There is no information on the Kindred IM Academy website indicating who owns or runs the business.

The Kindred IM Academy website domain (“kindredimacademy.com”) was registered on the 12th of July 2015, however the domain registration is set to private.

A support Facebook group linked off the Kindred IM Academy website lists Yew Nieng Song, Mike Thibodeaux, Jean Tasler, Lisa Stalvey and Margaret Oddy as admins.

Presumably one or more of these individuals are running the company, however the specifics of who owns Kindred IM Academy remain 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…]

In a predictable dejavu turn of events, Global InterGold have sought to distance themselves from local business operations in the Philippines.

The move comes after it was revealed last Friday that the Philippine SEC have filed criminal charges against several top Global InterGold investors. [Continue reading…]

There’s one aspect of our “community of entrepreneurs” that’s sadly lacking.

We’ve got the marketing down pat, the self-promotion, the encouragement, personal development and training is available in abundance.

But self-regulation? Not so much.

Why exactly self-regulation lags so far behind the other aspects of the MLM community is debatable, but it’s certainly noticeable inside and outside of the industry.

Despite numerous schemes blowing up within the industry these last few years, MLM’s supposed representative groups remain silent.

We didn’t hear an official peep out of the DSA and ANMP about Zeek Rewards and TelexFree, together two of the largest MLM Ponzi schemes ever.

Both were also silent on Vemma, with the DSA only issuing statements after the FTC stepped in. Why weren’t they demanding Vemma (and other DSA members) initiate genuine retail incentives before regulatory agencies take action?

On the MLM blog side of things you’ve got BusinessForHome routinely publishing fluff pieces about OneCoin investors making off with thousands of dollars.

Worryingly, BusinessForHome’s blog posts do not disclose how much OneCoin or its featured investors might have paid for the coverage.

Every now and then though someone in the MLM industry speaks up about its underbelly, with that someone today being Tom Mower. [Continue reading…]

Despite multiple regulatory warnings against EmGoldex from Malaysia, Dubai and the Philippines, EmGoldex persists.

Asia appears to be a hotbed of investor recruitment, with EmGoldex’s name-change to Global InterGold earlier this year leaving a slew of new victims likely clueless.

Despite having previously issued a warning against EmGoldex, investment fraud through Global InterGold continued.

This has now lead to Philippine SEC escalating regulatory efforts against the scheme. [Continue reading…]

Wow, the DOJ sure want to get criminal proceedings against Troy Barnes over with fast.

Following Barnes’ indictment on October 22nd, a criminal trial was scheduled for November 16th. [Continue reading…]

As we last reported back in early October, Kristi Johnson’s sentencing was to take place on November 19th.

The sentencing hearing was scheduled following a large number of sealed filings in the case against Johnson, leaving us to speculate on the what had happened.

It is believed the reason behind the sealed filings (and general secrecy of Johnson’s criminal case) is related to her former partner, Troy Barnes.

Barnes has been uncooperative in parallel civil proceedings, with the status of a criminal investigation into him unknown.

It is expected proceedings will commence against Barnes following the sentencing of Johnson.

Troy Barnes was indeed indicted on October 22nd, with his upcoming criminal case directly impacting that of Johnson’s. [Continue reading…]

Plexus Worldwide initially launched in 2006 and are based out of Arizona in the US.

So the story goes, the original owner of the company sold it to Alfred Peterson due to poor health.

Peterson partnered with Tarl Robinson, with the pair formally taking over Plexus Worldwide in 2008.

Plexus Worldwide’s initial offering was a breast check and breast cream product, with the company expanding into weight loss in 2009.

Curiously, today Peterson’s name is not listed on the Plexus Worldwide management roster. Tarl Robinson serves as Plexus’ CEO.

Peterson (right) appears to have stepped down from his role as International President in mid 2014, with an email sent out to affiliates claiming Peterson wanted to spend some time with his new wife.

Apparently Peterson and his wife have since filed for divorce.

Why Peterson hasn’t returned to Plexus Worldwide in a management capacity since 2014 is not known.

What we do know though is Peterson filed a lawsuit against Plexus Worldwide and Tarl Robinson a few months back. A Notice of Intent to Dismiss was filed back in August but thus far the lawsuit remains unresolved.

The specifics of the lawsuit have not been made public.

On the MLM history side of things, Plexus Worldwide claims Robinson (right) is

a successful and experienced entrepreneur who brings extensive business knowledge to the company.

He has created success in a variety of businesses, including as a field rep in direct selling as well as within traditional business models.

Other than Plexus Worldwide, I wasn’t able to dig up any specific examples of MLM opportunity Robinson has been involved in.

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

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

The Matrix Revenue website domain (“matrixrevenue.com”) was registered on the 22nd of August 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…]

DS Domination launched back in mid 2013, making it just over two years old.

On the business side of things, DS Domination marketed dropship training costing $2564.95.

Affiliate membership is extra, with retail members able to purchase the dropshipping training resources without signing up as affiliate.

I’ve always suspected this to be unlikely however, with the vast majority of DS Domination training purchasers being affiliates.

As per Alexa trafic estimates, from the fourth quarter of 2014 DS Domination has been in steady decline:

Options Domination was launched in March of this year, promising affiliates ROIs for “a few minutes work”.

Charging affiliates up to $399.95 a month, Options Domination paid affiliates to recruit new affiliates. Tacked onto this was a binary trading platform.

As of November, Options Domination appears to have flopped:

Now the latest offering from DS Domination is Infinii, which looks like it’s going to replace the opportunity altogether. [Continue reading…]

Back in June BehindMLM reported that OneCoin was under police investigation in Finland.

The investigation, headed up by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), sought to establish whether or not OneCoin was operating in Finland as a pyramid scheme.

After months of quiet it was announced last week that the results of the NBI investigation were to be made public this Wednesday.

The report has since been published sometime in the last few hours, with the NBI not taking further action against OneCoin at this time. [Continue reading…]