Despite only money changing hands, there are those that argue that the selling of access to discounts, or even discounts themselves, constitute the retail sale of products or services.

Such is the case with Lyoness, wherein affiliates can invest funds in shopping units and get paid when newly recruited affiliates do the same.

Vouchers are bundled with each unit investment, which Lyoness and their affiliates claim are evidence of retail activity taking place.

This despite the fact that no tangible products are purchased through issuing of Lyoness’ vouchers themselves.

Evidently this has been an ongoing point of contention between the Philippine SEC and Lyoness, with the regulator recently publishing an official opinion on the matter. [Continue reading…]

Team Vinh launched in late 2012 as a HYIP scheme and downline builder for owner Vu H. Le (also known as Vinh H. Le).

TeamVinh.com International is going to revolutionize the MLM industry.

TeamVinh International is NOT IN ANY WAY A MLM COMPANY TeamVimh is going to take certain MLM companies and make them successful.

It cost $39 to join. There is no recruting (sic) for a down line, they do it all for you. No selling, no nothing. It’s (sic) is well worth looking at.

In addition to investing in Vpacks, Team Vinh investors were fed into seedy schemes that populated the MLM underbelly at the time. Most, if not all of these schemes were either HYIP scams or Ponzi and pyramid schemes themselves.

Here at BehindMLM I’d received numerous requests to review Team Vinh over the years, but without an actual MLM compensation plan there wasn’t much to review.

Within the context of Team Vinh being a downline feeder into other MLM opportunities however, news today that the SEC have filed a lawsuit against Team Vinh and Vu H. Le. [Continue reading…]

Volishon identify themselves as “a new company” on their website, with a corporate address in the US state of Georgia provided.

Cited as CEO and President of Volishon is Joel Santiago (below right), with Joseph Otis, Daniella Le Roux and Sankie Beukes credited as “partners”.

Dating back to 2013, Santiago’s YouTube channel reveals marketing material for Pro Travel Plus, EPIQ Energy, Fantasy Draft, Tsu, RE247365, Xplocial, Dream Life Vacation Club and EPX Body.

Of those opportunities, with respect to Volishon, Pro Travel Plus and RE247365 are the most pertinent.

RE247365 was a $39.95 a month recruitment-driven travel opportunity launched in September of 2014.

By December, amid reports of over a half million dollars in fraud, the scheme had collapsed.

Pro Travel Plus, another travel themed recruitment scheme, was launched earlier this year in April.

The current status of Pro Travel Plus is murky, with the following information forwarded to BehindMLM via email:

It (Pro Travel Plus) crashed in the aftermath of them getting ripped off on their first big affiliate group trip in early October.

The stories don’t add up, either PTP used their in house booking engine and got ripped off, or they used another booking service but long story short a bunch of affiliates paid for lodging in Cabo San Lucas far enough ahead of time that they couldn’t do chargebacks and a few weeks before the trip PtP discovered that no one had reservations.

PTP went out of pocket to book stays though at a lesser hotel.

There was a good amount of dissatisfaction among affiliates, the week after this Charles Vest left PTP for HopRocket and Seth Fraser disappeared from the internet.

Ben Glinsky is the real owner of PTP and it looks like he didn’t pay the December access fee for the travel portal.

Pro Travel Plus covered one aspect of the purported Cabo San Lucas scam, through a video uploaded by a Pro Travel Plus affiliate.

As far as my own research goes, as at the time of publication the Pro Travel Plus website is little more than a sign-up form.

Alexa statistics support that the scheme has all but collapsed, showing the usual recruitment hype boom followed by a sharp decline:

This supports the information we received via email, in that Pro Travel Plus as it stands appears to have collapsed.

Further supporting the received information is a Volishon webinar aired a few hours ago, featuring Joel Santiago and Joseph Otis.

In the webinar Otis “illuminates the negative”, bringing up a recent email purportedly sent to the entire Pro Travel Plus affiliate-base.

The corporate email explains

The owner (of Pro Travel Plus) didn’t pay the bills, and they closed down the portal.

Santiago and Otis are credited with helping create a “new” opportunity, Pro Travel Plus Vacations, which Ortis claims is “absolutely false”. Otis goes on to identify “the guy behind the email” as Lee Freidman. Otis cites Freidman as “the previous travel provider” in Pro Travel Plus.

If any existing or former Pro Travel Plus affiliates can fill us in on exactly what happened and/or the current business status, that’d be greatly appreciated (leave a comment below).

In any event, Joel Santiago was a prominent Pro Travel Plus affiliate. Santiago’s Facebook profile reveals he was still promoting the scheme as late as October.

The recent launch of Volishon is unlikely to be coincidental, with Santiago assumedly looking to salvage what’s left of his Pro Travel Plus downline.

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

There is no information on the Ad Wealth System website indicating who owns or runs the business.

