PLEASE NOTE:

Pyramid Scheme Alert offers information about the deception and harm of multi-level marketing (MLM) pyramid schemes. We enable consumers to identify, avoid or escape pyramid scams. Hundreds of MLM scams operate openly. 99% of all consumers who join the schemes never earn a profit. Many suffer devastating financial losses. Only the top perpetrators make money -- off the losses of all the others.
State and federal Govt officials receive millions in campaign contributions from product based pyramid scheme companies and lobby groups. PSA has been formed to counter this imbalance at the national and state level, and to educate consumers directly of the fraud and abuse of MLM. If you want to do something to help others from falling into the trap of MLM, educate yourself with our resources and consider supporting PSA.

You can email us at info@pyramidschemealert.org
or Write us at:
Pyramid Scheme Alert
1800 Camden Rd.
Ste. 107 #101
Charlotte, NC 28203
USA

IMPORTANT NEWS AND DEVELOPMENTS
(See Further News under the "News" Tab)

MLM SCHEME, YTB, SUED BY CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL AS "GIGANTIC PYRAMID SCHEME"
August, 2008

Your Travel Biz.com (YTB), one of the hottest MLMs, a member of the Direct Selling Association and a company that is publicly traded on the stock exchange, has just been sued by the Attorney General of California for operating a "gigantic pyramid scheme." YTB has a "sales force" of over 340,000 and drew nearly 20,000 participants to its annual meeting in St. Louis. In the last year, the number of YTB "agents" grew 67%..... More…

FORBES MAGAZINE REPORTS THAT FORMER TOP GUN AMWAY RECRUITER NOW RUNNING SAME SCHEME AT MONAVIE
July, 2008

Orrin Woodward, a former top level distributor at Amway/Quixtar made millions recruiting consumers into Amway, 99% of whom lost money. He told them if they bought his special “marketing tools” they could make money in Amway, and they could earn additional money by selling these tools to other recruits. The tools scheme was called “Team.” 99% of those who bought into the “Team” income scheme lost money. So, 99% of Woodward’s recruits never earned a profit in Amway/Quixtar. And of those who invested in his separate "Team" marketing business, 99% of them never earned profit from that scheme either, compounding their losses on top of their losses in the Amway scam. Now, Woodward is running exactly the same scheme at the MLM scheme called Monavie. A recent Forbes magazine article details the scheme and documents that 99% of the consumers who are buying into Woodward's Team income plan never earn a profit selling Team "tools"... More…

ENGLAND'S CASE AGAINST AMWAY AND EFFORTS TO THROW IT OUT OF THE COUNTRY CONTINUE
July, 2008

After a judge's ruling that severely restricted Amway's operation in England, the English government has appealed the ruling and renewed its case to close Amway down and kick it out of the country. The Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform in England charges that Amway is "inherently objectionable" and must be "wound down" (closed down in USA-English). The government claims that Amway violates England's Fair Trading Act 1973 among other laws. More…

WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH CANADA?
July, 2008

For pyramid and Ponzi schemes, Canada is emerging as a "global scam capital." The schemes range from the "Women Helping Women" that began there and spread worldwide to Treasure Traders International which also began in Canada and was shut down in England, only to re-emerge in Canada under a new name, and, most recenty a Canadian-based ponzi scam that ruined farmers. Canada appear to spawn and protect Ponzis. Canadian anti-pyramid and fraud laws are not being enforced. Private citizens are even sued by schemes if they dare question their legality. Are Ponzi's and pyramid schemes legal in Canada? More…

ARE PONZI SCHEMES LEGAL IN CANADA?
July, 2008

Failure to enforce anti-pyramid scheme and fraud laws in Canada and recent statements from Canadian officials have raised the question of whether Ponzi schemes are, in fact, legal in Canada. Has Canada narrowed its interpretration of pyramid scams so much that many can now operate openly and "legally" in Canada and then spread worldwide? More…

CANADIAN PONZI SCHEME FRAUD COLLAPSES; FARMERS RUINED; REGULATORS IN USA AND CANADA STAND BY AND WATCH
June, 2008

The Ponzi scheme disguised as a pigeon breeding business, called Pigeon King International, is now finished, bankrupt and closed. As many as 1,000 family farmers in Canada and the USA were lured in. Many are financially ruined. Hundreds of thousands of pigeons are at risk of neglect, and the Canadian government has still not taken action. More…

PSA RESEARCH REVEALS 99% LOSS RATE AMONG MAJOR MLMs
A Special Consumer Report: PDF Download Available
May, 2008

Data supplied by MLM companies reveal that tens of billions in consumer losses are caused annually by MLM Recruitment Schemes as 99+% of all participants "fail" each year in these "business opportunity" scams.
* Before you join an MLM, read this document.
* If you have a question about an MLM you are already in, read this document.
* If you are concerned about a friend or relative who has joined an MLM, read this document. More. . .

