Polaris Media distributors still misleading Australia
Since Liberty League changed over to Polaris Media Group there has been much talk and insistence by Polaris supporters that Polaris is now truly about the retail products and building a retail business for yourself.
Gone are the days of promised incomes, building a sales pyramid and luring people into the business opportunity with misleading information.
A few days ago I went to check my mail and there was a little bit of paper sitting in the mailbox. As I glanced over it and walked over to the recycle bin I paused for a second and realised I might be looking at my first ever Polaris Media distributor flyer.
I’d heard rumours of Polaris flyers in widespread circulation up in Queensland and NSW but to date had not actually seen any Polaris paraphernalia down here in Melbourne.
As I got inside I went over to the computer and punched in the web address, sure enough good old Unified Wealth Solutions came up.
Now at this point I’d have most likely just thrown the flyer in the bin and left it at that. There’s hundreds of Polaris Media Group distributors marketing the same products to Australia and I certainly don’t need to write about each and every one of them.
What caught my eye with this particular advertisement was the marketing. The same nonsensical claims that got Liberty League into trouble with the Australian authorities are still being used to promote Polaris Media Group.
Now the flyer itself, the very entry point of exposure to Polaris by a distributor, makes the claim that it’s possible to earn $50,000 a month. It’s a bold claim and very much in breach of the Polaris Media Group advertising guidelines which state;
No income claims are allowed in any advertising or marketing, including testimonials. No dollar amounts are allowed in any type of advertising.
The following income claims are prohibited: “six figure income” “executive income” “CEO income” “turn your yearly salary into your monthly salary” “earn ($ amount) per year/per week.”
No Advertisements may link Company products to any claims of income or guarantees.
The ‘Next Massive Boom’ website itself doesn’t get any better. Run by Nicholas Tang and Yi Li the domain nextmassiveboom.com redirects to a standard Unified Wealth Solutions website where more claims are made.
I am Nicholas Tang and my wife’s name is Yi Li.We were both working in our corporate jobs earning six-figure income.
A self-made millionaires (sic) shared with me a full-proof, easy to duplicate system with a huge income potential.
Tap into a lucrative home-based business system that is 10,000 times more powerful than MLM and can be worked from anywhere!
As you can see this is a far cry from the ‘new’ Polaris media group in which supposedly distributors are focusing on the retail arms of the business.
Bottom Line: I teach people how to make money.
At least Tang is honest in admitting Polaris has nothing to do with personal development or selling retail products.
Staunch supporter of Polaris Media Group ‘Josep’ recently stated:
The intention of pmg from my understanding is to have consistent base of distributors with an ever expanding base of retail customers. I feel the 5 to 10 million dollars per year income will be achieved with a large retail base of customers. It may sound unrealistic to you, but your example of the recruiting progression to me is unrealistic.
How people will choose to run their enterprise? I do not know.
As someone who might not know anything about Polaris Media Group, I just got a leaflet in the mail that redirects me to a website selling me a “huge income potential”. At no point are the retail products mentioned or explained.
Instead, as with Liberty League I am encouraged to leave my contact details at which point someone
will personally contact you within 24-48 hours to conduct a brief interview and let you in on the Unified Wealth Solutions System so you require to make a confident, educated decision (sic).
Sounds awfully familiar doesn’t it?
Tang also mentions the ‘7 Figure Alliance’ on his website:
Plug into a team self-made millionaires (the 7 Figure Alliance) who are willing to show you everything they know about making money.
A simple google search revealed the website for the 7 Figure Alliance. Those familiar with Polaris Media Group will instantly recognise the EMC members featured at the top of the page. What was interesting is that the page hasn’t had it’s copyright updated since 2007, leading me to believe it was perhaps defunct.
However, the first result in a google search (the 7 Figure Alliance website is actually the second) is Polarismarketing.org, run out of Queensland, Australia by Ian Gundrill. You can see the publicly available whois information for the domain here:
Registrant Name:Ian Gundrill
Yes, I too wondered why his tweets are protected, hiding them seems kind of odd for an internet marketer.
