BehindMLM’s first Xerveo review went live in November of 2012.

Mid last year in June, a reader informed us that ‘Xerveo is now a new company and a new owner….‘

Purportedly Xerveo’s compensation had also changed significantly since 2012, prompting the need for an updated review.

Today we take a look at what’s changed over at Xerveo these past few years. [Continue reading…]

Just shy of three months ago, Vemma introduced a new compensation plan. This was required in order for the company to restart it’s MLM business opportunity, with the previous plan deemed conducive to a pyramid scheme.

Following implementation of Vemma’s retail-centric compensation plan, only one hundred and nineteen Vemma affiliates qualified for commissions.

These affiliates were paid $30,969.

Claiming that ‘the vast majority of affiliates…  will be unlikely to earn commissions under the company’s new compensation plan‘, Vemma submitted a second revised compensation to the FTC on December 8th.

As of the time of publication, the FTC have yet to issue a formal review of the plan.

On December 18th however, Vemma filed a quarterly report as required by the terms of the preliminary injunction currently in place.

The FTC claim this report went

beyond the requirements of the PI by advancing litigation arguments and making inflammatory mischaracterizations of the FTC and the Receiver’s conduct.

Part of the report mentioned Vemma’s new compensation plan, which the FTC accuse Vemma of disclosing ‘to the public and the Court before the FTC’s review of the plan was complete‘.

On the 7th of January the FTC filed a response to Vemma’s quarterly report, among other things, the regulator clarifies ‘its position concerning the new plan.‘ [Continue reading…]

There is no information on the PM InstantProfits website indicating who owns or runs the business.

The PM InstantProfits website domain (“pm-instantprofits.com”) was registered on the 26th of December 2015, however the domain registration is set to private.

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…]

There is no information on the Ad Rev Paid website indicating who owns or runs the business.

The Ad Rev Paid website domain (“adrevpaid.com”) was registered on the 25th of November 2015, with “Murtuza Kanchwala” listed as the owner. An incomplete address in Maharashtra, India is also provided.

Due to Murtuza Kanchwala being a fairly common name in India, I was unable ascertain Kanchwala’s MLM history.

Read on for a full review of the Ad Rev Paid MLM business opportunity. [Continue reading…]

Back in September last year, Pruvit sued ForeverGreen for breach of contract and fraud.

For those unfamiliar with the backstory behind the lawsuit, here’s a brief summary:

In early 2013, Axcess Global approached ForeverGreen to jointly develop a ketosis supplement, KetonX.

Defendants (Axcess Global and ForeverGreen) expended time and money on research, product development, and testing, but were unable to get a product to market at that time.

In early 2014, ForeverGreen’s CEO Ron Williams (“Mr. Williams”) introduced the ketosis supplement to Terry LaCore (“Mr. LaCore”), and the two explored the possibility of Mr. LaCore’s marketing company, bHIP Global, conducting product testing on early versions of KetonX in China.

Mr. Williams, together with Axcess Global and Mr. LaCore, discussed the possibility of bHIP Global licensing the ketosis supplement for distribution in China (and later other countries in Asia), while ForeverGreen would maintain distribution rights in the rest of the world.

Mr. LaCore and ForeverGreen both began testing the ketosis supplement to determine if a palatable product could be achieved; however, this early version of the product was not marketable and caused significant gastrointestinal side effects.

In October 2014, Mr. LaCore introduced Axcess Global to Brian Underwood (“Mr. Underwood”) and Chris Harding (“Mr. Harding”), and they began discussions regarding a potential license agreement for the patented technology.

Mr. LaCore, Mr. Underwood, and Mr. Harding then formed Pruvit Ventures, Inc. with the intention of taking a ketosis supplement to market under this company name.

On December 31, 2014, Axcess Global and Pruvit signed a non-exclusive sub-license agreement (“Pruvit Sub-License”) which included licensing of the `420 USF Patent and related “know-how.”

The Pruvit Sub-License included a provision requiring the University of South Florida’s (“USF”) approval of the contract prior to it becoming effective (as USF is owner of the `420 USF Patent), and a provision requiring Pruvit to obtain liability insurance coverage.

Defendants contend that USF never approved the Pruvit Sub-License – rendering it ineffective – and/or that Pruvit failed to obtain liability insurance in a timely manner – rendering Pruvit in breach of the Sub-License.

In a nutshell, ForeverGreen assert Pruvit’s sub-license of Axcesse Global’s ketone technology is not legitimate, and Pruvit are suing ForeverGreen for interfering with it (among other things).

ForeverGreen’s response to Pruvit’s lawsuit was a series of counterclaims of their own, in addition to to requesting a TRO and preliminary injunction be granted against Pruvit.

