Archives 1997, 3rd Quarter
OCTOBER 1997 MLM WATCHDOG
Stopping Pyramid Schemes
From The MLM Insider Magazine
By Editor Rod Cook
AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION SURVEY SAYS, "MEDICINE FLAKY"! The AMA had Harris Polls conduct a survey of the american public. The survey showed 42% of americanssaid they were involved in a medical mistake, 40% were affected by a misdiagnoses or wrong treatment, 28% were affected by medication errors, and 22% cited mistakes during a medical procedure. The AMA conducted the survey (which included a 3% error rate) after widely reported medical blunders. Ed Note: See why americans are turning to alternative medicine & supplements? Why MLM and Network Marketing are good?
ART OF BETTER LIVING TO DISAPPEAR? Let's see...BHI, the predecessor to The pyramid scheme scammy Art of Better Living, quietly disappeared. Now ABL products are being sold to NEI. Will the ABL scam disappear? Ed. Note: We said the Art of BetterLiving's Aussie 2-up wouldn't survive, (has any)! Don't change compensation plan,change companies!
AMWAY CHINA Not happy with the product? Bring it back for a 100% refund. Amway did not understand that the communist overlords had beat the common people down to the point of ultimate starvation. They took empty bottles back in and demanded returns! One salesman got $10,000 for sacks of empty bottles, (through a network of garbage scavengers). Ed. Note: The scam in The People's Republic of China was "Scam Amway."
BINARIES KILLED IN TAIWAN? Eight scam pyramid scheme companies were shut down (four more - are now direct sales only) by the ROC Fair Trade Commission. The eight companies that were closed issued "product certificates," (less than 10% redeemed for product) to people that had money invested. The Taiwanese FTC came up with an interesting required ratio: Sales generated by both the left and right legs must develop at no more than a 1:1 or 2:1 ratio to each other. This genius for equity will drive all binaries broke! Ed Note: GMIT of ROC is protesting - we called them a pyramid scheme scam in the U.S!
CHECK THOSE MLM PATENT CLAIMS! IBM provides free patent searches! Want to checkon a company's patents to see how real they are? IBM put the patents on the Internetsee their web site. Check the Wall Street Journal's news retrieval at $49. Ed. Note: This will embarrass some companies for their flaky filings. A patent on natural foods is not a lockup deal; plus, they still don't constitute health claims.
CLUB ALANTA TRAVEL STAGERING ON After the FTC hit on this pyramid scheme travel scam, which we predicted. Ed. Note: $1200 pyramid travel packages aren't popular with the law!
COSMECEUTICALS Mark this a term for a new name in the natural foods industry via FreeLife.
CUSTOM TELECARD INC Complaints! Ed Note: For new subscribers, telecards are a commodity item now not the wave of the future! TCN totally down the tubes now! Watch out for others!
DIET PATCH The bankruptcy for the National Consumer Benefits is a riot. The original owners did not know the "Diet Patch" was illegal, they found out. Mr. Parks, who started it, had heart attack (truth hurts?). He sold NCB to another group, who then scammed illegally sold the patch. The letter maintains that it wasn't their fault either! The distributors made them to do it! Ed. Note: What BS! Nobody ever told the distributors that the product wasn't legal!! What a fancy lawyer for crooks! We may reprint the letter! The 20/20 segement didn't tell the whole story! It turned into a pyramid scam when they started hitting checking accounts 3 and 4 times. Never do a check by fax.
EQUINOX WARS After the money dropped with the "new" kinder Pyramid (forced by The Insider and AG's) Equinox, 19 out of 20 core distributors left Bill Gould and started "Trek Alliance." It seems they had a religious conversion, but why 10 years in the making? Ed. Note: Stay tuned for this normal MLM split-up war!
FDA ATTACKING NATURAL FOODS ACT For those of you that did not understand the June 19, 1997 issue of USA Today, here's a simple translation. The FDA got their a_ _ kicked when they went against us in 1994 for our law that made Natural Foods an alternative to conventional drugs, (read that "Drug Companies Lose Megabucks"). The liberals at USA Today publish an article entitled "Lack of Science Leave Safety up to the Consumer." This article attacked any natural food product that could be good for consumersany! They want to kill DSHEA 1994, that was passed to protect supplements from the FDA. Ed Note: Rep John Dingell (D-CA-liberal), who made his reputation during the 1984 Herbalife hearings said, "People have a right to protection from scams and snake oil salesmen." On guard FDA & Dingelbells!
FORBES NUKES HERBALIFE - Herbalife isn't a contender for our good company list (see their 10k's and Q's for the profit from shipping charges). Forbes hit the whole industry by calling them a pyramid. Lack of research! Forbes didn't go to the Federal Trade Commission website and find the definition of pyramid. The time periods in the article are off also. Charts listing the boom and decline in foreign companies insinuate it is because of pyramiding. Wrong, the sudden rise and fall is "front-loading," like most foreign MLM companies. Ed. Note: Forbes needs a new research staff!