The PolarisMarketing page that mentions the 7 Figure Alliance has since been modified to read the ‘Executive Alliance’, however Google is still caching the old version.
Given it was cached on September 21st, after Polaris Media Group was launched I’d say it’s definitely current.
For those unfamiliar with Unified Wealth Solutions, they were the ‘reccomended’ cookie cutter website creation system for Liberty League associates and were spruiked by EMC members.
Why?
Because they all had a financial stake in it.
Shannon Lavenia (who recently invited people to join her in doing a Scientology course), lists herself as a co-owner of Unified Wealth Solutions on her LinkedIn profile:
Co-Owner
Unified Wealth Solutions LLC. – (Marketing and Advertising industry)
October 2007 — Present (2 years 1 month)
We provide superior marketing tools and education to associates of Liberty League International.
This E-zine article also associates Polaris EMC members John Lavenia, Tony Rush, Wendy Stevens (no longer with Polaris) and Gene Braxton (these are the guys who’s photos are at the top of the 7 Figure Alliance website) with UWS but I’d take it with a grain of salt. E-zine articles are usually unverified and widely used by marketers to flood search engines with favourable “articles”.
So what can we draw from all this information?
Well for starters the claim that Polaris Media Group is all about the retail products is a lie. Nicholas Tang claims on Next Massive Boom that “a self-made millionaires (sic) shared with me a full-proof, easy to duplicate system with a huge income potential”.
Polaris distributors are well known for following systems and if he’s doing it, they’re all doing it. What’s more is that, as clearly shown above, Tang’s “system” is easily traced back to the Polaris EMC leader group.
What we have here is the same dodgy claims and marketing being used that got Liberty League into hot water in Australia in the first place. Worse still it’s seemingly all approved by Polaris Media Group’s compliance team!
At just under two months of trading as Polaris Media Group (I received the flyer just this week) I have to admit it took a lot less time for distributors to relapse back into pushing the income opportunity then I thought it would.
I can’t wait to read the explanations and excuses given as to why.
I might also add that the Polaris Media Group ning forum is back to its old ways (or never really changed).
One of the guys, James from Sydney, who is “so excited” about being a part of PMG recently asked for financial help. As expected, Tony “Delete” Rush was quick to remove the thread, for obvious reasons.
When visiting his jbagsolutions.com website, he claims: “What I offer is a business with a 5-year proven track record.”
Later on in his flat-tone audio spiel he also encourages you to join and be a part of “creating our exciting results”.
Since when was being in debt “exciting”?
Also, his site, just like Nicholas Tang’s, mentions nothing about Polaris Media’s products.
Regular readers here might recognise James as the guy who falsified loan documentation to finance his FIRST loan when under the Liberty League banner. He was the guy ‘borrowing for a nose job’.
Seems being part of Polaris hasn’t helped him any as he is now broke and in a bit of a hole, desperate enough to beg for money on the ning forum.
Wouldn’t you think, having lost all of his initial ‘investment’, that he would think twice about borrowing again?
Well this is what happens when your business mentors are telling you that to ‘give up is to fail’. What other bullshit are these poor people being fed??
I feel for James. He is probably still convinced that if he pumps enough money into this scam, he will eventually make the big bucks and recoup all of his borrowings. The fact is that he has more than likely ‘missed the boat’ and is simply too far down the pyramid to ever make any decent money.
Give it up James.
I too occasionally read the PMG fourm. I read the one about James begging people for a loan. What is so sad it that he’s probably never going to get out of debt. No telling how much he owes. I knew Mr. Rush would delete it. I do remember him bragging about forging documents in order to obtain a loan.
Man that Youtube video is bad. Firstly you have to sit through all those mouse clicking noises in the background and then this happens:
I think some of these six figure income people need to spend some money on an education. As an aside did anyone else notice all the empty chairs when they welcomed Tony Rush back to the stage lol?
Interesting choice of tshirt to wear at a Polaris event too: “I’m probably not listening to you”. If only it were true.
