At one time there was a charity bearing the same name as the Helping Hands International pyramid scheme.

So when I read a firm named Helping Hands International recently held a training event for Nigerian policeman, I assumed it was an initiative of the charity.

Nope, turns out Nigerian policemen are being “trained” by the pyramid scheme. [Continue reading…]

Tavala operate in the health and nutrition MLM niche and operate out of Utah in the US.

Heading up Tavala is founder Boyd Wathen and CEO Allen Davis.

According to Wathen’s Tavala corporate bio he

made his fortunes holding multiple patents for his inventions in various industries.

He married his love for science and health by formulating products for very large Network Marketing companies.

Wathen along with partner David Brown is credited as the creator of Plexus Worldwide’s Slim wight loss supplement.

Also known as the “pink drink”, Slim is one of the most widely recognized products in the MLM industry.

After a falling out with Plexus, Wathen and Brown went on to launch TruVision Health.

TruVision Health are still in business and David Brown listed as a “founding partner” on the company website. There’s no mention of Boyd Wathen.

On his LinkedIn profile, Wathen also cites himself as co-founder of N4U International. I wasn’t able to find anything further on this company.

More recently, Wathen was named as the “primary investor” in Divvee.

Tavala CEO Allen Davis (right) was also the CEO of Divvee. Davis also served as general counsel for TruVision Health.

Divvee initially launched in 2015 with a monthly membership model providing access to discounts. The company revamped itself a few months later as promotional platform. which has since devolved into some questionable business decisions.

Mid last year Divvee rebranded as Nui and has since made some questionable business decisions.

I’m not 100% sure but I believe Davis and Wathen left during the Nui merger with Hodo Global, whose management leads the company today.

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

PolyNetwork provide no information on their website about who owns or runs the business.

The PolyNetwork website domain (“polynetwork.org”) was privately registered on October 2nd, 2017.

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…]

Home Block Coin provide no information on their website about who owns or runs the company on their website.

The Home Block Coin website domain (“homeblockcoin.com”) was privately registered 19th October, 2017.

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…]

Despite assurances to the contrary, USI-Tech continues to run foul of securities regulation in Canada.

The latest is a cease and desist issued by the Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan (FCAA). [Continue reading…]

Octoin provide no information on their website about who owns or runs the business.

The Octoin website domain (“octoin.com”) was registered on June 28th, 2017.

Matt Blunt is listed as the owner, with an address in London, UK also provided.

Further research reveals the address provided belongs to Regus, who provide virtual office services.

A UK incorporation certificate for “Octoin Limited” is provided on the Octoin website.

Octoin Limited was incorporated on August 9th, 2017, using the same Regus address in the Octoin domain registration.

Matt Blunt is the sole Director listed for the company.

As represented by Octoin, “Matt Blunt” likely doesn’t exist.

UK incorporation is dirt cheap and for the most part unregulated. It is a favorite for scammers looking to incorporate dodgy companies.

As evidenced by listed affiliate “leaders” on the Octoin website and Alexa traffic estimates (Indonesia 24%, China 16% and Japan 9%), Octoin is primarily marketed in across Asia.

There’s a good chance whoever is actually running Octoin is based out of Indonesia or China.

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…]

Vizionary launched in 2015 as a simple membership-based pyramid scheme.

Affiliates paid a fee and were paid to recruit others who did the same. The more paid in fees, the higher the income potential via Vizionary’s compensation plan.

Alexa traffic statistics for the Vizionary website reveal the company began to collapse around May, 2017.

This turned around in September, coinciding with a new direction for the company. [Continue reading…]

A week before it collapsed, Glenn Arcaro started scrubbing his social media profiles of any mention of BitConnect.

Arcaro also shut down his Future Money website, which was instrumental in promoting BitConnect and recruiting new investors.

After doing so Arcaro went into hiding and has not been seen or heard from in public since. He is believed to be hiding out somewhere in Europe.

BitConnect’s collapse meanwhile has resulted in a collapse of about $2.4 billion in market value, with real-world victim losses running into at least hundreds of millions of dollars.

Rather than face his victims, Arcaro is instead threatening those calling him out with legal action. [Continue reading…]

While it’s common for the rhetoric coming out of the MLM underbelly to be at odds with reality, the lenghts USI-Tech and the law firm Hart David Carson are going to misrepresent US authorities stance on securities is mind-boggling.

A few days ago USI-Tech co-founder Horst Jicha announced the company’s intention to defy regulators and reopen USI-Tech in the US.

In the same interview Jicha mentioned a “legal statement”, which he claimed “points out loud and clear that we never had an issue, we as a company, in terms of unlegal [sic] securities”.

Drafted by Hart David Carson, USI-Tech’s legal letter was provided to affiliates a few hours ago. [Continue reading…]

3T Networks operate in the cryptocurrency and travel MLM niches. The company provides two corporate addresses on its website, one in the US and one in Singapore.

The US address belongs to Nevada Registered Agent LLC, who provide incorporation services in Nevada. Whether 3T Networks has any physical business operations in the US is unclear.

The 3T Networks website suggests the company is primarily focused on Asia, with offices in the Philippines and Thailand “coming soon”.

Heading up 3T Networks is Chairman and CEO, Daniel Schwartz (right).

As per Schwartz’s 3T Networks corporate bio;

Dan has been a leader in Sales, Marketing and Business Development of companies in technology products and services since 1984.

He has been in Sales and Marketing Management since the late 1980s.

He has lead sales efforts over the past 5 years resulting in over $65M USD in closed business with a variety of customers large and small.

According to his Facebook profile, Schwartz lives in Thailand.

About six months ago Schwartz launched his own cryptocurrency, SigmaCoin.

After debuting with a public trading value of around 12 cents last September, SigmaCoin promptly collapsed before settling around its current 7 cent value.

A lack of content on SigmaCoin’s social media profiles and a decline in traffic to the company’s website suggest SigmaCoin has been abandoned.

I wasn’t able to verify an MLM history for Schwartz.

Read on for a full review of the 3T Networks MLM opportunity. [Continue reading…]