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

The OneLine Online website domain (“one-line-online.com”) was registered on the 14th of November 2013, listing a “Milton Banks” from Nassau in the Bahamas as the owner.

Banks’ name does not appear anywhere on the OneLine Online website and due to the generic nature of the name, I was unable to find any further information pertaining to Banks’ involvement in the MLM industry.

I note that OneLine Online affiliates are naming “David Parker, a Canadian Businessman who lives in Dubai” as OneLine Online’s CEO, but I haven’t been able to independently verify this information.

Once again, due to the suspiciously generic nature of the name David Parker, I was unable to find any further information.

Given the lack of information provided on OneLine Online’s website relating to who owns the business, I’m raising this as a major red flag (despite the CEO apparently being named by affiliates).

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 MidasCorp website indicating who owns or runs the business.

The MidasCorp website domain (“midas-corp.com”) was registered on the 27th of March 2013, however the domain registration is set to private.

The company does have an “About Us” page on their website but instead of providing any relevant information on the company owners, only the following vague marketing copy is provided:

We are a group of individuals and companies that came together in Midas Corp to dedicate our time and effort to help others.

Our staff and affiliated companies are extremely efficient and experienced in marketing on the Internet.

On the “Contact Us” page of the MidasCorp website, the company provides an address in the US state of Wyoming. This street address is virtual however, and actually belongs to “Wyoming Corporate Services Inc.”

On their website, Wyoming Corporate Services Inc. advise they will handle the incorporation of a company in Wyoming for $495.

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…]

Zhunrize appears to have launched in early 2013 (incorporated in early 2012) and operates in the e-commerce MLM niche.

Heading up Zhunrize is CEO Jeff Pan (below right), who claims in his Zhunrize corporate bio to have

a total of 24 years extensive experience in the areas of international trade, capital advisory, VC and PE investing, manufacturing, sales and marketing franchise management, team building and network marketing.

Earlier in his career, he served as the General Manager of Contract Management Services, Inc., from 1993-1997, a Chesterfield-Missouri-based importing corporation. He had complete responsibility for the business performance of the company.

By significantly improving operating efficiencies and developing more markets, he led it to a multi-million dollar company.

In 2005, Mr. Pan was Chief Executive Officer of Hangzhou D & A Electronics Company Limited in China. While directed and maintained the vision of the company, he consistently promoted employee engagement and leadership development.

He also oversaw the company’s growth, managed all areas of designing, manufacturing and marketing mobile electronics.

Prior to joining Zhunrize, Inc., Jeff involved in D & A Capital Partners, LLC in 2010, a Georgia-based capital advisory firm.

In this role, his areas of focus included helping business entities in both China and USA to raise seed and growth capital.

On the MLM side of things I wasn’t able to find anything that would suggest an MLM past, so it would appear Zhunrize is Pan’s first MLM venture.

Provided on the Zhunrize website is a corporate address in the US state of Georgia.

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

There’s been somewhat of an ongoing dance taking place between TelexFree and the Brazilian court system.

TelexFree will typically make an announcement either on Facebook or YouTube about how they will undoubtedly crush anyone who opposes them with some new legal angle they are sure cannot fail.

After the courts bitchslap the company back into reality, another video or announcement appears, typically proclaiming the defeat as an overwhelming success or revealing a new ploy that, this time, will finally crush anyone who opposes them and also cannot fail.

This is pretty much how TelexFree’s communication to its affiliates has played out ever since Acre suspended the company’s Brazilian operations back in June.

Now, after some fifteen plus TelexFree appeals have been denied in various Brazilian courts, it appears that finally the Judge handling the Acre case might have had enough. [Continue reading…]

Currently in prelaunch till January 2014, a few weeks back I reviewed the Lucrazon Global MLM business opportunity.

In conducting my research into the company, I raised several concerns including a lack of information on Lucrazon Global’s credited CEO and Founder, Alex Pitt, and the company’s “revenue sharing” business model.

As is typical with MLM “revenue sharing” companies, I couldn’t see a product within the opportunity being sold to retail (non-affiliate) customers. This effectively meant that revenue going into the company was going to be primarily from Lucrazon’s affiliates, which it would then pay out to those who had already previously paid in.

Recruitment commissions by way of a referral payout on amounts deposited by newly recruited affiliates were also on offer, marking Lucrazon as using the now-familiar Ponzi/pyramid scheme hybrid model we saw pop up time and time again this past year.

Specific to Lucrazon, affiliates buy in at $1000 a position (capped at 15 positions or $15,000), which the company then pays out (sans referral commissions), via a daily “revenue share”.

Affiliates qualify for the revenue-share by sending in a random merchant’s contact details every 90 days, with new affiliate position money is used to pay out affiliates who have already bought positions.

Here’s how I summed it up in the BehindMLM Lucrazon review:

Whereas Zeek Reward’s front was a penny auction, Lucrazon try to pass of an e-commerce platform as the attached façade.

Let me be clear that I’m in no way questioning the legitimacy of Lucrazon’s e-commerce platform, replicated websites blahblahblah as a stand-alone services, as that’s entirely not the issue.

The issue with Lucrazon’s MLM business model is the basic mechanic of new affiliate money flowing in at $1000 a pop and being paid out to those who have already paid $1000 a pop for “positions”.