I notice all his ‘holiday snaps’ are from Polaris events, if this gentleman truly is in debt he’s sure living the ‘fake it till you make it mantra’.
At the risk of sounding cruel, perhaps this could have been money well spent. Seriously that thing is freaking huge.
how can you check out the forums ?????
It’s obvious you have a bone to grind with PMG don’t know if it’s from personal experience or you are just looking to pick on… like in everything in life there are some bad apples in the bunch, however it is unfair to throw a wet blanket on the whole community.
I happen to think that PMG’s products are good and genuinly help a lot of people personaly and financialy.
So, I suggest you get over yourself and look a little deeper into the community.
That is the biggest crock. A crock which I unfortunately pushed as you are now, until I just could not ignore the sheer amoount of people (especially families) going into SEVERE debt.
The “product” are shite.
The reason they appear to “help” people is because when you are told you can earn 50k per month, you feel like you have won the lottery.
You could pretty much push ANYTHING to people in that frame of mind.
And my “bone to gring” is the lies told by the people at the top of the PYRAMID SCHEME to get people’s cash.
I hope you snap out of it soon.
ps: Out of curiousity, how much money has come into YOUR bank account, and how much have you shelled out?
Think about it.
ignore my spelling- I need coffee 😛
Tang claims to be following a ‘system’, where do you think he got this ‘sytem’ from. I can tell you now he didn’t make it up himself.
If he’s following the ‘system’ I think it’s safe to say he’s not the only one.
In other news it seems Polaris are fortifying their resources in marketing, social media and government affairs.
What exactly is a Government Affairs Office? Sounds to me like troubled times ahead.
You’re not saying anything that hasn’t already been said, over and over…
You probably can’t anymore. Your account has to be approved first.
Received the above via email.
@Batya
Do you mean by “bad apples” Nicholas Tang and Yi Li?
‘Of all the mailboxes, in all the world, they had to drop it into mine?’
What are the *odds* that the only ‘bad apples’ in the whole world just happen to drop their flyer into, of all people, Oz’s? As Judge Judy rants “If it doesn’t make *sense*, it isn’t *true*!”. Such a one-off coincidence is mathematically implasuable. Bad luck way beyond chance.
Given that their marketing was randomly encountered and looks for all the world like a continuation of LLI methods, it is not unreasonable to conclude that the renaming of LLI to PMG is simply a ruse to attempt to distance the organisation from the adverse DoFT finding, and that it’s otherwise business as usual.
And really, “genuinly help a lot of people personaly and financialy”? Can’t you afford a modern wordpro with real-time spellchecker? {I mean, I know I can’t, but what about FITUMI?}
Now I know almost nothing about Marketing, but I have picked up at least one idea – *First Impressions*, and *Presentation*. I’m a total slob, but you do not meet a client still with puke down your front from last night. You do not publish a flyer full of scrambled English like Tang, and you do not post to a forum defending your enterprise with “genuinly help a lot of people personaly and financialy”. All of these things are a no-no because they ALIENATE the client (or in this case audience).
I’m not having a cheap go at you because you can’t spell, English is a godawful language to learn as they go, but I AM having a go at you for lacking even the most fundamental PR skills I would consider a vital basis for Marketing. Utterly basic.
It may seem trivial, unfair, or something else, that I mention this, but if you take the time to read the other LLI/PMG related threads you may notice that English skills are not strong in the LLI/PMG crowd. This means to me that they don’t read much, which in turn means that they are not exposed to a wide range of differing opinions, and are not strong in coping with argument or debate.
I make no claims to being any kind of ‘businessman’, but after a lifetime as an employee, a partnership, then turning OP’s business’ around, finally running my own consultancy into semi-retirement; most of the LLI/PMG’ers who have posted here seem like babes in the woods. Starry-eyed optimalists who don’t have a clue.
There is a huge practical difference between selling a Personal Development package, and toilet paper.
Repeat business.
It’s a dead-set killer. Everybody has to eat, drink, crap, die. And apart from the latter certainty, everybody has to do the rest every day of their lives. I watched a couple take a crap milkbar, morph it into a popular coffee lounge, then into a killer steakhouse in three years, then tour Europe on the excess proceeds. Get real.