The Ad Wealth System website domain (“adwealthsystem.com”) was registered on the 5th of September 2015, however the domain registration is set to private.

A number of HYIP scheme websites are hosted on the Ad Wealth System webserver. Whether these are run by the same admin or hosted on common HYIP focused hosting is 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…]

BehindMLM first reviewed Asantae back in January of 2013.

Back then there was a major information dearth on the Asantae website, which led to a review that was less than complete compared to what we normally publish.

Since then Asantae have picked up their game, with the company now providing detailed compensation plan material on their website.

Today we go through this new compensation plan material, along with an updated conclusion of the Asantae MLM business opportunity. [Continue reading…]

1 Million Fast themselves don’t disclose who runs or owns the business on their website, with this basic information instead offered up by an affiliate via a testimonial;

I just want to say that CashMillionaire Family has done me good. I have nothing but love for the founders Angela Dumais and Tony Sanzo.

This is supported by the 1 Million Fast domain registration, which lists Dumais as the owner. An address in the US state of Hawaii is also provided.

Posts on Dumais and Sanzo’s social media accounts suggest they are husband and wife.

Dumais (right, with Sanzo) runs the blog “teamcrushinc.blogspot.com”, on which advertisements for 3×9 Millionaire Machine (matrix-based recruitment scheme), My Paying Ads (HYIP Ponzi scheme) and 4 Corners Alliance Group (recruitment scheme) feature.

Evidently Dumais was also an investor in the My Advertising Pays Ponzi scheme, with the following posted in response to MAPS terminating US operations:

I was so disappointed the day Mr. Deese announced his program M.A.P.S would no longer be available to the US market. I had a good thing going.

Update 17th December 2015 – Turns out Dumais is an old hat at scamming, with California issuing a cease and desist against her scheme Truth In Gold back in 2003.

At all relevant times, Truth In Gold, purportedly an investment club, was conducting business at 139 Bear Gulch Rd., Aberdeen, WA 98520.

At all relevant times, truthingold.com was purportedly an investment club.

At all relevant times, Angela Dumais, also known as Angela Flodstrom, was the proprietor of Truth In Gold.

At all relevant times, Jason Flodstrom was the proprietor of Truth In Gold.

Beginning in or about August 2002 through at least November 2002, Truth In Gold, Angela Dumais, also known as Angela Flodstrom, and Jason Flodstrom offered or sold securities in the form of investment contracts or evidences of indebtedness or memberships in an incorporated or unincorporated association.

Through posting on the Internet, Truth In Gold, truthingold.com, Angela Dumais, also known as Angela Flodstrom, and Jason Flodstrom offered or sold securities in the form of investment contracts or evidences of indebtedness or memberships in an incorporated or unincorporated association.

In connection with these offers or sales, Truth In Gold, Angela Dumais, also known as Angela Flodstrom, and Jason Flodstrom, misrepresented to investors that:

a. the principal investment was guaranteed safe; and

b. the funds deposited by the investors would earn daily interest of 1% or 2% daily, depending on the amount invested.

Based upon the foregoing findings, the California Corporations Commissioner is of the opinion that the investment contracts or evidences of indebtedness or memberships in an incorporated or unincorporated association are securities subject to qualification under the California Corporate Securities Law of 1968 and are being or have been offered or sold without being qualified, as required by Corporations Code section 25110.

Pursuant to section 25532 of the Corporate Securities Law of 1968, Truth In Gold, Angela Dumais, also known as Angela Flodstrom, and Jason Flodstrom, are hereby ordered to desist and refrain from the further offer or sale in the State of California of securities.

According to a denied appeal filed in 2008, Dumais plead guilty to wire fraud, was convicted and sentenced to 57 months in prison.

The case docket for Dumais’ criminal proceedings reveals an arrest warrant was issued in February of 2004, with Dumais arrested five days later.

After posting $10,000 bail, another arrest warrant was issued in September 2005, with Dumais again arrested less than a week later.

Yet another $10,000 bond was paid the day after Dumais’ second arrest, seeing her released.

Dumais’ 57 month jail sentence was handed down in November of 2005, with her third and final arrest a month later in December.

In July 2015, someone claiming to be Dumais’ mother published the following on the TalkGold Ponzi forum:

Yes I remember Angela Dumais, she is my daughter. I never got involved with Truth In Gold because I did not think it was legal.

I have an FBI Clearance and an ATF clearance and will not jeopardize that for anyone not even my daughter!

She is currently under Federal Investigation again in Honolulu, Hawaii. She is doing another alleged Ponzi Scheme.

She started a new business 4CA, Team Global Impact which is legal, but then started another spin off group called Elite LCN aka Elite Lead Capture Network. Claims she is a six figure earner in the business, has an MBA from University of Arizona, a total lie. Look her up on ********.

