Carlos Wanzeler, one of the masterminds behind the $3 billion TelexFree Ponzi scheme, remains a fugitive at large.

A hasty flight to Canada and then Brazil saw Wanzeler leave behind a significant number of assets, which were promptly seized by the DOJ.

These assets are currently in storage, where they ‘are incurring storage costs and depreciating in value.‘

In an attempt to maximize the monetary value derived from Wanzeler’s seized assets, the DOJ has asked for permission to sell them off. [Continue reading…]

It appears former Divvee management struggle with the concept of simplicity.

First the company offered access to discounts. Then it became a promotional platform. Then they were going to offer Ryze AI ROIs. Then they merged with Hodo Global into Nui. Then Nui announced it wasn’t partnering with Ryze AI. Then they were going to merge with Wealth Generators. Then they weren’t.

Now Nui are preparing to launch their Kala cryptocurrency, through yet another company; Symatri. [Continue reading…]

PM International aren’t happy with TV2’s Health Control report into their MLM opportunity.

The company has filed a lawsuit against the Norwegian broadcaster for breaching the Damages Act.

Health Control’s report aired on November 2nd and, among other things, claimed PM International was operating as a pyramid scheme. [Continue reading…]

The Zhunrize Recevier’s clawback lawsuit against Vodaware is a bit unusual.

Zhunrize was a $100 million dollar Ponzi scheme shut down by the SEC in 2014.

Upon being appointed, the Zhunrize Receiver

retained employees from Vodaware, the company that created Zhunrize’s website, to assist in pulling electronic data for use in the claims analysis.

The Receiver, his accountants, and his counsel worked with Vodaware, Zhunrize’s service provider, to recover victim investment data and reconcile the data to other third party victim
data, such as Zhunrize bank statements,and data obtained from Zhunrize’s commission payment records.

Inadvertently, Vodaware’s cooperation with the Receiver might have led to the Receivership uncovering almost $3 million transferred to Vodaware and its principals.

On August 18th the Zhunrize Receiver filed a clawback lawsuit, demanding Vodaware return $2.8 in stolen Ponzi funds. [Continue reading…]

Divvee’s original launch in mid 2016 saw the company charge $9.95 a month for access to discounts.

When that business model flopped Divvee introduced “Rank & Share” in late 2016, a platform that combined promotion and recruitment commissions.

Rank & Share was a key component of Divvee’s MLM opportunity until a few months ago.

In July, 2017 it appeared Divvee was poised to offer forex ROIs through the Ryze AI trading bot.

Another MLM company, Hodo Global, had also been promoting Ryze a few months prior. [Continue reading…]

Desperate to provide evidence of an external source of revenue, about a week ago USI-Tech affiliates began circulating footage of “a new data center in Iceland”.

It didn’t take long for people to realize that USI-Tech’s “new data center” looked identical to that of Genesis Mining’s facility, also in Iceland.

This prompted speculation that USI-Tech was mining through Genesis Mining. Speculation Genesis Mining has been quick to shut down. [Continue reading…]

Bit4G provide no information on their website about who owns or runs the business.

The Bit4G website domain (“bit4g.com”) was registered on October 11th, 2017.

“Bit 4G” is listed as the owner, with an incomplete address in London, UK also provided.

A complete corporate address in London is provided on the Bit4G website.

Further research however reveals this address belongs to Garden Studios, who provide virtual office services.

Whether Bit4G has a physical presence in the UK is thus unclear.

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…]

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

The NeoConnect website domain (“neoconnect.io”) was privately registered on October 27th, 2017.

A whitepaper provided on the NeoConnect website bears the document title “Prezentare PowerPoint”.

“Prezentare” is Romanian for “presentation”, suggesting whoever is running NeoConnect is based out of Romania or of Romanian descent.

Of note is another NeoConnect website up at “neoconnect.org”.

This website offers a similar looking MLM opportunity.

The NeoConnect (ORG) domain was registered on November 12th, 2017.

Jihan Wu is listed as the owner, through the address of the Galaxy Macau hotel address in Macau, China (provided in Spanish).

NeoConnect provide another corporate address in Macau on their website.

Further research reveals this address belongs to DSL Lawyers.

On their website, DSL Lawyers claim they

are familiar with the licensing, regulatory and compliance issues concerning the businesses of Macau.

As such, whether NeoConnect (ORG) has an actual physical presence in Macau is unclear.

There is also no information available on Jihan Wu, casting doubt on whether the individual exists (the hotel address is a significant red flag).

Whether NeoConnect (IO) and NeoConnect (ORG) are related is unclear.

To avoid confusion however, this review is based on NeoConnect (IO)’s offering.

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…]

Late last year Christina Swiatek filed suit over the product Nerium AD allegedly causing “chemical burns and permanent skin damage”.

Named defendants in the lawsuit include Nerium International and Nerium Skincare.

As per a joint stipulation of dismissal filed on November 21st and a subsequent November 22nd order, Swiatek’s claims against Nerium Skincare have been dismissed. [Continue reading…]

Stampin’ Up was founded in 1988 by sisters Shelli Gardner and LaVonne Crosby.

The company is based out of Utah in the US and operates in the arts and crafts MLM niche.

So the story goes;

When sisters Shelli Gardner and LaVonne Crosby were young, their family moved from California to Kanab, UT, on the Arizona border.

Both sisters eventually married, and their husbands, who knew each other, decided they should all move to Las Vegas
and operate a custom home building business in the booming real estate market.

Both sisters had children and led busy lives as homemakers, while earning a little extra cash as independent contractors for Tupperware and other multi-level marketing companies.

When they were introduced to rubber stamping, they immediately became intrigued with the craft, since neither
of them felt artistic enough to draw freehand, and using stamps with ink was creative and fun.

They discovered stamping was popular with women, mainly housewives, who like to design their own greeting cards, tags and gift wrap, decorate walls and lampshades, and keep family scrapbooks.

In 1988, with no experience in operating a company, the sisters invested their family’s nest egg to launch Stampin’ Up!

Their business plan was fairly simple:

They studied the business models of Tupperware, Discovery Toys, and Mary Kay, and developed their own approach for a direct sales company that reflected their own methods and techniques.

Today Stampin’ Up claims to have “tens of thousands” of affiliates across the US, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands and Japan.

LaVonne Crosby stepped down as CEO and left Stampin’ Up in 1998. Shelli Gardner was appointed CEO and held the position until 2016.

In early 2015 Shelli Gardner announced she would be stepping down to pursue ‘a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints‘.

In March, 2016 Sara Douglass, Shelli Gardner’s daughter, was appointed Stampin’ Up’s new CEO.

According to the Stampin’ Up website, Gardner ‘continues her involvement with the company, playing a vital role as Board Chair‘.

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