You may now think I’m trying to be unkind and hurtful, when actually I’m trying to warn somebody who is perhaps not very worldly wise or business experienced, who has a nine-in-ten chance of ending their association with LLI/PMG deeply in debt and with their self esteem totally shredded.
I can’t speak for Oz, but I certainly have a ‘thing’ about people being swindled out of money they can ill-afford (and some of the posts I’ve seen are heart wrenching, no job, 100k debt, broken marrage, &c), and much worse, convinced that it’s ALL THEIR OWN FAULT. In one sense the latter is a really brilliant ‘out’ for a con job. All swindle victims feel a bit stupid, but this raises exploiting it to a fine art.
And that, folks, is just about the ONLY good bit of real Marketing I’ve seen from this bunch so far. Convincing people to part with the money is one thing, but this escape-hatch ‘closure’ is a real gem.
I just have to say that my wife was involved with Liberty league and did very, very well. We also attended some of the conferences in The Bahamas and mexico and met people we know who WERE making $20,000 per month and more. I have no doubt Liberty league was a great and simple internet marketing program that made a good number of nice people a respectable amount of money. OK not everyone but thats life I know real estate agents who were making $32000 even in the boom times, thats human nature some will some won’t. The main critics of LL seem to be those who are trying to sell you another business because they did not make the grade in LL. As for Polaris I am worried about this conection with a cult if Shane is a member well thats OK thats his personal belief and he is entitled to believe what he wants. However if Polaris is actively promoting a dangerous cult I would be concerned and would like more info on this.
Regards Derek
Derek , ok she made the good money probably by sweet talking and sucking in other people ,the same way she was , really , there’s nothing to sell????, just seminars that cost a fortune …….whats the product ?????? you’re just ripping off people , they then join up , to try and get their money back , then they in turn ripp off other people , and so it goes on and on and on , some haven’t got the heart to manipiulate others and lose out….
I have to agree totally with Roly on this point. Anything I have posted in regard to PMG/LLI has been done with a genuine regard for those people who for whatever reason, have been involved in the lower levels of the scam. I have been involved in business for nearly 30 years and have seen just about every shonky deal possible. I just hate to see someone who really wants to do some good work for their family and their community fall prey to sharks whose only aim is to fleece them. There really is no defense for business practices such as those employed by LLI/PMG and it is up to those of us who run real businesses to expose the charlatans for the bastards they are.
@ Derek Cross.
Are you still involved with LLI/PMG? You infer the past tense, just interested to know if your wife is as successfull with the new format??
I’ve no doubt that if you had got on the pyramid early enough, you would have made money with LLI or any other pyramid scheme. Unfortunately, as Oz has pointed out many times here, that success cannot be sustained as the numbers required downline, just do not happen.
I think you will find, on this forum at least, that the majority posting against PMG/LLI are either former members that have lost money or just very concerned readers. The standard LLI/PMG impression is allways to blame the opposition for negativity… don’t assume that is happening here.
Not if you already have one 😉
An interesting read from the Forum on what was Liberty League Life (Now Polaris something-or-other).
Tony Rush banging on about how EASY it is to generate leads…..yet advisors are sending out emails asking you to join a $500 per month marketing “campaign” in which they give you leads? If its’s so easy, why would you want to buy them?
Just another contradiction from Polaris. Anyways, Tony Rush rant below. Enjoy!
Hi oz. Send me your email addy. I got some info you’ll want to put on this site.
I am thrilled as my advisor has returned her profit from my Liberty Conference ticket. Don’t think I will be quite so lucky with PMG compliance.
Gday sas, my email address is available from the sidebar on the top right of the page.
Hey congrats. At least your advisor had the decency to give your money back. Thats fantastic news. I too tried getting my liberty conference ticket, but there was no budging there.
I to was nearly sucked into this system, having answered a advertisment in my local paper, after a 10 min call to “see if I qualified”I was then moved up to a conference call, where you hear from a whole bunch of people claiming to earn 50,000 in 2 months. I must say I very nearly bought into it all and almost forked out the $3000 start up cost, but thank god for google and common sense!!!! Please people steer clear of this scam, thats all it is, lets face it if something seems to good to be true trust your gut!!!!!
Derek Cross
So Derek, If you and your wife were so successful with Liberty League I would like you to pause for a moment and think about all of the money you raked in from the people that could ill afford it, the marriages destroyed etc!!!
I dont think you will though up there on your high and mighty horse.
Leah, these are the same people each time. Usually members of the EMC.
Most memebers that earn buggerall are v.annoyed at this…the EMC are always the ones being “called out” to speak. Oh-so-spontaneous huh?
Trust me, I had to listen to enough of these ridiculous calls when I had invited people to come onto the conference call.
I am pleased to say that most did their research and got on the net…thus never logging in to the call.
I wish I wasn’t so naive..
Can “was scammed” tell us how to go about getting that (partial) refund? My nephew attended two overseas “conferences” during the year, at huge cost, before realising that it was all just a scam. Rather than saying “I told you so” I’d like to be able to point him in the direction of a partial refund.
Can you please advise what action you took, I would love to know so I can commence action towards my recovery!!
Also I asked this question on another thread, does anyone know of anyone who has sought out compensation or reimbursement or even a class action here in Australia against them. I would love to hear from them or any advice!!
Hi Stan,
I got my refund from my advisor after contacting the office of fair trading – I gave them all her details. Not sure if this prompted her to refund money. Luckily for me is she has made a fair bit of money from Liberty league.
I would love to join a class action against PMG as they will not hand over a cent.
Thanks for the details, do I contact my own state or hers, she lives in NSW and I am in QLD. I will be doing this first thing on Monday morning, I thought about emailing her but instead now I think I will just go this route! I too would love to join a class action!!
Not sure Cripes! Although NSW Department of Fair Trading are really keen to get as many people as possible to complain as they can take more action.
I have all the forms ready to send away to take them to a tribunal.
Another fact which is interesting is my friend got refunded her ticket to Supercharged Saturday and all her subscription monies. I haven’t got a cent. I think there are now too many of us demanding our money back.
I would email your advisor as well (which i did). She might have a conscience. The problem with a lot of the advisors is that they may not have the money to pay back as I can’t imagine they are making much now.
Thanks “was scammed” I will contact the one here in QLD and see what they say! It might actually pay for me to contact both states!! My advisor is part of the “EMC” and her and her husband have made a lot of money so im not worried about her not having the money to give back but I am worried about her attitude and refusal to do so. But what do I have to lose right, definitely no more money to them!! How did your friend manage to get all that back, was she just new and hadn’t been around very long???
I am also very interested to know more about the tribunal process you refer to!
I’ve noticed a few people claim that the old Beyond Freedom really did make a difference in their lives and I think, jokes about trigger cases aside, this is one of the biggest shames.
I have no idea how the current Beyond Freedom stuff stacks up against the old but it seems for some people there was some value to be had with the old.
Had it not have been bundled with a shonky business opportunity I think it’s sad the few people it might have helped aren’t comfortable using it anymore.
Most poeple I know who have have had any contact with this – know it is a sceintology front and a scam. It amases me just how seductive this thing can be – and was to myself also. They are still pushing all the scientology crap – “at cause”, etc etc etc
I also understand that they flew all the EMC to Scotsdale this last weekend for a crisis meeting – but no doubt didnt call it that. I know that they are trying to trim costs of their “shows” – sorry events – obviously because the money stream is drying up. A lot of the big hitters have left for another company after refusing to join the Church of Scientology – I know personally of one prominent producer who has left after being hit up by Krider himself at the Aug Supersaturday to join the church. This company to not survive.
the rumor now is that SHannon Lavinea has resigned.
Sure this is a rumour, seriously she’s gone to????