The only truth is that she does work at IHS, Institute for Human Services. But she is quitting this summer. Then she will hide all her assets again and go about her “merry life” again at the expense of others.

Contact Myra Petersen the U.S. Attorney General in Honolulu Hawaii at (removed). She is under Federal Investigation again.

This breaks my heart. I thought she had learned her lesson and changed, but greed got the best of her again. Good Luck and God Bless! MadMom

The poster went on to claim Dumais “has been cleared”, however I was unable to find any evidence of this.

/end update

Nothing specific (other than his own Cash Millionaires 1 Millon Fast opportunity) has been promoted of Tony Sanzo’s on his Facebook page, but certain posts do indicate he is very much active in the MLM underbelly:

Daaammmmmnnnn…. Ouch…..it sucks i know…. Did you get signed to another scam or signed up to a selfish sponsor that signed you up only to leave you high and dry…. Spent money on useless bs that the “guru” told you…. You “had to have” only to be assed outa money and time….

Come work with us….24/7 support and i give you my cell once we start workin together AND you got a GUARANTEED rebate on your investment resulting in free money for LIFE!!!!

Nothing suss.

Sanzo’s LinkedIn profile cites him as working as a National Account Manager with Kelley Blue Book And Autotrader till September 2013, with him going on to join 4 Corners Alliance Group in January 2014.

1 Million Fast would appear to be Dumais and Sanzo’s first MLM opportunity launch.

Read on for a full review of the 1 Million Fast MLM business opportunity. [Continue reading…]

In Zeek Rewards’ heyday, NxPay (NxSystems) was the ewallet of choice by the company.

Content to turn a blind eye to the hundreds of millions of dollars in fraud taking place through its processor systems, NxPay was instrumental in Zeek’s ongoing business operations.

In acknowledgement of this, the court-appointed Receiver filed a clawback lawsuit against NxPay for $9 million dollars.

NxPay wanted to keep the money, which prompted the Receiver to file contempt proceedings against the processor on December 3rd, 2014.

In June 2015, NxPay were subsequently ordered to surrender the requested $9 million to the Receiver.

The only problem?

NxPay turned around and claimed they didn’t have the money. One million was all NxPay could scrounge up at the time, with a question mark hovering over the remaining $8 million dollar judgement.

Today in a filing by the Receiver, it is revealed that a settlement agreement between the parties has been reached. [Continue reading…]

Back in November we covered BK Boreyko wanting to inject $500,000 into Vemma.

The money was to be raised via the selling off of a 25% stake in AZPACK Properties, LLC, a real-estate investment company.

As part of the preliminary injunction currently in place, Boreyko is prohibited from selling off any real-estate assets.

Boreyko wasn’t selling real-estate per-say, but his stake in AZPACK Properties, LLC was tied to investment in real-estate properties.

Citing an “abundance of caution” and anticipation of an objection by the FTC, who refused to ‘stipulate to the transaction’, Boreyko filed a motion seeking approval from the court.

We’ve now learnt that the FTC does indeed oppose Boreyko’s proposal, with the finer details of their objection suggesting a potentially dire financial situation. [Continue reading…]

The TiiPowerMatrix homepage is basically a great big sales pitch, signed off on by “Nichole Roberts”.

Roberts’ exact role within TiiPowerMatrix isn’t disclosed, but with her name appearing on the homepage to welcome visitors to the site, it is presumed she is running things.

Curiously, the TiiPowerMatrix domain registraton lists “Nichole Francique” as the owner, suggesting Roberts (right) goes by multiple aliases.

The address used to register the TiiPowerMatrix domain meanwhile appears to be that of a fake address in Grenada.

According to Roberts’ LinkedIn profile, she is based out of Ontario in Canada. Why a bogus address in Grenada appears in the TiiPowerMatrix domain registration is unclear.

On her website “millionairesuccesswithnicky.com”, Robert’s claims to be ‘a successful Recruiter for 60SMZ and Success Assurance.‘

Success Assurance appears to be some sort of defunct Philippines-based recruitment scheme, with “60SMZ” referencing 60 Second Millionaire.

60 Second Millionaire, also run out of the Philippines, was a recruitment scheme launched by Tracy Davison in early 2014.

The scheme saw affiliates paid to recruit new affiliates, with Davison announcing its collapse a few weeks ago.

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

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

The Pledge Xchange website domain (“pledgexchange.com”) was registered on the 14th of April 2015, with “Precious Pledges Society” listed as the owner. An address in Madhya Pradesh, India is also provided.

As per the Precious Pledges Society website;

Precious Pledges Society is a 13 year old International charitable organization in India.

We are an organization of like minded charitably oriented individuals. We are entrepreneurs, artists, teachers, students, and others from every imaginable background.

ThePrecious Pledges Society website does not reveal who is behind the company.

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…]