Accompanying the FTC’s settlement announcement with Herbalife today was a press-conference held by Chairwoman Edith Ramirez.

Ramirez opened the press-conference by reading from a prepared statement for about seven minutes.

Despite clearly describing Herbalife’s business model as that of a pyramid scheme, the actual words “pyramid scheme” were noticeably absent from Ramirez’s statement.

After Ramirez’s statement she took questions from the media. Not surprisingly, clarification on whether Herbalife was a pyramid scheme was the first question asked. [Continue reading…]

Since the FTC’s announcement earlier today confirming Herbalife was operating as a pyramid scheme, I’ve seen a lot of mis-reporting and distortion of the facts.

I suspect much of this arises from most people not having the time to read through the FTC’s 42 page long complaint against Herbalife. Either that or the complaint was simply to complicated in it’s original format for a significant number of people to comprehend.

In an attempt to remedy this, I’ve broken down the complaint into what is hopefully an easier to read format below.

I’ve refrained from publishing anything not in the complaint in all but one instance, in the hope that facts as opposed to interpretations based on flawed analysis might be put to rest. [Continue reading…]

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

The Elemental Ads website domain (“elementalads.com”) was registered on the June 14th 2016, however the domain registration is set to private.

In the Elemental Ads FAQ, the company claims to be ‘located in Canada‘.

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 the wake of the FTC’s $200 million dollar fine issued to Herbalife, the biggest question is whether the company will be viable with a new retail-orientated business model.

With Herbalife’s previous compensation plan primarily paying affiliates to recruit new affiliates, perhaps the best indicator is a look at how that was going for the business. [Continue reading…]

Traffic Citi operate in the advertising MLM niche and are headed up by admin Viru Garval.

Traffic Citi is a advertising (sic) and revenue sharing company manage by team of professionals in the field of Online marketing, with years of expertise in online advertising industry.

Despite the above claim, no information about Viru Garval’s MLM or broader online marketing history is provided.

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

Rumors of an FTC investigation into Herbalife began back in 2013 and here at BehindMLM we’ve been covering the story diligently ever since.

Today a conclusion to the saga is in sight, with news that the FTC has fined Herbalife $200 million dollars for being a pyramid scheme. [Continue reading…]

Paul Burks’ criminal trial has been continuing quietly over the past few days, with proceedings on June 13th seeing Burks Motion for a Judgement of Acquittal denied. [Continue reading…]

In yet another case of banks being held accountable for turning a blind eye to financial fraud, victims of Bill Apostelos Ponzi scheme are suing PNC Bank.

William Apostelos was indicted on 13 counts of wire fraud last October. Apostelos stands accused of orchestrating a $70 million dollar Ponzi scheme and is scheduled to face trial in February next year.

Not content to wait around, some of Apostelos’ victims are now demanding answers from one of the banks he used. [Continue reading…]

Despite OneCoin ceasing business operations in the US last October, a group of investors continue to openly promote the scheme to US citizens.

For all their claims of Know Your Customer and compliance, and as long as new investor money flows in, OneCoin appear to have no problem with turning a blind eye. [Continue reading…]

IFA, which stands for Independent Field Advertising, launched all the way back in 1998 and are based out of South Africa.

IFA operates in the insurance policy MLM niche and are the network marketing division of Clientèle Life Assurance Company.

On their website, Clientèle Life claim to be

a diversified financial services group, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and is one of South Africa’s leading direct distributors of financial service products.

On the IFA website, Basil Reekie (right) is listed as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Reekie is also on Clientèle Life’s Board of Directors.

Reekie has a professional history in the insurance industry and joined Clientèle Life back in 2008.

Prior to his appointment as IFA’s Chairman of the Board, Reekie doesn’t appear to have any MLM experience.

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