There is no information on the Elite Pay Alliance website indicating who owns or runs the business.

The Elite Pay Alliance website domain was registered on the 15th of December 2015, with Optimus Dale listed as the owner. An address in the US state of Arkansas is also provided.

Optimus Dale is a pseudonym of Sherm Mason, who first popped up on BehindMLM’s radar as the admin of Magnetic Builder.

Magnetic Builder was a $29.95 recruitment scheme launched in 2011.

Last year was a busy one for Mason (right), with at least five known dubious schemes launched throughout:

• Paradise Payments (February 2015) – a $2 to $1000 cash gifting scheme
• Magnetic Gratitude (April 2015) – a $580 matrix-based Ponzi scheme
• Summer Fun Matrix (July 2015) – a $22 three-tier Ponzi scheme and
• 3×9 Millionaire Machine (September 2015) – a $3 in, $435 million dollars out Ponzi scheme
• Instant Pay Christmas (November 2015) – a $5 to $800 cash gifting scheme

With Christmas 2015 having come and gone, it appears Mason is looking to start his 2016 launches early.

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

Only7Bucks do not explicitly clarify who owns the business on their website, but they do mention it comes under the “Success Unlimited USA” banner.

Success Unlimited USA is a US company with corporate offices in Austin, Texas and New York City.

For over 13 years SUUSA Inc. has established itself as a leader in maintaining its commitment to superior marketing servicesas a global leader in social networking self-development programs.

Success Unlimited USA is owned by John Dierksmeier, who through it has launched a number of schemes over the years.

Dierksmeier (right) first popped up on BehindMLM’s radar as the Founder of MaxeVida in 2011.

2014 saw Dierksmeier launch Cafe Nopal, a recruitment-based scheme combined with nopal extract infused coffee.

In 2015 Dierksmeier then went on to launch no less than four MLM underbelly schemes:

• 2×2 Wealth – a two-tier Matrix Ponzi cycler
• Nopa Vida – a cactus juice recruitment scheme
• EcoPlus Network – a matrix-based recruitment
• My Secret Fortune – a $5 matrix Ponzi cycler

Of the opportunities Dierksmeier has launched over the years, MaxeVida and Cafe Nopal have since collapsed.

The 2×2 Wealth, Nopa Vida, Eco Plus Network and My Secret Fortune websites are still online, however Alexa statistics reveals each of the opportunities to be in decline.

This has likely prompted Dierksmeier’s launch of yet another company.

Read on for a full review of the Only7Bucks MLM business opportunity. [Continue reading…]

BehindMLM first reviewed Hidden Hunger Global back in October of 2014.

Two prime takeaways from the review were the involvement of Ruel Morton, former top earner in the FHTM pyramid scheme, and a murky retail offering.

Mid last year a reader left a comment on our Hidden Hunger Global review, informing us that

Ruel Morton is no longer affiliated with Hidden Hunger Global in any way.

The whole comp plan has been re-tooled. Perhaps it would benefit your readers for you to do an update.

With a new compensation plan and Morton out, today we’re publishing an updated Hidden Hunger Global review. [Continue reading…]

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…]