Viva Life Science operated as Viva America Marketing, until it was bought by David Fan in 1989.

Fan also owns Westar Nutrition, which he purchased six months after joining “a large network marketing company” in 1984.

Both companies are based out of California in the US.

Viva America Marketing was one of Westar Nutrition’s customers. Today Fan operates both companies; Viva Life Science is the MLM opportunity through which Westar Nutrition products are sold.

I did try to ascertain which MLM company it was that Fan joined in 1989 but came up blank.

Fan (right) has a history in the finance industry and prior to getting involved in MLM, was an investment banker (1970s).

For over twenty years, VIVA Life Science has built a platform of nutritional science that is setting the standard for the industry both in the US and abroad.

In 2015 Viva Life Science was issued a warning letter by the FDA over its manufacturing practices.

Following a series of inspections in November 2014, the FDA noted

serious violations of FDA’s regulations for Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) in Manufacturing, Packaging, Labeling, or Holding Operations for Dietary Supplements.

These violations cause the dietary supplement products Viva Kids Plus, Viva Ez Kids, B-Easy, LipoGuard, and SelGuard to be adulterated …  in that they have been prepared, packed, or held under conditions that do not meet CGMP requirements for dietary supplements.

The FDA also reported labeling violations related to product expiry.

In a followup letter dated June 13th, 2018, the FDA advised Viva Life Science had satisfactorily “addressed the violations” flagged in 2015.

Read on for a full review of the Viva Life Science MLM opportunity. [Continue reading…]

I was contacted earlier today by a Magellan International investor lamenting their loss.

I was aware Magellan International had stiffed investors when they exit-scammed from the US, but out of curiosity I headed over to the company’s website.

In place of the Magellan International business website however is a “public notice”.

As above, the notice advises that as of December 15th, 2018, Magellan International has “ceased operations” globally.

Ruh-roh…  [Continue reading…]

Payza co-founder Firoz Patel has pleaded not guilty to charges relating to money laundering.

Patel also entered a plea of not guilty on behalf of Payza’s parent company, MH Pillars. [Continue reading…]

On its website SpilloverBot claims “David Fries” is Director of the company.

No information about Fries is provided, and the SpilloverBot use a generic stock photo of an office to represent him.

It is highly likely that David Fries, as represented by SpilloverBot, doesn’t exist.

The SpilloverBot website domain was privately registered on October 1st, 2018.

One thing we do learn from the registration is Shinjiru Technology Sdn Bhd  was used as the registrar.

Shinjiru Technology is a Malaysian company, potentially signalling a tie between operation of SpilloverBot and Malaysia.

As always, if an MLM company is not openly upfront about who is running or owns it, think long and hard about joining and/or handing over any money. [Continue reading…]

After roughly ten months of being a fugitive, Firoz Patel is turning himself in.

Last March Firoz and his brother Ferhan were indicted on money laundering charges related to Payza.

The DOJ alleged that through Payza, the Patel brothers laundered over $250 million dollars for “child pornography rings and other criminal enterprises”.

Some of the criminal enterprises Payza provided services for were of the MLM variety. And for a decent amount of time Payza was the go-to processor for MLM underbelly schemes. [Continue reading…]

In response to a lawsuit that alleged $250,000 in securities fraud, Wakaya Perfection filed a Motion to Dismiss.

Stated reasons in the motion were for a lack of jurisdiction, or in the alternative compel the parties to resolve the matter via arbitration.

On January 14th Wakaya Perfection’s Motion to Dismiss was granted in part. [Continue reading…]

Whereas Brazil can’t seem to convict anyone over TelexFree’s $3 billion in Ponzi fraud, regulators have managed to convict Carlos Costa for tax fraud.

Costa is best known for being TelexFree’s Bagdad Bob. Even as authorities in the US and Brazil closed in on TelexFree, Costa, often sweating profusely, denied anything was amiss in regularly uploaded YouTube videos.

News of Costa’s tax fraud woes in Brazil first surfaced in December 2016.

Prosecutors at the Federal Public Ministry of Espirito Santo alleged Costa had failed to declare R$4.4 million in earnings, most of which is believed to have been stolen through TelexFree. [Continue reading…]

Following a boom in local investor recruitment, Lyoness caught the attention of Italian authorities.

Italy’s Competition Authority (AGCM) announced a preliminary investigation into Lyoness in September 2018.

The investigation concluded in late December, resulting in Lyoness being declared a pyramid scheme. [Continue reading…]

A few weeks back a BehindMLM reader informed me that, since publication of our initial Crush Global review (Nov 2016), the company had “changed significantly”.

Now offering CBD and nutritional products. No membership fee to join. Comp plan has been totally re-written as well.

Crush Global came up for review today and at first I was confused.

The Crush Global we reviewed two years ago marketed savings and rewards membership, part of which was a discounted travel offering.

Turns out there’s a Crush Global that publishes travel guides, only it has nothing to do with Crush Global the MLM company.

After confirming I had the right Crush Global yeah, it looks like the company has done a complete rework since our 2016 review.

Read on for an updated review of the Crush Global MLM opportunity. [Continue reading…]

Bonvera launched in February 2016 and operates in the health and nutrition MLM niche.

While Bonvera discloses it’s headquartered in Kansas, the company fails to provide executive details on its website.

There is a “Our Leaders” link, however when clicked visitors are redirected to a “leader’s thoughts” blog.

Posts on the blog are authored by Bob Dickie. Further research reveals Bob Dickie goes by Robert Dickie on his social media profiles.

On his LinkedIn profile, Dickie (right) cites himself as co-founder and CEO of Bonvera.

Dickie’s provided location is Knoxville, Tennessee, which didn’t make much sense considering Bonvera’s website states it’s headquartered in Kansas.

The answer is in Dickie’s LinkedIn profile, which states;

the company went through an ownership and leadership change in 2018 and relocated to Knoxville, Tennessee.

Dickie appears to have been appointed CEO of Bonvera on or around May 2018.

Prior to Bonvera Dickie was President of Crown Financial Ministries.

Crown, founded in 1976, is a global NGO focused on personal-finance policy and education that has taught or equipped more than 50 million people in more than 104 nations.

As far as I can tell, Dickie has no prior MLM executive experience.

Update 14th January 2019 – Scott Johnson has written in to inform us that Robert Dickie has a non-executive MLM history with Amway.

Robert Dickey has plenty of MLM experience. He headed up the tool scam company owned by Orrin Woodward while he was in Amway (Quixtar at the time), and Dickey’s father was the official Woodward organization preacher who eventually had a falling out with Woodward.

Dickey was forced to disclose some individuals who made disparaging remarks against Amway in a landmark free speech lawsuit when Woodward broke from Amway in 2007.

/end update

Read on for a full review of the Bonvera MLM opportunity. [Continue reading…]