Nerium @ BehindMLM

Following a bench trial held last October, the Northern District Court of Texas began deliberation on FTC v. Neora. On September 28th the court handed down its findings, ruling in favor of Neora.

The FTC hopes a recent victory against Success by Health will factor into a pending decision in litigation against Neora.

The FTC v. Neora trial kicked off on October 17th and has been playing out. The FTC filed suit against Neora (then Nerium) back in 2019. The regulator alleges Neora is a pyramid scheme.

The Direct Selling Association is terrified Neora is going to lose its upcoming FTC trial. In an amicus brief filed on September 16th, the DSA pleads with the court to consider the ramifications of a pyramid scheme losing to the FTC at trial.

On July 27th the FTC moved for a three-week continuance of their scheduled trial against Neora. The court denied the motion on August 5th, meaning unless a settlement is reached, the parties are on track for a courtroom showdown.

The FTC claims the Supreme Court’s AMG decision has cost consumer a staggering $1.5 billion. The losses were realized through various fraudulent schemes, with the AMG decision leaving the FTC unable to effectively hold scammers accountable.

The FTC has been denied monetary relief in their fraud case against Neora. The decision is undoubtedly a blow to the regulator’s enforcement efforts.

Last December a settlement report revealed that, despite engaging for over a year, the FTC and Neora were unable to reach a settlement. In the wake of the AMG Supreme Court decision, both parties were directed to file a “Joint Report regarding Alternative Dispute Resolution”.

Despite negotiations taking place for over a year, at present a settlement between the FTC and Neora looks unlikely. As per a settlement report filed on December 9th, the parties advise;

As per the FTC’s Neora case docket, a three-week bench trial has been scheduled for October 11th, 2022. No that’s not a typo, the trial is two years away.