson is to teach specific techniques. That doesn't seem to be the case from what I understand by talking to Val about CFAR's strategy at the LW community camp in Berlin (I wasn't at an actual CFAR workshop).

Oh, I am so rational that I absolutely do not have to pay attention to the domain experts, because there is absolutely nothing

CFAR does happen a bunch of scientists who are domain experts in their advisory council. They read scientific papers. I don't think it's fair to say that they "pay no attention to the domain experts".

albeit a total beginner in the domain - invented it

What makes you think that the CFAR folks are total beginners?