HERBALIFE CHARGED WTIH FRAUDULENT MARKETINGS, HYPED STOCK, PHONY LEAD SCHEME, HEALTH RISKS (UPDATE: HERBALIFE PRESIDENT RESIGNS OVER DECEPTION)
April, 2008

Herbalife, one of the largest America-based multi-level marketing schemes is, once again, charged with fraud and deception. As evidence of deception became publicized, the president of Herbalife resigned when it was revealed he had falsified his own resumé.
The current charges target the scheme's business model, its recruitment practices, its legality and potential health risks of its products. Herbalife promotes weight loss herbs and markets its products by selling "distributorships" in a multi-level marketing model. More…

HERBALIFE UPDATE: NEW EVIDENCE PRESENTED TO CONGRESS AND FDA OF HEALTH RISKS FROM TOXIC LEVELS OF LEAD FOUND IN HERBALIFE PRODUCTS.
May, 2008

An FDA-certified laboratory has verified toxic levels of lead in Herbalife products. The findings have been submitted to Congress. The full report is now public. More…

MLM SCHEME, PRE-PAID LEGAL, CHARGED WITH OPERATING A PYRAMID SCHEME AND SELLING A WORTHLESS "INSURANCE."
April, 2008

The MLM scheme, Pre-Paid Legal, is the targe of a new investigative report that reveals the scheme's pyramid recruitment is declining as the scheme moves toward an eventual collapse. Additionally the Pre-Paid Legal product – a form of insurance – is being labelled worthless and misleadingly represented to consumers. More…

BANNED IN SRI LANKA, INDONESIA AND THE PHILLIPINES, MLM SCHEME, GOLD QUEST (ALIAS QUEST NET) IS NOW PROSECUTED IN INDIA; THOUSANDS LOSE THEIR SAVINGS
May, 2008

Police in India have arrested leaders of the Hong Kong-based multi-level marketing scheme, Gold Quest. Consumer complaints and reports of life savings lost pour in More…

UPDATE: PYRAMID SCHEME CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST WOLRD'S LARGEST MLM SCHEME, AMWAY/QUIXTAR TO GO FORWARD
April, 2008

Amway has lost its legal effort to stop the largest and potentially most damaging class action lawsuit ever brought against the multi-level marketing scheme from going forward. A federal judge has ruled that Amway's rules for settling disputes are "unconscionable" and unenforceable. He denied Amway's defense. The case will now proceed. More…

TRAVEL AGENTS SAY MLM TRAVEL SCHEME – YTB – AND OTHERS LIKE IT, ARE CORRUPTING THEIR PROFESSION, CHEATING VENDORS AND TRICKING CONSUMERS.
May, 2008

According to the MLM company, YTB (Your Travel Business), anyone can become a real travel agent just by paying the company about $500 up front and then $50 a month. You don't need training and you don't even need customers. At YTB, you can make "unlimited" income by just recruiting other "travel agents."
However, 2,300 actual travel agents – the ones that are trained and have real customers – are petitioning travel vendors to stop honoring the YTB "card." The American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), the main Trade association of real travel agents, has published a consumer warning about YTB and other similar schemes. An analysis of YTB reveals that it gets nearly all its money from fees paid by the reps, not from selling travel. Additionally, almost no YTB reps ever earn a profit. More…

WHY THE FTC ALLOWS MULTI-LEVEL MARKETING TO RUN WILD IN AMERICA
December, 2007

There has been a seven-year silence in law enforcement on multi-level marketing. This is despite lawsuits, television exposés, consumer complaints, and prosecutions in other countries (Amway is on trial now in England.)
"MLM is operating fraudulently! So, why doesn't the government do something about it?" readers and financial analysts often ask.
The recent lack of law enforcement has misled many consumers by giving MLM a new aura of legitimacy. Few people are aware of the powerful political influence of the MLM industry. Recently, the political influence of the Amway Corporation, the largest and most politically connected MLM, has gained notoriety. It involves speaker fees to prominent Republican politicians, the Amway yacht as political meeting place, funds directed to key "527" political groups that support favorable lawmakers, millions in campaign contribution to Republican candidates, family ties to military contractor "Blackwater", political appointees in the FTC and tax breaks. Only the tobacco industry has as much at stake in its political lobbying and its public marketing campaign. More…

MLM REALITY: AN INTERVIEW WITH ROBERT FITZPATRICK
On December, 4, 2006, Robert FitzPatrick, Co-author of the book, False Profits, and the founder of Pyramid Scheme Alert, was interviewed on public radio, WFAE, Charlotte, NC. The 55-minute interview covers many aspects of multi-level marketing. For consumers interested in an overview of the scams, tricks and myths surrounding multi-level marketing, this interview provides a good primer course. -- MP3 Recording

Hear a Speech to Goverment Regulators and Private Investigators about MLM Frauds

In 2006, Robert L. FitzPatrick, President of Pyramid Scheme Alert and author of False Profits, was a featured speaker at the annual meeting of the Association of Certified Fraud Specialists in San Francisco. The presentation is 50 minutes in length. MP3

Support Pyramid Scheme Alert

If you have ever

• been fleeced in an MLM and then been categorized as a 'loser'
• discovered your upline's income really came from selling you tapes, seminars and false hopes
• been concerned at what this US 'export' does in third world countries

please support PSA. Your contributions will help us to maintain this website, and continue our research, our lobbying efforts, and our programs to educate consumers and regulators about pyramid scheme fraud.