GAS AND GROCERIES HOPE Two time proven pyramid failures combined! On top of that, a 1/4-3/4 binary with a hot postal inspector to spin down a "money boomer"! Ed. Note: Commodity items and MLM don't mix!
GLOBAL VILLAGE Owner sold bad non meat to Texas prison, bribed the state buyer! Lots of hype lots of big names. Scam or does best to look like one! Has smoke in the village, stay tuned!
GOLD PRICES UP! Stock market "bouncing." Is the crash of '98 coming? Last year, there were 1.1 million bankruptcies in the U.S. Credit card "slow pays' have risen from from 3.18% in the 1st quarter of 1995, to 3.51% in the 1st quarter of 1997. Scary! Ed. Note: All NetWorkers should watch for a dive in the economy; it scares enough people into trying something new. Like NetWork Marketing!
HOT SALES WORDS A survey by Jonathan Mizel on words that sell on the Internet. The top seven he listed were leads, sales, wealth, downline, time, family, and freedom. Add these to the top ten your Power on-line Workshop has voted FREE, fast and new. Trademark Trends Report says "words like extreme, global, genuine, Cyber, and virtual are hot." They say, "International and Gold aren't hot now!"
INSPIRE MAGAZINE Can't do credit cards! No commissions - cheap computer program! Ed Note: Next suckers!
INTERNATIONAL HERITAGE INC - Lied to your editor (March issue), got slammed by their own AG. Now Michigan hit them again, are they clear? Ed. Note: They are adding consumables to help the cash flow and legal sides! This is still basically a scam with thier coupons.
JEWELWAY TO PAY $5 MILLION -- To 150,000 recruits who signed up but made no money. Ordered 18 November in the final settlement with the FTC. Ed. Note: That comes out $33.33 per failed expectation! Wow could we collect big!
JOHN KALENCH -- Outstanding industry trainer and author is seriously ill, our hopes and prayers to him!
MARRIOT GROUP FUNDS ILINK when we were beginning to doubt it! Building your own telephone intranet isn't cheap! Ed Note:$10 mil not $74 from distributors!
MICHIGAN WATCHDOG Hit Club Atlanta, Magnet Telecom, One Source Worldwide Network, Global Prosperity Group (see article), Mega$ets, American Freeway 100, and others. Pangea issue settled.
NUSKIN/IDN Hit by FTC for bad claims on health food (weight loss), hit at $1.6 million!
PORTFOLIO COMPANIES DYING AS PREDICTED Portfolio International, Page One, and Bosset Partners Marketing are either gone or their staggering. Remember we told you about the five year cycle? On top of that, Page One signed up its distributors with ITI Magnetic Beads, a home jewelry assembly scam.
PROCTOR AND GAMBLE ATTACKS ALL NETWORK MARKETERS! In Texas, of all places! They are suing Amway, (a continuing battle) claiming it is a pyramid. If Amway is, there is a lot of good companies that are too! Ed. Note: Time to boycott P&G? There are 8.5 million of us, besides Amawabies, lets watch!
QUORUM INTL VS CHEMWORLD PROUDUCTS This case was settled about May 3rd 1996. Your editor will give $100 to the reader who comes up with a complete summary of this case which was settled on or about May 3rd, 1996. Federal District Course Case, "Chemworld Products Corp., DBA Team Concepts, owned by Jim and Dan Hobbs Vs Quorum Intl. Ltd. Ed. Note: $100 Questions? Call 210-646-9416!
SECURE AMERICA -- Ed. Note: Another Modified Aussie two up! Oh no! Alarming Alarms? Or "alarming scam artists?"
SPRINT PAYS NETWORKERS AT LAST! $62 million settlement. Sprint paid off NetWork 2000, the MLM company. The money didn't get to distributors until 5 years later, (case filed August of 1992 by 59 distributors). The 59 split $6 million, the lawyers get $14 million. The rest to be split up with the "rest" of the distributors, including $100 phone cards. Ed. Note: Claims? Call Gilardi & Co. LLC at 1-800-696-8297
STERLING HEALTH SOLD -- To Omega Nutrifarms a subsidiary of Omega Pharmaceuticals. John W. Stump, former President of Changes International, is the new CEO of Sterling and David Stewart is leaving. Watch for this thing including Omega to tank. To much money for two little!
SUNRIDER GETS TRIAL OVER Te-Fu Chen is off to jail for 2 years in addition to a $500,000 fine for smuggling. Earlier, they paid $90 million for tax evasion. Aha honorable wife relaxing at home with ankle bracelet. Ed. Note: Phoney credentials, smuggling, tax evasion and a mad sister can do you in!
TRAVEL MAX - The new Travel Max is suing the old Travel Max crew who had previously filed Chapter 11. Ed. Note: Should this have been chapter 7 instead, and they fibbed about it? Tongue in Cheek, "ohh no!"
Please Sign Our Guest Book:
