Primary the Ruling Class Review: US political pyramid scheme

Primary the Ruling Class’ MLM opportunity launched in late 2018.

Primary the Ruling Class itself is a Political Action Committee, co-founded by Todd Workman and Bill Luznicky.

Of the two Luznicky appears to be the face of the PAC.

Seeing as this obviously isn’t a standard review, I’ll let Luznicky explain what Primary the Ruling Class is all about.

A video titled “5 minute PRC into 2 0” was uploaded to Primary the Ruling Class’ YouTube channel on July 2018.

The video description for the video reads:

Introduction to the Primary the Ruling Class movement

In the video Primary the Ruling Class founder Bill Luznicky claims

There are thousands of people going online every week to check us out. And we’ll ultimately have tens of thousands of members, joining together to stand up to the anti-American forces fighting against our President.

Since 2018, Primary the Ruling Class’ video has attracted 77 views.

Luznicky goes on to detail Primary the Ruling Class’ MLM business model.

Here’s a transcript of the relevant parts:

[0:27] If you don’t have the ability to invest a little bit of time and a little bit of money, you might as well turn this off right now.

On the other hand, if the future of your country is that important to you, I’ll show you how you can make a difference – and possibly even earn a significant residual income in the process.

[3:13] We’ve assembled a team of highly-skilled individuals and we have a sense of urgency.

So we’re going to do everything we can to build the organization as fast as possible.

That means that we’re going to borrow from the business world, and install a compensation plan that rewards people who garner donations and build the team.

This is how it works: You make a modest donation to PRC PAC, and we’ll give you a “Grow the Movement” kit that includes all kinds of cool things.

In addition, you agree to generate a small automatic monthly donation. It can come from you or other people.

And, by the way, we have a system that can help identify an almost unlimited number of like-minded individuals.

When you do this, it makes you an independent affiliate member of PRC PAC.

Now this is the fun part: Go out and find at least two other people to do just what you did.

[4:15] With our help you’re going to create two teams.

As the people you sponsor recruit their own two, your teams can start to grow exponentially.

[4:32] In the real world, nothing spurs people into action like getting paid.

So we’re going to pay you to sponsor people. And you don’t have to stop at just two.

Anyone extra you sponsor you can just place down underneath someone already on your team.

And that will make them very happy. It makes everyone happy because we’re not only going to pay you a bonus on everyone you personally sponsor, we’re going to pay you ongoing overrides on the donations generated by everyone on your team.

Now there’s a formula we follow, and you should read the compensation plan for details.

But basically, the larger your teams the more overrides you can earn.

Luznicky claims Primary the Ruling Class has a “conservative, pro Trump and pro the ‘Make America Great Again’ agenda”.

Luznicky’s connection to MLM appears to be Zrii circa 2010:

How long Luznicky was with Zrii for is unclear. Going further back, I found this excerpt on Luznicky’s MLM history;

Bill has enjoyed 25 years of success in the network or internet marketing industry and began his career before there was an internet.

As a matter of fact when he started there were no PCs, fax machines were all the rage, and most people couldn’t afford cell phones.

What was more important than technology however, was understanding people well enough to build large teams.

When he first started he didn’t have these skills and understanding – but he was fortunate to have great teachers.

By implementing simple skills and strategies in his first company he was able to build a full-time residual income that lasted 17 years.

By the time Bill joined his third company, FaceBook and Twitter were becoming social media superstars and everyone was talking about how technology would revolutionize the industry.

While fully embracing the new technologies, Bill applied those same time-tested strategies and people skills to earn over $10,000 his first month and be instrumental in setting growth records for that company.

When Bill joined his fourth company smartphones and iPads were all that people used and he again applied those same skills to earn over $100,000 in his first 90 days there.

None of those four companies are named. Note I haven’t linked to the source for the above copy as it’s currently flagged as unsafe (broken SSL certificate).

According to his personal Twitter profile, Luznicky is based out of Dallas, Texas.

Read on for a full review of Primary the Ruling Class’ MLM opportunity.

Primary the Ruling Class’ Products

With respect to their MLM opportunity, Primary the Ruling Class has no retailable products or services.

Primary the Ruling Class affiliates solicit political donations and sell Primary the Ruling Class affiliate membership.

Primary the Ruling Class’ Compensation Plan

This breakdown of Primary the Ruling Class’ compensation plan is based on official documentation provided on their website.

Primary the Ruling Class pays commissions on

• recruitment of affiliates;
• ongoing monthly donations; and
• one-time donations

Primary the Ruling Class affiliate membership is

• $97 a month;
• $1075 annually;
• $1776 for two years; or
• $2999 for “lifetime” membership

Primary the Ruling Class affiliates are expected to maintain a monthly donation autoship of $97, or solicit monthly donations from non-affiliates.

Primary the Ruling Class Affiliate Ranks

There are nine affiliate ranks within Primary the Ruling Class’ compensation plan.

Along with their respective qualification criteria, they are as follows:

• IAM – sign up as a Primary the Ruling Class affiliate and maintain 75 CV in autoship or 150 CV in combined volume
• Qualified IAM – recruit two IAMs (placed on on both sides of the binary team) and have earned one step
• Director – maintain two personally recruited IAMs, solicit and maintain two non-affiliate monthly donors, have earned three steps and generate a total downline of at least fifteen IAMs
• Senior Director – maintain two personally recruited IAMs, solicit and maintain four non-affiliate monthly donors, maintain a 75 CV autoship order or generate 150 CV through combined volume and have earned twenty steps
• Bronze – personally recruit and maintain four Qualified IAMs, maintain four non-affiliate monthly donors, maintain a 75 CV autoship order or generate 150 CV through combined volume and be earning twenty-seven steps a month
• Silver – personally recruit and maintain six Qualified IAMs, solicit and maintain six non-affiliate monthly donors, maintain a 75 CV autoship order or generate 150 CV through combined volume and be earning twenty-seven steps a month
• Gold – maintain six personally recruited Qualified IAMs, maintain ten personally solicited non-affiliate monthly donors, maintain a 75 CV autoship order or generate 150 CV through combined volume and be earning one hundred and thirty-four steps a month
• Platinum – maintain six personally recruited Qualified IAMs, have two Gold ranked affiliates in your downline (one on both sides of the binary team), maintain ten personally solicited non-affiliate monthly donors, maintain a 75 CV autoship order or generate 150 CV through combined volume and be earning two hundred steps a month
• Diamond – maintain six personally recruited Qualified IAMs, have two Platinum ranked affiliates in your downline (one on both sides of the binary team), maintain ten personally solicited non-affiliate monthly donors, maintain a 75 CV autoship order or generate 150 CV through combined volume and be earning two hundred and sixty-six steps a month

CV stands for “commissionable volume” and counts donations made by an affiliate and non-affiliates they solicit.

CV is calculated at 75% of funds invested.

For information on steps see “Residual Commissions” below.

“Combined Volume” (not to be confused with CV), consists of an affiliate’s own autoship and personally solicited non-affiliate donations.

Investment and CV is not a 1:1 conversion. An exact conversion isn’t provided, with Primary the Ruling Class only stating that “CV and actual dollars may be different”.

Note that from Bronze rank, Primary the Ruling Class affiliates must

be actively involved in supporting your downline and promoting the Primary the Ruling Class agenda.

Specific details are not provided.

Recruitment Commissions

Primary the Ruling Class pays a $50 commission per affiliate recruited.

A $100 commission is paid if a recruited affiliate upgrades to a more expensive membership tier.

A $150 commission is also paid “for each Lead the Movement Package that you personally sell to a new IAM”. I’m not really sure what constitutes “a lead”.

Finally there’s a $500 recruitment bonus paid if a Qualified IAM recruits two Qualified IAMs (placed one on both sides of the binary team), within six months of signing up.

One-Time Donation Commissions

If a Primary the Ruling Class affiliate solicits a one-time donation of $1000 or more, they receive a 7% commission on that donation.

Residual Commissions

Primary the Ruling Class pays residual commissions via a binary compensation structure.

A binary compensation structure places an affiliate at the top of a binary team, split into two sides (left and right):

The first level of the binary team houses two positions. The second level of the binary team is generated by splitting these first two positions into another two positions each (4 positions).

Subsequent levels of the binary team are generated as required, with each new level housing twice as many positions as the previous level.

Positions in the binary team are filled via direct and indirect recruitment of affiliates. Note there is no limit to how deep a binary team can grow.

At the end of each day Primary the Ruling Class tallies up new donation volume on both sides of the binary team.

Residual commissions are paid out based on “steps” generated on an affiliate’s weaker binary team side (the side with less donation volume).

Donation volume is tracked in Commissionable Volume (CV).

A step is generated for every 500 CV in donation volume on the weaker binary team side.

The residual commission rate per step generated is based on rank:

• Qualified IAM’s earn $30 per step generated
• Directors and Senior Directors earn $50 per step generated
• Bronze and higher earn $75 per step generated

Note that Primary the Ruling Class’ compensation plan states affiliates are capped at earning up to 40 steps a day.

The “full compensation plan” documentation details the following monthly restrictions:

• Senior Directors can earn up to 27 steps a month
• Bronzes can earn up to 54 steps a month
• Golds can earn up to 200 steps a month
• Platinums and higher can earn up to 266 steps a month

I’ve provided both for reference as it’s unclear whether the daily or monthly cap applies.

Rank Achievement Bonus

Bronze and higher Primary the Ruling Class affiliates qualify for one-time Rank Achievement Bonuses:

• qualify at Bronze for three consecutive months and receive $2000
• qualify at Silver for three consecutive months and receive $4000
• qualify at Gold for three consecutive months and receive $10,000 plus Leadership Council eligibility
• qualify at Platinum for three consecutive months and receive $25,000
• qualify at Diamond for three consecutive months and receive $50,000

Note that no information about the Leadership Council is provided.

Primary the Ruling Class’ compensation plan also states:

An IAM that has purchased a minimum of 600CV and maintains ‘Qualified IAM’ status has now met the minimum requirement to receive Leadership Bonuses.

This suggests that an additional 600 CV in personal affiliate donations must be made.

Based on CV being an undisclosed lesser percentage of dollar donations, this would tie Leadership Bonus qualification to a minimum $600 personal donation.

Car Bonus

As per Primary the Ruling Class’ compensation plan material;

You must generate a minimum of 75CV in AutoShip orders during the qualifying and effective months to be eligible for the Car Bonus.

Month to month Car Bonus qualification is tiered as follows:

• earn 54 steps in a month and receive a $400 Car Bonus for that month
• earn 80 steps in a month and receive a $600 Car Bonus for that month
• earn 106 steps in a month and receive an $800 Car Bonus for that month
• earn 134 steps in a month and receive a $1000 Car Bonus for that month
• earn 160 steps in a month and receive a $1200 Car Bonus for that month

Joining Primary the Ruling Class

Primary the Ruling Class affiliate membership is

• $97 a month;
• $1075 annually;
• $1776 for two years; or
• $2999 for “lifetime” membership

Primary the Ruling Class affiliates can bypass “Active IAM” qualification by making an additional “lump-sum donation of $12,000 or more”.

Primary the Ruling Class Conclusion

Primary the Ruling Class is the first political MLM I’ve seen (click to enlarge).

The core issue here is whether “retail” donations are the equivalent of retail sales.

Primary the Ruling Class’ compensation plan is definitely set up in that manner, with one easily able to substitute retail customers for non-affiliate donors.

I’m going with non-affiliate donors aren’t retail customer equivalents. Reason being retail customers have to purchase a product or service.

By donating to a political organisation you aren’t receiving either.

I did find Primary the Ruling Class selling coffee (the only thing more cliched would be nutritional supplements), however it has nothing to do with their MLM opportunity.

Typically when we see “donations” and “MLM” together it’s cash gifting. Thankfully in Primary the Ruling Class that’s not the case.

What is evident however is that Primary the Ruling Class is set up as a pyramid scheme.

Recruitment commissions aren’t tied to rank. Even if one pretends non-affiliate donors are a retail customer equivalent, one can sign up as a Primary the Ruling Class affiliate, go on autoship and get paid to recruit others who do the same.

And this is clearly what is intended, as evidenced by donating 75 CV a month yourself as an affiliate, or having to source double that from non-affiliates.