Well I for one had no idea until Friday just gone when I promptly started severing all ties. You are right, I think the reason it was so “seductive” as you put it is because they bring you in under something that is known globally and was and still is a phenomenal movement being “The Secret” or “Law Of Attraction”. That is how they advertise, that is what they push in the beginning, then come to think of it as I look back I don’t remember hearing much more about either of those things after your in and on their training calls!
I still believe that “network marketing” it self as a home business is an awesome way to make money from home, however, it’s Polaris that is the problem. I for one will be pursuing a refund of everything, will be interesting to see how I go!
you are right – I have found one that is a genuine network marketing biz – low entry, direct tangible benefits and workable
I haven’t heard about Shannon leaving. Wonder if she’ll move to the same company Wendy Steven is in now. Very interesting.
McDonalds??
If there is any truth in the rumor re Shannon Lavenia then the company is f*c*ed as she is/was the driving force behind marketing to a multitude of stay at home mums and women in general.
@alsothetruth.. your contributions here are valuable, please dont demean yourself by trying to plug a biz opp.
dont worry I wont Martin
I still can’t find any news of Shannon resigning.
Neither can I Michelle.
@alsothetruth Perhaps you can shed some light for us?
was told by someone i know – they may have had it wrong – who knows
I don’t think she would leave- she is one of the main driving forces behind it.
I agree with you guys, as an ex LLIer and Polaris associate that doesn’t make sense, unlike all the rest of the information that is being divulged on here!!
On the Lavenia’s though, some people really are as dumb as doughnuts….. she has told someone that I know that the course she has been promoting on facebook is not teaching scientology it is a “business school”!!! um hello… and all those dumb ass people are happy to follow this dimwit……
yee haaa – PMG has terminated my distributorship. Elena fraga has left – joined Turmp Network – she was always to nice and too honest to be involved this these conartists. Ellery Bennet is actively involved in something else as is Steve Linton!! I know these has facts. All the rats are leaving the Sicking sip. Also I believe The EMC member from NZ is being investgated by the NZ Authorities
Things are getting hot …
I have had threats of legal action from a prominent blonde, in every sence, EMC member who uses to much spray on tan.
Serious poeple if you are considering joining this crowd – if you have an integrity and self respect ..DONT. If you like ripping ppl blind – well you may make money for a little while until they fold – but I guess with the Church of Scientology behind them – they could keep this scam going for years….
The Lavenias leaving doesn’t make much sense to me as they seem right at home with the Scientology stuff in promoting it.
Have to disagree with you there.
a) Almost all of the people that join leave in debt. The ones that don’t are at the top of the Pyramid, like any Pyramid Scheme, and these people got on board the train 2 years ago.
In order to succeed in any business must to offer something of value, that people actually want. Polaris has none of those attributes, as people are now discovering. Desite their flashy drone websites which offer no actual information on what you do!
b) With the church of Scientology now publicly linked to Polaris Media Group, this will be the death knell for Polaris. Human nature dentotes that we do not like to be deceived. The proof of that is in people leaving. Without people to hold up the base of the pyramid- well let’s just say it will become an anthill.
As for the threats- classic Scientology mindset of diversion.
Ignore it I say.
Im not concerned at all now – just amused – and I will be more public.
Wonder how long this message lasts on the wall at PMG Facebook?? Just a thought.
Ask your advisor if to be a success in this business do you need to get people to the events. And also ask if they need to spend their hard earned/borrowed money to get there. And what about the 85% who earn an average $13,123.92 (as stated in the PMG Income Disclosure).
Lets think about it for a sec. How much money did they spend? How many people are now in debt because of this business? I guess 85%!!
So if you are happy to wipe these people from your conscence and spend there hard earned money living the dream well then this business is for you.
Just one more thought. How many people have made big money from Polaris since its launch on the 9.9.09 from the old business model of Liberty League International??
How many of you have been told that people have been with Polaris for more than 2 months?? The PMG compensation plan is completely different!!
Better read up before Tony Rush deletes this message.
i noticed on the Polaris face book site , some concerning questions are being asked by some followers , no answers are given , and the other negative ones soon dissappear…..