(ForeverGreen) seeks to enjoin Pruvit arguing that they (1) are likely to succeed on their claims of patent infringement and misappropriation of trade secrets and (2) are currently being irreparably harmed by Pruvit’s sale of KETO//OS.

That was on October 26th, with the prospect of an injunction hanging over Pruvit management and their affiliates since.

A hearing on the matter was held on December 3rd and 4th, with a decision finally handed down by Judge Nowak on December 23rd. [Continue reading…]

Hot on the heels of the arrest of Philippine EmGoldex ringleaders, news today that the central bank of Curaçao has issued it’s own warning against the scheme. [Continue reading…]

There is no information on the Progmatic AdsPaid website indicating who owns or runs the business.

The Progmatic AdsPaid website domain (“progmaticadspaid.com”) was registered on the 21st of December 2015, with “Baron Cuthbert” listed as the domain owner. A residential address in London, UK is also provided.

Baron Cuthbert sounds obviously made up, with a quick Google search for additional information turning up nothing. The address provided is that of a residential flat in London, which is unlikely where Progmatic AdsPaid is being run out of.

Tan official Facebook page linked off the Progmatic AdsPaid website was created by Eric Chin on the 4th of January.

The Chin profile also appears to be bogus, with the profile picture used belonging to that of Kevin Marks. Marks is a well-known former Google engineer.

Typically a UK registration with fake Anglo-Saxon name is the work of Indian scammers. The fake Eric Chin profile adminning the Progmatic AdsPaid Facebook page further supports this.

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…]

Last week I published a review on Yoli.

The review saw me criticize Yoli for ambiguity in their affiliate sign-up form, with respect to affiliate fees and monthly autoship.

I also criticized the withholding of crucial information in Yoli’s compensation plan, as affiliate costs detailed in the sign-up form were absent.

All in all it’s a shame Yoli is let down by information not presented in its compensation plan.

You go through it and there’s no mention of autoship when signing up or a correlation between rank PV and autoship CV – with it not being evident unless you research joining costs.

Yesterday Len Clements commented on the review, suggesting with full sarcasm that I should have contacted Yoli.

Oz, next time I encourage you to use an investigative technique that I’ve developed, and have had great success with over the years. I call it, “ASK!” (patent pending).

A few days ago I sat down to begin researching The Traveling Vineyard, with an intention to publish a reader request review.

On Saturday I realized The Traveling Vineyard failed to provide the public with a copy of their compensation plan.

Now as I explained to Clements, I see the withholding of crucial business information as a massive failure on behalf of an MLM company.

Whereas I normally might obtain compensation plan information elsewhere, in the case of The Traveling Vineyard such information is non-existent.

Purely a co-incidence, in this particular instance I took the initiative to email The Traveling Vineyard and request a copy of their compensation plan.

Hi there, I couldn’t see a copy of your compensation plan on your website. I’ve seen the YouTube summary but was after more detailed information.

Do you have a complete compensation document I can review? Thanks.

This was, bear in mind, before Clements left his comment suggesting I contact MLM companies yesterday.

Today I received a reply from The Traveling Vineyard. They claim they can’t provide me a with a copy of their compensation plan… because apparently it’s “proprietary information”. [Continue reading…]

Following the signing of an $90,000 secret backroom deal, Matthew Nestler’s affiliate membership with Jeunesse was terminated eight months later.

Jeunesse claimed Nestler failed ‘to adequately support the distributors he sponsored’. Nestler’s subsequently filed lawsuit meanwhile detailed a shifty conspiracy to transfer his business to his former immediate downline.

Then Jeunesse president Darren Jensen and Kevin Giguere, the affiliate who inherited Nestler’s Jeunesse business, claimed Nestler made death threats in response to losing his business.

Nestler responded by claiming Jeunesse were trying to “bury him“.

The matter has been slowly playing out in court over the past year, with news that a settlement was reached late last month. [Continue reading…]

There is no information on the MyNetworkOne website indicating who owns or runs the business.

The MyNetworkOne website does have an “about us” page, however it is used only to market the company. No information about MyNetworkOne’s ownership or executive management is provided.

The MyNetworkOne website domain (“mynetworkone.com”) was registered on the 8th of June 2011, however the domain registration is set to private.

Further research reveals MyNetworkOne marketing material citing Rod Wortham as CEO of the company.

On his LinkedIn profile, Wortham (right) credits himself as Founder and CEO of MyNetworkOne LLC.

Why Wortham’s name does not appear anywhere on the MyNetworkOne website is unclear.

Prior to MyNetworkOne Wortham launched ToBizNet. The opportunity is now defunct, with ToBizNet advertising circa 2010-2011 suggesting it was advertising and marketing based.

A ToBizNet marketing video uploaded to YouTube in 2011 explains that ToBizNet affiliates were paid between $150 to $250 to recruit new ToBizNet affiliates.

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