Dress it up any way you want, like every other MLM revenue-sharing opportunity out there this is still just the sale of unregistered securities.

The logic-fail kicks in when you consider the reason an affiliate would pay up to $15,000 to market merchant services and an e-commerce platform to legitimate merchants.

Lucrazon totally makes sense from a passive investor standpoint though. I pay my $1000 and you give me back >$1000.

And I’m not seeing the difference between a merchant signing up and buying a $1000 position or an affiliate doing it. Retail revenue would also appear to be a question mark in Lucrazon’s business model.

Seeking to address these concerns Alice Ly, who credits herself as Lucrazon Global’s “Social Media Manager”, left a comment on the review advising that Lucrazon had ‘answer(ed) your review points in addition to other questions‘.

Ly’s comment contained a link to a Lucrazon blog post titled “Alex Pitt and Lucrazon Global Facts”. Do Lucrazon quash Ponzi concerns about their revenue-sharing business model?

Let’s find out. [Continue reading…]

Smart Media Technologies launched in late 2010 and operate in the social MLM niche.

No actual company address is provided on the Smart Media Technologies website, with the company instead providing the Nevada based address of American Corporate Enterprises Inc. (“americancorpenterprises.com”).

American Corporate Enterprises sell business registrations and a virtual executive office service in the US state of Nevada.

The Smart Media Technologies website domain (“smartmediatechnologies.com”) also uses a virtual office space address in Nevada, belonging to Regus.

For all intents and purposes, Smart Media Technologies appears to be registered in Nevada by name only. On the Smart Media Technologies website, the company refers to itself as a ‘debt-free, privately held global company‘.

Named as CEO and Founder of the company is David Martin (right).

David Martin, has designed and developed banking platforms & digital banking security systems since 1998.

The name “David Martin” is too generic to pull up an accurate MLM history, but given the Smart Media Technologies website doesn’t mention anything, I’d say it’s a good bet that this is Martin’s first MLM venture.

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

I’m not sure when exactly the Swedish Gaming Board began investigating World Ventures, but it appears that they’ve recently concluded an investigation into the company.

The verdict?

A report has been filed with the “Police Authority” in Stockholm. [Continue reading…]

Due to ongoing coverage of some the biggest Ponzi schemes that operate within the MLM industry, here at BehindMLM one of the more common questions we get is “why aren’t the authorities doing anything?”

Some affiliate investors in such schemes even go so far as to use a lack of regulatory intervention as “proof” of a schemes legitimacy. Others argue that non-action translates to endorsement.

At the end of the day BehindMLM is an independent website and I, Oz, your author, do not work with or am in no way affiliated with any law enforcement or regulatory agency.

I have no doubt that regulators from around the world have visited the website and perhaps used the information and analysis provided in their investigations – however as far as I’m concerned, I’ve never directly been in contact with or worked in co-operation with them.

What I have come to appreciate in the half decade I’ve been covering the industry, and wholly incorporate in my MLM reviews and analysis, is that regulators investigate companies the same as anyone else would.

That primarily being the following of money, from how revenue is generated to how it’s paid out as commissions.

Time and time again when one of the larger schemes get busted (in the US or elsewhere), I see the same concerns I initially might have raised in a review or analysis here pop up as the basis for regulatory investigation. [Continue reading…]

Launched some weeks ago but only made pubic recently, Brazilian media are reporting that regulators in the Dominican Republic have launched an investigation into TelexFree.

Following suspicions by the Technology Crimes Division of the Attorney General that TelexFree is operating a Ponzi scheme, TelexFree’s local activities have been investigated for ‘about a month‘. [Continue reading…]

When I approached Dawn and her team to come on board with iWowWe, I did so because they are the absolute best in the industry and broke every record in MLM history. I was honored to meet her and am THRILLED that they came on board with iWowWe.

Cases like these are how innovative business models get worked out. That doesn’t mean there was any “wrong-doing”, regardless of the final outcome.

Bottom line: I’ve known Dawn and seen her work for years. She’s a brilliant — BRILLIANT — marketer, with first-hand experience in the increasingly challenging regulatory environment, and that’s why I hired her.

Bill Starkey, iWowWe CEO defending his decision to hire Dawn Wright-Olivares in June 2013

It was widely believed that criminal charges in the Zeek Rewards Ponzi aftermath wouldn’t be laid until the civil action had concluded, but yesterday the SEC filed a surprise criminal suit against Zeek’s Dawn Wright-Olivares and stepson Daniel Olivares.

“(Dawn) Wright-Olivares was a marketing and operational mastermind behind the scheme and Olivares was the chief architect of the computer databases they used,” said Stephen Cohen, an associate director in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.

“After they learned ZeekRewards was under investigation by law enforcement, they accepted substantial sums of money from the scheme while keeping investors in the dark about its imminent collapse.”

Despite the public facade the company put on in its final days, with plans to push ahead with a gala affiliate event in full swing, the SEC’s comments paint a picture of desperation to squeeze as much money out of the company’s all too willing affiliate-base.

Wright-Olivares had noticeably disappeared from the public eye in Zeek Rewards’ last months, I guess counting all that invested affiliate money she was depositing into her own bank account became a full-time job. [Continue reading…]