If Primary the Ruling Class was a product/service orientated MLM, that penalty would build a strong case for autoship recruitment.

In anticipation of readers unfamiliar with MLM due-diligence reading this review, this would equate to a pyramid scheme.

While Primary the Ruling Class isn’t product/service orientated, it’s still able to run as a pyramid scheme by virtue of adopting a traditional MLM compensation plan.

Finally there’s Primary the Ruling Class’ shady Founder’s Leadership Pool, which incentivizes donation to the tune of $173,152:

To qualify for the Founder’s Pool, Primary the Ruling Class affiliates had to:

1. “build a prelaunch team” (generate a downline of 100 active IAMs during prelaunch circa 2018);
2. donate $12,000 or more to Primary the Ruling Class; or
3. loan Primary the Ruling Class $40,000.

The Founder’s Pool itself is made up of 1% total Primary the Ruling Class donation volume (CV equivalent).

Anyone who went for the $40,000 loan option was promised a 200% ROI from a separate 1% Founder’s Pool:

Individuals making a qualifying loan will receive the title and recognition of Founders Bonus Pool qualifiers and will achieve Lifetime Active IAM status, but will NOT participate in the bonus pool payout – they will alternatively qualify for the following repayment terms:

They will receive 1% of PRC’s new monthly CV every month for the first 12 months after PRC’s Official Launch Date.

The accumulated repayment may exceed the original amount of the loan, however, it will be capped at $80,000.

In the event that the full amount of the original loan has not been fully repaid by the end of twelve months, the monthly 1% payout will continue until full repayment is accomplished.

Bonus recipients must remain Active in the PRC Compensation Plan to receive the monthly payout.

A 200% passive ROI tied to an MLM company drags Primary the Ruling Class into potential securities fraud territory. Neither Primary the Ruling Class, Todd Workman or Bill Luznicky are registered with the SEC.

I came across Primary the Ruling Class via a Colorado Times Recorder article by Erik Maulbetsch.

My original article working title was “A US political org is running a pyramid scheme”. I was expecting a simple recruitment structure.

When I found Primary the Ruling Class was running a full-blown MLM comp plan though, I switched to publication of a full review.

Citing Federal Electoral Commission records, Maulbetsch writes;

Federal Election Commission records show that PRC PAC hasn’t made a single independent expenditure or donation to another committee since its inception in 2018.

That doesn’t mean it hasn’t been spending donors’ money, however. The group classifies all of its spending as “Other Expenditures.”

According to FEC records, nearly all of the money raised by PRC PAC has been paid out to a single company, Medsabi LLC, which is owned by Luznicky.

In the 2017-2018 election, PRC PAC raised about $11,000 and spent all of it. Of that amount, $10,000 went to Medsabi.

For the 2019-2020 cycle, PRC PAC raised and spent approximately $52,000, paying Luznicky’s company $50,000.

In the first five months of 2021, Primary the Ruling Class has raised $44,000 –  “nearly half” of which has gone to Luznicky’s company Medsabi.

Admittedly US political law isn’t my forte. I do know running pyramid schemes however is illegal.

By extension I would assume running a political pyramid scheme, in which a founder is the primary beneficiary is also illegal.

When asked by the Colorado Times Recorded about Primary the Ruling Class’ MLM business model, Luznicky

denies that the PAC function like a multi-level or “network marketing” business.

He expressed surprise that the document quoted above was on the website.

Which of course makes absolutely no sense, seeing as Luznicky literally features in a 2018 marketing video pitching Primary the Ruling Class’ MLM opportunity (see introduction of this review).

While the author of Primary the Ruling Class’ website isn’t credited, the message on the right appears on every compensation page:

Given his decades of MLM experience, Luznicky would certainly have the know-how to put all of this together.

But uh yeah, let’s play dumb.

Best case scenario? Primary the Ruling Class is operating as a pyramid scheme not in violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act.

Worst case scenario? Primary the Ruling Class is operating as a pyramid scheme, with at least half of donated funds being funneled into Bill Luznicky’s back-pocket through Medsabi LLC.

This likely isn’t going to end well.